The Quarter Century of Arthur

I got quite nostalgic as the PBS show Arthur came to its final episode on February 21, 2022.

I watched it for years as a kid.  The episodes had wonderful content, and were so down-to-earth in portraying real life, at home with families, at school, and out in the community, like at the fine establishment of the Sugar Bowl.  Indeed, I learned lots, like the concept of a half-birthday.  That's what kept me constantly watching it.

And I'm sure that great quality is what kept it going on TV for so long.  To think that the characters stayed the same age through the entire run gave it, in what I read in one article, a sort of eternal quality.  It's almost surprising that it reached its end.  Nevertheless, it had a great run, a show with a high number of episodes because of high quality.

In fact, I think about the episode when the Mary Moo Cow Show reaches its end as I ponder the reality that Arthur has now reached its end.

And I have so many wonderful memories of show.  Here are 25:

1. I really enjoyed the song "Having Fun isn't Hard when you've got Library Card", in "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival", and that whole episode was really cool.

2. It was fun watching "Arthur's Family Vacation", and connecting it with some of my own vacation experiences, like a family trip to the Outer Banks.

3. There was something quaint about the episode "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm".

4. I enjoyed jamming with the Backstreet Boys on the hourlong episode of the same title.

5. I enjoyed "Arthur's Perfect Christmas", not only seeing Arthur's observance of Christmas, but also how his friends observed Christmas, and other holidays.

6. There was something wonderful about the appearance of Mr. Rogers on the show and his interactions with Arthur, his family, and his class.

7. It was exciting to see Arthur's family travel to Washington, D.C.

8. I'll avoid spoilers of specifics, but the episode "The Return of the King" had an exciting conclusion.

9. "The Blizzard" had a heartwarming conclusion, and an exciting build-up to when the weather situation got intense.

10. When I watched "My Music Rules", I liked seeing Yo-Yo Ma, who helped the characters appreciate music.

11. I enjoyed "The Shore Thing" and all the ways the characters attempted to reach the Ocean Zone, and what they enjoyed in the process.

12. It was amazing to see the efforts of the characters to set a World Record, and how they decided to engage in teamwork to do a world record together.

13. I like the explorations they had in "The Cave".

14. I liked the conclusion of "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?" and the circumstances that led to it as Binky struggled to express his musical desires.

15. There was excitement in "Muffy Goes Metropolitan" when she traveled to Crown City.

16. It was exciting to see Arthur and his classmates stage a play for "Elwood City Turns 100!", and to get a feel for Elwood City history.  That episode also featured an appearance of Larry King in his studio.

17. It was heartwarming to see Buster's enthusiasm to embrace the Amish way of life, and how he found a great way to channel it at the end.

18. Given my geographical interests, I enjoyed the story of "Dear Adil", when Arthur corresponded with Adil in Turkey as a pen pal.

19. I was intrigued that "Big Horns George" featured Koko Taylor as a guest star, and I got jamming to that music a bit.

20. I liked the episode "Postcards from Buster", seeing the travels of Buster, his dad, and the Read family in New York City, mixed with live footage.  This episode led to a spin-off show by the same title, and I enjoyed seeing the places Buster traveled.

21. "Arthur's Birthday" was an episode that had a great, celebratory ending.

22. I liked seeing all the effort that Arthur and D.W. spearheaded to throw an appreciation party for Grandma Thora, even ending up in a crazy situation of making cake late at night.

23. I liked hearing "A Word from Holly Holland", who won a contest with an idea for an Arthur episode.  In the span of just a couple of minutes or so, we viewers got to see glimpses of her life in Canadian, OK.

24. It was amazing to see "Arthur Bounces Back" with his cool moon boots and how he put them to good use.

25. Arthur and his friends discussed ideas to create a holiday to alleviate the dreariness of winter, and I found some of them to be rather humorous.

So there are plenty of memories that will stay with me and other fans for a long time beyond its conclusion on February 21, 2022, because of so many wonderful days in Elwood City.