The Bad Place (The Smurfs; 1981)

The Bad Place is an episode of The Smurfs.

Summary
A family of muddy alien creatures visit the Smurf Village and need help from the Smurfs on repairing their ship.

Why It's in a Bad Place

 * 1) First of all, the title is misleading. There's nothing bad about a strange moon ship from a place they came from. The name of this episode should've been changed to "Meet the Grimies".
 * 2) The Grimies are pointless characters. We never get to learn of their backstory or see a view of their planet. Without it, what kind of culture do they have if we don't know where they are from?
 * 3) * In fact, they destroyed nearly everything in the first half of the episode. They ruined Painter's artwork, spoiled Greedy's cooking and made a mess in Smurfette's bedroom.
 * 4) Gargamel and Azrael don't appear in this episode. Neither do the other villains on the show.
 * 5) This episode is one of the more tame episodes of the show. There are not enough dark elements to make the series stand out.
 * 6) Like Baby Smurf, Baby Grimy's wailing can be more cringeworthy than cute to listen to.
 * 7) While the episode did teach others how to avoid prejudice and respect other people's cultures, it doesn't excuse the fact that the Grimies are pointless characters.
 * 8) * In fact, the lesson of going against prejudice and respect people for who they are was done before in the Season 2 episode, "All's Smurfy That Ends Smurfy".
 * 9) The Grimies never return in future episodes, thus wasting potential.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The episode at least taught others how to avoid prejudice and respect other people's cultures.
 * 2) The Grimies were helpful in making topsoil for Farmer's fields and mud for Handy's bricks. Vanity also gets mud in his face for a beauty product at the end of the episode.