MSB S3E04: Under Construction

Let's take chances, make mistakes, build structures! Let's go into Wanda's house and see how to build simple structures! Blog, do your stuff!

30. Under Construction.
Topic: Structures.
Written by: Libby Hinson.
Guest star: Rosalind Chao as Mrs. Li.
Aired: 27 October 1996.

The class is going on a field trip to the new suspension bridge currently being constructed. However, there is a problem: Mrs. Li (Rosalind Chao) (Wanda's mother) needs Wanda to watch her little brother William until she gets off her business call. The class decided to watch William together. William, only an infant, accidentally uses the Porta-shrinker to size down the entire class (without Liz) and the bus and locks the class in the bathroom. The class uses the materials available to them to build structures to escape. This is the first episode where the bus does not transform in any way.

"Have you seen my glasses?"

"They're on your head, Mom!"

It's funny when someone's looking for their glasses when not wearing them over their eyes, not realising they're already wearing them over their head. Funny Wanda's mum didn't realise. 

I take it Ms. Frizzle thinks William is cute. She must be good with kids under 5 as well as grade-school kids. And I take it William heard his sister call her teacher by Ms. and her surname, hence calling the teacher "Fwizza!"

William did build a cylinder block tower, pulled Liz by the tail, accidentally causing her to break it, causing him to cry since it "bwoke!"

Oh no. William shouldn't be holding that. It's the portashrinker!

Timber! The tower bwoke again!

This is why William shouldn't have picked up the portashrinker. He shrunk his sister and her class!

And he accidentally shrunk the main character of the series.

Now the bus and the class will be tiny forever! The portashrinker is broken!

Shows that Ms. Frizzle isn't always cheerful. She's frightened when William picked her up!

Another strange thing. Ms. Frizzle kissed William before he let her go with the class.

I think Liz makes a good babysitter, don't you?

The shampoo that William unintentionally spilled caused Arnold to slip! Especially considering shampoo is slippery.

Here's why the Li family's dog brought The Magic School Bus into the house. It thought the bus was a toy, and William is playing with it, hence calling it "Bussy".

Now here's a creative way to climb the toilet when you're small. Use building blocks and hair rollers.

"You alright, Wanda? You look a little flushed."

"Ms. Frizzle!"

Funny since Wanda almost fell into the toilet. 

"Cool! A bridge over troubled waters!"
"Carlos!"

 Funny Carlos said troubled waters since toilet water is troubled water.

Do you think Wanda would make a good tightrope walker? I mean she can easily scale emery boards.

Now here's some use for toilet paper! Turn it into a rope!

This was what Wanda's mum was talking to Sonya about. Cold blooded animals, in this case alligators.

Everyone but Wanda wants to give up! Wanda thinks they are weaselly wimps!

"No ba ba! Bus!"

William is too enthused by that bus to care about a baby bottle. 

"See ya later, Alligator!"

Funny Tim should say this to an alligator. Especially one Wanda's mum kept in the tub. 

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

I wonder what would've happened if Arnold did stay home during a situation like this. 

Here's something Liz did. She looked for a toy vehicle for William to play with just so she can take the main character off of him. In this case, a twuck.

Now Wanda's mum has finished her phone call. Time for Wanda to go to the suspension bridge!

Now William's toys are too tiny for him to play with!

Now the producer's using an alligator under his suspension bridge with gumdrops as some of the supports. Liz was very frightened.

Another instance of Liz kissing the producer.


There are a few headscratchers I have with this episode.

- William still drinking from baby bottles. If William is being potty trained, wouldn't he be a bit old to still be drinking from baby bottles?

- Wanda's mum keeping a Gila Monster in the sandpit. How was Wanda's mum able to get away with keeping a Gila Monster in the sandpit, let alone with an 8 or 9 year old daughter and a 1 or 2 year old son? If either of the 2 kids had gotten into the sandpit at the time, the Gila Monster could've bitten them and they could've gotten sick, or worse, died.

- Wanda and William's dad. Where was Wanda's dad during the events of this episode? Was he at work for this episode? Did he file for divorce due to marriage problems? Is he dead?


One thing I've noticed about William when he had The Magic School Bus on his head is that he was talking in a voice almost like his sister's. This is because Lisa Yamanaka, the original voice actress for Wanda, also voiced William, in this series and the new series. Interestingly, Wanda and her family are Chinese-American while Lisa is Japanese-Canadian.

You may notice that William has a speech impediment, having trouble pronouncing his Rs and Ls, turning them into Ws. Well, considering his age, you expect him to have this impediment.

Interestingly, Wanda's mum was voiced by Rosalind Chao in this.

While this episode isn't without its headscratchers, it's still an interesting way to teach kids about structures and how to build simple structures. Too bad we never saw the suspension bridge they went to, not counting a fantasy. And William playing with Bussy was interesting, further reminding me of why I got into The Magic School Bus as a kid, what with it being an anthropomorphic bus. And what is it with Wanda's mum keeping dangerous reptiles in her house? But even so, this episode shows Wanda's house for its entirety. Yep, the entire episode took place here even more than Inside Ralphie took place in Ralphie's house.

My rating: 9.5/10.

Season 3 scorecard:

1. In a Beehive: 9.5/10.

2. In the Arctic: 10/10.

3. Spins a Web: 9.5/10.

4. Under Construction: 9.5/10.

Season 3 so far: 9.6/10.