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The Best Episodes of Arthur Season 1

Every episode of Arthur Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Arthur Season 1!

Binge this in 5h 25m•Peaking at 8.3/10

The show revolves around the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Arthur Season 1 Episode 11 - Locked in the Library!
    8.3/10(101 votes)

    S1:E11

    After Arthur called Francine a marshmallow, Francine and her friends get really mad and it looks like they are going to fight. But when they both get locked inside the Elwood City Library they either have to make up, or prepare for a long and scary weekend, because it's the weekend and the library closes until Monday.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Kathy Waugh

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  2. Arthur Season 1 Episode 15 - Arthur's New Puppy
    8.3/10(86 votes)

    S1:E15

    Arthur has a new puppy is exactly what he wanted. But the only problem is that he destroys everything in sight, so can Arthur teach Pal to behave, before his parents do something with Pal because of all the disasters he is causing.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  3. Arthur Season 1 Episode 14 - Buster Makes the Grade
    8.2/10(79 votes)

    S1:E14

    Buster's grades aren't as good as his jokes, and now he is on the verge of repeating his third grade year. If he does not receive at least a B on his next test, he fails...

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Peter K. Hirsch

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  4. Arthur Season 1 Episode 6 - Buster's Dino Dilemma
    8.1/10(95 votes)

    S1:E6

    When the class goes on a field trip to a dinosaur museum, Buster finds a fossil on the ground - and wants to keep it for himself.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Matt Steinglass

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  5. Arthur Season 1 Episode 7 - D.W.'s Imaginary Friend
    8.1/10(87 votes)

    S1:E7

    D.W. has an imaginary friend, Nadine, says she has to come everywhere, but Arthur is sick of it.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Ken Scarborough

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  6. Arthur Season 1 Episode 16 - Arthur Bounces Back
    8.1/10(77 votes)

    S1:E16

    Arthur's dream is to have Moon shoes, but he does not have the ten dollars to get them. When he begins working chores to receive money, he got too desperate and does something he will regret.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Tom Hertz

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  7. Arthur Season 1 Episode 3 - Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn
    8.0/10(114 votes)

    S1:E3

    Arthur and Buster fear that their new teacher, Mr. Ratburn, is some kind of evil maniac who collects children's heads - until they discover the truth about him, of course.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  8. Arthur Season 1 Episode 4 - Arthur's Spelling Trubble
    8.0/10(118 votes)

    S1:E4

    Arthur does some heavy-duty studying, in order to compete in the school's upcoming spelling bee.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  9. Arthur Season 1 Episode 21 - Arthur's Baby
    8.0/10(68 votes)

    S1:E21

    Viewers are taken back, as Arthur and D.W. recollect what happened when Baby Kate was first-born. D.W. is excited with anticipation, but Arthur is very worried. His worries are only made worse when his friends tell him about all the awful stuff that's going to happen when the baby comes. Still, Arthur, is determined to be a good big brother, but ends up thinking that the baby hates him!

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  10. Arthur Season 1 Episode 28 - Arthur and the True Francine
    8.0/10(70 votes)

    S1:E28

    Muffy and Francine are absolute best friends. It seems nothing can come between them, until Muffy cheats on a math test and lets Francine take the blame.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Kathy Waugh

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  11. Arthur Season 1 Episode 1 - Arthur's Eyes
    7.9/10(164 votes)

    S1:E1

    Arthur is embarrassed because he now has to wear glasses.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  12. Arthur Season 1 Episode 9 - Arthur's Pet Business
    7.9/10(80 votes)

    S1:E9

    When Arthur desperately wants a dog, he starts a pet business. When he gets too many he decides to just take care of one pet.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  13. Arthur Season 1 Episode 22 - D.W.'s Baby
    7.9/10(71 votes)

    S1:E22

    D.W. was excited to have a new little sister, but when she doesn't get to help much and the baby moves into her room, things don't seem so great. Kate stinks and makes a lot of noise. D.W. hatches a plan to get rid of her, but finds that maybe being a big sister isn't so bad after all.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  14. Arthur Season 1 Episode 23 - Arthur Writes a Story
    7.9/10(69 votes)

    S1:E23

    Mr. Ratburn gives the class an assignment --- to write a story about anything they want. It seems like a simple assignment and it doesn't even have to be bound and sent to a publisher as Muffy suggests. Arthur, however, finds it a hard task when he starts trying to write to please everyone's tastes. He starts out with the simple story of how he got his dog Pal, but after following the advice of each of his friends, it morphs into a bizarre country tune about baby elephants being born in outer space.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  15. Arthur Season 1 Episode 25 - So Long, Spanky
    7.9/10(69 votes)

    S1:E25

    D.W. suffers through the death of her beloved bird, then has to decide whether to risk her heart again by adopting a lonely toad.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Peter K. Hirsch

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  16. Arthur Season 1 Episode 30 - Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm
    7.9/10(75 votes)

    S1:E30

    Arthur and D.W. spend a week at their grandfather's farm, which isn't quite as Arthur remembers it.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Matt Steinglass

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  17. Arthur Season 1 Episode 2 - Francine's Bad Hair Day
    7.8/10(128 votes)

    S1:E2

    Francine tries to get through picture day, without messing up her meticulously-crafted hairdo.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Kathy Waugh

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  18. Arthur Season 1 Episode 5 - D.W. All Wet
    7.8/10(89 votes)

    S1:E5

    Whew, boy is it HOT today. The Reads decide to head to the beach in order to cool off, but D.W. refuses to go along (she thinks there is an octopus in the water).

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Kathy Waugh

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  19. Arthur Season 1 Episode 10 - D.W. the Copycat
    7.8/10(80 votes)

    S1:E10

    When D.W. gets told she doesn't like any interesting stuff, she decides to copy Arthur.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  20. Arthur Season 1 Episode 12 - Arthur Accused!
    7.8/10(78 votes)

    S1:E12

    Arthur had a job to collect coins for Mrs. McGrady to raise money for a new dog for the Elwood City firemen, and when he left the bag of quarters where Mrs. McGrady was working, she said she never received them. While this was happening, Buster opened his detective agency, he has no idea his first job will involve Arthur. Now, it is up to Buster to solve this mystery, was Arthur the real thief?....

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:James Greenberg

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  21. Arthur Season 1 Episode 18 - Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe
    7.8/10(76 votes)

    S1:E18

    The Read Family is having a big reunion, with aardvark relatives from all over coming. Arthur normally enjoys the festivities, such as sack-racing and swapping stories, but finds himself hiding because he's worried that his cousin Mo has a big practical joke planned for him. He remembers her being awful to him in the past and is sure that she has something big planned. However, his worries might just be unfounded.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Terence Taylor

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  22. Arthur Season 1 Episode 20 - Francine Frensky, Superstar
    7.8/10(71 votes)

    S1:E20

    Francine has always gotten the worst roles in school plays, so everyone in the Ratburn class asks Mr. Ratburn to give her a good part in the next one. The play is about Thomas Edison, and Francine is given the role of Edison himself. She takes her role very seriously, to the point where she starts to trying to run everything her way and insults her friends. After the hurt and the anger, they set out to show her that she can't just forget their needs

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  23. Arthur Season 1 Episode 26 - Buster's New Friend
    7.8/10(77 votes)

    S1:E26

    Arthur is lonely when Buster starts spending time with a new super-cool friend named Mike.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Matt Steinglass

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  24. Arthur Season 1 Episode 8 - Arthur's Lost Library Book
    7.7/10(131 votes)

    S1:E8

    When Arthur checks out a library book and loses it a week later; he thinks he is banned from the library. So he and Binky team up to find it.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Joe Fallon

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  25. Arthur Season 1 Episode 13 - Arthur Goes to Camp
    7.7/10(71 votes)

    S1:E13

    Arthur and his friends go to summer camp and Binky brings up the issue that it's boys vs. girls. The other team participating always won because of this problem, so now the kids of Elwood must work together to defeat them this year.

    Director:Greg Bailey
    Writer:Rowby Goren

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Locked in the Library!" is the best rated episode of "Arthur" season 1. It scored 8.3/10 based on 101 votes. Directed by Greg Bailey and written by Kathy Waugh, it aired on 10/14/1996. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "Arthur's New Puppy".