Arthur (season 12) facts for kids

The 12th season of the TV show Arthur aired on PBS in the United States. It ran from October 6, 2008, to April 24, 2009. This season had 10 episodes, which included 20 smaller stories.

Some of these episodes were shown in other countries like Canada and the United Kingdom much earlier. This season was made in a wider screen format. However, in the U.S., it was still shown in the older, squarer screen format. This meant parts of the picture were cut off.

The animation for this season was done by Animation Services HK Ltd. This was a change from the previous company, AKOM. Also, Michael Hirsh became the main producer for the first time this season.

Famous people also appeared on the show! Joan Rivers was a guest star in the first episode, playing Francine's grandmother. Lance Armstrong also appeared as himself in the episode "Room to Ride."

There were some changes in the voice cast too. Dallas Jokic started voicing Arthur, taking over from Cameron Ansell. Lyle O'Donohoe became the new voice for Brain, replacing Paul-Stuart Brown.

Episodes of Arthur's 12th Season

The 12th season of Arthur featured 10 episodes, each with two fun stories. Here's a quick look at them:

Episode 1: "Is That Kosher?" and "Never, Never, Never"

• Original Air Date: October 6, 2008
• "Is That Kosher?": Francine tries to go a whole day without eating or drinking for Yom Kippur. But it's tough when Arthur has a pizza party!
  • Guest Star: Joan Rivers as Bubby (Francine's grandmother).
• "Never, Never, Never": D.W.'s mom asks her to give away some toys. D.W. decides to give all her toys to the Tibbles, who she thinks "really love her."

Episode 2: "Room to Ride" and "The Frensky Family Fiasco"

• Original Air Date: October 13, 2008
• "Room to Ride": Arthur, Buster, Brain, and Binky start a campaign. They want to build more bike lanes in Elwood City.
  • Guest Star: Lance Armstrong as himself.
• "The Frensky Family Fiasco": Francine wants to spend more time with her family. But everyone has different ideas about what to do.

Episode 3: "D.W's Stray Netkitten" and "Bats in the Belfry"

• Original Air Date: October 20, 2008
• "D.W's Stray Netkitten": D.W.'s family computer gets a virus. She asks Arthur and Emily to take care of her virtual pet.
• "Bats in the Belfry": Arthur, D.W., and Buster turn Grandma Thora's attic into a clubhouse. But they get scared by a bat living there.

Episode 4: "For the Birds" and "Ungifted"

• Original Air Date: October 27, 2008
• "For the Birds": Arthur, Buster, and Brain go bird-watching. They try to spot a very rare bird.
• "Ungifted": Buster feels upset after Arthur trades away one of the gifts he gave him.

Episode 5: "The Chronicles of Buster" and "On This Spot"

• Original Air Date: November 3, 2008
• "The Chronicles of Buster": Buster wants to finish watching a super long "collector's edition" DVD. He even ignores Arthur to watch it.
• "On This Spot": Arthur learns that Sitting Bull once visited Elwood City. He starts a petition to mark the historical spot.

Episode 6: "The Cherry Tree" and "Matchmaker Matchbreaker"

• Original Air Date: April 20, 2009
• "The Cherry Tree": Muffy's favorite cherry tree is cut down. This happens to make space for her new bouncy castle.
• "Matchmaker, Matchbreaker": Francine and Muffy try to set up their older siblings, Chip and Catherine. They hope they will get married and become sisters.

Episode 7: "War of the Worms" and "I Owe You One"

• Original Air Date: April 21, 2009
• "War of the Worms": Fern plays a trick on Brain. She makes him believe that giant worms are attacking Elwood City.
• "I Owe You One": Buster tries to pay back all the favors he owes Arthur. He does this by helping everyone Arthur owes favors to.

Episode 8: "The Blackout" and "Mei Lin Takes a Stand"

• Original Air Date: April 22, 2009
• "The Blackout": A power outage hits Elwood City. Arthur's family gets tips from the Molinas on how to stay cool.
• "Mei Lin Takes a Stand": Binky's little sister, Mei Lin, prefers to crawl instead of walk. She changes her mind after hearing a story from Pepe.

Episode 9: "Home Sweet Home" and "Do You Believe in Magic?"

• Original Air Date: April 23, 2009
• "Home Sweet Home": Buster is sad he won't go to the same summer camp as his friends. But he makes new friends at his camp.
• "Do You Believe in Magic?": Arthur gets jealous of Buster. Buster turns out to be much better at doing magic tricks.

Episode 10: "The Perfect Game" and "D.W.'s Furry Freak-out"

• Original Air Date: April 24, 2009
• "The Perfect Game": Francine is excited to design a model city for class. But she gets obsessed with the baseball stadium for her favorite team.
• "D.W.'s Furry Freak-out": A cat finds its way to D.W.'s house and is welcomed. While waiting for its owner, D.W. gets scared of the cat after seeing a horror movie ad.