Mike Mckenzie, director of programming at Alabama Public Television, says WGBH and PBS notified him about last week's “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone” episode in mid-April and he decided to show a rerun instead. Alabama Public Television previously pulled a rerun of Arthur spinoff Postcards from Buster in 2005 over its LGBT storyline. “Parents have trusted Alabama Public Television for more than 50 years to provide children’s programs that entertain, educate and inspire,” Mckenzie said in an email to AL.com. “More importantly – although we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards – parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision. We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for Arthur also watch the program.” AL.com points out that the episode is still available on PBS.org.
TOPICS: Arthur, PBS, Alabama Public Television, Kids TV, LGBTQ