Arthur (TV series)

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Arthur
Genre	Children's television series
Creator(s)	WGBH, based on the series of books by Marc Brown
Country of origin	United States  Canada
No. of episodes	135 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 minutes (approx. 11 minutes per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel	PBS
Original run	September 2, 1996 – present
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Arthur is an American and Canadian educational children’s television series which airs primarily on PBS in the United States, and on CBC, Knowledge Network, and TVO in Canada, although it has been syndicated to numerous other stations throughout the world.

Arthur generally revolves around Arthur Timothy Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, and his daily interactions with his peers and family. The series often deals with social and health-related issues that affect young children. The television series is based on the Arthur book series, which is illustrated and written by Marc Brown. In 1994, CINAR Animation (now Cookie Jar Entertainment) began production of the animated series, which would eventually debut on PBS two years later.

[edit] About Arthur

Arthur Read, the title character of the series, is an eight-year-old aardvark who lives in the fictional town of Elwood City. He is a third-grade student at Lakewood Elementary School. Arthur's parents, David and Jane, are full-time workers, who take care of him and his two sisters, Dora Winifred (D.W.) and Kate. Arthur also has several friends who come from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

The exact whereabouts of Arthur’s hometown have never been explicitly stated. Similar to Springfield from The Simpsons, Arthur's writers have given conflicting evidence regarding Elwood City's actual whereabouts. While Elwood City bears strong resemblance to the Boston area, there are references to Brown's hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania in some episodes (for instance, a sign for the Mill Creek Mall can be seen clearly in one episode). Various anthropomorphic animals populate the city itself. Ironically, in some instances animals are shown both in anthropomorphic form as well as realistic animal form. For example, Arthur has a pet dog, Pal, and a friend who is a dog, Binky.

The series' reggae-style theme song was recorded by Ziggy Marley. A remixed techno version of the song (under the name "Believe in Yourself") was used over the closing credits to the sixth season. Many celebrity guest stars have appeared on the show, including Art Garfunkel, Fred Rogers, Michelle Kwan, Joshua Redman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Frank Gehry, each providing the voice for their anthropomorphic animal counterpart.

In addition to the television series, the Arthur franchise has spawned three hour-long movies, which are often run on PBS during pledge drives. The latest, Arthur's Missing Pal, was produced by Mainframe Entertainment and is the first animated Arthur project to make use of three-dimensional computer-generated imagery. [1]. Arthur's success has also lead to the spin-off series, Postcards From Buster.

[edit] Cast and characters

Arthur on the March 14, 1998 issue of TV Guide.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Arthur characters

[edit] Cast

• Michael Yarmush - Arthur Timothy Read (1996-2000)
• Justin Bradley - Arthur Timothy Read (2001)
• Mark Rendall - Arthur Timothy Read (2002 and 2003)
• Cameron Ansell - Arthur Timothy Read (2004-current)
• Simon Peacock - Arthur's dog Pal (2001-current)
• Michael Caloz - Dora Winifred "D.W." Read (1996-1999)
• Oliver Grainger - Dora Winifred "D.W." Read (1999-2002)
• Jason Szwimer - Dora Winifred "D.W." Read (2002-current)
• Sonja Ball - Jane Read
• Bruce Dinsmore - David Read / Binky Barnes
• Luke Reid - Alan "The Brain" Powers (1996-1999)
• Stephen Crowder - Alan "The Brain" Powers (2000-2001)
• Alex Hood - Alan "The Brain" Powers (2002-2005)
• Paul-Stuart Brown - Alan "The Brain" Powers (2005-current)
• Daniel Brochu - Buster Baxter
• Holly Gauthier-Frankel - Fern Walters
• Jodie Resther - Francine Alice Frensky
• Brigid Tierney - Jenna Morgan
• Maggie Castle - Molly MacDonald
• Melissa Altro - Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire
• Tammy Kozlov - Prunella Neville
• Eramelinda Boquer - Rubella Neville
• Patricia Rodriguez - Sue Ellen Armstrong / Catherine Frensky (1996-2003)
• Jessica Kardos - Sue Ellen Armstrong (2005-current)
• Alexina Cowan - Catherine Frensky (2003-current)
• Mitchell David Rothpan - George Nordgren (1996-2001)
• Evan Smirnow - George Nordgren (2002-2004)
• Hayley Reynolds - Nadine
• Sally Isherwood - Emily
• Joanna Noyes - Grandma Thora Read
• Tracy Braunstein - Kaitlyn "Baby Kate" Read (2001-current), Sally (2001)
• Ellen David - Bitzi Baxter
• A.J. Henderson - Edward Crosswire
• Arthur Holden - Mr. Nigel Emil "Charles" Ratburn III
• Walter Massey - Principal Herbert Haney
• Al Gravelle - Mr. Morris (1996-2001)
• Brownen Mantel - Mrs. Sarah MacGrady
• Kate Hutchison - Paige Turner
• Susan Glover
• Samuel Holden
• Eleanor Noble - George Nordgren (Season 9-current), Perky Newswoman (2002, 2004)
• Jane Woods
• Jonathan Koensgen - Tommy Tibble (1996-2003), The Tibbles (2003-current)
• Ricky Mabe - Timmy Tibble (1996-2003)
• Mark Camacho - Oliver Frensky

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Arthur episodes

Each episode of Arthur runs a half-hour. Episodes consist of two completely self-contained 11-minute stories separated by a one to two-minute live-action interstitial called And Now A Word From Us Kids (or, in some cases, a permutation of that title more specific to its contents). The live-action segments almost always feature children from elementary schools (generally in the Boston area) presenting subjects they are currently learning about or projects they have been working on in their classes. (The subjects covered here relate to the first cartoon segment in the half-hour). This segment is not seen outside PBS stations broadcast to United States and Canada. There is also a relatively new segment that sometimes appears at the end of the second 11-minute episode called "And Now A Word From Marc Brown" where he shows the viewers how to draw various main characters from the show.

[edit] Arthur in other media

[edit] Music albums

Main article: Arthur TV soundtracks

[edit] Actimates

In 1998, both Arthur and D.W. were made into Microsoft Actimates, sophisticated toy dolls who could interact with children, with each other, with certain computer software and the Arthur website, and also with the Arthur television show and videos.

To get the Actimates to interact with the TV show or the videos, a hockey-puck-shaped transmitter device called a TV Pack must be purchased separately and connected to the video-out connector of the TV set, while to have the Actimates to interact with the specialized computer software (developed by Creative Wonders and published by Microsoft) and the website, another hockey-puck-shaped transmitter device called a PC Pack must be purchased separately and be connected to the MIDI/game port connector of the PC.

For the TV show and videos, the TV pack reads coded information from a thin bar-code-like strip along the left edge of the screen and retransmits it to the Actimates. This strip is typically invisible when viewed on a normal television, but can be seen by other means, such as watching Arthur on a computer screen by using a TV tuner card, or by sending the tuner signal from a VCR to a video monitor that is capable of overscanning, which is possible on many professional-grade video monitors.

Meanwhile, interaction between the specialized software and the website with the Actimates is a little more complicated. The software makes use of a special programming library called "ToyAPI", which communicated with the Actimates via the PC Pack. The website, on the other hand, makes use of special script files embedded in each page. These script files are parsed by a special plugin that you'll be prompted to download and install on your first visit to the page. This plugin reads the script and send instructions to the Actimates, again through the PC Pack.

Due to the difference in functions between the PC Pack and TV Pack, the Actimates will not interact with the Arthur TV Show if the show is being watched on a computer monitor using a tuner card with the PC Pack plugged in. Likewise, it will not interact with a TV that is connected to a computer and has a TV Pack is plugged into the TV.

Microsoft discontinued the Actimates line shortly before season 5 aired, most possibly due to a lawsuit pertaining to patent infringement[2] and the fact that sales were dropping. It has been noted that post-Season 4 episodes of Arthur have not included any Actimates code. Newer videos and DVD releases of the show does not carry Actimates code either. The enhancements on the website were removed when the site was redesigned in 2002 and thus the Actimates would no longer interact with the website. Likewise, re-releases of the Actimates software by Creative Wonders do not interact with the Actimates because the library that controls the PC Pack has been replaced with a dummy library file (reports state that the software will resume interaction with the Actimates if the library file is replaced with the original one).

[edit] Video games

• Arthur's Absolutely Fun Day [Mattel Interactive/The Learning Company/Ed Magnin and Associates (GBC)]: Released between 1998 and 1999, This game has you piloting the head of Arthur throughout a map of part of Elwood City and partaking in minigames so he could go visit the amusement park.
• Arthur: Ready to Race [Mattel Interactive/The Learning Company/Runescape (PSOne)]: Released between 1999 and 2000, This game has Arthur scouring around for parts to build a cardboard box racer. It consists of mostly minigames which the player partakes to gain parts, although the player is only confined to exploring a small area in Elwood City. The graphics are 3D CGI style with three pre-rendered CGI cutscenes. The voice acting in the game, while not done by the original voice actors, sounds reasonably close to the originals.
• Living Books: There were several interactive storybooks in the Living Books series based off of Arthur, including Arthur's Teacher Trouble.
• Arthur's Pet Chase: Arthur's first Side-scrolling adventure, similar to Super Mario Bros.
• Arthur Game Pack: a collection of every Arthur game to date, the collection contains 20 PC games.

[edit] Popularity with older fans

Although Arthur is directed primarily toward a prepubescent audience, over the years it has gained a substantial cult following among older viewers. The show regularly incorporates satirical parodies of adult-oriented topics and references to pop culture, including parodies of South Park, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Beavis and Butthead, The Simpsons, The Sopranos, The Usual Suspects, Buffy the Vampire Slayer., A Series Of Unfortunate Events, as well as the Milli Vanilli scandal. Many of the references and topics covered are ones with which the target audience most likely would not be familiar.

The series is also noted for its self-referential humor. In one episode, Arthur's class is unnerved by an impending appearance in the regular mid-episode interstitial of a popular educational program, The Magic Toolbox. The interstitial is called Let's Talk to Some Kids (a reference to Arthur's own interstitial, And Now a Word from Us Kids) and is presented the same way the "Us Kids" is presented (with hand-held "camera work" and children who speak in stilted sentences).

The series also features a discernible, complex continuity, which is uncommon in children's cartoons. Although the episodes themselves are not in chronological order (a single episode may have one story that takes place in the winter and another that takes place in the summer), many episodes (particularly more recent ones) are rife with references to past events within the series' continuity. These are often intended to amuse long-time viewers.

[edit] Trivia

• When Arthur first came out, all the characters had white tongues. This is basically a colouration error, yet it was fixed a year later.
• Many Arthur sound effects recorded in 1995 are still being used in newer episodes of the series. Arthur's laugh, featuring the voices of Michael Yarmush and Melissa Altro, has been in use during the entire series run despite the fact that Michael Yarmush left the show in 2000. Also, in episodes where Arthur is played by other actors, Michael Yarmush's voice can still be heard in the opening credits, as well in other spots in the form of laugh, gasps, and other utterances.
• During the first season (primarily in the first episode, Arthur's Eyes), Arthur is shown to have "normal" eyes (with pupils and sclera) when he isn't wearing his glasses. However, from the second season onward, he is shown with simple dots.
• As of the tenth season, there are six episodes in which Arthur does not appear: Prunella Sees the Light, FernFern and the Secret of Moose Mountain, Thanks a Lot, Binky!, Big Horns George, My Fair Tommy, and World Girls.
• Long before receiving his own television series, Arthur appeared in a 1983 episode of the PBS show Reading Rainbow, which featured a partially-animated presentation of the book "Arthur's Eyes" narrated by Bill Cosby. A 1988 Reading Rainbow episode also featured a reading of the Arthur-related book The Bionic Bunny Show, narrated by Gene Klaven.
• Arthur appeared as a guest in hand puppet form in a 1999 episode of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, in which Mister Rogers makes a visit to Marc Brown's house and, later, Arthur makes a visit to the Neighborhood of Make Believe. Mister Rogers himself appeared (as an aardvark) in two episodes of Arthur. (One of these episodes, Elwood City Turns 100, was aired after Rogers' death.)
• Arthur is broadcast with two distinct caption tracks in the US: standard and simplified. The simplified caption track presents simplified versions of the dialogue, either to allow younger children who are just learning to read to make use of the captioning, or to provide an explanation of what is being said to younger children. Some broadcasts of the series also purportedly carry a third Spanish language caption track. Arthur broadcasts in the US also carry a DVS SAP audio track to aid visually-impaired viewers in understanding what is happening onscreen.
• Although the program is primarily produced by WGBH of Boston, Massachusetts, the production of the animated portions of the show is done in Montreal, Quebec. This includes the writing, animation, and voice-acting. In fact, the entire cast of Arthur lives in Montreal or Toronto. The only segments of the show which are filmed outside of Canada are the "And Now a Word from Us Kids" interstitials, filmed at elementary schools/other sites in and around Boston.
• References to Cinar and WGBH pop up many times on the show. In one episode, Francine and Buster are shown playing a table hockey game in which one team's players wear shirts in the Montreal Canadiens' signature colors with Montreal-based Cinar's logo on them and the other team's wear shirts in the Boston Bruins's colors with Boston-based WGBH's sting logo on them. Subsequent episodes that involve hockey also depict players wearing these sweater designs. (In one episode, it is inferred the team with the WGBH/Bruins kit are Elwood City's "home team".) In another episode, "The Big Blow-Up", a racecar driver wears a jersey with "Cinar" written on it and a car with "WGBH" written on it.
• In an episode of Mona The Vampire (another Cinar production), an Arthur doll is seen in Charley's toybox.
• In the episode "D.W. talespins", Arthur and Buster talk about the "Vegemorphs" books, a spoof of the Animorphs books produced by K.A. Applegate.

[edit] Funding

• United States Department of Education (1999-2005)
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1996-2004)
• "Viewers Like You" (1996-1999) / Contributions to your PBS Station from "Viewers Like You" (1999-2002, late 2003-2004, late 2005-present)
• National Endowment for Children's Educational Television (seen on some PBS stations.)
• The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
• Polaroid (1996-1998)
• Juicy Juice (1996-2004)
• Baby Gap (1996-2000)
• Post Alpha-Bits Cereal (1999-2004)
• Lego (2000-2002)
• Chuck E. Cheese's (2002-present)
• Teddy Grahams (2004)
• Rhodes 60-second Cinnamon Rolls (2005-2006)
• Danimals (2006-present)

[edit] External links

• PBS Kids: Official Site
• 1998 Actimates press release
• WGBH Arthur Pressroom - News and Pictures, Series Fact Sheet
• Official UK CBBC site