MSB S4E13: Takes a Dive + Season 4 overall + Original series overall

I'm going to take a dive with this review. Explore a coral reef and learn about symbiosis. Something Wanda will learn the hard way. This way, I'm going to wrap up my reviews on the original series. Does the original Magic School Bus go out on a high note? Blog, do your stuff!

52. Takes a Dive.
Topics: Coral Reefs and Symbiosis.
Written by: Jocelyn Stevenson.
Aired: 28 December 1997.

For their coral reef projects, the class each worked in partners. Wanda hates partnership, and instead of working with her partner, Dorothy Ann, Wanda does her own project. Ms. Frizzle tells the class about her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Redbeard the Pirate, leaving treasure in a coral reef, and Wanda, a wannabe pirate, wants to look for it. Ms. Frizzle tells them to go two-by-two with their partners, which Wanda teams up with Dorothy Ann, Keesha teams up with Ralphie, Tim teams up with Carlos, and Arnold teams up with Phoebe. They learn about mutualistic, symbiotic relationships in coral reefs, such as hermit crabs and sea anemones, snapping shrimp and gobie fish, sharks and remoras, etc. However, they are forced to work together when one part of the reef has been bleached out by none other than the treasure chest. They then go back to school, and open up the treasure chest, which has a portrait of Redbeard, and a model of the ship that can change shape much like the bus.

So this is the coral reef fish tank the class built, and they're adding stuff to it, like starfish, clams, and plant-like creatures.

"With tiny tools!"

"Carlos!"

Very funny, Carlos. 

So Wanda built a treasure chest for the coral reef. But she was supposed to do this project with Dorothy Ann.

Ms. Frizzle really is magic! She popped out of the clam in the fish bowl!

She found a map to the treasure. Where's the treasure? Treasure hunt time!

Come on! Ride on the Magic Galleon Bus!

Judging by Wanda's outfit, she wants to be both a diver and a pirate.

"I don't need a partner! I'm a pirate, not a weasley wimp!"

Come on! Ride on The Magic Manta Bus!

They found a beautiful coral reef! All those fish living there.

The class have turned into hermit crabs and anemones.

Arnold doesn't like the looks of this scary lion fish.

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

Octopus in the neighbourhood?!? 

Luckily, the hermit crab put the anemone on its back to protect itself from an octopus.

That's a bit odd. Keesha putting Phoebe on her back even though Ralphie's her partner. Meaning that Arnold had to do it with Ralphie.

They're no longer crabs or anemones. They're now shrimp and Goby fish.

Good thing Wanda and Dorothy Ann are partners. This Great White shark was about to eat Wanda!

Now that the class are sharks and remoras,  they see this remora eating off this shark.

And Ralphie's doing the same thing to Keesha. That's more like it.

"Thanks, Ralphie! What a partner! Those guys were really starting to...bug me!"

"Keesha!"

Who would've thought Keesha would make a pun this time? 

I take it Tim and Carlos want to race Dorothy Ann and Wanda to the chest they're looking for.

 Look at this reef! It's almost dead!

They eventually found the chest, but the dead reef destroyed the cave!

And the class are back to normal.

Look at these polyps. Cleaning up the bacteria.

Arnold made a good callback! Remembering the time he stepped on pond scum. Back in Gets Eaten. 

The problem is the treasure chest is polluting the reef. It's made of metal.

Let The Magic Sub Bus clean it all.

Unless you have a magic bus, you can't fix the reef that fast.

And inside the chest, there's a picture of Redbeard and a galleon.

This galleon is just as magical as the bus! The Magic Spanish Galleon.

Time for Liz to relax and eat corn chips and dip.

And the crab is stealing her corn chips.

This is what the Producer built. He built The Magic School Bus logo!


Who would've thought Keesha would make a pun this time? After 4 seasons, she finally did it.

Who would've thought Wanda and Dorothy Ann would team up this time? They show great teamwork here, and Wanda even turned into a weasley wimp herself.

And I take it this episode makes more ship teases. Arnold partners with Phoebe, and Keesha partners with Ralphie. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm one of the many who ship the latter 2.

I wonder if this also links to that Captain Planet Magic School Bus conspiracy? Because in this one, Wanda and Dorothy Ann teamed up to work as partners, and those who made the conspiracy say that Dorothy Ann grew up to be Linka, and Wanda grew up to be Gi, and both Linka and Gi are the closest of friends.

Well, this was a very good way to learn about teamwork. Wanda learning the hard way about how to team up, even though she'd teamed up with Arnold and Tim numerous times before, and even Dorothy Ann knows more about teamwork, especially considering she'd teamed up with Carlos, Tim, Arnold, Phoebe and Ralphie before. Carlos especially. We get something that's just as magical as the bus itself. This was a very good one, and a good way to conclude Season 4.

My rating: 9/10.

Season 4 final thoughts:

Well, Season 4 was another very edutaining season. It got well taught science lessons such as molecules, eggs, stars, cells and electricity. We got a kiss scene between 2 of the kids, in this case, Dorothy Ann giving one to Arnold, a birthday episode, in this case, Dorothy Ann's, Arnold winning an award, Carlos' strange puns, Keesha using catchphrases of other characters, Wanda not being a weaselly wimp, Ralphie getting ideas, Tim's well thought out suggestions for field trips, Phoebe's slam dunk, and of course, the animation was at its best. Plus we saw an octopus in the neighbourhood! So yeah, Season 4 was still a great season.

Season 4 episodes from least favourite to favourite:

8/10.
13. Makes a Stink.

8.5/10.
12. Gets Programmed.

9/10.
11. Goes on Air.
10. Takes a Dive.
9. Goes to Mussel Beach.
8. Gains Weight.

7. Meets Molly Cule.

9.5/10.
6. Gets Swamped.
5. Gets Charged.

10/10.
4. In the City.
3. Sees Stars.
2. Cracks a Yolk.
1. Goes Cellular.

Average Season 4 score: 9/10.

Final score: 9.3/10.

And that's Season 4, and in any case, the entire original Magic School Bus TV show overall. It was a very fun and edutaining series as a whole. In December 1997, Scholastic decided to end production. Why? I honestly don't know. Was the show losing in the ratings to Arthur at the time? Was it because FOX Kids bought the rights to repeat the series due to their demand for educational shows? Were they running out of topics to teach school kids? Was the show not that edutaining anymore? Were people complaining about the voices of Carlos, Ralphie, Arnold and Tim being too teenager-like?

But whatever the reason, considering this series was made in the 1990s, where it was all about quality over quantity, that's what we're going to have to accept. Had the original series gone on beyond its 4th season, it may have gone through seasonal rot. 

This brings me to the million dollar question. Will I be reviewing episodes of The Magic School Bus Rides Again? Maybe. We'll just have to see how things go. 

But for now, I'm going to take a break from doing reviews. I might still use this blog post for other things, at least until I decide to get back to doing reviews, but now, no more reviews for a while. It's been a wild ride with these reviews on the series, I've looked forward to reviewing this series ever since I looked back on it, and it's time for me to take a break! This is ArthurEngine, and peace out!