PBS’s Arthur airs it’s final episode
Arthur, the longest running animated kids show, aired its final episode on PBS, February 21st. For anyone who was ever a kid, and for those of us that have kids, you can’t forget the little aardvark with round glasses. After 25 years of being on the air, the show’s finale left us with a little glimpse into the future, 20 years later, to see what happened to all of our favorite characters.
The entire gang still hang out at the sugar bowl. Buster, Arthur’s best friend, is a teacher now. Muffy is running for Mayor, and D.W. is a traffic cop-not surprising. But what about our titular character? What’s Arthur been up to? Well, you’d be proud to see that Arthur’s just written and illustrated his first graphic novel. A graphic memoir, more like it. The first chapter is about Arthur getting his first pair of glasses. The same as the first episode of show itself. How meta.
Mark Brown is the creator of Arthur, with over 125 books in print. Brown was tucking in his son at bed time and he asked for a bed time story. Having lost a teaching job earlier that day he said, “I’ve have a terrible day. I don’t feel like telling a story tonight.” His son replied saying, “C’mon Dad, maybe it’ll make you feel better.” And thus Arthur was born. During its run it won 7 Emmy’s and has received praise for the diversity and inclusion it has portrayed on the show.
Even though new episodes are over, episodes will still be airing on PBSkids and the video app. There’s also plans for a podcast and some digital shorts according to the show’s official Twitter account. You can watch the final episode for yourself online, https://youtu.be/gYn1Em-4CQ4. Just remember, Hey, it’s wonderful kinda’ day if you can learn to work and play, and get along with each other.