Arthur (season 13)

The 13th season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS Kids Go! in the United States from October 12, 2009 to April 9, 2010 and contains 10 episodes. All episodes from this season aired on several countries outside the U.S., such as CBBC in United Kingdom and TVOKids in Canada, prior to their U.S. air dates.

Arthur
Season 13
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
No. of episodes10 (19 segments)
Release
Original networkPBS Kids Go!
Original releaseOctober 12, 2009 (2009-10-12) –
April 9, 2010 (2010-04-09)
Season chronology

Episodes
Main article: List of Arthur episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season [1]		TitleWritten byStoryboarded byOriginal air dateProd.
code [2]
1561"The Great MacGrady"[3]Peter K. Hirsch & Leah RyanZhigang WangOctober 19, 2009 (2009-10-19)163B
164B

Mrs. MacGrady is diagnosed with cancer, and the children react differently: Arthur and D.W. rush to support her, Francine is worried, and Muffy is initially unaware of the severity of Mrs. MacGrady's condition, but jumps to action when she realizes how to help. Lance Armstrong guest stars for the second time in the series but is replaced in a remake of this episode in Season 24.

Note: This episode was dedicated to the loving memory of Leah Ryan. This episode was pulled from live TV in 2021 due to controversy over Lance Armstrong happening shortly after this episode was released and in its place is the Season 24 remake of the same episode.
157a2a"The Silent Treatment"[4]Claudia SilverRobert YapOctober 13, 2009 (2009-10-13)153B
George wonders whether anyone would notice if he just disappeared, and vows not to speak until someone notices him.
157b2b"Kung Fool"[4]Claudia SilverRobert YapOctober 13, 2009 (2009-10-13)163A
Fern volunteers to help an elderly neighbor, who she learns is a retired kung fu master.
158a3a"Arthur's Number Nightmare"[5]Peter K. HirschElie Klimos & Élise BenoîtOctober 14, 2009 (2009-10-14)154B
Buster finds a piece of paper with names of his classmates and numbers beside them. Arthur, Buster, and Francine believe it's a class ranking system. The paper turns out to be a seating assignment chart.
158b3b"Brain Gets Hooked"[5]Matt SteinglassAliaksei Kazakou & Michel CarbonneauOctober 14, 2009 (2009-10-14)154A
Brain becomes addicted to a TV show, which causes him to fall behind on his schoolwork. With the help of Fern, Brain gets over his addiction by skipping to the final episode of the show.
159a4a"MacFrensky"[6]Jonathan GreenbergMichel Carbonneau & Stéphanie GignacOctober 15, 2009 (2009-10-15)159A
Francine is in the lead for Student of the Month until Brain does several good deeds that put him ahead of Francine. Muffy persuades Francine into framing Brain for stealing Buster's alien toy so Francine can take back the lead. The plan works, but Arthur and Buster do not believe Brain stole Buster's toy, and the girls frame the boys for cheating on a test in fear of being caught from their first plan.
159b4b"The Good, the Bad, and the Binky"[6]Claudia SilverGerry CapelleOctober 15, 2009 (2009-10-15)159B
Binky babysits Emily to earn money to buy tickets to a wrestling match, but when he introduces her to professional wrestling, she starts to copy his behavior, causing him to realize he has become a bad influence.
160a5a"No Acting, Please"[7]Cusi CramElie Klimos, Nadja Cozic & Élise BenoîtOctober 12, 2009 (2009-10-12)158B
Fern worries that she won't do good in a play, so William Toffman, voiced by actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, teaches Fern be a star.
160b5b"Prunella and the Disappointing Ending"[7]
"Prunella Deegan and the Disappointing Ending"[2]		Jonathan GreenbergRobert YapOctober 12, 2009 (2009-10-12)157A
Prunella and Marina compete to see who can read a novel first.
161a6a"When Carl Met George"[8]
"George and the Missing Puzzle Piece"[2]		Peter K. HirschGerry Capelle & Nick VallinakisApril 5, 2010 (2010-04-05)164A

George meets a new friend named Carl, who has Asperger syndrome. George is unsure about how to act around his new friend, but Brain helps put autism in perspective for him so he can understand some of Carl's mannerisms.

Note: In some countries, this episode goes by the title "George and the Missing Puzzle Piece."
161b6b"D.W. Swims with the Fishes"[8]Cydne Clark & Steve GranatRobert YapApril 5, 2010 (2010-04-05)150A
D.W. and James enter the preschool swim meet and recruit their older siblings to coach them.
162a7a"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Tibble"[9]Peter K. HirschNick Vallinakis & Daniel MiodiniApril 6, 2010 (2010-04-06)150B
The Tibbles make paintings and sell them for money to buy a toy.
162b7b"The Secret Guardians"[9]Guy LancasterDaniel DecellesApril 6, 2010 (2010-04-06)160A
Arthur, Binky, and Sue Ellen find a woodland oasis near their homes and vow to keep the area a secret. Soon, they start to find evidence of human habitation and wonder if they've discovered an ancient civilization.
163a8a"Fernlets by Fern"[10]David Steven CohenZhigang WangApril 7, 2010 (2010-04-07)158A
Fern and Muffy start a greeting card business.
163b8b"Prunella and the Haunted Locker"[10]Gentry MenzelNick Vallinakis & Sylvie LafranceApril 7, 2010 (2010-04-07)157B
Prunella's locker is under repairs, so she has to use one that is rumored to be haunted.
164a9a"Paradise Lost"[11]Jonathan GreenbergNick Vallinakis & Daniel MiodiniApril 8, 2010 (2010-04-08)153A
Baby Kate begins to learn to talk, but starts to not be able to understand Pal anymore. They go to the Dolly Llama for an answer.
164b9b"The Pride of Lakewood"[11]Peter K. HirschZhigang Wang, Jeremy O'Neill, Nick Vallinakis & Gerry CapelleApril 8, 2010 (2010-04-08)165B
To boost school pride, Arthur and his classmates form the Lakewood Pride Committee. Sue Ellen and Brain do not join the group and are accused of not loving their school.
165a10a"Looking for Bonnie"[12]David Steven CohenDaniel Miodini & Jeremy O'NeillApril 9, 2010 (2010-04-09)165A
Rock musician Dean Lomax visits Elwood City and asks George's dad to fix his guitar. George and Buster sneak out to see the guitar, and imagine themselves making the world a better place with music.
165b10b"The Secret Origin of Supernova"[12]Jonathan GreenbergRobert YapApril 9, 2010 (2010-04-09)160B
Arthur tries to find a superhero to dress up as for a convention, and ends up inventing his own.

Production

Episodes from this season were produced together with season 12. As a result, the episodes from this season were aired on several countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia, prior to the U.S.

One of the most notable episodes, "The Great MacGrady" (co-sponsored by the Lance Armstrong Foundation) deals with the topic issue of cancer (a topic that had only been addressed once in an animated series). Executive producer Jacqui Deegan comments on the WGBH press release:

Cancer affects nearly everyone in some way. We hope that this two-part episode will empower kids, families and caregivers to talk about all the feelings that can come up when a loved one has cancer, and how they can work together and remain positive and hopeful through difficult times.[13]

The episode premiered during the week-long programming block A Very Special Arthur. The episode's ending features a dedication to Leah Ryan, a former Arthur writer, who died on June 12, 2008. The character of Mrs. MacGrady was renamed Leah MacGrady in Ryan's honor.

"No Acting, Please / Prunella and the Disappointing Ending" is listed as the fifth episode of this season on PBS's official episode guide and "The Great MacGrady" as the first, although they are flipped in order according to original U.S. airdate.

Celebrity guests

Philip Seymour Hoffman guest starred as himself on the episode "No Acting, Please".

Lance Armstrong guest starred as himself — for the second time on the series — on the episode "The Great MacGrady".

Promotion

A book version of the episode has been released on the PBS Kids website in English and Spanish before its airing date, along with information about cancer.[14]

The Lance Armstrong Foundation Headquarters and WGBH Boston Studios have shown pre-screenings of "The Great MacGrady" a week before its television premiere. In addition to viewing the episode, children had the opportunity to participate in activities in response to the contents of the episode. WITF Public Media Center also held a pre-screening event [15] along with several other public libraries.

A Very Special Arthur

"The Great MacGrady" was aired on October 19, 2009 at Arthur's regular time. This programming block was promoted as A Very Special Arthur. A promotional video[16] was shown the week before the programming block in between Arthur and other PBS Kids GO! television programs.

The decision for A Very Special Arthur was made by PBS and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Their goal was to make the episode as accessible as possible to children, families, and educators so they would have the tools to discuss about the heavily impacting topic.[17]

References
  1. "Season 12 - 14". Arthur episodes. PBS parents. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  2. 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.
  3. "The Great MacGrady". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  4. "Silent Treatment; Kung Fool". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  5. "Arthur's Numbers Nightmare; Brain Gets Hooked". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  6. "MacFrensky; The Good the Bad and the Binky". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  7. "No Acting Please; Prunella Deegan and the Disappointing Ending". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  8. "When Carl Met George/D.W. Swims With The Fishes". KLRU. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  9. "Portrait Of Artist As Young Tibble/The Secret Guar". KLRU. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  10. "Fernlets By Fern/Prunella And The Haunted Locker". KLRU. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  11. "Paradise Lost/The Pride Of Lakewood". KLRU. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  12. "Looking For Bonnie/The Secret Origin Of Supernova". KLRU. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  13. "Arthur Season 13 Press Release: PDF" (PDF). WGBH. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  14. "When Someone You Know Has Cancer". PBS. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  15. Sara Wagner. "Free Pre-Screening of Arthur's "The Great MacGrady"". WITF. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  16. "A Very Special Arthur". PBS on YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  17. "ARTHUR episode -- "The Great MacGrady"". OETA. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
General references
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