History DethroningMoment / Arthur

** [=RippenFan13=]: Adding to the above, D.W. didn't even '''like''' the girl who was hosting the party, but her best friend Emily got invited, so she figured, by that logic, she should as well. [[SarcasmMode Well, that makes it alright]].

* Tropers/{{heartauthor}}: "Arthur" has had a lot of cringe-worthy moments over the years, but one that's always stuck with me was in "1001 Dads." The main plot of the episode is that Arthur and the other kids try to find someone to act as Buster's dad at the upcoming Father's Day festival, despite Buster's insistence that he has plans that day. When Arthur comes clean about exactly what they've been doing, Buster says he appreciates the thought, but once again insists he has plans. That's when the Dethroning Moment happens: in response to this, Arthur, with an angry expression, says "What plans? If you were really my best friend, you'd tell me!" ''Wow.'' Arthur and the others just spent an entire episode pestering Buster about something he repeatedly insisted he couldn't take part in anyway, while at the same time reminding Buster of the fact that his parents are divorced (something that's bound to make him uncomfortable), and when Buster finally expresses annoyance at their behavior, Arthur chooses to accuse him of being an {{Ungrateful Bastard}}? I feel like there are a lot of moments in "Arthur" that are bad due to {{Protagonist Centered Morality}}, but this moment just infuriates me every single time I think about it. [[WithFriendsLikeThese So much for Arthur and Buster being best friends]].

* Overlord347: "Arthur Accused" was my personal dethroning moment. In this episode, Arthur leaves a bag of quarters for a fundraiser for the school's 3rd Grade Picnic with Mrs. [=MacGrady=] when he can't get her attention. A little while later, the principal comes to remind Arthur to give the quarters to her, and Arthur tells him he already did. But [=MacGrady=] says that she never got them and Buster remarks that he had previously seen Arthur at the arcade, where he once blew a bunch of quarters playing games. The principal and Miss Tingley, in a complete knee-jerk reaction and without any evidence whatsoever, immediately accuse Arthur of stealing the money and punish him by giving him detention for a week and forbidding him from going to the picnic, which quickly has the entire school thinking he's a criminal. Of course, he's eventually found innocent, but the whole reason for this debacle is unbelievably stupid. How did the quarters go missing, you ask? Why, Mrs. [=MacGrady=] accidentally mixed them in a batch of brownies! That's right; she, presumably an experienced cafeteria cook, somehow managed to pour a bag of metal coins into the brownie batter, mix said batter, overflow the bowl she was stirring it in, bake the brownies, cut them into squares '''and never noticed that there were dozens of metallic disks in them!''' If it hadn't been for Buster, Arthur's good standing would have been ruined and he'd have been regarded as a thief for at the very least the rest of his time at school, because the lunch lady was so horribly incompetent (I'd even go so far as to say "criminally incompetent;" those quarters would have been a real choking hazard). We don't even get the catharsis of the principal apologizing to Arthur for unjustly accusing and punishing him. All in all, this episode really got under my skin.
* Tropers/{{Grotadmorv}}: I am withdrawing my previous dethroning moment, "Besties." I reconsidered and I find the episode just okay now, certainly not DMOS-bad. What ''is'' DMOS-bad is the Season 23 episode "D.W. and Dr. Whosit." In this episode, D.W. hears about an adult show called ''Dr. Whosit'' and wants to watch it. Her parents say she isn't old enough and don't let her, and for good reason; David says that the show will give ''him'' nightmares. This doesn't stop D.W., though. She is so annoyed by everyone referencing the show that she steals her parents' password book to bypass the TV's parental controls. Bud helps her distract her parents so they can watch the show alone. However, D.W. and Bud don't like the show. They are caught by D.W.'s parents and D.W. is punished with a week of no TV, while Bud goes unpunished. Arthur restates the episode's moral that you should wait until you're older to do certain things, and that you shouldn't disobey your parents because they know what's best for you, which is a good message. But then Arthur's parents tell him that he shouldn't be watching ''Dr. Whosit'' either, and D.W. cheers. So... D.W. wins in the end? D.W. steals her parents' passwords and watches a show that they specifically tell her she is not allowed to watch, and she gets off with a rather light punishment while Arthur won't be able to watch the show for at least a few more years. This is certainly one of the worst Arthur episodes since "Kidonia" or "The Pageant Pickle."
** ElSquibbonator: To me, this episode just confirms what ''Arthur's Big Hit'' and ''D.W.'s Very Bad Mood'' had implied long ago-- that Arthur's parents are strict beyond reason with him, and far too lenient with D.W., whether either of them deserve it or not. Not helping matters is the fact that Arthur seemed to genuinely enjoy ''Dr. Whosit'', and certainly wasn't scared by it, so there was no real reason for him to have it taken away from him except to make D.W. feel better about her own consequence. Also, D.W. didn't even ''like'' the show, so having Arthur (who did like it, and did nothing wrong) get punished ruined what could have been a perfectly good BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Aesop.

* Tropers/CJCroen1393: My dethroner for this show is "Arthur and the Very Mean Crossing Guard", mainly because "very mean" is an ''[[{{Jerkass}} understatement]]'' when describing the titular crossing guard, Ted. The episode surrounds Arthur and the Brain meeting Ted when he takes over for the old crossing guard and he tells them that they need to start paying him ten bucks to cross the street, and when they don't have any money he tells them that they'd better have some next time or he'll "send his goons after them", which understandably spooks them both, even prompting a [[NightmareFuel creepy fantasy sequence]] of Arthur waking up to people breaking into his house and ransacking it for money on Ted's orders. Arthur manages to pay him next time they meet, but Brain can't and due to Brain misunderstanding his use of the phrase "partner in crime", Ted tells him that he'd be willing to turn him in to the police if he doesn't pay up next time. Brain starts freaking out and ''also'' begins having fantasy sequences, including one where his constant crossing forces his family into destitution because he just had to pay Ted ''that'' much, and when they find a way to bypass this by having Brain spend the night at Arthur's place, Ted takes notice and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras and they shouldn't try to skip out of paying him. So by this point, Arthur and the Brain are ''terrified'' of this guy and implicitly living in genuine fear for their lives. How does the episode end? Turns out Ted is an old friend of Grandma Thora's and the whole thing was [[JustJokingJustification just a joke on his part]]. So...let's review: This guy demands money from two children, threatens to send people after them if they don't pay him, threatens to throw one of them in jail for the same reason and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras, all with the very realistic consequence of them both becoming rapidly more and more scared for their own safety...but it's all good because it was just a joke? Look, I know some people have weird senses of humor or like to scare people for fun, but we went beyond that in this episode. There comes a time where "just joking around" crosses the line into "just being an asshole" and Ted crossed that line when he threatened to send people to possibly hurt two small children for not giving him ten dollars. I don't care if it was "just a joke", if your "joke" is nothing but making two kids spend up to a week living in fear for their safety, it's not funny. Oh, and ''because'' it was "just a joke", Ted is [[EasilyForgiven instantly forgiven and gets off scot free]], because of course he is.
* [=KnightSpark=]: In my opinion, "For Whom The Bell Tolls" always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Here's how the episode goes: D.W. gets laryngitis, and Arthur wastes no time in reveling in it, even though his friends call him out on it. His personal celebration ends when he's told that he has to care for his brat sister until she gets better. Now, with that, everyone is wondering why I think of this episode as a [=DMoS=]. Well, it's simple. Remember when I said Arthur's friends calling him out on his insensitivity towards D.W.'s affliction? ''Francine'' was among them. Arthur is being lectured on being mean by the one character in the show who has been mean to him since the first goddamn season (e.g: Arthur's Eyes, Arthur's Tooth, Arthur Makes the Team). I didn't too much of it when I was young, but when I got older, I was like: "what the hell? Where does she get off calling Arthur mean when she had a mean streak of her own back then?" Hell, even Arthur calls her out on it halfway through the episode, and she claims she's [[BlatantLies "trying" to remember.]] But now I get to the other reason why this episode was bad in my book: D.W. recovered from her laryngitis, [[ObfuscatingDisability and is now pretending she still has it]] just so she can make Arthur her personal servant. Wow. Anyway, once Arthur finds out about his sister's dickery and proving to Francine she was faking it, the two set up an elaborate scheme to expose D.W., and it works. Francine said Arthur learned a lesson and that he'll listen to her from now on, which is debatable. Now, the creators were trying to make the lesson of not engaging in schadenfreude when people you don't like are ailing, but I personally think the only lesson worth learning for Arthur is not to take criticism from people who throw stones in glass houses. I was referring to Francine, if it wasn't clear enough.

* Tropers/RedBerryBlueCherry: I’ll go for “Arthur Weighs In”. I'm one who's a firm believer that all body types should be respected, and weight doesn't automatically equal health, but I can tolerate a DietEpisode if done well. This, however… isn't one of them. Basically, Arthur feels he needs to lose weight… mainly to fit in a suit for the school play. Sure, I can take the premise. But the main problem comes in, mainly… [[HollywoodPudgy he doesn’t look any bigger than he usually is]]. Expecting an episode about how you shouldn’t be so worried about your body? No, that’s not really the case. Arthur is encouraged to exercise and thus he fits in his costume… Yes, exercise is important, but the prime reason they give for it here is because “Arthur is fat” when he really isn’t! Not to mention the intro where they seem to acknowledge that there isn't much flattering clothing for larger people, but instead of condemning the industry, it's ''just'' to convince Arthur to lose weight. And while I do give respect for noting that restrictive diets are dangerous for kids, it doesn’t change that there’s still a couple unsettling implications. Call me overreactive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this caused/worsened an eating disorder in at least one viewer.

* Grotadmorv: I am withdrawing my previous dethroning moment, "Besties." I reconsidered and I find the episode just okay now, certainly not DMOS-bad. What ''is'' DMOS-bad is the Season 23 episode "D.W. and Dr. Whosit." In this episode, D.W. hears about an adult show called ''Dr. Whosit'' and wants to watch it. Her parents say she isn't old enough and don't let her, and for good reason; David says that the show will give ''him'' nightmares. This doesn't stop D.W., though. She is so annoyed by everyone referencing the show that she steals her parents' password book to bypass the TV's parental controls. Bud helps her distract her parents so they can watch the show alone. However, D.W. and Bud don't like the show. They are caught by D.W.'s parents and D.W. is punished with a week of no TV, while Bud goes unpunished. Arthur restates the episode's moral that you should wait until you're older to do certain things, and that you shouldn't disobey your parents because they know what's best for you, which is a good message. But then Arthur's parents tell him that he shouldn't be watching ''Dr. Whosit'' either, and D.W. cheers. So... D.W. wins in the end? D.W. steals her parents' passwords and watches a show that they specifically tell her she is not allowed to watch, and she gets off with a rather light punishment while Arthur won't be able to watch the show for at least a few more years. This is certainly one of the worst Arthur episodes since "Kidonia" or "The Pageant Pickle."

* Overlord347: "Arthur Accused" was my personal dethroning moment. In this episode, Arthur leaves a bag of quarters for a fundraiser for the school's 3rd Grade Picnic with Mrs. MacGrady when he can't get her attention. A little while later, the principal comes to remind Arthur to give the quarters to her, and Arthur tells him he already did. But MacGrady says that she never got them and Buster remarks that he had previously seen Arthur at the arcade, where he once blew a bunch of quarters playing games. The principal and Miss Tingley, in a complete knee-jerk reaction and without any evidence whatsoever, immediately accuse Arthur of stealing the money and punish him by giving him detention for a week and forbidding him from going to the picnic, which quickly has the entire school thinking he's a criminal. Of course, he's eventually found innocent, but the whole reason for this debacle is unbelievably stupid. How did the quarters go missing, you ask? Why, Mrs. MacGrady accidentally mixed them in a batch of brownies! That's right; she, presumably an experienced cafeteria cook, somehow managed to pour a bag of metal coins into the brownie batter, mix said batter, overflow the bowl she was stirring it in, bake the brownies, cut them into squares '''and never noticed that there were dozens of metallic disks in them!''' If it hadn't been for Buster, Arthur's good standing would have been ruined and he'd have been regarded as a thief for at the very least the rest of his time at school, because the lunch lady was so horribly incompetent (I'd even go so far as to say "criminally incompetent;" those quarters would have been a real choking hazard). We don't even get the catharsis of the principal apologizing to Arthur for unjustly accusing and punishing him. All in all, this episode really got under my skin.

* Tropers/RedBerryBlueCherry: I’ll go for “Arthur Weighs In”. I'm one who's a firm believer that all body types should be respected, and weight doesn't automatically equal health, but I can tolerate a DietEpisode if done well. This, however… isn't one of them. Basically, Arthur feels he needs to lose weight… mainly to fit in a suit for the school play. Sure, I can take the premise. But the main problem comes in, mainly… [[HollywoodPudgy he doesn’t look any bigger than he usually is]]. Expecting an episode about how you shouldn’t be so worried about your body? No, that’s not really the case. Arthur is encouraged to exercise and thus he fits in his costume… Yes, exercise is important, but the prime reason they give for it here is because “Arthur is fat” when he really isn’t! And while I do give respect for noting that restrictive diets are dangerous for kids, it doesn’t change that there’s still a couple unsettling implications. Call me overreactive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this caused/worsened an eating disorder in at least one viewer.

* RedBerryBlueCherry: I’ll go for “Arthur Weighs In”. I'm one who's a firm believer that all body types should be respected, and weight doesn't automatically equal health, but I can tolerate a DietEpisode if done well. This, however… isn't one of them. Basically, Arthur feels he needs to lose weight… mainly to fit in a suit for the school play. Sure, I can take the premise. But the main problem comes in, mainly… [[HollywoodPudgy he doesn’t look any bigger than he usually is]]. Expecting an episode about how you shouldn’t be so worried about your body? No, that’s not really the case. Arthur is encouraged to exercise and thus he fits in his costume… Yes, exercise is important, but the prime reason they give for it here is because “Arthur is fat” when he really isn’t! And while I do give respect for noting that restrictive diets are dangerous for kids, it doesn’t change that there’s still a couple unsettling implications. Call me overreactive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this caused/worsened an eating disorder in at least one viewer.

* RedBerryBlueCherry: I’ll go for “Arthur Weighs In”. I'm one who's a firm believer that all body types should be respected, and weight doesn't automatically equal health, but I can tolerate a DietEpisode if done well. This, however… isn't one of them. Basically, Arthur feels he needs to lose weight… mainly to fit in a suit for the school play. Sure, I can take the premise. But the main problem comes in, mainly… [[HollywoodPudgy he doesn’t look any bigger than he usually is]]. Expecting an episode about how you shouldn’t be so worried about your body? No, that’s not really the case. Arthur is encouraged to exercise and thus he fits in his costume… Yes, exercise is important, but the only reason they give for it here is because “Arthur is fat” when he really isn’t! And while I do give respect for noting that restrictive diets are dangerous for kids, it doesn’t change that there’s still a couple unsettling implications. Call me overreactive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this caused/worsened an eating disorder in at least one viewer.

* RedBerryBlueCherry: I’ll go for “Arthur Weighs In”. I'm one who's a firm believer that all body types should be respected, and weight doesn't automatically equal health, but I can tolerate a DietEpisode if done well. This, however… isn't one of them. Basically, Arthur feels he needs to lose weight… mainly to fit in a suit for the school play. Sure, I can take the premise. But the main problem comes in, mainly… [[HollywoodPudgy he doesn’t look any bigger than he usually is]]. Expecting an episode about how you shouldn’t be so worried about your body? No, that’s not really the case. Arthur is encouraged to exercise and thus he fits in his costume… Yes, exercise is important, but the only reason they give for it here is because “Arthur is fat” when he really isn’t! And while I do give respect for noting that restrictive diets are dangerous for kid, it doesn’t change that there’s still a couple unsettling implications. Call me overreactive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this caused/worsened an eating disorder in at least one viewer.

* Tropers/{{PCNNM}}: My dethroning moment of suck is in “Arthur: It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll”, for reasons being Francine being toxic and her logic on “selling-out.” Just because your band is popular and getting recognition doesn’t mean you are “selling-out.” How do you expect your band to be famous if people aren’t allowed to appreciate it? Most rock bands have merchandise such as shirts, posters, etc. And if any rock band has those according to Francine’s logic, they are “selling out.” Later on, Muffy films a music video for U-Stink and Francine acts like it’s “selling out” for making a music video. Again, most rock bands have music videos and it’s not selling-out if your band has a music video. In the imagine spot later on in the special about the future of U-Stink, Francine said “I can’t help it if people are dopes!” Oh really Francine? If someone happens to love your band, they are an idiot for doing so? Okay then…

* notahandle: "On the Buster Scale" was the first episode from Season 16 that made the rest of it irredeemable. The plot of the episode can be summed up as "Buster and Brain disagree on movies", but everything else made me yell at the screen at the their stupidity. First off, Arthur and the rest of the gang come off as easily manipulated sheeple, agreeing on the two no questions asked. Secondly, Buster gets his own column in the local newspaper, which of course his friends say yes, ending up having one of his reviews being the blurbs on a film billboard. [[SarcasmMode Hooray for nepotism]]. Thirdly, when Buster and Brain show off their reviews in the sugar bowl, an employee asks the two what film should he watch with friends. [[SarcasmMode Because third graders are the utmost authority in cinema.]] Finally and most infuriating Arthur calls out the two critics for their competition, saying that they should respect other people's opinion. Funny enough that he and the rest ate up the reviews, whenever it be Brain's smartassery or Buster's ramblings, showing no sense of self awareness. It would been a better episode if the two were more like Siskel and Ebert, having mixed reactions but overall message of having and respecting different opinions, but this episode seemed to think that getting its message was through [[IdiotBall dumb characters]], [[ConflictBall unneeded conflict]] and abuse to the suspension of disbelief.

* Overlord347: "Arthur Accused" was my personal dethroning moment. In this episode, Arthur leaves a bag of quarters for a fundraiser for the school's 3rd Grade Picnic with Mrs. MacGrady when he can't get her attention. A little while later, the principal comes to remind Arthur to give the quarters to her, and Arthur tells him he already did. But MacGrady says that she never got them and Buster remarks that he had previously seen Arthur at the arcade, where he once blew a bunch of quarters playing games. The principal and Miss Tingley, in a complete knee-jerk reaction and without any evidence whatsoever, immediately accuse Arthur of stealing the money and punish him by giving him detention for a week and forbidding him from going to the picnic, which quickly has the entire school thinking he's a criminal. Of course, he's eventually found innocent, but the whole reason for this debacle is unbelievably stupid. How did the quarters go missing, you ask? Why, Mrs. MacGrady accidentally mixed them in a batch of brownies! That's right; she was somehow so oblivious to her surroundings that she didn't realize she was pouring a bag of metal coins into her mix! If it hadn't been for Buster, Arthur's good standing would have been ruined and he'd have been regarded as a thief for at the very least the rest of his time at school. We don't even get the catharsis of the principal apologizing to Arthur for unjustly accusing and punishing him. All in all, this episode really got under my skin.

* Tropers/CJCroen1393: My dethroner for this show is "Arthur and the Very Mean Crossing Guard", mainly because "very mean" is an ''[[{{Jerkass}} understatement]]'' when describing the titular crossing guard, Ted. The episode surrounds Arthur and the Brain meeting Ted when he takes over for the old crossing guard and he tells them that they need to start paying him ten bucks to cross the street, and when they don't have any money he tells them that they'd better have some next time or he'll "send his goons after them", which understandably spooks them both, even prompting a [[NightmareFuel creepy fantasy sequence]] of Arthur [[AdultFear waking up to people breaking into his house and ransacking it for money on Ted's orders]]. Arthur manages to pay him next time they meet, but Brain can't and due to Brain misunderstanding his use of the phrase "partner in crime", Ted tells him that he'd be willing to turn him in to the police if he doesn't pay up next time. Brain starts freaking out and ''also'' begins having AdultFear fantasy sequences, including one where his constant crossing forces his family into destitution because he just had to pay Ted ''that'' much, and when they find a way to bypass this by having Brain spend the night at Arthur's place, Ted takes notice and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras and they shouldn't try to skip out of paying him. So by this point, Arthur and the Brain are ''terrified'' of this guy and implicitly living in genuine fear for their lives. How does the episode end? Turns out Ted is an old friend of Grandma Thora's and the whole thing was [[JustJokingJustification just a joke on his part]]. So...let's review: This guy demands money from two children, threatens to send people after them if they don't pay him, threatens to throw one of them in jail for the same reason and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras, all with the very realistic consequence of them both becoming rapidly more and more scared for their own safety...but it's all good because it was just a joke? Look, I know some people have weird senses of humor or like to scare people for fun, but we went beyond that in this episode. There comes a time where "just joking around" crosses the line into "just being an asshole" and Ted crossed that line when he threatened to send people to possibly hurt two small children for not giving him ten dollars. I don't care if it was "just a joke", if your "joke" is nothing but making two kids spend up to a week living in fear for their safety, it's not funny. Oh, and ''because'' it was "just a joke", Ted is [[EasilyForgiven instantly forgiven and gets off scot free]], because of course he is.

* Tropers/{{PCNNM}}: My dethroning moment of suck is “Arthur: It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll”, for reasons being Francine being toxic and her logic on “selling-out.” Just because your band is popular and getting recognition doesn’t mean you are “selling-out.” How do you expect your band to be famous if people aren’t allowed to appreciate it? Most rock bands have merchandise such as shirts, posters, etc. And if any rock band has those according to Francine’s logic, they are “selling out.” Later on, Muffy films a music video for U-Stink and Francine acts like it’s “selling out” for making a music video. Again, most rock bands have music videos and it’s not selling-out if your band has a music video. In the imagine spot later on in the special about the future of U-Stink, Francine said “I can’t help it if people are dopes!” Oh really Francine? If someone happens to love your band, they are an idiot for doing so? Okay then…

* [=KnightSpark=]: In my opinion, "For Whom The Bell Tolls" always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Here's how the episode goes: D.W. gets laryngitis, and Arthur wastes no time in reveling in it, even though his friends call him out on it. His personal celebration ends when he's told that he has to care for his brat sister until she gets better. Now, with that, everyone is wondering why I think of this episode as a [=DMoS=]. Well, it's simple. Remember when I said Arthur's friends calling him out on his insensitivity towards D.W.'s affliction? ''Francine'' was among them. Arthur is being lectured on being mean by the one character in the show who has been mean to him since the first goddamn season (e.g: Arthur's Eyes, Arthur's Tooth, Arthur Makes the Team). I didn't too much of it when I was young, but when I got older, I was like: "what the hell? Where does she get off calling Arthur mean when she had a mean streak of her own back then?" Hell, even Arthur calls her out on it halfway through the episode, and she claims she's [[BlatantLies "trying" to remember.]] But now I get to the other reason why this episode was bad in my book: D.W. recovered from her laryngitis, [[ObfuscatingDisability and is now pretending she still has it]] just so she can make Arthur her personal servant. Wow. Anyway, once Arthur finds out about his sister's dickery and proving to Francine she was faking it, the two set up an elaborate scheme to expose D.W., and it works. Francine said Arthur learned a lesson and that he'll listen to her from now on, which is debatable. Now, the creators were trying to make the lesson of not engaging in schadenfreude when people you don't like are ailing, but I personally think the only lesson worth learning for Arthur is not to take criticism from people who throw stones in glass houses. I was referring to Francine, if it wasn't clear enough.

* [=KnightSpark=]: In my opinion, "For Whom The Bell Tolls" always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Here's how the episode goes: D.W. gets laryngitis, and Arthur wastes no time in reveling in it, even though his friends call him out on it. His personal celebration ends when he's told that he has to care for his brat sister until she gets better. Now, with that, everyone is wondering why I think of this episode as a DMoS. Well, it's simple. Remember when I said Arthur's friends calling him out on his insensitivity towards D.W.'s affliction? ''Francine'' was among them. Arthur is being lectured on being mean by the one character in the show who has been mean to him since the first goddamn season (e.g: Arthur's Eyes, Arthur's Tooth, Arthur Makes the Team). I didn't too much of it when I was young, but when I got older, I was like: "what the hell? Where does she get off calling Arthur mean when she had a mean streak of her own back then?" Hell, even Arthur calls her out on it halfway through the episode, and she claims she's [[BlatantLies "trying" to remember.]] But now I get to the other reason why this episode was bad in my book: D.W. recovered from her laryngitis, [[ObfuscatingDisability and is now pretending she still has it]] just so she can make Arthur her personal servant. Wow. Anyway, once Arthur finds out about his sister's dickery and proving to Francine she was faking it, the two set up an elaborate scheme to expose D.W., and it works. Francine said Arthur learned a lesson and that he'll listen to her from now on, which is debatable. Now, the creators were trying to make the lesson of not engaging in schadenfreude when people you don't like are ailing, but I personally think the only lesson worth learning for Arthur is not to take criticism from people who throw stones in glass houses. I was referring to Francine, if it wasn't clear enough.

* Tropers/CJCroen1393: My dethroner for this show is "Arthur and the Very Mean Crossing Guard", mainly because "very mean" is an ''[[{{Jerkass}} understatement]]'' when describing the titular crossing guard, Ted. The episode surrounds Arthur and the Brain meeting Ted when he takes over for the old crossing guard and he tells them that they need to start paying him ten bucks to cross the street, and when they don't have any money he tells them that they'd better have some next time or he'll "send his goons after them", which understandably spooks them both, even prompting a [[NightmareFuel creepy fantasy sequence]] of Arthur [[AdultFear waking up to people breaking into his house and ransacking it for money on Ted's orders]]. Arthur manages to pay him next time they meet, but Brain can't and due to Brain misunderstanding his use of the phrase "partner in crime", Ted tells him that he'd be willing to turn him in to the police if he doesn't pay up next time. Brain starts freaking out and ''also'' begins having AdultFear fantasy sequences, including one where his constant crossing forces his family into destitution because he just had to pay Ted ''that'' much, and when they find a way to bypass this by having Brain spend the night at Arthur's place, Ted takes notice and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras and they shouldn't try to skip out of paying him. So by this point, Arthur and the Brain are ''terrified'' of this guy and implicitly living in genuine fear for their lives. How does the episode end? Turns out Ted is an old friend of Grandma Thora's and the whole thing was [[JustJokingJustification just a joke on his part]]. So...let's review: This guy demands money from two children, threatens to send people after them if they don't pay him, threatens to throw one of them in jail for the same reason and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras, all with the very realistic consequence of them both becoming rapidly more and more scared for their own safety...but it's all good because it was just a joke? Look, I know some people have weird senses of humor or like to scare people for fun, but we went beyond that in this episode. There comes a time where "just joking around" crosses the line into "just being an asshole" and Ted crossed that line when he threatened to send people to possibly hurt two small children for not giving him ten dollars. I don't care if it was "just a joke", if your "joke" is nothing but making two kids spend up to a week living in fear for their safety, it's not funny. Oh, and ''because'' it was "just a joke", Ted is [[EasilyForgiven instantly forgiven and gets off scot free]], because of course he is.

* One moment per work to a {{troper}}. If multiple entries are signed to the same troper the more recent one will be cut.

** Tropers/{{KrazyTVWatcher}}: I agree with this. To me, the episode would've made much more sense if it were someone like [[{{Jerkass}} Binky]] harassing Sue Ellen over her sweater instead of Arthur. Not only that, Francine and Muffy come off as hypocritical bulles, [[HypocriticalHumor especially given the fact that Francine]] [[TheGlassesGottaGo once teased Arthur for wearing glasses in the first place]]. For starters, Mr. Ratburn should've called Arthur's parents to let them know what was going on, and Arthur, despite apologizing to Sue Ellen, [[KarmaHoudini was only punished by writing an apology note]].

* kokoroanime: "Nerve of Steal". Don't take this the wrong way, I understand this episode had AnAesop about stealing, but things in this episode [[FromBadToWorse went progressively badder and sadder]]. Buster wants a Cybertoy while everybody else (except for Arthur) has one, but he couldn't get one until his birthday as his mother told him. Then later, he's at the drug store, thinking of taking one Cybertoy from the store without paying for it. So he takes one and puts it in Arthur's bag, but that doesn't stop the security camera from recording the event, as Buster's feeling strange about what trouble he'll be in. Later, he reveals to Arthur the Cybertoy that he put in his bag. Arthur gets mad at Buster for trying to get him in trouble and so, Arthur will help him return the toy that he stole from the store and didn't tell his parents what happened. What the hell, Arthur? You're supposed to let your parents know when something really serious happens around you so that , your parents will resolve this! And later, both of them are returning the toy before leaving the store, but it fails because the clerk found out that the Cybertoy was in there, and found a note that they revealed it. Buster tells the truth that he stole it and wants to know if the security camera caught him. He told him that the camera isn't working, but his telephone is so he can call his parents. Do telephones from the early 2000's have cameras in it? No!!! How did the store clerk know his number? Are they friends with them? That clerk is such an idiot for doing that! And then Buster gets grounded for a month for stealing the toy and covering it up, [[DownerEnding which causes a unexpected bad ending, where he won't have that Cybertoy for his birthday]]. Buster, don't you ever do that crap again! That Cybertoy is not going anywhere until your birthday comes! And you too, Brain, you're such a {{Jerkass}} for telling your friend "I'm glad I got one for my birthday" when one's on punishment, that's bad.

* kokoroanime: "Nerve of Steal". Don't take this the wrong, I understand this episode had AnAesop about stealing, but things in this episode [[FromBadToWorse went progressively badder and sadder]]. Buster wants a Cybertoy while everybody else (except for Arthur) has one, but he couldn't get one until his birthday as his mother told him. Then later, he's at the drug store, thinking of taking one Cybertoy from the store without paying for it. So he takes one and puts it in Arthur's bag, but that doesn't stop the security camera from recording the event, as Buster's feeling strange about what trouble he'll be in. Later, he reveals to Arthur the Cybertoy that he put in his bag. Arthur gets mad at Buster for trying to get him in trouble and so, Arthur will help him return the toy that he stole from the store and didn't tell his parents what happened. What the hell, Arthur? You're supposed to let your parents know when something really serious happens around you so that , your parents will resolve this! And later, both of them are returning the toy before leaving the store, but it fails because the clerk found out that the Cybertoy was in there, and found a note that they revealed it. Buster tells the truth that he stole it and wants to know if the security camera caught him. He told him that the camera isn't working, but his telephone is so he can call his parents. Do telephones from the early 2000's have cameras in it? No!!! How did the store clerk know his number? Are they friends with them? That clerk is such an idiot for doing that! And then Buster gets grounded for a month for stealing the toy and covering it up, [[DownerEnding which causes a unexpected bad ending, where he won't have that Cybertoy for his birthday]]. Buster, don't you ever do that crap again! That Cybertoy is not going anywhere until your birthday comes! And you too, Brain, you're such a {{Jerkass}} for telling your friend "I'm glad I got one for my birthday" when one's on punishment, that's bad.

** [=prettycoolguy=]: This intelligence-insulting explanation gets worse when you compare "Bleep!" with a similar episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBerenstainBears''. In that episode, Sister learns a pseudo-swear word in the form of "Furball". There, the whole "It hurts people's feelings" explanation actually works since, in the Bears' universe, the term "Furball" is [[FantasticSlurs something of a bear-esque racist insult]] and therefore it would be emotionally offensive term to use. In "Bleep!", however, since the word is never revealed (nor do they simply go with the pseudo-swear approach), we are never given any indication as to why the word D.W said "hurts peoples feelings". It's critical to provide context to show why the word is considered offensive.

* fluffything: Yet another D.W.-related DMOS I'd like to add is the episode "Bleep", because it's the worst handling of subject matter in the series ever. Basically, the episode is about DW learning a "swear" word (We're never told which one or given a pseudo-swear for context) and ends up accidentally getting other people to say it since she doesn't understand what it means. Eventually, she gets into trouble. And, what does her mother tell her about it? "It means 'I want to hurt your feelings'." ... Are you kidding me? No, just... no. That's the laziest and most childish explanation for why people shouldn't swear in polite company I've ever heard. What made ''Arthur'' such a great series is that it handled serious issues like death, Alzheimer's, Asperger's Syndrome, Asthma, Dyslexia, even 9/11[[note]]represented by a fire at Lakewood[[/note]] and cancer with surprising maturity, and it never talked down to its target audience (IE: Children). "Bleep" just tosses all that maturity aside to give a half-assed reason for not swearing and it insults the intelligence of its audience by doing so.

* Tropers/CJCroen1393: My dethroner for this show is "Arthur and the Very Mean Crossing Guard", mainly because "very mean" is an ''[[{{Jerkass}} understatement]]'' when describing the titular crossing guard, Ted. The episode surrounds Arthur and the Brain meeting Ted when he takes over for the old crossing guard and he tells them that they need to start paying him ten bucks to cross the street, and when they don't have any money he tells them that they'd better have some next time or he'll "send his goons after them", which understandably spooks them both, even prompting a [[NightmareFuel creepy fantasy sequence]] of Arthur [[AdultFear waking up to people breaking into his house and ransacking it for money on Ted's orders]]. Arthur manages to pay him next time they meet, but Brain can't and due to Brain misunderstanding his use of the phrase "partner in crime", Ted tells him that he'd be willing to turn him in to the police if he doesn't pay up next time. Brain starts freaking out and ''also'' begins having AdultFear fantasy sequences, including one where his constant crossing forces his family into destitution because he just had to pay Ted ''that'' much, and when they find a way to bypass this by having Brain spend the night at Arthur's place, Ted takes notice and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras and they shouldn't try to skip out of paying him. So by this point, Arthur and the Brain are ''terrified'' of this guy and implicitly living in genuine fear for their lives. How does the episode end? Turns out Ted is an old friend of Grandma Thora's and the whole thing was [[JustJokingJustification just a joke on his part]]. So...let's review: This guy demands money from two children, threatens to send people after them if they don't pay him, threatens to throw one of them in jail for the same reason and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras, all with the very realistic consequence of them both becoming rapidly more and more scared for their own safety...but it's all good because it was just a joke? Look, I know some people have weird senses of humor or like to scare people for fun, but we went beyond that in this episode. There comes a time where "just joking around" crosses the line into "just being an asshole" and Ted crossed that line when he threatened to send people to possibly hurt two small children for not giving him ten dollars. I don't care if it was "just a joke", if your "joke" is nothing but making two kids spend up to a week living in fear for their safety, [[DudeNotFunny it's not funny]]. Oh, and ''because'' it was "just a joke", Ted is [[KarmaHoudini instantly forgiven and gets off scot free]], because of course he is.

* Tropers/CJCroen1393: My dethroner for this show is "Arthur and the Very Mean Crossing Guard", mainly because "very mean" is an ''[[{{Jerkass}} understatement]]'' when describing the titular crossing guard, Ted. The episode surrounds Arthur and the Brain meeting Ted when he takes over for the old crossing guard and he tells them that they need to start paying him ten bucks to cross the street, and when they don't have any money he tells them that they'd better have some next time or he'll "send his goons after them", which understandably spooks them both, even prompting a [[NightmareFuel creepy fantasy sequence]] of Arthur [[AdultFear waking up to people breaking into his house and ransacking it for money on Ted's orders]]. Arthur manages to pay him next time they meet, but Brain can't and due to Brain misunderstanding his use of the phrase "partner in crime", Ted tells him that he'd be willing to turn him in to the police if he doesn't pay up next time. Brain starts freaking out and ''also'' begins having AdultFear fantasy sequences, including one where his constant crossing forces his family into destitution because he just had to pay Ted ''that'' much, and when they find a way to bypass this by having Brain spend the night at Arthur's place, Ted takes notice and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras and they shouldn't try to skip out of paying him. So by this point, Arthur and the Brain are ''terrified'' of this guy and implicitly living in genuine fear for their lives. How does the episode end? Turns out Ted is an old friend of Grandma Thora's and the whole thing was [[JustKiddingJustification just a joke on his part]]. So...let's review: This guy demands money from two children, threatens to send people after them if they don't pay him, threatens to throw one of them in jail for the same reason and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras, all with the very realistic consequence of them both becoming rapidly more and more scared for their own safety...but it's all good because it was just a joke? Look, I know some people have weird senses of humor or like to scare people for fun, but we went beyond that in this episode. There comes a time where "just joking around" crosses the line into "just being an asshole" and Ted crossed that line when he threatened to send people to possibly hurt two small children for not giving him ten dollars. I don't care if it was "just a joke", if your "joke" is nothing but making two kids spend up to a week living in fear for their safety, [[DudeNotFunny it's not funny]]. Oh, and ''because'' it was "just a joke", Ted is [[KarmaHoudini instantly forgiven and gets off scot free]], because of course he is.

* Tropers/CJCroen1393: My dethroner for this show is "Arthur and the Very Mean Crossing Guard", mainly because "very mean" is an ''[[{{Jerkass}} understatement]]'' when describing the titular crossing guard, Ted. The episode surrounds Arthur and the Brain meeting Ted when he takes over for the old crossing guard and he tells them that they need to start paying him ten bucks to cross the street, and when they don't have any money he tells them that they'd better have some next time or he'll "send his goons after them", which understandably spooks them both, even prompting a [[NightmareFuel creepy fantasy sequence]] of Arthur [[AdultFear waking up to people breaking into his house and ransacking it for money on Ted's orders]]. Arthur manages to pay him next time they meet, but Brain can't and due to Brain misunderstanding his use of the phrase "partner in crime", Ted tells him that he'd be willing to turn him in to the police if he doesn't pay up next time. Brain starts freaking out and ''also'' begins having AdultFear fantasy sequences, including one where his constant crossing forces his family into destitution because he just had to pay Ted ''that'' much, and when they find a way to bypass this by having Brain spend the night at Arthur's place, Ted takes notice and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras and they shouldn't try to skip out of paying him. So by this point, Arthur and the Brain are ''terrified'' of this guy and implicitly living in genuine fear for their lives. How does the episode end? Turns out Ted is an old friend of Grandma Thora's and the whole thing was [[JustKiddingJustification just a joke on his part]]. So...let's review: This guy demands money from two children, threatens to send people after them if they don't pay him, threatens to throw one of them in jail for the same reason and outright tells them he's spying on them with cameras, all with the very realistic consequence of them both becoming rapidly more and more scared for their own safety...but it's all good because it was just a joke? Look, I know some people have weird senses of humor or like to scare people for fun, but we went beyond that in this episode. There comes a time where "just joking around" crosses the line into "just being an asshole" and Ted crossed that line when he threatened to send people to possibly hurt two small children for not giving him ten dollars. I don't care if it was "just a joke", if . Oh, and ''because'' it was "just a joke", Ted is [[KarmaHoudini instantly forgiven and gets off scot free]], because of course he is.

* [=RippenFan13=]: I don't really subscribe to the idea of "worst episodes," since I don't like to focus on the negative, but "Buster Gets Real" is certainly not on my list of top episodes, and belongs here. Basically the plot is Buster stops liking Bionic Bunny in favor of a new reality show called ''Top Supermarket Clerks,'' with the excuse being that Bionic Bunny "isn't real." While the intended Aesop is that people can like different things and still be friends (as Arthur is worried he can't be friends with Buster anymore since he doesn't like BB) the DMOS comes from two reasons; 1). [[BrokenAesop This is completely forgotten about]] and, in later episodes, [[StatusQuoIsGod Buster is back to liking Bionic Bunny again]] and 2). Buster makes it sound like if something isn't real, it has no value, [[{{Hypocrite}} says the fictional humanoid rabbit]].

* AngelLovingDude: For me, the [=DMoS=] for Arthur is season 13's "The Secret Origin of Supernova". Not really a dethroning moment of suck, more of a dethroning episode of suck. The plot is that Arthur and Buster are going to a comic book convention and are going to be cosplaying, with Arthur as Dark Bunny and Buster as Bionic Bunny (which I'm pretty sure the episode "Buster Gets Real" explained he doesn't like anymore). While buying the costumes, Arthur spots an energy drink that he saw Dark Bunny promote on TV. When he takes it to lunch, the Brain says that it's basically junk food which prompts Arthur to throw it away. But then, he hates Dark Bunny because he was promoting something not terribly healthy. Not only is that a very petty reason to stop liking something, but it's also hypocritical on Arthur's part since he's been shown eating unhealthy foods many times before. And then Arthur goes and throws out every single item with Dark Bunny on it. To say Arthur is going overboard is an understatement. Afterwards, he goes to find a new hero. He buys a crapload of merchandise with the hero and I knew where this was going. At the supermarket, he sees cereal promoted by that superhero, and his father tells him it's basically sugar. Which, again, prompts Arthur to throw out everything that he just bought with that superhero. And then he chooses another superhero, which was one he loved when he was younger. At school, Francine sees him drinking from a water bottle with that superhero on it, so she takes him to the Kindergartners, who all find that superhero to be immature. So Arthur throws the bottle away. If I must choose a [=DMoS=], it is this one. Not only has Arthur been extremely wasteful with his money, but the writers just said "Screw you!" to their older fans by saying that you shouldn't like stuff that you enjoyed when you were younger because others might find it immature. Need I remind you that the plot of "That's A Baby Show!" from Season 4 was about Arthur finding a show that he enjoyed but others found immature? That episode has the message of "It's okay to like things that you're not the demographic for." This episode shits all over that nice moral. I hated that one scene so much, I stopped watching that episode and don't care to know what Supernova's titular secret origin is.

* AngelLovingDude: For me, the [=DMoS=] for Arthur is season 13's "The Secret Origin of Supernova". Not really a dethroning moment of suck, more of a dethroning episode of suck. The plot is that Arthur and Buster are going to a comic book convention and are going to be cosplaying, with Arthur as Dark Bunny and Buster as Bionic Bunny (which I'm pretty sure the episode "Buster Gets Real" explained he doesn't like anymore). While buying the costumes, Arthur spots an energy drink that he saw Dark Bunny promote on TV. When he takes it to lunch, the Brain says that it's basically junk food which prompts Arthur to throw it away. But then, he hates Dark Bunny because he was promoting something not terribly healthy. Not only is that a very shallow reason to stop liking something, but it's also hypocritical since he's been shown eating unhealthy foods many times before. And then Arthur goes and throws out every single item with Dark Bunny on it. To say Arthur is going overboard is an understatement. Afterwards, he goes to find a new hero. He buys a crapload of merchandise with the hero and I knew where this was going. At the supermarket, he sees cereal promoted by that superhero, and his father tells him it's basically sugar. Which, again, prompts Arthur to throw out everything that he just bought with that superhero. And then he chooses another superhero, which was one he loved when he was younger. At school, Francine sees him drinking from a water bottle with that superhero on it, so she takes him to the Kindergartners, who all find that superhero to be immature. So Arthur throws the bottle away. If I must choose a [=DMoS=], it is this one. Not only has Arthur been extremely wasteful with his money, but the writers just said "Screw you!" to their older fans by saying that you shouldn't like stuff that you enjoyed when you were younger because others might find it immature. Need I remind you that the plot of "That's A Baby Show!" from Season 4 was about Arthur finding a show that he enjoyed but others found immature? That episode has the message of "It's okay to like things that you're not the demographic for." This episode shits all over that nice moral. I hated that one scene so much, I stopped watching that episode and don't care to know what Supernova's titular secret origin is.

** SilverWings: I too saw the episode as a kid and D.W's behavior before and after being hit had me convinced that she was faking the entire time. Even when I realized that this wasn't the case, I couldn't sympathize with D.W. because of how she refused to find any fault in her behavior. That coupled with the way Arthur was treated after the incident made this episode feel like more of a ShaggyDogStory.

** SilverWings: I also saw the episode as a kid and D.W's behavior before and after being hit had me convinced that she was faking the entire time. Even when I realized that this wasn't the case, I couldn't sympathize with D.W. because of how she refused to find any fault in her behavior. That coupled with the way Arthur was treated after the incident made this episode feel like more of a ShaggyDogStory.

* notahandle: ''On the Buster Scale'' was the first episode from Season 16 that made the rest of it irredeemable. The plot of the episode can be summed up as "Buster and Brain disagree on movies", but everything else made me yell at the screen at the their stupidity. First off, Arthur and the rest of the gang come off as easily manipulated sheeple, agreeing on the two no questions asked. Secondly, Buster gets his own column in the local newspaper, which of course his friends say yes, ending up having one of his reviews being the blurbs on a film billboard. [[SarcasmMode Hooray for nepotism]]. Thirdly, when Buster and Brain show off their reviews in the sugar bowl, an employee asks the two what film should he watch with friends. [[SarcasmMode Because third graders are the utmost authority in cinema.]] Finally and most infuriating Arthur calls out the two critics for their competition, saying that they should respect other people's opinion. Funny enough that he and the rest ate up the reviews, whenever it be Brain's smartassery or Buster's ramblings, showing no sense of self awareness. It would been a better episode if the two were more like Siskel and Ebert, having mixed reactions but overall message of having and respecting different opinions, but this episode seemed to think that getting its message was through [[IdiotBall dumb characters]], [[ConflictBall unneeded conflict]] and abuse to the suspension of disbelief.