Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone

"Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone"
Arthur episode
Multiple critics praised the reveal of Mr. Ratburn's true fiancé (pictured) as unremarkable.[1][2][3]
Episode no.Season 22
Episode 1a
Directed byGreg Bailey
Written byPeter K. Hirsch
Production code2201A[4]
Original air dateMay 13, 2019 (2019-05-13)
Guest appearance
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Pal and the Big Itch" 		Next →
"The Feud"
Arthur (season 22)
List of episodes

"Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" is the first segment[a] of the first episode of the 22nd season of the animated edutainment television series Arthur. It was the first episode of Arthur to feature a same-sex wedding, a depiction that resulted in two PBS member stations in Arkansas and Alabama choosing not to air the episode's premiere on May 13, 2019.

In the segment, Arthur and his friends mistakenly believe their teacher Mr. Ratburn is marrying a woman named Patty (voiced by guest star Jane Lynch) who will make him an even tougher educator, only to later learn that he is marrying a kind chocolatier named Patrick. "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" received positive critical reviews and a nomination for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids and Family Programming but garnered negative responses from some fundamentalist groups.

  1. ^ Frank, Allegra (May 14, 2019). "Kids' TV rarely shows same-sex marriage. PBS's Arthur just did — and it was, wonderfully, no big deal". Vox. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  2. ^ Armitage, Helen (September 13, 2021). "Arthur: Why 'Mr Ratburn And The Special Someone' Was So Groundbreaking". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  3. ^ Fetters, Ashley; Escobar, Natalie (May 14, 2019). "How a Gay Character on Arthur Reflects Changing Norms in the U.S." The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Mr. Ratburn And The Special Someone/The Feud - Arthur − All Broadcast Times". New Hampshire PBS. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  5. ^ "Peter Hirsch and Susan Kim" (PDF). On Writing. Vol. 32. Writers Guild of America, East. June 2010. pp. 14–23 [15]. OCLC 51883406. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2022.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).