When it comes to appropriate television for my girls, I always know that PBS Kids Shows have a meaning behind their shows and something Kelsie and Aubrey can learn from. Tomorrow, PBS Kids can celebrate the 14th Season of Arthur.
We’ve had the chance to check out the first episode of the season and is a great story of how a disability doesn’t have to set a person back and can still accomplish anything anyone else can. Arthur and his friends (and don’t forget D.W.!) are always up to something new and want you to share it with them!
This fall, everyone’s favorite aardvark, Arthur Read, is back for an all-new season of ARTHUR, which will introduce a new friend and encourage kids to get creative through the arts, making movies and even writing graphic novels! Five new episodes premiere Monday, October 11 on PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings).
In the premiere episode, “The Wheel Deal,” Arthur and his Elwood City friends meet Lydia Fox – a new character created by ARTHUR/All Kids Can Character Search winner, Connor Gordon. After being introduced by Connor last season in a live-action segment, Lydia now moves into Elwood City as an animated character. In “The Wheel Deal,” Brain has to spend some time using a wheelchair after an injury, and is afraid his plans to compete in a basketball tournament for charity may be dashed! Luckily, his new friend Lydia happens to be a wheelchair basketball player, and shows him how it’s done. The story is followed by a live-action segment featuring 10-year-old Kaitlyn, who doesn’t let the fact that she uses a wheelchair stop her from enjoying life. Kaitlyn shows viewers that, like all kids, she has homework to do, enjoys spending time with her family, eating pizza and going to the beach.
Kicking off Halloween week, the spooktacular author of Coraline and The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman gets “animated” in “Falafelosophy.” At the urging of Neil, Sue Ellen tries her hand at writing and illustrating a graphic novel. When Sue Ellen needs inspiration and encouragement, she turns to Neil – who pops up in unexpected places! – and to the philosophy lessons of her local falafel vendor! And, ARTHUR offers up another haunting episode in time for Halloween – the “Tales of Grotesquely Grim Bunny.” When the local comic book store changes ownership, the new darker and scarier comics are right up Fern’s alley. But Arthur can’t seem to stomach them and now he’s worried. Is it wrong to be afraid? Maybe his friends will be more supportive than he realizes.
“This season, we’re hoping to empower our young viewers to go after their goals and dreams. Whether that means becoming a wheelchair basketball champion, or expressing yourself through writing, drawing, and making movies, Arthur and his friends show kids that determination and hard work really pay off,” said Executive Producer Jacqui Deegan. “Both Lydia and Neil serve as great role models, and we’re excited to have them to reinforce these important lessons for our audiences.”
Other new episodes find your favorite Elwood city friends getting creative and exploring various types of media. In “Agent of Change,” after watching the latest animated hit in movie theaters, Muffy and Francine are disappointed that there never seem to be any cool female characters on screen. With the help of a very talented artist, Molly, the “Group of Three” set out to make their own movie! And, in “D.W. Unties the Knot,” after watching the Wedding Channel, Arthur’s younger sister sets out to plan the biggest unicorn wedding imaginable. Will she be able to back out in time, when she realizes she’s getting more than she bargained for?