[00:00:27] Speaker A: Welcome back to the Cosmic Cafe here at the Cosmic Circus. Usually we talk about Sci-Fi and fantasy fandoms of old, but today we're talking about a different fandom. We are talking about Arthur on PBS, which came to an end on the day we're putting this up now. We recorded this a month or two ago. So we do make some predictions that may or may not have come true.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: But, yeah, you'll hear.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: And our guest is Sarah Edwards from she's great. She's a big Arthur fan. We had a great time talking about the show, our memories of it, because, yeah, we grew up with it 25 years. Enjoy the episode.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Hi, Sarah.
Hello.
[00:01:10] Speaker C: Hi.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: So this is a bit of a different episode than usual because usually I ask our guests what they want to talk about. But I knew I wanted to do this particular subject for this season because this show is ending, like, right around when we're going to be releasing this episode. So I want to talk about Arthur. And then Elizabeth, who is also on Boardwalk Times with you, suggested you for this episode. So I'm like, okay, I'll ask Sarah. And you said yes. So here you are. So welcome.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: Thank you.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: So, yeah, we're going to get into talking about Arthur. This show is 25 years old. This show is my age. This show premiered like, three months after I was born.
[00:01:52] Speaker C: Wait, really?
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Yes. What was weird about it for me is it premiered the month I moved into my house, the house I grew up in for like, 25 years. And then the month I moved to the apartment I am now in, the announcement came out that it was ending.
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: So weird.
[00:02:06] Speaker C: So lots of milestone, lots of anniversaries for the show with your life milestones. That's pretty cool.
[00:02:12] Speaker B: Yeah. I literally grew up with this show. But I want to hear what your experience is with this show. It's an iconic show, obviously, arthur, for those who don't know, I'm pretty sure everyone listening knows what Arthur is. It's a PBS cartoon based on books by Mark Brown starring an artwork named Arthur. And there's all these other animals and their kids, and they just go to school, they live their lives, and it's just fun. But, yeah, we're going to get into that. So what have your experiences been with Arthur?
[00:02:38] Speaker C: Yeah, so I grew up with Arthur as if I was probably two or three when I really got into it.
Growing up, my family didn't really have cable. We didn't get cable until I was in middle school. So PBS and my local station, Kera, was really the only kids channel that we could get at any time. And so my parents would pick me up from daycare or they'd pick me up from school. And Arthur was almost always on. It was on in the morning when I woke up. It was on when I got home from school and I just loved how much of a chill show it was. It was funny, it was relatable. Especially growing know, you don't really think about having a show to relate to when you're even six and seven, but I feel like Arthur was just definitely something I could sit down and relate with.
But even as I got know you stop watching kids shows at a certain age, but my mom, this was one of her favorite shows, too, and so sometimes she would come home from work and when Arthur was on, she would just put it on and all of us would just watch it together with her. And even now, I'm 23, I go home and my mom will get home from work and she'll be like, arthur's on. Why don't we all watch Arthur? So it's just one of those casual pieces of glue that keeps us together that we all bond over.
Even when I go to my grandparents house, they also didn't have cable, but whenever Arthur was on, everyone wanted to sit and watch it with us. It was so cute. It still is.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: My dad especially would watch it as well, when I would watch it. So, yeah, it was one of the shows he could stand, although he can stand pretty much anything, but I think he thought it was funny, I think, too. So, yeah, that checks out. I think it's one of those shows for kids that parents can actually stand watching with, um, not saying too many names, but like, barney is when I know a lot of parents notoriously hated Caillou. Those are all pretty sure. But then there was like Arthur and sesame street and some other ones that parents can also be entertained by and to a certain extent, yeah, absolutely.
So, yeah, you said this show has been on for a long time. Like we've said, it's actually the second longest running, I think at least us animated show, it's going to end. So it's going to end at 25 years, and then it's probably going to get beaten by SpongeBob because simpsons is still on. I don't know how much longer that's going to be on for, like I keep saying and then it keeps going. So I don't know. I'm guessing someone's going to have to die before that end.
Norbid like someone's probably going to die and then it's probably just going to get canceled.
Arthur's second and then SpongeBob third. SpongeBob's like three years older than Arthur, so SpongeBob is probably going to beat Arthur. I think SpongeBob is even going to beat Simpsons probably because yeah, I could see it. Yeah. So I think SpongeBob is going to be number one soon. But right now, Arthur's still second, so let's celebrate that.
It's still up there. And it's funny because they all have yellow on them. I don't know what it is about yellow cartoons. Yeah, it's like the main color, like Arthur's sweater the skin color of The Simpsons and then the, I guess, color of SpongeBob.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: Even when you just look at the art style of like, it kind of has almost a mustardy yellow filter over it.
I don't know how to explain it, but I always thought of Arthur as like the more kid friendly version of hey Arnold, because you have kids who are in the same class and they seem to be in the same grade for the entire time. And while hey Arnold tends to go into some little darker, a little more older themes, arthur is still like a group of kids in a classroom. They all get together, but they all have their internal issues. And going back on what you said, how parents enjoy it, I think just the way that they carry their lessons in the show, they do it in a way that's not annoying. They don't do it in a loud way, so to speak. It's in a way that helps kids just stop and process what is happening.
[00:06:23] Speaker B: Yeah. What's the darkest Arthur got?
I know they did an episode based on 911, and it was like a fire, and it was like there was that, and then there was also I know they did one recently, because I did some research before this. They did one about, like, there was a hurricane or something, and they had one where cancer and then they remade the cancer episode because Lance Armstrong was in it, so they had to remake it with a fictional character instead of Lance Armstrong.
[00:06:47] Speaker C: No, they definitely had some dark episodes. One of the ones that came to mind that I remember just being like, OOH was when they had a giant ice storm. And I remember I was in Texas during the freeze, and of course, that episode happened to come on one of those days, but it was like everyone was losing power. Everyone's houses were freezing, and they were like, we don't know what to do.
So I just remember there were some darker colors being used to show the city basically freezing and destroying itself. But I remember the fire episode, too. I didn't realize that was a 911 related one.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: It wasn't officially 911, but it was like they made it in response to 911 to show kids how to handle a crazy with different emotions and all that. I remember that one really well. That one was on a lot when I was a kid.
[00:07:33] Speaker C: Yeah, for me, too.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: But yeah, it was interesting. I don't really remember much about the freeze episode. I remember it happened. I just remember Muffy, who's like, the bratty rich girl on the, like, coming to realizing privilege and everything, and she's like, what the heck?
[00:07:51] Speaker C: She realized that a lot because I remember so this past Christmas, they showed, like, Arthur's Christmas special. It was like an hour long special. And Muffy has a party every year, but Francine doesn't come because Francine is Jewish. She's like, I'll come, but I don't celebrate Christmas. And Muffy took it as like, well, it's just because she didn't understand that Francine is not Christian. She doesn't celebrate Christmas. She's Jewish. And so the whole episode is about Muffy trying to be like, how will I make it up to Francine? How will I show her know she can celebrate Christmas? And then in the end, her dad takes her to Francine's house, and Francine is like, I'm going to show you how we celebrate our Christmas, quote unquote. And just all the shenanigans that Muffy goes through, just without realizing that Jewish people do not celebrate Christmas.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Yeah, and it was funny also, like, a few weeks ago on the out of context Arthur pages, or one of those pages, there's quite a few of them on Twitter and Tumblr. They were, of course, putting stuff about the Christmas episode. And it was like, we're going to do the Jewish tradition of going to the movies. And I'm like, well, I'm not really Christian. No, I'm not religious. But we do celebrate Christmas, and we go to the movies every Christmas. So it's like, I guess we act like Jewish. And apparently they get takeout, too. Some people were saying one of my friends who's Jewish gets Jewish Chinese takeout and movies on Christmas. That's basically what we do. And we celebrate Christmas. I don't know, I guess we're doing it wrong in my house, maybe. No, I'm kidding.
No, we have all the stuff, too. We do all the regular Christmas stuff. But I just thought that was funny. I was like, that's such a big thing that it happened at Arthur as.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: They have a way of approaching these kind of issues without being controversial or without taking it. Like, they still find a way to add humor to help kids relate to what's happening. Because I remember when I was learning about the different religions of the world, my teacher had actually played this episode. So it was just kind of a way to comedically say, not everyone celebrates Christmas, but also say it's okay. That not everyone. This is why they don't celebrate Christmas. We even have Brain who celebrates Kwanzaa, and they did a little bit on that as well. So Arthur was just really good at finding a way to teach lessons, but carefully constructed in a way that kids are going to understand and be curious to want to learn more.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: So you were saying this show is not usually like, I can't think of that many controversial moments. The only one I can think of was from a couple of years ago when their teacher, Mr. Rabburn, got married. And you fight out at the end of the episode, he's marrying a man. For most of the episode, they thought he was marrying this woman who turned out to be his sister. Some places probably would have preferred that, but it happened. He married a chocolatier. So it wasn't quite the cake guy he wanted to marry. I'm sure he would have loved to marry Arthur's dad, the cake decorator, but yeah, I thought that was a very nice episode. Have you seen that one?
[00:10:53] Speaker C: I have. Yeah. I remember I watched it because I saw all these people like, this shouldn't be in kids shows, or this isn't appropriate. And so I was curious. I was like, okay, well, let's watch the episode. Also, I would love to watch Mr. Rapper and get married. I was like, about time he found someone.
And I remember watching it, and I was like, I don't really see what the big deal is.
They don't fully come out and say, Mr. Ratburn is gay.
It just kind of happens. It's a very relaxed and easy way to say not every marriage is between a man and a woman, and it doesn't have to be.
And I really just liked that they had the kids just I liked the way they had the kids reactions to it. The kids are just like, oh, he's not marrying the wedding planner. He's marrying the chocolateier not, oh, he's not marrying a woman. He's marrying a man. I think they executed it so well, and it just got kids curious, like, oh, he's happy.
I really didn't see what the issue was even after watching the episode. I thought it was very tasteful, and I just like that they still found a way to make it humorous and very adorable.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it wasn't like the main folks of the episode. It just kind of happens at the end. It's like a good way of normalizing it. I think there was no discussion of, okay, kids, look, he's married a man, but it's the same. It's just, okay, here it is. It's the same. There's no question. I like when that are presented in kids shows without questioning it, because kids have to be almost taught to question something. Sometimes I think people act, like, scared, but it's like, okay, you don't have to question this. It's like, well, should I be questioning? But that didn't happen with this. So that was very good. Arthur is really good with that in general, I think.
[00:12:35] Speaker C: Yeah, I agree. And it was definitely I definitely remember as someone who is bisexual, I just liked the representation, and I liked how like I said, I just liked how they executed it. They didn't have to explain why. They just kind of let it happen like it was normal, because it is normal, and I think a lot of parents who were complaining about it, they're just not as educated on LGBT issues, and so that's why it was such a big shock for them. But for me and my youngest sibling, who is non binary, we were both like, it was such a tasteful way to introduce LGBT themes without coming out and saying, we need to talk about LGBT themes.
[00:13:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. I've also noticed on the show, especially remember from when I was younger, they would do a lot of not like a lot of episodes, but they'd have stuff on different I don't want to say entirely diseases, but they did one on asthma, they did one on dyslexia, they did one on autism, but they've had those things come back. It's not like reference one episode done, like it comes back to the race, but they have had episodes where they put focus on it and explain them. And I thought they did a really good job.
I think it was actually for the autism episode, it was Asperger's syndrome, but I don't know what it's called now. I don't think it's called that anymore. I forgot. I don't know what it's called.
[00:13:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I think I know what you're.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: Talking I yeah, but it's the same thing. It's what used to be called Asperger's syndrome. I don't know what it's called now. But they did an episode on that. They did a really good analogy. If you haven't seen the episode YouTube, like Arthur Asperger's Syndrome or Arthur autism, and it'll probably come up, that little scene where they explain what it's like to have it. It's really interesting and it's really good. It's a way kids can understand. And I think that's what Arthur is really good at.
[00:14:14] Speaker C: They were just so great at introducing things that kids would be curious about, like asthma, for example, I grew up with at my school, a lot of kids did have asthma, so it was something that I knew about. But when I transferred schools, I think when I was around, like, third grade or so, we didn't have a lot of kids with asthma. So they would always question like, oh, what's that weird inhaler thing you're putting in your mouth? Or like, you always have to go to the nurse and sit with this weird fog mask on. What's that about? And so Arthur just did a great way of introducing know, some kids have trouble breathing and this is what happens. Like the way Buster basically takes like a magic school bus, quote unquote type of approach to it, I thought was.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: On at the same time, I think I think they.
[00:14:59] Speaker C: Most likely but it.
[00:15:01] Speaker B: Was.
[00:15:04] Speaker C: Because they just always had great ways of introducing things. I remember we also had a blind character who was Prunella's friend.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: I remember Marina. Yes, her I think they still have her on the show.
[00:15:16] Speaker C: She is yeah. And I remember I was first introduced to her when her and Prunella are excited about this fantasy book that's coming out, and they suddenly get in a race to read it, and they kind of have a competition where it's like, who can read faster, the girl who can see, or the girl who reads with braille? And I remember they were both just like, well, we tied finish. We finished with a tie. But I don't remember what happened in the end. And so they came together and they're like, we'll just read it together.
[00:15:41] Speaker B: Yeah, there's some good episodes like that. They have some focus on the blindness, but sometimes it doesn't focus on that at all. And it's just like it's a regular thing going on. And she's blind, and they show what she needs, like her needs and stuff. She's using them, but they don't talk about it all the time. It's just normalized, which is good. I remember when I was looking through episodes, they had someone with a stutter and it's that girl who never talks in the background.
She's a bunny, and it's like, yeah, she never talks because she had a stutter that whole time, adding her in. So they tried to add things to all the background characters and stuff and add more turns and introduce new characters. And I thought that was really good because throughout the show, they've introduced more and more characters. When I was looking for episodes. There's some episodes that you don't even see Arthur. It's just characters. It's just like they focus on the tough customers, or they were the bullies and now they're not. But they even had an episode about that where they stopped bullying officially and they wrote I'm sorry letters. It was interesting. It wasn't as cheesy as that. That was actually a good episode. But, yeah, it's kind of more about the whole city at this point of the show, which I think is kind of cool. Like, Arthur's still the main character, I guess.
[00:16:51] Speaker C: But every episode is about.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Don'T. Yeah, he's not even in every episode, I don't think.
[00:16:58] Speaker C: No, there are definitely episodes where either he doesn't show up at all or he's kind of like he maybe has a few lines and then is out.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: For the rest of them. Yeah, he's just there. It's, like, about the city more than him and his family.
But speaking of his family, we have to talk about my favorite character, DW.
[00:17:18] Speaker C: She is so iconic.
Even if the show does end end, her legacy is going to live on.
[00:17:25] Speaker B: Yeah, like, she's the mean queen of the show. I mean, there's lots of memes. I mean, besides the fist, which is her, because that's when Arthur fist is that episode, which everyone remembers was really intense. He punched his plane and he just gets really mad. And it's so unlike Arthur. And then he just punched her, and then she's shocked and then she starts crying. It's so funny. It shouldn't be that funny, but it is. It always is what happened. But it's so overdramatic now. It's like there's the thunder in the background. It's like it's really getting.
[00:18:00] Speaker C: Yeah, no, DW was always like, you can't hate DW. She's out here just spitting facts.
The fact that there are BuzzFeed articles that compile all of her favorite or her most memorable quotes. She was just the one who kept things real, and she cracked me up. She's definitely a middle sibling. Like, she gives the middle sibling vibes.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: Yeah. I relate to her a lot, though. I'm an only child, and I really relate to her a lot. I guess because when I was watching the show, for the most part, I was around her.
Mean, I think I watched her when I was, like eight, when I was Arthur's age rider. But when I was really, really into it, I had a DW doll. I also had a Francine doll.
Yeah, I was her age, and I was experiencing the same thing she was. I was doing gymnastics class when she was and I was going into the beach and stuff and just experiencing those things and telling crazy stories like she would do. And I was very much like, I'm not afraid to say what I thought.
[00:18:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
I think another reason why she's so just relatable in that sense is she really does have such a well thought out storyline. Because I remember after an episode, sometimes they'll have Mark Brown come on and talk about his inspiration for Arthur. And DW's inspired off of his younger sister, who he said was annoying on so many counts. So a lot of anything he writes about her is just experience of him viewing his younger sister.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: That is true. It's funny. And then they yeah, so they had three siblings. They had Arthur, DW, and they had baby Kate was obviously on more than baby Kate, although they did some episodes where baby Kate could talk and talk to the animals, like the pets, like Pal the dog, and some of the other ones. Those kind of got old quickly, I think. I think the first one was funny, but then it got kind of like, we don't need we get the point. You guys spin off if they wanted to do Lee. I think my favorite episode of hers was the one where she wants to go to the museum and they don't want to take her. So she makes her own museum with all these fake facts, and she drives insane. He's like, okay, we have to go. And then she's like, that was my whole experiment, that I wanted you to.
[00:20:08] Speaker C: Take me in the museum.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: And you said you never would, and then you did.
[00:20:11] Speaker C: I forgot about that episode.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Every time I think of an episode, she's like, the inside of your head has, like, miles and miles of hair. Once it all comes out, then you're bald. I don't know. I can't remember that.
And then it's like the sky is blue because all the other colors were taken.
[00:20:26] Speaker C: Yeah, they were very much like what a young kid thinks, because young kids want to act like they know everything, and they'll find a way to explain it in a way that's just, like, you can't even comprehend, but it's funny. So you're like, I'm just going to let you go along with it until.
[00:20:43] Speaker B: You'Re old enough to understand yes, exactly. I think they did a really good job portraying that. They also showed what the actual truth. They made sure people knew that, okay, kids, this is not how it actually is. Guys bring something, they go to the museum, they actually see what happened. But she doesn't even believe it herself. A lot of kids don't even believe their own thing they made up. It's just their own.
[00:21:05] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. I just always loved her toys that she'd have know DW comes off as this very blunt character, yet she still loves the princesses. She has a magical, invisible friend.
What was the cow that she was obsessed with?
Yes, she loved she had like a Mary Moo cow and she was always just playing with it. So despite the fact that she was so blunt and so like I'm going to tell you how it is. She was still very much a kid.
[00:21:32] Speaker B: Yeah, she's like a real kid. It's not like she's like one of those pretentious ones who act like think they're an adult or whatever.
[00:21:39] Speaker C: Exactly. Yeah. I think she always liked to pretend that she was like I remember the episode where she learned about fire safety and when her preschool had like, a fire drill, she put her little hat on and was taking charge.
[00:21:54] Speaker B: I like the one where she had this book and she was reading it to the neighbors, the Temple twins, and she was telling a story she couldn't read, but she was like, making up this whole story and then they believed it.
[00:22:04] Speaker C: And then they took the book home.
[00:22:05] Speaker B: And then their mother, grandma started reading it to them. It was the actual book. It's like, oh, my gosh, it changes every time. They believed her. This is like little kids believe what each other said. I don't know. DW is iconic.
[00:22:17] Speaker C: It still is and always will be.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: Like, the memes will never die. But yeah. Who is your favorite character? Because mine was DW, of course.
[00:22:24] Speaker C: Mine was definitely also DW. I remember an episode where she reminded me a lot of my younger siblings in some way. I got glasses around Arthur's age. Actually, when I was in third grade.
[00:22:37] Speaker B: I got glasses, like, right before I got glasses.
[00:22:40] Speaker C: That's like the grade that people get. People with eye problems usually tend to get glasses. So I remember when I got glasses, my brother was kind of like, well, do I need glasses? Maybe I should wear glasses. And it reminded me of the episode when DW is like, I'm going blind. And she would just walk around with her eyes closed and Arthur's like, DW, you don't need glasses. You just need to open your just.
[00:23:04] Speaker B: I thought you were going to say the one where she copies Arthur and pokes holes in sunglasses and wears glasses and falls around everywhere.
[00:23:10] Speaker C: I do remember that one, too. But in regards to my favorite character, it always changes. I think the character I can relate to most would be Arthur because I was usually a very nervous but also outspoken kid. I got glasses at a young age and was always worried that I was one of the first kids in my cohort that had glasses. So I was just, you know, they're going to make fun of me. Stuff like the any kind of storyline where Arthur's trying to figure himself out. I see myself in him. But favorite characters. I always loved Muffy and like their friendship. They are also just as blunt with each other as DW.
[00:23:54] Speaker B: I want to ask you about them. Is their friendship toxic, do you think? Because they sure seem to be like they're really kind of awful to everybody and to each friendships like that at that age. And it was like besties and then fighting like that.
[00:24:08] Speaker C: So I guess that's they're definitely like friends because I have a few friends from high school where it's like we're so different that it's confusing at how we manage to how we're still friends with them. I think they're kind of that dynamic. Like they are so opposite of each other that it just works that well. But I definitely can see some of the elements where it's a little toxic. Like either Francine is very stubborn and Muffy sometimes just is not paying attention to what's happening with.
So I can think of so many times when they're both just dissing each other's outfits or dissing each other's appearance. And I definitely get the toxic vibes. But I feel like they're so close of friends that they're never going to stop being friends.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: No. Oh my goodness. Although I can see in high like it's going to be like the mean girl thing. I feel like there'd be mean girls. Like I'm sorry.
[00:25:06] Speaker C: I could see it honestly.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: Like you'd think Muffy, but Francine is really like she's kind of bitchy. And I know I'm talking about an eight year old, but it's a fictional eight year old so it's okay. But she's so mean to everybody and then when anyone comes after her, she can't take it. That was kind of me at that age. But she's very competitive. I could not take anyone coming after me, but I was very honest. But I don't know. I wasn't mean. But yeah, she's really mean though. But yeah, she's like she's worse than the actual bullies. Like Binky who's supposed to be the bully. Yeah, there's no way he's worse than Muffy and Francine.
[00:25:37] Speaker C: It's funny know, Binky will make fun of kids sometimes, but not of I feel like a lot of it is just him just hiding behind, just trying to be tough because he's also an only child. I remember the episode where they adopted his younger sister and he was having to adjust. He's just generally a very defensive but loyal. I think the best word is loyal. If you're on his good side, he will defend you.
[00:26:04] Speaker B: But.
[00:26:05] Speaker C: The second you cross him, you are ballet.
[00:26:08] Speaker B: And he did clarinet and he thought everyone was going to care and no one cared. Yeah, he thought it was cool or whatever. And then he had like he was like I don't know, I remembered an episode where it was like he didn't want to audition for a thing or whatever. He didn't want to show. So he did like this anti music thing. He made a machine and he took it. I don't remember how that one went, the audition at the end or something, but it was really weird because that's just who he is. And it's like he has these different sides to him. And I think because he's been going on for so long, you can see the different sides to all the characters. There was like the revelation that Brain got held back in kindergarten at one point. Yeah, and that was shocking, but it made sense because it was like an emotional thing. And so it was showing kids that it's okay if you're not like, if something that happens, you can still be smart. It's like your life's not over.
[00:26:54] Speaker C: It definitely taught kids that there's a reason why people are the way they like most kids shows don't usually go into a background on why the nerdy kid is the nerdy kid or why the mean kid is the mean kid. They don't usually expand that far because they don't think that kids are going to really care about that. But that's something that Arthur did, is every character had depth. They all had a background that made them who they know. Binky is a perfect actually, Brain is more of a perfect example. He's very smart, he's very witty. But he got there because he was held back. He didn't want to have that happen. It just they really were good at fleshing out all of the backgrounds of these kids and showing, like, someone may not like you or you may not get along with someone. There's a reason for why they are who they are. So it just kind of taught kids, especially me, to just like, everyone has a story, everyone has a background, and you should take the time to find it if you want to truly be a good friend.
[00:27:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
So this show is ending at the time of recording this. It's ending, I think, next month. I think it's going to end in February. We're recording this in January.
So I was wondering how it should end. And I'm like, for all of these, I was like, they should go to fourth grade finally. They've been third grade this whole time. They should go. But then it turns out they already did that. I don't know if they're currently in it, but they had this whole special where they go to fourth grade and then they're freehand. Like, some of them are in the same class, DW's in kindergarten now, and it's this whole thing. And it was like, pretty cute. I watched it. But it's like, how is the show going to end now? The last episode is called All Grown Up. So I don't know if it's going to be a flash forward episode or if it's just going to be like I don't know, it seems like it's implying something special is going to happen because it seems like for a last episode, I don't know. I'm going to be disappointed if it's a regular episode because yes, you know, I will be watching this.
[00:28:46] Speaker C: Of course I'm going to be me too.
[00:28:49] Speaker B: Yeah. So how do you think it should end? And how do you think maybe it will end?
[00:28:54] Speaker C: I don't know. I think they should definitely because they've always done episodes where they show the kids when they're adults. Like, they'll do little joke episodes where it's like what they look like when they're grown up.
Maybe it would be cool for them to have a little scene where they are grown up like that. But I don't know, I think given the way that the show has always carried, I think it would be fun if it shows them either going to middle school, like skipping a few years, and then them talking about what they want to be when they grow up. And then that can be the flash forwards where we see them in their adult lives and what they're doing.
[00:29:28] Speaker B: Finale uncle. So they have the end of the show where it ended, and then they showed five years.
[00:29:35] Speaker C: Right.
[00:29:36] Speaker B: The ironic thing was it was 2020 was the five years in the future, so they didn't have masks or anything. But it's funny because the Tony Awards didn't happen that year. And the main character, Rachel, won a Tony on that. So she won the Tony that year.
She's the 2020 winner.
[00:29:52] Speaker C: I forgot about that.
[00:29:53] Speaker B: Yeah, it's real. I don't know. But I'm just saying maybe Arthur could do that. I don't know. Because I feel like the fourth grade episode would have been a really good finale.
[00:30:03] Speaker C: Yeah, like a good ending.
[00:30:05] Speaker B: It was an hour long thing, I think. And I don't think this finale is going to be an hour long. I don't know. But yeah, I think another thing they could do, I don't want to see their whole future. Because again, it's fun to kind of speculate and kind of kids. And it's weird because we've seen them in the 90s with 90s technology, and then we've seen them it's like The Simpsons. We've seen them with smartphones now they advance.
[00:30:29] Speaker C: I think something they could do is so Mark Brown doesn't hide the fact that a lot of Arthur is autobiographical. A lot of these episodes and stories are based off of his own experiences. And I remember that we do have a few episodes where Arthur is like, wanting to preserve memories. There was one where he has an assignment to write a story and he has to write a story and it just shows all of the crazy things that he comes up with. So maybe something that would be cute, even, is if they do show a flash forward, it could be like him telling these stories to Grandkids or something. And then they're like, you should write a book on that. And then he's, huh? Yeah, I should. And he kind of looks have him look kind of like Mark Brown as Mark Brown does now.
[00:31:11] Speaker B: I think that should happen. That should make it full circle. He writes the Mark Brown books and it's Mark and it's a human. And they're all, okay, that should be the ending.
[00:31:22] Speaker C: And then I think one of the first books was either like, Arthur Gets Glass. It's like Arthur's eyes.
[00:31:27] Speaker B: I think that's Arthur's eyes. It's called but there's Arthur's eyes. That's what that glasses book is.
[00:31:33] Speaker C: So like, I think that was one of the first ones. So that would be cute. As if he sits down and he writes the first title of the first.
[00:31:44] Speaker B: And bonus points if he does it with the original. Arthur knows.
[00:31:47] Speaker C: Yeah, the old art and everything.
[00:31:50] Speaker B: Because Arthur's an artwork, but you can't tell he looks like kind of like a bear because you can't does except for with the noses really pushed in. It's like an artwork nose pushed. It's weird. But then again, I don't know.
[00:32:01] Speaker C: Also be a good homage to that art is if he draws out what Arthur was in the beginning and that's just how they managed to tie it in without making it weird.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Also, I just remembered Phineas and Ferb did an episode like that.
[00:32:16] Speaker C: Oh, did they really?
[00:32:18] Speaker B: Yeah. Phineas and ferb. I think it was the second last episode. The one before they did The Last Day of Summer was they showed them like ten years in the future and they're going to college and just all the stuff is happening. Phineas and Isabella finally get together and it was just this cute little thing, but it was a big deal. And they had the creators come and introduce the episode and show the art and stuff. So it was kind of like that. So I don't mean I guess I wouldn't be mad if they copied Phoenix and FERV. I don't know. I don't need to see anyone become like a couple or anything. I know they make reference dean jokes all the time on the show.
Yeah, I don't need that necessarily, but just like a little bit of a flashboard. I'm sure there's going to be a flashboard if it's called All Grown Up, I don't know. Absolutely they want to be when they grow up. But yeah, maybe at the end. I don't know. I'm interested to see what they do. Apparently they're going to be doing more like little short things. They did COVID PSAs, which were produced after the last season, which was already produced like years ago, a couple of years ago, so they'll still do more of those. So I'm pretty sure Arthur's not completely going away. Like Caillou's coming back. Like Arthur's going to come back.
[00:33:20] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely.
[00:33:21] Speaker B: People actually like Arthur, so it should come back. And it probably will. But yeah, for now it's ending. We'll see if it ever comes back. People were pretty sad when they found out it was ending, so we will see.
[00:33:32] Speaker C: I remember I was sad. I was just kind of know that really is a lot of things from my childhood have ended or they have gone away. But there's something about this one that just like it was just kind of like, oh, it is going, like it's so but Arthur has had such an impact. There's no way that it can just disappear and it won't.
[00:33:53] Speaker B: The Memes will live on. Like they're uploading the show to YouTube. Like PBS is uploading the show to YouTube, so it's not going to disappear. And most kids watch stuff on YouTube now anyway, so I'm sure they'll watch it else. Any other thoughts on like there's a lot to think.
[00:34:12] Speaker C: Mean, there is something that I was looking at doing some research before this episode as well. And a lot of people who talk about Arthur say they watched this side by side with Sesame Street. And I never thought about you know, this was one of those shows where they really wanted kids to be able to watch it. They were like, we don't necessarily want people to have to pay or buy DVDs to exclusively see it. They wanted to put it on a network that anyone can just tune into. It doesn't matter if you have cable or not. It doesn't matter if you can only watch while you're at someone's house. They wanted to put it at times when kids would be watching and put it where they can easily get to it. So I think that's just something I really appreciated.
I don't know if they were necessarily looking at doing this as a monetary thing, but they really wanted to put this out there for the kids. And you can tell that their heart and souls of Mark Brown and the authors just went all into like it's a passion project. They put a lot of love into it.
[00:35:13] Speaker B: Yeah, and I think Mark Brown was involved the whole like I think he was at the rap party because I know they had one because I listened to this other podcast called Finding DW, which I don't know if it's still going on. Maybe another season. I was hearing to do with the last season of the show. But it's a former voice actor of DW who has always been played by males, like young boys. And he was interviewing all the other voice actors of DW and he talked to some of the other voice actors on the show. Like, Buster has had the same voice actor the whole time it's pretty obvious when you listen to it. It's a very distinctive voice. But he was talking to him and he was saying I think he was talking to how Mark Brown was at the rap party and everything. So Mark Brown was involved with this the whole time, which I think was really cool because it kept the integrity.
The animation may have gotten kind of cheap because the budget goes down, but I'm glad something of value managed to stay for this long. So I'm really happy about that.
[00:36:05] Speaker C: Yeah, me too. And if I do have kids, it's definitely something that I will find a way to introduce them to.
I have a very short list of shows that I would show my kids, but this is definitely one of them.
[00:36:19] Speaker B: Yeah, show them the show. Get them the books. Get them the whole thing. Raise your kids on Arthur, everybody. And I think with that, this podcast is going to come to an end or this episode is. So thanks for listening, everyone. And thank you, Sarah, for coming on.
[00:36:32] Speaker C: Yeah, thank you for having me.
[00:36:44] Speaker A: Thanks so much to Sarah Edwards from Boardwalktimes.com for joining us on this episode of The Cosmic Cafe.
[email protected], check out our other podcasts while you're on it. Lizzie Hill is actually going to be on an episode coming up pretty soon, the founder herself. So you can check that out. You can also check out this Is The Waycast with Sarah on Boardwalktimes.com and yeah, all that good podcast stuff. Thank for listening and hope to see you for the next episode.
