The BEST Episodes of Arthur
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Mar 20, 2020
Network: PBS
Arthur Read, the spectacular bespectacled aardvark, stars in this children's series about growing up. Typical childhood problems such as bratty siblings, schoolyard bullies and classroom cliques are addressed by this popular program which has been running for 20 years on PBS. Developed from Marc Brown's beloved books, Arthur reminds us all of how it feels to be 8 years old. Just like your average kid, Arthur overcomes the dreaded obstacles of third-grade life, such as his tough teacher Mr. Ratburn, bullies, and mountains of homework. At home, Arthur must also face the pint-sized terror known as his sister Dora Winifred, or D.W. for short. Everything between these two is a struggle; such as who gets control of the television remote, or who can play their Crazy Bus CD. Arthur often relies on his best friend Buster Baxter, a rabbit.
#1 - The Great MacGrady
Season 13 - Episode 9 - Aired Oct 19, 2009
When Lakewood Elementary`s beloved lunch lady Mrs. MacGrady is diagnosed with cancer, Arthur and his friends all react differently to the news—Arthur and D.W. rush to her side with heaps of chicken soup and stuffed animals, Muffy tries to pretend that nothing in her life has changed, and Francine is so upset she can`t even bring herself to visit Mrs. MacGrady. In this moving episode, both parents and kids learn how they can come together to support Mrs. MacGrady and each other—and Lance Armstrong makes a special appearance to show Francine and the Elwood City residents how they can take a stand, or ride a bike, for cancer survivors.
9.91 #2 - My Music Rules
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired Nov 8, 1999
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Saxophonist Joshua Redman were invited by Grandma Thora and D.W, Arthur and his friends. They battle over what kind of music is better than the rest-Classical or Jazz.
9.90 #3 - The Boy with His Head in the Clouds
Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired Nov 5, 2001
All the kids know that George is smart -- so why does he sometimes have trouble reading and writing? With a little help from others with dyslexia like Principal Haney ... and Leonardo DaVinci! ... George and the gang discover that learning happens in all different ways.
9.90 #4 - D.W. Beats All
Season 9 - Episode 17 - Aired Apr 7, 2005
The Tibbles receive a new set of drums and want to perform in the Summer Serenade Festival, leaving D.W. to moan over not having her own instrument.
9.90 #5 - The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Tibble
Season 13 - Episode 12 - Aired Apr 6, 2010
The Tibbles sell their art works to raise money for a toy by using pity.
9.90 #6 - D.W. Goes to Washington
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired Dec 15, 1997
It's the 1st family trip and Arthur gets to choose. He chooses going to Washington, D.C. and D.W. thinks that she's going to be bored until she accidentally runs into the president of U.S.A.
9.85 
#7 - Meek for a Week
Season 1 - Episode 33 - Aired Jan 13, 1997
Everyone knows that Francine is rather bossy and somewhat independent, but when she insults Muffy on her street hockey playing skills, it would seem she's gone to far. After a bit of crying, Muffy decides to make a bet with Francine --- she'll give Francine the Princess Peach watch that she's always adored if Francine can be nice for an entire week. Francine takes the bet seriously and pretty soon, her behavior is barely recognizable to her friends. Worried that she may be bottling her anger, Arthur and the rest of the group try to get Francine to let off some steam, before she ends up doing something really rash.
9.74 #8 - The Curse of the Grebes
Season 10 - Episode 10 - Aired May 22, 2006
Three new power hitters join the Elwood City baseball team, The Grebes. Buster and Harry are huge fans and attend almost every game. But when the team begins to lose the championship, Buster learns the story about a decades-old curse that was set on the team, and wonders if he is the carrier of that curse, because the Grebes seem to lose every game he is at.
9.74 #9 - The Law of the Jungle Gym
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired Dec 29, 2004
The Tough Customers --- most of the kids in Arthur's class fear them, even though they're definitely not the most fierce as far as bullies go. However, when Muffy tries using the jungle gym they use as their Tower of Pain for a photo shoot, she starts a feud that has everyone in Ratburn's class on her side. Muffy, however, doesn't care about freeing the jungle gym, she just wants a good space for her photo shooting. And Molly doesn't really want to terrorize Muffy, she just wants her old place to chill back. More Info --- ECDC
9.72 
#10 - Arthur's Pet Business
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired Oct 7, 1996
When Arthur desperately wants a dog, he starts a pet business. When he gets too many he decides to just take care of one pet.
9.68 #11 - Brain Gets Hooked
Season 13 - Episode 6 - Aired Oct 14, 2009
Brain gets hooked on the latest tween reality show, Junior Island. He knows he has a problem when he starts to ignore his friends and his schoolwork. But what can he do to break the addiction?
9.67 #12 - Arthur's Underwear
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired Oct 20, 1997
Arthur has an embarrassing dream about being seen in his underwear and it gets even worse when it happens for real!
9.63 
#13 - Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest
Season 1 - Episode 31 - Aired Jan 6, 1997
Arthur enters a contest to find the perfect jingle for a Crunch Cereal commercial. So far he's come up with nothing but is struck with an idea as D.W. hums a melody.
9.63 #14 - Tipping the Scales
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired Dec 27, 2004
Everyone in Arthur's chorus group is excited about their upcoming performance in Crown City. Everyone knows nothing beats that post-concert cheesecake at Finklemeyers! But when strict Dr. Fugue replaces fun Mrs. Krasny as their teacher, the gang worries -- will music class ever be fun again?
9.63 #15 - Germophobia
Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired Jun 25, 2007
Buster friends are getting tired of his unclean habits --- he plays hide-and-seek in trash cans, eats food that's been on the ground and doesn't always wash his hands. They've decided he needs to clean up, or they're not coming to his pool party. When they teach him about germs, however, he begins to fear them everywhere. Now, he's afraid to touch anything and is seeing swarms of imaginary germs wherever he goes.
9.61 #16 - It's a No-Brainer
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired Sep 18, 2000
After a loss in the rehearsal math-a-thon against Buster, Brain decides to work on his new life....as a Comedian. Now Brain wants to hand everything down to Buster so Buster could be the new brain.
9.60 #17 - Lost!
Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired Dec 8, 1997
Arthur gets on the wrong bus to his swimming lessons and gets lost. He acts maturely and asks people to help him get back to Elwood City.
9.51 
#18 - Arthur's TV-Free Week
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired Nov 3, 1997
It's trouble, right here in Elwood City. The kids--and their parents--have all pledged not to watch TV for one whole week. That's days, hours, and a whole bunch of minutes (10,680 to be exact, as Buster is horrified to discover). Can they last? Who will be the first to break?
9.50 
#19 - Play it Again, D.W.
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired Oct 27, 1997
D.W. discovers the beauty of music as she first listens to her Crazy Bus compact disc which annoys Arthur. When it disappears she thinks he did it until they get a phone call from their parents at a party telling D.W. that they took it and it's the life of the party.
9.32 #20 - Francine Frensky, Superstar
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired Nov 11, 1996
Francine has always gotten the worst roles in school plays, so everyone in the Ratburn class asks Mr. Ratburn to give her a good part in the next one. The play is about Thomas Edison, and Francine is given the role of Edison himself. She takes her role very seriously, to the point where she starts to trying to run everything her way and insults her friends. After the hurt and the anger, they set out to show her that she can't just forget their needs
9.17 #21 - Happy Anniversary
Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired May 15, 2006
Mr. Ratburn shows a film about perspective and then assigns the class an essay about it. Arthur and Buster are disappointed to have homework on the weekend of the big Bionic Bunny / Dark Bunny special (in which everything will be revealed), but vow to complete it before the start of the special. Arthur, however, struggles with the assignment. Mr. and Mrs. Read are celebrating their tenth anniversary at a fancy restaurant. They're dropping Arthur off for Buster's sleepover and D.W. at Grandma Thora's. But car troubles leave everyone stranded. Things seemingly go from bad to worse when Arthur and D.W. get locked in a storage room in an old diner. They're disappointed, and a bit scared, but find inspiration in an old radio drama called "Kid Carter and his Sidekick Mistral."
9.00 
#22 - D.W., All Fired Up
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 28, 1998
D.W. loves school (being in Pre-School and all) and wants to go everyday, but when Ms.Morgan starts doing fire drills she fears for her safety and doesn't want to go anymore. Will she get over her fear of fire drills?
8.95 #23 - Arthur Plays the Blues
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired Oct 1, 2001
Although Arthur's beloved piano teacher is retiring, she assures him that the new teacher is outstanding and famous, too! Then Arthur meets Dr. Fugue-who's as strict as he is odd-and begins to doubt his own abilities. Will Arthur be fired from playing the piano?
8.94 #24 - Home Sweet Home
Season 12 - Episode 17 - Aired Apr 23, 2009
Buster worries about a trip to summer camp
8.90 
#25 - Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 9, 1996
Arthur and Buster fear that their new teacher, Mr. Ratburn, is some kind of evil maniac who collects children's heads - until they discover the truth about him, of course.
8.78