You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Welcome to GeezeZone!
This is a community dedicated to the discuss all things 90's and 2000's! Here we discuss and write about old tv shows, music, movies, games, toys, etc. Feel free to join to will be able to: comment on articles , join our events, and share your own memories! We'd love to hear them!
Have you ever had days when you feel you are Arthur Read? Arthur remains one of the most recognized cartoon characters that has been resilient enough to stay on our TV from back in the mid-'90s to the present time. I was fond of Arthur Timothy from way back then when I was a teenager. I still have fond memory of my sibling and me trying to imitate the talking, walking, and singing of Arthur.
This week I was hit by the strong nostalgia of Arthur when I watched a full episode of Arthur’s “Is That Kosher – Never Never Never!” that aired on PBS way back. I still get goosebumps thinking of jokes from this episode. I haven’t for a long time felt like this. It is a whole new level of funny. I wonder how some jokes skipped my scrutiny back then.
Watching Arthur in the year 2021 is like watching an old version of Tom and Jerry. Some jokes and antics may seem dry, but if you watched it back then, you can’t help but laugh out loud. These are timeless TV series that will stand the taste of time. I think the producers and writers of these shows were geniuses. It is not easy to write or develop something that will entertain a whole set of generations from the 90s to now.
Arthur was my all-time favorite cartoon TV series that I wouldn’t miss watching every weekend on PBS. Yes, we had several cartoon shows on cable TV back then, but I would fight my siblings to have an hour or two of Arthur. After over two decades of being on-air, Arthur's cartoon TV series is still worth watching. Unlike Spongebob, Arthur was one of the shows that I did keep up with since I was young at the time.
The cartoon fanatics at the time will agree with me that Arthur was an amazing show back then full of memorable lessons and educational content for kids and adults alike. You could never be too old or very young to watch this show. I didn’t even the show was still on the air, I, therefore, think it ranks among the longest-running shows on TV.
A Little Background about Arthur
Let us delve into a little detail about the show. This show follows its main character Arthur read along with his family and friends of mixed animal species in the fictional town of Elwood City. Though calling it a city is a stretch since it mostly is a suburban town. He’s got two sisters including the infamous Dora Winfred which was often referred to as DW. This is despite the fact that I thought her name stood for disaster waiting to happen. Mostly because she makes Arthur and his friend's lives a living hell. She knows which buttons to hit. Much like the iconic episode “Arthur’s Big Hit”.
In this episode, DW takes Arthurs model plane and breaks it. The reaction leads to what has become an internet sensation leaving memes after memes. Arthur balls his fist in a quick cut from fits to DW falling to the ground. What is funny about his clip is how dramatic they build-up of his anger in such a quick but matter-of-fact way that compared to tapping DW back on the floor with barely a bruise made it look like Jake LaMotta fighting Raging Bull. It’s also a clever cut in that it doesn’t show DW actually getting hit since the violence would be a step too far for PBS to show on TV. It's over the top but in traditional kids' show fashion shows the consequences of fighting on both sides.
However, even as an adult I don’t think Arthur was given credit for why he got angry with his sister, instead he gets a punishment. He was denied TV for a week. He was given time by the parents to think about what he did.
I guess it would be a good idea to talk about the show’s title character. Arthur Read is your typical awkward boy character that was popular in the ‘90s. Doug started this trend where animated shows that awkward boys going through life with his quirky cast and characters. But often shows that followed would give a different variation on the kind of awkward boy protagonist that bran and proud family were the awkward boy show with a girl. Hey Arnold was a football-headed awkward boy, Floyd and Space was the awkward boy in space, Teacher’s pet was the awkward boys show with a dog. Even the Rugrats took a stab at the awkward boy show it all grown up. Much like Doug, Arthur has its fair share of quirky side characters including the smart one, the hungry one, the rich one, and the tomboy one with who may or may not be in a forced relationship.
Truth be told, I always figured she had it in for the rich kid but that is my opinion. Of all the characters, one of my favorites is Binky the bully, though calling him the bully would imply he was a mean character. However, because of his lack of insight and occasional sensitive personality, he tends to be one of my favorite characters.
A lot of episodes featured the kids working through personal issues as well as community issues that range from natural disasters, reading, autisms, etc. Kind of what you expect from a PBS show focused on educating and entertaining in a cost-effective manner. You may as well get an episode with Mister Rogers. An episode starring Mister Rogers was a surprise. No one saw it coming. Every so often, like the Simpsons, the shows drops in celebrity guest. One of those includes the big-time actor Matt Damon.
Special Appearances: Matt Damon in Arthur TV series
The Matt Damon character on Arthur was really entertaining. Although I wonder why they did put more focus on the face. There really wasn’t a need to go with the dimples, he is a cartoon character. Seeing the focus of details for something that doesn’t need to have many details is super distracting. Sometimes unnecessary. Take his head for example. His hair parts around his nonexistent ears which you know can’t be ears since he’s an aardvark and he’s got aardvark keys.
So it makes it look like he’s got two pairs of ears rather than one. If you think that wasn’t silly enough, the animation inspired yet another meme where he is featured in Arthur’s daydream being told that he will never eat lunch in this town again. This scene out of context works on so many meme levels. It’s another gloriously inspired animation that can only be brought to us by the insanity that is often.
Speaking in the animation, the show has gone through a couple of animation studios in the past which speaks for itself when you look at the changes in the animation. You can’t even imagine it being the same show when you compare it to earlier seasons. You get more fluid flash-style animation from the PC games that came out when the show first premiered. How can you imagine this being the look of the show now.
Now as someone who is making fun of the look of a PBS show, I can't fault the show production guys since it is public broadcasting. Basically saying they can and can't afford to pull off certain things. When the money is coming from the government funding in the iconic phrase “Viewers Like You” means that its not fair to fire a shot to this production. Even the original animation wasn’t that great and there were moments where they could copy the look of other shows and you know they had to work on a budget.
I think it is only fair to acknowledge that this format is a little less consistent with the look of the original run. Then again, the people around its original run are really watching the show so I don’t where I was going with this point so am just gonna go ahead and get my reading.
Arthur is a show that manages to hold up on certain areas, making it good entertainment for kids with a good commentary. It is hard to say it is a consistent show seeing how it got multiple changes in the years. However, when you’ve got a show that has been around for over 20 years, changes have to be made. Some of those changes are appropriate to the intentions of the show while others not so much. But it is ok. However, simply saying Arthur is an ok show may not be fair since it has managed to maintain quality for all these years. It is a good show for the kids. It is fair to say it is worth it.
Background History of Arthur (TV Series)
Let us now dig into the background story of Arthur and why it has remained to be a sensational show for kids for over two decades. Arthur is a Canadian-American animated educational TV show for kids ages 4 to 8. It was created by Kathy Waugh and produced by WGBH for PBS. This show is set in the fictional American city of Elwood City and centers on the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily adventures.
The TV show is based on Marc Brown’s Arthur Adventure book series, which he wrote and illustrated. The animated series was created by WGBH Boston and Montreal-based Cinar (now called WildBrain) in 199, and its debut episode was broadcast in October of 1996. The show aired 246 half-hour episodes since its debut.
A pilot for the spin-off series Postcards from Buster aired as a season 8 episode of Arthur in 2003. Postcards from Buster aired from October 2004 to November 2008; the series went on hiatus for several years before a brief return in 2012, only to be discontinued again after airing three previously unheard episodes from the show’s third season.
The show frequently addresses serious difficulties that families confront, such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, diabetes, and an autistic spectrum disorder. It also promotes reading and interactions with family and friends by describing how varied people’s personalities and interests are. It is the longest-running children's cartoon series in the United States, as well as the second-longest-running animated series in America trailing only Fox’s The Simpsons. Arthur was renewed for four more seasons, all the way up to season 25 in 2018.
Arthur’s Plot and Setting
The series’ title character, Arthur Read, is presented as an anthropomorphic 8-year-old brown aardvark who lives in the imaginary tow of Elwood City. He attends Lakewood Elementary School and is in third grade. Arthur’s family consists of his two homeworking parents, David (a chef) and Jane (an accountant), his two younger sisters, Dora Winfred (D.Q) who is currently in preschool, and Kate, who is still an infant, as well as his dog Pal.
Arthur also has multiple acquaintances from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and he interacts with members of his extended family on occasion. Elwood City is shown as a mostly suburban area that bears a significant similarity to the Boston area; the TV series is produced in part by WGBH. Brown’s hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, is also mentioned several times. The neighborhood shopping mall in the TV show is called Mill Creek Mall, which is a tribute to Millcreek Mall. Brown has indicated that the series is inspired by his childhood in Erie and that Mr. Ratburn is based on a middle-school mathematics teacher he had at Westlake Middle School.
Arthur TV Series Production
Marc Brown was approached by WGBH and PBS in 1994 about converting the Arthur books into a television series. Brown was first hesitant to participate in a media for which he had little regard, but he quickly consented when he discovered that the goal of the TV series would be to leverage the powerful medium of TV to inspire children to read books.
Although the program is created and produced mostly by WGBH in Boston, the animation and voice acting are produced in Montreal, Toronto, South Korea, and Hong Kong. From Season 1 to 11, the show’s animation was handled by AKOM production Company, while from season 12 to 15, it was handled by Animation Services (HK) Ltd. Arthur’s entire cast resides in Montreal or Toronto, where Cookie Jar Ent. studios are based.
The only elements of the show shot outside Canada are the ‘A Word from Us Kids” interstitials, which are shot at elementary schools or other education sites in the Boston region. Beginning with Season 11, the A Word from Us Kids section was replaced with a segment called ‘Postcard from You’ which features live-action videos brought in by young viewers per show and was subsequently replaced by ‘A Word From Us Kids’ in Season 12. The segments are not shown in any countries other than the United States.
Mach Brown’s children, Tolon, Eliza, and Tucker, are frequently mentioned in the show, as they are in the Arthur book series. The town’s moving company, for example, is called “Tolon Moving”, while ordinary goods like mugs and pencil sharpeners have the word “Eliza” printed on them. Cookie jar Ent. And WGBH are also frequently mentioned in the show.
There was an episode where Francine and Buster are playing a table hockey game in which one team's players wear shirts with the Montreal Canadiens’ signature colors and logo of Montreal-based Cinar that came after Cookie Jar Ent. And the other teams’ players wear shirts with the Boston Bruins’ Colors and the logo of Boston-based WEGBH.
In the second season, the Big Blow-Up, a racing driver wears a shirt with Cinar printed on it and drives a car with WGBH inscribed on it. In Season 4’s ‘Prove it’ , Brain introduces D.W to science while viewing a non-animated episode of Nova, another science series created by WGBH. The Shows executive director is Brown’s son Tolon, for whom Brown Created the character of Arthur the Aardvark in a bedtime story.
Cinar was probed for tax evasion in 1999. Both the chairperson Micheline Charest and President Ronald Weinberg were found to have invested over 122 Million US Dollars in a Bahamian bank account without the agreement of the board members. Cinar had also paid American screenwriters for their work while continuing to get federal subsidies from Canada for content. However, Arthur was not engaged in the incident because it was widely known that it was co-produced with an American business.
Joe Fallon and Ken Carborough left about the same time, although not because of the scandal; Fallon left about a year before the investigation began. The series began filming and airing episodes in 1080i HD in Season 1. However, until 2021, the episodes in the United States were still broadcast in 4:3 aspect ratio, with the left and right sides cropped off.
They began airing in 16:9 format on October 2021. Seasons 12 also sees a change in animation studio from AKOM to ASHK. Beginning with season 16, the show was produced by 9 Story Ent. Now called 9 Story Media Group and aired in 16:9 aspect ratio. Along with the shift, 9 Story created a 16:9 remastered opening music for the series, and animation was transferred in-house using Adobe Flash. Season 19 was the final season produced by 9 Story, with Oasis Animation, based in Montreal, taking over in season 20. Bruce Dinsmore confirmed in 2018 that he had finished recording the last episode ahead of time.
Arthur (TV Series) Music Composition
‘Believe in Yourself’ the TV series’ reggae-style theme tune was written by Judy Henderson and Jerry de Villiers Jr. and performed by Ziggy Marley and Melody Makers. A remixed techno version of the song was officially released on the third album and a truncated version was played before the sixth season’s closing credits. For the concluding credits of the TV series Arthur: It’s Only Rock n’ Roll, the Backstreet Boys covered the song with the original instrumentals.
Ray Fabi created the original music score. Season 2 saw the debut of the song Crazy Bus written and sung by then-head writer Joe Fallon. It served as the TV series’ alternative anthem. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz composer Joshua Redman performed the tune on the season 4 finale episode ‘My Music Rules’ when Joe Gallon left Arthur at the end of season four, the song was formally removed from the show.
This is mentioned in the TV special Arthur When D.W declares Crazy Bus is for infants; I know a million better tunes, It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Arthur (TV Series) Guest Stars
Except for Joan Rivers, who played Francine’s maternal grandmother, many renowned guest stars have featured on the show, each providing the voice of their anthropomorphic animal counterpart. Lance Armstrong and Joan Rivers are the only guests who have appeared on the show more than once.
Arthur (TV Series) Cast and Characters
The series focuses on Arthur’s personal family, with most episodes involving Arthur, his younger sister D.W., their parents David and Jane, Baby Kate, and their dog, Pal. Buster, Francine, Muffy, Binky, and Brain are among Arthur’s closest friends, with Sue Ellen, Fern, and George serving as frequent supporting roles.
Mr. and Mrs. Read demonstrates a substantial degree of stress from parenting, Arthur’s friends’ parent and depicted suffering in middle-class employment, and Mr. Ratburn faces the pressures and expectation of teaching elementary school. Even in difficult adult situations, these adults maintain a positive outlook. Arthur, D.W., and Kate also pay visits to their maternal grandfather, Grandpa Dave, and paternal grandmother, Thora Read.
Unlike other animated TV series, Arthur features a diverse cast of voice performers. While the majority of characters like jane, David, Buster, Francine, and Binky, have been voiced by the same actors since the beginning of the series, Arthur, D.W., Brain, the Tibble Twins, and James have each had multiple actors throughout the seasons due to the producers casting young males for these roles.
Arthur TV Series Episodes
Every episode lasts for 30 minutes. Episodes are often made up of 11-minutes storylines that are totally self-contained. The episodes typically begin with Arthur speaking directly to the audience about a predicament in the plot, followed by the title card. The episodes are divided by one-to-two minutes live-action interstitial know as “And Now a Word from Us Kids”
The live-action segments nearly typically feature youngsters from elementary school (mostly in the Boston area) presenting themes they are currently studying or projects they have been working on in their courses. This portion is only seen on PBS telecasts of the show, filling space that would otherwise be used for commercials, which are normally prohibited on PBS. There is also a piece called “And Now a Word from Marc Brown” that plays at the end of the second 11-minutes episode and explain to viewers how to sketch several important characters from the show.
In 2007, the show started asking fans to send “Video postcards” similar to shots shown in the spin-off show Postcards from Buster, which were featured in episode interstitials until the middle of Season 12. The show reverted to “And Now a Word from Us Kids” beginning with Episode 151.
Final Thoughts
Besides being on our TVs for all those years, Arthur still remains the show to look forward to. Unlike other animated series, Arthur has evolved with technology and has remained relevant to date.
What do you remember from the original Arthur Read Tv Series?
View attachment 1444 Have you ever had days when you feel you are Arthur Read? Arthur remains one of the most recognized cartoon characters that has been resilient enough to stay on our TV from back in the mid-'90s to the present time. I was fond of Arthur Timothy from way back then when I was a teenager. I still have fond memory of my sibling and me trying to imitate the talking, walking, and singing of Arthur.
This week I was hit by the strong nostalgia of Arthur when I watched a full episode of Arthur’s “Is That Kosher – Never Never Never!” that aired on PBS way back. I still get goosebumps thinking of jokes from this episode. I haven’t for a long time felt like this. It is a whole new level of funny. I wonder how some jokes skipped my scrutiny back then.
Watching Arthur in the year 2021 is like watching an old version of Tom and Jerry. Some jokes and antics may seem dry, but if you watched it back then, you can’t help but laugh out loud. These are timeless TV series that will stand the taste of time. I think the producers and writers of these shows were geniuses. It is not easy to write or develop something that will entertain a whole set of generations from the 90s to now.
Arthur was my all-time favorite cartoon TV series that I wouldn’t miss watching every weekend on PBS. Yes, we had several cartoon shows on cable TV back then, but I would fight my siblings to have an hour or two of Arthur. After over two decades of being on-air, Arthur's cartoon TV series is still worth watching. Unlike Spongebob, Arthur was one of the shows that I did keep up with since I was young at the time.
The cartoon fanatics at the time will agree with me that Arthur was an amazing show back then full of memorable lessons and educational content for kids and adults alike. You could never be too old or very young to watch this show. I didn’t even the show was still on the air, I, therefore, think it ranks among the longest-running shows on TV.
A Little Background about Arthur
Let us delve into a little detail about the show. This show follows its main character Arthur read along with his family and friends of mixed animal species in the fictional town of Elwood City. Though calling it a city is a stretch since it mostly is a suburban town. He’s got two sisters including the infamous Dora Winfred which was often referred to as DW. This is despite the fact that I thought her name stood for disaster waiting to happen. Mostly because she makes Arthur and his friend's lives a living hell. She knows which buttons to hit. Much like the iconic episode “Arthur’s Big Hit”.
In this episode, DW takes Arthurs model plane and breaks it. The reaction leads to what has become an internet sensation leaving memes after memes. Arthur balls his fist in a quick cut from fits to DW falling to the ground. What is funny about his clip is how dramatic they build-up of his anger in such a quick but matter-of-fact way that compared to tapping DW back on the floor with barely a bruise made it look like Jake LaMotta fighting Raging Bull. It’s also a clever cut in that it doesn’t show DW actually getting hit since the violence would be a step too far for PBS to show on TV. It's over the top but in traditional kids' show fashion shows the consequences of fighting on both sides.
However, even as an adult I don’t think Arthur was given credit for why he got angry with his sister, instead he gets a punishment. He was denied TV for a week. He was given time by the parents to think about what he did.
I guess it would be a good idea to talk about the show’s title character. Arthur Read is your typical awkward boy character that was popular in the ‘90s. Doug started this trend where animated shows that awkward boys going through life with his quirky cast and characters. But often shows that followed would give a different variation on the kind of awkward boy protagonist that bran and proud family were the awkward boy show with a girl. Hey Arnold was a football-headed awkward boy, Floyd and Space was the awkward boy in space, Teacher’s pet was the awkward boys show with a dog. Even the Rugrats took a stab at the awkward boy show it all grown up. Much like Doug, Arthur has its fair share of quirky side characters including the smart one, the hungry one, the rich one, and the tomboy one with who may or may not be in a forced relationship. View attachment 1446
Truth be told, I always figured she had it in for the rich kid but that is my opinion. Of all the characters, one of my favorites is Binky the bully, though calling him the bully would imply he was a mean character. However, because of his lack of insight and occasional sensitive personality, he tends to be one of my favorite characters.
A lot of episodes featured the kids working through personal issues as well as community issues that range from natural disasters, reading, autisms, etc. Kind of what you expect from a PBS show focused on educating and entertaining in a cost-effective manner. You may as well get an episode with Mister Rogers. An episode starring Mister Rogers was a surprise. No one saw it coming. Every so often, like the Simpsons, the shows drops in celebrity guest. One of those includes the big-time actor Matt Damon.
Special Appearances: Matt Damon in Arthur TV series
The Matt Damon character on Arthur was really entertaining. Although I wonder why they did put more focus on the face. There really wasn’t a need to go with the dimples, he is a cartoon character. Seeing the focus of details for something that doesn’t need to have many details is super distracting. Sometimes unnecessary. Take his head for example. His hair parts around his nonexistent ears which you know can’t be ears since he’s an aardvark and he’s got aardvark keys. View attachment 1445
So it makes it look like he’s got two pairs of ears rather than one. If you think that wasn’t silly enough, the animation inspired yet another meme where he is featured in Arthur’s daydream being told that he will never eat lunch in this town again. This scene out of context works on so many meme levels. It’s another gloriously inspired animation that can only be brought to us by the insanity that is often.
Speaking in the animation, the show has gone through a couple of animation studios in the past which speaks for itself when you look at the changes in the animation. You can’t even imagine it being the same show when you compare it to earlier seasons. You get more fluid flash-style animation from the PC games that came out when the show first premiered. How can you imagine this being the look of the show now. View attachment 1447
Now as someone who is making fun of the look of a PBS show, I can't fault the show production guys since it is public broadcasting. Basically saying they can and can't afford to pull off certain things. When the money is coming from the government funding in the iconic phrase “Viewers Like You” means that its not fair to fire a shot to this production. Even the original animation wasn’t that great and there were moments where they could copy the look of other shows and you know they had to work on a budget.
I think it is only fair to acknowledge that this format is a little less consistent with the look of the original run. Then again, the people around its original run are really watching the show so I don’t where I was going with this point so am just gonna go ahead and get my reading.
Arthur is a show that manages to hold up on certain areas, making it good entertainment for kids with a good commentary. It is hard to say it is a consistent show seeing how it got multiple changes in the years. However, when you’ve got a show that has been around for over 20 years, changes have to be made. Some of those changes are appropriate to the intentions of the show while others not so much. But it is ok. However, simply saying Arthur is an ok show may not be fair since it has managed to maintain quality for all these years. It is a good show for the kids. It is fair to say it is worth it.
Background History of Arthur (TV Series)
Let us now dig into the background story of Arthur and why it has remained to be a sensational show for kids for over two decades. Arthur is a Canadian-American animated educational TV show for kids ages 4 to 8. It was created by Kathy Waugh and produced by WGBH for PBS. This show is set in the fictional American city of Elwood City and centers on the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily adventures.
The TV show is based on Marc Brown’s Arthur Adventure book series, which he wrote and illustrated. The animated series was created by WGBH Boston and Montreal-based Cinar (now called WildBrain) in 199, and its debut episode was broadcast in October of 1996. The show aired 246 half-hour episodes since its debut.
A pilot for the spin-off series Postcards from Buster aired as a season 8 episode of Arthur in 2003. Postcards from Buster aired from October 2004 to November 2008; the series went on hiatus for several years before a brief return in 2012, only to be discontinued again after airing three previously unheard episodes from the show’s third season.
The show frequently addresses serious difficulties that families confront, such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, diabetes, and an autistic spectrum disorder. It also promotes reading and interactions with family and friends by describing how varied people’s personalities and interests are. It is the longest-running children's cartoon series in the United States, as well as the second-longest-running animated series in America trailing only Fox’s The Simpsons. Arthur was renewed for four more seasons, all the way up to season 25 in 2018.
Arthur’s Plot and Setting
The series’ title character, Arthur Read, is presented as an anthropomorphic 8-year-old brown aardvark who lives in the imaginary tow of Elwood City. He attends Lakewood Elementary School and is in third grade. Arthur’s family consists of his two homeworking parents, David (a chef) and Jane (an accountant), his two younger sisters, Dora Winfred (D.Q) who is currently in preschool, and Kate, who is still an infant, as well as his dog Pal. View attachment 1448
Arthur also has multiple acquaintances from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and he interacts with members of his extended family on occasion. Elwood City is shown as a mostly suburban area that bears a significant similarity to the Boston area; the TV series is produced in part by WGBH. Brown’s hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, is also mentioned several times. The neighborhood shopping mall in the TV show is called Mill Creek Mall, which is a tribute to Millcreek Mall. Brown has indicated that the series is inspired by his childhood in Erie and that Mr. Ratburn is based on a middle-school mathematics teacher he had at Westlake Middle School.
Arthur TV Series Production
Marc Brown was approached by WGBH and PBS in 1994 about converting the Arthur books into a television series. Brown was first hesitant to participate in a media for which he had little regard, but he quickly consented when he discovered that the goal of the TV series would be to leverage the powerful medium of TV to inspire children to read books.
Although the program is created and produced mostly by WGBH in Boston, the animation and voice acting are produced in Montreal, Toronto, South Korea, and Hong Kong. From Season 1 to 11, the show’s animation was handled by AKOM production Company, while from season 12 to 15, it was handled by Animation Services (HK) Ltd. Arthur’s entire cast resides in Montreal or Toronto, where Cookie Jar Ent. studios are based.
The only elements of the show shot outside Canada are the ‘A Word from Us Kids” interstitials, which are shot at elementary schools or other education sites in the Boston region. Beginning with Season 11, the A Word from Us Kids section was replaced with a segment called ‘Postcard from You’ which features live-action videos brought in by young viewers per show and was subsequently replaced by ‘A Word From Us Kids’ in Season 12. The segments are not shown in any countries other than the United States.
Mach Brown’s children, Tolon, Eliza, and Tucker, are frequently mentioned in the show, as they are in the Arthur book series. The town’s moving company, for example, is called “Tolon Moving”, while ordinary goods like mugs and pencil sharpeners have the word “Eliza” printed on them. Cookie jar Ent. And WGBH are also frequently mentioned in the show.
There was an episode where Francine and Buster are playing a table hockey game in which one team's players wear shirts with the Montreal Canadiens’ signature colors and logo of Montreal-based Cinar that came after Cookie Jar Ent. And the other teams’ players wear shirts with the Boston Bruins’ Colors and the logo of Boston-based WEGBH. View attachment 1449
In the second season, the Big Blow-Up, a racing driver wears a shirt with Cinar printed on it and drives a car with WGBH inscribed on it. In Season 4’s ‘Prove it’ , Brain introduces D.W to science while viewing a non-animated episode of Nova, another science series created by WGBH. The Shows executive director is Brown’s son Tolon, for whom Brown Created the character of Arthur the Aardvark in a bedtime story.
Cinar was probed for tax evasion in 1999. Both the chairperson Micheline Charest and President Ronald Weinberg were found to have invested over 122 Million US Dollars in a Bahamian bank account without the agreement of the board members. Cinar had also paid American screenwriters for their work while continuing to get federal subsidies from Canada for content. However, Arthur was not engaged in the incident because it was widely known that it was co-produced with an American business.
Joe Fallon and Ken Carborough left about the same time, although not because of the scandal; Fallon left about a year before the investigation began. The series began filming and airing episodes in 1080i HD in Season 1. However, until 2021, the episodes in the United States were still broadcast in 4:3 aspect ratio, with the left and right sides cropped off.
They began airing in 16:9 format on October 2021. Seasons 12 also sees a change in animation studio from AKOM to ASHK. Beginning with season 16, the show was produced by 9 Story Ent. Now called 9 Story Media Group and aired in 16:9 aspect ratio. Along with the shift, 9 Story created a 16:9 remastered opening music for the series, and animation was transferred in-house using Adobe Flash. Season 19 was the final season produced by 9 Story, with Oasis Animation, based in Montreal, taking over in season 20. Bruce Dinsmore confirmed in 2018 that he had finished recording the last episode ahead of time.
Arthur (TV Series) Music Composition
‘Believe in Yourself’ the TV series’ reggae-style theme tune was written by Judy Henderson and Jerry de Villiers Jr. and performed by Ziggy Marley and Melody Makers. A remixed techno version of the song was officially released on the third album and a truncated version was played before the sixth season’s closing credits. For the concluding credits of the TV series Arthur: It’s Only Rock n’ Roll, the Backstreet Boys covered the song with the original instrumentals.
Ray Fabi created the original music score. Season 2 saw the debut of the song Crazy Bus written and sung by then-head writer Joe Fallon. It served as the TV series’ alternative anthem. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz composer Joshua Redman performed the tune on the season 4 finale episode ‘My Music Rules’ when Joe Gallon left Arthur at the end of season four, the song was formally removed from the show.
This is mentioned in the TV special Arthur When D.W declares Crazy Bus is for infants; I know a million better tunes, It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Arthur (TV Series) Guest Stars View attachment 1450
Except for Joan Rivers, who played Francine’s maternal grandmother, many renowned guest stars have featured on the show, each providing the voice of their anthropomorphic animal counterpart. Lance Armstrong and Joan Rivers are the only guests who have appeared on the show more than once.
Arthur (TV Series) Cast and Characters
The series focuses on Arthur’s personal family, with most episodes involving Arthur, his younger sister D.W., their parents David and Jane, Baby Kate, and their dog, Pal. Buster, Francine, Muffy, Binky, and Brain are among Arthur’s closest friends, with Sue Ellen, Fern, and George serving as frequent supporting roles.
Mr. and Mrs. Read demonstrates a substantial degree of stress from parenting, Arthur’s friends’ parent and depicted suffering in middle-class employment, and Mr. Ratburn faces the pressures and expectation of teaching elementary school. Even in difficult adult situations, these adults maintain a positive outlook. Arthur, D.W., and Kate also pay visits to their maternal grandfather, Grandpa Dave, and paternal grandmother, Thora Read.
Unlike other animated TV series, Arthur features a diverse cast of voice performers. While the majority of characters like jane, David, Buster, Francine, and Binky, have been voiced by the same actors since the beginning of the series, Arthur, D.W., Brain, the Tibble Twins, and James have each had multiple actors throughout the seasons due to the producers casting young males for these roles.
Arthur TV Series Episodes View attachment 1451
Every episode lasts for 30 minutes. Episodes are often made up of 11-minutes storylines that are totally self-contained. The episodes typically begin with Arthur speaking directly to the audience about a predicament in the plot, followed by the title card. The episodes are divided by one-to-two minutes live-action interstitial know as “And Now a Word from Us Kids”
The live-action segments nearly typically feature youngsters from elementary school (mostly in the Boston area) presenting themes they are currently studying or projects they have been working on in their courses. This portion is only seen on PBS telecasts of the show, filling space that would otherwise be used for commercials, which are normally prohibited on PBS. There is also a piece called “And Now a Word from Marc Brown” that plays at the end of the second 11-minutes episode and explain to viewers how to sketch several important characters from the show.
In 2007, the show started asking fans to send “Video postcards” similar to shots shown in the spin-off show Postcards from Buster, which were featured in episode interstitials until the middle of Season 12. The show reverted to “And Now a Word from Us Kids” beginning with Episode 151.
Final Thoughts
Besides being on our TVs for all those years, Arthur still remains the show to look forward to. Unlike other animated series, Arthur has evolved with technology and has remained relevant to date.
What do you remember from the original Arthur Read Tv Series?
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
