Return to 50 Webs

Disclaimer#1: All images, characters and material is (C) 1990/1991 Walt Disney Company and is being used without permission. The webmaster has made sure that no money was made in the creation of this web page and that all material used here is used with the up most affection and respect to the Walt Disney Company and the Tale Spin Team.

Disclaimer#2:The views expressed here are solely the views of the webmaster and no one else. The webmaster has no intentions to change anyone's minds about a particular subject and respects the views of the viewers. Comments about this and other editorial can be E-Mail at gweagle@eastlink.ca or signing the Cloudkicker guest book.

Twenty Years Of Muddy Puddles: Peppa Pig Series Nine #3 Rant

Reviewed: 03/22/2025

The Aftermath Of Evie! Sort of.

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. Time to resume Peppa Pig as this is officially the ninth series in the last twenty years or so. YAY! Or maybe not! Anyhow, we continue Series Nine with ten episodes this time: We go to a puzzle festival, then get inspired with Granny Sheep's new art van while creating the biggest picture in the world. Then Penny Polar Bear has a birthday party playing ice hockey, followed by an ant farm, some "fighting" and we do some hobbies! YAY! Then the series goes in a different direction as George Pig's problems with pronouncation of words and speaking delays have a cause and will be resolved. How do these episodes fare?! Let's rant on shall we..?!

All the episodes are done by Phil Hall with select episodes done by Matilda Tristam, Seyi Odusanya, Maris P., Ishai Ravid, Moya O'Shea and Jen Upton. Animation is done by Karrot animation.

Opening Moment #1: Brand new opening sequence with remixed opening theme music. The major difference is that the family literally comes out of their house instead of Peppa just jumping down from the logo. It's the same introduction otherwise, outside of Mummy Pig having her bump. This basically exposes the episodic nature of the show, since Milkshake is now airing the non-Evie episodes out of order mixed in with the nine episode arc.

Jigsaw Festival: This episode is #442 on the animation paper and the episode opens on the boring road west with Granny Pig driving his car with Grandpa Pig, Peppa Pig and George Pig. Outside of Daddy Mole driving a truck, the rest are palette swaps and Mrs. Poodle whom I always confused as Granny Sheep all these years. My mess as usual. Anyhow, Peppa asks where they are going and Granny Pig says that it's a festival which excites Peppa. Until Grandpa Pig declares it a jigsaw puzzle. Now Peppa calls it boring. Granny thinks otherwise as we head to the recreational center with signs showing a puzzle piece pointing literally at each other. The big one is on top and the bottom one is a small sign. Three other cars are present as everyone enters what is basically the basketball court with tables set up for the jigsaw puzzle displays. We zoom out to show Mr. Labo, Linda Bear, Old Mrs. Donkey, Mrs. Badger (YAY!), a palette swap of Signor Goat, Wendy Wolf and Mummy Wolf in an ultra rare appearance! Double YAY! Mrs. Badger is showing off three jigsaw puzzles which Peppa identifies on the table. One is a monkey, one is a carrot, and one is a tree. The host of the jigsaw festival is shocking, SHOCKING I say~! It's not Miss Rabbit, it's Mr. Rabbit wearing a red hat with a purple puzzle piece on the front. There appears to be a jigsaw puzzle featuring lots of potatos in the background. Grandpa Pig shows off the two remaining puzzle pieces going together with the carrot jigsaw puzzle. His promo is only half right because I think he meant that the colors of the jigsaw puzzle because while with the same blue color is true, a huge chunk of the puzzle has at least two different colors and at least two connections has three colors: green, blue and orange. Mummy Rabbit is yelling with a megaphone right into Old Mrs. Donkey's ear and somehow she is amused. If Mummy Rabbit ever did that to me, she would be eating that megaphone for her four meals a day. Old Mrs. Donkey demonstrates how to put a puzzle together with Peppa giving out advice which Old Mrs. Donkey is fine with, but warns her never to lose puzzle pieces because that would suck and you will hate life. Okay, I was a lot more harsher than this show, so sue me.

Mr. Rabbit comes in and everyone gasps in horror even though no pieces were lost. Apparently, Mummy Pony is written in by teleport. SUZY SHEEP~?! Furthermore, why her?! Shouldn't Mummy Wolf be in this sequence?! Old Mrs. Donkey has to tell them that no pieces were lost as Mr. Rabbit calls it a false alarm. Everyone has this blank stare as if to say to Mr. Rabbit: You need help. The rest of the kids are palette swaps of Delphine Donkey (two of them) and Danny Dog I should note. Oh lookie, welcome back to the show, Grandpa Pig's arch-nemesis' of this show: Mr. Stallion and Mrs. Corgi. Oh, and Mummy Pony now turns into a palette swap. Nah, Suzy; I don't need you for this one. Not Daddy Cat has a purple Dine-e-saur jigsaw puzzle. This could easily be Barney The Dinosaur if Barney was in a horror film after Barney The Dinosaur goes into the public domain. Peppa is in awe because there is a giant jigsaw puzzle containing a gnome with a fishing rod catching a purple fish. Grandpa Pig has that stare again, because he doesn't like gnomes, you see. The gnome is wearing yellow boots like Peppa usually does as Peppa wants to buy it, but Grandpa Pig no sells because it's being sold at auction. Grandpa Pig explains an auction in a way that tries to convey that this is not a form of gambling. Mummy Pig pushes the puzzle to the back of the room near a podium as Mr. Rabbit starts the auction with banging a mallet, like a judge. Another use of the curious music from Series One is during this scene actually. Now, Mummy Pig has her colors back as Penny Pony appears via teleport now during the seating. Grandpa Pig unintentionally raises his hand up and it counts as 40 pounds, forcing Mrs. Corgi to counter for 60 pounds. This leads to a hilarious moment: Grandpa Pig touches her nose to continue explaining the process, Mr. Rabbit counts it at 100 pounds. The crowd gasps as Mr. Rabbit says "going once, twice....SOLD~! To Grandpa Pig..." Wah-wah!Everyone except Mrs. Corgi is smiling because Grandpa Pig just screwed Mrs. Corgi out of a jigsaw puzzle unintentionally. Peppa also smiles like the troll that she is. Mr. Rabbit wants payment of this now. Oh sure, now the show cares about on-screen payment of items.

Mrs. Crogi and Mrs. Stallion gives congrads as basically a backhand praise. Grandpa Pig is our GEEK OF THE WEEK~! Mrs. Corgi brings back the "It's all for a good cause", which is a troll move since she doesn't have to pay for the puzzle anymore. Grandpa Pig does pay cash to Mr. Rabbit as Granny Pig comes in and loves it anyway. Granny Pig asks if he bought it for her and Grandpa Pig does the BS-teeth smile saying "yes". Considering that he didn't want it in the first place, why not give it to her?! Some things never change. Scene change to everyone at their tables eating cupcakes and the adults are having tea. Peppa then finds an orange jigsaw puzzle and everyone panics because puzzle pieces are sacred in the jigsaw puzzle community, I guess. Mummy Rabbit comes in saying "pop it in the bin" and everyone screams "no" on cue. It doesn't have the charm of Suzy Sheep yelling "chop the tree down!", folks. Is it just me, or was the trash bin spot supposed to be done by Old Mrs. Donkey, because it sounds like her voice?! Then when Mummy Rabbit backs up, her voice is back to Mummy Rabbit's. That was a really bad mistake there by the creators. Now Old Mrs. Donkey is panicking with Wendy Wolf seated complete with martial arts zoom in. This is so melodramatic that I'm just shrugging my shoulders here and moving on. Apparently, Mr. Labo has a son and a mother at another table, but I'm not ready to speculate on it just yet. Considering that it's an orange piece, 20 bucks it's from the carrot puzzle. Peppa goes over to Mr. Rabbit's table and after lifting the puzzle box, it is the missing piece. Wait, how did that happen?! SUZY SHEEP~?! Peppa puts the piece into the hole of the carrot jigsaw puzzle and that is that. Everyone cheers as Peppa cuts her promo about color matching, it's still not nuanced enough. Old Mrs. Donkey calls her a bit of an expert on this puzzle thing and Peppa agrees. Uh-oh! She's slowly becoming Daddy Pig. That's not good. Everyone does the backsplash laugh while the narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. Old Mrs. Donkey says jigsaw like a jackass noise I should note. This was okay for what it was. It felt like a not so greatest hits of promos in this one. ** 1/2 (50%). By the way, despite having a remix musical opening, the endings are exactly the same as they were before The Big Announcement. Sigh.

Hobbies: This episode is #443 on the animation paper and the episode opens at the school house on the hill as all the kids run in complete with the puppet in the box music. Kids: Edmond Elephant (Who won a race for a change!), Peppa Pig, Suzy Sheep, Zoe Zebra, Freddy Fox, Pedro F'N Pony, Rebecca Rabbit, Emily Elephant, Candy Cat, Mandy Mouse and Danny Dog (must have drawn the short straw here.). Somehow, Emily Elephant appeared behind Gigi Gazelle to give her a shock as Gigi Gazelle is sitting in a green chair making a wooden basket. Which is only to serve that they had to surround Gigi with kids due to the limited space. It's 11 AM on the clock as playtime is over. The kids are confused because Freddy Fox's dad can sell them three for the price of one. Yup, they killed the "in sets of x" gimmick. I club BS&P! Yeah, Gigi is not doing it because she needs a basket, she's doing it because it's fun and it relieves stress. Hey, I can believe in this, unlike Miss Rabbit's meditation class. Gigi brings out the out of nowhere guitar and we all know where this is going and she just plays the guitar and then stops. Everyone claps anyway. Peppa proclaims that Gigi works playgroup as a hobby and she calls it a job. Yeah Suzy, she gets paid to do this. Then we get a hilarious out of character moment: Pedro Fucking Pony claims that he does not like guitars nor baskets. Okay, I can understanding not liking making baskets. Not liking guitars, after what happened in Pedro The Cowboy. FACKING BULLSHEET~! Gigi tells him that a hobby can be anything he wants, except playing "The Baked Bean Song". That is now owned by Madame Gazelle and the Rocking Gazelles due to Pedro's infringement of copyright law. Soft Copy has all the gory details and I do mean all of it. POW! OUCH! Ummmm...

Danny dances like a goofball for a while as the kids are amused. Gigi likes it and states that hobbies can be making or playing stuff. Peppa Pig shows Daddy Pig cooking green soup in the kitchen and banging on the drums all day. Todd Rundgren he isn't. Sadly, Peppa claims that he loves to read the newspaper while showing him outside in his chair snoring with the newspaper on his head. She should have said, "he loves doing nothing" just to pay off the entire angle of him doing something even if he's claiming that he loves doing nothing. That would have be money. Danny Dog claims that Granny Dog loves doing historical reinactments and they show Granny Pig, Granny Wolf and Granny Dog doing their Viking cosplaying to the umbrella tree with Gigi Gazelle as they have tea and cookies. HAHA! Grandpa Pig is laughing all the way to the bank on that one. Gigi of course denies the cookies and tea part, because they think Grandpa Pig is THAT dumb. Sadly, he's not. Mummy Cat does artstic stitching and puts the pictures on-line, none of them are offensive so she's fine. We then discover that Mummy Zebra not only makes pottery, she sells it on-line. Yes, they actually confirm that she does this as her job. I might need to revisit my notes from the Pottery episode to see if it was mentioned there. I thought originally that it was her hobby. Mummy Sheep's hobby is buying stuff on-line and Gigi Gazelle sort of accepts this, I laugh. Mr. Rabbit loves dressing up as a carrot as a hobby, so his auctioning in the previous episode was a volunteer job. Okay, but I did laugh at the thought of a cosplaying carrot since it shows who was enabling Rebecca Rabbit on her love of carrots all those years. Gigi accepts this as Suzy loves dressing up as a nurse.

Mandy Mouse loves drawing with crayons, mostly airplanes. Edmond Elephant, no surprise to anyone, loves doing math and calculations. I love doing game lists, walking and ranting on shows like Peppa Pig, Hey Duggee and others. That's my hobby, not a paycheque. Gigi calls this a job, but Edmond does it to relax like me. Gigi finishes her promo about hobbies as the bell rings because it's home time. Yes, Daddy Pig is driving the new car, so this episode occured in between Bigger Car and Baby's Arrivial at this point. Well, they need time to let the baby fully bloom so to speak. No Mummy Pig here either as it's Daddy Pig arriving with Mr. Rabbit and Mummy Sheep. We have the meet and greet as they basically recap what they said earlier in the episode. Totally anticlimatic at this point. Although Mummy Sheep is confused in thinking that shopping is not a hobby. Suzy's right. Mummy Sheep has never heard of Storage Wars before. Suzy just keeps scratching Mummy Sheep on the shopping and Mummy Sheep has to accept it and like it. HA! Mr. Rabbit has to explain that he dressed up like a carrot as a one off for a fancy dress party. His blushing indicates that this is bullshit and Rebecca Rabbit is correct. Might as well confess Mr. Rabbit, you are the GEEK OF THE WEEK~! Daddy Pig then asks what hobby Peppa has and Suzy is like "you know what it is, you know you giant steamed ham", as we all run outside because it's time to jump up and down in muddy puddles for the first time in the Pig Changes era. Ding! Oh, and the boot teleport on their feet as they head outside. SUZY SHEEP~?! The puppet in the box music plays as they do the routine of doom. Mandy Mouse is simply going forwards and backward on her wheelchair as the narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. This was slightly better than the last episode, but this is just Talent Day redone and it wasn't all that better. ** 3/4 (55%).

Granny Sheep's Art Van: This episode is #444 on the animation paper and the episode opens on the boring road east with Mummy Sheep driving her car, with Granny Sheep being the front seat driver and Peppa Pig and Suzy Sheep in the back. Everyone except Suzy Sheep is smiling as Suzy Sheep is asking where they are going today. Mummy Sheep claims that they are going shopping, but Granny Sheep don't care about which shopping they do as long as they have inspiration. Mummy Sheep proclaims that nothing falls out of the sky. Don't say that Mummy, you'll just make it rain to prove you wrong by default. Then Granny Sheep orders the car to be stopped and almost does it as good as Mr. Bull does. Mummy Sheep stops the car off the road as we see a rusty van on crane that dropped out of the sky, to paraphrase Peppa. Whew, that's a relief! Knowing Granny Sheep's presence, this is daring this world to rain on Granny Sheep's artistic skills. Granny Sheep is now inspired as we see the rusty old van hanging from a crane at Miss Rabbit's recycling center. Mummy Sheep is protesting this outrage because she doesn't want anything from the recycling center, but Granny Sheep wants a closer look. Yeah, I'll bet! The car is stopped as Granny Sheep jumps out and asks Miss Rabbit about the van as Miss Rabbit wants to scrap it, which Granny Sheep pleads why. Granny Sheep thinks it could be so much more, so Miss Rabbit offers to give it to her for free as Miss Rabbit drops the old rusty van like a job. Oh wait... Granny Sheep speaks French which is a telltale sign that she loves it and Granny Sheep groans like she just heard a dad joke. Except it's not a joke, but it still funny. Mummy Sheep wants to go shopping, but Granny Sheep no sells and demands her art bag, art supplies and friends of Peppa and Suzy. Mummy Sheep sighs, gets into the car and drives away stage left. She's going to do exactly what Granny Sheep wants. I just realize that Granny Sheep now have her own unique soundtrack as she wants to make an Art Van. Which is like the Party Bus except it's not for entertainment purposes, it's ARRRTTTTTT~! I've heard worse ideas than this. Granny Sheep continues her promo about mountains and stuff which is to kill time to allow Mummy Sheep to return with her art stuff, art bag, Danny Dog, Candy Cat and Pedro F'N Pony. Danny Dog is staring like he's a smugass at Pedro for no reason that I can think of. The kids jump out as the kids have the meet and greet. Granny Sheep puts white aprons on Peppa and Suzy, while the rest get them off-screen.

Danny wonders what colors to paint as Granny Sheep continues her hilarious "prophet of Nebraska" promo about the van speaking to her, and wanting green color. A pea soup green color she rolls on as Pedro is not repeating the promo, only to add a sun, the true real version of HELL~! Granny Sheep loves it, Candy Cat repeats with some blue. I didn't know blue paint was the consistency of water, which as a sight gag is funny, but it's also a logic break so, SUZY SHEEP~?! Peppa paints a pink/purple butterfly as she's careful to avoid the muddy puddle brown on the side in the process. Twenty bucks they keep that as Suzy has no idea how to do this because in storyline, Suzy cannot suspend her disbelief to save her life. She still paints white clouds though as we continue with the kids painting the rusty old van and now, it's looks like it magically repaired itself. SUZY SHEEP~?! Sadly, they didn't keep the muddy puddle at the back as Miss Rabbit is impressed. Only the roof is not painted for some reason as the Art Van looks great actually. Granny Sheep decides to get in and try to start the Art Van by pushing the green button. Years ago, I would have called this a logic hole, but it's 2025 and the car I often get into does have it's starter be a literal push button. The world has past me by as Mummy Sheep opens the hood to discover that there is no engine. I think I know where this is going as Danny Dog states that Granddad Dog knows a lot about engines, so Granny Sheep rings up Granddad Dog at the gas station. Granddad Dog answers the phone and accepts the term as we see him come out and go into his breakdown truck with a spare engine. Scene change to the recyling center as Granddad Dog arrives with the spare engine. I put 2:1 odds that the engine is in the back of the Art Van and that it still requires a new one anyway. I check the video...Nope, it's in the front and it's an electrical engine which serves no purpose other than to start the van and allow Granny Sheep to make a Doctor Frankenstein reference. The Art Van gets sparkles in the process and everyone cheers and claps. Granny Sheep needs a name and Mummy Sheep decides to call it Van-nessa, in order to prevent confusion with Vanessa, the white chicken Granny Pig has. Of course, the van has a woman's name, although this was named by a woman. Everyone gets in and cuts promos as Granny Sheep drives the new van onto the boring hill. Personally, the van should be called Art Van-nessa as a pun since Art as a first name has not been taken and Art can be gender fluid. The narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. By the way, this is the middle of a two part episode and it was much fun, all thanks to Granny Sheep of course. A lot less logic breaks, too. The ending credits are parts of the Art Van-nessa *** 3/4 (75%).

Being Inspired: This episode is #445 on the animation paper and the episode opens on the boring road with Art Van-nessa continuing on from the previous episode. The kids are laughing and I know what you are all thinking: What happened to Mummy Sheep's car?! I have a feeling that car has been officially retired and scrapped in favor of the Art Van-nessa, because Peppa's family cannot have all the fun with the Pig Changes happening as I speak. Don't expect Suzy to have a brother or sister baby though, the writers cannot redo this angle over and over again and blandified the show more than it already was. Granny Sheep is so inspired that Suzy Sheep asks: "What is being inspired?" since she keeps using that word. Granny Sheep's promo on this so amazing that I cannot do it justice, it was awesome. Granny Sheep needs to be pushed to the moon after all this as Suzy does not know what to make of this until Granny Sheep says: "Being inspired makes you do things." Suzy then gets it as Danny Dog relates a story of him being inspired by World Rules Football~! Soccer, everyone. Danny kicks the soccer ball in his vision as Peppa jumps up and down in muddy puddle in her vision. Ding! Mummy Sheep is inspired to going for a walk in the park. The kids ask what does that make her do and Mummy Sheep is now confused. HAHA! She was inspired to walk to the park since walking is an action. It's so obvious! Mummy Sheep is our GEEK OF THE WEEK~! Pedro F'N Pony points out the obvious as Granny Sheep go into another promo about walking in a park, which makes her live life to the fullest. Me, it just makes me want to go shopping without the need of a car. I live about a 20 minute walk from the shops and buses to take me into the city, so I know from experience. Suzy then asks about anything being an inspiration and Granny Sheep says yes as they head to the dockyard. Yup, we get to see Reggie Rabbit back for the first time in the mainline series hammering a metal box and I'm inspired. Inspiration here makes me laugh at Reggie Rabbit, because he is the Wildcat Puma of this show and he's good at it. Everyone gets out as we do the meet and greet with hand waving. The purpose of this visit is to get the kids inspired and there is no inspiration more awesome and warped than Grampy Rabbit. The kids are not thrilled about this as Danny Dog calls it rubbish. Reggie handles this so much better than Betty did when Tag calls Duggee's stuff rubbish in Hey Duggee. Sadly, the watering can he's holding had the metal spout de-attaches itself and fall onto the ground. Reggie tosses it away and I think he said "just not that rubbish" or even "just not that bit.", because he spoke so fast that it sounds like he said "bitch" at the end. You gotta speak slower than that, people who watch the show don't have subtitles nor scripts.

Anyhow, Granny Sheep asks if the kids could look around to be inspired and Reggie agrees to it as long as they don't touch anything. At least Reggie had enough sense to say that beforehand, unlike Betty who told Roly not to touch anything after Roly touched something he shouldn't have. The kids skip to the mooring docks with Granny Sheep as Reggie is now inspired by Art Van-nessa. Yeah, trouble. Peppa finds some ropes, Candy sees some seaweed with shells and Danny loves the sea and is inspired by it. Granny Sheep of course cuts a promo on it. Now, that they are inspired; the kids and Granny Sheep head back to Art Van-nessa as Mummy Sheep has set up a wooden table of art supplies from the van because the gang is going to draw pictures about their inspiration. If this was pre-Golden boots era, Peppa's picture would be Mummy and Daddy Pig tied up with the new baby tormenting them in a playful way, because of course! Peppa uses the rope inspiration at her table to make a wiggly string picture that looks like wiggly worms. Candy Cat's picture is of course seaweed painted with a real pink shell. Danny's is abstract blue colored art like the sea. I should note that every picture contains a replay of the stuff that inspired them that they saw earlier in the episode. Pedro had the best one: He combined Danny's love for soccer ball with rubbish in Reggie Rabbit's dock. HAHA! Pedro is the most artistic boy on the show. No wonder he was so articulate in singing the Baked Bean Song, despite stealing the tune from the Bing Bong Song. Granny Sheep speaks more French loving this and then we hear banging as Reggie got a wooden ladder and is banging on top of the roof of Art Van-nessa. Uh-oh! I should have known Reggie was up to his warped inspiration antics again. Then he pulls out the awning to allow them to make art in any conditions because we all know nature hates arts and is jealous of Granny Sheep in storyline. He also built a poster board wall to display their art. Granny Sheep calls this an artwork in itself, which is carny talk for "practical art", which is Reggie's forte I might add. Jump cut to everyone putting their pictures on the wall with masking tape. Granny Sheep made a giant wave from the sea as everyone is in awe. Notice how Suzy Sheep is the only one who hasn't mentioned her artwork, which looks generic in comparison to the others. Peppa is happy, everyone laughs as the narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. I shouldn't be surprised by Suzy and Mummy Sheep not being noted here: Their inspiration is not suspending their disbelief, which makes Granny Sheep look even better in hindsight. This was a fun episode and having Granny Sheep and Reggie Rabbit in the same place is many buys! **** (80%).

Penny Polar Bear's Party: This episode is #446 on the animation paper and the episode opens on the boring road as Mummy Polar Bear is driving the bus. YAY! Even better, Doctor Polar Bear is here which means the return of the two mummies! Double YAY! Obviously means Penny Polar Bear is back! Triple YAY! The other kids are: Peppa Pig, Danny Dog, Suzy Sheep, Molly Mole, Gerald Giraffe, Rebecca Rabbit and Pedro F'N Pony, Peppa is sitting with Molly Mole instead of Penny Polar Bear, that was odd. Also, everyone is wearing winter clothes in what appears to be a spring or summer day! Hmmm, I wonder where this is going?! Even funnier, the kids start laughing after Peppa Pig says the title! We discover that Penny Polar Bear is having a birthday party. Well, that didn't take too long. Then the kids stop laughing and are complaining about the heat right after the narrator says it's a "hot, sunny day". Geez, there's no air conditioners on this bus?! Pedro is confused by wearing winter gear on a hot, sunny day as Mummy Polar Bear proclaims that they will need them where they are going. Danny then asks where they are going and Penny doesn't know because it's a surprise even to her. Doctor Polar Bear confirms it's a birthday surprise as the kids are in awe of this. We head to the sports center and yes, I did Martial Arts first so I won't mention the area again. Everyone gets out confused and then they head into the place where they have a skating rink. I know this because when the kids come in, they are shivering like it's cold. Okay, I have been to skating rinks before, it is cold, but it's not that cold. I don't skate, I did running exercises on the track when no one was playing hockey games. It's 4 PM on the clock as we zoom out to show the entire skating rink Miss Rabbit is cleaning up the ice, so this town doesn't have it in the budget to get an ice surfacing machine. Insert David Aryes joke here. There is a booth with ice skate available for rent in the middle. The adults come in as Peppa proclaims that they are ice skating. Peppa is half right here because we are playing ice hockey, BABEE~! Oh goody, a sport from a country that doesn't exist in Peppa Pig's world! Penny absolutely loves this and hugs her parents! Awwwww! My heart melted. Rebecca Rabbit then ruins the moment by asking what is ice hockey. The parents explain it as a game played on ice by big boys and big girls.

Miss Rabbit is now at the booth with the ice skates on display and everyone takes them. They look like old skates made by bowling shoe companies. Everyone takes their boots off and puts on the ice skates, it's mostly showing Molly Mole and Pedro Pony. Then the adults put on the shoulder pads, leg pads, arm pads and helmets which look really white. It's 2025, the color schemes for these should be rainbow colors. The hats and scarfs are taken off, but no one is wearing gloves even though they are in winter gear. SUZY SHEEP~?! Pedro and the kids cannot walk very well because the equipment is weighing them down a lot. Molly Mole and Penny Polar Bear love this and Molly Mole is making penguin sounds just to amuse me and annoy the rest of the kids, except for Penny obviously. My original headcanon was Mummy Polar Bear was a storm chaser. Now, I changed my mind. She's likely a retired woman's hockey player and is really good at it. Only she's good at winter sports, while Gigi Gazelle is better at non-winter sports. Then suddenly, everyone stops hating this and now Pedro Pony is Pedro Penguin. Because of course! What a fool I am?! Miss Rabbit and Mummy Polar Bear give the kids sticks and Peppa complains about the curve bottom already. Penny has to assure Peppa that this is intentional, and not a troll move on their part. Now, I have seen Peppa and a number of the kids ice skate before in a second series episode on the pond. You know, the episode where George did the greatest triple axle spot of all time and gave Peppa a face wash?! Peppa and Penny get on ice, they are skating fine and then the equipment decides to screw them over causing all of the kids to lose their balance and they all fall down on their asses. Mummy Polar Bear is worried, but since the kids are giggling, they are either fine or trolling her. That would be a toss up at this point. Miss Rabbit helps one of the kids up as there is more slipping and sliding because falling over is part of the fun, you see. Well, until you go head first into the boards. Then you want to see the sport get banned forever. Molly Mole and Peppa Pig have a meeting of the minds. And it wasn't at the caves. Pedro lost his stick in the process. Miss Rabbit is on the ice as everyone gets up because she's gonna be the guest referee! Penny Polar Bear and Suzy Sheep are the captains. They have four players per team:

Penny Polar Bear Team: Peppa Pig, Molly Mole, Gerald Giraffe.
Suzy Sheep Team: Danny Dog, Pedro Pony, Rebecca Rabbit.

You couldn't replace Molly Mole with Freddy Fox and have both teams with two girls and two boys?! The teams assemble as Miss Rabbit puts red and blue stickers and aprons on to confirm the team colors. Suzy is red and Penny is blue as Danny Dog asks where the ball is. Mummy Polar Bear and Doctor Polar Bear are on the ice with sticks proclaiming that there is no ball. I assume that they are the goalies and I hope one of them doesn't tend the goal, just to get a Steve Dangle cheapshot in. Mummy Polar shows off the hockey puck as the rules of engagement are explained: put the puck into the net and the two mummies are there to try to stop the puck. Miss Rabbit proclaims that it's time for the game to begin as everyone gets into their spots and we are off...to suck at stick handling and stick shooting. Peppa whiffs on the puck by at least two feet. Pedro is sliding down on his back, he has completely given up. It is not like the American Football episode where the writers and characters were doing their best to completely bury the sport, these kids just do not know how to play hockey and they are not trying to bury said sport. Danny Dog manages to shoot the puck so hard, I was expecting a "If your goaltender, tend the goal" moment from one of the two mummies. It doesn't happen, sadly. We get a tug of war between two players, I don't know who, but Penny Polar steals the puck and now everyone has given up. Penny Polar Bear shoots the puck and she scores on Mummy Polar Bear! That finish was awesome, I won't lie. Blue team wins and cheers, Red team just groans as Miss Rabbit is excited that this game is over. Penny is so happy that they all take their helmet offs after Miss Rabbit blows the whistle and declares game. No surprise, Danny Dog loses, LOL! Penny loves this game as her birthday is a generic chocolate cake with a cake ice stick on the side, which is great because the chocolate cake is the puck in this setup. It has birthday candles lit as Penny Polar Bear is five years old now. Penny Polar blows off the candles, the kids and adults chant happy birthday to Penny Polar as the narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. An extremely fun episode that actually stayed within the parameters of the sport, without any fighting and any intentional body checks since all the bumps taken were unintentional. *** 3/4 (75%).

Biggest Picture In The World: This episode is #447 on the animation paper and the episode opens on the boring road as Granny Sheep is driving the Art Van-nessa as the kids are laughing in the backseats of the van. The kids are: Peppa Pig, Molly Mole, Emily Elephant, Gerald Giraffe, Suzy Sheep, Mandy Mouse, Danny Dog and Pedro F'N Pony. Pedro asks where they are going and Granny Sheep proclaims that they are going to the shopping mall. Okay, she needs more art supplies at the shops, this makes sense. Only that is not the reason for the trip, they are going to make ART~! We head to the shopping mall and we have cameos of Mrs. Cow, Doctor Pony, Mummy Zerba, Daddy Wolf, Mrs. Corgi and a few others I cannot make out of due to the resolution being 480p maximum. However, the one out front is an actual new character who is a security guard in the same outfit. He is Mr. Meerkat (pronounced "Mir-cat" on the subtitles) and knows that Granny Sheep is painting a huge picture for the shopping mall, so yes; Granny Sheep has the proper permits. Mr. Meerkat brings out a blue arrow sign to inform them to park in the car park. Granny Sheep thinks the car park is inside the mall and drives the van into the main court of the mall much to the chargin of Mr. Meerkat. HAHA! Mr. Meerkat runs in and is blown up within seconds, he needs Hennie's help at this rate. Carol Cow, Penny Pony, Mrs. Poodle (whom I mistaken for Granny Sheep all these rants), Mummy Cat (I think), and the others are mostly palette swaps of other characters. Mr. Meerkat decides to ignore Granny Sheep's disobeying of orders since they probably need the Art Van-nessa inside to paint the giant mural on the wall. Basically, it's a wall with black tape as a frame. Peppa calls it the biggest picture in the world. I betcha it is not. Mr. Meerkat tells them to stay within the picture frame and Granny Sheep is not happy to hear that one because she is an artist, you see. Granny Sheep only says "we will try" as Mr. Meerkat tips his hat and sounds panicky because with children around, he is self aware that this rule will also be broken. Sir, it's not the kids you should be worried about when drawing outside the lines. Mr. Meerkat leaves as somehow a bunch of chairs and two table appear by teleport. SUZY SHEEP~?!

The kids are worried about drawing a picture this big, so Granny Sheep has sheets of small paper as they are going to draw prototype pictures. They basically draw pictures of birds, sun, clouds, and a meadow of flowers. Granny Sheep takes the completed drawings and both the table and chairs are gone and replaced with a giant projector, which when the drawing are assembled are projected against the wall and that makes it big. Mrs. Poodle is now joining Mummy Cat in something, I don't know as Peppa Pig's voice is so loud, it echoes. Then we have a problem: The kids cannot paint the picture because they are small. Granny Sheep calls on Mr. Meerkat and he cannot run to save his life. He is totally blown up, he needs the Martial Arts classes in the next episode a lot more than the kids do. Granny Sheep asks if they have anything to paint up high and then Granny Sheep cuts Mr. Meerkat off and decides to use the extenison on the paint rollers on sticks. Mr. Meerkat panics again and puts on aprons while being totally blown up. Okay, someone does not like Mr. Meerkat. Is it Granny Sheep, Mr. Meerkat, or the writers?! In a major surprise: The kids paint the grass on the picture and somehow stays within the lines. Pedro does paint the black tape, but not outside of the limits. Mr. Meerkat becomes more paranoid as Granny Sheep asks for throwing sponges, then cuts him off because she has sponges to throw in her van. By the way, Granny Sheep makes a flower from throwing orange and yellow paint sponges, there is more paint on the floor than on the wall. Now the black tape is completely gone and the picture is closer to the floor than in the previous shots. SUZY SHEEP~?! Okay, I figure out that Mr. Meerkat and Granny Sheep have a feud because it's just for today and Granny Sheep said so. Yes, that is what both Granny Sheep and Mr. Meerkat said, giving permission to throw the sponges. They throw the sponges and now we see the black tape as they did paint well outside the lines now. The logic of this picture is really so bad, it's funny. More painting and that floor and bottom wall are totally lost to paint now. Peppa then asks how will they paint up high and Granny Sheep asks for some bouncy rope because she is going to launch some children. Wait, what?!

Mr. Meerkat said almost the exact same thing and then he gets cut off and finds the blue bouncy seat rope in the van. I realize that this buries Mr. Meerkat deep into the earth, but screw him! He's an out of shape security guard. Who would have any sympathy for him?! Granny Sheep sets up the stuff as Mr. Meerkat bails and returns with a helmet that looks like a American Rules football helmet. Granny Sheep says "better safe than sorry" as she is launching Peppa high into the air! I love this episode, but the logic breaks are really hurting it as the sun keeps going in and out on certain shots. Gerald Giraffe is the backup painter I should note. Along with the clouds as well as this whole "bungie painting" is called kientic painting by Granny Sheep. So, "bungie painting" is not allowed, but "kientic painting" is fine despite one is a Sony trademark and the one allowed is from Microsoft. Okay, good to know. More cameos show up during the showing of the most "abstract art", even by kid standards, including Reggie Rabbit! YAY! Even funnier, as Granny Sheep is speaking, one of the kids beside Reggie is painting the picture with a clean roller. That made me laugh. Oh wait, it's Molly Mole painting the clouds and Reggie Rabbit loves it. Oh wait, this episode is about to overcome the logic breaks: Granny Sheep wonders how to finish the bald spot on the top center of the painting and Reggie Rabbit walks down, gets on the roof and opens it by stomping it. This brings out the paint cannon. Reggie has been watching "The Chicken Cannon" from Royal Canadian Air Farace! AWESOME! Mr. Meerkat refuses to let this happen. Too late, you out of shape fool! Reggie pours yellow paint into the cannon. He fires the cannon and it makes the sun perfectly as the kids all cheer! This art is officially five stars! Mr. Meerkat faints dead away on response. HAHA! Peppa Pig proclaims that they have painted the biggest picture of the world, which I still think is wrong. Granny Sheep in one last giggle for me, helps Mr. Meerkat and thanks him for his service to this picture. Which is basically pinning the blame on him in order to lose his job when corporate shows up. Mr. Meerkat admits that it sure brighten up the place as everyone laughs to end the episode at 4:30. Logic breaks aside, this episode was awesome! Sadly, Mr. Meerkat's job as a security job is basically toast at this point and it's not just the picture either. **** 1/2 (90%).

Martial Arts: This episode is #448 on the animation paper and the episode opens at the sports center which has gained a tree and a ski slope on the western side. Miss Rabbit is driving the school bus (sigh) and stops at the sports center. Out comes Peppa Pig, Rebecca Rabbit, Danny Dog, Candy Cat, Freddy Fox, Zoe Zebra, Suzy Sheep and Pedro F'N Pony. Inside is Gigi Gazelle wearing a white martial arts outfit and is apparently a black belt in some form of martial arts. Let's see and hear if Gigi explains this to us. It's 11:00 am on the clock. Already Suzy thinks Gigi is wearing a bathrobe, it isn't. Gigi calls it a uniform for a special class. Gigi tells them to take their shoes off since no one seems to wear socks on this show despite anthros gifting socks for Christmas on this show. Don't worry fans, TaleSpin is also guilty of this as well. The kids take the uniforms off the hook and put them on off-screen for obvious reasons since there is no change room in this gym apparently. Everyone gets on the blue mattresses as I suddenly feel like this is old school WWE again and I do not mean the World Wrestling Empire. I'm not giving a reaction to the action, honest! Peppa and the kids are jumping up and down because the mats are squishy since the shoes take the squishie-ness out of them, I guess. Gigi gongs this spot, that was funny. Pedro is not sure about this martial arts thingie, so Gigi explains that it is stress relaxer and Danny asks if it's fighting. HAHA! In reality: yes and no. However, for the purposes of the lesson, Gigi is in the right to say "no". Pedro think this is totally pointless, but Gigi proclaims that it keeps you fit and strong because all the fighting you do is the air. Sort of like professional wrestling, only you don't have to worry about hitting anyone unintentionally. In comes Mr. Bull who has a red belt. Har, har! Gigi claims that Mr. Bull will come at him, but Gigi is going to stop him with martial arts. Wait, stop?! Didn't we state the ground rules that there would not be any fighting on this episode?! Mr. Bull gongs this moment, just to assure us that what Gigi said was bullshit. See what I did there?! We have the staredown of Gigi Vs. Mr. Bull and this is going to be the stupidest fight ever, only World Wrestling Empire would do this thousands worse and Chris Parsons would be chowing down like it's the best meal he ever had. Sure enough, Mr. Bull runs in with an attemped chop, Gigi judo throws him and Mr. Bull takes a sick bump onto the floor causing the kids to gasp.

I would love to think that the kids are gasping because they were lied to that no fighting was going to be involved in this martial arts thingie. But I suspect that they are gasping because Mr. Bull might have broken his back on that bump. Dammit Gigi, the man has a family and does multiple jobs like Miss Rabbit! Okay, maybe a lot less than Miss Rabbit, but still! Pedro asks if he has to do that and Gigi says "not on the first lesson". That does not help his confidence any. Gigi tells them to do a loyalty oath to not use martial arts on anyone and the kids take the pledge. I give them three episodes before they break the pledge. It'll likely be Peppa Pig doing the judo throw on Daddy Pig. Mr. Bull is fine because he knows how to fall. Yes folks, the kids are going to learn how to take "a bump" and fall safely. Is this martial arts class or a professional wrestling class?! The kids do this for a while as Mr. Bull gongs the bumps, that was funny. Next up is balance where they use colored bean bags on top of the head, and you must close your eyes and stand on one leg. Mr. Bull puts the bean bags on the kids heads and the kids are worse than Chris Champion doing the crane kick on Don Valentine. No surprise, the bean bags drop. Pedro was literally rubbing his back when his fell. Peppa's falls last, because she's the star, you see. Peppa calls it impossible and then we do it again, only longer and Gigi is telling them to listening to their breathing. You are not Hatsu, deal with it Gigi! This time, the kids breathe in and out over and over again. They look like complete tools out there, but it worked at least. Zoe proclaims that it's working and then her orange bean bag is like "screw this" and falls off Zoe's head. Zoe proclaims that it worked for a bit and then the gong forces the bean bags off everyone else. HAHA! Gigi still calls it excellent. The last lesson is basically the kids doing straight arm pull ins and pull outs. Like they are doing the straightest punches ever and then faster and louder. Problem is, they are at their peak on the first go, so Pedro has to do a jump step in order to show that he was doing it. Gigi gongs this spot as well as we head to the wall of colored belts. Peppa wants the red belt, but she's not ready yet and thus the white belt will have to do. They explain the colored belts on the wall as only the black belt is not on the wall since Gigi is the expert, you see. The kids put on the belts and none of them are tied up properly as Peppa giggles and gongs this episode. The narrator says it all, Peppa gongs the episode again and all the kids except Peppa does the backsplash laugh to end the episode at 4:30. That bump was safer than Mr. Bull's judo throw bump I should note. This was a fun episode and nothing else. *** 1/4 (65%).

Dr. Hamster's Ant Farm: This episode is #449 on the animation paper and the episode opens at the school house on the hill. We zoom in to see the kids drawing pictures of whatever suits their fancy while Gigi Gazelle is using a vacuum cleaner to clean up what appears to be a spotless floor. Oookkkkaaayyy. All the little kids are absent anyway, so here are the present kids: Peppa Pig, Rebecca Rabbit, Danny Dog, Gerald Giraffe, Suzy Sheep, Candy Cat, Zoe Zebra, Molly Mole, Freddy Fox, Peggi and Pandora Panda, and Pedro F'N Pony. Pedro is coloring a USA ice lolly, Freddy has a giant strawberry and I have zero clue what the rest are coloring and drawing. Molly is asking why Gigi is vacuuming the floor, which is the exact same question I would ask. It's 10 AM on the clock I should note. Gigi is cleaning up the floor for their special guest. Now if I didn't see the episode title, I would assume that we are getting a new character appearing. Nope, it's Doctor Hamster in her animal ambulance with a yellow cross this time, since the Red Cross is rightfully trademarked for obvious reasons. Doctor Hamster gets out and opens the back door to reveal something under a blue cover and it's on wheels. By the way, the kids are clearly trolling on Doctor Hamster as they all go inside because every answer they give has nothing to do with Doctor Hamster's job as a vet. I betcha Tiddles is climbing another tree as we speak now. Thankfully, Doctor Hamster gives them a hint that it has something to do with animals. Danny still calls it a whale, and then Doctor Hamster reveals that it's a giant ant colony, and this is where all her ants live. I can see a bunch of Youtube poop videos snicker at that one. They talk about the rooms of the ants for a while. Zoe asks if ants are dangerous and Doctor Hamster says that some of them are. Did this mean that if Daddy Pig said that some spiders are dangerous, Australia can unban Mister Skinnylegs?! Probably not. These ants are harmless. Yeah, I'll bet. Doctor Hamster unplugs the top of the entrance to show off where the ants enter. 2:1 odds that Doctor Hamster forgets and that's where the ants are escaping. Candy Cat asks what ants eat as they love sweet things the most according to Doctor Hamster and of course the ants start escaping just as Peppa asks questions of her own. There is a reason why Doctor Hamster needs to have her license revoked and this is evidence #3, your honour: Doctor Hamster forgets to put the plug back into the roof of the glass case. Doctor Hamster brings out fake antennae because this is how ants communicate with each other. Doctor Hamster brings out a box of them and the kids put them on. We wiggle the heads for a while to cosplay ants speaking of course!

The narrator explains the obvious to us as Peppa and Suzy cut promos on each other. Oh, and just to bury Doctor Hamster deep within the earth: Pedro FUCKING Pony is the one who has to inform everyone that the ants are escaping. Just like the first time Tiddles climbed a tree. Please, somehow help this vet get either a new job or a clue. You should not be more clueless than Pedro FUCKING Pony on a regular basis. Gigi is now panicky and nobody can move. Pedro's pose is hilarious as he sees a crayon move as one of the Panda Twins comments on it. They deduce that it's the ants since they can lift anywhere from ten times to five thousand times their own body mass. A crayon is like a normal saturday night for these ants. More objects get carried away by ants including the clock which reads 1 PM. This sequence has taken three hours in Peppa Pig time, in less than three minutes. SUZY SHEEP, DID I JUST SAY~?! Oh, never mind. Gigi's guitar bumps into Gigi as Gigi has had enough of this outrage. Gigi is probably sending that complaint to the Animal Welfare Society after this episode is over. Enough is enough and it's time for a change! Doctor Hamster calls bringing the ants back into the glass case difficult, so Suzy almost gets to the "Chop the tree down!" levels of "Naughty Tortoise" by saying "Vacuum them up! BAAAAA~!" basically. Doctor Hamster no sells this because it's a bad idea and to be fair, it really is. The kids and adults are surrounded by ants with objects as Doctor Hamster realizes that they need something sweet to eat. Peppa Pig offers to forfeit her jelly sandwich lunch to save themselves and give the ants what they want. Gigi handles this like Peppa is apeasing terrorists. Doctor Hamster points out that the ants will do the exact opposite of what Gigi thinks and bring the food home, which means the finish will be: The ant take the food and head back into the glass case, even though the glass case hole is too small for the food. The Panda Twins do call the glass case an "ant farm" I should note. Doctor Hamster crumbles the jelly sandwiches and puts them on the floor. The ant sees it and talks to the other ant. The ants all come in, take the crumbs and head back into the plug hole and inside the ant farm. Everyone cheers as Pedro is sad that he cannot have lunch with them, but Gigi proclaims that it's time for lunch at 1:30 PM. Okay. Scene change twice to the ants eating inside the ant farm and then outside the glass case with everyone except the adults (Apparently, Gerald doesn't have one.) toasting with jelly sandwiches. They thank Doctor Hamster and eat up as the narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. This was a fine episode, but Doctor Hamster is lucky those ants were harmless because they were daring her to be gone from this show at this point. *** (60%).

Hearing Test: This episode is #450 on the animation paper and the episode opens on the boring road with is the first episode since Evie's birth arc that Evie is present in the new car. The family is in the car with Daddy Pig driving as the narrator tells us that Evie is getting her hearing checked out. This would prove to be more than that as you'll see later on. Peppa wants Evie to say her own name and even pronounces it as Mummy Pig is nicely telling her that she can't say it. Then Evie pronounces it on the first try. Evie in Peppa Pig Tales is the best thing on that show because her gimmick is that she doesn't give a fuck. You can do stuff that likely makes a baby cry and it doesn't happen with Evie. Kids can be repulsed by work kisses and Evie is grinning from ear to ear when that happens. Mummy Pig call it pretty close, just to ruin the first word thingie. Personally, if you want to do that, say that she hasn't said a non-pronoun word yet. That would work better. Peppa wants George to say Evie's name and George just says "dinosaur" and pronounces it correctly! Peppa thinks George is trolling her and most of us would agree with that assessment. Problem is, we'll soon find out later in this episode that this was not correct. Peppa wants George to say her name and George refuses outright. This is clearly George not wanting to say the star's name because of all the times Peppa has punched down on George. I get that she has stopped that for the most part in the post-Golden Boots era, but George has clearly not forgiven her for that. Mummy Pig has had enough of this noise as Daddy Pig proclaims that they have arrived at the doctor's office. Everyone gets out as the narrator pretty much admits that he's glad Peppa and George's falling out has stopped. We head inside and discover that Doctor Brown Bear has come out of retirement! Uh-oh! Does that mean they are jettisoning Doctor Polar Bear due to the two mummies incident?! As I discover in future episodes....not a chance. In fact, Doctor Polar Bear appears in the next arc, which I'll rant on in the next rant. It involved Grandpa Pig teasing a broken foot, I should note. Doctor Brown Bear asks Peppa what brought them here and Peppa says "the car". I died. In comes Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and Evie in the carry-on seat as Doctor Brown Bear asks why are you here. Yes, George is present as Mummy Pig states that they are here for Evie's first hearing test. This is interesting because Evie is supposed to be around six months old in storyline, and the first hearing test would be anywhere from one day to one month after birth. Then if they failed, a retest occurs at around three months and at risk babies should retest between 9-12 months. Doctor Brown makes an ear joke and the blank stares indicates that this dad joke sucked. I snickered, mostly because Doctor Brown Bear also snickered. That makes him a subtle heel and the wah-wah sound says it all. Peppa complains about George not saying her name and George trolls her some more. Doctor Brown Bear decides to end the mystery once and for all: Is George trolling Peppa, or is it something else?! Doctor Brown decides to let Peppa and George have a real hearing test and Peppa cheers on cue. George is okay with it.

Now, the next scene proves that this office has TARDIS powers: The audiology room is bigger than any office room, and the office itself! It's 10 AM on the clock as everyone enters the office. The audiologist shows up and it's clear that she has no name. She also has a lighter shade of brown on the fury, so it's not Linda Bear nor related to Doctor Brown Bear in anyway. I'm surprised that they didn't give the audiologist an actual name considering Jodie Ounslay is voicing her. I have mentioned this in the Peppa Pig Tales episode which is an alternate retelling of this episode, so I will not mention it here. The audiologist's promo is right in the hearing chops for me, which is a good thing in this case. The audiologist starts with Evie first as she brings out a device that looks like a hearing aid, except it's designed to test the hearing, not actually help hearing. It make sounds and Evie reacts to it. If she doesn't react to the sounds, then there is potiental signs of hearing loss. More on that later. The audiologist tells the kids to be very quiet and it sounds like she's hunting wabbits or something, only in British English this time. The audiologist puts the device into each ear and it beeps, and Peppa and George are trying so hard to contain their laughter and they failed. It's probably because they just heard the audiologist speak like if Elmer Fudd with a British accent. George almost blew his cover saying something before the device is put in the ear, got it out of his system early. Anyhow, the test is finished and Evie's reaction were as they should be, so the next test is three to six months down the road. Next up, Peppa and George enter the glass sound-proof room of doom and there are two tables with headphones that have lights on it and a bucket containing blocks. Considering that they were laughing during Evie's hearing test, the audiologist probably would have gotten accurate results if she did the test in that room. Oh well, it doesn't matter because the real changing moment occurs: Peppa and George sit down at the tables and put the headphones on. The audiologist is outside at a desk with a laptop and a microphone telling them the rules of engagement. Here's the test: When the headphones make a beeping sound, put a block into the bucket. Then they repeat with the rest of the block, only with every single block after the first one, the beeps get more and more quieter. Notice George, "okay" is delayed after the audiologist speaks. That is not a good sign right there. They do the test as Peppa puts all of her blocks in the bucket. This proves that Peppa's mispronouncation is either breaking in the word, or trolling, or being flustered. George puts two blocks in the bucket and he doesn't do a thing after that. There are two blocks left out of four, meaning George has moderate hearing loss.

I realize Hasbro has made a big deal out of this due to representation. However, in this case; they actually explained why George has been mispronouncing names, words and has delayed speech patterns. This whole angle makes sense! He's got hearing issues. It's because he couldn't hear them properly due to his hearing being damaged. Now, some say it's due to him crying all the time. Problem, he stopped crying for the most part after Series 5. I think George's hearing has always been weak due to luck with generics, because that would explain why this problem with speaking had gone on for so long. Plus, Peppa was there with George when he was crying, so by proxy, she should have hearing problems. She doesn't. This is a great angle, although they need to go all the way with it and introduce a kid who has total hearing loss bring in the ASL/BSL sign language angle sometime down the road. If that happens, my bet is that it's Carol Cow. They did it in Teddy Ruxpin already in the 1980's, why not here?! The audiologist takes her laptop and goes over to the parents, she claims that they did well. Peppa did really well, George not so much sadly. Daddy Pig claims that his baby test was fine, thankfully the audiologist kindly points out the same thing I did earlier. Okay, George sits down on a desk chair as there is a small machine. This is when the whole hearing aid thing goes down the tubes a bit. The audiologist making the mold for the hearing aid is believable. That machine making it so easily is not believable at all. Peppa Pig's alternate re-telling of this scene was more believable than this. SUZY SHEEP~?! Out comes the hearing aid, which looks like a blue ring as the audiologist fits the hearing aid into George's left ear and that is that. The audiologist tells him it will take time to break this in and things are about to get louder as she turns on the hearing aid. George starts laughing and we can clearly hear the volume difference in the audio! George then laughs more and the echo effect is gone. Mummy Pig asks if George is laughing at his own laugh and George says "yes", and everyone laughs while the narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. Okay, this episode was great; even if the logic at the finish was really wonky. I actually don't have hearing issues, but this is a great angle. Hopefully, George still does his mispronouncation gimmick just to troll on Peppa since it would be a safe way to punch up on Peppa without actual punching. **** (80%).

Opening Moment #1: Same opening as before, but George is now wearing the hearing aid for real.

Favorite Sound: This episode is #451 on the animation paper and the episode opens at the big house on the hill as we hear more laughter as everyone is in the bathroom while George laughs on the purple chair which the same desk chair as in the previous episode. In other words, George literally went home sitting in that chair. That's dangerous, methinks. Plus, he has been laughing since the last episode, which is hilarious not harmless. He' going to milk that hearing aid for all it's worth, I promise you all. Daddy Pig is tending to Evie as we discover that Mummy Pig is cleaning George's hearing aid and resetting it in his left ear. Apparently, George thought his hearing aid was a nose ring. Simple misunderstanding from a first-timer, nothing really wrong there. George don't care anyway. Peppa thinks George thought it would make things smell better as Daddy Pig is relieved that smell-o-vision doesn't apply to hearing aid because Evie is being Evie, in shitting herself. Daddy Pig proclaims that Evie has done this thrice and it wasn't so nice. Except for Evie, whose gimmick is that she doesn't give a duck. Except for Quack Quack of course. Peppa puts the hearing aid in George's ear and expects George to say her name. George thanks Depa instead. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I love this! Here's the thing: Peppa Pig for the last 22 YEARS has been a rude, cheeky, naughty troll who often punches down on George Pig and makes him bawl his eyes out. Now that he can hear her properly, he is not only going to milk this hearing aid for all it's worth, he is going to use it to get his revenge on Peppa and make her feel the pain and suffering that George felt all those years on this show by just being the George of old to annoy the living piss out of Peppa. This is awesome and Peppa deserves every single bit of it. I love this new George already and he should have done this until the show officially ends for real! Sadly, as you will see and already shown on promos, he decided she was punished enough in one episode.

Mummy Pig tells Peppa that he's still breaking in the hearing aid. He's doing a lot more than that, Mummy Pig. This is where nuance is your friend: Everything in the previous episode is true since George actually does have hearing issues. Not saying Peppa Pig, the name is not one of them. George has a long standing grudge against Peppa for all the years of Peppa punching down on George, the only thing critics HATED about Peppa Pig in the first place, and Peppa Pig never really got enough of a comeupperance for Peppa to feel shame for all of those years of doing so. Mummy Pig suggests taking George out to hear various sounds and Peppa agrees to it. Not a bad idea, but it won't solve the beef George has with Peppa, but breaking in the hearing aid gently isn't a bad idea either. Scene change to a park where Mummy Pig, Peppa Pig and George Pig head inside as the kids practice the fine art of not being seen. Then we hear the ice cream truck, I was ready to bring out the sad reality of Miss Rabbit, until I realize that Mr. Labo is operating it. Okay, at least he's not Mr. Lion and has some sort of shame. George is so happy to hear the sound, but cannot find it as Mummy Pig states that the audiologist stated that it might be difficult for George to find where the sound is coming from, a sign that George is still developing his perspective between the visual and audio, which is a great little nuance for this show actually. Peppa decides to assist George by pushing him forward in the park until they find the ice cream truck. This was more problematic than just holding his hand and guiding him, I should note. No wonder George still has beef with Peppa. George and Peppa want ice cream and Mummy Pig is like "okay", and Peppa decides to order three ice creams and Mr. Labo says like one line, and then they scene change back to the big house on the hill with the kids and Mummy Pig carrying ice cream cones. They head inside just before the rain comes down. If you cannot guess the finish right now, you have no business reading this rant. Anyhow, Peppa proclaims that George is doing well, and it's so condescending that it's obvious she is trolling on George, thus not learning anything. Peppa proclaims it's now time for the scariest sound in the world. Uh-oh! This is trouble as we head into the kitchen as Daddy Pig is tending to Evie.

George and Peppa go into the kitchen and Peppa has a request for Daddy Pig: Go to sleep. Seriously, that is Peppa's request! Daddy Pig realizes that this is dumb, overrules Peppa on the sleeping and snorts so loud that Peppa and George screaming and then run away smiling and laughing, stealing the spot from Hey Duggee with the kids. It's also more believable because they know it's Daddy Pig behind it, but it is a lot funnier when Hey Duggee does it. Evie once again, doesn't give an elf. Peppa and George bail stage left into the hallway as two chair are run down and Daddy Pig proclaims that he still got it. HAHA! Awesome! Peppa then hears outside that the rain has stopped and it's time for Peppa and George to go outside with their boots on because we all know where this is going. Because it wouldn't be a major angle without jumping up and down in muddy puddles! DING! Peppa jumps in and George is like "What?" and Peppa is confused. George than sees a butterfly and chases it! Awesome! This is the payoff to the "George" episode in Peppa Pig Tales, the episode that technically started this angle! Plus, hilarious troll move on George! Peppa than is totally defeated as she walks stage right as Mummy Pig asks if she's okay. Mummy informs Peppa that George might never hear some sounds very well as Peppa is not happy about George never saying Peppa's name. George than runs in, decides "you got it now. I forgive you" and says "Yes, Peppa! in what can be described as the first full sentence George has said, like ever. Everything is right in world for Peppa as she's happy, George's happy, everyone's happy. Except for the bigots, they can stay angry until their deaths. Peppa and George embrace as the narrator says it all to end the episode at 4:30. It's sad that they had to end the "George trolls Peppa" angle early since George saying "Peppa" was the payoff to the episode. That said, this episode was awesome! Even Daddy Pig looked strong in this one, too. **** 3/4 (95%).

THE REVIEW LINE

Well, this was a great set of shorts this time around as a major turn in character direction to George Pig delivered as it promised. Granny Sheep's Art Van might not have been a thumbs up episode, it was close mostly due to Granny Sheep overruling Mummy Sheep and creating a vehicle that was better than Daddy Pig's new car due to the Pig Changes being made during this era. At least this episode had less logic breaks than Hobbies and Jigsaw Festival, and one of those was worth it just for a funny sigh gag involving a blue paint being the same as water basically. Being Inspired was a really good episode, although I expected that since Reggie Rabbit and Granny Sheep are some of the better characters of this show and both of them in the same room is going to bring the quality. While they were more subdued overall in this episode, they did more than enough for me to love this episode. It probably would have been better if we found out Suzy was a great artist, but Pedro was the best there in a plot twist. The Biggest Picture In The World was the best despite the wonky logic breaks as Granny Sheep clearly has no love for Mr. Meerkat's out of shape, out of date attitude and we got an awesome picture out of it. Oh, let's add Reggie Rabbit and the chicken cannon for the big finish just to make my life complete. That was glorious.

However, the main event two-part arc was the best arc they probably have ever done. Hearing Test and Favorite Sounds delivered on so many fronts and it wasn't because of representation. This wasn't someone shoehorning a new trait into a character just for representation. This was a character flaw/development that made absolutely PERFECT SENSE with the entire character and storyline. George Pig since the beginning of this show has had signs of hearing loss from mispronouncing words, to never saying anything in complete sentences, to pronouincing most complex words correctly while simple words he mispronounces (Pig being the most notable one, it's pronounced "ig" by George). We never understood why he did it. We thought it was just George trolling back on everyone for punching down on him. It turns out, with the exception of Peppa Pig, the troll of trolls on this show, his hearing was dying on him. This is a great payoff to the angle and it allows George to develop as a character while doing it in an organic way without making it look so fake. Heck, in "Favorite Sounds" George refused to say Peppa. He knew how to say it, but he refused because he was getting back in an unspoken way at Peppa for nearly 22 years in real time of trolling him and making him bawl his eyes out since Peppa Pig was punching down on him! That episode was a thing of beauty to watch and it was organic and it made perfect sense! That's how you change a character properly! The making of the hearing aid was not believable in really it's only flaw of the entire two part arc, and maybe George trolling on Peppa before George saying "Peppa" for real at the end of the series instead of paying it off at the end of the episode. The rest was hilarious, Daddy Pig was booked really strong in these two episodes because Daddy Pig is not an audiologist, nor pretends to be. His response to the test results is in fact a natural one to anyone and the audiologist was also great here and even Doctor Brown Bear made me snicker. The only question remaining is: Will George be Max from Max & Ruby, or play the role of the troll of this show now that he can hear better?! We will soon find out because there is the next rant to do as Grandpa Pig milks a hospital stay because he might have broken his foot! There is a duck race and an adult playground in the interm, all leading to the next major story arc which is three episodes of Daddy Pig preparing and entering the London Marathon, all for a good cause. Unlike those other times, this is legit for a good cause and not an actual scam in storyline. I cannot wait for the London Marathon episode either because many cameos are present, including the return of Mummy Llama and Mr. Hashbrown. Mr. Square is back! Yup. So...

Thumbs up for Hearing Test, Favorite Sounds, Being Inspired and The Biggest Picture In The World. Thumbs in the middle for the rest. I'll see you all next time.

Back to Other Rants Index!
Return to the Rant Shack!
Return to the Unofficial Kit Cloudkicker Homepage