The average aardvark lives for about 20 years. Arthur Read, the most famous of those mammals, has defied those odds and inspired several generations of young viewers in the process.
On Monday, "Arthur," the longest-running animated series for children in TV history, concludes its 25-season run. While the characters will continue to pop up in podcasts, online video shorts and games on PBS' website, it's basically the end of era.
For those of us without kids, "Arthur" is first and foremost a movie in which Dudley Moore gets caught between the moon and New York City. But parents know that the cartoon Arthur has had a lot more impact than any drunken millionaire on its core audience — ages 4 to 8 — without ever talking down to them.
