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Twenty Years Of Muddy Puddles: Peppa Pig Series Four #5 Rant

Reviewed: 05/02/2018
Additional Commentary/Edited: 08/18/2024

A Literal Anthromorphic Bull Goes To A China Shop!

Okay fans; I have now decided to rant on this series full time, because I do in fact like this show enough that I can handle the best and worst of the Pig family from Great Britian. Okay; so we head back to Series Four as we start the final eleven episodes as the gloves are finally off of this show and it turns from just a normal pre-school show into a legendary pre-school show. How do these episodes fare? Let's rant on shall we..?!

All the episodes are done by Neville Astley, Mark Baker and Phil Hall. Animation is done by Astely Baker Davies animation; with the two mentioned creators and Phil Davies.

Garden Games: This is episode #199 on the animation paper as the episode opens on the house on the hill with Daddy Pig sitting on his lawn chair at the back of the house reading his newspaper. Up comes Peppa and George who are bored. Daddy claims that there is a lot to do in the garden, like sitting down in a lawn chair and read the newspaper. (2024 Gregory Weagle Says: Ah, so Daddy Pig finally confesses that he is doing something instead of all this nothing nonsense he usually comes up with.) Peppa is not amused by this as I expected. In comes Suzy Sheep as all the kids are boring and sighting because they have been reduced to doing nothing...AND THE ROCK SAYS NOTHING! But, wait! Daddy Pig has figured out that there is a box containing a bunch of garden games as he bails into the house to get it. He returns and dumps them onto the ground as Suzy Sheep grabs the lawn bowling pins and tries to juggle them, sucking even more than Emily Elephant does. More on that in Peppa's Circus. In Britian; they are called Skittles, which here in Canada at least are not bowling pins, but a type of candy. Daddy Pig sets up the pins and gives Peppa a small purple colored heavy ball. (Which the ball looks like a purple Skittles candy without the S on it. Now, there is a meme just waiting to be used here!) Peppa chucks the ball, knocks two pins down and cheers. Suzy is up next, chucks the ball; and knocks all three pins down. HAHA! It's funny because Peppa was trolling and taunting her during this. Next up is George; who by virtue of being two years old gets to stand closer to chuck the ball. Kids don't care because when George chucks the ball, it stops five feet away from the pins. Peppa of course proclaims that he's too little for this game causing George to frown, turn around to face Peppa and bawl his eyes out. We play baseball next as George is the batter, Peppa the pitcher and Suzy plays shortstop basically. (In Britian, it's called "Bat and Ball", which also works, I guess.) Peppa pitches, George hits it and Suzy catches it for the easy out. This also causes George to bawl his eyes out. Daddy Pig takes the bat and there is a pitch. Daddy Pig swings and it goes through the door and shatters what might be a plate Mummy Pig was washing in the kitchen because Mummy Pig is shocked and appalled by this. Oh wait; it's worse: The ball landed in Mummy Pig's tea and splashes tea on the kitchen table since Mummy Pig, Mummy Dog and Mummy Sheep are having a tea party with cookies. Nothing was broken. Except for Daddy's brain, but that's always a problem. (Ooooo, another sick burn from former self there. The baseball effect can do that sometimes.) Daddy nicely asks for the ball, Mummy gives it back and tells him to play more carefully in future. (The baseball was a red Skittle with the S, I should note.)

No "the" in that sentence. If Starfire in "Infantible Teen Titans Go Fish" said this it would be "Please play with the ball more carefully in the future."; and that sentence would be as correct as what Mummy Pig said. (Hey, it's more accurate than Toddler Titans, that is for sure.) Daddy Pig apologizes and blushes. Oh, hello Danny Dog, come to see if Mummy Dog is all right?! Answer: She is. The answer to Pickle & Peanut's question of "How's your mom?". Answer: She's fine. Mind your own business. (Still is. Mind your own business, both sides!) Daddy Pig comes back and Suzy Sheep explains everything causing Daddy Pig to blush again. He is really naughty; and Danny Dog don't care. (Danny wanted to play the game and his tail wagged throughout this whole thing. By the virute of his tail, he wanted to break a glass window on the house. Thank goodness Daddy Pig decided to go to another garden games, because this was costing him money and a relationship at this point.) Daddy decides to bail from baseball and do the most sinister game of all time: AND NOW WE DO THE LIMBO~! This show is officially going to go to hell now. POW! OUCH! Ummmm... Suzy is hoping that this is high jumping; but it's low barring. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummm. Yeah; it's that time for me to be as annoying as humanly possible in these rants. (You can tell a reboot was in progress when former self is trying to make everyone cringe on purpose for it's amusement. It failed I should note.) Daddy Pig turns on his Hawaii style Fisher Price boombox and does the limbo without any problems. I'm surprised that he only used the third highest bar position for the first try. Then he goes to the third lowest position and DADDY'S BIG TUMMY~ pushes the bar off. He's done. Peppa trolls him on that and Daddy Pig blows her off because he claims that he cannot bend like he used to. Geez; I wonder why?! (Daddy Pig just self-owned himself.) Daddy Pig puts the bar on the second lowest position and all the kids do the limbo and go straight to...whatever. I'm shocked Peppa's nose didn't hit the bar during this since her nose is the highest thing on her face. (SUZY SHEEP~?!) George simply runs under the bar. Let's put the bar to it's lowest position and Peppa thinks she can do it, but her tummy hits the bar and falls off. Peppa declares this impossible as George simply runs and ducks under the bar multiple times. That should be a disqualification since you are supposed to walk forward with your face facing the bar, not facing the ground. The Mummies all come out and giggle to end the episode at 4:30 approx. (By the way, the limbo background music is just generic and plays during the end credits.) This show is back from limbo and having a good time. Fun episode again. *** 1/2 (70%).

Going Boating: Yippee! This marks episode #200 on the animation paper, which is equal to fifty twenty minute episodes! (Sort of. It's fifty twenty minute episodes plus five minutes extra for one of the specials. Or roughly 46 22 minute episodes if you want to get picky or 40 25 minute episodes with five extra minutes on top.) Yeah; this series hasn't gone too long at all. This episode opens on a lake in the thinned out forest as there are boats on the shoreline and on the water. The boat rental operator is Miss Rabbit of course. (Job #200!) There is a red life preserver on a post as the Pig family's car arrives; and everyone gets out. Mummy Pig has a picnic basket as Miss Rabbit is doing the hard sell; which is not needed here since there is no beach present to do anything other than boating. (Uh-oh! A picnic basket is here which means the ducks are coming to be fed and make animal biologists scream...AGAIN!) Miss Rabbit shows off her canoes, sailing boats and paddleboats, with Daddy Pig blowing off the sailing boat for being tricky and canoes because he doesn't want to paddle. Keep in mind; in the term "paddleboats"; the word "paddle" is part of it. Daddy Pig chooses the paddle boat because he is dumb. Also dumb; the kids are in lifejackets written in via teleport; but once again, the adults are not wearing them. (SUZY SHEEP~?!) Miss Rabbit has a bell which when she rings it; it's time to bring the boat back, so enjoy. Everyone gets into the boat and Daddy Pig is dumb, because he has to be reminded that he's the engine. Daddy Pig pedals the thing like a bicycle for a long ass whomping time. Peppa is singing and this causes Daddy Pig to blush because Peppa is taunting him like a troll. On the shoreline come the Elephant family; with Edmond and Emily wearing lifejackets. Is there a UK law that it is a crime to show adults wearing lifejackets on television?! (None that I am aware of. Not enough parents complained about it either.) They choose a canoe (the green #1 canoe) and get on board it. They start paddling and here comes Captain Dog and Danny Dog; who looks like a complete tool in a lifejacket and sailing cap. (Nah, the tail makes it even more so as it is extremely excited for this boating trip. It's just a fun sailboat ride, relax Danny Dog's tail!) I would think that Captain Dog of all people would wear a lifejacket since he's a sea captain, but alas he does not. I should note that paddleboats are known as pedalos in Britan. Captain Dog doesn't deal with that crap, so it's the sailing boat for him. (Since this is a lake, this does not violate the stipulations of his retirement, you see.)

Miss Rabbit asks him if he can work this thing and Captain Dog blows her off because he was a sea captain, dammit! What is Miss Rabbit's expertise in sailing?! Seriously; I would love to know. (Probably the same as operating a balloon ride: None.) Danny and Captain go aboard and they sail as we have to race to see which boat is more likely to cause Daddy Pig to blush to death. (Peppa saying that we are pedaling despite only Daddy Pig doing it is first rate trolling on Peppa's part.) Everyone finds the smallest lump of sand and bumps into it as Daddy Pig comes in last. In comes Mrs. Duck as the families decide to have their picnic in the boat as Mummy Pig brings out the picnic basket. Yes, the duck get fed more bread of course, just to annoy me further. (This would officially be the last time Peppa and family fed the ducks before The Golden Boots.) Everyone loves picnics, although Peppa is going to regret feeding Mrs. Duck when the Golden Boots comes hence. Miss Rabbit rings her bell as the time is up. That leads to the race of doom with nothing on the line, other than to see how much Daddy Pig blushes himself to death. Emily's team takes the lead as Daddy Pig is screwed. Mummy Pig tags herself in and they trade places. Mummy Pig pedals hard, she starts blushing and isn't going any faster than Daddy Pig is. This show buried both parents for my entertainment! Daddy Pig's smile says it all; but at least the Pig family is making progress. Because, you see, Captain Dog's ship hasn't gone anywhere because there is no wind at the lake. HAHA! That's what happens when you depend on nature to save you; it either doesn't care about you or secretly hates you. (It's all in the don't care coin former self, because it's incapable of caring period.) We have a lovely exchange about winds and then Danny asks about using the rear engine. Which Captain Dog blows off and then he folds out the back engine. HAHA! I know what happens next: Captain Dog wins from a lovely miracle comeback by using a rear engine. CHEAT TO WIN~! No, not really. Yup; it means the Pig family is in last place and Mummy Pig is screwed as she wants a sailing boat now since it has an engine. Danny Dog hops onto the shoreline after the miracle comeback win! (Yes, Danny Dog won a race without it being reverted to a draw! AWESOME! Danny Dog has won I believe three races at this point.) Captain Dog starts the engine and is leaving to go back to sea; even though they are on a lake and thus it's impossible for him to go to sea. HAHA! Danny has to tell him PROMISES and Captain Dog stops. He still loves boating, though. Everyone does the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. The narrator's acting has gotten a lot better since Series One and it makes for some really funny responses in Series Five. This was really fun; although I wish they stop feeding Mrs. Duck. *** 1/2 (70%).

Mr. Bull In A China Shop: Next up is episode #201 on the animation paper and the episode opens on a boring road with Daddy Pig driving his car; with the Pig family in tow. Sadly; they need to stop because Mr. Bull and his crew are digging up the road...AGAIN! Somehow; George has his out of nowhere digger toy in show of support for Mr. Bull. Apparently; they are replacing more rusted old pipes and crushing them with a crane and a wrecking ball from Mr. Labo, so someone is clearly overcompenstating here. (Remember what I said about Mr. Bull's deconstruction tendenices?! It'll all come to hilarious conclusion in Simple Science. This is the warmup rehearsal for Mr. Bull and company.) The kids are in awe as we hear a bell ringing and it's time for tea. You know, I realize that it will take as long as it takes, but tea breaks kind of kill that promo's creditability. There is a table that the workers sit at as Mummy Pig is not amused. Mr. Bull invites the entire family to tea. This is the same Mummy Pig who got pissed off by Mr. Bull making fat jokes at Daddy Pig and Mr. Labo using sexism to taunt Mommy Pig into playing a fair game in Funfair. This is not a good idea; but they accept the offer anyway. Mr. Bull goes into a small striped tent and returns with a tea set and cups, because everyone in this show is a British stereotype. Anyhow; the cups and pot are made of delicate china. (Apparently, despite there being five adults, there are six tea cups. So, Peppa is allowed to have hot tea?! Huge, if true.) He pours tea, then lightly drops it on the table and the tea pot shatters in exactly six pieces. He clearly got this dirt cheap from a pound store. (Ooooo, Mr. Bull will need to take as long as it takes to recover from that sick burn.) Mr. Rhino and Mr. Labo bring in the rivet gun and moto,; but Mr. Bull blows them off because this is no good. Peppa and George feel like director's today, I should note. Mummy Pig suggests going to Miss Rabbit's gimmick du jour #190: A china shop; and Mr. Bull calls it a good idea. Yes folks; the entire family and the construction workers are going in town in their construction vehicles; why do you ask?! (Not only that, when they make it to the china shop, the wrecking ball sways close to the china shop window. This is like the Freedom Convoy, except it doesn't contain a single Nazi and they aren't protesting anything. They are here to mend a teapot, or replace it.) We head to Miss Rabbit's China Shop. Yes folks -- in the real world -- the phrase "Bull In A China Shop" is a metaphor for someone who is so stupid that he hurts everyone at work as a leader. In this storyline, it's literally a bull anthromorphic man in a china shop. (The joke just writes itself.)

There is shaking going on as the wrecking ball machine makes it to the shop. I'm shocked the ball didn't go through said shop. Jump cut to inside with Miss Rabbit reading Ezza magazine and then she screams badly as Mr. Bull and company come in literally causing earthquakes. In a shock; nothing falls down. This is the most controlled bull in a china shop in history. Miss Rabbit just has to sell this and she failed as Mr. Bull explains the situation. (She literally says the money shot line and it sounds like she's reading the lines with not much acting to back it up.) Mr. Bull puts the contents on the counter and Miss Rabbit skims over it. It's very broken; but she can mend it, so to speak. Peppa offers to help and Miss Rabbit agrees to it. This is a fool's errand. Basically Peppa and George discover that the pieces are like a jig saw puzzle and all Miss Rabbit has to do is superglue the parts together, including the handle. The handle and the lid are the only two parts not broken at all; showing how pathetic the tea pot is from a quality standpoint. (Might as well replace it with a more robust teapot, and it probably would be less expensive, too.) Mr. Bull is so happy about this that he bumps into a vase; but it doesn't shatter, it just wobbles. Mr. Bull takes the tea pot, everyone leaves, and the shaking is even less than it was when they entered. The door is closed and Miss Rabbit breathes a sigh of relief. We jump cut to outside as Mr. Labo and Mr. Rhino notice the smallest pothole in the history of the show right in front of Miss Rabbit's china shop. Mr. Bull decides that since she mended the tea pot; they will mend the road because cash is so overrated. DING! (Miss Rabbit denies it's her road, but Mr. Bull don't care because...) You know what that means?! WE DIG UP THE ROAD~! The workers bring out the out of nowhere jackhammers and they literally jackhammer themselves into the road. The Pig family laughs, the china shakes, Miss Rabbit is holding onto the tea pot wondering where this all went wrong. The narrator ends the episode saying that "Mr. Bull loves digging up the road, everyone loves to dig up the road" to end the episode at 4:30 approx. That visual at the end was really funny, but there's a similar moment in Series Five that makes this one look really bad in hindsight. More on that soon. (Also, this won't be the last time Mr. Bull will be in a china shop as there is a future Peppa Pig Tales featuring exactly that. This time, the china actually breaks in the china shop. Again, the joke just writes itself.) *** 3/4 (75%).

Fruit: Here is episode #202 on the animation paper as the episode opens at the supermarket on the hill with Mr. Potato, Mrs. Carrot, Sweet Cranberry and Little Sprouts waiting for Daddy's Pig's car to park. (While at the same time, literally looking into the hard camera.) Daddy Pig, Peppa Pig, George Pig and Mummy Pig all jump out. I don't get why Little Sprouts has a plural name, when there is only one brussel sprout anthro in the show. The banner on top of the supermarket says that it's fruit praising time, as if the TEDDY RUXPIN SONG OF DOOM from Mr. Potato and company didn't say it all already. (By the way, they mention to eat five fruit a day, when it is suppose to be five fruits or vegetables. Edmond Elephant is in this episode, but soon he'll really bring the awkwardness with claiming that it's actually seven servings of fruit or vegetable. More on that in Series Five and beyond.) Note that only cranberries are not on the banner and only Sweet Cranberry fits the song. (SUZY SHEEP~?!) The Pig family goes inside as Mr. Potato proclaims that this is Fruit Day, where the magic of fruit never ends. That's my motto! We meet and greet with Suzy Sheep, Rebecca Rabbit, Emily Elephant and Edmond Elephant. Suzy has an orange, Emily has a banana, Rebecca has a carrot and Richard has a tomato. Richard blows off Emily for choosing a veggie because he's a clever clogs. Trunk blowing ensues, although many people don't consider a tomato a fruit. (I should note that there is talk about tomatoes in a future episode rant where I talk about the reason for the tomato being classified as either a fruit or a vegetable. It's a textbook example of politics clashing with science in a bloody knife fight. Sort of.) Peppa picks a green apple, after being confused for a second. George loves strawberries, although he acts all confused when asked anyway. We head to the booth of fruit with Miss Rabbit attending to it; just to be Miss Rabbit. At least this job is believable, unlike most jobs Miss Rabbit takes on. (Well, she is also the store clerk in this supermarket. Hello Pedro F'N Pony and Freddy Fox, former self missed you the first time.) She has a blender on retainer because we are making smoothies. Smoothies are basically blended fruit, ice and sometimes milk, cream or yogurt. Peppa wants an apple, raspberry, banana and more apples smoothie. Of course!

You can never have enough apples. Of course; Miss Rabbit doesn't even bother to core the apples beforehand. Peppa drinks the smoothie and loves it as Pedro wants one and then gets all confused. Miss Rabbit claims that it can be anything and Pedro wants a cheese smoothie. HAHA! Actually; I would love to see a cheese smoothie done. There are countless recipes featuring cheese. (Most of them involve cottage cheese, I should note.) Yeah; sod off Suzy Sheep! (Learn the real world of science before you get canceled, Suzy!) Pedro wants a gooseberry, raspberry, blueberry and raspberry smoothie, which would probably be my favorite smoothie combination of all time. All the kids love it. George didn't drink it though as he wants a strawberry smoothie and Peppa cuts him off before George can even say anything else. Peppa Pig is a troll. George no sells adding pineapple to the mix as Miss Rabbit has a secret smoothie recipe called Dinosaur Juice, which everyone except George is confused by this. Miss Rabbit's secret recipe is watermelon, a carrot, three strawberries, four cherries, a peach, a banana and some pineapple. In other words; George is having strawberries and pineapple after all, the things he originally rejected. (He only rejected the pineapple, former self. Also, I'm almost certain the drink turning green was an artistic choice to sell the dinosaur juice, but would be a logic break in real life.) Miss Rabbit shows us the ingredients while not saying them. This becomes important later as Miss Rabbit makes the Dinosaur Juice which is green in color. Of course! George drinks up and loves it as everyone else wants some of that secret Dinosaur Juice. But wait! Miss Rabbit is such a bother that she forgot the ingredients. Damn; she's just like me sometimes. But, wait! Freddy Fox is on retainer here as his SUPER GIMMICK OF DOOM will save the smoothie day. Freddy sniffs the glass of George and recalls the ingredients one by one. His accurancy is off a bit since he recalls four strawberries and five cherries. Also; he couldn't find the scent of a carrot and needs Rebecca Rabbit to blurt it out and blush all at the same time to pull this off. The juice is made and poured into glass. The kids all drink it and love it so much that they do George's dinosaur sound. In comes Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and Mr. Potato's Fitness Family as everyone loves fruits and carrots. (Daddy and Mummy Pig are literally written in by teleport while the Fitness Family just walks in from the west.) They all laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Just a fun episode. *** (60%). (The Fruit Song is sang by the kids during the end credits I should note.)

George's Balloon: Now; we head deep into Series Four with episode #203 on the animation paper. Episode opens on that boring road with Grandpa and Grandma Pig's yellow car; with Peppa and George in the back seat. Oh; lookie -- there's Miss Rabbit with her ice cream trolly -- and she's selling helium balloons today. One of them is a green dinosaur balloon. I wonder where this is going?! Grandma Pig wants to stop for ice cream and everyone agrees to it; so we stop at the trolly. Grandpa loves banana ice cream, Grandma loves chocolate, Peppa loves strawberry and George wants a dinosaur balloon since there's no dinosaur flavored ice cream. (Like the dinosaur juice from the last episode.) Good thing George wants the balloon because my mind would have been blown if Miss Rabbit discovered dinosaur flavored ice cream. George says "no" to ice cream today. I don't blame him, he's already been screwed by the dinosaur orange freeze popsicle in one episode already. The balloon cost ten dollars. (I googled this and discovered that the balloons are legit six to fifteen dollars in 2024! In other words, that was one expensive balloon in 2012!) I was surprised by this because in Britian, they use currency called Pounds and the European Union uses the currency Euros. (Hey, at least Euros is a legit legal tender currency and tries to be legit, unlike BitCoin and crypto-currencies.) I wonder if this episode was redubbed for American audiences? Or maybe the show takes place in Canada? That later one makes more sense than anything; but I was like "What?" (My theory has always been that Nickelodeon got involved in the creative process and told the creative team to tone down the British references due to parents in the USA complaining about too much British terms and accents in their childrens diets. It's a balancing act to say the least.) Grandpa Pig is not amused by this; but it's all for a good cause so Grandpa buys the balloon. I would love to hear the chairty this money is going to; that would be worth a backstory in itself. (I realize that this will never happen, but that would be a money shot plotline in a big kids cartoon. Furthermore, there is an upcoming episode in the Post-Golden Boots era which feature a literal Chairty Shop. Which in North America is usually called a Pawn Shop. It also introduced a lot of new characters, most of them senior citizens.)

Miss Rabbit gives George the balloon and of course within fifteen seconds, George lets go and floats up into the sky. Helium balloons are like that, you see. Thankfully; Grandpa Pig jumps up and grabs the balloon before George can bawl. Grandpa Pig decides to carry the balloon into the car as everyone gets in. (Which George doesn't mind Grandpa Pig doing. This is both a troll move and to a certain extent, common sense.) Then we drive up to the white house on the hill and park on the steepest side of the hill. They get out as Grandpa Pig gives George back the balloon, telling him not to let go and George asks "why"? HAHA! Peppa claims that there are two kinds of balloons: the Up balloon and the Down balloon. The Up balloon when you let go, flys into the sky and is never seen again. The Down balloon stays down with you and you can never get rid of it. Yes; I'm embellishing Peppa here, but it's true. (I love troll moves that aren't supposed to be troll moves. We'll be seeing a lot of that in Series Five and beyond!) Apparently, it will go up all the way to the moon according to Peppa. Yes, this is a running joke that they paid off in The Golden Boots. George says "moon", lets go of the balloon and then bawls his eyes out. Sorry George, you are not that good at trolling Peppa nor us. Grandpa Pig jumps onto the hood of his car and grabs the balloon back, which shows how sturdy the cars are in this show. Grandpa Pig and company head inside with the balloon and close the door. Now; before I continue, I should note that there was an open window on the roof of the house clear as day. If you cannot guess the setup spot to the finish; you have no business reading this rant. We head into the living room where Polly is perched and we meet and greet. Peppa introduces George's balloon and Polly turns around and threatens to use the beak to blow it up. Apparently, Polly loves George's sobbing as much as I do. (What a sadist and a slimebag...Oh wait, that's my gimmick!) Grandma Pig order Polly to stop and it sells; as George giggles and lets go of his balloon again. No worries, because you see; it's in the house, there's NO way it can get out now. No way whatsoever. Sure, it went out into the hallway and up the stairs; but it's so not going out the house at all. Sure, it's floating into the attic; but it would never leave the hou....Oh wait; it went through the roof window and out of the house because Grandpa Pig is more absent minded than Pedro F'N Pony. (Grandpa Pig is our GEEK OF THE WEEK~!) The Captain Obvious narrator's response is priceless here. The narrator vastly improves as the series progress, mainly because of his timing.

We head outside and there is no hope in catching that balloon as it is going up, up and up all the way to the moon. Peppa of course scolds him, blaming him for losing the balloon despite the fact that Grandpa Pig was stupid enough to leave the window open. (George is whimpering and teasing his bawling when this happens, as a non-visual cue that he is going to cry. Great attention to detail in a show that usually doesn't do it very often.) Yeah; the kid who doesn't know better gets scolded; while the one who should know better since he's the adult gets away with his brain farting. (Yeah, Peppa is punching down on George...AGAIN!) Speaking of brain farters, here comes Daddy Pig in his car. Daddy Pig waves hello and asks if they had a good time, and George bawls right on cue. That was funny. (If only they did that spot with the big kids at the end of Edmond Elephant's birthday. That would have been money!) Grandpa Pig decides to confess his sins, but Peppa is still trolling. This trolling somehow kept the balloon in mid-air the entire time as it was in the same spot when we last saw it. This is very selective gravity even by this show's low standards of gravity. (SUZY SHEEP~?!) The house window opens and Grandma Pig wonders what to do. Polly is like "enough of this bullshit", flies up, grabs the string of the balloon and brings it back down giving it to George after Grandpa Pig does a "Polly Parrot to the rescue" bit. I also notice that Polly has been cleansed of it's dirty mind after the first appearance of the parrot when Peppa and George basically influenced the parrot to their will. (Which led to a really funny finish that they have since wiped out in Series One!) Peppa orders George not to let go as Daddy Pig decides to tie the string around George's wrist this time, making the grandparents look like complete fools. George is giddy and everyone -- including Polly -- does the backsplash laugh with the narrator proclaiming that everyone loves George's Dinesaur Balloon~! Yup, end of the episode at 4:30 approx. Series Four and Five episodes are usually the best ones and this is no exception. Everyone is actually getting this show over as a slice of life show instead of a pre-school show. (What have we learned, execs?! Kids just want to watch the same thing adults do, and comedy is one of them, not the only thing.) **** 1/2 (90%).

Peppa's Circus: Here is episode #204 on the animation paper as we head to the white house on the hill with all the kids minus Freddy Fox and Wendy Wolf running up the hill. (By the way, as of this additional commentary, I am now officially halfway through the entire Peppa Pig television series! This also includes episodes I have not ranted on yet! This episode also joins International Day as one of the few episodes with rainbow colors used for the title of the episode, albeit different colors this time.) They all stop as Danny Dog notices Grandpa Pig nailing a huge striped red/white tent with yellow flags on the bottom of the hill. Peppa seriously thinks that Grandpa Pig has spent a lot of money and got the circus into town. I betcha that he did not do that as all the kids run down the hill giggling. Peppa asks about the circus and Grandpa Pig is clearly confused; so there is none to be had. Grandpa Pig explains that it's for Grandma Pig's garden party; which involves standing and cutting promos. Danny Dog looks into the tent and calls this such a waste. HAHA! (That deserved the "wah-wah" sound and we didn't get it.) I see he hates twenty minute WWE promos as much as most fans do. (Ouch! The grandparents are going to need some lotion after that sick burn.) Grandpa Pig then suggests that they do their own circus. Granny Pig comes down and once she hears about this, she endorses it carte-blanche. (Well, maybe she figured that it would be a more interesting garden party if the kids provided some extra entertainment.) She bails to find the CHEST OF DEMONS. (Called the dressing box in this episode I should note.) Emily claims that Doctor Elephant was once employed in the circus...as a ticket vendor. HAHA! (Some nice character development for Daddy Elephant, although quite pointless in the grand scheme of things. How very nice, how very evil.) Here comes the dressing up box as everyone puts on stuff. The fake mustache is called a stick-on mustache here as he is going to be a mustached strong man. Pedro F'N Pony finds the clown outfit, which considering his gimmick is overkill for him. Peppa wants to be the clown, Pedro asks her where is her clown costume and then Peppa decides not to be the clown. (Peppa Pig is more indecisive than weightlifting at this point.)

Rebecca powders Pedro in the face and adds lipstick on the mouth. Danny Dog is the strong man with the fake mustache. (Outside of the fake mustache, he would be Jungle Boy's son. Too soon?! Ummmm...nope.) Emily is the juggler and she sucks at it. I mean, really bad. Everyone pops for it anyway, which made this much more amusing. Peppa doesn't know what to do now, so Grandpa Pig has her as the ringmaster. Of course! The only job in the world that requires a troll. (What a fool I am?! I might as well be wearing that clown suit Pedro Pony is right now. Only Pedro is at least funny and is symbolic of a Sony Pony.) Then Grandpa Pig demonstrates to Peppa why Grandpa Pig should be the ringmaster by cutting this awesome promo. I recommend watching it; I couldn't do it justice. This circus is now doomed, DOOMED I SAY~! (Doomed to succeed like Nintendo always is despite being doomed since 1889?!) The kids are in awe as Peppa puts on the top hat and declares that this circus has amazing feet! HAHA! Close enough as all the kids go into the tent. (Here is how I know Peppa said "feet" and not "feat" even though the pronouncation is exactly the same. The singular for "feet" is "foot". If she said "feat", it makes no sense because it's singular and the pural for it is "feats" which Grandpa Pig got correctly in his promo! Besides, Pedro Pony's clown shoes qualifies as amazing feet since he has two of them! This is a really fun double-entrande on the part of Peppa here.) Pedro has to go in last because CLOWN SHOES ARE AWKWARD TO WEAR~! From down the hill comes Mr. Bull, Mummy Pony, Mr. Zebra, Mummy Cat, Doctor Brown Bear, Mummy Sheep and Mummy Dog. (A note before I continue: There is a storybook on this episode called "Peppa's Backyard Circus". In that story, Mummy Bear and Mummy Kangaroo also make an appearance. Mummy Bear would make sense, but Mummy Kangaroo is an odd one since in storyline, she would be in Australia.) Grandma Pig welcomes the guest and proclaims that the circus has come to town. We head to center stage with Danny Dog banging on drums. Peppa addresses the crowd with George, Edmond, Suzy and Pedro Pony.

The adults clap as the first act is Candy Cat roaring and goes through a hoop provided by Rebecca Rabbit. BS&P isn't going to let them set the hoop on fire, what can you do?! Next is the little ones on tricycles. Again, no high wire act with them because it's a pre-school show. Again, what can you do?! (Personally, BS&P'ing everything made this circus much funnier in hindsight.) Danny Dog's act is next as Danny's act is to lift Peppa Pig up and he can barely do it. Mr. Bull claims that he was a strongman who lifted tractors. (This is supposed to be character development since no "wah-wah" sound was used.) I don't buy that for a one second, unless the tractor was made of plastic. (Actually, when WWE needs to do a strongman spot, they simply use a jack to make it easier to push over large vehicles. This still requires a lot of strength and power guys like Braun Strowman, Big Show and Mark Henry would have that I don't have at all. Mr. Bull pushing tractors over I might buy, but not lifting them.) Emily's act is next and it involves two potatoes and a egg. Somehow; the egg cracked, but didn't splatter, so I guess that counts as a "feet" according to Peppa. (That is one robust egg there, dood. Wonder if that is also a Larson & Gary special?!) The adults don't care, they still pop because they are kids and punching down on them is evil. Peppa introduces Pedro and he is already getting laughed out of the building, which is what clowns do. Pedro Pony is clueless and even more so as he throws confetti at the adults, who then stop laughing. Be thankful Pedro is not Doink The Evil Clown, it might have been popcorn or water and that would have sucked, and they would probably hate life. (Eddie Gurrerro getting thunderous boos merely by moving. Well done, Pedro. Well done!) Well; only Mr. Bull laughs because he has no concept of humorous timingmus. See, I can be a clever clogs like Edmond Elephant. Peppa finally ends her amazingly impossible circus. I don't doubt her for a second as the adults pop anyway. Grandpa Pig claims this to be the best circus ever and he says it like he knows that this is bullshit. (Also funny.) The kids all do the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. This is the most interesting impossible circus I have ever seen in a pre-school show and of course, Pedro Fucking Pony had to make it stick. **** (80%).

The Fish Pond: We move on with episode #205 on the animation paper as the episode opens with the Pig family's car on that boring road and they are having a day out. They are going to a little fish pond that Daddy Pig always visited when he was a boy as he parks the car to what appears to be a car pool. Everyone gets out as Daddy Pig explains that it's in the woods somewhere. I love how the zoom in shot is closer to the previous shot and yet completely breaks continuity by leaving specs of the parking lot out. Of course, Peppa is trolling Daddy Pig's inability to make sure they don't get lost. Daddy Pig claims that he remembers this spot as Mummy Pig remind him that that was a long time ago. Might as well say that memories and brains are fallible and defective. Daddy Pig finds the path because it has three little yellow flowers, but Mummy Pig is skeptical when Daddy Pig points out that there are small trees and one big time since most of the trees are growing large. (This is probably what the Porters Lake Provincial Park looks like in 2024!) Mummy Pig then walks backwards and takes a back of the head bump into the largest tree she can find. Daddy Pig even points out that bumping into trees is his gimmick. We go west as Daddy Pig claims that there is a cafe nearby and it's ice cream for everyone. We finally make it to the cafe which looks like it's boarded up and about to collapse. (Okay, this is one aspect that isn't like the Porters Lake Provincial Park, judging by the images provided by the Government of Nova Scotia.) There is also a blackberry bush conveniently placed west of the cafe and it looks like no food is going to be served at all since the place is broken down...But wait! This is Peppa Pig and guess who runs the cafe?! Miss Rabbit! (Job #277!) She opens the shutters and takes Daddy Pig's order; bringing out a cup of coffee and three ice creams; and none of them look the worse for wear. Didn't have to pay for them either. Mummy Pig was the one who had the coffee by the way. (Well, that was a hell of a deal there, if you like creamy vanilla ice cream and coffee, I guess.) Daddy Pig wants to go on his merry way, but Miss Rabbit tells them not to; because it leads into the dreaded blackberry bushes, you see. Daddy Pig wants to do this dare because it's a shortcut. Keep this in mind: this is fifty-five episodes AFTER Mummy Pig nearly kills herself falling off a ladder into a blackberry bush.

Which led to getting embarrassed and mocked for looking like a blackberry bush. You would think Daddy Pig would know better, but Daddy Pig is dumb! (At least Daddy Pig didn't land on his head, nearly trying to kill himself in the process and it lead to Sleeping Beauty references that included a non-consenual kiss! Still, bad decision on Daddy Pig's part!) The kids and Mummy Pig are not buying this and they want to go where Miss Rabbit points them to; the complete opposite path. Daddy Pig is the only one who picks the blackberry bush; because he is dumb. They go their seperate ways as Mummy Pig claims that everything is a little different from what Daddy Pig describes, which is silly because in spite of that, it's not like Daddy Pig has steered them wrong -- blackberry bush shortcut notwithstanding -- because they are now at the fish pond. Which is basically a pond with a metal fountain in the middle and it's surrounded by blackberry bushes. A fish big literally jump up and down from the small pond; as they make jokes about DADDY'S BIG TUMMY~! The kids and Mummy Pig giggle as it's clear Daddy Pig has lost this bet hands down! Mummy Pig rings in her cellphone and we hear ringing on a blackberry bush on the eastern side of the fish pond. Apparently, Daddy Pig had this won, but as we discover: Daddy Pig is stuck! (GEEK OF THE WEEK that almost got away with it. Damn!) The kids and Mummy Pig grab onto some bushes and after three; they pull Daddy Pig out. He looked slightly less like a bunch of bushes than Mummy Pig did in "The Blackberry Bush". They giggle as Daddy Pig notices the fish pond and the big fish jump up and down into the water, and this causes seven coins to float up onto the water's surface. In other words, this is a wishing pond as Peppa and George throw coins into the pond. (Okay, if the fountain didn't contain animals like fish, this spot would be okay. Since it has fish, it's a bad idea to leave metals of any kind in the fountain since they could kill the fish due to them eating said metals and make the fish less fit for human consumpation. I'm subtracting 1/4* just for that.) Peppa's wish is for the fish pond to remain here forever and it's the same wish Daddy Pig had while he was little. They all laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Outside of Miss Rabbit's appearance, not much to see here. ** 1/2 (50%).

Opening Moment #1: I should note that this episode uses the snowy opening of Peppa Pig as seen in Peppa's Christmas, instead of the normal opening.

Snowy Mountain: We continue on 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. (The narrator says that it's a lovely snowy day with snow and then in the next shot near the bus, it stopped snowing. SUZY SHEEP~?!) Today's crew is led by Mr. Bull, Madame Gazelle, Danny Dog, Candy Cat, Pedro F'N Pony, Suzy Sheep, Emily Elephant, Zoe Zebra and the rant debuts of Freddy Fox and Wendy Wolf. (Ah, another episode I ranted out of order.) 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. (Just because his name is Max doesn't automatically mean he voiced a character from Max & Ruby. That's like everyone thinking that I even made an appearance in Wiggle! Wiggle! Wiggle!) The car drives past them as the kids are there to ski. Daddy Pig tries to drive the car up the hill. The Pig Family thinks that the car can do it. The car is all like "nope" and slides down the hill. (This was probably the moment where the gag died a horrible death and was probably never seen again for a long while.) Mr. Bull proclaims that they will have to take the ski lift instead. When Mr. Bull makes more sense than you, you need to park your toxic 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. (SUZY SHEEP~?!)

Daddy Pig is dumb as he doesn't look where he is going, is forced to sit down on a ski lift chair and is strapped in. The rest of the Pig family seats themselves in the chair behind Daddy Pig 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. (Really?! Daddy Pig doesn't seem to be afraid of heights while being in an aeroplane. This phobia is very selective methinks.) Peppa trolls Daddy Pig during this and then begins singing just to make Daddy Pig look like more awkward than he needs to be. (Seriously, the song without context is fun, but it's being used as Daddy Pig is afraid of height. Troll move!) We reach the snowy top of the mountain. Daddy Pig's barrier opens, he does a faceplant into the snow and buries himself. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Then becomes the snowman of doom again, as in "Sun, Sea & Snow" episode I ranted on when he pops up. Also funny. The rest of the family opens their barrier and gets off without any problems. Peppa cannot resist mocking Daddy Pig for his stupidity like the troll that she is. Daddy Pig shakes the snow off of himself as the kids giggles. 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. (Job #316!) There has to be two Miss Rabbits; there is no other explaination for this. (Only in America, former self and there is more than two. A lot more than two.) We will see in the Mirrors episode; they found an out from this. (No, they didn't because the first time the two were related, it was when Miss Rabbit hurt her ankle (instead of her back like it should be) and Mummy Rabbit sucked at those jobs. It's one Miss Rabbit, the American Miss Rabbits were way ahead of the curve compared to the British Miss Rabbit.) 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. (Must have run out of room for the scene.) Danny Dog asks if they are skiing down the mountain; the answer is no, it's the baby hill today. (According to Gigi Gazelle; narrator calls it the little hill here for some reason.)

No one cared as we do some ski lessons as in Britian, ski poles are sticks. WEEEEEEEE~! You brake by crossing their skis towards each other and they all stop. The kids want to do it again and try to slide uphill, but they slide down. Because as Gigi 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. (Especially since there is no Freddy Fox! What is going on here?! Does Wendy Wolf have a kid's crush on Freddy Fox?! TUNE INTO SOFT COPY TO FIND OUT~!) Gigi 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. (Ah, the old GADGET TRICK OF DOOM! Fun times!) I'm guessing she was a world champion swimmer as well. (Since someone else has the record now as per in Champion Daddy Pig.) 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. Oops! (Mummy Pig is our GEEK OF THE WEEK~! Only this actually leads to a great finish!) 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.

However, Wendy Wolf and Freddy Fox have been written out by teleport. Yes; Mr. Fox has abandoned Freddy Fox! (Did no one in creative think this all the way through?! Why did Mr. Fox even need to be in the bus?! Just have Freddy Fox and Wendy Wolf in his steed instead. This moment really annoys me and I'm wondering what Freddy and Wendy are doing right now. Also amazing, Miss Rabbit has somehow changed and teleported in between her roles as bus driver and ski operator! SUZY SHEEP~?!) 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. Gigi Gazelle cannot believe this as that was a loop-de-loop for only fifteen 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?! (Worse, Mummy Pig took a MAN-SIZED bump into the door with her nose. OUCH! Mummy Pig now knows how Kit felt when Molly stomped on his nose in It Came From Beneath The SeaDuck, only Mummy Pig's was a lot more unintentional than Molly's. The door was in the way, what else can a door do?!) Mummy Pig comes out of the carnage and is a snow woman now. Yeah; cockiness is toxic, and this episode proves it. (Gigi misgenders Mummy Pig here, calling her a snowman! Snow monster is better, and funnier too!) 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!". 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. Also, what a cruel hearted person Mr. Fox is, leaving poor Freddy Fox and Wendy Wolf behind?! *** 3/4 (75%).

Grampy Rabbit In Space: Here is one of the final Series Four episodes; with episode #207 on the animation paper. Episode opens at the school on the hill with lots of giggling. We zoom into Playgroup with Peppa Pig, George Pig, Edmond Elephant, Richard Rabbit, Danny Dog, Suzy Sheep, Freddy Fox, Emily Elephant, Pedro F'N Pony, Zoe Zebra and Rebecca Rabbit. (Absent: Wendy Wolf, Candy Cat, Zazu Zebra, Zaza Zebra.) Madame Gazelle introduces Grampy Rabbit. George is carrying a toy rocket ship for some reason, which he loves. Today lesson is all about space rockets and space. Grampy Rabbit screams so much to greet the kids that he bowls them all over and everyone giggles on cue. (The episode started at 9 AM, it is literally five minutes later in Peppa Pig time, and we are barely thirty seconds in. SUZY SHEEP~?!) There is a picture of the moon as Grampy Rabbit shows a piece of rock; but not just any ordinary rock, no. It's a moon rock; because you see, Grampy Rabbit once landed on the moon. Freddy claims his dad sells rocks in groups of five. Who knew; who cares?! Madame Gazelle nicely told him to sod off. Freddy won't shut up about it as Grampy claims that it's moon rock dammit! (Grampy Rabbit's clapback on Freddy claiming that you don't need to go to the moon to get rocks was glorious!) Peppa asks how Grampy got to the moon and Grampy shows off a space rocket model; which Suzy points out. Grampy points out that the real rocket was huge as we HIT THE FLASHBACK~! (By the way, the rocket model Grampy Rabbit uses is written in by teleport. It is nowhere near the same as George's rocket, which is now written out by teleport. As much as I like to yell Suzy's name here, Molly Coddled did the same thing with a bag containing Molly's doll. Yeah.) Grampy is in a rocket ship in the most low rent launching pad in space history. Basically; this whole story starts with a counting and backwards counting exercise; which the kids all do. We yell "blast off" and Grampy nearly blows the ears off some of the kids. He wants the kids to do the same and even does the "I can't hear you!" spot, only he says "I can't hear anything!" Apparently, he is hearing impaired legit in storyline. Lovely!

We fly into space with the most low rent flames animation the animators could perform. At least Grampy is wearing a spacesuit here; and that tells you how insane this show can be sometimes. More on that in The Golden Boots. The rocket ship landed on the moon and you can clearly tell that Grampy's voice is getting raspy due to all of his screaming. The door opens and it's one small step for rabbit; one giant leap for....I'm not telling just yet; that would spoil the surprise in The Golden Boots. We exchange notes on jumping as high as a house on the moon. Which is bullshit since in real life; it's ten feet and that is the height of two average human beings. (Kylie Kangaroo jumped fifteen feet in one episode, on Earth. Kind of buries the gravity of the moon right there.) Edmond does his educational line of the episode and Grampy Rabbit doesn't mind the term clever clogs as much as the narrator does. (Edmond actually says it in a way that I could understand and in short bursts so Suzy Sheep cannot retort. Suzy Sheep's gimmick is that her attention span is about ten seconds long. After that, it's magic! Talk about a surivial mechinism there.) By the way, Grampy on the moon was jumping about three feet high on the moon at the most. This moon has stronger gravitatial pull than the real one. (By the way, this took ten minutes in Peppa Pig time to explain and we are not even three minutes into this episode in real time!) Grampy yells that the most exciting part of this was.... SQUEEEEEEEEEEE~! I don't know if it was the most exciting part; but that was the funniest part of this whole speech. Yup; Grampy has lost his voice. See kids, this is why you don't shout all the time, even in cartoons. Because, you'll lose your voice, go silent and no one will have sympathy for you since you were so annoying. Case in point; the kids are completely clueless and acting like this is part of the show. (Despite this, I still have empathy for Grampy Rabbit because he's the most memorable character of this entire show and screaming isn't his only trait as a character. Remind me never to take these characters to professional wrestling matches either.) Madame Gazelle figures this out and goes to her cellphone because we have to bring Doctor Brown Bear out. Hasn't Brown Bear suffered ENOUGH already?! (Answer: No. We still have the Ambulance episode left in the joke gun in Series Five former self.)

Doctor Brown Bear answers his phone, gets the information from Gazelle and then Doctor Brown Bear replies: "Is this such a bad thing?!". I know this is blaming the victim, but I still died. For two seconds at least. However; since this is for educational purposes only, Doctor Brown Bear is like "Okay; we need to get his voice back" and hangs up. He runs outside to his ambulance car and gets inside (Again, green crosses due to the Red Cross symbol being trademarked.). He drives down the hill and onto the road as there is no traffic. Head inside the school as Brown Bear runs in with his doctor's bag. Doctor Brown Bear checks his throat and is more sore than my ears at this point. Doctor Brown Bear gives Grampy Rabbit some medicine, and surprisely, Grampy is the only one who doesn't sell it as terrible. (That was funny.) We do some "ahhing", Grampy Rabbit screams right in Doctor Brown Bear's kisser and Doctor Brown Bear falls down onto his back, causing the kids to do the backsplash laugh. HAHA! Everyone gets up as the kids cheer that Grampy Rabbit can yell again! Because kids love loud noises, you see. (Baby Alexander approves this message.) We finish the story with Grampy Rabbit wanting to sing a song on his banjo; because this space trip inspired him. The children outnumber the adults 12-2, 13-2 if you include Grampy Rabbit, so democracy creates more pain and suffering. (Oh sod off, former self. You are a bigger fuddy duddy than the adults are.) The final shot is a zoom out shot of Grampy Rabbit on the moon in his spacesuit, singing and playing the banjo. This was awesome; so screw the adults who hated this. (Brilliant self own on yourself there, former self.) The kids giggle and join in singing the song -- which made this even better -- to end the episode at 4:30 approx. (This song actually plays during the end credits, HUZZAH~!) Wow; this was much better than I expected as Grampy was really slaying the scene in this one. **** 1/2 (90%). (Credit to the creators here as they were really setting up The Golden Boots special really well at this point, no matter how crazy it turned out to be.)

The Olden Days: Next up is episode #208 on the animation paper as the episode opens on the house on the hill as Suzy Sheep is coming in from the west, holding a picture of Suzy against a green background. Peppa comes out from the back door for the meet and greet as Suzy shows a picture of herself as a baby. Peppa thinks it's a baby sheep and it is, except it's Suzy when she was Baby Alexander's age. This leads to them bickering because Peppa doesn't think herself as a baby in the olden days, even though she would have also been Baby Alexander's age. (This quarrel they are having is actually amusing because Suzy Sheep is telling the truth and even showing Peppa proof of her discover. Suzy -- the one who thinks everything is magic -- is using science and evidence to prove that she was once a baby and the photo is not a baby lamb. Yeah, Peppa needs to know the difference between sheep and lamb and Peppa is so offended by this because she is Suzy's enabler and thinks everything is magic as well. Peppa needs to grow up more than Suzy Sheep at this point.) We cut to Mummy Pig in her office writing more coded letters on her computer. (Don't worry, that angle is coming closer and closer to being paid off. Sadly, not during the pre-Golden Boots era though.) In comes Suzy and Peppa because Suzy dared Peppa to ask her mother about it. Peppa claims that Suzy is talking nonsense, she isn't. Mummy Pig closes her letter and goes to a photograph of a baby in red footie pj's. Peppa thinks it's Baby Alexander, which Mummy Pig says no. It's really Peppa when she was a baby and it looks like a bit of that babyism is still in Peppa right now. Suzy and Peppa giggle as Daddy Pig and George come in with Peppa showing off her baby photo. Daddy Pig also proclaims that the picture was taken the day they moved into the house on the hill as we HIT THE FLASHBACK~! And even back then; they still park on the steepest side of the hill with the chair on top of the car. (Also of note, Daddy Pig's chair from Jumble Sale returns, and it's still as worn out as it was in Jumble Sale. Daddy Pig made no effort to mend it and somehow teleported out the Series One chair! SUZY SHEEP~?!) They even remember Daddy Pig making the slanted shelf that causes a vase to shatter off-screen. Apparently, Grandpa Pig made a flower garden outside that has disappeared into grass in the present because Daddy Pig looked after it. Everyone is outside as Daddy Pig claims that they had the wrong type of soil. Riiiiiggggghhhttttt. Besides, they needed it for Peppa and George to play.

Suzy and Peppa have been friends since day one of them moving. We HIT THE FLASHBACK~ with Peppa and Suzy as babies on the grass exchanging raspberries. Peppa asks if they jumped in muddy puddles and that is a no because they couldn't walk and the next flashback has them bawling their eyes out! That was funny, it's like the writers wanted them to cry based on them not being able to jump in muddy puddles as babies. Lovely! (This would be the only time Suzy Sheep ever cried in the series and the first time Peppa cried Pre-Golden Boots era. Since they were babies, this didn't violate the "Anyone over two years old does not cry" rule. That rule will soon be violated in about two episodes from now.) They burp a lot and giggled. Basically, like Baby Alexander. Back to reality (no, not really) as Peppa and Suzy make baby noises for a while and then we flash back to Peppa and Suzy being two years old as Peppa asks during the flashback about George and during the flashback, in comes Mummy Pig as she has a bump like Mummy Rabbit did in Mummy Rabbit's bump, so Mummy Pig was having a third child and that birth was probably even more painful's than Mummy Rabbit's methinks. Back to reality as George snorts and Peppa asks if there is a baby inside DADDY'S BIG TUMMY~; but Daddy claims that his tummy is pure muscle. I question this purity of muscle that DADDY'S BIG TUMMY has. (I dare Peppa to ask that question to Mr. Baldwin from Fish Hook! She'll wish she was dead, or has no self esteem.) George was born. (By the way, in the flashbacks, the sky is a much darker shade of blue than the present!) Grandpa and Grandma Pig come in with a present and it is unwrapped to reveal Mr. Dinesaur. Baby George roars right away; lending creditability to my theory that George's first word was dinesaur (sic). We see Suzy and Peppa running and hopping as Peppa discovers her first muddy puddle and jumps into it. Mummy Pig cuts her off as Daddy Pig puts yellow boots on her feet because the first rule of muddy puddles is always to wear your boots. Suddenly; Peppa, George and Suzy have their boots on when we return to present day. (SUZY SHEEP~?!) Take one guess how this episode ends. DING! Suzy, Peppa and George jump up and down in muddy puddles and get muddy. Daddy Pig takes a picture of them and then the kids do the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Just your average muddy puddle love in. (This was a good episode, so *** 1/2 (70%). It was a good origin story, but Peppa Pig Tales "Baby Bumps" literally blows it out of the water.)

Pirate Treasure: We head to the final episode of Series Four with episode #209 on the animation paper and I believe that was it for the show for a couple of years. (Outside of a Halloween episode, The Golden Boots and Peppa's trip around the world, yes.) Episode opens in a field with a pirate's table, flag, and box of stuff as Danny Dog is swinging from a tire tree. It's his pirate den according to the narrator. (This is probably the first time I found out that Danny Dog actually had a backyard to play in.) Here comes Peppa Pig, Suzy Sheep, Pedro F'N Pony and Freddy Fox on their bicycles. Danny asks if they want to play pirates and they all agree to it as the box contains pirate outfits. Everyone dresses like a pirate and it's time to talk like one. Danny brings in his treasure chest, and it's the most colorful cookie tin ever with a skull & crossbones on the top. (Hey, Danny Dog tried to make the cookie tin look like a bad ass treasure chest. It fell short, sadly.) Suzy calls it a biscuit tin and Danny opens it to reveal chocolate chip cookies; which Suzy calls him out on. (Suzy Sheep as usual, cannot suspend her disbelief despite being unable to accept science, and thinks everything is magic.) Danny ignores it and asks if anyone wants cookies; and the kids all want it. The tin is empty and it's time to put some treasure in it. However, someone has to guard the pirate's den. Pedro Pony volunteers, which is a bad idea since he can barely remember simple commands. (Oh come on now, former self! Pedro wasn't that bad when he was the door keeper in Madame Gazelle's Leaving Party. Sure, Pedro is clueless when it comes to the law; but he still ran interference successfully inspite of that.) Pedro tries and Danny Dog thinks he gets it. (Danny Dog is the GEEK OF THE WEEK~!) Everyone else bails stage left as everyone loves being a pirate. Well, that's one main reason why TaleSpin did so well. (Hey, one reason why Don Karnage and Kit Cloudkicker were monster over as characters. Heck, Kit Cloudkicker is getting a big push despite having no show rebooted yet. When it is rebooted, Kit Cloudkicker is the main event, like he should have been in the original; but had to defer to Baloo since Baloo was the star Michael Eisner wanted milk from.) We get the TEDDY RUXPIN SONG OF DOOM to waste time and amuse me. Then the kids spread out as Danny Dog finds a pine cone on the ground. The treasure is all about nature. I see boots on -- albeit the same color-- so I suspect a muddy puddle will be found very shortly. We find seashells, old pieces of rope and a pebble. (Hey, this is the most useful treasure all thing considered.) Jump cut to Pedro propping himself against a tree and taking his glasses off because he wants to sleep on the job.

Cut back to the kids as they notice this and decide to creep up on Pedro Pony. That is distressing. (Even more so when it's clear that the tin is safe and there is no one there other than Pedro, so they are doing this for the sake it. What a troll move?!) They jump up and boo him to wake up. What a dork Pedro is?! Thankfully; they are friendly pirates because Pedro is a poor security guard. (Danny Dog is also a poor judge of character I see.) We open the tin and put everything in the tin; including Pedro's glasses. (Uh-oh! I don't believe this was unintentional either.) The kids decide to bury the treasure somewhere and Pedro Pony is the security guard. As long as he doesn't fall asleep. I think that is the least of your worries; considering that his vision is impaired since his glasses are in the tin. The kids run westward with the tin as Pedro yawns so this is going to backfire. They go around the little bush (!!!) and they find a place in a field. Freddy Fox does his ten seconds of work in this episode by digging a hole like every anthro on this show. (Despite Danny Dog being right there. Not as funny.) They put the tin into the ground and bury it as Peppa creates the most useless map ever. Danny draws an "X" on the ground and we cut to Pedro sleeping on the job again. The kids run in and "Arr" him to awake. DORK! Suzy asks him if he wears glasses and in comes Mummy Pony and Pedro actually does his job, about two minutes too late. HAHA! Mummy Pony asks where his glasses are. Pedro has no clue where they are; other than he put them down when they were putting treasure in the tin. Danny Dog proudly proclaims that they buried the tin. Uh-oh! Yes folks; they found a way to make Pedro Pony look like the least clueless dolt of all the kids in this scene. Fear not, Peppa has the treasure map as we follow the map and head to the "X" on the ground. Freddy Fox digs on the "X" and finds the tin. We open the tin and after some considerable effort -- which means Pedro is likely far sighted -- and Pedro puts them on. (By the way, there is an upcoming Series Eight episode featuring Pedro Pony and Penny Polar Bear misplacing their glasses and wearing each others. I have not ranted on that episode yet, so I don't know if Pedro is far sighted or not.) The narrator proclaims that a treasure map is very useful for finding your glasses, even when you unintentionally bury them. Yeah; too bad they don't help get Pedro Pony out of the metaphoric deep hole he put himself in on this show. Get used to this; folks, Pedro is going to get even more dumber from here on out. (Ah, I ranted this episode out of order as well since I recall Pedro Pony's cluelessness starting to get reeled in more as Series Five progressed.) Everyone does the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30 approx. Great song which plays during the end credit, not so great moment for poor Pedro Pony. (This was actually another good one, and Pedro Pony really should have defered to Danny Dog on this one. *** 1/2 (70%).)

THE REVIEW LINE

Well; we conclude Series Four with a funny circus and amazing feet, mostly from Pedro's clown shoes. Sure, it was the most BS&P'ed circus ever, but I laughed so hard at the impossible attempt it was worth it. Pedro's gets humor heat merely by moving at this point. George's Balloon was also a classic and probably the last time George cries in the pre-Golden Boots era. Get used to seeing him cry less and less as the post-Golden Boots era happens, the amount of the crying in the next three series alone will likely come close to Edmond Elephant's Birthday level combined. Grampy Rabbit In Space was another huge banger and another awesome effort by Grampy Rabbit. Grampy Rabbit has become my favorite character in this series due to his antics and in the future, he's going to get some character development that almost no adult ever gets. Olden Days was better on the second viewing, since it was a solid origin story, although Peppa Pig Tales' Baby Bump blows it out of the water. Pirate Treasure was more entertaining on the second viewing, Digging Up The Road was a really good episode that sets up Simple Science nicely, Snowy Mountain might have been a thumbs up if Mr. Fox wasn't there due to the child abandoning of Wendy Wolf and Freddy Fox and the rest were the usual fun episodes.

That ends Peppa Pig Series Four, in terms of the regular episodes since there are three more special episodes left to rant on before the Pre-Golden Boots era as the show would go into hitaus, and produce a Halloween Party and two fifteen minute specials that can be generously described as "Awesome in the first ten minutes and it falls off the cliff with the worst finishes ever." Here are the scores thus far:

Series Four: 14 Thumbs Up, 2 Thumbs Down, 36 Thumbs In The Middle.
Overall: 50 Thumbs Up, 12 Thumbs Down, 150 Thumbs In The Middle.

This Series is a tale of two sides: One side is that the show is better even in spite of the lowest quality episodes like Lost Keys and International Day (an average of three thumbs down per series.). It's nowhere near the horror show that is The Blackberry Bush and the thumbs up episodes are slightly above average (12.5 thumbs up per series.). The other side is that there were a lot of episodes that would have been better and even be part of the thumbs up section, if the continuity was better and they got the editor and filters needed to make sure the logic was tighten up. Almost every single episode had problems keeping background stuff straights and there were a lot of errors present. This show needs a break and it shows in every episode and it's sad; because the show itself is really awesome. Many of the episodes were better than I expected, but the flaws really are glaring to me now that I cannot call it better than TaleSpin, although I didn't expect it to be due to the limitations present. Hopefully, Series Five onward will be less buggy so to speak. Now, all that is left is the four specials before we officially wrap up Series Four for good. So...

Thumbs up for Peppa's Circus, Grampy Rabbit In Space and George's Balloon. Thumbs in the middle for everything else and I'll see you all next time.

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