February 28, 2022 I have so many fond memories surrounding the show. The show taught me the importance of being a good friend, sibling, and person in general! I would watch the show before and after school every day. I even remember how excited I would be whenever I got to pick an Arthur book from the school book fairs! I dreamt of trying the Little Bo Peep Pot Pie, owning my own Woogle, and meeting Binky… and if I’m being honest, I still do.
I go back to watch the episodes and I catch the more subtle jokes, relate to the different characters, and truly appreciate how well the show handles difficult topics. I had a few Arthur toys growing up, but it wasn’t until I got older that I started seriously collecting anything and everything “Arthur”. It’s something that brings me so much joy and it makes me so happy that other people appreciate my collection as well! I’ve connected with so many amazing people through a mutual love for Arthur.
Growing up with Arthur has been such a privilege. He isn’t just a character from a show, or an illustration in a book. Arthur is a best friend!
Matthew (AKA Peeebs)
February 22, 2022 My memories of Arthur go back all the way to early childhood. I was only two years old when the TV show started on PBS, so Arthur has pretty much always been there for me, both on TV and in print. One of my earliest memories from preschool is listening to the teacher read "Arthur's Halloween" to my class. Marc Brown's books were always some of my favorites. I love his artistic style and especially the little hidden "Easter eggs" and unique details in his drawings. I would often find myself doodling Arthur characters in my school notebooks. I like to think that some of Marc Brown’s work had an early influence on the creative side of my brain.
Beyond the books, I’ve become more and more connected with the TV show as well. Arthur was something that my older brother and I both enjoyed. We were big Arthur fans as kids. We memorized a lot of the early episodes, and would competitively guess what episode was coming on next, as soon as the theme song ended. Growing up with 5 TV channels, PBS and Arthur were staples in my after-school routine.
Eventually, by my teenage years, I drifted away from Arthur a bit, but I would still check in occasionally when I heard of new episodes. By the time I was in college, a renewed interest in the show was sparked somewhere inside of me, and around that time, the show was celebrating 20 years on the air! That’s also when the memes started taking over online. I was beginning to recognize the cultural impact Arthur has had. I was just shocked that it was all happening to my favorite show from childhood. And even more recently, it's amazing to see the online Arthur community continuing to grow and flourish, and all the wonderful friends I've met thanks to it!
I don't think anyone knew how popular and long-lived the show would become, but I believe it goes to show just how timeless the stories and characters are. I think everybody can relate to one or more characters and their personalities. With 500 TV episode segments, we are able to really get to know the characters as they grow and develop. There’s a multitude of classic childhood conflicts to relate to, like losing baby teeth or dealing with a bully, in addition to more nuanced situations, such as helping a grieving friend or understanding different cultures and religious traditions. All these real-life situations are presented in a respectful way that depicts the mistakes and lesson-learning that happen to all of us. There’s also many episodes that are just plain fun, like the music video episode or seeing life through the eyes of dogs and babies. And thanks to the brilliant writing, the show is even enjoyable for adults, with humor and references intended for older viewers and special celebrity appearances from time to time. Callbacks to past episodes also serve as a little reward for longtime viewers. The show has successfully appealed to a wide range of ages for all these reasons.
After 25 years, I think it’s safe to say Arthur has joined the ranks of other monumental public television shows like Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow. It will be sad to see the series go into reruns with no more new episodes, but it’s great to look back and appreciate all that has happened already, and look forward to what PBS has planned for the future of Arthur and his friends in new media coming soon!