The eighth season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS Kids in the United States from September 15 to December 26, 2003 and contains 10 episodes.[1] for the beloved characters Arthur and Sue Ellen Armstrong, as it is the last one featuring the voice talents of Mark Rendall and Patricia Rodriguez, respectively. For many years, these actors have brought depth and personality to the iconic roles, allowing viewers to connect with the stories in a meaningful way. The departure of both voice actors signifies not only a change in the character portrayals but also a shift in the series’ overall atmosphere, as new actors will take up the mantle in future seasons. Additionally, this season serves as a pivotal point in the history of the show's production, being the final season before CINAR, the original production company behind Arthur, underwent a rebranding to become Cookie Jar Entertainment in the following year. Evan Smirnow took over the role of George from Mitchell Rothpan. alongside with, Alexina Cowan and Sally Taylor-Isherwood, who replaced Patricia Rodriguez and Vanessa Lengies in voicing the characters Catherine and Emily, respectively.
| Arthur | |
|---|---|
| Season 8 | |
| No. of episodes | 10 (19 segments) |
| Release | |
| Original network | PBS Kids |
| Original release | September 15 – December 26, 2003 |
| Season chronology | |
Production
editIn a February 2022 interview with Variety, Marc Brown stated that the inspiration for the episode "Bleep" came from a young neighbor of his, who learned a swear word on the school bus.[2]
Episodes
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by | Storyboard by | Original air date | Prod. code [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106a | 1a | "Dear Adil" | Peter K. Hirsch | Ivan Tankushev | September 15, 2003 | 106B |
|
Arthur becomes pen pals with a Turkish boy named Adil Akyuz, but he confuses him with his incorrect knowledge of Turkey, which he got from a comic book he read. When Alberto explains to Arthur that everything in the comic is inaccurate, Arthur apologizes to Adil and they both realize they actually have a lot in common. | ||||||
| 106b | 1b | "Bitzi's Break Up" | Peter K. Hirsch | Jeremy O'Neill | September 15, 2003 | 110A |
|
Bitzi announces to Buster that she is breaking up with Harry (from "Bitzi's Beau") and Buster, thinking he will never get to spend time with Harry again, is devastated, so he creates a plan to reunite them, but it backfires. After Bitzi explains he can still be friends with Harry, Buster feels better. | ||||||
| 107a | 2a | "Fernfern and the Secret of Moose Mountain" | Stephanie Simpson | Ivan Tankushev | September 16, 2003 | 108B |
|
When Oliver takes Francine, Fern, Muffy, Prunella, and Jenna on a trip to Moose Mountain, Francine is determined to beat her record of three hours to the top, but she is furious when she has to be paired with Fern, who has no experience with mountain-climbing. Disaster strikes when Francine's impatience leads to her losing the map and Fern getting stuck in a muddy bog. As Francine manages to beat her record, Oliver is mad at her for acting inconsiderate towards Fern. | ||||||
| 107b | 2b | "Thanks a Lot, Binky" | Peter Egan | Julian Harris | September 16, 2003 | 107A |
|
Binky saves Rattles from getting injured in a dangerous stunt, but Rattles is ungrateful and declines thanking Binky. Soon after, Binky tries doing good deeds to get someone to thank him, but nobody does and he is upset. That night, he dreams what the world would be like if he was not kind. | ||||||
| 108a | 3a | "Arthur's Snow Biz" | Jonathan Greenberg | Jeremy O'Neill | September 17, 2003 | 106A |
|
Arthur and Buster start a snow-shoveling business, but an argument over splitting the money leads to them separating and competing for customers. After working hard for ridiculously low fees and getting blisters, they give Muffy their jobs and reconcile. | ||||||
| 108b | 3b | "Bugged" | Jonathan Greenberg | Robert Yap | September 17, 2003 | 109A |
|
The Brain annoys his friends by constantly correcting them, and they call him a pest. After he has a dream where he becomes a bug to see how his friends really see him, he decides to never help them again, but soon learns that it might not be the best solution to his problem. | ||||||
| 109a | 4a | "Fernkenstein's Monster" | Stephanie Simpson | Ivan Tankushev & Patricia Atchinson | September 18, 2003 | 110B |
|
Fern tells Arthur, Buster, and Muffy a scary story, but they find it disturbing. Nobody wants to be near Fern because of her story, so she tries creating one that is fun instead of frightening. | ||||||
| 109b | 4b | "D.W., Dancing Queen" | Glen Berger | Robert Yap | September 18, 2003 | 107B |
|
Mr. Ratburn's class is doing projects with the preschoolers, and D.W. and Binky are made partners. They decide to do a dance for their project, but teaching D.W. how to dance proves to be a handful for Binky. Things get worse when Molly and Rattles tease him and he injures his ankle. However, D.W. dances successfully in front of everyone, much to Binky's delight. | ||||||
| 110a | 5a | "Vomitrocious" | Dietrich Smith | Julian Harris & Patricia Atchinson | September 19, 2003 | 111A |
|
When Arthur’s friends tease George with his constant nosebleeds, a sick Francine vomits in front of everyone being grossed out, and is upset that she will be teased as well, so she constantly avoids them. But for a while, Francine then continues to nauseate until she stands up for George when he tells her everyone teases him but not her since she is popular. | ||||||
| 110b | 5b | "Sue Ellen Chickens Out" | Peter Egan & Peter K. Hirsch | Robert Yap | September 19, 2003 | 111B |
|
Mr. Manino, the Sugar Bowl manager, announces that he is retiring and plans to sell the shop to a fast-food chain. Sue Ellen is let down by this change and starts a rally for her friends to go on strike and save the Sugar Bowl, but it backfires when everyone except her cannot stay on track. In the end, after recalling the good times he had at the Sugar Bowl with Grandma Thora, Mr. Manino changes his mind and decides to keep the shop open, much to Sue Ellen's delight. | ||||||
| 111 | 6 | "Postcards from Buster" | Peter K. Hirsch | Jeremy O'Neill | December 22, 2003 | 112A 112B |
|
Buster and the Reads travel to New York City to visit Buster's father. Throughout a majority of the episode, while Buster is using his new video camera, everything seen on the camera is live-action footage, instead of the usual animation. Note 1: Buster's father's face finally reveals itself in this episode. Note 2: This episode serves as the backdoor-pilot episode for the Arthur spin-off series Postcards from Buster. | ||||||
| 112a | 7a | "Desk Wars" | Glen Berger | Gerry Capelle | December 23, 2003 | 112B |
|
On a hot day, Arthur's friends fight over who gets to sit by the fan, which leads to the entire class threatening to destroy each other's possessions, and as the situation soon escalates into a complete battle, Mr. Haney puts a stop to the fight before it goes too far. | ||||||
| 112b | 7b | "Desperately Seeking Stanley" | Cusi Cram | Julian Harris & Patricia Atchinson | December 23, 2003 | 109B |
|
Arthur sells his old and torn teddy bear, Stanley, to Vicita at a garage sale. He later regrets his decision and tries to get Stanley back. | ||||||
| 113a | 8a | "Muffy's Art Attack" | Stephanie Simpson | Jeremy O'Neill | December 24, 2003 | 114A |
|
After attending an art show with Ed and Prunella, Muffy tries to build kinetic sculptures but she cannot come up with any good ideas. Her butler, Bailey, builds some well-done sculptures, and during a showcase, Muffy tries to pass them off as her own. Guest star: Arthur Ganson as himself. | ||||||
| 113b | 8b | "Tales from the Crib" | Jonathan Greenberg | Robert Yap & Julian Harris | December 24, 2003 | 113B |
|
Vicita is let down when she has to give up her crib, so D.W. tells her how she grew out of her crib and gave it to Kate. | ||||||
| 114a | 9a | "Flea to Be You and Me" | Story by : Cusi Cram Written by : Jonathan Greenberg | Gerry Capelle | December 25, 2003 | 114B |
|
An Italian flea named Pepe tells Kate, Pal, and Amigo the story of his journey around the world, and how he became separated from his brother, Sale. | ||||||
| 114b | 9b | "Kiss and Tell" | Jacqui Deegan | Jeremy O'Neill & Julian Harris | December 25, 2003 | 115A |
|
Emily tells D.W. how she felt when a boy kissed her on vacation, and D.W. begins to wonder what it feels like. She starts contemplating on asking James to kiss her. | ||||||
| 115a | 10a | "Big Horns George" | Peter K. Hirsch | Gerry Capelle & Robert Yap | December 26, 2003 | 115B |
|
George learns how to sing the blues, with inspiration from his giraffe dummy, Wally (from "Arthur's Dummy Disaster") and the Brain's CDs. Guest stars: Koko Taylor and Taj Mahal as themselves. | ||||||
| 115b | 10b | "Bleep" | Dietrich Smith | Jeremy O'Neill | December 26, 2003 | 108A |
|
While on a shopping trip to a jewelry store with Grandma Thora, D.W. overhears a teenager curse at his mother after banning him from a concert, causing her to drop a glass and break it to smithereens. D.W. wants to know the meaning of the word, but she is afraid that if she says it, the same thing will happen to the other Reads. She then tests this on Vicita, only to get in trouble, and Mrs. Read is furious. While she ungrounds D.W. because she didn't know what the word meant, D.W. learns that swearing is inappropriate, especially for 4-year-old kids. After Mrs. Read simply tells her that people get offended by such words and that they can mean "I want to hurt your feelings", D.W. decides to have a talk with her friends the next day about swearing. | ||||||
References
edit- ^ "PBS Kids: Arthur: On TV". PBS Kids. Archived from the original on 5 October 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ Hailu, Selome (22 February 2022). "'Arthur' Creator on Ending the Beloved Series After 25 Years, Arthur's Radical Identity and the 'New Puzzles' Ahead". Variety. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ From the GBH Open Vault: "GBH Open Vault - Search [search: "Arthur"]". GBH Open Vault. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- General references
- "Arthur Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- "Arthur: Episode Guide". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- "Arthur Season 8 Episode Guide". TV.com. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- "Seasons 4-8". Arthur episodes. PBS parents. Retrieved 7 March 2010.