Author's Notes
I consider the second season of Arthur a mixed bag. This is even truer for the second half of the second season. Some of these episodes I think are great, others good, others okay, and others I can live without ever seeing again. What I liked the least about the second half of season 2 was how the third-graders of Mr. Ratburn's class are usually have above average intelligence, but when Buster has to leave town to live with his dad and travel around the world with him, they suddenly become as dumb as Buster. Okay, so Binky and Muffy don't act all that different than usual, but I can't seem to figure out why the writers made Brain act so differently in each episode. His personality varies dramatically from "Water and The Brain" to "Love Notes for Muffy" to "Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard" (misnomer) to "Finders Key-pers" (possibly the worst-written episode without any dream sequences or disturbing fantasy sequences).
Could it be on account of him spending a lot of time over at the Reads' house, where he could easily be subconsciously influenced by Arthur's little sister D.W.? I think that's a big part of it.
Arthur the Ashamed
Aimed
At beating
Everyone by cheating.
D.W. the Tattle-Tale
Would make her whistle wail
If she thinks she sees
Danger. But then she's climbing trees!
Francine the Eclectic
Says that Catherine's style makes here sick
Then it's Catherine's turn to mock
Francine's lizard, lamp, and clock.
Buster the Faraway Friend
Would send
Arthur fan fiction about Robin Hood
Which makes Arthur feel good.
Muffy the Deceptive
Didn't give
The others credit for the cookie recipe
Because she was concerned about her destiny.
Brain the Insane
Is extremely inconsistent, that is plain.
"Fifty-fifty-fifty"?
Not very nifty.
Sue Ellen the Creative
Is the "big sister" of a native
Of Tibet.
Her best journal entry yet!
Binky the Passer-By
Is a guy
Who likes bananas and macaroni and cheese.
But not together, if you please.
Fern the Slumber Party Host
Is the most
Brilliant kid while Buster's away.
It probably would have been better for him to stay.
Author's Notes
Actually, I am quite fond of Arthur's running gag of D.W. and Brain having a lot in common. Often times I find the irony believable, other times, not so much.
There are some examples of believable "acasually paralleled" companions on classic sitcoms. There's Leave It to Beaver's Beaver and June Cleaver, where the parallels are most prominent whenever father Ward expects his son Beaver to be exactly like him when he was his age. But then June suggests to Ward that maybe Beaver is more like her than Ward.
Another example is Get Smart's Max and Larabee. This gag is a bit more long-term. How this one is laid out is that for the first three seasons, the Chief of Control gets frustrated with Max because he's a bumbling idiot. But by the fourth season, the Chief becomes more fond of Max as Max becomes more mature. But then the Chief sees Max's fallacies in his secretary Larabee who is naturally around the Chief more often, which makes the Chief more frustrated with him than he was with Max.
Then there's Full House's Michelle Tanner and Joey Gladstone. Michelle is the youngest of the three Tanner Girls, and Joey is the most juvenal of the three men living under the Tanners' roof. The bond between Michelle and Joey is quite evident. There are even some similarities between Michelle and Joey that are placed seasons apart.
I wanted to tell you about the running gags of these sitcoms because I have observed how D.W. and Brain not only have a lot in common with each other, but also with these sitcom characters who have a lot in common. Am I crazy, or are Arthur's writers actually paying homage to these sitcoms? You be the judge.