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| {{EpisodeBan|The Great MacGrady|following the Lance Armstrong doping case}}
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| {{Youmay|the Season 13 episode|[[The Great MacGrady (Season 24 episode)|the Season 24 episode of the same name]]}}
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| {{Episode infobox | | {{Episode infobox |
| |ep. name= The Great MacGrady | | |ep. name= The Great MacGrady |
| |image= The Great MacGrady.JPG | | |image= The Great MacGrady.JPG |
| |season= [[Season 13|13]] | | |season= [[Season 13|13]] |
| | |airdate= |
| |prod. code= 1301 | | |prod. code= 1301 |
| |prev. episode= [[D.W.'s Furry Freak-out]] | | |prev. episode= [[D.W.'s Furry Freak-out]] |
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| *[[Prunella Deegan]] | | *[[Prunella Deegan]] |
| *[[Chip Crosswire]] | | *[[Chip Crosswire]] |
| ==Controversy==
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| This episode was pulled from the rerun rotation in the United States following the {{W|Lance Armstrong doping case}}. The last national airing of this episode on PBS was on August 20, 2012, four days before Armstrong was charged.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20180619130604/https://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20001301/</ref> Local airings remained possible afterward, but only if a local PBS station opted to air ''Arthur'' reruns on an independent rotation as opposed to the national one (which is no longer the case on any known PBS stations as of the 2020s).
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| Despite its removal from television broadcast, it remains available on most streaming platforms and digital download stores, like Google Play Store, Microsoft Store, YouTube Premium, and iTunes Australia. In late 2021, it was removed from iTunes and Amazon. It is the only episode to be missing from iTunes (from the seasons offered on that service), and is one of only two half-hours in the entire series to not be available on Amazon (the other being "[[It's a No-Brainer]]/[[The Shore Thing]]" from Season 5). One can still stream this episode on Amazon or re-download it from the iTunes store if they purchased the episode before its removal.
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| Ultimately, the episode was [[The Great MacGrady (Season 24 episode)|revised]], substituting all references to Lance Armstrong with [[Uncle Slam]], an in-universe professional wrestler. The new version was released in 2021 as part of [[Season 24]]. Some TV providers erroneously list airings of the Season 24 version as the Season 13 episode.
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| The exact reason for these restrictions has never been officially stated. Given the fact that the new revised episode is essentially the same plot as the original (except for the Armstrong references), it can be inferred that the real-world controversy surrounding Armstrong is what led PBS to demote the episode. In addition, "[[Binky vs. Binky]]/[[Operation: D.W.!]]" and "[[Room to Ride]]/[[The Frensky Family Fiasco]]" have also been eliminated from the national broadcast schedule on PBS, due to their references to Armstrong. However, these episodes remain available on iTunes and Amazon as of 2022.
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| For an unknown reason, starting in May 2022, the episode is now available on the ''Arthur'' website and PBS Kids video app.
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| ==Trivia== | | ==Trivia== |
| *The A Word from Us Kids interstitial is shown at the end of the episode, instead of between the two parts.
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| *In the beginning of the intro, a look-alike of Mrs. Powers is seen walking in the hallway.
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| *When Francine travels to the rainforest, the first arrow on the map is roughly in the area of southern New York state. 8499 km (5281 miles) is a realistic estimate for the journey from New York to the Amazon basin.
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| *This episode holds the distinction of being the first time that a PBS Kids show has openly addressed the topic of cancer. Other animated children's works have also done so: the Peanuts special Why, Charlie Brown, Why? in 1990, the twelfth episode of the Ojamajo Doremi anime's OVA series Naisho in 2004, and the Doc McStuffins episode Hannah the Brave in 2017.
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| *D.W. is wearing a surgical mask in this episode. Her brother Arthur wore one in "[[My Dad, the Garbage Man]]," "[[Hic or Treat]]," and "[[Vomitrocious]]" and [[David Read|their father]] wore one in "[[Operation: D.W.!]]". | | *D.W. is wearing a surgical mask in this episode. Her brother Arthur wore one in "[[My Dad, the Garbage Man]]," "[[Hic or Treat]]," and "[[Vomitrocious]]" and [[David Read|their father]] wore one in "[[Operation: D.W.!]]". |
| *In the beginning of the intro, a look-alike of [[Mrs. Powers]] is seen walking in the hallway. | | *In the beginning of the intro, a look-alike of [[Mrs. Powers]] is seen walking in the hallway. |
| *This was Lance Armstrong's second appearance on ''[[Arthur (TV series)|Arthur]]''. | | *This was Lance Armstrong's second appearance on ''[[Arthur (TV series)|Arthur]]''. |
| *The episode was inspired by [[Leah Ryan]], after she became diagnosed with cancer, and it was later dedicated to her. This is also the final episode written by her. | | *The episode was inspired by [[Leah Ryan]], after she became diagnosed with cancer, and it was later dedicated to her. |
| **As a nod to Ryan, Mrs. MacGrady's first name is given as "Leah," after she was previously referred to as "Sarah" in Seasons 1–12.
| | **This is also the final episode written by her. |
| *In the opening scene when the lunch bell rings, the bell sound effect used for Lakewood Elementary School's bells in Seasons 1-7 (a BBC sound effect) gets used, rather than the school bell sound effects from Hollywood Edge's "Premiere Edition" sound effects library used since Season 10 (which is used in the same scene in the Season 24 remake of this episode).
| | ===Episode Connections=== |
| ===Production notes=== | | * There was a couple flashbacks from [[Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll]]. |
| *By U.S. airing order, this episode swapped with No Acting, Please/Prunella and the Disappointing Ending. Because of this, most sites list The Great MacGrady as the fifth episode of Season 13. | |
| *In the end of the U.S. version of this episode, it mourns the death of Leah Ryan before moving to "Special Apperance by Lance Armstrong" However, this is removed in the international markets and only contains Lance Armstrong's guest apperance.
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| *In Francine's dream, Mrs. MacGrady was going to walk into light at the end of the hallway.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140212063924/http://elwoodcitycentral.createaforum.com/arthur-characters/arthur-character-model/msg872/</ref> This was decided to be "too much" for kids, so a green wall was placed over the light effects.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140212062055/http://elwoodcitycentral.createaforum.com/arthur-characters/arthur-character-model/msg895/#msg895</ref>
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| *In an activity booklet from [[WGBH]] and LiveSTRONG, the story from this episode is included. In this adaptation, Lance Armstrong is omitted and the story is revised with [[Harry Mills]] as a cancer survivor.<ref>http://www.scholastic.com/livestrong/pdfs/WGBH_LiveSTRONG_Arthur_booklet_ENG-Final.pdf</ref>
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| *According to the [[Leah Ryan]] page she died from cancer in June 12 2008 meaning this episode was produced in June 12 2008.
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| ===Errors=== | | ===Errors=== |
| *In the soccer game, Francine plays goalie, although she is the star forward of the team. | | *In the soccer game, Francine was goalie, although she is the star forward of the team. |
| *When D.W. is shoving the supposedly stuffed polar bear toy, Chilly Billy, through the doorway and drops him on the floor, he winces and closes his eyes as though he were alive. | | *When D.W. is shoving the supposedly stuffed polar bear toy, Chilly Billy, through the doorway and drops him on the floor, he winces and closes his eyes as though he were alive. |
| *For a brief moment near the beginning of the second half of the episode, [[Marina]] is seen at a lunch table in the background. This is the second time that she appears due to an error, the other time also being in Season 13 in [[MacFrensky]]. | | *For a brief moment near the beginning of the second half of the episode, [[Marina]] is seen at a lunch table in the background. This is the second time that she appears due to an error, the other time also being in Season 13 in [[MacFrensky]]. |
| ===Cultural references=== | | ===Production notes=== |
| *Bailey gives Mr. Crosswire ''{{W|Endgame_(play)|Endgame}}'' by [[Samuel Beckett]]. It is an absurdist play set in a postapocalyptic world. | | *In Francine's dream, Mrs. MacGrady was going to walk into light at the end of the hallway.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140212063924/http://elwoodcitycentral.createaforum.com/arthur-characters/arthur-character-model/msg872/</ref> This was decided to be "too much" for kids, so a green wall was placed over the light effects.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140212062055/http://elwoodcitycentral.createaforum.com/arthur-characters/arthur-character-model/msg895/#msg895</ref> |
| *Mrs. MacGrady calling the kids spartakids refers to {{W|Spartacus}}, who led a slave revolt in the first century B.C.
| | *Reruns of this episode are rare following the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong_doping_case Lance Armstrong doping case]. |
| ===Episode connections===
| | *In an activity booklet from WGBH and LiveSTRONG, the story from this episode is included. In this adaptation, Lance Armstrong is omitted and the story is revised with [[Harry Mills]] as a cancer survivor.<ref>http://www.scholastic.com/livestrong/pdfs/WGBH_LiveSTRONG_Arthur_booklet_ENG-Final.pdf</ref> |
| *There are a couple flashbacks from "[[Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll]]." | |
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| ==Gallery== | | ==Gallery== |
| | ===Screenshots=== |
| <gallery position="center" spacing="small"> | | <gallery position="center" spacing="small"> |
| The Great MacGrady.JPG | | The Great MacGrady.JPG |
