'Postcards,' Back From the Edge

Dec. 20, 2006— -- Buster is back.

Against the odds, that traveling bunny Buster, star of "Postcards From Buster," is back on PBS, and television-watching tots everywhere are breathing a huge sigh of relief, even if conservative groups are gritting their teeth.

Buster caused a ruckus in 2005 when he paid a visit to a family in Vermont that had two mommies. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings took issue, and that set off some Christian coalitions. After that, he was almost headed for a pot of hasenpfeffer.

Since then, there have been other tough breaks for the preschool and the just-started-school set. Kids are still getting over the retirement of the most famous member of the hugely popular musical group -- and television act -- the Wiggles. And earlier in the year, "Sesame Street" caused some consternation by introducing a "girly-girl" Muppet to the show.

So the return of Buster -- a sensitive, kindhearted rabbit, familiar to fans of Marc Brown's "Arthur" TV series and books -- comes at a good time. "Our intention is to engage, educate and entertain children," says Mary Beth LeFaivre, a publicist at WGBH, the Boston public television station that produces the animated series.

After the "Sugartime!" episode, in which Buster visited that Vermont family during maple sugar season, the American Family Association, a conservative Christian group organized by the Rev. Donald Wildmon, started an e-mail campaign in support of Spellings' position -- and some PBS stations declined to air it. To make matters worse for the show's producers, funding dried up and production went on hiatus.

But now WGBH has managed to raise money for 10 new episodes, which started airing just after Thanksgiving. As usual, in the upcoming season Buster crisscrosses the country with his video camera, visiting friends and taking pictures. The result is a mix of animation and live action footage.

"There was a moment there when funding looked bleak," admits the show's executive producer, Pierre Valette. "And we had to shake a lot more trees than we normally do. But we all felt very strongly about this series because there's really nothing else like it on television. Fortunately, we found funders who supported our efforts."

When Valette and his colleagues at WGBH pitched the new season, they did not assure their potential benefactors that there wouldn't be another episode that might raise eyebrows. "We never make promises to funders about our editorial content," he says. "With this series, our funders know that we're looking at things from a kids' point of view. There's nothing controversial about that."

Nor do the show's producers worry about potential reaction from the American Family Association or other partisan groups: "Groups like the American Family Association don't have a direct impact on what we're doing," insists Valette. "We listen to our advisers -- educators who adviseus on the curriculum, developmental approaches -- we listen to kids, we listen to parents. So far, it's worked pretty well that way."

Now rabbits aren't usually known for being confrontational -- or controversial. So you might think the latest season of "Postcards From Buster" would shy away from any hot-button issues. You would be wrong.

In episode four, Buster visits with two children whose father is deployed in Iraq. In episode eight, he travels to Tijuana, Mexico, and "realizes that crossing a border isn't as elaborate as he'd imagined." In episode 10, Buster checks in on friends who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Ed Vitagliano of the American Family Association warns, "I'm not sure you could pick three issues that are more potentially controversial."

Valette said the episodes were chosen "with kids and their lives" in mind. "We visited Katrina victims because lots of our viewers wanted to knowabout the kids in the two Louisiana episodes we'd done in season one. They were worried about them, and so were we. So we sent Buster downto visit them.

"Tens of thousands of kids have parents in the military -- with many being stationed in Iraq. We wanted to explore what their lives are like. And millions of American kids live near the Mexican border -- with many of them crossing the border to visit friends or family in Mexico. We wanted Buster to share in that experience. These are important stories, yet very typical kid stories at the same time."

Next season, Buster will travel abroad, with episodes planned for China, the Middle East and Africa. "The world is becoming increasingly small -- yet there are so few places on TV where American kids can experience the lives of their international peers," says Valette about Buster's globe-trotting itineraries.

Buster may have dodged a bullet this season because Vitagliano sees no reason, right now, to protest the shows. "I would be cautious ... but I would have to see the episodes."

In the end, though, Buster's biggest obstacle may not be conservatives in Washington.

Buster, as any 6-year-old can tell you, is a spinoff character. He was first seen on the wildly popular show "Arthur" as Arthur's BFF. And as any more mature television watcher can tell you, television spinoffs generally don't do as well as the original.

For his part Buster draws an audience that is in the "middle range" for children's shows on PBS. It doesn't help that the show has been off the air for some time.

WGBH was unable to provide ratings for the most current shows. Still, it shouldn't be long before they know if they they have a "Frasier" on their hands, or an "AfterMash."