In 2005, funding for the spinoff Postcards from Buster was jeopardized when the titular rabbit met families in Vermont with two moms. In 2019, Alabama Public Television refused to air an episode featuring a same sex wedding between Arthur's teacher, Mr. I loved seeing parts of myself in all the characters." Daley continues, "I loved how diverse all of the characters were, how every personality was totally different, how every family was different, how everything was all about being yourself and believing in yourself."īut all that diversity has not been universally embraced. I loved the friendship between Arthur and Buster. When asked why she became a diehard Arthur fan, Daley rattles off a long list. Daley combined her interests in the Screenrant listicle, 10 Things From PBS' Arthur That Were Way Ahead of Their Time. "I jokingly refer to myself as a disability advocate since kindergarten," she says. She also works for The Arc, a non-profit that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today, Daley is a list writer for the website Screenrant. "Growing up as a kid with asthma, I had never seen anyone on TV like me in that way before," Daley says. When Buster learned he has asthma, a then 6-year-old viewer named Katerina Daley took notice. "And I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I mean, if we can reach these kids by just showing somebody wearing glasses, imagine if we had a blind character.' So we created a blind character." Her name is Marina and, through her friendship with Prunella, young viewers learn what it's like to navigate the world with vision loss.Īrthur's writers and producers introduced Carl, a character on the autism spectrum. "Quickly after it aired, I started getting mail from kids who were blind, saying it's so meaningful for us to see a show about someone wearing glasses," Greenwald remembers. Big deal," he tells her.įor Greenwald, the reaction to Arthur's Eyes was a revelation. "Some people need glasses to see, Francine. Francine calls him "four eyes." The other kids laugh, except for Buster. In the first episode, Arthur's Eyes, the titular mammal learns he needs glasses. ![]() ![]() "If they can see other kids on the screen making mistakes and going the wrong way, but then kind of figuring it out and working it out, it's really helpful."ĭiverse characters and experiences have been a constant on Arthur. "Our kids are not perfect on Arthur because kids in the world aren't perfect," says Carol Greenwald, who's been the executive producer of the TV series from the beginning. True to Brown's vision, the menagerie of kids in Elwood City - 3rd grader Arthur, his often ruthless little sister D.W., Buster, Binky, Francine and the rest quarrel, tease, get in trouble, and fear what they don't understand. With its infectious opening theme song, Believe In Yourself, written by Judy Henderson and Jerry DeVilliers, Jr and performed by Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers, Arthur made its debut on PBS on Oct. Arthur's Nose was followed by Arthur's Eyes, Arthur's Valentine and 18 more books before the tales launched a TV show - 20 years later. Koala bear."Marc Brown thought he had a good story on his hands. So much of a problem that Arthur considers getting a nose job: So this story became about his nose being a problem." ![]() Then his son asked him to draw him a picture, "and the thing that stood out for me about aardvarks was their nose. Thinking alliteratively, Arthur the aardvark was born. "I don't know why, I must have been thinking alphabetically because aardvarks popped into my head and then he wanted to know his name," Brown says. One night soon after, his son asked him for a bedtime story. ![]() The small Boston college where he was teaching announced it was closing. "Arthur had a problem with his nose and I had a problem in my life," he recalls. "I think sometimes that I was rescued by Arthur," Brown says. On the cover of the very first book, Arthur's Nose, he's got a long snout and he doesn't look happy about it. In fact, Brown's original drawings of Arthur are more anatomically correct. With his big round glasses, little ears and two dashes for a nose, Arthur looks more like a bespectacled mouse than an aardvark. To mark the end of an era, Brown looks back on Arthur's legacy in the new book, Believe In Yourself: What We Learned from Arthur. The books by Marc Brown that inspired the series have sold nearly 70 million copies since the first edition was published in 1976. Shown in 80 countries, Arthur has won seven Emmy Awards and a Peabody. Produced by WGBH, the aardvark (yes, he's an aardvark) will live on in reruns, digital shorts and a podcast - but no new episodes are planned. The PBS Kids' TV show Arthur begins its 25th and final season next month.
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