/msb/ - Magic School Bus

The idea of reusing the cast and style of the original MSB show seems to show a lot of negative features when closely examined. Thus the bridge episode should be focused on explaining the reason for change in cast and art style.

Problems begin to arise immediately when one looks at the art style. The characters and moving objects are all hand drawn and painted. Backgrounds are all painted with watercolor and would be prohibitively difficult to replicate the feel of in a digital medium. The choppy movement of characters due to hand drawn flaws and imperfections adds charm to old tv shows, but is extremely hard to replicate digitally due to the tweening process in place now.

Modern digital animation is smooth and crisp, colors are precise, and lines are all vector based, leading to some of the best looking animations ever to leave the studio when sufficient time and resources are spent to utilize the resources at the disposal of artists and technicians in a modern digital animation studio. We are probably on the verge of a mini-renaissance in the industry as modern techniques are used to more efficiently produce content and more time can be spent making a better product. (but this is a tangent.)

Because we want to extremely limited resources and get the best bang for our small resource budget, the best solution is to take the shortcuts developed by modern digital animation studios that are trying to conform with smaller budgets. While quality suffers a bit, the end result can be just as high in quality through better writing, better story, and more thought provoking content. Thus, we should make it a priority to strive for excellence in aiming lower, having lower standards and goals, but reaching those objectives. This will also improve morale as we will find that having projects come to a close because they are done will be much more rewarding than setting out on what may very well be impossible tasks.

>>9
The first episode is open to quite a bit tweaking but was discussed heavily on the old chan. The idea would be to start out with Mrs Frizzle continuing to fight the good fight as a teacher, but finding herself unable to maintain attention in her classroom as her students are much less interested in what she had to offer them. The Frizz would be much older now, about 20 years so since the last episode of the original show was finished close to that long ago(1998). Both Lizz and Mrs Frizzle would show their age but still be plugging away at their job as best as they could, but appreciation of their work would be lacking.

The bus would be retired from the school's bus fleet, replaced by the large modern busses seen in use today in modern schools. Years of use and lack of funds would mean that the bus is aged as well, with both damage and wear evident. The bus was acquired by Mrs Frizzle and now sits in a retired state in her garage. (Continuity note: in "Going Batty" We actually see that Mrs Frizzle has a small house.) Bus is also unable to be used due to many reasons but primarily the liability of taking modern kids on such dangerous adventures as the original show. Think about it, every tween has a cell phone with video capabilities and could get a school sued into oblivion if it was ever proven that a teacher was doing the dangerous stuff Mrs Frizzle did.

These aspects would allow us to explore the frustration of a good teacher gimped by the system, a sentiment felt by many teachers I have talked to in the past that worked from the late 80s through the present. Another aspect would be the ability to explain a new setting for episodes as this allows the freedom of no longer being confined to a classroom for one class period. We could also use this as a means of invoking powerful emotions of nostalgia and in those who watched the original show. There could be a great deal of emotions gained from the hard truth that nothing stays the same and that the characters from the old show just aren't coming back and jumping back in where they left off like nothing happened for 20 years.

Trouble in the classroom is seen brewing during the first episode until a situation in the classroom makes Frizzle realize that she is simply unable to engage students and make them interested in scientific concepts. This event causes Frizzle to reevaluate what she has been doing and decide that since she is much older and less in touch with this generation, she should simply retire.

The next day Frizzle would talk with the principal of the school and would discover that her deciding to retire wasn't entirely her own decision as the school board had recently decided to not renew her contract as they felt that she wasn't the sort of teacher they wanted any more. Frizzle was guilty of giving out low grades for bad work and her insistence that scientific principles aren't subjective enough to warrant passing students that didn't understand the concepts had let to her simply being seen as a 'hard' teacher. This is another sentiment I hear from teachers and is a real problem as we see from things like common core.

During the shots within Frizzle's house we discover that Liz is still alive albeit much older, and having a larger partner beside her, as well as a smaller offspring who is much younger and smaller.

Forced into retirement, the episode reaches a low point as Frizzle begins to have a real personal crisis as she begins to see that her teaching style and dedication to teaching advanced concepts are simply not wanted in the modern classroom. In short, she feels obsolete. Over a short series of views into the situation we see Frizzle clear her stuff from the classroom and visit her old classroom one last time before leaving her teaching career for good. The situation looks bleak and in a way is reminiscent of some of the feelings many chantards feel about how the future seems to hold nothing but an endless sea of negativity.

>>11
Several weeks go by and we see a more and more depressed Frizzle who feels as if she has no purpose any more as she felt as if her only real reason for existing was to teach. This is a psychological low point for Frizzle as she has always been in complete control of everything, in every episode it is implied that her students are never in any real danger and that their situation is more of a sandbox than a plight where the students are forced to put their knowledge of the topic into a real world practice in order to go home, or they were given a chance to experience the world from a new perspective based off of the material they were learning about. This would be emotionally powerful as we see someone who has always shown to be in complete control to be demonstrating a lack thereof, even of their self.

Below needs revision as it presents weak plot devices

After Frizzle spirals into a depressed lethargy over several days she receives a mysterious phone call from someone that gives her a location and a time. Being a scientific individual with a curious streak the Frizz decides to see what is up and makes a point of going to said location.

Frizzle uses Bus as a means of transportation and as she is getting ready to go find out what the phone call was about we get a chance to see just how bad things are with Bus, it's engine struggles to turn over. Frizzle pulls out a whiskey flask marked ether and pour it into Bus and she finally gets rolling.

Upon Reaching the location she finds herself in front of a bakery, unbeknownst to her the same bakery found in Episode 109 "Gets Ready, Set, Dough.” Upon entering the dark bakery she meets a dark figure that tells her to follow him to the back of the building. After a time of suspense building up the lights come up to reveal Frizzle's entire old class, albeit about twenty years older. The mysterious figure being a much older Ralphie that is now working at this bakery. We see that some of Frizzle's old students have children of their own, some have wives and have begun families. The former class has come together to throw Frizzle a retirement party.

>>12
During this party we discover that all of Frizzle's students grew up and either pursued STEM degrees or maintained a strong interest in science and technology as a result of the inspiration that their former science teacher engrained within them many years ago, in fact, several of Frizzle's students went on to become science teachers themselves. This revelation creates a reprieve from the depressing tone set earlier and gives a glimmer of hope that something better is in store further into the story.

Things cut to after almost everyone has left with only Frizzle, Dorothy Ann, and Tim sitting together around a table while Ralphie cleans up around them. During this time we find that both DA and Tim are teachers themselves, and frustrated at their inability to have the same impact on their own students as Frizzle had on them. Tim explains that he has invented his own shrinkerscope(shrink ray) of sorts that creates an enhanced view of tiny objects through a portal that is about the scale of a hula hoop and can magnify things from an atomic level on up, yet his students just aren't getting excited by what can be seen through this device.(This along with comments made makes clear that Tim is either a science or magic genius that has been replicating the sort of tools that Frizzle had been using.) DA confides that she has been tutoring students that are failing their science classes primarily because they lack a driving interest in the content. DA asks Frizzle for advice on how she could be more like her former teacher in creating activities that were similar to what she herself experienced as a child in Frizzle's classroom.

Tim leaves for the night after saying his goodbyes but makes it clear that wants to stay involved with Frizzle and DA and hear their suggestions on findings. Once they are alone with only the two of them and Ralphie who is finished cleaning and joins them, DA says that she wishes that Frizzle could help her out by taking her class on a 'field trip,' yet this turns out to be more of a kidnapping where the only way her students could escape their predicament was through using science. Frizzle outright refuses to help DA and vocalizes how she finds the idea disturbing, but says that she wouldn't mind taking a member her class before she is officially retired. Ralphie begs to join them and tags along.

Frizzle leads DA and Ralphie into Bus in a way that somewhat reminds the viewer of the original show. Frizzle starts bus up and creakily Bus goes through a transformation sequence into a device that looks oddly like HG Wells' time machine from the 1960 film. The three travel back in time 20 years and stop on a few field trips in a sort of ghost form. There Frizzle points out how she had things in complete control, and that the students were never in danger. Frizzle also shows them an example of the younger version of the students running to the Bus to go on a field trip and explains that she never would have wanted to force her students to go on a field trip and that DA was mistaken in her idea of what made a field trip a magical experience. Ralphie points out that Arnold always hated field trips and that Frizzle's previous statement contradicted her actions as she forced Arnold to take part in field trips that he vocalized that he didn't want to go on.

>>13
Frizzle explains that while Arnold griped, he never actually refused to go on a field trip, nor did he ever actually say that he didn't want to take part in the field trips. The case is made that some kids and adults are afraid to let go of their preconceived ideas of what is exciting or interesting, and that ignorance and fear can be a driving force behind their decisions. Arnold was actually just afraid of having his world view challenged and that's why he showed apprehension involving field trips.

Frizzle takes DA and Ralphie to a different point in time showing the long hours she spent planning a field trip and how the field trips were never a whimsical outing for her, they came from a tremendous amount of work and dedication to what she did.

Frizzle explains that while DA has the wrong idea about going about planning field trips for her students and getting them excited in the topics she was teaching, her heart was in the right place and offers to help DA plan a field trip to take her students on, and then help her execute said field trip.
Ralphie mentions that he wants his son to join them if they go on a field trip. Ralphie explains that his soon has been completely uninterested in school and has been getting into serious trouble with a strong rebellious streak. As they head back to the present, Frizzle and DA agree to help Ralphie by taking his son along.

The next day DA meets up with Frizzle and begins to learn how to go about running things related to a field trip. Frizzle teaches DA how to operate different tools that were seen in the original show. Ralphie stops to visit and appears in a mechanic's uniform. He explains that he is working multiple jobs, one job being a mechanic and gives Frizzle a voucher he had never used for a free automobile rebuild from an accident. He also explains that he doesn’t want Frizzle taking anyone on the Bus in the state it is currently in, and that he will be an instrumental part of the rebuild.

Frizzle and DA take the bus to be repaired and stop at a vaguely familiar junkyard and garage that happens to be the same from the episode 202 "Flexes Its Muscles." A much older RU Humerous and Ralphie come out and it is explained that Ralphie has been working multiple jobs so he can afford to own his very own automotive shop. RU explains that he is retiring and selling his garage to Ralphie, who has been slowly taking over management of the garage.

A series of shots follow and the Bus begins receiving a complete overhaul. Tim arrives with a vehicle full of gizmo looking components and explains that he was trying to build his own magic school bus, but would rather his equipment went into retrofitting the Bus. Bus is seen almost completely disassembled and it's clear that the gizmo's being removed are antiques in horrible repair, with discernible pieces such as vacuum tubes being visible to help drive home how badly outdated Bus actually was. After several scenes showing their work being completed, its shown that Bus is back and much better than it was before, demonstrating that while it looks nearly the same, it actually is in an amazing state and is capable of any adventure it might find itself on.

After this the characters part ways, but not before Frizzle tells DA to pick her and Bus up for class on Monday so she can take DA along and show her the ropes of a field trip.

When the day rolls around, DA shows up at Frizzle's house. Once we are inside Frizzle's house Frizzles tells DA that she is ready to go and looks over at her three lizards, asking Liz if she wants her offspring to come along on a field trip, Liz nods and the younger and smaller lizard jumps onto DA's shoulder in a scene that helps signify that DA is starting down a path of being a much younger version of Frizzle.

The episode ends on this note and consists of seeing DA stall the bus and admitting that she cant drive a stick shift. Frizzle makes a sarcastic remark about how DA has a lot to learn, and the episode fades out.
Even if no new episodes are made after this, we still create closure through this episode.

Episode 2 will be the first run of the actual format but with a few plot elements from the prequel that must be carried over for continuity's sake. DA's class is not thrilled about a field trip, and this will be the only episode where Frizzle goes along in a copilot role as an instructor that can bail DA out if things go wrong.

After this episode Frizzle may be able to appear as needed in the role of a chaperone, but it is clear to the viewer that DA is going to do a fine job filling Frizzle's shoes, and while she is extremely inexperienced, she will be able to handle herself. Other than these elements, the show will be free to behave in a modular format with each episode being a self contained story.

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