156 - The Magic School Bus
The lads go surfing on a soundwave and swing through the stars as they tag along on the increasingly alarming field trips of Ms. Frizzle in the landmark children’s franchise: The Magic School Bus. Topics include the original books, the extraordinary TV show, and the computer game adaptations that taught a generation about the nightmarish mini-games hiding in their kidneys.
Media Referenced in this Episode:
The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. Scholastic. 1989.
The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. Scholastic. 1990.
The Magic School Bus TV Show:
#1: “Gets Lost in Space”
#2: “For Lunch”
The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body (Computer Game) Developed by Music Pen. 1994.
The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System (Computer Game) Developed by Music Pen. 1994.
“Joanna Cole, Author of ‘The Magic School Bus’ Book Series, Dies at 75” by . The Hollywood Reporter. July 15th, 2020.
“Two Decades of Fun and Learning on the Magic School Bus” by Sally Lodge. Publisher’s Weekly. July 27th, 2006.
Obituary: Joanna Cole by Shannon Maughan. Publisher’s Weekly. July 16th, 2020.
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Commercial: “A Normal Field Trip” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Josh Boerman as “Arnold”
“Ride On the Magic School Bus” Covers by:
Piano: Guess the Theme Songs
Organ: Jonny Music
Electronic: Stuart Pett
Comments (50)
I just took a Thief 2 and I think I need to see my doctor about it. It's too dark.
I just rewatched the first episode of this and I have had the intrusive thought that Janet is Arnold in drag
The doctor who tardis comparison is actually very apt as the original 60s show itself began *as* edutainment
happies birthday, mr. dr. tony esq.
It's been mentioned on the show before that the "woooooooah" to evoke thrillingly rapid motion is one of the harder challenges in voice acting and the show's theme song has one of the greatest achievements in this technique
OMG Mrs. Yonkman! My 2nd grade class Ms. Frizzle day was a jungle and she had heaters and humidifiers running in the room 🤣 favorite teacher for a really long time (I didn't even remember that she was strict) Also for the 2nd grade talent show I did my own interpretive dance to the Russian dance from the nutcracker but I borrowed a friend's "ballerina dress" that my mom felt was too skimpy and she was forever embarrassed bc my picture in said outfit ended up on the front brochure for the shool for the next like 10 years 🤣
that pun at the end of the ad read was absolutely diabolical
I prayed about hanging out with the Ninja Turtles.
Why does this game music sound like the SNES version of Splatterhouse
I Prefer The Canon's of Dort/ I Hate Iowa is a cut that very few other podcasts would dig
as someone who, as a child, got the runs from eating an entire kilo of satsumas, i can absolutely see Arnold eating 900 olives
chocolate barrrr
chocolate bar.
this episode and the VOD stream was like a rapid series of nostalgia kidney shots. I watched the shows and played the games religiously as a kid. also I hope 'chocolate bar' remains a common drop in episodes going forward
I wouldn't have been able to intentionally recall anything about Jamberry if my life depended on it, but the moment Josh spoke the title, the chorus of the song started playing in my head. I loved the Scholastic book fairs/orders. It's how I got all my Calvin & Hobbes collections.
Those games by The Learning Company were THE SHIT when I was a kid. I don't know how many hours I burned on the Super Seekers and Super Solvers series games because I had five computers at home. Also: Josh Boerman? More like Josh Blurgman.
Brian and Josh are wrong on this one. Arnold getting ice cubed ABSOLUTELY terrified me as a child to the point that I still randomly think of that scene to this day
Listening to this episode two years later and had to come back to see if this post had already been made lol
Well I for one was a huge fan of the Hatchet books
I'm sorry, I just started the episode and I know this is such a tiny detail that's completely outside the point, but I'm dying to know what part AJ played in Crazy for You
Bobby Child. What he lacked in dance finesse he made up for with a can-do attitude, a VERY broad Hungarian accent, and ecstatic flailing.
I watched SO MUCH of this show as a kid, all on tape. I have like 10 episodes of this show permanently seared into my brain but the one I watched the most was probably the one about sound at the haunted house.
I need so badly to find the old time traveling Carmen Sandiego edutainment game I played "on loop". Love the episode, great work as always gentlemen.
if you played it on the mac, odds are good that it’s on the macintosh garden
Quietly mumbling "chocolate barrr" to myself while muted on a work call
Wait a minute. Ms Frizzle? School? Arnold? What is this... a chocolate barrr?
"For the love of God, Montessori" I believe.
I was a Paulsen head in Middle School. There are so many Hatchet sequels, it took him 5 books to become baby's first Teddy K out in the Canadian wilderness!
I love how no matter how weird with it the show gets, you always try to connect to the central theme of appreciation for creatives and what they provide the world
In the early 00s my mom worked at the SD Natural History Museum and I often tagged along, therefore having unlimited access to the entire vhs series they kept in the classrooms. The CD Roms were my favorite ever. I love a good point n click mini game system 🤭 also ms frizzle was my first crush.
As a Brit I missed out on this so the role of “weird vehicular journey into the human body” was performed by the Martin Short movie Innerspace. And for the record, I do think Martin Short’s character should have been prosecuted for manslaughter for digesting that one guy.
Dear Brian, you will be pleased to hear that one of the branches at my library just purchased a new copy of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. (This and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs were two of my faves as a kid.)
Arnold freezing himself absolutely WAS traumatizing to child me
Ohh as a non American I've never realised the Scholastic in Scholastic Book Fair was a brand and not an adjective.
Thief Poo is just Thief 4
90s educational games were not very educational or fun. I usually learned the wrong thing and it was honestly more fun to find glitches and break the game. Playing many JRPGs on the other hand (navigating menus, looking at stats, making the number go up) definitely had an oversized influence on my education and career.
I love Escondido shout-outs, because then I get to point vaguely eastward and go HAH what a dump, not like My town (redacted for privacy)...
I love them because for me it’s “Hey! (Ok, you’re right)”
Happy's Birthday broccoli broccoli broccoli broccoli
chocolate baaarrrrr 😏
Don't worry lads I hear they're remaking the Plorn Identity Also, happy birthday Mr. AJ (which I assume is your father's name)!!
Sideways stories from wayside school ep WHEN!!!!!
Frizz and the Boneman are my favorite morning drivetime duo on KBUS. P.S.: Happys Birthday Tony
didnt that show have an on screen suicide on the solar system ep
Happy Chocolate Bar Tony
"pee-ief" made me laugh so hard I spilled a toxic chemical on myself
Pief: The Fart Project
Happies birthday, Mr. Ditty! We love your cameos on the show.
Happys Birthday Tonys
Happys birthday Tony