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Peppa Pig: Sun, Sea & Snow DVD Rant

Reviewed: 01/02/2018

Peppa Pig! *SNORT* *SNORT*! Peppa Pig!

Moving right along; it's time for the Sun, Sea & Snow edition of Peppa Pig as there is a lot of sun, sea and snow; along with secrets, secret clubs, Pedro's cough, mirrors and much, much more. So, let's rant on shall we?

Secrets is written by Ange Palethorpe and (The) Sleepover is written by Chris Parker. This is all I could find on Ange. Mostly directed two shorts: Thunder Pig and Altered Ego. Did stop-animation for The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse and Sainsbury's: The Greatest Gift is Ange's most recent credit. That's about it. Animation is done by Astely Baker Davies animation; with the two mentioned creators and Phil Davies.

Sun, Sea & Snow: We begin this DVD set with episode #135 (series (season) 3) on the animation paper with the STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) with lots of piano playing in the background. We zoom into Peppa & George's bedroom as Peppa and George are already in their beds with their toys. Daddy Pig explains that they are going tomorrow on the couch trip to the sea side. Peppa wants to make sandcastles and Mummy Pig wants to swim in the water. Daddy Pig proclaims that tomorrow, it is going to be sunny as the adults say good night and switch off the light. There is one problem: Daddy Pig didn't take into account the evening forecast which apparently dumps 50 CM of snow! There is no indication that it's winter time in this show; nor even a freak snowfall in the fall. The writers did this; just because they thought it was funny; even if it doesn't make a lick of sense. Morning arises and Peppa wakes up and checks the window. She is shocked and appalled because this is the worst snowstorm since White Juan back in 2004. Peppa and George run into the adult's bedroom and they bounce on the adults bed to wake them up. Well; Daddy Pig got what he deserved for not checking the night forecast beforehand. Daddy Pig has his green hat and scarf on as everyone is dressed and in the lobby. Daddy Pig opens the door and it's completely blocked with snow; but even snow cannot withstand DADDY'S BIG TUMMY~ and he goes through the snow like hot butter. Snow says "screw you!" and Daddy returns looking like the most movable Frosty The Snowman you have ever seen. It's things like this that make me love this show. I love Peppa's reaction during this entire sequence with her loving this; and then being disappointed that it's Daddy Pig cosplaying a snowman. That was funny. Even funnier; they then proceed to dry off Daddy Pig with color towels and laugh all around with cute music. HAHA! That was also funny. Peppa wants to go to the seaside; but Mummy Pig thinks the coach will never make it to the house in all that snow. It's all over for this episode....

Oh wait; and guess what happens next? The blue bus arrives with a giant snow plow (ala the plow from The Time Bandit in TaleSpin) with Miss Rabbit driving the bus and even remembering to put the plow in front; making Daddy Pig look like an even bigger tool for my own amusement. So; everyone gets it as the narrator explains it all. Madame Gazelle, Mummy Sheep, Mummy Cat, and Granddad Dog for the adults. The children are Danny Dog, Candy Cat, Suzy Sheep, Rebecca Rabbit, Richard Rabbit, Emily Elephant and I believe the rant debut of Edmond Elephant. Edmond is voiced by Jonny Butler in Series 3/4 and Victor Wade in Series 5. Jonny only did this show and Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom as Jake Elf and Tarquin. Victor Wade only voiced in this show. So Miss Rabbit rings the bell and drives the Bus Plow of Greatness down the opposite side of the hill as we jump cut to the road; which has been plowed and is being sanded by a dumptruck driven by the debut of Mr. Labrador and shoveled by the debuting Mr. Rhino; while Mr. Bull supervises. I should note that in Britian it's called "gritting the road" and the sand is called "grit". So the bus stops and for the first time; there is evidence of a scene in this show where the vehicles are driving on the opposite side of the road; compared to driving on the same side of the road in America. So we exchange notes; and Mr. Bull declines Miss Rabbit's offer to come with them to the beach, since he has more roads to grit. At least he isn't destroying playgrounds. Yet. So the bus drives on and we have the TEDDY RUXPIN SONG OF DOOM to pad the running time. So they make it to the beach and it's covered in snow; and apparently; the lifeguard umbrellas are still posted on the beach for some reason. Everyone gets out as Miss Rabbit and Mummy Pig exchange notes about the ocean water. Madame Gazelle is in her black swimming suit and goggles, and she don't care because she is tough. Gazelle runs down and jumps into the water; and she loves it. Miss Rabbit fakes an ankle injury and Mummy Sheep does the worst faking of a cough ever. She didn't even try to sell this properly.

Mummy Pig isn't so sure and Gazelle encourages her so much that she strips off her clothes to reveal her two piece swim suit. And yes; she strips on-screen! She dives in and Mummy Pig is freezing her piggies off as the adults are telling her to move to warm. This is coming from Miss Rabbit and Mummy Sheep; whom tried to weasel their way out of swimming about a minute ago. What cowards?! Mummy Pig runs out of the sea to her family and the Pig family has their towels on full blast to dry her off. Wow; I thought this mockery of women was limited to The Blackberry Bush episode; but even my imagination was limited. So Miss Rabbit brings out her ice cream cart and everyone eats ice cream cones; because even Old Man Winter cannot stop the joy of eating ice cream. Daddy Pig wisely weasels his way out of swimming; but doesn't eat ice cream for some reason. Peppa is not happy because she wanted to make sandcastles. So; Daddy brings out the toy shovel and bucket; because despite the snow covering the sand; they will make snowcastles instead. He demonstrates the fine art of snow castle building; which is the same as sandcastle building, only with snow instead of sand. Peppa Pig loves the seaside with snow. Everyone loves the seaside with snow. Well; except for the ones who tried to swim and fail -- not you Madame Gazelle --; then they didn't quite like it. Everyone does the backsplash laugh in response as Madame Gazelle is still swimming in the ocean and doesn't give an elf to end the episode at 4:40 approx. There's a lot of episodes on the DVD set that end with a song that is not sang by Peppa Pig I should note. Miss Rabbit is a shining light in this episode and it's going to get even more amazing later on. A fun little episode with Mummy Pig proving that she can be as big of an idiot as Daddy Pig can be. *** 1/2 (70%).

Snowy Mountain: Before I continue on; I should note that this episode uses the snowy opening of Peppa Pig as seen in Peppa's Christmas, instead of the normal opening. So we head to a series (season) 4 episode with Episode #206 on the animation paper as we open the episode in the snowy plains with snowy mountains and a full covered snowy road as the Pig Family is in the car dressed in their full winter gear as seen in Peppa's Christmas. Then everyone stops as a bus driven by Miss Rabbit shows up. Today's crew is led by Mr. Bull, Madame Gazelle, Danny Dog, Candy Cat, Pedro Pony, Suzy Sheep, Emily Elephant, Zoe Zebra and the rant debuts of Freddy Fox and Wendy Wolf. Wendy Wolf is voiced by Chaniya Mahon who voiced this show and Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom as Rosie Fairy. Freddy Fox is voiced by Max Miller in half of Series 3 and then Jamie Oram from the second half onwards. Jamie's resume was George in Doctor Who and Charlie in one of the Doctor Who video games in 2011. From there it's Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom as Joe, Raa Raa The Noisy Lion as Ooo Ooo, Borgia as Prince Ferdinand of Habsburg, Woolly & Tig as Woolly, Ella Bella Bingo as Henry and this show. PLOEY - You Never Fly Alone as PLOEY is his most recent credit. He was also himself in the Doctor Who Confidential documentary. That's about it. Max Miller has this show only; although someone is claiming that he was in a Max & Ruby Game, I doubt that claim very seriously. So the car drives past them as the kids are there to ski. So Daddy Pig tries to drive the car up the hill; as the Pig Family thinks that the car can do it. The car is all like "Nope" and slides down the hill. Mr. Bull proclaims that they will have to take the ski lift instead. When Mr. F'N Bull makes more sense than you; you need to park your masucilinity at the door. Jump cut to the ski lift as somehow, the parents have shown up with the kids despite none of them showing up in the bus; outside of Mr. Bull. That's bad continuity there, guys; I'm sorry to say. Daddy Pig is dumb as he doesn't look where he is going and is forced to sit down on a ski lift chair and is strapped in.

So the rest of the Pig family seats themselves in the chair behind Daddy Pig and apparently, Daddy Pig is afraid of heights; which is ironic since that's been George's gimmick for a while. Although Daddy Pig's height fears are much more believable than George's. Peppa trolls Daddy Pig during this and then begins singing; just to make Daddy Pig look like more awkward than he needs to be. So we reach the snowy top of the mountain and Daddy Pig's barrier opens and he does a faceplant into the snow and buries himself. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And then becomes the snowman of doom again, as in the last episode I ranted on when he pops up. Also funny. The rest of the family opens their barrier and gets off without any problems as Peppa cannot resist mocking Daddy Pig for his stupidity. Daddy Pig shakes the snow off of himself as the kids giggles and then we jump cut to something that blows my mind. The ski rental booth. Guess who is running the booth? Miss Rabbit in full winter gear. There has to be two Miss Rabbits; there is no other explaination for this. And as we will see in the Mirrors episode; they found an out from this. So it's time to get some skis and be taught ski lessons from Madame Gazelle. Freddy Fox and Wendy Wolf aren't present at this for some reason. Danny Dog asks if they are skiing down the mountain; the answer is no, it's the baby hill (according to Gazelle; narrator calls it the little hill here for some reason) today. No one cared as we do some ski lessons as in Britian, ski poles are sticks. WEEEEEEEE~! Brake by crossing their skis towards each other and they all stop. So the kids want to do it again and try to slide uphill; but they slide down; because as Gazelle demonstrates, you go up sideways to climb hills like a crab. The kids giggle at this as when they get on the top of the hill; Peppa wants to see Madame Gazelle ski and Gazelle is reluctant to do so. But the power of the PLEASE overtakes her and she must show off her skiing skills. Which are as good as her icy swimming skills it seems as everyone pops for it. Mr. Fox has returned for no reason as Gazelle skis back and proclaims that she was once a World Champion Skier. Heh.

She even shows off a trophy out of nowhere for good measure. I'm guessing she's a world champion swimmer as well. So Gazelle asks if the adults would like to try and Mummy Pig accepts this challenge. Daddy Pig is skeptical of this, since Mummy Pig hasn't skied in years. Mummy Pig is confident that she remembers; and I should point out something: Super Smash Brothers comes out every five years and despite having the same controls, I always have to re-practice the controls because I suck at the game on the first playthrough, because my twitch senses dull when I stopped playing Smash after six months. Yeah; this is not going to end well for Mummy Pig. Gazelle offers the little slope; but Mummy Pig blows it off and skis in the opposite direction, right down the mountain. Ooops! Mummy Pig cannot stop; so everyone has to follow her as Mummy Pig is down to the bottom of the slope; next to the bus and Mr. Bull. Mr. Bull dodges Mummy Pig and Mummy Pig is skiing on the road. Everyone is in the bus, including Mr. Fox; as Wendy Wolf and Freddy Fox have been written out by teleport. Yes; Mr. Fox has abandoned Freddy Fox. That was bad and it tainted an otherwise funny episode thus far. Peppa claims that Mummy Pig is skiing super fast and she does some freestyle ski flips unintentionally for fun and my amusement. Gazelle cannot believe this as that was a loop-de-loop for only 15 pounds. Mummy Pig skis through town. Mummy Pig screams how she is going to stop. Mummy Pig takes a sick bump into the door at the house on the hill; flops onto her back and is buried with the snow on the roof. Anyone want to bring up how men are being mocked on this show now?! Mummy Pig comes out of the carnage and is a snow woman now. So yeah; cockiness is toxic, and this episode proves it. Everyone gets out as Mummy Pig shakes the snow off of herself and Gazelle is so impressed by this that she gives Mummy Pig her trophy. Mummy Pig is blushing like "oh come on, now!" as Peppa proclaims that she's the best at skiing down the mountain. Everyone does the backsplash laugh for fun; except for Miss Rabbit in the bus to end the episode at 4:30. I love this episode; but the logic breaks hurt it. And what a cruel hearted person Mr. Fox is, leaving poor Freddy Fox behind! *** 3/4 (75%).

Foggy Day: So we made a U-turn back to series (season) 2 with Episode #70 on the animation paper and we begin this one at the house on the hill as the red car is not only facing the proper direction; it's parked on the flatest part of the hill. YAY! It's a miracle! Someone on this show has a clue! George and Peppa run out of the house as Daddy Pig follows and gets into the car. Daddy Pig wants to drive Peppa and George to the playground; but Mummy Pig says no, we are walking today. We get a shot of the playground where Peppa points which is on a steep hill with a white fence and purple gate. It looks like a playground in someone's backyard; rather than one you see in a public playground. Daddy Pig decides to get out and they walk down the hill stage left as Peppa skips to her lou; she wishes she was ultra-cool sidekick Toadwart. Everyone giggles and now it's foggy. Good thing Daddy didn't drive them; he might have crashed into something. Peppa wonders where the sky went as Daddy explains that it's fog and that fog is a cloud on the ground. It's actually visible cloud water droplets; so Daddy Pig is well within the dartboard on this one. Zoom out and the Pig family is in shadows because they cannot see a darn thing. Daddy and Mummy Pig decide it's time to go back home; because it's just too foggy, which causes the kids to sulk. The narrator talks and the family acts like they notice the narrator talking and are confused. HA! Daddy Pig assures them that they are not lost and walks in the right direction (sort of); but doesn't WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE~! HAHA! Apparently; Daddy's glasses and the bump has bumped his compass and they are now walking in the opposite direction. I would call this incompetence; but it's too foggy, so I chalk it up to poor weather conditions for this brainfart. Lots of skipping as Peppa is like me when I think there is no hope of ever coming home. Daddy Pig assures that everything is fine; and then we meet the PICNIC DUCKS~! Peppa interacts with them about being lost; and Daddy Pig insists that they are not lost. So in other words; they are engulfed by the thick fog. I'm just saying Daddy Pig.

So Daddy Pig walks stage left and basically; he falls into the duck pond with a resounding splash. HAHA! Daddy pops from the water and does a really pathetic spit take on the way out. Daddy Pig has found the pond. Surprisely; the pond still has water in it. The ducks hop into the pond as Peppa calls it lucky. I'll say! Everyone giggles and quack as Daddy bows and that is that. Daddy Pig splits the water with the ducks to get out on the right side of the pond. Daddy Pig acts like a real dog in drying himself and nearly gets everyone wet in the process. Then we hear a familiar voice saying hello and in comes Rebecca and Richard being held by the voice known as Miss Rabbit and her not so flashy flashlight. We meet and greet; and yes Rebecca admits that they are lost. So the Rabbit family wanted to go to the playground; but got lost because FOG~! Daddy Pig is still too stubborn to admits that they are lost and everyone follows Daddy Pig east. They find a hill and go up the hill as Daddy Pig is claiming that they are finally home. However; we see on the top of the hill, a steel ladder. Hmmmm; I wonder what that steel ladder is attached to. So Daddy checks the ladder, all confused; and discovers something amazing. He offers the kids to go up and lo and behold; Peppa and the kids are on top of the slide as the fog finally burns off to reveal the playground. Which means; the white fence and purple gate are completely useless. Peppa and Rebecca do a sing-song sliding down the slide as George and Richard play on the see-saw; and then Peppa and Rebecca play on the swing set with glee. Mummy Pig is sort of confused here because they were trying to get home; which is funny considering that originally, they wanted to go to the playground. Daddy Pig sort of admits that they were lost after all as everyone laughs to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Yeah; this was cute. *** 1/4 (65%).

The Rainy Day Game: Here is Episode #166 on the animation paper as we begin with the STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM as it's raining. If you cannot guess the final spot of the episode; you have no business reading this rant. We zoom into the kitchen at the table with the Pig family as Mummy Pig is reading a dancing magazine called EZZA while Daddy Pig reads the newspaper. Peppa and George complain about the rain as Daddy loves rain since it makes muddy puddles. DING! So ten seconds in; they aren't even hiding the payoff to this episode. Peppa wants to do it now and opens the door; teasing to go out; but Mummy Pig cuts her off and they go back inside. Peppa asks when the rain will stop and they decide to listen to the out of nowhere aqua green radio on the kitchen counter. I have no idea who voices the radio announcer and IMDB isn't helping me in that regard. I'm guessing all day as the announcer proclaims that it'll rain all day and Peppa and George groan on cue. So Daddy Pig plans to have the rainy day game; hence the episode title. Peppa asks what it is and we head into the bathroom as he demonstrates the game with a rubber duckie on the rim of the bathtub. So; it's basically hide and seek with international objects. So Peppa picks George to go first; because she thinks this game is too easy, you see. Daddy Pig goes into Peppa and George's room and I believe he hides the rubber duckie in the toy basket; because I see him stop at the toy basket. Well; he doesn't as it's on top of the book shelf in between the upside down car and glass of colored pencils. LOOK WITH YOUR EYES~! WARMER~! He finds it and everyone pops. Peppa blows this off because she saw it straight away; so this game is too easy. Mummy Pig sees this as a dare and it's Peppa's turn now. Mummy gets to hide the rubber duckie and she's hidden it in the kitchen somewhere. Peppa is confident that she'll see it straight away. Mummy Pig calls for the family as they all come into the kitchen. I can see straight away that the rubber duckie is in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. Peppa I think calls it a rabbid duckie; just to make this even more obvious now.

Of course; Peppa looks in the wrong places because her cockiness is showing up full blast. Peppa now has to ask for a clue and since she said please; Mummy Pig claims that it's sitting on something with yellow around it. Ten seconds later; Peppa sees the rubber duckie and grabs it. Peppa squeezes the rubber duckie and wants to play this game again. So round three is Daddy Pig hiding the rubber duckie in the living room and this time, Peppa and George can tag team to find the rubber duckie. Oh; and when we head inside, we clearly see the rubber duckie is on top of Daddy Pig's head. It's almost like he's doing this just to be silly; instead of making it challenging. I should note that in Britian; the living room is called the sitting room. So the kids all run in and they cannot find it; and George's "no" is always a hoot to hear. I think Peppa needs to remember the pitfalls of over-confidence. They give up in two tries as Peppa wishes for a clue and Daddy Pig's clue is that it's on something big and wise. I was hoping Peppa comes over and thinks it's his big tummy; and then discover that it's not. Sadly; Mummy Pig gave it away and Peppa notices the rubber duckie on his head. Oh; and apparently; the window has been moved to behind the television, just to inform us that the sun is shining. Which means the rainy day game is heading to it's logical conclusion: Everyone gets their boots on and heads outside, because it's the game that gets everyone in this show out of trouble: Jumping up and down in muddy puddles. DING! After some G-rated foreplay; we find the muddy puddle and everyone jump up and down in said muddy puddle to end the episode at 4:30. This is one spot I don't mind them overkilling; because it always brings such joy to me. Seeing Peppa get schooled in the rainy day game is glorious too **** (80%).

Night Animals: Here is Episode #192 on the animation paper as we begin this one on the white house on the hill AFTER HAPPY HOUR as the back door opens and out comes Grandpa Pig with a bucket and flashlight. The narrator explains that George and Peppa are having a sleepover at the grandparents' house tonight. Out comes Peppa and George in their pj's asking Grandpa where he's going with his boots on since it's bedroom. Grandpa Pig explains that he's collecting slugs and snails; and Grandma Pig explains that they eat up his garden. He also has his torch (flashlight) and Peppa asks if they can come; and Grandpa says "just this once". Peppa and George bail; and return with coats and boats on over their pjs; which the narrator explains to us. Peppa get the bucket and they all go down the hill to fetch a pail of snailslug bait. Har har. Grandma Pig tells them not to stay too long outside as they find two snails and a slug. Peppa calls slugs yucky; so she's projecting. We jump cut to the chicken coup with four chickens which have actual names: Vanessa, Neville, Sara and Jamima. Grandpa Pig shines the torch on them and they hop into the chicken house and Grandpa Pig closes the door. So we exchange notes on why slugs and snails do not go to bed at night time and then Grandpa Pig turns around to see a red shirt fox with a mustache. This is I believe, the rant debut of Mr. Fox (voiced by the narrator); as they talk for a bit about chicken in the henhouse; and then Mr. Fox turns around and leaves without incident. That was the extent of his appearance in this episode. Grandpa Pig checks the bucket and there is a hedgehog in it; as it ate the slugs and snails. Yes; there is a body count even in a pre-school show, why do you ask? The kids meet and greet and then hedgehog turns into a pin cushion; so yes, the hedgehog hates little trolls like Peppa. Oh wait; the hedgehog is merely shy, because he comes out after some prodding from Peppa. So they wave goodbye to the hedgehog as it leaves as Peppa asks if there are anymore animals at night. Grandpa shines his torch upwards and we see a bunch of moths flying around for a while. Peppa is in awe of this.

Grandpa Pig explains the butterflies at night and demonstrates the return and bailing of the moths via the torchlight. Peppa is given the torch to demonstrates, which I declare is animal cruelty as she and George giggle. So; we keep the torch off and then pan up to see a firefly, in which Peppa confuses as a shooting star. Peppa also thinks that this fly is on fire; which it is not. Grandpa claims that it's tummy that glows; which is BS&P for ass by the way; since the ass of the firefly is growing. Understandable since it is a pre-school show. So Peppa asks if there are any giant animals in the garden and Grandpa says no. The tree shaking and bush shaking says otherwise as Peppa and George hide behind Grandpa. Grandpa shines the torch and it's Grandma Pig. Ah; close enough. So it's time to say good night to the animals as everyone walks back to the house and goes inside. George and Peppa are yawning, because it's past their bedtime as everyone says their good nights off-screen, since they only show the house on the hill the entire time. Guess they didn't have enough in the budget for a final scene here as we end the episode at 4:30 approx. This was all right; but not much to see here. ** 3/4 (55%).

Pedro's Cough: So; we head back to series 3 with Episode #108 on the animation paper and we open this episode with the Playgroup on the hill and zoom in as Peppa Pig, Suzy Sheep, Candy Cat, Zoe Zebra, Danny Dog, Rebecca Rabbit, Emily Elephant and Pedro Pony are sitting down to watch Madame Gazelle play guitar and sing. However; this lasts about five seconds, because Pedro is coughing in the most unconvincing way possible. This is such a vicious problem that Madame Gazelle has to ring in Doctor Brown Bear. I've already mentioned this in the first rant on this show that Doctor Brown Bear is a fine character, but is booked in such a way that it creates unrealistic expectations of the medical system in the UK and even in Canada. Although to be fair; they only have five minutes and that's only asking for burn out. Yes; Madame Gazelle's phone look like a toy; why do you ask? So we head to Doctor Brown Bear's office as it's your typical doctor's office, with a lot of Green Crosses used; as the Red Cross trademark being strictly enforced at this point. Brown Bear answers the phone (I wonder if there's a Polar Bear in this show?) as Gazelle informs him that Pedro is ill. I realize that Pedro might have come down with something right at that time and the symptoms have surfaced; but really, this is the defintion of nipping a cold in the bud and colds do not go away that easily. I would have called Pedro's mother and have her pick up Pedro and then Mummy Pony would call Doctor Brown Bear. As you will see; this bad decision is going to cause unforeseen consequences in this storyline. I should note that Doctor Brown Bear's office is a house on the hill and he has a police car like car with sirens, and white with green crosses on the door. And it runs under ambulance rules because it bypasses all the traffic on the right side of the road. So Doctor Brown Bear's office doubles as a hospital. Yeah; this is stupid as Brown Bear enters huffing and puffing. We do some checking on the cough as Pedro claims that it started when Gazelle was singing. Okay; that was funny. Brown Bear claims that it's not serious; but it could infect everyone. Uh-oh; this is going to be a problem...

So Pedro takes medicine out of the pink bottle and it's basically Buckley's Cold Remedy of doom, because it tastes awful and it works. Quite frankly; the reactions to the medicine by everyone was the best part of this episode as Pedro claims that it tastes like an old shoe covered in jam. Brown Bear is about to leave; and suddenly, Danny Dog and Suzy Sheep have the cough, or are faking it. Something tells me that they are doing it; just to see if Pedro is lying about how awful the medicine is. Brown Bear turns around and Pedro has that smile like this was his plan all along. What a horse's ass Pedro is?! Suzy calls the medicine carpet-flavored yogurt and Danny claims that it tastes like flowers. Brown Bear's reaction is so clueless it's not even funny. Peppa asks if he has ever been ill; and the good doctor claims that this has NEVER happened to him. Wanna bet this is the episode that Brown Bear gets Pedro's cough. Yes; we do the joke about doctors and eating an apple a day. It doesn't work if you are the doctor, logic-wise. Brown Bear leaves as all the cars stop outside as the bell rings. All the parents walk into the class room, including Daddy Pony, who is an eye doctor and fits glasses. And yes; there is an episode about him, it's just not on this set. So we exchange notes for a long while and then Gazelle tries to sing her song; and she catches Pedro's cough. And all the adults catch Pedro's cough; including Pedro's Mummy and Daddy. I also should note that this is Mummy Elephant's debut for rant purposes. So Peppa grabs Gazelle's cell phone and we head back to Brown Bear in his office talking to Peppa; because there are a lot of sick grownups in the school now. So yes; Brown Bear is on his way and then runs in after an ambulance driving sequence. Hello, Doctor Bear~! Everyone has spoonfuls of medicine as everyone hates the medicine; as Gazelle claims that the medicine tasted like custard with old socks. Peppa never got sick in this episode actually; as Pedro thanks Brown Bear for his services and Brown Bear claims that he's never ill...and then he coughs. Uh-oh! I knew this bear was a quack doctor! Brown Bear waves goodbye and leaves.

So yeah; Doctor Brown Bear is ill now and probably suffering from burnout. So Gazelle wonders what to do now and everyone frowns and groans on cue. So we jump cut to Brown Bear's office and Brown Bear gets out of his car; which is parked on the steepest side of the hill. He heads inside and if anyone doubts what I said about this office doubling as a hospital: There is a hospital bed in a room and Brown Bear lies in it. This is also stupid as the doorbell rings as everyone comes in with Suzy Sheep in nurse gear and Danny Dog has a fruit salad bowl. Pedro Pony has some pillows (In Britian they are cushions) and of course, Suzy Sheep makes the quack doctor take his own medicine! Brown Bear hates the taste as he calls it custard flavored, yougurt smelling socks. I think that is what he said, but either way Gazelle brings out the banjo and it's time to SING BABEE to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Yeah; this was a low point for the show; but the reactions to the medicine saved it somewhat; so ** (40%). I have no idea who voiced Mummy Elephant; I'm guessing Taig McNab, whose credits were this show, Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, and Most Haunted. What more can I say; but to say this episode tasted like custard flavored old shoes and socks.

The Secret Club: We continue on with Episode #143 on the animation paper to Suzy's house which is on the hill and the house is purple in color with a swing and drooping leaf beside it on the right side of the hill. Mummy and Daddy Pig's car arrives and yes, they park on the steepest side of the hill on the western side of said hill. Peppa jumps out of the car and runs down the opposite side of the hill. Suzy has a First Nations motif style tent and Suzy Sheep is in front of it at the bushes, wearing a Lone Ranger black eye mask. We meet and greet; which makes this scene look awkward. Peppa questions the mask and Suzy explains that she's in a secret club and doesn't want to be id'ed. This is not going to end well for Suzy. Peppa wants into the club; but Suzy claims that she must know the secret word to gain access inside. Peppa asks what the word is and Suzy claims that it's flubba double which confuses everyone, including the members of audience. Peppa repeats it and that's enough to get Peppa into the secret club. In comes Danny Dog on his bicycle with his blue flame helmet; and he sees Suzy right away. HAHA! In comes Candy Cat, Pedro Pony and Rebecca Rabbit on their bicycles; they aren't fooled by this either. Peppa and Suzy sushes them because this is a secret club; which apparently is the least secretive club I have ever seen. So we exchange notes and the secret word is now Shalama-cooky; and they all repeat it. Peppa is confused by this; as Suzy explains that the secret word changes to keep it a secret; which is completely ineffective when you tell them the secret word. So; they are in the club. Danny wants to know what to do here and Peppa claims that they so secret things in secret. What secret things? We all know you suck at doing secret things, as evident in episode #13 of this show. Oh; and there are secret missions to go on as Pedro Pony has no idea what they are talking about. Join the club! So; the kids dare Suzy into a secret mission and she tries to weasel out of it by having Peppa do the secret. Peppa points out that Suzy has the mask on; so Suzy gives up and bails to get some biscuits. It's British for chocolate chip cookies in case anyone doesn't know.

So Suzy literally practices the fine art of not being seen towards the house. She goes into the house and into the kitchen as Mummy Sheep is reading a book at the table with tea as there are cookies on a plate on said table. Suzy simply asks if she could have the cookies to her friends; saying please in the process. This is the worst secret spy ever. I was hoping Mummy Sheep would say no; but she doesn't. Suzy hops out of the house with the plate of cookies and then hidess and then simply runs to the secret tent with the plate of cookies; completely killing the gimmick. They pop and Suzy tells them to shush; and they pop softer and I can still hear it as normal. So they have their cookies and Suzy concedes that only an adult saw her (the one whom she asked for the cookies to begin with) to Rebecca Rabbit. Then, Mummy Sheep simply walks to the tent and gives him a tray containing glasses and a pitcher of juice. HAHA! Worst secret spy ever; I was right. Suzy is in denial; but the friends all notice right away that Suzy basically blew their cover and Suzy blushes like Daddy Pig. Peppa is not happy with this at all; as Mummy Sheep pleads with them to be in the secret club and the secret word is Picka-Needle-Noodle, which she repeats, so Mummy Sheep is in the club. The kids then all bail because here comes Mummy and Daddy Pig's car. Out comes Daddy Pig as he walks down the hill; leaving Mummy Sheep to defend the secret club. This is not going to end well for Mummy Sheep as Daddy Pig asks what is new and she blushes, backs up and blows the kids cover within seconds. The kids are moaning and Peppa decides to blow off Daddy and not allow him to join the club despite Daddy asking nicely; because he's an adult. So Peppa is either an idiot; or she thinks Mummy Sheep is not an adult and she's a troll. I pick the former in this case; as Peppa then tells Daddy to say the magic word. Uh-oh! I betcha it's Daddy's Big Tummy. It has to be that; since the gimmick of the trolls is to point out how huge Daddy's tummy is. Amazingly; it's actually "papa-deedle-doodle-dum; which Daddy Pig repeats and he's in the club. I guess even the kids are tired of fat jokes at this point.

So Mummy Pig is casually walking in as Danny Dog points that out for us. Peppa tells Daddy Pig to follow her in secret; which is basically stalking if I'm not mistaken. So Daddy Pig practices the fine art of not being seen; and Mummy Pig finds him within three seconds. I take it back; Suzy is not the worst secret spy ever. I'm so sorry for ever thinking that. Mummy asks why he is behind a bush; and he blushes and blows his cover; while making moral guardians gasp in horror because it appears Daddy Pig might have taken a dump. I say this because that's my face everytime I have to take a dump. Everyone gasps in horror as Mummy Pig likes to join the secret club and Suzy realizes that this secret club is a complete waste of time; and decides to not have it a secret club after all. Suzy and Peppa call it the Everyone's Secret Club; like the Jungle Aces Secret Midnight Club in that it's totally oxymoronic. Everyone loves it; they do the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Okay; remind me never to let these furries into my secret club. Although Daddy Pig can be my shield anyday of the week. ** 1/2 (50%).

Mirrors: Here is another series 4 show; which is Episode #197 on the animation paper. Episode opens on the house on the hill as we zoom into a window to the bathroom as Mummy Pig is placing a mirror on the wall. George runs in and admires himself as Mummy Pig has to explain that it is his reflection and not a second George. George don't care as Peppa comes in and she don't care either as it's time to find some shiny things. Jump cut to inside the kitchen as Daddy Pig is eating breakfast cereal with a spoon. Peppa and George bounce in asking for shiny things to look into and he gives them two spoons to look into as we do some simple science (and yes; there is an episode titled that, and that episode is the one that made me love this show for good) as we see their funny faces and them upside down in the spoon. I love this: Daddy Pig explains the whole science behind this and this confuses Peppa so much that she asks: "Is it magic?" and Daddy Pig stops and says "yes". I couldn't help but cackle at that. I realize that this will annoy some scientists; but Peppa is four years old, what can you do? Door bell rings and we cut to outside as Suzy Sheep is at the door. Peppa and George comes out and show Suzy the spoon and all the "magic" tricks she can do with said spoon. Peppa claims that it's magic, because Daddy Pig said so. Hee hee! So they look for more shiny things and they find a muddy puddle. However; since none of them have boots on; that means there will be no jumping up and down in them, today. BOO! HISS! They see a cloud in the reflection as Danny Dog and Pedro Pony bicycle in with their helmets on. Pedro invoking Occam's Razor is comedy diamond for me. Pedro always finds a way to be both correct and completely clueless at the same time. It's amazing to me. Peppa invokes the spoon on Pedro and he loves it of course as Suzy calls it a funny magic mirror spoon. I'm surprise no one has trademarked this yet. Danny suggests that there are tons of wobbly mirrors at the fair. So we head to the fair on the hill as we see what appears to be a recycled shot from another episode (Note Pedro Pony is at the hammer smash event with Mummy Pony and Mr. Bull) and then jump cut to the tent where the wobbly mirrors are as Miss Rabbit is the operator of this event. Okay. She cuts her promo and everyone runs into the tent stage left. So everyone is instantly amused by the wobbly mirrors of doom.

Peppa is gyrating her body for Suzy's amusement as Daddy Pig comes in; with Peppa asking how this is done. Daddy Pig invokes his science explaination on them and this confuses both Suzy and Peppa and Suzy responds: "So; it's magic?" and Daddy gives up and says "yes". That'll never get old for me. Science cannot catch a break in this show. Danny Dog loves his reflection in the wobbly mirrors as he has been squished while George goes to dinosaur heights; while Pedro gains a giraffe neck. Daddy Pig's mirror makes him look not fat. HAHA! Daddy Pig; you aren't the most mind blowing thing in this episode. That honor goes to Miss Rabbit; because then we see a second Miss Rabbit carrying two rabbit twins (Rosie and Robbie - I was hoping that Rosie was the one in the blue footy pjs and Robbie in the purple footy pjs; but no luck sadly.) and they are staring at her. Now; suddenly, the "Miss Rabbit taking multiple odd jobs" suddenly makes sense now. There are technically TWO Miss Rabbits; but one is the real Miss Rabbit and the other one looks like Miss Rabbit; but is her identical sister, Mummy Rabbit. This is actually brilliant and it kills the logic break of Miss Rabbit having way too many jobs to kill the believability of the angle. Although this show did find a way to kill the believability of the angle in spite of that. More on that in "The Golden Boots". Also; it is going to confuse a lot of people in the long run asking questions like "Is this the real Miss Rabbit; or her twin sister?"; but that is minor compared to killing the angle's believability, so I have no problem with this. Miss Rabbit handles Rosie Rabbit as everyone in the tent comes out and Daddy Pig has so bought into this hook, line and sinker that he believes Mummy Rabbit holding Robbie is an invisible mirror. This serves to show that Peppa was right about this magic; which Daddy Pig thinks it's magic. That made me laugh. Peppa blows him off as being silly because it is Mummy Rabbit and Miss Rabbit. SUCKER~! The rabbits are so modest about this since they are sisters as balloons rise up and all the non-rabbit furries do the backsplash laugh while the rabbits all laugh; including the baby twins to end the episode at 4:30 approx. This was an awesome episode: They took a simple concept and played it to the hilt and we even got actual development for the best character on the show, Miss Rabbit. This is not the best episode of the series; but it's close. **** 3/4 (95%).

The Noisy Night: So; we continue on with Episode #180 on the animation paper and the episode opens with another white house on the hill; only this time there is an apple tree with a swing attached to it. The Pig Family's car arrives and parks on the steepest side of the hill...AGAIN! So the narrator explains to us that the family is having a sleepover at Chloe's house tonight. So the entire Chloe family meets and greets the Pig Family. Chloe is voiced by Abigail Daniels at this point (originally Eloise May in Series 1 and 2) and Zara Siddiqi in Series 4 onward. Zara you already know since she also voiced Candy Cat at some point. Abigail Daniels I have nothing from her; I assume she only voiced this show. Auntie Pig I mentioned before; is voiced by Judy Flynn at this point; who also voiced Mummy Dog. She's wearing a spotted dress and yellow eyebrow liner. Uncle Pig is voiced by the narrator of this show and he's Daddy Pig's brother basically. He doesn't wear glasses and has a barely grown mustache and beard. The infant Auntie Pig is carrying is Baby Alexander, who is voiced by Alice May in Series 2 through 4. So we meet and greet for a while. Baby Alexander is clearly six months old at this point as everyone gets into the house because the house on the hill is very far away and an early evening would be nice, in spite of the fact that it's still clearly the early afternoon hours. So everyone goes into Baby Alexander's bedroom as Chloe's family puts Baby Alexander in her drum shaped bed stand overlooking a music playing ceiling mobile device twisting around in the area. Apparently; Baby Alexander loves noise; although by the end of this; it was clearly the noise of BA's own voice. The mobile music cures BA's insomnia and BA is snoring. Uncle Pig proclaims that they are a noisy family; and when this episode is over, I will fully agree with them. I'm shocked that the community hasn't filed a noise complaint against the Chloe family after this episode is over. Chloe tells Peppa and George that they are sleeping in her bedroom tonight; and not just her bedroom, literally in her bed actually as Chloe is sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor next to her bed.

Everyone says good night as we have jump cutted to outside as it's AFTER HAPPY HOUR; and boy, truer words were never spoken on this night! All the lights get turned off and the narrator's voice causes Baby Alexander to wail like crazy. At least when George and the other little kids cry; it sounds like music to my ears. Not Baby Alexander; BA's crying is downright horrible here. The lights get switched back on as we jump cut to George and Peppa waking up and hearing the sounds of a vacuum cleaner in the background. Chloe explains what it is and everyone runs into the baby's room as Uncle Pig in pj's is vacuuming the floor at night. Even Daddy Pig is questioning this; as it should be obvious that this is an attempt to calm BA down. Because you see; BA hates no noise. So yes; it's four minutes of the families trying to get BA to asleep with noisy objects. I'm glad I tackled this episode last, because if I tackled it earlier, I would probably get pissed off. So we try to get back to sleep and of course BA wakes up crying. So we vacuum clean and Auntie Pig plays the trumpet and blushing like a beet doing this. Maybe dead silence in that room is a bad idea. Why not just play a soothing song over and over again? It's as noisy as anything on this show. I should note that a param is British for a baby carriage as Mummy Pig has a Krackpotkin Plan: Wheel BA around the house fifty times; and of course, Daddy Pig has to do it. At least this was funny. Daddy Pig finally gets BA asleep and we do a long sequence because there is a security alarm in the house and it was turned off during this entire ordeal; but then switched back on when Daddy Pig came inside. That's an interesting attention to detail at least. So Auntie Pig brings BA upstairs as Peppa comes in admitting that she cannot sleep now due to the noise. Daddy Pig brings Peppa upstairs and of course; he chooses the middle door -- the one that makes it so obvious that it's Baby Alexander's room -- and switches on the lights. BA wakes up, looks into the hard camera and cries like crazy. At least this is Daddy Pig's fault and not the lack of noise. So BA hates light when it's trying to sleep, join my club!

The Chloe Family is so like "we're so used to this crap" that Uncle Pig and Auntie Pig have brought in the vacuum cleaner and trumpet. Mummy Pig cuts them off and invokes Krackpotkin Plan #2; which is funny because her original plan worked and Daddy Pig screwed up after the plan actually worked. Daddy Pig then recalls that they calmed George down by driving around in the car; which is the basically thing as riding George around in a carriage around the house. Daddy Pig runs down the house and opens the door and runs outside; forgetting that the alarm is set and the alarm goes off. Yes; it took THIS ALARM to wake the neighbours around the area in their houses up (the lights are switched on). Even BA couldn't wake up these people. Then; just to make this episode even more absurd; a rescue helicopter with neon green siren arrives and guess who is piloting the helicopter? If you guessed Miss Rabbit; you get the no-prize. This siren and spotlight somehow makes BA stop crying. HAHA! I also realize that Madame Gazelle and the Zebra family were the two houses shown in the far shots waking up. So everyone all right as Miss Rabbit turns around and flies away stage right. BA is snoring as everyone is relieved that Noisy Daddy Pig saved the day. Geez; Auntie Pig sure is loud as everyone except her (and BA of course) do the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Horrible crying aside; this wasn't good, because once Daddy Pig took over, it was almost good enough. ** 1/4 (45%).

Secrets: So, we take a whiplash turn back to series one with Episode #13 on the animation paper. We begin this one with the STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM as we zoom into the living room with Mummy Pig showing Peppa a purple box with pink stars on it. It's a special box for Peppa designed for her to keep her secret things that only Peppa can decide; but Peppa mustn't tell anyone. Peppa promises never to tell anyone what she puts in the secret box. Considering that the bedroom of Peppa is also used by George, this is a fools errand as she has an evil look on her face. Literally three seconds later; Peppa walks into the bedroom and George is RIGHT THERE and Peppa basically blows the secret box's cover right there. George is putting his cyan blue car upside down as he giggles; and then he tips it over as George wants to help Peppa. Peppa tells George to leave because only she decides. George walks out and Peppa slams the door so hard; I'm shocked George didn't cry on cue outside. Peppa giggles like she is evil as we cut to outside with George and then Peppa walks out with the box. That took literally five seconds. I betcha she took Mr. Dinesaur; because I put nothing past Peppa being a troll in this episode. Peppa tells George that the box is off limits and he cannot look inside the box. Narrator explains that George don't care about that and wants to look in the box. George is allowed to guess; and George thinks she's trolling him; so he says dinesaur. Peppa claims that it's not. Damn. George is confused as Peppa bounces down the steps as Daddy Pig is invoking the feather duster on a picture on the wall with an image of a bottle of red wine and a pear. So we exchange notes and Daddy Pig wants a chance to guess; Peppa sells and shakes the box to help him. Daddy Pig ponders this over and Daddy Pig claims that it's glasses, despite being on his face the entire time. That was clearly Daddy Pig playing mind games; he's not that dumb. Peppa calls him out of it though as Daddy must have a proper guess without mind games. Daddy Pig ponders it over -- again -- and it's Mummy Pig's shoes; which is wrong of course. So Daddy Pig lost the game after all.

So everyone enters the living room as George now has a cyan blue box with yellow stars on it. Mummy Pig is sitting on the couch as Mummy Pig admits that she made a box for George and only he knows what is inside. George shakes the box for fun; as Peppa wants to know; so she guess it's Mr. Dinesaur. George: No. I always love the way he says it. Short, blunt and to the point that he means it. Narrator sums this up nicely; and Peppa calls it too difficult. Well; being unpleasant is easy as hell; so yeah. Peppa doesn't like secrets; so this leads to Mummy Pig saying that they can show off their secrets, but at the same time. So the kids put the boxes down and backs up a few steps; Daddy counts to three and they open their boxes. George giggles like Ernie as he has a drum; which the giggling would have been better if it was a rubber duckie. Peppa has a trumpet and then they play their musical toys so loudly, even my ears are in slight pain right now. Daddy Pig asks if they have any more secrets and George checks his box to find a custard doughnut; while Peppa's box is empty. Peppa frowns; but it's Mummy Pig to the rescue with three custard doughnuts on a plater with white and purple sprinkles on top. So everyone takes one and Daddy Pig dares Peppa to guess where he's putting his and Peppa thinks it's in the fridge; but she's wrong. It's in Daddy's Big Tummy~! Yeah. Peppa is hiding hers in her tummy along with Mummy and George; as they eat the doughnuts and snort to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Remind me to never keep anything a secret from the Pig family. This was fine. ** 1/2 (50%).

The Powercut: So; we head to series 2 with Episode #99 on the animation paper. Just a note: In America; it's called "The Power Outage"; but even Powercut is easy to understand regardless of what English language you understand. How fitting since there was a lot of power cutting through the holiday season from all parts of Canada. Episode opens with the house on the hill BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) ; which makes the sky all purple. We have a lot of rock music in the background for this one as we zoom into the living room as Daddy Pig's chair is gone and replaced with a giant stereo system while Peppa and George are dancing to the music as the narrator explains the obvious to us as Daddy Pig is in the lobby cleaning the carpet with the vacuum cleaner and doing a decent job of it. Mummy Pig is in her office (which is called "her study") on the computer; probably typing another encrypted document for someone. And the power goes out; and I'm worried about her computer being toast again. I mean; if all it takes is Peppa mashing keys to screw up that computer; then I will be very surprised if it ever comes back on. So everyone runs into the lobby; complaining, sort off. Mummy Pig tries the light switch; no go. There's no way I can suspend my disbelief for this because it's not pitch dark inside where you can only see the eyeballs. However; as I said before, if they don't animate this, critics will accuse the animator of being lazy. Again; the moral guardians care too much about "quality" and too little about being "effective and believable". So Mummy Pig tests the lights; no dice so it's a power cut. Peppa asks what is a power cut and Mummy Pig explains that it's when there is no electricity into the house. I should note that they don't explain how power cuts happen; but to be fair, I have no idea why this power cut occured. Peppa asks what electricity is and Daddy explains what it does; not what it is. He also assures Peppa that it will come back on; so he need to find a torch. Uh-oh; is Daddy Pig a...oh; I'm not going to do that joke! So Daddy finds a conveniently placed door as it opens up downstairs to the basement; which in Britian is called a celler.

So Mummy Pig asks if Daddy Pig is going to be okay and Daddy Pig says "yes"; a sure sign that he is going to not be okay and nearly kill himself. Although; we can blame this on the darkness and not Daddy Pig being an idiot. Daddy Pig walks down the steps and we have pitch darkness; which is a BS&P move to make sure Daddy Pig would be allowed to bump into a concrete wall with clown horn noises. Jump cut to the lobby as Daddy Pig still claims that he's fine, while crashing into stuff for my amusement. Then Mummy Pig just remembered that she put the torch in the kitchen and walks into the kitchen and goes into the drawers (NOT THOSE ONES~!) as Peppa and George giggle (NOT FUNNY~!); to find a flashlight; which means that a torch is a British name for "flashlight". Peppa wants the torch and she gets it and does a funny face to George; and the narrator says it all. This causes George to bawl his eyes out. George does not like funny faces; and Mummy Pig has to calm him down, assuring him that it's Peppa. George literally giggles as more funny faces ensue from Peppa. Mummy decides to go back to tell Daddy Pig about finding the torch and Daddy Pig is stuck in the dark looking for the torch and crashing into thing some more. Peppa yells from the top of the stairs that they found it and Peppa shines the torch down the steps; to allow Daddy Pig to come back up. Daddy Pig shrugs it off anyway; despite looking like a complete moron who nearly killed himself just to find nothing of note. So; it's time to wait out the power cut as Peppa asks how long it would take; and Daddy Pig says a long time. Yeah. The power cut I had on Christmas Day; took until 10 AM on Boxing Day to completely clear up after six attempts to keep the power on failed; which is about sixteen hours or so. Peppa is disappointed because she wants to dance. I should note that this family has no radio that is portable with batteries. Not a good idea to not have that in a power cut. Peppa and George run in and try to turn on the television...no power at all. Because anything that is wired is out due to...you guessed it. Peppa is disappointed and wonders what to do.

So, Mummy Pig remembers the olden days when there was no television and that children had to make up their own games. I have an idea: Dance like you did in the beginning of the episode, only hum the music yourself. That took me two seconds to think about and about thirty seconds to type it out to explain it. Peppa's got a plan! Peppa bails stage left and returns with a cardbox box and wants Mummy Pig to cut a hole in it; because you see, Peppa wants to cosplay a reporter on the television and she'll be in the box. Peppa orders everyone to sit on the couch as apparently; the television set has disappeared without a trace. Yes; we did see Mummy Pig cutting a hole in the cardboard box. George is given the torch by Peppa as he has to shine it at Peppa as Peppa goes into the cardboard box. The Peppa Pig News is on the air~! All this needs is televisions being thrown out of apartment buildings, ala SCTV just to make my life complete. Basically; she does the most hyperbole news item ever, claiming that the world stop due to the power cut; even though she is still around and going on. Her pronouncation of electricity is awkward as well as the crowd giggles at this. Mummy Pig is liking this as Peppa declares that the power will not be back for a long, long time. Literally one second later; the power is back on. This is so fake news! This power cut literally lasted three minutes. Did I just say....Oh, never mind. Peppa blows this off and orders the lights switched off. Daddy Pig switches off the lights as Peppa goes through another fake news story: The Queen has found more electricity and everyone is happy again. The end. HAHA! I cannot wait until we talk about the Queen of England in this storyline. She's awesome! So the lights are switched on, Daddy turns on the stereo and it's time to dance, dance, dance to their doom. HEEHEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummm...Yeah; they forgot all about the fake news and came back to reality to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Great episode filled with Daddy Pig being an idiot, Peppa Pig being a fake news broadcaster and the shortest power cut in the history of power cuts. **** 1/4 (85%).

(The) Sleepover: So to conclude this DVD set; we end with Episode #103 on the animation paper and we begin on that boring road; only it's HAPPY HOUR with Mummy Pig driving Peppa, who is in the back seat with Teddy, a cyan blue duffel bag and apparently; she's already in her night gear. Peppa is giggling for some reason; which might be the wind tickling her. Thankfully; she's wearing her shoes as they arrive at Zoe Zebra's house because it's time for a sleepover. Once again; they park the car on the steepest side of the hill as Mummy Zebra and Zoe Zebra (wearing a red dress with a crescent moon in the front) with her plush monkey. They meet and greet as Mummy returns to her car. Thank goodness they didn't show her driving down the hill in the opposite direction; because during the meet and greet; you could clearly see the car headlight pointing towards the house. That would have exposed the business. So they head into the lobby; which is the same lobby as Peppa's house; only in different colors. Suzy, Rebecca, Candy and Emily are already inside as they all meet and greet themselves and their plush animal figures. Emily's plush toy is a frog, Suzy (pronounced Susie in the captions for goodness knows what reason) has an owl and Rebecca has a plush toy carrot that she has to force to make a noise that doesn't exist. The gimmick of Rebecca is that she loves carrots. Again; if she was a real rabbit and not a rabbit/human; this would annoy me. Sadly; she's blushing because the eyes are funny and the kids all laugh. So everyone runs into the living room as Mr. Zebra is watching Formula One racing; which is like NASCAR racing; only with a lot less redneckery involved. The kids all run in and sit with Mr. Zebra; and Zoe changes the channel to Mr. Potato Head. I see the troll trait of Peppa has struck Zoe Zebra now. Zoe calls auto-racing boring; just to piss off the rednecks out there, which will always amuse me. Mr. Zebra does take it well as he smiles because the kids giggles; indicating that Zoe was telling the truth. Yeah; it's only exciting when it turns into a car wreck that you cannot look away despite all the efforts to try.

Mummy Zebra turns off the tele and tells Daddy Zebra to get upstairs for bed as Mummy Zebra turns off the lights and leaves. The kids all get their sleeping bags and here comes Zuzu and Zaza Zebra with their sleeping bags to crash the sleepover. They are wearing matching heart shirts and neight; but Zoe Zebra forbids them to. I smell bawling in stereo and damn I'm so good. Like George, they look into the hard camera like they are waiting for a signal when this happens. Another issue I have with this show: Only kids two and under bawl on this show. I have yet to see the four year olds or the adults cry. Now maybe there is an episode in this series where this happens and I missed it. But seriously; why can't the bigger kids and adults cry? I realize that this is a pre-school show and you are supposed to help the little ones; but seriously. It's okay for the big kids and adults to cry once in a while. In small doses, this helps the little ones understand that it's okay to cry and their feelings matter. Peppa's trolling does annoy me here as she basically loves them when they cry. Rebecca wants them to stay because they amuse her and Zoe decides okay; as long as they stay awake. The twins promise and they giggle. Peppa than notices a piano and Zoe sits on the stool (NOT THAT ONE!) and opens the piano. She is taking piano lesson and her playing of the piano needs a lot of work; and I do mean a lot of work. The kids it so much that they come up and bang on the piano keys like mad. None of them play any better than Zoe; but at least they can sing, sort of. Mummy Zebra turns on the lights and blows them off for waking her and probably Mr. Zebra. Ironically; Zuzu and Zaza were the only one behaving during this whole thing as everyone gets into the sleeping bags. The door is closed and lights are switched off. Peppa wonders what to do next and Suzy suggests a midnight feast; which is the signal to go into the kitchen and raid the fridge.

So they try to practice the fine art of not being seen; but these characters produces earthquakes that shake the house and Mummy Zebra is also a light sleeper. We don't see them raiding the fridge; but they come back with fruit as Peppa has an orange, Zoe has green grapes, Suzy has a green apple, Emily has bananas, Rebecca has a pear, and the twins have plums. Of course; they talk too much and Zoe Zebra turns on the lights and they are so BUSTED~! Even better; Mrs. Zebra is not angry that they raided the fridge; she's annoyed because they are waking Mr. Zebra; yet the kids drop their fruit and get into their sleeping bags anyway. So it's story time as Suzy decides to start telling a story about a fairy in the woods as everyone has a turn cutting a promo. Emily is awkward in this and is told to say anything unless it's boring. So Emily claims that the fairy met a big monster and Emily, like an idiot blows her trumpet causing everyone to scream, and the lights get turned in and in comes Mr. Zebra protesting. This is all on the kids and Mrs. Zebra this time. At least Zoe apologized for it and Mr. Zebra decides to get this over with and finish the story himself as he goes over to the piano and plays the piano perfectly while singing perfectly. It's moments like this that make me question why MRA groups hate media and entertainment and think men are mocked. I have more to say about this when I get to the episode "The Blackberry Bush"; but I'm tired of people (mostly bigoted men) who whine and complain about men being made fun of by women. This is what happens when men treat themselves like unassaliable gods and then fail miserably to deliver. This cures the kids' insomina and the kids are in their sleeping bags, snoring. Zoom out to the outside as the narrator sums up the ending and that ends the episode and the DVD set at 4:30. That was a great moment for Mr. Zebra and I enjoyed this episode. **** (80%).

THE REVIEW LINE

Well; this is one of the better DVD sets out there with four really great episodes and only two not so good ones. Pedro's Cough's problems are more with the way that they booked Doctor Brown Bear and it made him look like a complete idiot. The Noisy Night's problems were almost all on Baby Alexander's crying; which really hurt my ears, although Daddy Pig really saved the day here. Mirrors was awesome due to Miss Rabbit's character developer, The Sleepover due to a shining moment for Mr. Zebra, The Powercut was a favorite of mine; just for Daddy Pig's stupidty and The Rainy Day Game, just to see Peppa get schooled by her parents for being overconfident. The rest were all right to good; although Snowy Mountain was really sloppy with logic breaks. Overall; I am actually enjoying this show even more and I have demonstrated that it's possible to criticize this show and show the flaws, even in spite of it's purpose to keep kids from being upset. Peppa Pig is for the most part; doing it's job of that. So next up we go from winter to summer time with Sunny Vacation and the debut of the Goat family, more Mr. Fox, and Grampy Rabbit; along with television star Mr. Potato Head. YIIIPPPPEEEEE~! So...

Thumbs up The Sleepover, The Powercut, Mirrors and The Rainy Day Game; thumbs down for The Noisy Night, Pedro's Cough and thumbs in the middle for everything else and I'll see you all next time.

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