03x04 - Under Construction

[bunniefuu]

[Beep beep]

Seat belts, everyone!

Please let this be a normal field trip.

With the frizz?

No way! No way!

♪ Cruisin' on down main street

♪ You're relaxed and feelin' good ♪

♪ Next thing that you know, you're seein' ♪

Wa-ha-ha-hoo!

♪ An octopus in the neighborhood?! ♪

♪ Surfin' on a sound wave

♪ Swingin' through the stars

♪ Take a left at your intestine ♪

♪ Take your second right past mars ♪

♪ On the magic school bus

♪ Navigate a nostril

♪ Climb on the magic school bus ♪

♪ Spank a plankton, too

Take that!

♪ On our magic school bus

♪ Raft a river of lava

♪ On the magic school bus

♪ Such a fine thing to do!

Whoa! Whoa!

♪ So strap your bones right to the seat ♪

♪ Come on in and don't be shy ♪

♪ Just to make your day complete ♪

♪ You might get baked into a pie ♪

♪ On the magic school bus

♪ Step inside, it's a wilder ride! ♪

♪ Come on

♪ Ride on the magic school bus

[Beep beep]

Wanda: but, mom, ms. Frizz is going to be here any minute!

We're going on a field trip, remember?

I know, dear. I'm really sorry,

But the magazine changed the time

Of our telephone meeting at the last minute,

So I need you to keep an eye on william

Till I'm finished. I really appreciate it.

Uh...uh...

Have you seen my glasses?

They're on your head, mom.

Oh! Ha!

This article on cold-blooded animals

Is getting to me.

Where are you guys going today?

To that new suspension bridge they're building.

We're learning what keeps bridges up.

[Telephone rings]

Oops! There's my call.

[Beep beep]

And there's ms. Frizzle!

Yo, wanda, it's field trip time.

Let's go!

Where's ms. Frizzle?

Wa-hoo!

Good morning, wanda.

Ready for our introduction

To construction?

Brace yourself, ms. Frizzle.

I've got a small problem--

William. I have to watch him

Till my mom gets off her business call.

Since when has a little thing

Like this been a problem?

Ha ha ha! Frizzle!

Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!

To the house!

But...

Uh...

Sonia, you told me you wanted to

Include alligators in the story.

Now you're telling me you don't?

Hey, look what liz just made for william.

Mine!

Broke!

[Crying]

Oh, don't cry, will. We'll fix it.

Wanda's mother: wanda, is everything

All right in there?

Uh, don't worry, mom. It's ok.

Sorry to hold you up, ms. Frizzle.

I won't be long.

No problem, mrs. Li.

We'll give you all the support you need.

Be good, william. Won't be long.

Ralphie: come on!

Let's build a new tower for will.

Good idea, ralphie. Let's see if we

Can make it as tall as ms. Frizzle.

[Crying]

Wow!

Looking good!

My turn.

Ms. Frizzle is taller than you think.

Ha ha ha!

Uh-oh. It's starting to lean.

I think there's something wrong at the bottom.

Gravity is about to do its thing!

Carlos: timber!

Ms. Frizzle: as my uncle frank lloyd used to say,

A creation without a strong foundation

Is like a chair with one leg.

And he was always-- ha ha--wright.

Ha ha ha!

Is it just me, or is that the porta-shrinker

He's holding?

Inker! Inker!

Ms. Frizzle: terrific hand/eye coordination, william.

Wa-hoo!

Now, now, william,

You really ought to think before you shrink.

Ha ha ha!

Wanda: stay here.

I'll get the porta-shrinker.

Oh! Little wanda!

Now, william, you stay right there.

Yikes!

He smashed the porta-shrinker!

Oh, don't worry, wanda.

I'm sure we can build on this experience!

Ha ha ha!

What are we going to do? What are we going to do?

What are we going to do?

Run! Take cover!

Don't worry, william. We'll be right back.

[Kiss]

Wanda: come on, you guys! This way!

Ha ha! Frizzle!

Carlos: the bathroom?

What are we going to do in there?

Ralphie: hide!

Mine! Mine!

Peek-a-boo!

Bye-bye.

Wanda: we're safe.

Is it just me,

Or are we locked in the bathroom?

W-whoopsie!

Shampoo alert.

Ralphie: I think we've been frizzled!

Help!

Phoebe, hush! What if my mom hears you?

We can't let her see us like this!

We've got to get to the bus to get unshrunk!

William: ba-ba!

Ba-ba!

Ms. Frizzle: psst!

Liz, take care of william

While we do

Something constructive in here, ok?

Ba-ba!

Ah!

Ralphie: how are we going to get out of here?

Dorothy ann: maybe if we make

A human tower,

We can reach the door handle.

Good idea, d.a. I'll be on the bottom.

Who's first up?

Hold it.

Remember what happened with our block tower?

If we don't have a solid foundation,

We'll topple over.

Maybe we should start with three of us on the bottom

To be on the safe side.

A summation with foundation, carlos.

Step right up, folks,

To a real-life human skyscraper--

The only structure of its kind

In the western hemisphere--

A solid footing made with real feet.

Come on, tim. Hurry. You're up next.

Well, the good news is, we're standing tall.

The bad news is, not tall enough!

As my great aunt lucy used to say,

Whenever a door closes,

A window opens.

That's it-- the window!

All we have to do is climb out that window.

But the window's so high, we'll never reach it.

Wanda: we can if we build our way to it.

But how?

The floor underneath it

Is much too slippery to build--aah--on!

You're right, arnold, so what we do is,

We build a tower to get us up to the toilet.

Then we walk around the seat.

Then we build our way up to the sink.

Carlos: and from there, we go across to the window and out!

It's brilliant!

There's nothing but air

Between the sink and the window.

If one problem is too big to solve,

Solve a smaller problem first.

Wanda: that's right.

Aw, we'll think of something. Let's go!

Carlos: wanda, this is no time to play

With your rubber duckie.

Look-- building materials!

There's tons of stuff in here we can use.

Oh, that's what I like-- surprise supplies.

How about these for starters?

They're small enough to move.

They're stackable.

And they're strong enough

To hold our weight.

Arnold, stop bouncing and start passing.

What we need is pyramid power,

Like we tried at the door.

You got it!

Arnold: we're not going to make it.

We're out of letters.

Ralphie: now what?

Well...oh! What if we build a tower on top of the pyramid

To get us the rest of the way?

Yeah. We could use these hair rollers.

They're lightweight, easy to carry,

And hook together, no problem.

And these spikes will make climbing a breeze.

I'd say we're on a roll.

Let's start building!

Oh! Bussie!

[Rattle rattle]

Wanda: good job, guys.

Crisscrossing the rollers

Really makes this tower strong and solid--

No wobble, no bobble.

Before you know it,

We'll get out that window to the bus

And feel 4 feet tall again...

I hope!

Look! We made it!

We're on the top!

Who-o-oa!

Wanda! Wanda!

Help!

Help! Get me out of here!

Carlos: here. Grab hold of this.

Uhh! Uhh!

Phew!

I almost ended up where no kid has gone before.

You all right, wanda?

You look a little flushed. Hee hee!

Ms. Frizzle! Ms. Frizzle!

We've got to get across the toilet

So we can get out of here before my mom finishes that call.

But how? It's too slippery to walk.

Look at that shampoo spill on the rim.

Phoebe: so let's build a bridge.

Cool! A bridge over troubled waters.

Carlos! Carlos!

Wanda: the bridge has to be long enough

To reach all the way across...

Ralphie: made of materials light enough to carry up...

Tim: yet strong enough to hold our weight.

Wanda: let's use these emery boards!

Ms. Frizzle: guess you nailed

That problem, wanda.

Mrs. Li: come on, sonia, gators are cool. Listen--

The muscles that snap an alligator's jaws shut

Are very strong,

But once the jaws are closed,

A person could easily use her bare hands

To keep the alligator from opening its mouth.

[Sonia talking indistinctly]

Ha ha ha! Of course I've tried it.

You know me, sonia. I'm a hands-on writer.

William: bussie, bussie!

[Sonia talking indistinctly]

Uh-huh. What?

I don't know. Uh... Let me check my notes.

Vroom! Bussie! Bussie!

Let her rip, tim!

Here you go.

That ought to do it--

Strong joints,

Long enough to span the open water

And light enough to put in place.

Bridge coming up.

Ms. Frizzle: heave!

h*! h*!

Heave!

h*! h*!

Heave! h*!

Heave!

h*! h*!

Wanda: perfect. Just long enough.

But will it be strong enough?

Time to put it to the test.

Arnold: be careful, wanda!

[Creak]

Keesha: it's bending under her weight.

It's not strong enough!

Wanda! Wanda!

I made it!

Ralphie: what about us? How do we get across?

Well, as I always say,

One good bridge deserves another.

But it wasn't a very good bridge,

Ms. Frizzle.

There's too much distance

And too much weight

For that flimsy board.

We need something stronger

That won't bend in the middle.

A sturdy suggestion, d.a.

Let's see what else we've got.

Here's some toilet paper.

Arnold, we need something stiff that won't break.

I don't know. This is 2-ply.

This hairpin won't break.

It's strong.

And hairpins are easy to carry.

But they're too short.

We'll have to stick them together

To make a bridge.

But how?

Potty training!

Huh? Huh?

Check william's potty seat over there.

There should be some training treats in the pocket.

Gumdrops?

What a sweet idea.

En garde, ralphie!

Uh!

Cool!

It's straight.

And long.

Tim: and won't work. It's even weaker

Than the emery boards.

Isn't there some way

You can stick 2 of those beams together?

Now, that's an interesting angle to consider, wanda.

Two would be stronger than one, right?

I've got it! Move that beam down a bit.

Another pin.

That's shaping up, tim.

And the shape is triangles.

Strong!

That's it! Bring up as many hairpins and gumdrops

As you can carry--

Whoa!

And hurry!

Vroom vroom! Vroom!

Bussie fly! Whee!

Wanda: and push!

A little more.

Got it.

No sag in the middle this time.

That's because the triangles are strong shapes,

Right, ms. Frizzle?

Let's hear it for triangle power!

Phoebe: at my old school,

You weren't allowed to run across the toilet.

This is walker elementary, phoebe.

Time to take chances, make mistakes, and--

Please, just this once...

Let's not get messy.

We did it!

Yikes!

Wanda! Wanda!

Not again! Not again!

You ok, wanda?

That was more fun than the parachute jump

At daredevil junction!

And look--i turned the toilet paper

Into a rope.

Anything we can do with a rope, ms. Frizzle?

Well, I didn't spend 6 summers on the rodeo circuit

For nothing.

[Western accent] bring that rope up here, wanda.

Here you go, pardner.

Give me some room.

Wa-ha-ha-hoo!

Ringer!

All yours, wanda.

To the sink!

We're almost there, guys.

But we still need to get to that window.

Seems to me, all we have to do is--

[Splash]

Uhh! Oh, no!

I don't believe it!

What now? What now?

I, uh...

I think there's something you should see.

[Growl]

Alligator! Alligator!

Wanda: oh, bad. Oh, bad!

Oh, bad, bad, bad!

You know, I was a good sport about crossing the toilet--

I really was--

But no way am I crossing a tub filled with alligators.

Uh-uh!

There's only one, arn.

Wanda, did you know

There was a gator in the tub?

No, honest, but mom's a science writer.

She only writes about what she knows.

One day, a gila monster in the sandbox,

The next, an alligator in the bathtub!

Nothing surprises me anymore.

Look, we've got to get back to the bus.

My mother's going to find us here any minute!

Even if there weren't an alligator in the tub,

How can we possibly get from here to there?

It's an awfully long way across.

Grr!

What are you? A bunch of weaselly wimps?

We scaled a toilet,

Crossed the blue lagoon on a hairpin bridge,

Shimmied up a toilet paper rope,

And you want to quit now?

Yes! Yes!

Ms. Frizzle?

Wanda's right, class.

What's one vast expanse between

Here and the way out among friends?

It's a tough one, all right.

We can't just build a bridge from one side

Like we did before.

We need to get someone on the window side to help.

But then what?

We've run out of building materials.

Oh, no, we haven't!

It's all here.

Rope to get across,

A hook to anchor it, and a kid to get there.

Give me a hand!

Keep pulling, phoeb.

Show that floss who's boss.

Tie it tight.

We can't afford any mistakes.

Ready when you are, wanda.

Watch this one, ms. Frizzle.

All right! Good one!

Way to go, wanda!

Oh, excellent!

We could use you on the rodeo circuit, wanda.

Pull it tight.

Ugh! Rope's ready, ms. Frizzle.

Good work, class.

Like students,

Ropes work better when they're "taut."

Hee hee!

Wish me luck!

I can't look! I can't!

Keep going, wanda!

You can do it!

Yiii!

Wanda! Wanda!

Ralphie: I'll do almost anything to get out of here...

Except that.

I'm with you, ralphie.

If you all come over like that,

We won't have to build a bridge.

A-ok, wanda.

A-no-way, ms. Frizzle,

Even if there weren't an alligator down there.

We need a bridge that can cross this span,

But we can't put any supports underneath it,

So let's hang it.

Yes! We can suspend it,

Like that suspension bridge

We were going to see today.

Class, the suspense is thrilling me.

More floss!

Yep. Got it.

We're done? Great! Thanks, sonia.

I'll have the changes for you monday. Bye.

William?

Wanda, guess what. I'm...

[Telephone rings]

Ohh... Not finished yet.

Hello?

Oh, hi, sonia.

Ha ha ha!

No ba-ba!

Bus!

Ah, good thing this bridge is light.

Arnold: I just hope it's strong enough.

Tim: no sweat, arnold.

These ropes pull up and out to support our weight.

You've got it, tim. In a suspension bridge,

A little pull goes a long way.

All set. Come on across.

We're coming.

See you later, alligator.

I knew I should have stayed home today.

Come on, guys. Hurry.

You're doing it!

Whatever you do, arnold,

Don't look down!

Yikes!

Yay!

We made it!

Way to go, arnold!

It just goes to show you,

With the right materials and the right design,

We can build structures that can take us anywhere!

But now that we're up here,

How do we get down there?

Well, getting up may have been hard,

But getting down is easy!

Come on!

Vroom vroom!

Vroom!

Twuck! Want twuck!

Carlos: liz, what happened to the bus?

The same thing that happened to us.

May i?

Be my guest.

Wanda: ok, bus. Here we go!

We're big again!

Yay! Yippee!

Yee-haw!

I'll be right back.

[William laughing]

Wanda? William?

Ohh. Now I'm really finished.

[Beep beep]

Great. Uh, listen, I've got to go now.

Everyone's waiting for me.

Sorry I held you up, dear. Mwah.

Hope you have fun learning about building bridges.

Bye!

When do they learn to pick up after themselves?

[Telephones beeping]

Girl: is this "the magic school bus"?

Is this "the magic school bus"?

"Magic school bus"?

"Magic school bus"?

"Magic school bus"?

"Magic school bus"?

"Magic school bus"?

I want "the magic school bus."

All: I want "the magic school bus"!

[Telephone ringing]

Hit the speakerphone, will you, liz?

[Ring]

"Magic school bus."

The producer on the line. What's on your mind?

Girl: you know your show about structures?

[Chuckling] know it?

I'm building my own suspension bridge right now

Just to make sure it works.

Are you trying to tell us

That if hairpins and gumdrops were big enough,

You could really build a bridge strong enough

To actually walk across?

Absolutely.

The trick is to choose materials strong enough

To hold the weight of the bridge plus whatever it carries--

Like a lizard, for example.

But don't people usually use nuts and bolts

Rather than gumdrops?

Sure, because they're stronger,

But sometimes, you have to use what you have.

Improvise and surprise, I always say.

Structures just don't stand there, you know.

They need to stand up against all kinds of things

That push it and pull it,

Like really big winds and hurricanes

And earthquakes, too.

You're right about that,

But a good structure has a solid foundation.

Houses have concrete footings,

Tall buildings use steel pilings,

And bridges use heavy piers to carry the weight

Of the structure into the ground so it can stand.

I must admit, the bridge in the show was pretty clever.

Who really designed it?

Most bridges are designed by architects and engineers.

The architect designs it,

And the engineer makes sure it's strong enough to stand.

In our case, kids just like you

Were the architects, engineers, and builders.

Girl: and they did a terrific job.

Let's hear it for kid power!

Ha ha ha!

Listen, I have to test my own bridge right now.

Any other questions?

No. That's it. Bye.

Bye, and thanks for calling.

Ok, liz. Come on across.

[Roar]

Hey, way to go, liz!

Ha ha ha! Not a bad bridge, huh?

Great design, lightweight materials,

And strong enough to support a lizard.

Ha ha ha!

♪ Surfin' on a sound wave

♪ Swingin' through the stars ♪

♪ Take a left

♪ At your intestine

♪ Take your second right past mars ♪

♪ On the magic school bus ♪

♪ Navigate a nostril...

♪ Raft a river of lava

♪ On the magic school bus

♪ Such a fine thing to do...

♪ Just to make your day complete ♪

♪ You might get baked into a pie... ♪

♪ Step inside, it's a wilder ride! ♪

♪ Come on

♪ Ride on the magic school bus ♪