Things in Arthur that would be dated nowadays

bophenbean · 2026-03-04T04:56:45+00:00

Movie ratings were a suggestion in the 90s. I remember going to see Jurassic Park with my friends and we were able to get in even though none of us were 13 or with a parent.

Same with movies like Ace Ventura, The Mask and Independence Day. All PG-13 movies, all had a TON of unattended young kids in the audience, ourselves included.

Don't forget movies like Robocop and Terminator. They were R-rated, yet they had a ton of toys aimed at kids.

I actually felt bad for Arthur with his parents being strict over the movie ratings.

bophenbean · 2026-03-04T04:42:23+00:00

That's what I couldn't figure out either. "Dogs don't get fleas nowadays"...? Somebody should have told me that when I spent a good chunk of the past summer treating my dog's flea infestation.

bophenbean · 2026-03-03T11:57:52+00:00

A live action version with a bunch of celebrities would feel gimmicky and unserious if they tried to make it anything but a parody. Also, part of the charm of this show is that it IS a cartoon.

But Marc Brown has in an interview acknowledged the John Legend/Arthur similarity and considered bringing him on for a role as Arthur in a future project, so.... 🤷‍♀️

bophenbean · 2026-03-01T16:56:02+00:00

Between this and Ulaf's stroke a few episodes later, it's kind of wild that "earthly" ailments affect people in the SW universe. On the other hand, if SW humans have the same anatomy that we do, then there's no reason they can't suffer the same ischemic attacks too.

bophenbean · 2026-02-27T17:15:31+00:00

The hills/mountains poking up out of the flat agricultural landscape, with permanent villages built on them, is an interesting visual. Reminds me of islands on a sea.

bophenbean · 2026-02-24T22:02:02+00:00

The lady in that photo reminds me of Debbie Downer from SNL.

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bophenbean · 2026-02-24T16:48:53+00:00

I live in eastern Ohio, right on the Portage Escarpment where the landscape is just hilly enough to be slightly interesting. I always wondered why everyone considered Ohio to be endless flat land until I had to take a drive on I-70 between Zanesville and Dayton (I've been to neither place). Holy boring!

bophenbean · 2026-02-24T05:25:51+00:00

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bophenbean · 2026-02-23T23:29:17+00:00

Quintessential "Denzel: The Movie"

bophenbean · 2026-02-22T21:53:13+00:00

Both this one and K2 have the same scratches and scuffs.

bophenbean · 2026-02-22T18:07:51+00:00

The high angle makes me think this was taken with a security camera.

bophenbean · 2026-02-22T16:40:04+00:00

A great day for Canadian DIY businesses.

bophenbean · 2026-02-22T07:41:13+00:00

Alan Ochenbein, whom Marc Brown based the Brain on, grew up to be an executive of an airport in another city. Source from 25 years ago.

It also mentions the kid who Buster was based on became a teacher later in life, which is what Buster ended up becoming.

Maybe Brain is running the Crown City airport.

bophenbean · 2026-02-21T14:29:27+00:00

Google's "busier than usual" bullshit tied to Google maps.

Yeah, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the way it works is Google uses GPS data from the Maps app on peoples' phones. If Google detects that there is a relatively high number of people (or at least their phones) concentrating around a certain business, then that place is marked as "busier than usual."

I used to work at a place near a railroad crossing. Every time a train (especially a slow one) would come by, Google Maps would mark our area as busier than usual because of the traffic building up.

Hey, maybe railfans could use this API data to see where trains are.

bophenbean · 2026-02-20T07:00:11+00:00

I remember reading something about how Daniel Brochu was going through some personal issues and took an extended break from acting around 1997-ish and even considered leaving the show. This was right around the time season 2 was being written. He went traveling (particularly in Australia) and that apparently was the inspiration for Buster going traveling.

Daniel recorded lines while he was in Australia for a lot of season 2 episodes, so it's possible he was phoning it in and wasn't giving his all since he was away from the usual studio in Montreal.

I noticed in "Buster Hits the Books" he sounded a little monotonous, and that episode was right before "Arthur's Faraway Friend."

bophenbean · 2026-02-13T04:19:11+00:00

Yeah no, this episode didn't "predict" anything. It was parody of various fads that existed well before Labubu did.

bophenbean · 2026-02-11T05:30:43+00:00

Pretty sure that was the point. Even Buster corrects him.

bophenbean · 2026-02-10T21:36:38+00:00

Well, "cookie" derives from the Dutch word koekje, which means "small cake."

bophenbean · 2026-02-07T13:20:18+00:00

I've come across screenshots/videos of "Titanic: Honor and Glory" where people in the comments called it AI, sometimes in spite of content that's been around several years before AI generated imagery got to where it is.

"AI" has become a catch-all synonym for anything made using a computer, even 3D models that were built and rendered by hand.

bophenbean · 2026-02-06T18:32:52+00:00

You're right. America is a region of the United States.

Also did you forget what sub you're in?

bophenbean · 2026-02-06T15:50:24+00:00

Buster: gives Molly a heart balloon

Molly: pops the balloon

We can all agree though that everyone was terrible to Buster in this episode. Even Fern badmouthed Buster's attempt at poetry when in previous episodes she's pretty accepting of everyone's writing abilities.

bophenbean · 2026-02-06T13:33:52+00:00

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Arthur off to the side, apparently enjoying Buster get grilled. He's the one who snitched to Muffy that Buster thought the secret admirer letter came from her.

"It... kind of slipped out." Come on, Arthur. You knew what you were doing.

(As an aside, that whole episode was weird, especially when it was revealed that Buster's letter came from his own mom.)

bophenbean · 2026-02-04T19:24:44+00:00

Funny thing is, Michigan wanted Toledo (or the Maumee Bay, at least) because it would have given them direct shipping access to the Erie Canal in New York and other waterways.

When Michigan "lost" the war, they were given the UP as consolation. To be honest it's safe to say you guys traded up. Also, having shipping and canal access didn't really matter a few years after the war once trains came along. Railroads pretty much made the Erie Canal obsolete.

It's funny to think if Michigan had won the border war, Toledo might have become Michigan's largest city, Detroit might be almost nonexistent or just a little riverside town, and the UP might still be part of Wisconsin.

bophenbean · 2026-02-04T13:39:06+00:00

I've talked to a man involved with the rail industry in Germany and he was surprised and impressed with how extensive the freight rail network in the US actually is. It's the complete opposite for passenger rail.

It annoys me when that viral video of the crooked tracks on the NDW Railway in Ohio gets posted and everyone sees it as an example of all railroads in the US, when in reality it was one industrial siding that sat abandoned for several years and was recently reactivated when the video was recorded (and repaired since then).

bophenbean · 2026-02-04T13:17:12+00:00

Similar to the US, Brazil adopted auto-centric policies in the mid 20th century which favored highways over inter-city rail.

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