I had to take some time to process this. I have a lot to say and I don't think this one blog post will cover it all.
I'm surprised that I didn't plan on writing a blog post about this until later. I guess I didn't want to acknowledge it as true, you know? ☹
After 25 incredible seasons, the PBS Kids "Arthur" series has finally concluded. The final episodes aired for the first time on February 21, 2022. The show premiered on October 7, 1996. This is a huge deal and not treated like the ending of other shows.
OMG, YOU GUYS!!! Did you hear??? "Arthur" is celebrating 20 years on the air and had its 20th season premiere on October 10, which makes this a perfect opportunity for my October 2016 blog post!!! Oh, what a wonderful kind of day! :D
My favorite TV show is a cartoon kids' show. I am 25 years old. LOL! I still drop everything and fangirl every time it comes on.
"Arthur" is a very innovative cartoon that premiered in 1996 based on children's books by Marc Brown about an anthropomorphic aardvark third grader named Arthur Read and his family and friends. The show is the second longest running animated show on TV, the first being "The Simpsons", (Added 11/13/16 At 3:30 AM.) the second longest running show on PBS Kids, the first being "Sesame Street" (End addition.), and the longest running children's animated show in the United States.
Take THAT, Spongebob! :P
I've always wanted to write a blog post about "Arthur" episodes, so I decided to go back down memory lane and talk about some of my favorites to celebrate the milestone. Now, this isn't going to be a countdown and a list of EVERY single one of my favorites in a particular order because there are WAY too many to sift through, but I will include my favorite episode of all time at the end. :) This will be a list of some of the show's most memorable moments for me that have influenced my development as a person or represent a certain aspect of myself.
I had to do some research and also search depths of my mind for some episodes that have stuck with me through life. This was totally difficult to narrow down, because the more I think about it the more I remember episodes that I feel deserve a spot on my list. As I was reaching back into my memories and looking up episodes, I remembered many episodes that I have enjoyed, some I have even forgotten until now, although too many for a blog post. These are the ones that have made the cut, at least for this discussion piece. This was actually one of my most fun times I've ever had researching for and writing a blog post. So much nostalgia! Enjoy, friends and fellow "Arthur" fans! :D
In honor of its 20th season premiere, I am currently writing a blog post about my favorite "Arthur" episodes of all time. As I am doing my research for that one, I also remembered plenty of episodes early on in the series that were especially unique and iconic for the series. When you think of "Arthur", you automatically think of these installments. I can't write a blog post honoring my favorite "Arthur" episodes without mentioning these guys, so here are some honorable mentions:
You know, I've been thinking a lot about the political correctness involved with the holidays lately, such as us Christians always being told not to "offend" anyone or leave anyone out with all of our "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Birthday, Jesus Christ" supposed mumbo jumbo. This makes holiday cheer very bland and generic with "Happy Holidays" being the ONLY acceptable greeting. It's a decent, collective phrase, and usually I don't have a problem with people or myself using it, but at the same time it tends to dismiss the importance of the holidays and strip them of their individuality when on its own.
I've always felt that I would be happy to hear whatever people wanted to say to me. For example, if a Jewish person were to wish me a "Happy Hanukkah," I'd be honored. I mean no harm if I were to wish a Jewish person a "Merry Christmas". Jewish people have wished Christians "Merry Christmas" and I have wished Jewish people "Happy Hanukkah". This really isn't a huge issue and to make an issue out of it is pretty ridiculous. Actually, it seems like not many people really care as much and we are making an issue out of it for no reason. I like learning about different cultures and it's great when we share cultures with each other. All we are doing is spreading joy.
I believe PBS Kids is partially to thank for this positive attitude of mine.
My gigantic PBS Kids analytical essays are back again, this time not to
poke fun at useless new characters, but to discuss details of the shows
that are often left unexplained. These are details that I have come across and wondered about.
PBS Kids does everything from academic lessons to moral lessons, but there are some aspects of PBS Kids that seem to miss the mark.
For example...
What exactly do the hordes/hoards (spelling?) look like in "Dragon Tales"?
In
"Dragon Tales" the dragons have these pouches on their abdomens called
"hordes" and they treat them like kangaroo pouches. The dragons store
random objects in them. It's like their version of backpacks, only it's
built in.
However, there is something I always wondered about
these things. How big are they? What is the depth of these hordes? I
know this is a cartoon, but these hordes have infinite space in there.
The dragons constantly and often conveniently pull out random objects
from these hordes, objects that look like they wouldn't fit in them. I
keep recalling Ord taking a 7-foot sandwich out of his horde in one episode. Where did
he store it? How did it fit? In another episode, Zak tells Wheezie that her side of the horde is messy. Do two-headed dragons have two separate compartments in their hordes?
How much stuff can they fit in there? What do they look like
inside?
The Ghost Town Universe in "Sid the Science Kid"
First
of all, I really want to commend "Sid the Science Kid" for getting kids
excited about learning science. It's very rare that you see a show do that. The last time we saw this on PBS Kids was "Bill Nye the
Science Guy", which is oddly enough a similar title.
"Sid the Science Kid"
is about a biracial little boy named Sid that is fascinated by science.
Every episode he has a different science related question which is answered later on because coincidentally it is what he and his classmates end up learning about in that very
episode.
Maybe perhaps one of these episodes can discuss the lack of life forms in the show.
The
next time you watch "Sid The Science Kid", see if you take notice of
this. The only people viewers see are the main characters. Oh, and there
was also a dog in one episode. But you never see
any other random people walking on the sidewalk or cars out and about.
It looks like they are the only inhabitants in their town. You know how
in "Arthur" even though they aren't important characters you still see
random civilians around? That's not the case in "Sid". It's actually kind of scary. Almost post-apocalyptic. I guess we can say that this is because "Arthur" takes place in all different settings whereas the "Sid" setting is limited, but it is still very eerie.
The
show also makes it look like there are only four kids (Sid, Gerald, Gabriela,
and May) and one teacher (Teacher Susie) in the entire school because you
never see anybody else on the playground or in the building. One explanation for this that I've seen people state is that
perhaps Sid attends a special education school. This makes sense because
special education schools often consist of smaller class sizes. We also never meet any of the other kids'
parents.
But
there are even episodes where Teacher Susie takes the kids on a field
trip to the local science center. Guess what? You don't see anybody else
in these places either.
This is a public place! Where is everybody? It
often looks like the place is closed and Teacher Susie and the kids just
broke in.
Wait a minute. I just found this on Wikipedia.
Well there goes that.
There's
a picture of this character on Google, but I've never seen her before.
She must be new. Maybe they're starting to add new characters now.
But still, she's only one character. The rest of the atmosphere is still very empty.
Additional Puzzlement: The only thing
these kids learn in school is science and no other subjects. I know that
the show is dedicated to science, but yeah, just wanted to point this
out. Talking Dogs in Various PBS Kids Shows: Why Dog from "Word World" was Cheated
"Word
World" is an interesting show with an interesting concept. Everything in
Word World is built from the letters that spell the word. For example,
the character of "Dog" takes the shape of the letters D-O-G. The
characters
consist of animals (and objects) shaped in this way and they all speak English
(and probably other human languages as well depending on where the show airs
and what languages it provides).
"Dog" from "Word World"
That
is, except for Dog. Even though Dog is living in a universe where there
are no humans and animals can talk, Dog is the only character that acts like an everyday dog and is treated as such whereas the other animals in this universe
don't act like regular everyday animals. The other "Word World" characters are
personified. They speak with words and walk on their hind
legs, especially characters like Sheep, Bear, and Pig. They are almost
equivalent to human beings in their world yet Dog barks, walks on
all fours, and is sometimes treated like a pet rather than one of them. Why is
this? Why isn't he (or she) considered equal to them? See, I don't even know what gender this dog is because he or she never speaks to help me determine this, but I'm pretty sure Dog is often referred to as a "he."
When compared to other PBS Kids shows that
involve talking dogs, this makes even less sense. First, let's look at
the show that makes the most sense, which is "Clifford the Big Red
Dog". Imagine that. A cartoon series about a red dog the size of a house
being the most realistic. Well it is when it comes to talking animals.
To the humans in "Clifford", Clifford and the rest of the dogs are
normal pets that bark. The only time these dogs speak English is when
they speak to each other, and when the dogs speak English, the only thing
the humans hear is barking.
Then there is "Arthur".
Recently Pal and the other pets of the series, like Francine's cat Nemo
(I just found out that this is the correct spelling. This whole time I
thought it was spelled "Mimo".) and Alberto's dog Amigo (Get it? Pal?
Amigo? Ha! Clever!) are all of a sudden speaking English to each other
like the dogs in "Clifford". However, the only difference in this show
is that they are taking it a step further and the animals are also able to communicate
with Baby Kate, Arthur's toddler little sister. Yes, Kate is now
speaking perfect English as well, to the animals at least. This is fine I
guess because normally dogs and younger children have this sort of
connection in fiction.
The worst and most offensive
comparison is "Martha Speaks". Ha! This is the actual title of this
series, which is about a dog that walks on all fours and is able to
speak English and communicate with her human peers. It is explained in
the opening theme that Martha can do this because she ate alphabet soup
and instead of it going to her stomach the soup took a wrong turn and
traveled to her brain instead...
I'm not kidding! See for yourself! This is seriously what supposedly happened!
Hey, it's PBS Kids, people!
But
here's what's so offensive about it. So you're telling me that Martha,
from eating alphabet soup and having a weird digestive tract, is able to
talk fluently with humans in a human run everyday world like our own? Where dogs normally don't speak and she actually lives with another normal barking non-speaking dog, Skits? But Dog can't speak in a non-human world, a place only populated by animals, where
animals much like himself can but only HE cannot?
What a slap in the face! He's like the one dog on PBS Kids that doesn't speak and should considering the world in which he lives and that the rest of his peers do. Dog should totally take this up with his creator and sue PBS for this injustice!
Additional
Puzzlement: Not only do Pal and Nemo speak English, they also have
English accents. How did that happen? Amigo has a Latin accent because
he lives with a Latin family, but the other two don't live with British
families, so what influenced their British accents? "Daniel the Tiger's Neighborhood": Daniel No Longer Lives in the Clock Factory
When
I saw this "Daniel the Tiger's Neighborhood" for the first time, I found so many things wrong with
it, so much that I was planning on dedicating an entire blog post to it. I originally thought that the people creating the show got
everything wrong, especially names, and were failing at being loyal to the original "Mister Rogers"
franchise, making things up and just changing things out of nowhere.
Then
after awhile I got my explanation. It turns out that this show is much
like a "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: The Next Generation" type of show
with Daniel getting his own spinoff starring the descendents of the
original characters. Daniel hangs out with X the Owl's nephew O the
Owl, Henrietta Pussycat's kitten Katerina Kittycat, King Friday's son
and Prince Tuesday's younger brother Prince Wednesday, and Lady Elaine
Fairchilde's daughter, Miss Elaina. Now that this is all explained, it
is all well and good. But, there is one detail that still doesn't sit
right with me.
Remember how back in the days of "Mister
Rogers' Neighborhood" Daniel lived in a clock tower and any time the
human characters wanted to talk with him, they simply walked over to the Clock Factory and he would pop up.
This isn't the case
anymore. Now the Tiger family lives in a hut and Daniel's father simply works at the Clock Factory. Why was this changed? This is an unnecessary change because Lady Elaine Fairchilde and her family still live in the Museum-Go-Round like she originally did, so why doesn't he and his family still live in the Clock Factory? Unless I only thought
that he lived there...
I just found this on Wikipedia. See, I'm not crazy! He did actually live there!
But
this suggests that the original Daniel the Tiger from "Mister Rogers'
Neighborhood" is the father of lead character Daniel from "Daniel the
Tiger's Neighborhood". But I don't recall the original Daniel being
called "Daniel the Striped Tiger".
Wait. From "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" Wikipedia:
Unless they edited this Wikipedia page to make it match the "Daniel the
Tiger's Neighborhood" Wikipedia page, but probably not.
I had to look this up to confirm because I was starting to remember. Apparently this was his name. The fact that his kid's name is Daniel as well threw me off. I thought the lead character of the spinoff series was the original Daniel. This does explain a bit why Daniel
from the next generation hangs out with Prince Wednesday and not Prince
Tuesday, giving a little insight into why Prince Wednesday was created. The original Daniel used to be the same age as Prince Tuesday
so they had to create a younger prince to hang out with the original Daniel's
son. That is, if that is their intention here and I am guessing the
characters right.
Well, perhaps Daniel felt that living in a clock factory was no place to raise a family so he moved out of his bachelor pad into the hut with his family. It does make sense why Daniel still works there. He still wants to be connected to the old days. I'm just glad that he's not totally removed from the Clock Factory.
Whew! PBS Kids TV shows weren't this complex when I was a kid...
In my last post about PBS Kids shows, I ranted about how I really disliked the new characters that were included in "Sesame Street," "Barney and Friends," "Dragon Tales," and, in a way, "Between the Lions." However, I concluded that piece by saying that there have been suitable additions to PBS Kids shows and that I would honor them in another post. This is that post. ;)
One problem I had most with the new additions was that I felt they weren't done correctly, and I expressed my qualms in-depth. However, I have begun to realize that if a show were to continuously add characters, it never bothered me. They didn't just randomly show up but was something that normally happened. Also, it wasn't just one new character but rather a whole mass of new characters. I think my problem too was how just one new character was included, thus messing up the whole dynamic of the show. If new characters are always going to be included in every episode, then it is not much of a shock. And plus, sometimes these new characters aren't in every episode. They just show up when needed, thus serving actual purposes. Unlike the other random new characters, they aren't regarded as part of the main cast as if they were always there in the first place. They are a supporting cast who don't try to outshine the originals, and are thus enjoyable to watch.
The cast of "Arthur" (There are plenty more where this came from)
Of course, what other show could I possibly be talking about but "Arthur," based on the book series by Marc Brown. Now here is a PBS Kids show that caters to both children and adults. I still tune in every time I see it playing. In fact, if you can believe it, there was an episode in which words were bleeped out to teach the importance of not cursing, so you know just how advanced this show is. Plus, it is so diverse. Each and every one of the characters has a different background, and because of these differences, children are able to get a taste of all forms of life. Pretty much every episode you meet someone new and this time the new character makes the show interesting because you know they are there to initiate some kind of plot line or have a lesson to teach. In other words, they are there for a reason. In "Arthur," certain characters are used depending on the theme of the episode.
Vicita
However, I would like to point out that there is one character that has been created for the "Arthur" series and I'm not entirely sure I like her purpose. Her name is Vicita Molina, and she is a recent new character whose family moved next door to Arthur and his family. What I don't like about her is that I feel she was created to be the "toddler" of the group, totally overstepping the role of D.W., Arthur's younger sister. D.W. was the youngest out of the whole cast, next to Kate, her infant sister, but when Vicita showed up all of a sudden D.W. matured. She is now a mentor to Vicita and in certain episodes shares her wisdom with her, being the older one. I don't understand why the producers felt the need to create this character to connect with the younger audiences and have D.W. age while the other characters stay the same. This is the type of show where the characters don't age, and now since the addition of Vicita D.W. kind of has to because then the two characters would serve the same purpose.
Then again, I don't necessarily dislike her either because she is apart of D.W.'s group of friends just like Arthur has his own gang. Also, she is D.W.'s counterpart just like Alberto, her thirteen-year-old brother, is Arthur's counterpart and mentor, so it's all good because it's evened out.
The "Cyber Squad": Jackie, Inez, Matt, and Digit
Another PBS Kids show that incorporates new characters well is "Cyberchase." First of all, as someone who struggled with math in school, I would like to express my gratitude for the existence of this show. Mostly my childhood consisted of shows teaching children reading and science, but there were never an mathematics based shows. Because math seems to be a subject that causes a lot of children grief, a show like "Cyberchase" is needed.
This all being said, in every episode the "Cyber Squad," which consists of human kids who are virtually transported to "Cyberspace" from their homes on Earth, or "earthlings" as Digit often refers to them as, Matt, Jackie, and Inez, and Digit, a "cyboid," run into new characters on different sites in "Cyberspace." These characters are each associated with some kind of branch in mathematics pertaining to the theme of the episode and sometimes return in other episodes.
Here is a perfect example of a decent cast. You have the central cast, but then you have the additional supporting cast who doesn't necessarily invade the turf of the original cast and yet serves a purpose.
Slider
One character I would like to spotlight is Slider, a thirteen-year-old who resides in "Radopolis," one of Cyberspace's sites. He is a recurring character and in a way to me seems to be a member of the "Cyber Squad" along with Matt, Jackie, Inez, and Digit. Now, you might think that this is something that would bother me. Who does Slider think he is, intruding on the Cyber Squad? It was originally the three human kids and Digit and it should stay that way. Why ruin that dynamic, right? Well, the addition of Slider doesn't bother me at all but to me brings something interesting to the show. Here's why.
When we first meet Slider, he actually has his own storyline! His father has disappeared because he is on the run from The Hacker, the series villain, and Slider's goal is to find him one day. Unlike other PBS Kids storylines, Slider's story continues throughout the episodes so it is an impressive tactic to use to keep the audience's interest in the series.
He is also somebody to commend when it comes to gender equality, this time for the MALES. Before Slider's appearance, Matt was outnumbered two to one in the Cyber Squad. Now I know Digit is a male but he doesn't connect to any demographic and isn't human like the other characters, so therefore he doesn't necessarily count. He's more like their sidekick creature friend. Just consider him the "Pikachu" of the group. With Slider around, however, genders even out but also gives Matt some kind of competition when it comes to being the "man of the house," thus creating tension and making the storyline interesting enough to follow. Also, both female humans Jackie and Inez develop crushes on Slider, which is something to which girls their age can relate.
Sometimes you need a character to shake things up a bit and Slider is that character. Also, he does well staying in the sidelines, not outshining the main cast, so he is always a treat when he actually appears in an episode.
Now I am going to talk about a new character that I wish the producers incorporated into the main cast. This is a rarity, so obviously the character must be pretty special. Of course, I am talking about Kyle, the wheelchair kid from "The Puzzle Place." Don't remember him? That's not a surprise. From what I can remember he was only in two episodes and should've been in more.
The cast of "The Puzzle Place." I'm sorry but this is the only photo of Kyle I can find. Kyle is the boy dressed in orange in a wheelchair to the far right.
Let me give you a brief background of this show before I go on, because it is no longer on the air. Talk about gender equality and connecting with different demographics! You do not get more diverse than this! This show had everything! They discussed individual culture, bullying, racism, sexism (That's right, SEXISM!) and so much more!
Let me also break down the cast for you just to show you how much diversity this show covered. You couldn't get more gender even than the cast: 3 boys, 3 girls, a male dog, a female cat, 3 male Peace Police, 3 female Peace Police. The boys consisted of an African American (Leon), a NATIVE AMERICAN (Seriously, how often do you see that?) (Skye), and a Norwegian American (Another uncommon demographic) (Ben). For the girls, you have a Jewish Scandinavian American (Jody), a Mexican American (who also served as the resident bilingual character) (KiKi), and a Chinese American (Julie).
All that was left to cover was a child with disabilities, and that's where Kyle comes in. Kyle shows up as Skye's friend in a wheelchair and his presence helps Ben learn more about what people in wheelchairs experience. He is a great character to connect with a whole demographic of disabled children. However, like I said, he didn't stick around for more episodes when he should have.
Plus, another reason why he should've been included in the main cast is that he was a puppet like the rest of them, which kind of makes him apart of their group. The other friendships the Puzzle Place kids formed were with actual human children, so therefore puppet kids were a minority, but still the lead characters. I just find it interesting how the producers went out of their way to create an additional puppet character, who would most likely be a lead because he is a puppet like the rest of the main cast and serves a purpose to connect with and represent a demographic just like the rest of the Puzzle Place kids do, and yet they don't use him as often. What was the point then? I understand their reasons for creating him, but if you are going to create him and he does a good job, let him stay. There was actually a reason for him to be there unlike other PBS Kids characters nowadays and yet he wasn't incorporated well.
But then you may say that if he was incorporated into the main cast, the boys will then outnumber the girls four to three. In this case, I say who cares? As opposed to other new characters, Kyle actually does something and is just as important as the main cast.
Well, there you have it. The counter-argument consisting of PBS Kids shows that include new characters and actually do it right. As long as the character does something to contribute to the show, you don't have to question why he or she is there, and he or she doesn't ruin the original feel of the show, it should be alright.
Can you think of other characters that I didn't mention in either post but you think fit the same descriptions? If so, who?
