Arthur

I am 32 years old. I started watching the show just because I had PBS on for my son. Now I watch it even when he's not there! There is so much subtle humor for adults in this show. I, too, dislike the way they sometimes get heavy-handed with the "lessons," but that's an educational kids' show for you. This show illustrates how people aren't perfect (Francine is too bossy, Muffy is spoiled, etc.) and that is soooooo refreshing! Plus, they make fun of themselves (The Andy and Company episode, the Magic Toolbox, etc.) Arthur is written in such a way that it is appealing to kids AND their parents, whereas most kids' shows make their parents want to vomit.

This is a wonderful cartoon. My son is 18 months old and he loves to watch it. This is a show that deals with stuff that kids go through every day. One episode that is one of my favorites deals with Arthur being teased because he is the only one in his class who hasn't lost a baby tooth.

I now see why children like Arthur and his friends so much. Kids of all ages can identify with him, not just eight year olds (Arthur and his friends are all in the third grade), but everybody can identify with the characters. Even adults can identify with the parents on the show.

Also, I like this show because each character is different (except for Timmy and Tommy Tibbles) both physically and personally. No two characters are the same, and the friends all accept each other's differences. I think that that is one thing that parents need to teach their kids: to accept the fact that no two people are exactly the same and that everybody is different. That is what makes everybody special.

I hope that parents watch this show with their kids. If you do, I think you'll approve of it for your children. I know I approve of this one!

Don't let the PBS Kids label fool you--"Arthur" is really a show for grownups that children can enjoy as well. The writers constantly throw in witty cultural and pop cultural references that the kids (and many adults) don't catch. Here's an incomplete list of references/spoofs from the latest season (7) alone:

"Alan Greenspaniel" extolling the virtues of the "sock market" The famous artist "Andy Warthog" Dr. Phil MacGraw "Waiting for Godot" (Binky and Brain wait a long, long, long time to be picked up, while subsisting on carrots and turnips) A combined "Back to the Future"/"Bill and Ted" spoof N'SYNC Muffy the Vampire Slayer And everybody's favorite, Harry Potter.

Not to mention appearances by Larry King, the Backstreet Boys, and those guys from Car Talk. Seriously, it's becoming the "Simpsons" of public TV.

Some notable moments from previous seasons (again, incomplete):

A Teletubbies spoof that has them reciting Shakespeare. The poet William Carlos Williams shouting, "Free verse! Free verse!" "I am educational...I am educational..." "Is there someone inside your head watching everything you do on TV?" "The Contest"...a tour de force featuring spoofs of South Park, Dexter's Lab, and WWF. Bionic Bunny vs. Elias Howe. Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Redman in the same episode. The Spinach Heads. "Nancy Drew gets criminals to confess by wearing attractive pastels." Jekyll Jekyll Hyde Jekyll Hyde Hyde Jekyll... "It's like being dead, only there's homework." Hound. James Hound. "Initials? That's it? Didn't you give the kid a full name?" Buster's "Planet of the Apes" reverie. An introductory narration directly lifted from Boris Karloff's "Frankenstein" ("This story will thrill you and shock you...").

This show is great fun for everyone. I hope the high level of quality continues, and that the writers continue to come up with great ideas.

For some reason, I have always been taken with this show. It's devoid of the fast-paced "ADD" glitz and flashing lights and endless one-liners. It's simply about a young Aardvark trying to survive in his family. There's not a better word to describe this show other than "delightful." It's simple, entertaining, and I'd watch it over anything else on TV. It's not blatantly "educational," it simply follows Arthur around, discounts his irrational beliefs and supports he and his friends' right answers and good deeds. I'd recommend this show to anyone and everyone-- especially if you are tired of head-spinning animated features like Shrek, and you want to enjoy a moment of purity on TV in an otherwise deteriorating field.

A recent article in (I believe) USA Today named a critic's picks for top shows of the 1990s. As someone who despises mainstream movies and television, I laughed at every show picked. With the notable exception of one. "Arthur." Now there was a show the critic and I could agree on. Arthur features more intelligence, wit, humour and maturity than just about anything else out there and that includes prime time shows. Arthur is a rare children's series that can be enjoyed by both children and adults and truer words were never spoken. Arthur is not "dumbed down" in any way. It refuses to treat it's young audience with anything but respect for their intelligence and feelings. Problems are dealt with in a realistic manner and each of the characters has a distinct personality and come from diverse backgrounds. This is shown in several stories that do not focus on Arthur and his sister, DW (she steals the show by the way) but the supporting cast like Buster, Muffy and my favorite character, the tomboy Francine. Muffy is a rich priss, Francine and her family come from a working class background, the gluttonous Buster's parents are divorced, Sue Ellen and her family have travelled the world and the perceived bully, Binky Barnes, is anything but. The producers need to be commended in their effort to make every character a seperate individual and to give them stories in which they can shine.

I'm 28 and cannot miss an episode of this series. Arthur proves that children's shows can (and should) "grow up." TV wouldn't be such a vast wasteland if more shows (for children and grown ups) would take a lesson from Arthur. It really is "that good."