History Series / BetweentheLions

* {{Retool}}: In Season Five, the show stopped having one single story and had two ten minute stories (each of which contained new sketches instead of old ones). The show’s concept on learning to read later became TheArtifact and the stories would just tie into the themes of the episode. Also, despite still appearing in the intro, Busterfield, the pigeons, Heath, Martha Reader, and Dr. Nitwhite also vanished from the show. The library set was also greatly reduced, with just one small section serving as the primary location.

* {{Bowlderize}}: In ''Hug, Hug Hugg'', Pygmalion's problem is that he can't hug his statue. This is of course different from the original myth, where he wanted to ''have sex with it''.

--> Scout leader: All right! So you're Why, you're Who, you're Where, and you're what.
--> Scouts: Right!
--> Scout leader: Fine. Now when...
--> [[spoiler: When (arriving late) Here!]]
--> [[spoiler: Scout leader: What?]]
--> [[spoiler: What: No, I'm What!]]

%%* NiceHat: Lionel sports one.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: "Sausage Nose." In this episode, the lions watch a movie, but the couple from the movie leave home for the library at one point. The lions reach that point right when the couple arrives at the library...which happens to be the Barnaby B. Busterfield III library. At the end of the episode, the couple leaves the library, and the lions unpause the movie, which is inexplicably at the point when the couple returns home.

The series was known to have a writing team who sometimes forget that this is an {{Edutainment}} show and made it far too amusing to watch, be the age group younger [[PeripheryDemographic or]] [[ParentalBonus older]]. There are also a lot of jabs at famous children's novels, such as ''Literature/DickAndJane'' becoming "Chicken Jane".

* PeskyPigeons Subverted with Walter and Clay Pigeon. They're friends with the lion family, but Busterfield doesn't get along with very well.

* {{Retool}}: In Season Five, the show stopped having one single story and had two ten minute stories (each of which contained new sketches instead of old ones). The show’s concept on learning to read later became TheArtifact and the stories would just tie into the themes of the episode. Also, despite still appearing in the intro, Busterfield, the pigeons, Heath, Martha Reader, and Dr. Nitwhite also vanished from the show.

* PunnyName: Cliff Hanger.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Happens in one episode during the story of a king and his faithful falcon who try to find their way home when they happen upon a stream. The king goes for water but when the falcon urges him not to, the king slays him with his sword. Upon realizing that the water had been tainted by a serpent's venom, the king is left to mourn the friend he betrayed. Traumatized by the story, Leona tries to hide the book. When Lionel tries to stop her, she nearly hits him with it out of grief, before stopping to realize she nearly made the same mistake as the king.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: There sure are a whole lot of monkey puppets in this show.

* PhyrricVictory: In-Universe, "A King and his Hawk" ends with the titular King returning to his kingdom after an arduous quest with no food or water. This would normally mark a happy ending, except he's returning with a heavy heart, as he had slain his friend the Hawk in anger when he wouldn't let him drink water (which unknown to him was poisoned with serpent's venom.) In short, he returns home, but alone and having slain his companion who saved his life.

** In The Lucky Duck and The Fox and The Crow (which may have been the first two episodes ever produced), Leona's hair was light yellow and messier (instead of being orange and neater), Cleo's eyes were a different shape, and Theo's voice was deeper. Also in the latter episode, Walter and Clay's voices were slightly different.

* FurryReminder / StockAnimalDiet: Theo and Cleo sure love raw meat, as seen at the end of each "What's Cooking?" segment. Even if the meat dish they are preparing takes a very short time to cook (even ''ten seconds'' in one segment), they'll [[EveryEpisodeEnding always say "Naaaah!" and start devouring the raw meat like real feral lions do]].

**

* BrokenAesop: "Quest, Quest, Quest" discusses this trope when one of Babs Caplain's latest stories ends with the bad guy coming out on top by cheating. Leona voices that [[EverybodyHasStandards even she]] recognizes this is not a good thing, teaching kids that the only way to win is to cheat.

** "Five, Six and Thistle Sticks"
** "Momma is going away" explores that it's okay to

** In yet another episode, Cliff sees a group of chickens standing on the edge of the cliff, and asks them to get him down. They give him their feathers.

* EverybodyCries: When everybody in the library was reading sad stories, no less.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Happens in one episode during the story of a king and his faithful falcon who try to find their way home when they happen upon a stream. The king goes for water but when the falcon urges him not to, the king slays him with his sword. Upon realizing that the water had been tainted by a serpent, the king is left to mourn the friend he betrayed. Traumatized by the story, Leona tries to hide the book. When Lionel tries to stop her, she nearly hits him with it out of grief, before stopping to realize she nearly made the same mistake as the king.