Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone

"Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone"
Season/Series:	22
Number in season:	1a
Original Airdate:	May 13, 2019
Credits
Written by:	Peter K. Hirsch
Storyboard by:	Allan Jeffery
Episodes
Previous "Pal and the Big Itch"	Next "The Feud"
Read transcript

"Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" is the first half of the first episode in the twenty-second season of Arthur.

Synopsis

The gang can't believe that Mr. Ratburn is getting married.

Plot

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Characters

Major

• Arthur Read
• Buster Baxter
• Francine Frensky
• Muffy Crosswire
• Nigel Ratburn

Minor

• Paige Turner
• Patty Ratburn
• Patrick Ratburn

Cameo

• Ed Crosswire
• Millicent Crosswire
• Oliver Frensky
• Laverne Frensky
• Mr. Barnes
• Mrs. Barnes
• David Read
• Jane Read
• Mr. Powers
• Mrs. Powers
• Rodentia Ratburn
• Miss Sweetwater
• Catherine Frensky
• Bitzi Baxter
• Shop Owner
• Fern Walters
• George Lundgren
• Mr. Lundgren
• Mrs. Lundgren
• Rafi
• Alex

Mentioned

• Kate Read

Trivia

• Jane Lynch guest stars in this episode as Mr. Ratburn's sister, Patty.
• Mr. Ratburn is revealed to be gay in this episode.
• The significance of this episode was not lost on Arthur creator Marc Brown:

"I'm sure I'm not any different than millions of other families around the world that have people that we love who are gay, who are young families raising children, and it makes me very sad that these young families are not really well-represented or hardly represented at all in our media. And I don't think that's a good thing. This happened to be one of the ideas that... we would have a teacher getting married perhaps, and the more we talked about it the more we saw it as an opportunity for a learning experience, and this great way to represent another part of life that so seldom gets portrayed on television...I started to get emails from family members and friends about, "You're blowing up Twitter!" and I started to read some of the comments from people and it just made me feel great that we did something that was really helpful to so many people. A parent has the opportunity to watch television with their kids and explain things and expand the story that they're watching together and share their values. That's, I think, one of the beauties of television. You know, art reflects life, and life reflects art, and I think kids need to see what's happening in the world. I would hate to live in a world which is sanitized and censored, and that's really something I can't get behind." – Marc Brown interviewed by CBC

Cultural references

• Mr. Ratburn reads Love Poems by Pablo Neruda.
• Ms. Turner gives Arthur, Buster, Francine, and Muffy a book called How to Write Poetry. Its color scheme and cover are very similar to the For Dummies series of guides.
• Patrick Ratburn names his chocolate of the day after Frida Kahlo, the iconic Mexican artist and activist.
• In Arthurs imagination, Mr. Ratburn turns into a green creature after getting angry at arthur is a reference to the Hulk.

Episode connections

• Muffy is excited about a wedding. She previously "hosted" one in "D.W. Unties the Knot."
• Buster thinks that teachers don't have lives outside of school. This idea also comes up in "The Rat Who Came to Dinner" and "Lend Me Your Ear".
• In "Bitzi's Beau," Buster imagines his mother getting married to Mr. Ratburn.
• The music played at the wedding, the prelude to Bach’s cello Suite No. 1 in G major, is the same music that is heard when Grandma Thora and D.W. are walking to the library in “My Music Rules”.

Errors

• The overhead sign at the Sugar Bowl says "Sugar-Free Bowl." The aerial view of the building was likely recycled artwork from "D.W. and the Beastly Birthday" when it is suggested that the parlor is renamed in the future.

References