"Maria Speaks" | |
Season/Series: | 19 (US) |
---|---|
Number in season: | 6a[1] |
Original Airdate: | May 24, 2016[1] June 15, 2015[2] May 6, 2015[3][4] May 5, 2015[5] |
Credits | |
Written by: | Vanessa Wiegel |
Storyboard by: | Jeremy O'Neill |
Episodes | |
Previous "One Ornery Critter" |
Next "Postcards from Binky" |
Read transcript |
"Maria Speaks" is the first half of the sixth episode in the nineteenth season of Arthur.
Summary[]
Maria has always been a silent fixture in Mr. Ratburn's third-grade class but her time to speak has finally come.[2]
Plot[]
Arthur talks about how quiet Maria is. She is impossible to find at hide and seek, writes answers in class down instead of saying them, and goes trick-or-treating as a mime. Arthur realizes that he has never heard her speak. When he wants to talk to her, she hides.
Mr. Ratburn announces that it is his class's turn to do the weekly school news show. He assigns the roles and makes Francine the director, Buster in charge of the weather, Muffy of arts and culture, George of sports, and Maria is the lead reporter.
In the girls' room, Maria tells her friend Jenna that she is afraid that everyone will now find out that she stutters. Jenna encourages her, saying that it might be the start of a career as a journalist. Maria likes that idea.
When the kids prepare the show, Maria appears dressed like a journalist and lets Jenna do the talking for her. Maria wants to do an interview, but cannot say with whom. Jenna pretends to arrange an interview with the president.
Maria and Jenna talk in Jenna's room. Maria decides to interview someone who will do all the talking.
At the final rehearsal, Maria decides to interview Muffy, who is happy to talk about herself, but misinterprets Maria's silence and ends up confessing that she is sometimes selfish; however, she does care about people. Francine is annoyed and tells that its a news show not Hoping with Hoprah, and that Maria needs to find someone else to interview.
In the school corridor, Maria overhears Mr. Ratburn talking and decides to interview him.
That night, Maria has a nightmare of making only animal noises and the other kids wondering what is wrong with her. Francine and the kids laugh, because she has a stutter. She then wakes up from her nightmare.
Maria is nervous on the day of the show and stutters so badly that Francine cuts to Buster. Maria admits that she stutters and runs into the woodshop room, where she talks freely to the school hamster. Mr. Ratburn follows her and offers to help her practice for the next school news show.
Over the next several weeks, Maria practices with her speech therapist, with Jenna, and in front of a mirror.
When Mr. Ratburn's class is doing the news show again, Maria does a report on stuttering and interviews Mr. Ratburn, who used to stutter himself. Maria draws out some initial letters, but avoids actual stuttering. After the show, the others congratulate her and she is eager for the next show.
Characters[]
Major[]
- Maria Pappas
- Jenna Morgan
- Arthur Read
- Muffy Crosswire
- Buster Baxter
- Mr. Ratburn
- Francine Frensky
- George Lundgren
- An adult rabbit woman
- Mrs. Morgan
- Ms. Roberts
Cameo[]
- Big Kid 1
- Otis
- Cheikh Diouf
- Brain
- Binky Barnes
- Timmy and Tommy Tibble
- Fletcher
- Jane Read
- David Read
- A camel
- Ladonna Compson
- Fern Walters
- Mr. Haney
- Goldie
- Nancy
- Jack Weasel
- Alberto Molina (animation error)
- Molly MacDonald
- Slink
- Mrs. Fink
- A gerbil
Mentioned or pictured[]
- A referee
- The president
- Michelle Kwan
- The Plutonians
- Hoprah Linseed
- Thoreau
Trivia[]
- This is the only episode to feature Maria's name in the title.
- Despite being on the show since "Arthur's Eyes", this is Maria's first speaking role.
Episode connections[]
- Maria's mime costume is very similar to Tommy Tibble's in "The Pageant Pickle".
- George is assigned to be the news show's sports reporter. He was previously a baseball commentator in "Baseball Blues" and "Arthur Calls It".
- Jenna has a poster of Michelle Kwan in her room. They met in person in "The Good Sport". There is also the Athlete of the Year award which was previously seen in "The Good Sport", and "Jenna's Bedtime Blues."
- Buster mentions the Plutonians, who appeared in "Carried Away".
- Muffy mentions that she is a Gemini, which would be complimentary with the events in "Arthur's Birthday" in which her birthday was on or shortly before Arthur's birthday (May 25th).
- Muffy mentions her love of opera, which began in "Lights, Camera... Opera!." Her love of pop music is seen in "Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll", and her love of clothes in almost every episode she has appeared in.
- Francine mentions Hoping with Hoprah, which is mentioned in "Don't Ask Muffy" and "Francine's Pilfered Paper" and seen as a show, in "Three's a Crowd".
- Maria interviews Jenna about becoming Athlete of the Year, which happened in "The Good Sport."
- Buster wears a tin foil hat similar to his foil ears from "Phony Fern."
Cultural references[]
- The title of this episode is similar to Martha Speaks, another PBS Kids show and WGBH co-production.
- When Jenna pretends to talk to the president, Hail to the Chief plays.
- Mr. Ratburn mentions doing a puppet opera based on Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote.
- Mr. Ratburn's former hermit crab, Thoreau, was probably named for American philosopher and essayist Henry David Thoreau.
- Maria mentions famous former stutterers Lewis Carroll, Winston Churchill and Marilyn Monroe.
- Mr. Ratburn mentions playing Captain Corcoran in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore when he was in 7th grade.
- Hoping with Hoprah is likely a parody of Oprah Winfrey's show The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Errors[]
- When Maria is seen from behind at the news desk, her shoes are pink. The shoes are gray in all the other scenes.
- Alberto is seen at Lakewood, even though he is a teenager.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Maria Speaks/Gallery
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maria Speaks/Postcards from Binky « Arthur « KET. Kentucky Educational Television. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 BBC iPlayer - Arthur - Series 19: 11. Maria Speaks. BBC. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015.
- ↑ Arthur - Series 19 Ep 26 : ABC iview. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015.
- ↑ Catch Up on Arthur - Series 19 Episode 26.. TVCatchUpAustralia.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015.
- ↑ 마리아의 생방송. EBS. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015.