Arthur Seasons 3 and 4: Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight and The Blizzard

Arthur  PBS 

         We go Season 3 now once again, and this time look at an episode of Arthur that tries to connect to their audience something of great importance.

      Our episode this time is "Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight" It first aired on June 3rd 1999.

   Monologue: This time it starts with a the Read parents in the kitchen preparing for some company  coming over apparently the father forgot about it so they are in a rush.  D.W and Arthur are fighting because she wants him to play but he has to do his homework.  Then milk spills and Nadine , D,W's imaginary friend, freezes the picture and introduces the episode.



  Now the episode: Nadine is back and she unfreezes the picture. She rewinds what happens to show what D.W was doing and DW wishes that her parents were different after her parents were being too fair. She imagines that her parents would do whatever she wants and force Arthur to play with her. Then she hears the milk and stuff fall over and the parents start arguing.  D.W runs to Arthur because she's scared that her parents yelled.  Arthur decides to go check after D.W looks scared.  He hears them too.

We keep getting sad D.W/Copyright WGBH

      D.W then imagines that the parents don't speak to each other anymore. They live in the same house though, Arthur says that's silly because they'd divorce instead.  (Though that's implied not said)  Apparently they imagine if their father moves out since he is the cook, that they wouldn't have food anymore. (well then) So then they imagine if they lived with their dad instead but they only have one car so, no car rides. (what?)   Then they imagine the two of them being split up.  Then what if they lose both parents and become orphans.

Don't leave over spilled milk/Copyright WGBH 

        Then they imagine they live together without their parents in a country home?   Arthur decides to talk to them. When they hear the parents debating about leaving they think that he's leaving leaving. He's just getting milk.  The parents explain that sometimes adults get mad and disagree but they don't hate each other.

     Another episode where Arthur and D.W work together or have a common thing together or whatever I am trying to express here.  This is one of those episodes that works to tell it's target audience that if  your parents are fighting that doesn't mean they are going to break up because people who love each other sometimes disagree. It's a message that I think should be said as much as saying that maybe two people find it better not to be together anymore.
    D.W  not understanding what they were saying but only hearing the raised voices works well too, as a way to show that even what could be a meaningless argument over spilled stuff can sound worrying to a small child.  It does it's theme well and still keeps some lightness as well.


more after the jump

     Now we run to season 4 with an episode about a blizzard called "The Blizzard". This is episode 5a of season 4 that first ran on October 11th 1999.  Let's take a look.

     Monologue:  Arthur shows us  a polar bear eating a marshmallow in a blizzard. Arthur tells us that walking your dog in a blizzard is hard.

  Episode:  The weatherman on TV says that the snow would be a light dusting but the next morning he's wrong.  But there's still school because Elwood City might not be a very good city.  Francine was hoping that school would have been canceled so she could finish her report on the pioneers. The the power goes out and school is closed now, which makes the teacher , Mr. Ratburn, sad.   The storm gets worse.

Another out of context Arthur /Copyright WGBH 

       Francine tries to get out of her report with the power going out but pencils exist.  Meanwhile, the principal and Mr. Ratburn have to help at the school's pipes not freeze. The weather man keeping being wrong.  D.W delights in the power going out around the city and  think it's pretty.  Francine's family goes over to Arthur's because they still have the power, while David, Arthur's Dad, goes to the worst place to go in a blizzard, the store, Also did that voice over just say the power is out across the country? What?  Mr. Haney, the principal , is not having a good day.  Why don't the Crosswires have a generator they are rich people but don't have a generator.   Arthur's house became a place for alot of people to do. Then their power goes out too. D.W gives a great line "We are all gonna die in a heap."
 

        The Crosswires run around their house like crazy people and then end up at the Read home. Francine's inspired for her report on the pioneers. This episode seems to have a prequel to the D.W snowball saga so, that exists.

        Another episode I think does it well. The good a job of pulling many Elwood City characters together when the time to come together was needed. Francine's report about the pioneers being a nice tie in the story is a nice touch.  There's  a good mixture of comedy and drama in the episode as the storm gets worse.  D.W's lines were funny and the weather man being wrong was also funny. It really shows a good job of how a storm affects people as well. It's an "Arthur" masterpiece

      Tune in next time, when we dig out from this snow and find spilled milk.