Season 4

Season 4 of Arthur premiered on October 4, 1999 on PBS. This was the first season in which only 10 episodes (20 segments) were produced per season, a pattern that would not be broken until Season 20.

Production

This was the first season to use digital ink and paint, although the color palettes for the characters remained the same until Season 6, when they were given brighter colors.

This is the last season to feature voice actor Luke Reid as Brain, as his voice matured even more, and the first to feature Oliver Grainger as the voice of D.W. Head writers Joe Fallon and Ken Scarborough also left the team after this season, though Scarborough would return as a writer starting in Season 9.

Episodes

Screenshot	Title	Number	Episode	Original Airdate
	"D.W.'s Library Card"	66	1a	October 4, 1999
	Arthur refuses to get a book for D.W.. Luckily, she figures out how to get a library card and check it out. But the Tibble Twins make her worried.
	"Arthur's Big Hit"	66	1b	October 4, 1999
	Having had enough of D.W., Arthur angrily punches her for tossing his model airplane (that he worked on for a long time) out the window and breaking it, but nobody sees his side. Worse, when the Tough Customers hear about this, they dare Binky to hit him the next time he sees him.
	"Hide and Snake"	67	2a	October 5, 1999
	Arthur and his friends find a snake and decide to keep it in a box in his room without telling his parents. It escapes and he and his friends are worried when they can't remember if it was a venomous coral snake (Micrurus) or the similarly-colored, but harmless king snake (Lampropeltis Triangulum).
	"Muffy's New Best Friend"	67	2b	October 5, 1999
	Muffy and Francine are best friends, but Muffy does not like practicing soccer and Francine does not like shopping. Since Francine and Jenna like soccer, Muffy searches for a new best friend who likes what she does.
	"Buster's Breathless"	68	3a	October 7, 1999
	When D.W. has a brush with poison ivy, Buster tells a story about his asthma. When he learns he has it, his friends start treating him differently, thinking that he needs special attention. He educates them about it.
	"The Fright Stuff"	68	3b	October 7, 1999
	Muffy and Francine play several pranks on Arthur, Buster, Binky, and the Brain and invite them to a party at a haunted house. The boys decide to retaliate at it and Muffy and Francine are ready with another prank. They call off all pranks when they discover a real ghost.
	"The Contest"	69	4a	October 8, 1999
	Buster is entering the TV Schedule Magazine's contest for writing an episode for The Andy and Company Show. His friends decide to enter too with their stories styled like South Park (Buster), Beavis and Butt-Head (Muffy), Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (Arthur), WWF (Francine and Binky), and Dexter's Laboratory (the Brain) amongst other things. Five years later, they are 13 and watch for the winning episode only to find out a girl named Holly Holland from Canadian, Oklahoma has won.*
	"Prove It"	69	4b	October 8, 1999
	D.W. becomes interested in science after she watches an episode of Nova (ironic considering both it and Arthur are on PBS). When Arthur won't take her along to the Exploratorium, she makes her own museum with false explanations of real-life occurrences, such as why the sky is blue or what the formula for water stands for. She challenges Arthur and the Brain to "prove it" when they say she is wrong, only to have to take her to the Exploratorium.
	"The Blizzard"	70	5a	October 11, 1999
	A blizzard hits Elwood City, leaving Mr. Ratburn, Mr. Haney, and Mr. Morris trapped in the school, the Brain at Prunella's house, and several families at the Reads' house. Francine has to write a report on pioneers and bases it on her experience with the people who came over to the Reads' house and pooled their resources.
	"The Rat Who Came to Dinner"	70	5b	October 11, 1999
	After his roof caves in from snow, Mr. Ratburn stays at Arthur's house. Arthur is afraid that it will be non-stop homework and teaching, only to find out Mr. Ratburn is more fun than he thought. However, at school, his friends start calling him a teacher's pet.
	"D.W. Tale Spins"	71	6a	October 12, 1999
	Arthur and Buster are into the Vegemorphs series which they think is better than Scare-Your-Pants-Off. D.W. says she can tell a better story than the Vegemorphs to which Arthur disagrees. She retells The Odyssey to prove him wrong. Note: "Vegemorphs" is a parody of the Animorphs book series. Also, there is such thing as the Vegemorphs spoof series in the real world; it is published by Troll.
	"Prunella Gets it Twice"	71	6b	October 12, 1999
	Prunella gets two Polly Locket dolls and dismisses the second one, which was from Francine. Later, she thinks that Francine spoiled the party by not joining in on the festivities. That night, The Ghost of Presents Past takes her through time to clear things up in a way similar to A Christmas Carol.
	"Binky Barnes, Wingman!"	72	7a	October 13, 1999
	Binky is doing a project on butterflies and becomes obsessed with catching "Big Blue", a rare blue one. He eventually manages to catch it but lets every butterfly go when he is horrified by how they are kept in collections.
	"To Beat or Not to Beat"	72	7b	October 13, 1999
	When Francine enters the talent show, her friends try to tell her she is horrible when she sings and drums at the same time, even though she is a good drummer. After she hears a recording of herself, she realizes her friends had been right, but at the talent show, she surprises them without her drum set as she sings very well.
	"1001 Dads"	73	8a	October 14, 1999
	Father's Day is approaching and Arthur and his friends come up with an idea to find a substitute for Buster's dad who is a pilot and often away.
	"Prunella's Prediction"	73	8b	October 14, 1999
	Prunella wants Flash Pants and thinks she is getting them for her birthday, only to be disappointed by a watch instead. Arthur is afraid of being teased when wearing his dad's old Mr. Puffy jacket because he has outgrown his old winter coat. Together, they realize that they don't have to hide because of what they wear.
	"What is That Thing?"	74	9a	October 15, 1999
	Arthur and his friends separately find the same metal bobbin but do not know what it is. It happens to fit exactly what they need at the moment it appears. They argue over it and find out that it is Mr. Ratburn's and learn what it is at his puppet show.
	"Buster's Best Behavior"	74	9b	October 15, 1999
	Buster is funny but wants to be good at something else, and Arthur wants to be vice versa. They end up acting like each other. This annoys their friends and they realize that they are fine the way they are.
	"My Music Rules"	75	10a	October 18, 1999
	The library is looking for a musician to perform for the children's show later in the week. D.W. suggests that they find the guy who wrote "Crazy Bus", her favorite song. Arthur and his friends are immediately annoyed, so they choose to find a musician. Francine's father suggests that they hire Joshua Redman, her uncle and a jazz musician. But then Grandma Thora takes D.W. to a concert, and she decided the one she wants is Yo-Yo Ma. Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Redman guest star as themselves.
	"That's a Baby Show!"	75	10b	October 18, 1999
	Arthur is put in an awkward situation, when, after arguing with D.W. because she watches , a baby show, she tells him that the real baby show is The Love Ducks. Intrigued, he watches an episode and becomes hooked on it! He tries to hide it from his friends, which isn't easy, because it clashes with Dark Bunny, the show they are all hooked on and always talking about. When they find out initially, they tease him for it. In the end, however, they all admit they like The Love Ducks.