03x05 - Gets a Bright Idea

[bunniefuu]

[Beep beep]

Seat belts, everyone!

Please let this be a normal field trip.

With the frizz?

All: no way! Oh!

♪ Cruisin' on down main street

♪ You're relaxed and feelin' good ♪

♪ Yeah!

♪ 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!

♪ So strap your bones right to the seat ♪

♪ Come on in and don't be shy

Come on!

♪ 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]

["Also sprach zarathustra" playing]

Dorothy ann: amazing!

Ralphie: awesome!

Light is so incredible!

Janet: well, if you ask me, this show is boring.

In fact, as someone we know always says,

This show is a yawnburger

With a side of snores.

It is not, janet.

You don't like it because the p.t.a. Chose my idea

For an all-schools field trip, not your magic show.

At least a magic show has some surprises.

[Applause]

That was terrific!

Great idea, keesha!

Bye, keesh.

Great? Terrific?

Dull is more like it.

Dull?

You got it, phoebe.

As in h*-hum.

Now, I could do something magic with light,

Something that would knock your socks off.

Go ahead, then, janet.

Do something magic with light.

Right now.

Now?

I, uh...

I can't.

Not in here.

Why not?

Because...

Because...

Because of the ghost.

What ghost?

There's a ghost in this theater,

And when the lights go out and it's dark,

The ghost comes out to get you.

It does?

Nice try, janet, but there's no ghost in here...or anywhere.

Ghosts don't exist.

Now you've done it.

I can't believe you said ghosts don't exist.

The ghost hates when people say that!

It does?

It does.

And if anything...

Terrible...

Happens...

To anyone...

In here...

It's all...

Your fault.

[Yelling]

I'm with you, ralphie.

I'm glad to be out here where it's light.

Me, too.

Even if ghosts don't exist, I don't like them.

Where's ms. Frizzle?

She said she'd get the bus out of the parking lot

And meet us outside.

And where's arnold?

I thought he came out with janet.

She's not here, either.

Maybe the ghost got them.

Ha ha!

Come on, keesh.

You know there's no such thing as ghosts.

Yeah. Lighten up.

[Beep beep]

Students: huh?

Did someone say "lighten up"?

All: ms. Frizzle!

How does she do that?

Now that the show's over,

It's time to blaze a trail home.

All present and accounted for?

No, ms. Frizzle. We've lost arnold.

Nothing's lost until it can't be found.

Could he be in the theater?

We can't go back in there. It's dark.

Ralphie, as my great-aunt alva always said,

"When facing the dark, find some light."

Arnold, here we come!

Hey, watch it.

Sorry.

Is it just me, or do we need a light in here?

Ralphie's right.

We won't find arnold if there's no light to see him with.

And there's no light without a source, phoebe.

It has to come from somewhere.

That's better,

But it's still not enough light

To find arnold, ms. Frizzle.

And as aunt alva's brother uncle edison used to say,

"No sight without light."

There's a source of light

To help us see, on the stage.

What a weird light.

It's called a ghost light.

[Gulp]

A ghost light?

According to my research...

Oh, wait. I need more light.

Ah! That's better.

According to my research,

The last person to leave the theater

Always turns on the ghost light.

And that's to keep away the ghost.

Janet must have been right

About it being haunted in here.

I vote we wait for arnold in the bus.

But what if something's happened to him?

I mean, this place is humongous.

He could be anywhere.

Hey, arn! Where are you?

Come on, you guys. Let's look around.

Maybe he can't hear us.

[Crash]

What's that?

[Gasps]

Sorry. It was just me.

I couldn't see you in the dark.

Heh heh heh.

I don't like it in here.

Could we please go back to the bus?

Don't worry, ralphie.

Nothing's going to happen to us.

All: yikes!

What happened?

What's going on?

Who turned out the light?

What is that?

Oh! Oh!

All: it's arnold!

I can't believe it!

The ghost did get arnold!

Just like janet said.

Yeah...

Just like janet said.

Arnold's gone again.

Ah, sweet mysteries of light.

Now you see him...

Now you don't.

That's right.

Without light, we can't see things, and they disappear.

Um...would you mind turning your earrings back on, ms. Frizzle?

[Click]

Thank you.

Oh, don't mention it, keesha.

Now, let's get the facts.

The last time we saw arnold, he was with janet. Right?

Kids: right!

And janet was mad

Because we didn't go to a magic show,

Because she likes magic. Right?

Kids: right!

Then this whole thing has got to be a magic trick

Created by janet just to scare us. Right?

Right!

What? It sounds reasonable to me.

It sounds reasonable, but how does it look?

Dark. We need more light so that we can see

Into all these dark corners.

A scintillating suggestion, keesha.

Bottoms up, liz!

What's happening?

We're rising!

We're going up in the air.

Well done, bus.

Wow! That bus is bright.

That's a lot brighter, ms. Frizzle,

But we still need to get more light

Into all the dark corners.

Janet could be anywhere.

Ms. Frizzle: good thinking, keesha.

More light to make it right!

Hit it, liz.

Do you by any chance want us to go in there?

Well, if you want to brighten up the night,

You have to be light.

You mean, if I jump in there,

I'll turn into... Light?

But...what will i... Where will i...

It's time to take chances,

Get messy, and be enlightened.

If you say so, ms. Frizzle.

Brilliant!

Whoa!

I see the light!

Want to shed some light on your experience, keesha?

Well, I turned into light

And raced straight out of the bulb like a shot.

I traveled all the way over here.

But you're not light now, are you?

No. When I hit ms. Frizzle, I stopped being light.

It was so cool!

Gosh! At my old school, we never turned into light.

But it was so quick.

I was only light for a second.

Less than a millionth of a second, actually.

Can we be light, too?

Dazzle me!

I take it that means yes.

Yahoo!

Whoa!

That was fast!

Straight into a monster's mouth.

I guess light doesn't bend around things, does it?

Yikes!

Oof!

If it wasn't for that wall I hit,

I would have kept on going.

Our turn!

Wahoo!

Let's go!

Whoa!

I always knew I was bright.

Hey!

Even though we shot out of the same source...

We went in different directions...

And ended up all over the place.

Very illuminating, class.

Light from light bulbs or flashbulbs or candles

All does the same thing.

It travels in straight lines

Away from the thing that makes it.

Meanwhile, while we've been shining examples of light,

The ghost has been doing who-knows-what to arnold.

What we need is a way

To aim the light in one direction

And get it into those dark corners

Up there, so we can find him.

But how?

How about trying this?

Aim is the name of the game.

Show them how it's done, liz.

Perfecto!

Cool!

That liz-light hit the mirror,

Bounced off, and lit up that dark corner

Before she stopped being light.

Oh, no!

Not again!

Hey, look at this!

Oh, it's an old footlight.

I used to see a lot of these in my days

As a shakespearean actress.

You mean you were...

Want a light?

Hey, look!

That metal bowl around the candle

Keeps the light from spreading out.

It bounces the light back

And aims it out in one direction,

Just like the mirror did to liz.

Hey, if we can do the same thing to that bulb on the bus...

Yeah! Since curved, shiny things

Can bounce light in one direction, then...

How about this?

Carlos, you've found the fitted footlight attachment.

I could have sworn I'd lent it to cousin newton.

Keesha: unh!

Unh!

A little more.

There! Got it!

Now we can aim the light to go where we want it.

Anyone coming with me?

Dorothy ann?

Dorothy ann!

Where's d.a.?

And where's tim?

And where's liz?

Where are we?

I don't know. I can't see anything.

[Gasp]

The ghost!

Hold it. This ghost looks familiar.

Liz!

A flashlight!

Way to go, liz.

Gee, thanks.

Wow!

Look at all this cool stuff.

We must be in the basement.

Wh-what's that?

What?

Oh, it's just the shadow of this tree.

Light travels in straight lines

And can't go around things.

So when I shine a light on the tree,

The light bounces off it

And doesn't get to the wall behind the tree.

And when the light hits something else, like...

What's that?

Liz! [Laughs]

The light bounces off liz and doesn't make it to the wall,

So there's a shadow. See?

Yeah, I see.

Now let's bounce our way out of here.

Arnold! Tim!

They're not here, either.

Ms. Frizzle, we've searched everywhere,

But we haven't found a thing.

Maybe the ghost does have them.

I tell you, phoeb, there is no ghost.

Ralphie: oh, yeah?

Then... What's...that?

[All gasp]

Ms. Frizzle: oh, my!

There's nothing left of arnold's ghost but his gl-glasses!

Ghost? Glasses?

Wait a minute.

Ms. Frizzle, could we have some more light up there?

We'll shed some light on that.

Unh!

No problem.

That's weird.

When the light shines on arnold's glasses,

They get brighter and clearer.

That is weird.

Ghosts are supposed to vanish

When you turn on the lights, not get clearer.

Aha! The light proves it.

Real things get brighter

When there's more light on them.

This is a trick!

Kids: yikes!

What happened?

Not to worry.

We just need a new bulb.

Good thing I always carry a spare.

Tim, look!

Somebody else is down here.

Quick! Turn off your flashlight

So he can't see us.

Oh, no. He turned off his light, too.

I'm turning mine back on.

He's doing everything you're doing.

Both: yikes!

It's us!

[Giggles] you're right.

It's just a mirror bouncing our own light back at us.

[Door closes]

What was that?

Liz found a way out of here.

Let's go!

Kids: arnold!

Arnold's ghost is back,

Bigger and better than ever.

But that doesn't mean he's a ghost,

And it doesn't mean he's where he seems to be.

But we can see him. He's all lit up.

That's right, phoebe, but consider the source.

That's it!

He's lit up because there's a source of light up there.

But why can we see through him?

I don't know,

But I do know it's a trick with light,

And I'm going up there to find out what it is.

Ms. Frizzle: as I always say,

To find the light, follow the light.

Whee!

And take a course back to the source.

Ready when you are, keesha.

Ready!

Here we go!

Yee-ha!

Oh, I have such bright students!

Huh?

I was right. It wasn't arnold's ghost.

It was arnold's reflection.

[Keesha gasps]

Janet!

I knew it!

Now hop on one foot.

Again?

Come on, janet.

I've done everything you've told me to do.

Hop!

Umph!

This time is the last time, janet.

So that's how janet does it.

She shines a light on arnold.

The light bounces off arnold,

Then bounces again off the piece of glass

And down to where we were watching.

So we could see arnold's reflection

And what's behind the glass.

That's why he looked like a ghost.

Neat trick, janet, but you can't treat arnold like that--

Cousin or no cousin.

Guess where we were--

Under the stage.

We found a flashlight.

At least the ghost didn't find you.

Any sign of arnold?

Both: yow!

Where's keesha?

Ghost!

Keesha!

Help!

Pretend you're really scared.

Who needs to pretend?

Ms. Frizzle--quick!

We've got to get out of here. Now!

Whatever you say, keesha.

Come on, bus. Do your stuff.

Wahoo!

We can go now, arnold. It's safe.

You sure the ghost will leave me alone now?

I'm sure.

But you have to promise to never,

Ever tell anyone how we kept the ghost away.

Why? Shouldn't everyone know how to keep a ghost away?

Yes, but...

Just don't tell anyone, ok?

Janet, I'm beginning to wonder

If there really was a ghost.

Arnold, of course there was a ghost.

Would I lie to you about a thing like that?

Hmm.

I thought you were finished, janet.

Who turned out the lights?

Ha ha!

Probably just a ghost, but don't worry.

I can handle it.

Good night, ghostie. See you around sometime.

Both: aah!

Janet! Janet, it's a gh...gh...

Arnold, get ahold of yourself.

Ghost: jaaanet!

You're not telling arnold the truuuth.

The truth about what?

Oh, nothing.

This is just a trick.

And the trick's on youuu, jaaanet.

Listen, I don't know who you are,

But you can't fool me.

There are no such things as ghosts.

Sorry about that, arnold.

Arnold?

Where did you go?

Arnold is with me, janet.

And now that the lights are out,

You're next.

Yikes!

Help!

The ghost is after me!

Ms. Frizzle!

Why, janet!

We've been looking all over for you.

Arnold's inside the theater,

And he's been caught by the ghost.

Arnold: what ghost?

Janet: arnold?

Come on, janet.

Everybody knows there's no such thing as ghosts.

There is! There is!

I was just kidding about it before,

But I just saw one with my own eyes.

It was white and horrible and...

[Imitating ghost] did it look like...thiiis?

Keesha!

You-- you tricked me.

You should talk, janet.

You tricked me first.

So we used your own trick to trick you back,

And we wanted to show you what we learned about light.

Thanks to you, we figured out how it really works.

Take a bow, janet.

You provided some excellent light entertainment.

Yeah! Light's cool!

Not only does it travel in straight lines...

But you can also bounce it,

So you can make it go just where you want it to.

And you can even use it

To make someone seem to be where they aren't.

Well, uh...

Does this mean you think I'm brighter than all of you?

Let's put it this way, janet:

With you around, there's never a dull moment.

[Laughter]

Come on, cuz. Let's go home.

As I always say, it isn't how bright you are that makes you shine,

But if you know about light, you can be pretty flashy.

Kids: ms. Frizzle!

[Beeping]

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? Magic school bus?

I want the magic school bus!

[Telephone ringing]

Well, liz, we should get some glowing reviews for that show.

[Ringing]

Magic school bus here. Producer speaking.

Hi. I just saw your show online,

And I had a few comments.

It was dazzling, wasn't it?

Yeah, but I've never seen a streak of light

Travel from place to place

The way we saw the kids move when they were light.

You're right. Light moves so fast,

You can't tell it takes any time at all

To move from place to place.

So we slowed the kids way down

When they became light so we could watch

What it does when it moves.

That makes sense. Bye.

Bye.

Well, that wasn't too bad, liz.

Liz?

Liz, what are you doing?

[Ring]

Hello. Magic school bus.

Where did janet get that great trick she did with light?

Ah, it's an old magician's trick called pepper's ghost.

You can do it yourself, you know.

I can? How?

First you take a cardboard box

And paint the inside black.

Then you make a medium-sized window

In one side of the box so you can see in.

Then you make a window out of plastic

Or stretch some plastic wrap across a cardboard window frame

So it can fit in the box on a slant.

Take your ghost object...

Ha ha ha! Put it on the floor of the box...

Then close up the box.

Now make another hole in the box

So the light from a flashlight can shine on your ghost object

Without lighting up the back of the box.

Turn the light on.

You'll see a reflection of your object on the plastic,

Making a ghost appear in the back of the box.

Turn the light off...

And your handsome ghost disappears

Because there's no light for the reflection.

But remember, the better-looking the ghost,

The better the trick.

Then I think I'll make my ghost

Look like liz.

Hmm!

You do that. Ha ha ha.

[Beep beep]

♪ 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!

♪ 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