Erdferkel Arthur und seine Freunde

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 show is so great. it deserves a lot more credit. its a show for all ages. its not just for the little ones, which most people assume. Also, its WAY different than the books. The books are for kids, and the show is for everyone. Which is why i love this show so much! Actually it reminds me of the show doug, a cartoon that aired on nickelodeon a few years ago. I recently found out that doug arthur have the same writer! But arthur is a lot better. I heard that there is gonna be an arthur movie? did any one else hear this?

Arthur is a very good animated show. Based on Marc Brown's wildly popular series of books for children, Arthur - a third-grader in an aardvark suit - and his anthromorphic family and friends attempt to make sense of one another and the world in general. Arthur has a pre-school sister, D.W., who just for fun annoys him. Very believable, and very good if your child is 4 to 8 years old. Grade A

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.

This show gives off such a great message of friendship. Even though all the characters are so lovable, they each have their own unique flaws. Like how Arthur complains about D.W all the time or like when Muffy gets her snobby attitudes. Also when Francine gets competitive, and the brain brags about his I.Q. Then there's also how Binky can be a bully and how Fern isn't very social. Well, anyway, back to my point: They're all friends even though none of them are perfect, which is one of the main reasons why I love this show so much. Its not like one of those perfect, happy all the time "kiddy shows". This show represents life's imperfections and how to deal with them. Arthur and his friends have so much fun together because they except each other for who they are, which i think is definitely a message kids should learn early in their lives. Does anyone agree/disagree with me?