Arthur has been cancelled so pass us our tissues.
The long-running children’s cartoon will show its final series in 2022 after a good innings of 25-years on air, making it the second-longest-running show in America, behindThe Simpsons.
All episodes have been recorded, US broadcaster PBS have said, so that’s a wrap on the six Emmy award winning cartoon.
For a show that started in the 1990s, Arthur has shown itself able to adapt to shifts in time and culture. It taught children lessons about people’s differences including personalities and interests, for instance.
And in 2019, the show introduced its first same-sex wedding between Arthur’s teacher Mr Ratburn and his partner Patrick.
And most of all, people have managed to drag the cartoon into to the 21st century by turning clips from the show into memes.
Take the clenched fist, for instance, deployable in any moment of irritation:
@BuzzFeed Sent @Roxlyn166 to school to get a degree in animation and he comes home with this 😂 https://t.co/Cmy12rLQ92— Uncle Lew, no relation (@Uncle Lew, no relation) 1627501735
@rejectedjokes ‘Arthur’ Cancelled at PBS After 25 Seasons https://t.co/5R7gtdCsBv— Gordon Brook (@Gordon Brook) 1627503536
The first Arthur’s fist meme was posted on #ThisDayInMemeHistory in 2016! https://t.co/TJgE8IRfrg https://t.co/Bp8EqDyuJI— Know Your Meme (@Know Your Meme) 1627427522
Or the alarming ‘tired DW’:
lrt thanks to this all I can think of is how f!lyon looks like tired dw https://t.co/d0dxFnzTJB— Alpaca 🖤🦅 (@Alpaca 🖤🦅) 1626890359
Yeah, I can fit it in my schedule https://t.co/CvQC2qpvmJ— Thomas Abowd (@Thomas Abowd) 1534646637
Arthur flinging coins around is the perfect payday meme:
@BuzzFeed https://t.co/9QPsm0Gjp4— Jessica (@Jessica) 1627503587
And ‘DW at the fence’ is similarly iconic:
@kuumpiim i watch with envy as i see the semester schools release the children but i’m dw gripping the fence https://t.co/8JAwxiIsyF— ☀️🌱✨murmurs✨🌾🌙 (@☀️🌱✨murmurs✨🌾🌙) 1589719729
@eggcachu DW AT THE FENCE https://t.co/YVbge6lKkR— Emily Kucala (@Emily Kucala) 1586668631
this looks like the DW fence meme I’m dead https://t.co/wWa4gh958S— witch cowgirl ⚢ (@witch cowgirl ⚢) 1587152266
i wish i was the ‘let me in LET ME INNN’ meme when it comes to interactions on this site. instead i’m just DW holdi… https://t.co/5FYNS8xbwj— bread 🍞 (@bread 🍞) 1609605451
@BuzzFeed https://t.co/usLjDxDNhT— Dan Cantiller (@Dan Cantiller) 1627501595
There’s more where they came from, of course:
@BuzzFeed Idk how used this meme is but this frame always cracks me up https://t.co/xofKsvVjrc— 🇺🇸 name removed due to Player Likeness (@🇺🇸 name removed due to Player Likeness) 1627501570
#HowToughAmIBlackEdition Mom: I'm tired of yelling Me: Then Shut up https://t.co/tcpHlWZyfS— Your fav spam (@Your fav spam) 1470085232
Kathy Waugh, who created Arthur for screen, adapting it from a popular book, said cancelling it was a mistake. Speaking on a podcast, she said: “I think (PBS) made a mistake, and I think Arthur should come back and I know I’m not alone in thinking they made a mistake.
“I don’t know if it was a ratings issue or if it felt like it needed to be retired.”
Whatever the reason, while Arthur is retired, let’s just ensure the memes live on.