Arthur (season 3)

Season of television series

Arthur

Season 3
Country of origin| United States
Canada
No. of episodes| 15 (30 segments)
Release
Original network| PBS
Original release| November 16, 1998 (1998-11-16) –
January 1, 1999 (1999-01-01)
Season chronology

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Season 2

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Season 4

List of episodes

The 3rd season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS in the United States from November 16, 1998 to January 1, 1999 and contains 15 episodes.[1] This season, like seasons 1 and 2, was released on DVD in Europe only (as "Series 4").

This was the last season in which Michael Caloz voiced the character D.W. Read, due to his voice deepening after the end of the season.

## Episodes[edit]

Main article: List of Arthur episodes

No.
overall| No. in
season| Title| Written by| Storyboarded by| Original air date

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51a| 1a| "Buster's Back"| Joe Fallon| Gerry Capelle| November 16, 1998 (1998-11-16)
Buster is returning to Elwood City (after leaving in the second season episode "Arthur's Faraway Friend"), and while Arthur is initially excited, he worries that Buster has changed during his travels. Fearing that Buster will find him lame after his exciting travels, Arthur reads books on the places Buster has visited. When Buster arrives, he says that he did not change and was looking forward to hanging out with Arthur, and the two play checkers.
51b| 1b| "The Ballad of Buster Baxter"| Joe Fallon| Stéfanie Gignac| November 16, 1998 (1998-11-16)
Buster feels left out because of the things he did not get to experience while he was away, while rumors about his travels cause his friends to consider him a snob. Arthur throws a surprise party for him, with everyone joining in to help, but when Buster does not show, Muffy thinks this affirms the rumors until they realize that they did not invite him at all. When Buster attends the party, he enjoys it and reunites with his friends. A singing moose narrates Buster's story throughout the episode.
Guest star: Art Garfunkel as a singing moose.
52a| 2a| "D.W. All Fired Up"| Peter K. Hirsch| Stéfanie Gignac| November 17, 1998 (1998-11-17)
D.W. is scared of the upcoming fire drill in her preschool, so her family names her a fire warden and runs fire drills in their house to ease her fears. During the fire drill, D.W. is able to calm her friends down and lead them outside safely.
52b| 2b| "I'd Rather Read It Myself"| Joe Fallon| Robert Yap| November 17, 1998 (1998-11-17)
D.W. wants to prove to the Tibble twins that she can do something they cannot, so she pretends to read them a book, while instead making up a story about a D.W. lookalike named "B.W." Arthur thinks that the Tibbles will find out about D.W.'s trick, while D.W. is glad that she could be better than them for the day. The Tibbles ask to borrow the book, and when their grandmother reads it to them, they learn that it is instead about Leonardo da Vinci, but think it is a "magic book" that changes whenever it is read.
53a| 3a| "Arthur Goes Crosswire"| Chris Moore| Nick Rijgersberg & Jeremy O'Neill| November 18, 1998 (1998-11-18)
Arthur and Muffy are paired up for a class project about an animal of their choice. They choose to report on a whale and go whale watching as part of it. While at sea, Arthur and Muffy rescue famous actor Wilbur Rabbit, causing Arthur to copy Muffy's uptight behavior. Arthur's friends try to get him to change back to normal by imitating his behavior during a baseball game, and Arthur decides to stop copying Muffy.
53b| 3b| "Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous"| Chris Moore & Ken Scarborough| Robert Yap| November 18, 1998 (1998-11-18)
Set at the same time as the previous episode, Sue Ellen and Brain choose to build a dinosaur model for their animal project. Sue Ellen wants to help, but Brain refuses to let her, paranoid that her model will be inaccurate. When Brain ends up doing the entire project by himself and neglects to use Sue Ellen's model, they argue and end up dropping Brain's model; Sue Ellen turns this into a dig site exhibit, which gets them a good grade. Meanwhile, Francine is paired with Buster, who avoids her so he does not have to work.
54a| 4a| "Background Blues"| Peter K. Hirsch| Robert Yap| November 19, 1998 (1998-11-19)
The class is asked to research their ancestors for a school project. Muffy and Francine try to best one another with who their ancestors were, with Muffy believing that her family has descended from royalty, while Francine believes her ancestors are famous. Both separately become disappointed that their ancestors were just "plain folks." However, Francine's grandfather teaches her about an ancestor of hers who advised Abraham Lincoln to trim his beard, which Francine presents for the project.
54b| 4b| "And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids"| Joe Fallon| Stéfanie Gignac| November 19, 1998 (1998-11-19)
A TV show called The Magic Toolbox is coming to Mr. Ratburn's class to put the kids on television. The kids practice their various talents, but Brain is the only one with no interest in appearing on the show. When the rest of the class are interviewed on the show and struggle to answer the science questions they are given, Brain helps them.
55a| 5a| "The Chips Are Down"| Joe Fallon| Stéfanie Gignac| November 20, 1998 (1998-11-20)
Arthur and Buster trick D.W. into thinking that the big, green potato chip she ate was poisonous. Rather than admit to eating it, D.W becomes friends with Binky, who had eaten one as well. Believing he is close to death, Binky is motivated to reveal his private passion of ballet, impressing his friends.
55b| 5b| "Revenge of the Chip"| Dietrich Smith| Mario Cabrera| November 20, 1998 (1998-11-20)
When the story of D.W. believing a green potato chip is poison (from the previous episode) becomes a story in the newspaper, she promptly blames Arthur for telling about it. D.W. finds out that her mother is the one telling people about the story, and tells her how upsetting it is. Mrs. Read apologizes and promises not to repeat the story. D.W., in turn, apologizes to Arthur, who invites D.W. to a live show where Binky performs a ballet about his experience with eating a green chip. However, while waiting in line for the show to start, D.W. overhears her mother talking to Mrs. MacGrady about the newspaper article. D.W. runs to a nearby pier, where Binky is warming up for the ballet. Mrs. Read explains to D.W. why she was talking about the story. They reconcile and Mrs. Read agrees to not discuss the green chip article to protect her daughter. Arthur, D.W., and their mother enjoy Binky's ballet.
56a| 6a| "Binky Rules"| Sandra Willard| Robert Yap| November 23, 1998 (1998-11-23)
When graffiti reading "Binky Rules" mysteriously appears on the walls of the school, Binky is blamed for it. Buster and Fern act as detectives to prove Binky's innocence, but when Buster starts teasing Fern about her detective style, it makes matters worse. After listening to a song, they find out that the graffiti was caused by a local radio station promoting a new band called "BINKY".
Note: The song by "BINKY" is performed by Finnish band Värttinä.
56b| 6b| "Meet Binky"| Sandra Willard| Jeremy O'Neill & Larry Jacobs| November 23, 1998 (1998-11-23)
BINKY, the band from the previous episode, becomes a huge hit in Elwood City, and a concert is planned to expose a big secret about the band. Arthur is able to go backstage due to his father catering the concert, and worries that if he invites his friends, it will interfere with him befriending the band. He changes his mind and lets them come, thinking that it would be more fun to go with his friends. However, Arthur learns that BINKY is actually a group of holograms and is not real.
Note: The song by "BINKY" is performed by Finnish band Värttinä.
57a| 7a| "Arthur Rides the Bandwagon"| Peter K. Hirsch| Robert Shedlowich & Mario Cabrera| November 24, 1998 (1998-11-24)
Arthur does not approve of a new fad, cute toys called Woogles, but after seeing how popular they are, he tries to get one. After several failed attempts, he gets a Woogle from Grandma Thora, but then he starts playing with a bottle cap and starts a new fad.
57b| 7b| "Dad's Dessert Dilemma"| Sandra Willard| Jeremy O'Neill & Alex Greychuck| November 24, 1998 (1998-11-24)
Arthur brings a cake his father made to a party in Mr. Ratburn's class celebrating Galileo's birthday. Everyone enjoys the cake, so Arthur brings in even more desserts to build his school popularity, unaware of the work he is imposing on his father until he sees that he made his father fall behind on a crucial order for Muffy's father. Arthur and D.W. then assist their father with his baking. Throughout the episode, Mr. Ratburn keeps using a spring reading list as an excuse to join Arthur's parties and eat his cakes.
58a| 8a| "Popular Girls"| Sandra Willard| Jeremy O'Neill| November 25, 1998 (1998-11-25)
Francine inadvertently takes Catherine's backpack to the community center and discovers a magazine called Popular Girl. After taking a personality quiz, Sue Ellen and Fern change their personalities to be more "likable." Sue Ellen goes from being an expert to quiet and not speaking up, while Fern becomes loud and bossy, both causing chaos in their groups.
58b| 8b| "Buster's Growing Grudge"| Joe Fallon| Robert Yap & Daniel Decelles| November 25, 1998 (1998-11-25)
Buster holds a grudge against Binky for telling a joke in class that Buster intended to tell. Arthur tries to console him before the grudge overtakes Buster. In the end, Buster settles his grudge by talking with Binky, who was unaware how upset Buster was.
59a| 9a| "Arthur's Treasure Hunt"| Stephen Krensky| Mario Cabrera & Rich Vanatte| November 26, 1998 (1998-11-26)
When Buster finds an ancient arrowhead in his mother's garden, Arthur digs up his backyard to find treasure, but his search quickly spreads to the front yard, where his mother told him not to dig. When she arrives home, she is disappointed and grounds Arthur for two weeks.
59b| 9b| "The Return of the King"| Peter K. Hirsch| Mario Cabrera| November 26, 1998 (1998-11-26)
Mr. Ratburn's class is at a medieval fair, competing for a trophy against a very intelligent class (who bear striking resemblances to Arthur and his classmates) led by Mr. Ratburn's former teacher, Mr. Pryce-Jones. Mr. Ratburn's class loses constantly until Arthur beats the other class in a "sword in the stone" challenge by figuring out the riddle the challenge's caller recites. Arthur is crowned king of the medieval fair, cheered on by both classes and congratulated by Mr. Pryce-Jones and Mr. Ratburn. Mr. Pryce-Jones realizes that Mr. Ratburn taught his class something he himself never did: to think for themselves.
60a| 10a| "Attack of the Turbo Tibbles"| Joe Fallon| Robert Yap| November 27, 1998 (1998-11-27)
The Tibble twins watch a violent cartoon and start dressing and acting like the protagonists: a duo of superhero crime-fighting robots. They play roughly while pretending to fight crime and throw a swing into D.W.'s face, sending her to the emergency room. They apologize and agree not to watch the show anymore, and D.W. forgives them.
60b| 10b| "D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy"| Joe Fallon| Stéfanie Gignac| November 27, 1998 (1998-11-27)
D.W. wants a tooth pulled out so that she can get money from the Tooth Fairy to buy a toy barn for her unicorn doll. When her plans do not work, she tries to trick the Tooth Fairy with a fake tooth. Arthur replaces the tooth with his money, worried that the Tooth Fairy could be offended by the fake tooth.
61a| 11a| "Double Tibble Trouble"| Peter K. Hirsch| Stéfanie Gignac| December 28, 1998 (1998-12-28)[2]
Tommy Tibble is sad and less active because Timmy is ill. Although D.W. and Emily would like to have the Tibbles less hyperactive, they try to help Tommy out by playing like a Tibble, but they are not as hyperactive as the twins.
61b| 11b| "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival"| Joe Fallon & Ken Scarborough| Robert Yap| December 28, 1998 (1998-12-28)
Arthur and Buster have an imaginary music festival, with the entire cast performing music videos of Library Card, Jekyll and Hyde, Leftovers Goulash, Homework, and Library Card: Reprise from the Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (or Tape) soundtrack record.
62a| 12a| "What Scared Sue Ellen?"| Bruce Akiyama| Stéfanie Gignac| December 29, 1998 (1998-12-29)
Sue Ellen, who dismisses Arthur, Buster, and Binky's scary stories, is frightened by a mysterious howl in the woods, which she thinks is Baba Yaga, a kappa, or a banshee. She enlists the help of Arthur, Buster, and Binky to investigate the ruckus. They find out that the howl is coming from Mrs. Woods' dog, Perky, who got stuck in a tree stump.
62b| 12b| "Clarissa is Cracked"| Sandra Willard| Bulent Karabagli & Marcos Da Silva| December 29, 1998 (1998-12-29)
D.W. borrows Grandma Thora's porcelain doll, Clarissa, and cracks the doll. She tries to fix Clarissa, and Arthur brings the doll to Mr. Ratburn to repair her.
63a| 13a| "Arthur's Dummy Disaster"| Peter K. Hirsch| Mario Cabrera| December 30, 1998 (1998-12-30)
George's new ventriloquist's dummy, Wally, makes him popular and starts a short-lived ventriloquism fad at school. He starts acting less rationally as Wally begins falling apart, and Arthur tries to convince George that he does not need Wally to make friends.
63b| 13b| "Francine and the Feline"| Sandra Willard| Robert Yap| December 30, 1998 (1998-12-30)
Francine's family gets a new cat, who Catherine tries to name "Rose Petal" and pampers him, but the cat grows fond of Francine and she renames him "Nemo". When she tries to show Nemo to her friends, Arthur is shown to hate cats and believes they are evil, which jeopardizes his friendship with Francine, especially when Nemo and Pal become play-pals (with Arthur thinking Nemo is really attacking Pal).
64a| 14a| "Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight"| Joe Fallon| Robert Yap| December 31, 1998 (1998-12-31)
When their parents have an accident with a pitcher of milk and a bowl of batter, D.W. and Arthur overhear them arguing and fear that the incident will split their family for good, fantasizing about what would happen if they were not in love anymore.
64b| 14b| "D.W.'s Perfect Wish"| Joe Fallon| Stéfanie Gignac| December 31, 1998 (1998-12-31)
D.W. is not excited about her fifth birthday when she is told by Emily that her childhood is over due to turning five. Arthur goes over events from previous episodes with D.W. to cheer her up and make her excited about her future. During her party, she cannot figure out what to wish for until she gets advice from Grandma Thora, so D.W. secretly wishes for Arthur to have an accident with her cake, which he does.
65a| 15a| "Arthur and D.W. Clean Up"| Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz| Robert Yap & Jeremy O'Neill| January 1, 1999 (1999-01-01)
Arthur and D.W. need to clean their rooms and work together to get things done quicker. However, each is fussy about what stays and what goes and how it all goes together.
65b| 15b| "The Long, Dull Winter"| Joe Fallon| Jeremy O'Neill| January 1, 1999 (1999-01-01)
Arthur and his friends are feeling different, but can not put a finger on it. They eventually realize that they have not had a holiday in a while, so they attempt to make a new one, but when the others are overcome by the commercial side of holidays, Arthur has to make them realize that holidays mean more than TV specials, candy, or fireworks.

## Reception[edit]

Going into the premiere of this season, Arthur was ranked as the #1 kids program on PBS, and the #1 program on TV for kids ages 5 - 12.[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Brodginski, Todd (6 November 1998). "ART GARFUNKEL'S SUCCESSFUL US TOUR CONTIUNES AND LENDS HIS VOICE TO PBS PROGRAM ARTHUR". Mitch Schneider Organization. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
2. ^ "PBS TV Daily Schedule: 12/28/1998". PBS. Archived from the original on 5 October 1999. Retrieved 1 January 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 3 Episode Guide". TV.com. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
* "Seasons 1–3". Arthur episodes. PBS parents. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2010.

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