MSB S1E01: Gets Lost in Space

Thought I'd try doing something I doubt anyone else has tried reviewing before. Something none of you expected me to ever do. Something I've been thinking about doing ever since I started looking back on it. This time, I'm going to start reviewing every single episode of a North American educational children's series made by Scholastic, co-produced by Nelvana and presented by South Carolina Education TV, The Magic School Bus.

"Please, let these be normal reviews!"

"With ArthurEngine?"

"No way!"

"Aw!"

Sorry Arnold. These reviews can't be normal, and you have to deal with it. Hmm.... maybe you should've stayed home today.

For anyone who's curious, The Magic School Bus is a series about an enthusiastic eccentric teacher named Ms. Frizzle who, whenever school isn't exciting enough or whenever there's a problem that needs to be solved, takes her class, or at least most of her class, on The Magic School Bus, an anthropomorphic bus that can shapeshift, and takes them on surreal excursions. The aim of the series is to teach children about science, very much like Bill Nye the Science Guy. 

The TV series is based on a series of children's science books of the same name written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. (Something Channel Federator failed to comprehend when making that video discussing the Captain Planet Magic School Bus conspiracy, (what with Tim, Arnold, Dorothy Ann, Wanda and Carlos resembling Kwame, Wheeler, Linka, Gi and Ma-Ti respectively) especially when she said Captain Planet came first. As a show? Yes. As a franchise? No.)

The Magic School Bus ran in the USA on PBS from September 1994-December 1997, repeated on Fox Kids from October 1998-January 2002, repeated in syndication on The Learning Channel and Discovery Kids from October 2003-October 2009, repeated on Qubo on NBC from September 2010-June 2012, every single episode was released on a complete series DVD box set in July 2012, and started streaming on Netflix in August 2013 and has been doing so ever since, prompting them to bring it back for a new series titled The Magic School Bus Rides Again, which didn't come to be until last year.

I've talked about my personal life with The Magic School Bus when I stated my thoughts on the new series. But I'll go into a little more detail later in this review.

Now that I'm done talking about what the series is about, it's time for me to take chances, make mistakes, get messy! Step inside it's a wilder ride! Seatbelts everyone! I'm ready to blast off into reviewing the first episode of The Magic School Bus. Blog, do your stuff!

1. Gets Lost in Space.
Topic: Solar System.
Loosely based on "Lost in the Solar System"
Written by: Brian Meehl and Jocelyn Stevenson.
Aired: FOX Kids: 10 September 1994. PBS: 11 September 1994. 

Arnold's cousin Janet visits Ms. Frizzle's class to go on a field trip to the planetarium to watch a show about the solar system. When the planetarium is closed, Arnold suggests they go into outer space. The class explores Mercury, Venus, and Mars, while Janet collects proof of their voyage. In the asteroid belt, while Janet is trying to collect an asteroid as further proof, they lose Ms. Frizzle and find themselves lost in space.

If you look at the skeleton covering his ears here, it's a metaphor of the most common opinion about Janet. Many people who've seen this series loathe her for reasons like this.

Remember, folks. The Frizz always changes her wardrobe, but the only change she makes depends on what the episode is meant to teach kids. This one about all the planets of our Solar System.

"See, Cuz. Uranus doesn't do a thing for me. So you can get off me, OK?"

"Sorry, Janet. I have to stay on top of the situation!"

As Nostalgia Critic would say, especially when it comes to accidental innuendo unintended for kids on a show that is intended for kids, You know, for kids! 

This is one traumatising scene, especially considering, if this were real life, Arnold would not only be frozen to a block of ice, but also because there's no air on Pluto or in outer space, he'd be dead. However, considering the target audience is school age kids, they made the final result Arnold catching a cold. But earlier when they went to Venus, Ms. Frizzle mentioned the rain on Venus is a deadly poison.

Oh, Ralphie! You and your unlimited imagination! Rewatching this series reminds me of how much like Ralphie I was when I was a kid, especially with his unlimited imagination.

That's right. This series has Producer Segments at the end of every episode. Whenever it would air on channels with commercial breaks, they'd cut these segments out. But whenever this series would air on channels without commercial breaks, or whenever it would have VHS or DVD releases, and even when it's streaming on Netflix, they keep these segments. Funny that an alien called the Producer.

First of all, I would like to say that it was this episode me and my 1st grade class watched when we had to do science one day, the very same episode that showed me there was a TV show about The Magic School Bus. Upon watching the intro, I was all "I know there are books and CD-ROM games about The Magic School Bus, but I didn't know there was a TV show about it." considering I was first exposed to this franchise through the CD-ROM games and the books.


While this episode was an edutaining way to start the series, some things still puzzle me about it. First of all, Arnold wondering where they were going on this field trip. He mentioned the bottom of the ocean and a rotting log, both of which they don't visit until later, meaning this may not have been the first episode in chronological order.

Plus, maybe Arnold wouldn't have removed his helmet if Janet only took only one of each piece of "Proof" to put on The Magic School Bus.

Also, this is one episode with moments where, as Nostalgia Critic would say, "You know, for kids!", such as......

* When Arnold was marching up to Ms. Frizzle after ordering her to "STOP THE BUS!!!" due to Janet insulting her, the camera was fixated on his.....never mind. Although I will address that the girls were looking at him in this shot. First proof that he's, as TVTropes depicts him as, the Chick Magnet of the series.

* When Arnold sits on top of Janet to restrain her, she was all "See, Cuz. Uranus doesn't do a thing for me, so you can get off me. OK?" to which he responds "Sorry, Janet. I have to sit on top of the situation." And speaking of Uranus, these characters pronounce it "You-ruh-nuss" considering this is an educational children's show.

* And the traumatising scene, if this were real life, Arnold would be dead.

The last one is the very reason the Producer Segments exist at the end of the episodes. They have to tweak the episodes to tell a story and to teach the target audience about the topic. Though in this one, there was a mention of The Twilight Zone. 

While Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, this episode was produced in 1994, so it was still a planet at the time. But even so, it's still a planet to me.

So overall, even if Pluto would be an inaccuracy now, and even with Janet being so much of a showoff, this episode is fun and edutaining, especially with Carlos' "Meteor-wrong" joke, Ralphie's belief that aliens exist (though we're still not sure if they do), and Arnold's determination to prove Janet that the field trips are highly unusual, to which he succeeded.

My rating: 9/10.

Season 1 scorecard.

1. Gets Lost in Space: 9/10.

Season 1 so far: 9/10.