01x02 - Miss Nelson is Back

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Hi, there.

Happy birthday.

It's my birthday today.

I'm hoping for
lots of cards

And maybe even a package.

Maybe no one
even remembered.

[Vroom]

Quicksilver
messenger service
at your service.

Mr. Levar burton?

Package
for you, sir.

Thank you.

Mmm, peanut brittle.
I can't wait--

What's this?
It looks like a note.

Let's see.

The secret password today
is surprise,

So don't just believe
your ears and eyes.

Follow this clue
to your nearest bookstore.

Go quickly.
Don't wait.

We can't tell you more.

What's going on?

I'm going to find out.

Ahem.

Can I help you?

Oh, yes, I was
supposed to tell you--

I'm very sorry.

I was just looking
for the secret password.

Um, here it is.

Surprise.

I'm levar burton.

I've been
expecting you.

Someone left
this present
for you.

Oh, really?

Thank you very much.

Miss nelson is back.

Is that why these kids
look so sad?

I wonder where she went.

Miss nelson told her class

She was having
her tonsils out.

"I'll be away next week.

I expect you to behave."

"Yes, miss nelson,"
said the kids in .

At recess,
it was another story.

"Wow!" Said the kids.

"While she's away,
we can really act up!"

"Not so fast,"

Said the big kid
from .

"Haven't you ever
heard of viola swamp?

"Miss swamp is
the meanest substitute

"In the whole world.

She's a real witch."

"Oh!"

Said miss nelson's kids.

"I'll just bet
you get the swamp!"

Monday morning,
miss nelson's kids were nervous.

Some of them had not slept well
all weekend.

"If we get the swamp,
I'll just die," said one kid.

They heard footsteps
in the hall.

Slowly, the knob turned,

And the door opened.

Oh!
Oh!

It was mr. Blandsworth,
the principal.

Miss nelson's kids
were so relieved.

They soon learned
that mr. Blandsworth

Was not a lot of fun.

Mr. Blandsworth
tried to amuse the class

With his corny
card tricks.

And for two days,

Mr. Blandsworth
showed slides

Of his goldfish
lucille.

While dusting erasers
in the school yard,

Three of the ringleaders
of

Discussed the situation.

"We must get rid
of blandsworth."

And they hatched a plot.

After school,
they painted and sewed

And borrowed
some old clothes.

The next day,
they weren't in class.

Mr. Blandsworth
was about to show the class

His collection
of ballpoint pens,

When someone
came to the door.

Slowly, the knob turned,

And the door opened.

"Oh, look,"
said the class,

"Miss nelson is back."

A tall and lumpy
miss nelson

Tottered into the room.

Mr. Blandsworth
was surprised.

"Are you sure
you're well enough?"

Said mr. Blandsworth.

"She's sure,"
said the kids.

"In that case,

I'll get back
to the office."

And he left the room.

"Hot dog!"
Cried the class.

"We got rid of
blandsworth!

Now we can do
just as we please."

And at :,

The kids from
left the building.

They went straight
to the movies,

Where they saw the monster
that ate chicago twice.

Afterward,
they went to lulu's,

Where they
stuffed themselves silly.

But soon they made
a serious mistake.

Heading back to school,

They passed
miss nelson's house.

Miss nelson
couldn't believe it.

"Those are my kids,"

She said
in a scratchy voice.

"What are they doing
out of school?

Who is that with them?"

Miss nelson
telephoned mr. Blandsworth

To see
what was going on.

"You're not miss nelson,"
said blandsworth.

"Miss nelson is back."

And he hung up.

"Hmm," said miss nelson.

"Something
will have to be done."

And she went
to her closet.

Back in ,
miss nelson's kids

Were spending
an agreeable afternoon.

"We should do this
more often."

They did not notice

The figure
out in the hall.

Slowly, the knob turned,

And the door opened.

Oh!
Oh!

"My name is viola swamp,"

Said the lady
in a scratchy voice.

"Yipes," cried the kids.

"The swamp!"

"That's right,"
said miss swamp.

"I'm here to whip
this class into shape.

Get back to those desks
right now."

The class
did as it was told.

The kid from
was right.

Miss swamp
was a real witch.

She knew
how to get results.

The class did a week's work
in no time.

"We shouldn't have
gotten rid of blandsworth."

"Pipe down!"
Said the swamp, "or--"

Just then,

Something under a desk
attracted her attention.

It was a mask.

"Aha!" Said miss swamp.

"So that's
your little game!"

And she tried on the mask

Just as mr. Blandsworth
stepped into the room.

"Miss nelson,"
said blandsworth,

"I'm of the opinion

That someone has been
impersonating you."

"Uh-oh,"
whispered the kids.

"You don't say,"
said miss swamp.

"Probably just
some kids acting up.

I'm sure it won't
happen again."

And mr. Blandsworth left.

"And it won't, will it?"

Said miss swamp
to the class.

"Because the swamp
will be watching."

A minute later,
miss nelson appeared.

"I'm back," she said.

"Hot dog!" Cried the kids.

"Are we glad to see you!"

"Didn't you have fun

With mr. Blandsworth?"
Asked miss nelson.

"Uh..." Said the kids.

They decided not to mention
miss viola swamp.

But they wondered
why miss nelson

Hadn't seen her
in the hall.

You can't tell a book
by its cover,

And you can't tell
about a person

By what's on the surface.

Who would think that
miss nelson

Could turn into
viola swamp,

Or that clark kent
is really superman?

Sometimes it's great
to put on a disguise.

That's why I love
being an actor.

One of the most amazing
make-up sessions I ever had

Was with tom burman,

One of hollywood's
most talented masters

Of illusion and disguise.

He turned me into--
well, watch.

This make-up
won't hurt a bit.

This is the cast

From the impression
we took of your face.

From this cast,
we sculpted the make-up

With dental impression
material.

I think I'm ready.

You ready?

Great.

Ok.

First we'll put
a bald cap on.

That will make levar
look bald.

This is spirit gum.

This is the adhesive
that we use

To actually attach
or glue something to the skin.

We'll start with the chin,

Rather than do
a full face,

We're doing
individual pieces.

These pieces
puzzle together

To make
a complete make-up.

This make-up would normally
take about five hours

For a feature film,

Especially if the make-up
had to last hours.

You very often end up
working that many hours.

What makes this job
so fortunate

Is I get to use
my imagination.

I get to look at books.

I get to
go to the library

And find books
and research

And decide how I'm going to
design this particular make-up.

It's a lot of fun.

I learn an awful lot.

Voila!

Is it done?

Yeah.

Can I see?

Sure. Let me
get the mirror.

Ooh.

Ooh!

I like it.

He's terrific.

Thank you.

Thanks very much.

I was just thinking

How time in
a make-up chair

Is real
reflective time.

Just as tom was
about to be finished,

I was real excited

About looking at my face

In a totally
different way.

I had a lot of time

To think about
what I would look like

And what the character
would turn out to be.

Now that I see it,

It's nothing I could have
imagined myself.

We have
the final touch.

Want to see that?

Absolutely.

Ok.

Wonderful!

Yes.

Thank you, tom.

Now I know
what it feels like

To be transformed
into another person.

I think I like it.

That's why levar enjoys
being an actor.

He can use disguise

To become anyone
or anything,

Just like the characters
in miss nelson is back.

You can become anyone

Or travel anywhere
if you like.

All you need
is a good book.

If you want to
read about adventure,

Here are some other books
you might enjoy,

But you don't have to
take my word for it, no.

Hi, everybody.
I'm sherita geer.

I'm here to tell you
about a great book.

It's called daddy is
a monster...sometimes.

The characters
are bweela, javaka,

And her brother
and her dad.

This book says children
don't understand their parents

As much as they should.

My favorite person
is bweela

Because she really talks about
how she feels about her father.

Whatever happens,
she'll always love him.

You should read this book

Because it's about a mean
old father that's nice, too.

Do you like fairs
and wearing costumes?

I just read a book
about a boy

Who couldn't go
to a carnival

Because he couldn't
afford a costume.

Hi.
I'm scott bartholomew.

In harlequin and
the gift of many colors,

Harlequin doesn't
have a costume,

So his friends give him material
from their own costumes.

I like the pictures because
they tell the whole story.

I like this story because
it could have happened.

Would I kid you?

Do you have someone special
in your life?

I do, so I enjoyed
grandmama's joy.

I'm heather jenkins.

Grandmama's joy is about
a little girl named rhondy

And her grandmama.

Grandmama called rhondy
her little joy

Because she made her feel good.

I especially like
the illustrations

Because they are so realistic,
like photographs.

You should read this book

So you understand
that your family needs you

As much as you need them.

Mr. Burton?

These
are for you.

But--

It's a mystery
to me.

I don't get it,
but what a great mystery!

Somebody is playing
a terrific practical joke!

And here's another present.

The upside down riddle book.

Ha ha ha ha!

While I try to figure
this riddle out,

We'll give you
something to puzzle over.

Round as a penny,
flat as a chip,

Two pairs of eyes,
and can't see a bit.

What am i?

A button.

Where light is dim,
I have a sharp bite,

But don't tremble,
you'll be all right

If you use a thimble
and have keen eyesight.

What am i?

A needle.

Next to my cousins,
I'm short and stout,

Red within,
nail faced out.

If this riddle
you don't understand,

I'll have you know
the answer's at hand.

What am i?

A thumb!

If you want to
stump your friends

With more riddles like these,

You'll find them in
the upside down riddle book

By louis phillips
and beau gardner.

Hey, what's this?
Another clue.

Where should you go?
What should you do?

To find your next clue,
burst a circle of blue.

A circle of blue?

Well, here's one.

Let's see.

Be at malloney's
at half past two,

Where a man and his kin
are waiting for you.

That must mean
malloney's department store.

I'd better hurry!

It's exactly :, and
I don't see a man or his kin.

I don't see anybody.

I hope this isn't
a wild-goose chase!

I get it!

Man plus kin
equals mannequin!

Thank you.

It's time
for you to go

To see a special
magic show.

Blackstone is
waiting for you,

And the tickets here
are good for two.

I love magic shows!

I've got
an extra ticket here.

You can join me.

And now,
ladies and gentlemen,

The foremost
magician in america,

Harry blackstone!

Thank you very much.

Here's something
some of you have seen before,

But if not, watch carefully.

How about
five of you young peop

Coming up
and helping me out?

Levar, would you help, also?

I'm going to
make this canary disappear,

And you'll not see
where it goes.

Put your hand on theide
of the cage.

Put your hand
on the other side.

On the back.

On the top.

And your hand
on the bottom of the cage.

Yours on top,
yours on the bottom.

Switch hands, jeannie--

That's the way it goes.

Thank you.
Watch your step.

We have something
special for you.

Do you believe
in illusion?

Yes.

Do you believe
in hypnosis?

Yes.

I'll hypnotize you.

Even though you
may not think
you're hypnotized,

You, in fact,
are hypnotized.

While hypnotized,

An individual
is capable

Of becoming
totally weightless

And rising high
into the sky.

Assume the supine position.

That's prone, only face up.

I didn't notice all
those hot lights overhead.

This will preclude
your floating up too high.

Place your hands
on your chest

So that later we'll know
where to put the lily.

Are you comfortable?
Good.

Apparently, he doesn't
understand what's happening.

A solid steel surgical saw.
Touch that.

It's quite sharp.

Ooh,
I'm terribly sorry.

It cut your thumb.

But notice he's not bleeding
because he was hypnotized!

If they believe that one,
we got them.

To demonstrate that this
is indeed a solid steel saw,

I have several wooden pegs

At the front and
at the back of this bracket.

I'll cut through
these wooden pegs

As well as anything
in between.

If you cannot stand
the sight of blood,

Please cover your eyes.

Now--

Put your hands
up here.

Get a good grip on yourself

Because I'm going to cut
all the way through.

All the way down
through the pegs.

Oh, there.

That's all the way down.

Ladies and gentlemen,
a young gentlemen

Cut in half
right before your eyes,

All the way through the body
like that.

However,

You may not believe
he's been cut in half.

Show them that
the hands can move.

But he cannot move his feet.

Try, please try.

The feet will not move

Until we put him
back together again.

See how well he does.

I put you back togetr
before I removed the blade.

The blade
is all the way under.

Can you sit up?

The solid steel blade
is all the way through.

Sit straight up.
There.

Ladies and gentlemen,

You have seen somebody
cut in half and restored.

Take your well-deserved
round of applause.

Thank you.

Thank you for watching
our bit of illusion.

I love to hang out
in the theater

After the show is over.

There are so many
different kinds of illusions,

From magic tricks and make-up
to disguises.

They all work best

When you think
that seeing is believing,

Even though you can't
quite believe your eyes.

♪
♪
♪

Miss nelson and
her second-grade class

Knew how to use
masks and costumes

To make people appear
and disappear.

You can, too.
Here's how.

I have no idea how
mr. Blackstone sawed me in half.

I don't want to know.

I don't want all the mystery
and magic explained away.

Aha!

Mr. Blackstone,
you are great!

You are
a great assistant.

Thank you.

I have something
special for you.

One more trick
before you read.

I will disappear!

We hope you enjoyed
your treasure hunt,

But now
here's one last stunt.

Go back to the bookstore
as fast as you can.

Go back to
the bookstorewhere you began.

Levar burton,
is that you?

Yes.

Well,
happy birthday!

Surprise!
Surprise!

♪ Happy birthday to you... ♪