Season 3 is really disappointing.

Watching the 3rd Season of P&P, I don't think the writing is inferior to the first seasons, or the tone and atmosphere have radically changed. I had come to expect a sharp decline, having read some of the commentary on this board and elsewhere.

I think there were a few reasons why people thought the series was "Pete"-ring out, which, by the way, I think had nothing to do with Nickelodeon execs not 'getting' the series or wanting to cancel it because of poor ratings. To me, P&P just had run its natural course, and really had to end at about the time. My views:

* Growing pains. By the 3rd Season, Big Pete had become almost an adult, and Little Pete a teenager. This means the series' brotherly dynamic had inevitably changed. Little Pete, with his voicing breaking, and going through a growth spurt, could no longer be the cute little subversive rascal, with his rebellions as merely a little kid's innocuous whims, and Big Pete would be off to college in a while, or getting a job.
* Lack of novel subject matter. Though much of the appeal of the series was in its surrealism and absurdity, its premise was always firmly rooted in the reality of young American teens growing up. This limits the number of subjects you can deal with. So there's trouble at school, conflicts with restrictive parents and bullies, the strain of being in a competition with your team, the first pangs of love, favourite pets, a first summer job, and saying goodbye to friends. By the 3rd Season, the series has run out of fresh ideas, which is why we get another, less interesting and more one-dimensional bully (Pit Stain), an episode about geeky Teddy which reads like a rewrite of 'Freak, Geeks and Johnny Unitas', another 'Summer Holiday' vignette, this time around the pool, and one more 'Nightcrawlers', but all without the fresh, warped, offbeat quality.
* Inconsistency. This is what plagues most sitcoms, as they have to suddenly invent hobbies, relatives and friends to keep things interesting, even though we've never heard of them before. Unless the writers are extremely smart and prescient, we are suddenly confronted with Little Pete having a pet lizard (2nd season), only to be killed off in the same episode, and even later we learn that Little Pete's brashness is largely informed by his 'lucky penny'. Why didn't we ever learn about this before?
* Loss of key characters. The departure of as essential and hilarious a character as Artie dealt the series a heavy blow (though it wasn't an illogical step, with Little Pete growing up and having to fend for himself), and then there was a lack of Ellen's dad, and some of the really good youngsters of the first season, like Clem (Aaron Schwartz) and Natasha (Heather Matarazzo).

I liked Last Laugh, Dance Fever, Splashdown, Das Bus, and Saturday.

i could not agree more! i was at best buy the day both season 1 and 2 were released. i went on release day that "was set" for season 3, not knowing it had been canceled. i almost cried!! but hey, i found ways of getting it ANYway..but would gladly BUY IT if they would RELEASE IT!!! >:^(

and i agree with the above poster. they were getting too old to keep the show going... it ended were it should have. but, like any series that i ever loved, i was sad to see it go nonetheless...

You can still judge the writing and everything else aside from the visual quality. Season 3 just seems a lot more formulaic and sillier. Not saying seasons 1-2 weren't silly but all the characters treated everything with a certain amount of seriousness. Season 3 was more tongue-in-cheek type stuff.

"Are you sure it's not psychological? If you're comparing season 3, which still to date is only available in crappy 10 year old vhs rips to seasons 1 & 2 on DVD, that's probably the reason... "

Nope. I've been watching it for the first time in forever after watching the first 2 seasons and its markedly let's say... less good. I still like it a lot and get a kick out of it, but its nowhere near as magical and amazing as the first two.

I like that Nona and Monica get their characters expanded, and Pit Stain is a really good villain, but the stories and dialog are weaker, the better actor of the petes is relegated to narration duties. Overall it just seems more like a kids sitcom than the completely unique wonder of universal appeal it had been.
Lack of Artie though I think is the biggest blow. He was really the special element that pushed the surreal nature of the show.

It's not bad or anything. Just lost the magic.

Just read an interview from Aug 2012 where the producers said that Season 3 was manufactured and sits in a warehouse. They recorded commentaries and said there are extras. That is crazy!