
A brainy bear, a burly bulldog, girl monkeys, and some upright aardvarks. This was the delightful world of Arthur, filled with walking and talking cartoon characters who had the heads of animals and the hearts of third graders.
The bespectacled Arthur, the eight-year-old aardvark, led a cast of furry, but very human friends as he dealt with the everyday problems of school age children. Whether putting his little sister D.W. in her place, babysitting the Terrible Tibble Twins, or avoiding his teacher, the stern Mr. Ratburn, Arthur's adventures always included a useful lesson that applied to the existential crises of every eight-year-old.
With his good friends Binky, the Brain, Sue Ellen, Buster, Francine, Prunella, Muffy, and Fern, Arthur learned to like wearing glasses, how to take care of a puppy, and how to get accidentally locked in the local library overnight.
Arthur, an original, half-hour series for PBS, was based on the series of bedtime story books by Marc Brown. Since its debut in 1996, it has become one of PBS Kids' most popular animated series, continuing to air into the 00's.