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''Arthur'' is a Canadian/American animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group (formerly known as Cinar) and WGBH for PBS. The show is set in the fictional American city of Elwood City, and revolves around the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other. The television series is based on the ''Arthur'' book series, which are written and illustrated by Marc Brown. WGBH Boston along with Cinar (now Cookie Jar Group) began production of the animated series in 1994, and aired its first episode on September 2, 1996. Since its debut, the show has broadcast 217 30-minute long episodes, and its 18th season premiered on September 29, 2014. With 217 episodes, ''Arthur'' is the second longest running show on PBS Kids, behind only ''Sesame Street''. A pilot for the spin-off series ''Postcards from Buster'' aired on December 2003 as a season 8 episode of Arthur. ''Postcards from Buster'' aired from October 11, 2004 to November 21, 2008, when the series faced several years of hiatus, until a brief revival in February 2012. Arthur often deals with important issues families face such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, and Asperger syndrome. It also encourages reading and relationships with family and friends by explaining that people have different personalities and interests. ''Arthur'' became one of the highest-rated shows on PBS Kids for several years since its debut, averaging almost 10 million viewers weekly in the U.S. It is aired in a total of 83 countries; PBS in the United States, Radio-Canada, Knowledge, TVO, and CBC in Canada, several ABC channels in Australia, and BBC One/CBBC in the UK. It is the longest-running children's animated series in the U.S., and the second longest-running animated series in the U.S., behind ''The Simpsons''. Although ''Arthur'' is directed primarily toward a child and preteen audience, over the years it has gained a substantial cult following among older viewers. ==Setting== Arthur Read, the series's titular character, is an anthropomorphic eight-year-old brown aardvark who lives in the fictional town of Elwood City. He is a third-grade student at Lakewood Elementary School. Arthur's family includes two home-working parents, his father David (a chef) and his mother Jane (an accountant), his two younger sisters, Dora Winifred (D.W.), who is in preschool, and Kate, who is still an infant, and his dog Pal. Arthur also has several friends who come from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and he also occasionally meets with members of his extended family. In the TV series, Elwood City is portrayed as a largely suburban area which bears a strong resemblance to the Boston area; the TV series is partially produced by WGBH. Furthermore, Elwood City's professional baseball team, the "Elwood City Grebes", appears to be a fictional representation of the Boston Red Sox. The episode "The Curse of the Grebes" in Season 10 clearly references baseball lore such as Curse of the Bambino. The same episode also refers indirectly to the rivalry between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees, as the Grebes have a fierce rivalry with the Crown City Kings during the World Championship, the show's version of the World Series. In another episode, the Elwood City Airport is shown to have a name that represents Boston's Logan International Airport. Crown City, as featured in other episodes, is apparently a fictional representation of New York City. In one episode, it is inferred that an ice hockey team wearing the WGBH logo and the Boston Bruins' team colors on their uniforms are Elwood City's professional (possibly NHL) hockey team. There are also firm references to Brown's hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. Most notably, the local shopping mall in the TV series is called "Mill Creek Mall", a reference to Millcreek Mall. Brown himself stated that the series is influenced by his upbringing as a child in Erie. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Arthur (TV series)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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