The Magic School Bus Rocks And Rolls
Original airdate: November 30th, 1996
Subject: Erosion
Focus Student(s): Arnold
The class has made a statue in honor of the town founder Captain Walker, to deliver to a special ceremony. When it accidentally ends up in the river, however, Arnold is determined to get it back. In the meantime, the class learns about erosion and how water can change the surface of rocks.
Producers Segment
After talking to the mayor of Walkerville, the male producer answers the questions about the episode while Liz tries to freeze water into ice.
Tropes
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: In the Producers segment, Liz taps on a poster of the bus, which comes to life and freezes the ice and rocks that she had put together in a glass. The Producer is quite befuddled by how that worked.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: When they are about to go outside in the water wearing rock suits, Ralphie says he should stayed home, which is what Arnold normally feelsRalphie: I think I'm the one who shoulda stayed home today.
- Butt-Monkey: Mrs. Walker Club Dupree. She tries (and fails) to entertain the waiting crowd throughout the episode (akin to Carlos in "Getting Energized"), and gets doused with freezing water when the bus finally comes to the ceremony.
- Crazy Enough to Work: Ms. Frizzle says this about Keesha's idea to splash down into the ceremony like a giant waterfall. At the very least, she calls it a "splashy" idea.
- Determinator: Arnold is determined to rescue the statue, even at the risk of getting crushed by rocks.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Arnold at the very end realizes that Captain Walker was referring to the mountain with the river carving his likeness into the large stone.
- Foreshadowing: Keesha notes that the river current turned the class's stone suits into smooth surfaces. Later when they find the statue's head, it's also become smooth everywhere.
- Leaving Audience: Happens at the ceremony right before the bus gets washed down the mountain.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Arnold when he sees the parents leaving the ceremony, right when the class has found the head of Captain Walker.
- Mrs. Walker Club Dupree when the class's cascading entrance douses her in cold water. She manages to rally herself together, though.
- On Three: Arnold tells this to Liz in order to try to catch the statue floating down the river, about to go over a waterfall.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Arnold fails to rescue most of the statue, despite all his best efforts. The class does manage to get the head, though, and Arnold then realizes that the mountain's rivers have carved the mountain into a likeness of the founder.
- Why We Can't Have Nice Things: The class spends hours trying to make the statue by hand, using only the mountain's natural elements, and the river erodes most of it except for the head.
