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Postcards from Buster

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Postcards from Buster
Postcards from Buster poster, featuring Buster Baxter
Created byMarc Brown
Natatcha Estébanez
Written byStephanie Simpson
StarringDaniel Brochu
Elizabeth Diaga
Norman Groulx
Stephanie Martin
Glenn Coulson
Marcel Jeannin
Country of originU.S. & Canada
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes58
Production
Executive producersMarc Brown
Carol Greenwald
Toper Taylor
Pierre Valette
ProducersTolon Brown
Lesley Taylor
EditorsJean Dunoyer
Cherry Enoki
Running time30 minutes per episode
Production companiesMarc Brown Studios
Cookie Jar Entertainment
Original release
NetworkPBS
ReleaseOctober 11, 2004
Related
Arthur

Postcards from Buster is a children's television series for children aged 6-12, containing both animation and live-action that originally aired on PBS. It is a spin-off of the Arthur cartoon series. The show stars Arthur's best friend, 8-year-old rabbit Buster Baxter. Inspired by a 2003 episode of Arthur entitled "Postcards from Buster", the television series was produced by Cinar (now known as Cookie Jar Entertainment) and Marc Brown Studios.

It first aired October 11, 2004 on PBS Kids GO!. 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 and many other characters from the PBS Kids GO! animated television series Arthur make cameo appearances in this series, and most episodes have an Arthur character playing a minor role.

The show is currently on hiatus.

Overview

Postcards from Buster centers on Buster traveling to various places around North America, usually in the United States but also in the Caribbean, Canada - and other places - with his father, who is a pilot for a group of musicians. In each episode Buster meets children in the location, who show him aspects of their family lives and local 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 trip, Buster sends to Arthur a "video postcard" videotape summarizing what he's done and who he's met in each location. The children and their families that are presented on the series are meant to be multicultural and diverse, and range from a Mormon family in Utah to a Mestizo family in Texas.

Controversy

In January 2005 Margaret Spellings, United States Secretary of Education, criticized the show for exploring same-sex marriage. Episode #133, "Sugartime!", which features Buster visiting Hinesburg, Vermont to learn about the production of maple sugar includes Buster meeting several children who have lesbian parents. Vermont was one of the first states to legalize civil unions 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. Buster meets the children and comments, "Boy, that's a lot of moms!"; one girl mentions her "mom and stepmom," adding that she loves her stepmother very much, and no other comments are made about the couple. PBS vice president of media relations Lea Sloan said at the time, "The fact that there is a family structure that is objectionable to the Department of Education is not at all the focus of the show, nor is it addressed in the show."[1] 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."[2] PBS decided not to distribute this episode, but some member stations across the country chose to air the episode, including WNET in New York and KCET in Los Angeles, which are flagship stations; and the show's co-producer, WGBH in Boston (which distributed the episode directly to public television stations after PBS's decision). 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's CEO announced she would step down when her contract expired in 2006.[citation needed] Cusi Cram, a writer for Arthur, later wrote a play titled Dusty and the Big Bad World, based on this controversy.[3]

Voice actors and their characters

A Spanish dub aired in Latin America on Boomerang in 2007. The series was dubbed in Mexico, like the first 5 seasons of Arthur (the rest of the series wasn't dubbed for unknown reasons), albeit with different voice actors.

Episode list

Season 1 (2004-2005)

Pilot: Postcards from Buster (New York City, New York) (from the Arthur TV series) (2003)

Series
# 		Season
# 		Title Original air date
11–1"Meet Me at the Fair (Knox, Indiana)"2004 (2004)
Buster goes to a farm in Indiana and learns the major chores Lauren and Nathan have to do every day which include, feeding the cows, taking out the garbage and cleaning the house. He also learns that some of the chores include riding horses, driving forklift tractors and showing their pigs off when the County Fair is in town.
21–2"A Sense of Direction (Chicago, Illinois)"2004 (2004)
Buster goes to the top of Chicago's Sears Tower, for which he meets Farah who tells him about her Muslim life, which intrigues him into comparing her parochial school with his own school.
31–3"Buster and Beatrice (San Antonio, Texas)"2004 (2004)
Buster goes to San Antonio and meets Robert who has been playing Conjunto music ever since he was five. Buster also learns how to make tacos the proper way.
41–4"The Giant Pumpkins (Mount Hood & Canby, Oregon)"2004 (2004)
Buster learns from Jordan and Ashley how they grow humongous pumpkins for competitions. He also gets to do some Oregon mountain biking.
51–5"Among the Hmong (Madison, Wisconsin)"2004 (2004)
Buster goes to a Southeast Asian festival in Wisconsin and meets Diana, Caitlin and Rosie who come from the same Hmong heritage and he gets to join a barbecue of many Hmong foods, which also includes hot dogs, one of his favorites.
61–6"Sleepy in Seattle (Seattle, Washington)"2004 (2004)
Buster develops insomnia when he reaches Seattle because of all his travelling. He soon meets Russ and Rebecca and learns that Tai Chai soothes it. He also participates in the fish throwing at Pike Place Market.
71–7"Up the River (Mandan & Bismarck, North Dakota)"2004 (2004)
Buster travels through North Dakota in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, with the Stenslie family and learns of their Norwegian culture.
81–8"Rodeo Cowgirl (Houston, Texas)"2004 (2004)
Buster travels to Houston, believing that Texas is only consisting of cowboys and open country. He soon meets Tayler, a grand daughter of a former African American rodeo star, Cornelius Cleveland, and she takes him out into real cowboy country.
91–9"Buster's Buffalo Round-Up (Rapid City, South Dakota)"2004 (2004)
Buster travels to South Dakota and learns of its traditions. He soon meets Chris, who is a direct descendent of a Lakota soldier, who takes him behind the scenes of how the Crazy Horse Memorial was made. He also gets to roundup buffalo and learns about the history of nearby Mount Rushmore.
101–10"Moose on the Loose (Jackson Hole, Wyoming)"2004 (2004)
Buster indends to track down a moose to prove it to his friends back home. However, while he searches for it, he soon learns that Wyoming has a lot more to offer than moose, which includes fly-fishing and bird-watching.
111–11"Rock 'n' Roll (Boulder, Colorado) (2004)"2004 (2004)
Buster goes to El Dorado Canyon and gets his first challenge of climbing steep rocks.
121–12"Hoops and Drums (Lander, Wyoming)"2004 (2004)
Buster travels to the Wind River reservation and learns of its native american traditions. He also learns that basketball is another important tradition and he participates in it with Stevan.
131–13"Swimming in the Desert (Phoenix, Arizona)"2004 (2004)
Buster travels to the Brophy Sports campus in Phoenix, a training facility for swimmers. He meets Deni, who shows Buster the various ins and outs of training.
141–14"Good Ol' Tyme (Whitesburg, Kentucky)"2004 (2004)
Buster and Binky are to complete a history report, but he has gone to the rural areas of Kentucky and can't find any historical places anywhere. It isn't long though when Carlos and Mora introduce him to some others and he learns of fiddling, square-dancing and traditional old time music, which he does on his report and gets an "A".
151–15"Buster's Road Rules (Tucson, Arizona)"2004 (2004)
Carlos and Mora takes Buster on a road trip through the Sonoran Desert near Tucson and make many stops at various southern Arizona traditions along the way.
161–16"Bayou, By Me (Slidell & Larose, Louisiana)"2004 (2004)
Buster learns that a "Swamp monster" is living in the bayous of Louisiana and he travels there to search and capture it. Along the way though, he learns various parts of Bayou life, which include crab dinners and catfishing.
171–17"Best Friends (Winchester, Kentucky)"2004 (2004)
Buster and Arthur have an argument about the latest Bionic Bunny comic being one of theirs. Buster travels to Winchester and meets two girls both named Katie who show him that friendship is not about the things one owns, but how to care for each other and what to do together.
181–18"Winter Gold (Park City, Utah)"2004 (2004)
Buster travels to the Utah Olympic park, the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics and meets Squirt, a talented ski-jumper, who introduces him to Olympic sports such as speed skating, luge racing and ski jumping.
191–19"Star Search (Charleston, South Carolina)"2004 (2004)
Buster travels to Charleston and meets Justin, who is a talented 10 year old actor, musician and athlete. Buster learns of Gullah ancestry while he travels around Charleston and St. Helena island.
201–20"We Are Family (Salt Lake City, Utah)"2004 (2004)
Buster spends the day in Salt Lake City with the Hirschis, a Mormon family and he learns of what it takes to run a family in a large place.
211–21"Buster's League of Champions (Virginia Beach, Virginia)"2005 (2005)
Buster doesn't like the newest Bionic Bunny movie, so he decides to make suggestions for the next film and travels to Virginia Beach, where he gets numerous ideas to make a trailer.
221–22"A Bridge Back Home (Brooklyn, New York)"2005 (2005)
Buster travels with Carlos to Brooklyn to search for his Great Uncle's oud. As with previous episodes, he meets more new friends and takes part in a celebration that involves several traditional dances.
231–23"Lost and Found (Guanajuato, Gto., Mexico)"2005 (2005)
Buster travels to Guanajuato, his first trip outside the U.S. He learns new traditions, but he can't understand Spanish.
241–24"The Music Mystery (New Orleans, Louisiana)"2005 (2005)
While Buster is visiting New Orleans, he learns about various traditional African celebrations and rituals, which he uses for a mystery novel that Fern is writing.
251–25"The Low Riders (East Los Angeles, California)"2005 (2005)
Buster intends to buy a brand new Schwibbermeier 5000 bike, but the store he will get it at is closed. However, he meets up with the local Boys and Girls club and gets into the hobby of riding low-rider bikes.
261–26"Beats by the Bay (San Francisco, California)"2005 (2005)
Buster goes to San Francisco and learns about various hip-hop dance and culture.
271–27"A City View (Manhattan, New York)"2005 (2005)
Francine discovers in a magazine that her lifestyle is the right fit for New York. Buster travels there and meets up with a Jewish family and learns about high-rising apartments, taxis, prayer services, and that the school they attend is just like his own.
281–28"Home Sweet Home (Miami, Florida)"2005 (2005)
Buster visits Miami and makes a food column that consists of Greek food and Cuban food.
291–29"Riding the Wave (Cocoa Beach, Florida)"2005 (2005)
Buster does some surfing off the coast of Florida with siblings Forrest and Coral.
301–30"Buster's Lucky Year (San Francisco, California)"2005 (2005)
Buster travels to San Francisco a second time and visits Chinatown, for which he learns from two Chinese families about Chinese New Year, including the traditional meals and parade that are held for this event.
311–31"Spring Break (Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada)"2005 (2005)
Arthur and Buster take part in the "Ultimate Spring Break Video" contest, so they can win the new Ultimate Bionic Bunny video game. While Arthur goes to the beach, Buster goes up to cold and icy Nunavut, his first trip to Canada, but he is unable to figure out how to make a spring break video in snowy conditions
321–32"Buster Gets on Board (Los Angeles, California)"2005 (2005)
Buster travels to Hollywood so he can make a big star and money for a film project. He soon meets some of Sue Ellen's friends who are into skateboarding. Buster decides to make them the stars of his film.
331–33"Sugartime! (Hinesburg, Vermont)"2005 (2005)
Buster heads to Vermont during Sugartime season and samples maple syrup and learns about milking cows. He also shops for a bonfire.
NOTE: This is the controversial episode described above.
341–34"Buster's Sweet Song (Leiper's Fork, Tennessee)"2005 (2005)
Buster needs a song that will fit with Muffy's dad car commercial. The band, Los Viajeros, can't make car commercials so he tries to find better inspiration. Billy Dean guest stars.
351–35"Family Reunion (Nashville, Tennessee)"2005 (2005)
While Arthur and Buster are at their family reunion, D.W. takes his camera to film Kurdish Family Reunion, that is to be sent to a family member who is serving at the Iraq War.
361–36"Alien Adventure (Roswell, New Mexico)"2005 (2005)
Buster is searching for a UFO and visits a museum of science fiction. He meets Arthur's former school friend, Mr. Morris.
371–37"Coming Together (Seattle, Washington)"2005 (2005)
Buster makes a third visit to Seattle and learns how to help a friend at church.
381–38"Treasure Island (San Juan, Puerto Rico)"2005 (2005)
Buster travels to the Caribbean islands for the first time. Carlos is unable to remember his childhood, but he says that a mystery box, held by his cousin, is the key to his memories.
391–39"Step By Step (Hartford, Connecticut)"2005 (2005)
Buster meets a Puerto Rican dancer who is hearing impaired. He then shows Francine and Sue Ellen how to do a Puerto Rican dance.
401–40"Buster's Big Goal (East Boston, Massachusetts)"2005 (2005)
Buster goes to the Boston Piers and he soon learns from a Brazilian kid that he will be able to succeed his soccer goal at his Elwood City home game.

Season 2 (2006-2007)

Series
# 		Season
# 		Title Original air date
412–1"Mykala, Pono & Buster's Big Hawaii Show (The Big Island, Hawaii)"2006 (2006)
Buster travels with Los Viajeros to the Big Island of Hawaii and learns about the volcanos, such as Kilauea and Mauna Loa. He also gets to learn about hula dancing and swims with the dolphins.
422–2"The Mitten of Mackinac Island (Mackinac Island, Michigan)"2006 (2006)
Buster travels to Mackinac island, Bo's favorite vacation spot. But when he gets there, he thinks the place is more like a ghost town as the entire island and all facilities including the Grand Hotel are empty. He soon discovers that is actually because it is winter and most of the facilities are closed. Buster soon meets Lou Clark, which the school he and his group attends is very small. Buster, Lou, and Scott make a movie about the War of 1812.
432–3"Buster's Baseball Merengue (Dominican Republic)"2006 (2006)
Buster realizes that Damon and Bateria, his favorite players on the Elwood Grebes, have been traded. He decides to scout the Dominicon Replublic for a new talent. Buster manages to get Los Viajeros to develop a music album of merengue. He also, unexpectedly, comes across a player from the Grebes.
442–4"The Case of the Coin Purloined (Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri)"2006 (2006)
Los Viajeros go to Fort Leonard and are provided with a "Coin of Excellence". Carlos gives the coin to Buster, but he looses it. Buster discovers a note that mysteriously appeared in his pocket, which makes him believe that the coin was stolen. After meeting Erin, Buster heads out into the desert and eventually discovers what happened to the coin and he gets a reward of his own for his work.
452–5"Philadelphia Masala (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)"2007 (2007)
After having problems with the food on the plane, Buster travels to Philadelphia and meets various Indian religions and foods and discovers a solution.
462–6"A Capital Egg Hunt (Washington, D.C.)"2007 (2007)
Buster travels to Washington, D.C. and misses the D.C. Easter egg hunt. He decides to create his very own egg hunt that involves the use of riddles.
472–7"La Belle Poutine (Montreal, Québec, Canada)"2007 (2007)
Buster travels to Montreal and films scenes that Carlos and Mora went on their honeymoon. He also visits a hockey rink and tries more new food.
482–8"Your Friend, My Friend (Encinitas, California & Tijuana, Mexico)"2007 (2007)
Mr. Ratburn wants the class to write to their pen pals in Encinitas and Buster travels there to meet up with Kyle, his own pen pal. After participating in a beach cleanup, he travels to Tijuana and meets another set of pen pals.
492–9"This Just In! (Talladega, Alabama)"2007 (2007)
A news story is being sponsored by a TV station for a contest and Mr. Ratburn gives it a chance for the students to take extra credit. Buster has traveled to Alabama and wants to do a story about auto-racing, but it off-season and no one is racing at Talladega speedway. He goes to the Alabama School for the Blind and he soon discovers that a journalist does not need to manufacture news but keep his senses open.
52–10"Back to the Bayou (New Orleans & Slidell, Louisiana)"2007 (2007)
Buster makes a second visit to Louisiana after hearing about the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Along with other Elwood City friends and families, he brings food and clothing to help out the survivors. Buster's family and Arthur's family watch his video postcard of his previous Louisiana trip (the episode had aired 7 months before Katrina struck) and they learn about what had happened them during Katrina and how their lives have changed.


Season 3 (2008)

Series
# 		Season
# 		Title Original air date
13–51"Ciao Buster (Venice, Italy)"2008 (2008)
Buster and Bo go on a rare father-son vacation to the ancient, magical city where the streets are water and the buildings are palaces—Venice, Italy! During the course of his adventures in Venice and its lagoon, Buster learns all about this enchanting city where there are no cars and everything from mail delivery to buses is done by boat. Even though Bo considers himself a master map-reader, like so many tourists before them, the Baxters get hopelessly lost among the winding byways, palazzos, alleys and canals.
23–52"Buster in Beijing (Beijing, China)"2008 (2008)
On the heels of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Buster travels to Beijing, but it's not athletics that's on his mind. Encountering kids who use their talents to help meet needs in their communities, Buster is inspired to start giving back in his own neighborhood, too.
33–53"Buster's Egyptian Adventure (Cairo, Egypt)"2008 (2008)
Much to his surprise, Buster discovers there's more to modern Egypt than just mummies and mythology. There's lots to explore in the bustling streets of Cairo with its towering mosque minarets, colorful markets, and donkeys and carts and fresh-fruit vendors. From the fertile valleys to the desert stretches, Egypt is a film set at every turn, and the perfect location for Buster's adventures with his new friends.

Note: All episodes of season 3 has taken outside North America.

Two episodes, where Buster goes to Chile and India, were produced and scheduled to air in 2010 as season 3. There has yet to be any record of the episodes airing on television.

Thanksgiving Special

Arthur and Buster Thanksgiving Spectacular (November 24, 2005) Aired on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2005, this two-hour special featured several Arthur stories and two complete episodes of Postcards from Buster. This special featured interstitial postcard segments from Buster, segments with kids from the show ZOOM and a small additional factoid regarding Arthur and Buster. At the end of the special, a secret password for a new game at the official PBS Kids Arthur website was revealed. The Arthur stories shown were: "Buster's Green Thumb", "Dad's Dessert Dilemma", "Thanks a Lot, Binky" and "The Ballad of Buster Baxter". The Postcards from Buster episodes shown were: "Best Friends" and "Among the Hmong".

DVD releases

A series of Postcards from Buster DVDs of a certain topic have been released. These include 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).

On October 12, 2010, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete first season on DVD in Region 1. For some unknown reason, the cover art for the DVD states that this is 'The complete series', when in fact it is not as there are 13 more episodes.[4] 

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References

  1. ^ Associated Press."Education chief rips PBS for gay character: Network won't distribute episode with animated 'Buster' visiting Vt.," MSNBC, January 26, 2005.
  2. ^ Lisa de Moraes. "PBS's 'Buster' Gets An Education" (TV column), Washington Post, January 27, 2005.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Postcards-Buster-The-Complete-Series/14340


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