MSB S2E06: Wet All Over

Here's another review on The Magic School Bus. Time to take chances, make mistakes, get wet! How? Well, this episode is about what happens to water. Blog, do your stuff!

19. Wet All Over.
Topic: Water.
Loosely based on "At the Waterworks"
Written by: Jocelyn Stevenson, George Arthur Bloom & Kristin Laskas Martin.

Aired: 12 November 1995.

The class is excited about going to Waterland. Wanda and Arnold are working on a project together and somehow Wanda convinces him to go to the girls' bathroom with her to get water. He accidentally leaves Ms. Frizzle's keys and Liz in the bathroom, and forgets to turn the water off. When they leave to go to Waterland, Ms. Frizzle instead uses a spare key which turns her, the class and the bus into water.

"Yawn burger with a side of snores."

I take it Wanda doesn't like Arnold's model of the waterworks, just a model of a real structure. 

This is a reason Wanda shouldn't have brought Arnold into the girls' bathroom, and this was why Arnold was worried. He feared Tiffany would catch him, and she did.

How does Ms. Frizzle do this?! She surfs in wearing bare feet, but as she undresses herself out of that surfer outfit, she's wearing high heels.

"More than 2 inches in the last hour!"

"According to my research, that's a school record for rainfall!"

Dorothy Ann sure knows her stuff, even when it comes to records, as she sees in hers and Tim's rain gauge. 

"Ralphie! Is it just you, or are we all floating into the air?"

Well, we hear someone use a variant of Ralphie's catchphrase, in this case Wanda. 

"Duck!"

There really were ducks flying in the opposite direction! 

"Hey! A Frizzle Drizzle! Ha ha!"

Turning the class into water didn't stop Carlos from making a pun, did it? 

Judging by the monkey, this must be South America. 

This is more proof that Ms. Frizzle is magic. She immediately dressed like one of the people who serve as the Queen's Guards.

"I knew I should've stayed home today."

Arnold sure said this catchphrase of his a lot in this episode.

Oh boy. Liz is stuck! She just stuck her tail into the tap. Now she can't get out. 

"According to Arnold's research, a reservoir is where the water we drink is collected."

Interesting to hear Dorothy Ann use a variant of her catchphrase, in this case, Arnold's research. 

This was a smart, yet painful idea. Wanda bite Liz's tail to get her out of the tap. 

Looks like Tiffany saved the day, even if she isn't in Ms. Frizzle's class, by opening the flooded door. 

 Here's more proof that Arnold's the chick magnet. Here, he's holding Tiffany's hand, then he lets go and she blushed. This is proof that Wanda and Phoebe aren't the only ones who have a thing for Arnold. Tiffany also kind of likes him. Also, Arnold has a thing for any random girl whenever he's not in his love-hate relationship with Wanda.

Looks like Liz's tail is really badly damaged in the episode, judging by the bandage on her tail.

Hearing Arnold say that he "should've stayed home today" throughout this episode, first when Tiffany runs out of the girls' toilet after catching Arnold, he says "Maybe I should've stayed home today.", when Tim tells him it's time for his report, he says "Yikes! I knew I should've stayed home today!" and again when he evaporated a 3rd time, makes me wonder, does he have agoraphobia?

This episode also shows that whenever Arnold isn't in his love-hate relationship with Wanda or isn't doing anything with Phoebe, he kind of has a thing for other girls, in this case Tiffany.

This is an episode that shows Liz as a damsel-in-distress. She tries everything to remove the water from the girls' bathroom to the point of jamming her tail into the running tap, or, since this is a North American series, faucet.

And believe it or not, they travel out of the USA in this episode. They land in South America, judging by the Golden Lion Tamarin, and later land in London judging by the Big Ben and Ms. Frizzle's outfit.

Also, this shows that not only does Ralphie practice sports after school, but Keesha has dance lessons after school.

What's also interesting about this episode is that it's loosely based on the book that started the entire franchise, The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks. 

This was an interesting way to learn about how we get the water we drink. They land in the waterworks, they end up in the reservoir, the mixing basin where the alum cleans it, and the alum lands on the bottom. And Arnold's crush on Tiffany was interesting. Further proves he's the chick magnet of the series. And Arnold forgetting the keys all because of Tiffany running out of the bathroom and Tim rushing him when it was time to do the report sure drove the plot. Overall, it was still a good way to learn about water and how we get the water we drink. Interesting to see the whole class, the teacher and the main character turn into vapour, then clouds, and then into rain. And good to hear the Producer mention Kicks Up a Storm in the end when the caller mentioned why the kids didn't turn into snow.

My rating: 9.5/10.

Season 2 scorecard:

1. Blows its Top: 10/10.

2. Flexes its Muscles: 10/10.

3. The Busasaurus: 10/10.

4. Going Batty: 9.5/10.

5. Butterfly and the Bog Beast: 9/10.

6. Wet All Over: 9.5/10.

Season 2 so far: 9.6/10.

MSB S2E05: Butterfly and the Bog Beast

Here it comes. An episode that teaches kids about beautiful insects. I am going to take chances, make mistakes, get messy in a bog of butterflies! Blog, do your stuff!

18. Butterfly and the Bog Beast.
Topic: Butterflies.
Written by: Brian Meehl & George Arthur Bloom.
Aired: 5 November 1995.

The class needs a new mascot for their soccer team, the old mascot being so old that nobody even knows what it is anymore. Phoebe is convinced it should be the butterfly, but the rest of the class disagrees with this. Janet shows up again and convinces the class that their mascot should be the "Bog Beast." Since nobody seems to know what a bog beast is, the Friz takes the class on a trip to the swamp to find out.

"According to my research, broccoli is a very healthy vegetable."

True that broccoli is healthy, whether or not it tastes good, but as a mascot? Hard for me to think it ridiculous. I mean I've seen mascots of franchises, sports teams, companies (especially encouraging children) that are other kinds of vegetables, 'eck, there are fruit mascots. Now, I think Dorothy Ann could've dressed as an apple or a banana since they are very healthy fruit. Or maybe she could've dressed as a carrot. 

Another moment where Phoebe is a tree hugger. She says moths are harmless little insects. The mascot being old helped to drive the plot. 

Oh boy. Here we go. Look who's back. The girl you all love to hate. Arnold's know-it-all cousin Janet.

"I am your favourite cousin, right Arnold?"

"You're my only cousin, Janet."

"You're so cute!"

This is proof that Janet doesn't have siblings or any cousins apart from Arnold. 

Look at that beautiful butterfly, oh wait. It's Ms. Valerie Frizzle.

"All the world's a field trip. All the kids in our class merely guinea pigs. Or did Ms. Frizzle say that?"

Funny how Wanda misquoted William Shakespeare here, just to give Arnold higher spirits about the butterfly field trip. It's actually "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." from the 2nd part and 7th scene of As you Like it.

Liz wanting to eat that butterfly shows she is an insectivore. And it was funny when Phoebe stopped her from trying to eat it.

That was a silly mishap. Janet accidentally caught her cousin with a net. Gee, maybe Arnold should've stayed home today.

Now the Portashrinker is damaged by water in the swamp.

Look out! It is the bog beast! No wait. It's a Swallowtail Caterpillar. It does act like a snake.

Turns out praying mantises eat caterpillars like this, unless they pretend to be snakes.

Liz is hungry. She really wants to eat a butterfly, doesn't she?

 Now that's a surprise! A zebra butterfly scaring its predators with its yellow stripes!

 Yep, the clever name for this orange butterfly. Buckeye!

Janet now realises that butterflies are full of surprises, especially when she got scared of The Magic Butterfly Bus.

Interesting to see Janet get her comeuppance whenever she does do bad things to the class, like her first adventure with them.

Good to see that Janet reforms most times she appears. Here, she's the mascot and cheerleader, the Bog Beast Butterfly. Showing that butterflies are full of surprises.

Well, the Producer not only does a good job producing this series for school kids, but he's good at catching a chameleon butterfly.


Janet even encouraged everyone to go against Phoebe's idea of calling their soccer team "The Walker Elementary School Butterflies" while she suggested "Bog Beasts". I'm surprised they didn't suggest "Walker Elementary School Mummies" or "Walker Elementary School Chameleons".

This episode shows that butterflies start off as caterpillars that turn into chrysalis, or cocoons depending on who you ask, and finally, butterflies.

This was an interesting way to teach kids about butterflies, and to a lesser extent, moths. Those flying insects are not only beautiful, but they are full of surprises. It was a good thing Janet reformed in the end, agreeing with Phoebe to call the soccer team "The Bog Beast Butterflies".  I'd like to call this another moment where Phoebe could've "stayed home today". But even so, she did drive the plot, helping the rest of the class see beautiful butterflies in a bog. Liz sure was hungry here. And Ralphie was even scared out of his wits of some butterflies! 'eck, even Dorothy Ann explained the names of these butterflies they all encountered.

My rating: 9/10.

Season 2 scorecard:

1. Blows its Top: 10/10.

2. Flexes its Muscles: 10/10.

3. The Busasaurus: 10/10.

4. Going Batty: 9.5/10.

5. Butterfly and the Bog Beast: 9/10.

Season 2 so far: 9.6/10.

MSB S2E04: Going Batty

After that epicness, it's now time for me to take a spooky turn in my reviews. I'm going to take chances, make mistakes, go batty! Reviewing an episode about bats. Blog, do your stuff!

17. Going Batty.
Topic: Bats.
Written by: Ronnie Krauss, Brian Meehl & George Arthur Bloom.

Guest stars: Tyne Daly as Doctor Tennelli, Edward James Olmos as Mr. Ramon, Dana Elcar as Mr. Terese, Eartha Kitt as Mrs. Franklin, and Elliott Gould as Mr. Perlstein.

Aired: 29 October 1995.

Ralphie is convinced that Ms. Frizzle is a vampire when she shows up outfitted in a cape, speaking with a Transylvanian accent, and moving and talking like a vampire. The Friz is now taking all the kids's parents on a little field trip and Ralphie is convinced she is going to do something horrible to them. This episode teaches that the majority of bats are not vampires, and that they are fascinating creatures.

"I vant to suck yer blood!"

Oh, Ralphie! You and your imagination! Scaring Arnold like that! 

 One funny thing here is Ralphie is scared of a measly bat, all because he thinks it's a vampire.

Looks like the vampire is Ms. Frizzle, the ordinary vampire of the night. Teacher of day, vampire of night.

And we say hello to Keesha's grandmother, Mrs. Franklin, showing that Keesha is raised by her grandmother, voiced by the late Eartha Kitt.

And we say hello again to Ralphie's mum, Doctor Tennelli, once again voiced by Tyne Daly.

Say hello to Arnold's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Perlstein. Them wearing glasses just shows that Arnold wears glasses probably because his parents have just as hard of a time seeing without glasses. Another interesting fact about Arnold's dad is that he's voiced by none other than Elliott Gould.

"At Phoebe's Old School, we never had field trips.

And this here is Phoebe's father. Judging by what he said here, Phoebe must take after him. One interesting link he has with this episode's topic is that he's as blind as a bat. Another interesting thing about Phoebe's dad is that he's voiced by the late Dana Elcar.

Now here's a sneaky way to get to the castle Valerie was taking the parents and guardians. Liz take them on a bat motorcycle.

"Move aside, you weaselly wimps!"

This shows that Wanda is stronger than she looks. She even tore off those handles. 

They must be drinking blood.....no wait! Tomato juice, as Keesha said it was.

"Well you know what they say. Bat breath is better than no breath at all!"

"Mr. Ramon!"

And this is Mr. Ramon, Carlos' dad. Judging by the pun he made, Carlos takes after him. Another thing about Carlos' dad is that he's voiced by Edward James Olmos. 

Yep. These baby bats are called pups. And as Phoebe said, they're cute. Of course they are pink since there's no hair on baby bats, very much like other newborn mammals.

"Is it just me, or does everything look really weird?"

For bats, no. But for people used to seeing, yes. It is weird. Bat vision is pretty weird. 

"Yep, Ralphie! You sure know how to wing it!"

Who'd have thought Phoebe would make puns? I mean puns are Carlos' thing, but hearing Phoebe use them is funny. 

Maybe Arnold wouldn't have crashed had he not worn those earmuffs, showing he didn't know bats use their ears to see since they're blind.

Looks like Ralphie was wrong. The parents and guardians are bats, but Valerie didn't bite them. And they're just hanging around.

"Do we have to? I could hang around here for another hour!"

"Mr. Ramon!"

More proof that Carlos takes after his dad. 

"Keesha may be happy, but the bat news is, we're still bats!"

"Fangs for reminding us, Carlos!"

"Phoebe!"

Funny how Carlos wasn't called out for his pun, but Phoebe was. 

Looks like Liz gave a good scare. She scared the Producer good.


What's really interesting about this bat episode is that not only does it teach kids about bats and what they do, but it also features parents and guardians of the main class. We were already introduced to Ralphie's mum in Inside Ralphie where she showed she's a doctor, but here, we're introduced to Phoebe's dad, Arnold's parents, Keesha's grandmother and Carlos' dad. And we get cameo appearances of Tim's parents, Wanda's mum and Dorothy Ann's parents.

I wonder why Phoebe's mum, Carlos' mum, Ralphie's dad and Wanda's dad weren't there? Didn't they want to go on this spooky field trip? Maybe Phoebe's mum thought it too scary? Maybe Carlos' mum had to stay at home to look after Carlos' only known sibling? Maybe Wanda's dad had to stay home to look after Wanda's only known sibling? But who was looking after Dorothy Ann's only sibling? Perhaps Ralphie's dad thought the field trip too scary or had to work in night hours?

Hearing Arnold's dad say "Maybe we should've stayed home tonight." must be the reason Arnold always uses his catchphrase in perilous situations, when things go bad.

Sadly, Eartha Kitt and Dana Elcar were taken away from us. Dana in 2005, and Eartha in Christmas 2008. Rest in peace, Dana and Eartha. You'll both be missed.

One interesting thing about this episode's producer segment is that the caller was none other than Amos Crawley, who voiced Arnold in the 1st season. His voice in this segment shows why they replaced him with Danny Tamberelli as the voice for Arnold. He'd hit puberty, meaning his voice was too deep for him to continue voicing Arnold. Especially considering he was 14 at the time this episode was in production.

Speaking of puberty, Ralphie's voice was really deep in most of his lines of this episode. And when he asked "Is it just me, or does everything look really weird?", his voice was very teenager-like. This was because Stuart Stone, who voiced him, was going through puberty. It's understandable since Stuart was almost 18 at the time.

Also, Carlos' voice was quite deep too in this episode. Because Daniel DeSanto, who voiced him, was also going through puberty. Well, Daniel was almost 15 at the time this episode was being produced, so what do you expect?

This was an interesting way to learn about bats and their behaviour, and it was interesting to see the parents and guardians of the main class. We already guessed where Ralphie gets his catchphrase, but we find out where Carlos gets his shtick, and where Phoebe gets her catchphrase, and where Arnold gets his catchphrase. And it was surprising to hear Phoebe make puns, and even Ralphie make a pun in the end. Well, bat's all folks!

My rating: 9.5/10.

Season 2 scorecard:

1. Blows its Top: 10/10.

2. Flexes its Muscles: 10/10.

3. The Busasaurus: 10/10.

4. Going Batty: 9.5/10.

Season 2 so far: 9.8/10.