''Postcards from Buster'' is a live-action/animated

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

that originally aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

. It is a spin-off of the ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

'' TV series. The show stars Arthur's best friend, 8-year-old anthropomorphic rabbit

Buster Baxter This is a list of characters featured in the PBS Kids television show ''Arthur'', which is based on the book series by Marc Brown. Arthur, the title character, is the chief protagonist in the anthropomorphism series. Buster, Francine, Muffy, ...

. Based by a

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

episode of ''Arthur'' entitled "Postcards from Buster", the television series was created by

Cookie Jar Group Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX M ...

(now known as

WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children' ...

), WGBH Boston and

Marc Brown Studios Marc Brown Studios is a TV production company. Following the air of '' Arthur's Perfect Christmas'', the Christmas special of the hit cartoon series ''Arthur'', Marc Brown Studios was formed by Marc Brown in 2000 nationwide in the US. Marc Brown is ...

. The pilot was aired on December 22, 2003 as an episode of Arthur. The official series aired from October 11, 2004 to February 20, 2012, on

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

and

PBS Kids Go! PBS Kids Go! was an educational television brand used by PBS for programs aimed at early elementary-age children, in contrast to the younger, preschool target demographic of PBS Kids. Most PBS member stations aired the PBS Kids Go! block on we ...

. Buster's interests include eating anything, reading comic books, and playing video games. Buster's personality is that of a fairly intelligent and curious child. He also believes that extraterrestrials are real. Buster's parents are divorced; in this series, Buster is seen with his father, Bo Baxter.

Arthur Read Arthur Timothy Read is a fictional anthropomorphic aardvark created by American author Marc Brown. He is in the third grade and lives in the fictional city of Elwood City. Physical appearance Arthur is an anthropomorphic aardvark. In Brown's ...

and many other characters from the

animated television series ''Arthur'' make cameo appearances in this series, and most episodes have an ''

'' character playing a minor role. The series went on

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure *Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species ''Hiatus fulvipes'' *Globa ...

between November 2008 and February 2012.

Overview

''Postcards from Buster'' centered on Buster traveling to different places around

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and worldwide, usually in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

but also in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and other places, with his father, who is a pilot for a band of musicians. In each episode, Buster meets children in the location, who show him views of their real-life families and global culture. The sequences with Buster are animated, while the portions featuring the children are live-action (viewed from the viewpoint of Buster's video camcorder). After each location, Buster sends Arthur a "video postcard" videotape summarizing what he's done and who he's met in each location. The children and their families who appeared in the series are meant to be multicultural and diverse and include a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

family in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and a

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

family in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Episodes

Cast

Daniel Brochu Daniel Brochu (born February 28, 1970) is a Canadian actor. Early life Brochu came from a single parent family, like his character Buster Baxter on ''Arthur''. Career Brochu is best known for voicing Buster Baxter in the PBS TV series ''Arthur ...

as Buster Baxter *

Ellen David Ellen David is a Canadian actress. She was co-nominated for a 2007 Gemini Award for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series in '' The Business'' episode ''Check Please'' and nominated for a 2005 Prix Gemeaux for Meilleur rôle de ...

as Bitzi Baxter * Marcel Jeannin as Bo Baxter * Elyzabeth Diaga (season 1) and Stephanie Martin (seasons 2–3) as Mora of Los Viajeros * Norman Groulx (season 1) and

Glenn Coulson Voices in Public (VIP for short) was a Canadian a capella boy band from Barrie, Ontario, consisting of Marty Beecroft, Glenn Coulson, Joe Heslip, and Peter Luciano. History Voices in Public was formed in the late 1990s by Beecroft, Coulson and He ...

(seasons 2–3) as Carlos of Los Viajeros *

Cameron Ansell Cameron Ansell (born November 28, 1992) is a Canadian voice and television actor, best known for voicing Arthur in the television series of the same name, Cheng in ''Skyland'', and Prince Lumen in ''Spider Riders''. He was born in Picton, Ontari ...

(seasons 1–2) and Dallas Jokic (season 3) as

* Jason Szwimmer (seasons 1–2) and Robert Naylor (season 3) as D.W. Read *

Melissa Altro Melissa Altro (born May 16, 1982) is a Canadian voice actress and voiceover coach from Montreal, Quebec. Biography Prior to having a career to voice acting, Altro guest-starred on a 1994 episode of the YTV/Nickelodeon horror anthology serie ...

as Muffy Crosswire *

Jodie Resther Jodie Lynn Resther (born November 28, 1977) is a Canadian actress and singer. In the 1990s she played Kiki in the children's live-action show ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'', and has been involved in various dramas including ''Extra! Extra!'', ' ...

as Francine Frensky * Mukundan Jr as Triple J (season 3) * Robert Naylor (Seasons 1-2) And

Jake Beale Jake Beale (born October 17, 2001) is a Canadian actor. His roles include '' Mike the Knight'' (2011), '' Rob the Robot'' (2010), ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'' (2012–2014), ''Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its ...

(Season 3) - James

Home media releases

A series of ''Postcards from Buster'' DVDs and VHS releases of a certain topic have been released by

PBS Distribution PBS Distribution (PBSd), formerly known as PBS Ventures, PBS Home Video, and Public Media Distribution, is the home video distribution unit of American television network PBS. The company releases and sells home videos of PBS series and movies and ...

through

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

. This includes ''Buster's Outdoor Journeys'' (featuring episodes ''Sugartime'', ''Meet Me at the Fair'', ''The Giant Pumpkins'' and ''Bayou by Me''), ''Buster's Got the Beat'' (featuring episodes ''Beats by the Bay'', ''Buster and Beatrice'', ''The Music Mystery'' and ''Buster's Sweet Song''), ''Buster's Buddies'' (featuring episodes ''Buster's League of Champions'', ''Best Friends'', ''A Sense of Direction'' and ''Sleepy in Seattle'') and ''Buster's World of Sports'' (featuring episodes ''Winter Gold'', ''Swimming in the Desert'', ''Rock and Roll'' and ''Rodeo Cowgirl''). VHS releases, however, only include the first two episodes from the DVDs. On October 12, 2010, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete first season on DVD in Region 1. It also includes bonus episodes of ''

Busytown Mysteries ''Busytown Mysteries'', also known as ''Hurray for Huckle!'', is a Canadian animated television series created by Cookie Jar Entertainment. Currently, the series airs in Canada as part of the Kids' CBC block and on the Tiny Pop channel in th ...

'', ''

The New Adventures of Nanoboy The New Adventures of Nanoboy is an animated series produced by Scrawl Studios Pte. Ltd in Singapore, Media Development Authority of Singapore now Infocomm Media Development Authority, and Agogo Entertainment Limited in Hong Kong and distributed ...

'', ''

Mona the Vampire ''Mona the Vampire'' is an animated children's television series that is based on a children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman, as well as a series of novels illustrated by Holleyman and written by Hiawyn Oram. ...

'' and ''

Wimzie's House ''Wimzie's House'' is a half-hour Canadian preschool television program produced in Montreal which ran as ''La Maison de Ouimzie'' on Télévision de Radio-Canada in the morning and Radio-Québec in late afternoons starting March 4, 1995, and i ...

''.

Controversy

In January 2005,

Margaret Spellings Margaret M. LaMontagne Spellings (née Dudar; born November 30, 1957) is an American government and non-profit executive who has been serving as President and CEO of Texas 2036 since 2019. She previously served as the eighth United States secreta ...

United States Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the United States Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on ...

, revealed that the show had explored

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. Episode #33, "Sugartime!", which features Buster visiting

Hinesburg, Vermont Hinesburg is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Abel Hine, town clerk. The population was 4,698 at the 2020 census. The main settlement of Hinesburg in the center of town is a census-designated place (C ...

, to learn about the production of

maple sugar Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada and the northeastern United States, prepared from the sap of the maple tree ("maple sap"). Sources Three species of maple trees in the genus '' Acer'' are predominantly used to produce maple ...

, includes Buster meeting several children who have

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

parents.

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

was one of the first states to legalize

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

s for same-sex couples. In the episode, the word ''lesbian'' or ''homosexual'' is never said, and the episode — like all ''Postcards'' episodes — has no sexual content. In "Sugartime", Buster meets the first lesbian couple: Karen Pike, a photographer, her partner Gillian Pieper, a health educator, and their three children: Emma, her brother David, and her stepbrother James. One scene shows family photos of the three kids, then Buster's attention turns to a framed photo of Karen and Gillian together; Karen is Emma and David's mother, and Gillian is James' adoptive mother. Buster says to Emma, "So Gillian's your mom, too?" Emma replies that she is her stepmom, to which Buster comments "Boy, that's a lot of moms!"; Emma adds that she loves her mother and stepmother very much, and no other comments are made about the couple. After meeting Emma's family, Buster meets yet another lesbian couple: Tracy and Gina, and their three children at a dairy farm nearby. Later in the episode, both families get together at a bonfire, then take a family picture, with Buster sitting in the middle between the children. PBS vice president of media relations Lea Sloan said at the time, "Ultimately, our decision was based on the fact that this is a sensitive issue, and we wanted to make sure that parents had the opportunity to introduce this subject to their children in their own time." Spellings demanded that PBS return all federal funding that had been used in the production of the episode, claiming that "many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in this episode." PBS decided not to air this episode to its 349 stations, but some member stations across the country chose to air the episode, including

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

KCTS-TV KCTS-TV (channel 9) is a PBS member television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, owned by Cascade Public Media. Its studios are located at the northeast corner of Seattle Center adjacent to the Space Needle, and its transmitter i ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and

KVIE KVIE (channel 6) is a PBS member television station in Sacramento, California, United States. The station is owned by KVIE, Inc., a community-based non-profit organization. KVIE's studios are located on West El Camino Avenue in the Natomas dist ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, which are flagship stations; and the show's co-producer,

WGBH WGBH may refer to: * WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States ** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation ** WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(which distributed the episode directly to public television stations after PBS's decision). It was, however, included in both the VHS and DVD version of the collection "Buster's Outdoor Journeys" which was distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment. Some of these stations opted to air this episode in prime-time, with some following the episode with a local discussion on the controversy. Shortly after the controversy, PBS President and CEO Pat Mitchell announced that she would step down when her contract expired in June 2006, after coming under fire for her support for the episode. Talk show host Bill O'Reilly compared Buster visiting the lesbian couples in Vermont to visiting "a bigamy situation in Utah", or "a S&M thing in the East Village" on his former show, ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

''. After the episode had aired, Karen, Gillian, and their three children were later on honored at Provincetown town hall, as part of the Family Pride Coalition's Family Week celebration.

Cusi Cram Cusi Cram (born September 22, 1967) is an American playwright, screenwriter, actress, model, director, educator, and advocate for women in the arts. Early life Cusi Cram was born in Manhattan, New York, on September 22, 1967, to Lady Jeanne Camp ...

, a writer for ''Arthur'', later wrote a play titled ''Dusty and the Big Bad World'', based on this controversy.

References

External links