Arthur

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 is a wonderful cartoon. My son is 18 months old and he loves to watch it. This is a show that deals with stuff that kids go through every day. One episode that is one of my favorites deals with Arthur being teased because he is the only one in his class who hasn't lost a baby tooth.

I now see why children like Arthur and his friends so much. Kids of all ages can identify with him, not just eight year olds (Arthur and his friends are all in the third grade), but everybody can identify with the characters. Even adults can identify with the parents on the show.

Also, I like this show because each character is different (except for Timmy and Tommy Tibbles) both physically and personally. No two characters are the same, and the friends all accept each other's differences. I think that that is one thing that parents need to teach their kids: to accept the fact that no two people are exactly the same and that everybody is different. That is what makes everybody special.

I hope that parents watch this show with their kids. If you do, I think you'll approve of it for your children. I know I approve of this one!

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

For some reason, I have always been taken with this show. It's devoid of the fast-paced "ADD" glitz and flashing lights and endless one-liners. It's simply about a young Aardvark trying to survive in his family. There's not a better word to describe this show other than "delightful." It's simple, entertaining, and I'd watch it over anything else on TV. It's not blatantly "educational," it simply follows Arthur around, discounts his irrational beliefs and supports he and his friends' right answers and good deeds. I'd recommend this show to anyone and everyone-- especially if you are tired of head-spinning animated features like Shrek, and you want to enjoy a moment of purity on TV in an otherwise deteriorating field.

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?