Arthur (TV series)

Arthur is the name of an animated series that airs on PBS in the United States. The series is based on the Arthur books by author Marc Brown. The title character, Arthur (full name Arthur Timothy Read) is an aardvark in the third grade who has two younger sisters: precocious four-year-old D.W. (short for "Dora Winifred") and baby Kate. Arthur's sibling rivalry with D.W. is often a theme of the show.

The program centers around the daily lives of a group of anthropomorphized animal elementary school characters, who deal with various problems such as school plays, classroom assignments, and so forth. Various social issues are also raised by the show, and a diverse range of characters are purposefully used. Among issues raised include asthma, blindness, and divorce.

Arthur is set in fictional Elwood City. While the show's producers have stated that Elwood City has no specific ___location (so as to allow the viewers to imagine it is located wherever they wish), various fans have suggested it as being set in locations in the Northeast United States such as Massachusetts.

The show's opening theme song is the reggae song "Walking Down the Street," performed by Ziggy Marley. Each half-hour show contains two self-contained episodes, separated by a live-action vignette of schoolchildren doing a project that is usually related to the subject of the first episode (this vignette is not included in the United Kingdom or Canadian versions of the show).

The series often contains a few in-jokes for older viewers (such as parents or older siblings), with Art Garfunkel, Mister Rogers, and even Yo-Yo Ma, the noted cellist, having appeared in animated form on the show. The show make fun of conventions in children's programming. The characters watch fictional cartoons like "The Bionic Bunny", "Dark Bunny" and "Love Ducks" (a parody of the Teletubbies).

CINAR Animation (later renamed Cookie Jar Entertainment) produced 125 Arthur cartoons from 1996 to 2005.In October 2004, the spinoff series Postcards From Buster, began airing on PBS.

Cast

Buster Baxter: a rabbit. Buster is Arthur's best friend, and is a big fan of "Bionic Bunny," the characters' favorite superhero, and believes aliens are real. Buster has asthma, and his parents are divorced (he lives with his mother, Bitzi Baxter). His father is Bo. He also loves to eat, but is a relatively slim person.
The Brain: a bear. The Brain is the class genius and an only child. Brain is afraid of water, and his greatest loves are math and science. The Brain's real name is Alan Powers; however, only his parents and teachers refer to him by his actual name. Brain's parents run an ice cream shop, and he even works there sometimes. Celebrates Kwanzaa.
Francine Alice Frensky: a monkey. Francine is a tom boy who loves sports and singing. She is also Jewish. She has a quick temper and she can really start a heated argument. She is also very sarcastic at times. Her father, Oliver Frensky, is a garbage man who appears often in minor roles. She and Muffy are best friends.
Katherine Frensky: a monkey. She is Francine's older sister and is into more feminine things such as painting her nails and talking on the phone.
Sue Ellen Armstrong: a cat. Sue Ellen is a recent transfer to Arthur's school, her family having lived in various spots around the world. She is also interested in the arts and martial arts. Sue Ellen is one of the only characters who is able to challenge Binky, due to her skill in Tae Kwon Do, which Binky at first mistakes for a type of Korean cooking.
Muffy Crosswire: a monkey. Muffy is the wealthiest girl in school, and tends to be extremely self-centered. Muffy also has a love of boy bands, such as the Backstreet Boys. Her real name is Mary Alice Crosswire. Muffy's father (Edward Crosswire) is the owner of an automobile dealership. She and Francine are best friends, and they even share the same middle name. They enjoy shopping together.
Binky Barnes: a bulldog. In the beginning of the series, Binky acts as the class bully. However, in later episodes his "sensitive side" emerges as viewers begin to see that he enjoys ballet and playing the clarinet. He also becomes much nicer, and a friend to the other kids. Binky is the one character who's been held back a grade. He is allergic to peanuts. He sometimes hangs out with Molly and a group of rowdier kids. They call themselves the Tough Customers.
Mr. Nigel Emil Ratburn: a rat. Arthur and the others' teacher, who's quite enthusiastic about education and assigning homework assignments. Mr. Ratburn spends a lot of time puppeteering, and puts on shows for smaller children (like D.W.) Mr. Ratburn also has a sister who is also a teacher who substituted for him in one episode.
Timmy and Tommy Tibble: bear cubs. A pair of twins who live near Arthur's house, and tend towards obnoxious behavior. They attend the same preschool as D.W. They live with their grandmother.
Emily: a rabbit is one of D.W.'s friends, she has white fur and blond hair- Emily is on vacation a lot, and seems to be the 'Buster' to DW.
Nadine: an otter is D.W.'s imaginary friend. She appears less regularly as the show goes on and D.W. matures little by little. In one episode, D.W. ventures into an alternative universe where she is older and it is revealed that Nadine is still 'in existence'.
Prunella: a poodle. Prunella is interested in yoga and creative arts. She is also very "hokus-pokus", and she likes trying out predictions on her friends. Her favorite book and film series is "Henry Skreever", a parody of Harry Potter.
Pal: Arthur's small pet dog, who (like the other pets of the characters on the show) isn't anthropomorphized, though a series of episodes have shown him as being able to communicate with baby Kate (and vice-versa).
Marina: a rabbit. Marina is a recent addition to the Arthur cast. She is blind, and she is Prunella's best friend. Marina helps children learn about being blind and how a kid can be different but still normal.
Rubella: a poodle. She Prunella's older sister, she often reads Tarot cards and reads from a Crystal Ball- she seems to be Prunella's role model in life.
Molly Macdonald: a rabbit. She's older then most of the cast- she's a skater with short hair and cut jeans. She plays a large part in the episode Don't Ask Muffy and is also often seen with Binky Barnes and other (un-named) older children. Her mother is Sarah Macdonald, who appears irregularly in the series.
Jenna Morgan: a grey cat. She's in Arthur's class at school, and plays a background role. Jenna is very good at sports, the only person who can beat Francine at most things, including winning Athlete of the year over Francine. She occasionally wets the bed at night, as revealed in an episode where she's invited to Muffy's sleepover. She is allergic to milk.
George Schmegengi Nordgren: a moose. He's a character who owns a puppet giraffe, which he learns to use from Mr Ratburn, who also spends a lot of time puppeteering. George is Swedish
Fern Walters: a dog. Fern likes poetry and is a popular character in fanfiction and among fans despite her lack of appearances.
"Mom": Arthur's mother (an aardvark). She seems to be un-named in the series. She works in an office as an accountant and is patient and kind, she knows how to work a computer well and is willing to help Arthur with his homework. Mom's real name is Jane Read.
"Dad"; Arthur's father (an aardvark). He's caring, like Arthur's mother, and patient with D.W. He works as a caterer and chef and is very good at it, though he lacks organisation. "Dad"'s real name is David Read.
Grandma Thora Read: Arthur and D.W.'s paternal grandmother (an aardvark) and David Read's mother, who is quite caring but tends toward being a bad cook. Grandma Thora is based on Brown's own grandmother Thora, who encouraged him by saving his childhood drawings in a bottom drawer.
Grandpa Dave: Arthur and D.W.'s grandfather, Jane Read's father- his surname is unknown. He tells stories which Arthur and D.W. enjoy, though often he can make things up and pretend they're real.
Mrs. MacGrady: a hamster. She is a dinner lady at Arthur's school who he's friendly with. She who plays bingo with Grandma Thora.
Mr. Herbert Haney (a bear). He is the principal of Arthur's school, and is usually seen when he's punishing a student (normally Binky). Mr. Haney is often the victim of misfortune.
Paige Turner (a rabbit). She is the librarian of Arthur's school, and also works at the local library voluntarily.
Bionic Bunny (a rabbit) is Arthur and Buster's favourite fictional character, who is often seen battling aliens and resembles Superman. He's countered by Mary Moocow, a singing cow resembling Barney the Dinosaur, who's the favourite fictional character of the younger characters (D.W., the Tibbles, Emily, Nadine, etc.). He is portrayed by fictional actor Wilbur Rabbit.
Dark Bunny (a rabbit) is a slightly newer character who has started to become a favorite fictional character as well. He is Bionic Bunny's cousin who lives on the darker side of town. He takes the same sort of role as his cousin.
Mr. Morris: a dog and the janitor at Lakewood Elementary School in Elwood City. He lives in New Mexico. He gave Buster Baxter his accordian.
Rattles a boy that is a member of the Tough Customers.
Mrs. Pariso a woman who is Francine's new neighbor and she likes horses and has a hearing aid.
Fritz Langely a man that works at the Elwood City garden. He gets to know Buster Baxter.
Mr. Marco a teacher at Lakewood Elementary School.

The fact that the characters are different animals is almost never referred to in the show. It is subtly implied that in Arthur's universe species is akin to race. When other countries are seen in the show they are usually inhabited by only one type of animal.

It might be assumed that in Arthur's universe, nonanthropomorized animals such as Pal coexisting with sentient members of the same species such as Binky or Prunella might be akin to how humans and primates (such as chimpanzees) coexist with each other in the real world. Indeed, several episodes have shown such mixtures as sentient canines working at animal shelters.

Funders

Funding for Arthur is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, viewer contributions to their local PBS affiliate, and the National Endowment for Children's Educational Television and by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Additional funding is provided by Ready to Learn, the United States Department of Education, the No Child Left Behind Act, and by PBS. Corporate funding is provided by Baby Gap, Chuck E. Cheese's, LEGO, and Libby's Juicy Juice.

--- Episode list --- Ep. # Prod. # Airdate/Episode Title

Season 1

1. 1-1 1-01 02-Sep-1996 - Arthur's Eyes / Francine's Bad Hair Day
2. 1-2 1-02 09-Sep-1996 - Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn / Arthur's Spelling Trubble
3. 1-3 1-03 16-Sep-1996 - D.W. All Wet / Buster's Dino Dilemma
4. 1-4 1-04 23-Sep-1996 - D.W.'s Imaginary Friend / Arthur's Lost Library Book
5. 1-5 1-05 07-Oct-1996 - Arthur's Pet Business / D.W. the Copycat
6. 1-6 1-06 14-Oct-1996 - Locked in the Library / Arthur Accused!
7. 1-7 1-07 21-Oct-1996 - Arthur Goes to Camp / Buster Makes the Grade
8. 1-8 1-08 28-Oct-1996 - Arthur's New Puppy / Arthur Bounces Back
9. 1-9 1-09 04-Nov-1996 - Arthur Babysits / Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe
10. 1-10 1-10 11-Nov-1996 - Arthur's Birthday / Francine Frensky, Superstar
11. 1-11 1-11 18-Nov-1996 - Arthur's Baby / D.W.'s Baby
12. 1-12 1-12 25-Nov-1996 - Arthur Writes a Story / Arthur's Lost Dog
13. 1-13 1-13 02-Dec-1996 - So Long, Spanky / Buster's New Friend
14. 1-14 1-14 09-Dec-1996 - Arthur the Wrecker / Arthur and the True Francine
15. 1-15 1-15 16-Dec-1996 - Arthur's Family Vacation / Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm
16. 1-16 1-16 06-Jan-1997 - Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest / D.W. Flips
17. 1-17 1-17 13-Jan-1997 - Meek for a Week / Arthur, World's Greatest Gleeper
18. 1-18 1-18 20-Jan-1997 - Arthur's Chicken Pox / Sick as a Dog
19. 1-19 1-19 27-Jan-1997 - D.W. Rides Again / Arthur Makes the Team
20. 1-20 1-20 03-Feb-1997 - Arthur's Almost Boring Day / The Half-Baked Sale
21. 1-21 1-21 10-Feb-1997 - Sue Ellen Moves In / The Perfect Brother
22. 1-22 1-22 17-Feb-1997 - D.W.'s Snow Mystery / Team Trouble
23. 1-23 1-23 24-Feb-1997 - Bully for Binky / Mis-fortune Teller
24. 1-24 1-24 03-Mar-1997 - Arthur's Tooth / D.W. Gets Lost
25. 1-25 1-25 10-Mar-1997 - D.W. Thinks Big / Arthur Cleans Up
26. 1-26 1-26 21-Apr-1997 - My Dad, the Garbage Man / Poor Muffy
27. 1-27 1-27 28-Apr-1997 - D.W.'s Blankie / Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble
28. 1-28 1-28 19-May-1997 - I'm a Poet / The Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club!
29. 1-29 1-29 26-May-1997 - My Club Rules! / Stolen Bike
30. 1-30 1-30 02-Jun-1997 - Arthur's First Sleepover / Arthur's New Years Eve

Season 2

31. 2-1 2-01 22-Sep-1997 - Arthur Meets Mr. Rogers / Draw!
32. 2-2 2-02 29-Sep-1997 - Binky Barnes, Art Expert / Arthur's Lucky Pencil
33. 2-3 2-03 06-Oct-1997 - D.W., the Picky Eater / Buster and the Daredevils
34. 2-4 2-04 13-Oct-1997 - Arthur Makes a Movie / Go to Your Room, D.W.
35. 2-5 2-05 20-Oct-1997 - Arthur's Underwear / Francine Frensky, Olympic Rider
36. 2-6 2-06 27-Oct-1997 - Buster Baxter, Cat Saver / Play it Again, D.W.
37. 2-7 2-07 03-Nov-1997 - Arthur's TV-Free Week / Night Fright
38. 2-8 2-08 10-Nov-1997 - Arthur vs. the Piano / The Big Blow-Up
39. 2-9 2-09 08-Dec-1997 - Lost! / The Short, Quick Summer
40. 2-10 2-10 15-Dec-1997 - D.W. Goes to Washington / Arthur's Mystery Envelope
41. 2-11 2-11 19-Jan-1998 - D.W.'s Deer Friend / Buster Hits the Books
42. 2-12 2-12 28-Jan-1998 - Arthur's Faraway Friend / Arthur and the Square Dance
43. 2-13 2-13 07-Feb-1998 - Water and the Brain / Arthur the Unfunny
44. 2-14 2-14 14-Feb-1998 - Sue Ellen's Lost Diary / Arthur's Knee
45. 2-15 2-15 09-Mar-1998 - Grandma Thora Appreciation Day / Fern's Slumber Party
46. 2-16 2-16 16-Mar-1998 - Love Notes for Muffy / D.W. Blows the Whistle
47. 2-17 2-17 23-Mar-1998 - Francine Redecorates / Arthur the Loser
48. 2-18 2-18 27-Apr-1998 - Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard / D.W.'s Very Bad Mood
49. 2-19 2-19 18-May-1998 - D.W.'s Name Game / Finders Key-pers
50. 2-20 2-20 25-May-1998 - How the Cookie Crumbles / Sue Ellen's Little Sister

Season 3

51. 3-1 3-01 21-Sep-1998 - Buster's Back / The Ballad of Buster Baxter
52. 3-2 3-02 28-Sep-1998 - D.W., All Fired Up / I'd Rather Read It Myself
53. 3-3 3-03 05-Oct-1998 - Arthur Goes Crosswire / Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurus
54. 3-4 3-04 12-Oct-1998 - Background Blues / And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids
55. 3-5 3-05 02-Nov-1998 - The Chips Are Down / Revenge of the Chip
56. 3-6 3-06 09-Nov-1998 - Binky Rules / Meet Binky
57. 3-7 3-07 16-Nov-1998 - Arthur Rides the Bandwagon / Dad's Dessert Dilemma
58. 3-8 3-08 07-Dec-1998 - Popular Girls / Buster's Growing Grudge
59. 3-9 3-09 04-Jan-1999 - Arthur's Treasure Hunt / The Return of the King
60. 3-10 3-10 11-Jan-1999 - Attack of the Turbo Tibbles / D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy
61. 3-11 3-11 08-Feb-1999 - Double Tibble Trouble / Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival
62. 3-12 3-12 15-Mar-1999 - What Scared Sue Ellen? / Clarissa is Cracked
63. 3-13 3-13 26-Apr-1999 - Arthur's Dummy Disaster / Francine and the Feline
64. 3-14 3-14 24-May-1999 - Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight / D.W.'s Perfect Wish
65. 3-15 3-15 31-May-1999 - Arthur and D.W. Clean Up / The Long, Dull Winter

Season 4

66. 4-1 4-01 04-Oct-1999 - D.W.'s Library Card / Arthur's Big Hit
67. 4-2 4-02 05-Oct-1999 - Hide and Snake / Muffy's New Best Friend
68. 4-3 4-03 07-Oct-1999 - Buster's Breathless / The Fright Stuff
69. 4-4 4-04 08-Oct-1999 - The Contest / Prove It
70. 4-5 4-05 11-Oct-1999 - The Blizzard / The Rat Who Came to Dinner
71. 4-6 4-06 12-Oct-1999 - D.W. Tale Spins / Prunella Gets it Twice
72. 4-7 4-07 13-Oct-1999 - Binky Barnes, Wingman! / To Beat or Not to Beat
73. 4-8 4-08 14-Oct-1999 - 1001 Dads / Prunella's Prediction
74. 4-9 4-09 15-Oct-1999 - What is that Thing? / Buster's Best Behavior
75. 4-10 4-10 18-Oct-1999 - My Music Rules / That's a Baby Show!

Season 5

76. 5-1 5-01 04-Sep-2000 - Arthur and the Big Riddle / Double Dare
77. 5-2 5-02 11-Sep-2000 - Kids are From Earth, Parents are From Pluto / Nerves of Steal
78. 5-3 5-03 18-Sep-2000 - It's a No-Brainer / The Shore Thing
79. 5-4 5-04 25-Sep-2000 - The World Record / The Cave
80. 5-5 5-05 02-Oct-2000 - The Lousy Week / You Are Arthur...
81. 5-6 5-06 09-Oct-2000 - The Election / Francine Goes to War
82. 5-7 5-07 16-Oct-2000 - Sleep No More / Pet Peeved
83. 5-8 5-08 23-Oct-2000 - The Last of Mary Moo Cow / Bitzi's Beau
84. 5-9 5-09 30-Oct-2000 - Just Desserts / The Big Dig
85. 5-10 5-10 06-Nov-2000 - Arthur's Family Feud / Muffy Gets Mature

Special

S-1 5-11 23-Nov-2000 - Arthur's Perfect Christmas

Season 6

86. 6-1 6-01 24-Sep-2001 - Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked / Best of the Nest
87. 6-2 6-02 01-Oct-2001 - Arthur Plays the Blues / Buster's Sweet Success
88. 6-3 6-03 08-Oct-2001 - Prunella's Special Edition / The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies
89. 6-4 6-04 15-Oct-2001 - Muffy's Soccer Shocker / Brother Can You Spare a Clarinet?
90. 6-5 6-05 22-Oct-2001 - The Boy Who Cried Comet! / Arthur and Los Vecínos
91. 6-6 6-06 29-Oct-2001 - Citizen Frensky / D.W.'s Backpack Mishap
92. 6-7 6-07 05-Nov-2001 - The Boy with His Head in the Clouds / More!
93. 6-8 6-08 12-Nov-2001 - Rhyme for Your Life / For Whom the Bell Tolls
94. 6-9 6-09 19-Nov-2001 - The Good Sport / Crushed
95. 6-10 6-10 26-Nov-2001 - Arthur Loses His Marbles / Friday the 13th