
Postcards from Buster
★ 8.3 · 2004 · 27m · Animation · Kids
Postcards from Buster is a children's television series for children aged 6–12, containing both animation and live-action that originally aired on Public Broadcasting Service. 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 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.
Episodes
25. The Music Mystery (New Orleans, Louisiana)27m · Buster visits New Orleans and learns about some traditional African celebrations and rituals. He attends a funeral parade and meets the director of a choir. He also learns about messaging through drumming and dancing on stilts. All of this serves as useful material for mystery novel that Fern is writing.▶26. The Lowriders (East Los Angeles, California)Buster visits Los Angeles where he has his heart set on purchasing a brand-new Schwibbermeier 5000 bike that he's been saving up for. Disappointed that the store is closed when he gets there, he meets up with some kids at a local Boys & Girls Club. They quickly get him interested in their hobby of building and riding low-rider bikes. Before long, he's fantasizing about what it would be like to have his very own low-rider.▶27. Beats by the Bay (San Francisco, California)Buster visits San Francisco, where he learns all about hip-hop dance and culture. Carlos and Mora are trying to make a music video, so he helps them out with video footage. As things move along, Buster gets some great footage, but things aren't going very well on a song. Fortunately, inspiration strikes in the form of a theme.▶28. A City View (Manhattan, New York)When a magazine quiz helps Francine discover that her lifestyle is perfect for the hustle and bustle of New York, she asks Buster to get her as much information as he can when he pays a visit there. Buster meets up with a Jewish family who he hopes can be a big help, since Francine is Jewish. He learns about high-rising apartments and rising taxis, but also learns that aside from prayer services, the school that his new friends attend is a lot like his own. As a girl named Mattie helps him to learn about Hebrew and Jewish traditions, he urges her to go slow, worried that Francine might be way behind. Francine is a bit embarrassed when she finds out about this because she knows plenty of Hebrew and is largely up-to-date on her Jewish traditions. She also sets Buster straight on why she eats things like cheeseburgers, explaining that the family Buster is visiting practices strict Orthodox Judaism, while her family practices a more relaxed form. Still, she's curious about how that family celebrates the Jewish holiday Shabbas and is surprised to learn that they completely abstain from using any electricity for an entire day. Overall, it's a great learning experience for both Francine and Buster.▶29. Homes Sweet Homes (Miami, Florida)While traveling in Miami, Buster misses his Mom. He decides to give her a call and is disappointed when she rushes him off the phone at first. Later, they make up and Buster decides to help her with a food column she has to do for the newspaper. He researches both Cuban and Greek food and becomes an amateur reporter. Along the way, he meets a new friend and learns about bilingual schools and other interesting topics.▶30. Riding the Wave (Cocoa Beach, Florida)▶31. Buster's Lucky Year (San Francisco, California)Buster is exhausted and hungry after a long trip to San Francisco. He then has a streak of bad luck that puts him in low spirits. After a visit to Chinatown, he hooks with Hayley Cu and Carrie, two girls from Chinese families. They inroduce him to the Chinese New Year Celebration and show him how to turn his luck around. He learns all about the traditional Chinese New Year's meal and the big parade held in San Francisco.▶32. Spring Break (Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada)Arthur and Buster are taking part in the Ultimate Spring Break Video Contest in the hopes of winning the Ultimate Bionic Bunny video game. Arthur is having fun with his family at the beach, while Buster is up in snowy, cold Canada. Although at first he doesn't know how he's going to do a spring break video in these conditions, he soon finds that Iqaluit, Canada has its own special spring traditions. After gearing up properly for the cold and convincing Arthur that these Canadian traditions are as much a part of spring break as the beach, Arthur and Buster have the perfect set-up for their video.▶33. Buster Gets on Board (Los Angeles, California)Buster is excited about a visit to Hollywood where he hopes to get a big star for a film and get it "greenlighted" by a major Hollywood studio. He's been reading some books about film-making and has taken the advice of one to heart --- that all he needs is a big star and the money will follow. Soon, however, he finds that the ideas about heroism from another book may come in handy when meets some of Sue Ellen's friends who are majorly into skateboarding. He decides to make them the stars of his film and even has a go at skateboarding himself.
34. Sugartime! (Hinesburg, Vermont)27m · In the "infamous banned" episode of Postcards from Buster, Buster pays a visit to Sidell, Vermont during the season called "sugartime." He learns that this a season of maple syrup and mud. He spends some time at the home of a photographer his Mom once worked with and her partner (a lesbian couple) and learned that they're both Moms to their kids. Later, he goes out shopping for a bonfire. He samples Vermont maple syrup and learns about the milking of cows. He also tries his hardest to come up with the perfect Mother's Day gift for his Mom.
35. Buster's Sweet Song (Leiper's Fork, Tennessee)27m · Buster is looking for the perfect song for Muffy's dad car commercial. Carlos tells him that the band "Los Viajeros" cannot make a car commercial, so he tries to find inspiration in a young musician.▶36. Family Reunion (Nashville, Tennessee)Buster meets Arthur at their family reunion, while DW takes Buster's camera to film a Kurdish Family Reunion, to be send to an Iraqi family member serving at war.▶37. Alien Adventure (Roswell, New Mexico)Buster visits an alien museum while trying to find an UFO, instead he gets to find former "Arthur's" school friend Mr. Morris.▶38. Coming Together (Seattle, Washington)Buster learns how to help a friend at Church. He makes a movie about lending a hand at a Summer Camp.▶39. Treasure Island (San Juan, Puerto Rico)Buster visits Puerto Rico. While Carlos does not remember his childhood, he tells Buster that a mystery box is the key to his memories and his cousin is the one holding it.▶40. Step By Step (Hartford, Connecticut)Buster visits a hearing impaired dancer of "Bomba Y Plena", a Puerto Rican dance, while showing Francine and Sue Ellen how to dance the Puerto Rican way.▶41. Buster's Big Goal (East Boston, Massachusetts)Buster visits the Boston Piers and meets a Brazilian kid that will teach him to hit soccer's goal at his home game in Elwood City.▶42. Arthur and Buster Thanksgiving Spectacular115m · Airing 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 on the official PBS Kids Arthur website was revealed.









