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04x08 - Gains Weight

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "The Magic School Bus". Aired: September 10, 1994 – December 6, 1997.*
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Ms. Frizzle embarks on adventures with her class on the eponymous school bus.

04x08 - Gains Weight

Post by 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 ♪

♪ Next thing that you know, you're seein' ♪

♪ 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

♪ On our magic school bus

♪ Raft a river of lava

♪ On the magic school bus

♪ 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 ♪

[Beep beep]

Wanda: ok, guys. I'll show you how to do it.

Stand back.

Way to go, wanda!

All right!

Good job!

But I'm only halfway to the basket.

I'll never jump high enough to do a slam dunk.

At least you jumped higher than I did.

Uh! And I've been pumping iron to...

Build up my muscles.

Lifting weights isn't going to get you there, carlos.

There's no way any of us can do a slam dunk.

We're too short.

D.a.'S right. Basketball players are way taller than we are,

Which means we have to jump higher to cover the same distance.

Too bad the slam dunk exhibition isn't in 10 years

To give us time to grow up.

I don't see what you're all so worried about.

Phoebe: only one kid from the whole school is going to get picked

For the exhibition.

What are the chances it'll be one of us?

Man on speaker: attention, please. This is your principal speaking.

Hey, listen up. It's mr. Ruhle.

The drawing has been completed

For the student who will represent our school

In the slam dunk exhibition at tonight's game.

Oh, please! Oh, please let it be me!

And the winner is...

From ms. Frizzle's class...

Phoebe terese!

Oh, no! Me?

You can do it, phoebe.

Yeah, you can do it. Can't you?

But...but I can't jump.

I'm only good at games where you stay on the ground.

It's ok, feebs. We'll help you.

Yeah, come on.

Isn't jumping just using your muscles

To push your weight up off the ground?

You're right.

This is just a battle between me and gravity.

To jump higher, all I have to do is throw myself into the air as hard as I can.

[Crash]

It didn't work.

Well, the good news is you went up.

But then you came back down...

Just like this ball.

According to my research,

It's gravity that makes things fall by pulling down on them.

So the problem is no matter what,

Gravity is always going to pull down on me.

Ms. Frizzle: too true, phoebe.

Gravity may be invisible, but make no mistake,

It's always there,

And it's always pulling on you.

What goes up must come down.

All: ms. Frizzle!

Whew!

That's the problem, all right.

So how can phoebe jump high enough to do a slam dunk

Before she gets pulled down by gravity again?

An uplifting question, tim.

Phoebe: if my problem is gravity,

Then what I need to do is get rid of gravity.

No pull, no problem.

Get rid of gravity? What planet do you live on?

Well, maybe not get rid of all gravity,

But get rid of some of it.

Get real, phoebe.

To get less gravity, you'd have to go to the...

The moon.

Now, there's a weighty notion.

Ohh!

But we don't have time to go to the moon.

Did I say we were going to the moon, arnold?

No, but...

Ms. Frizzle: come along, class. To the bus.

You, too, liz.

Keesha: if we're not going to the moon,

Then where are we going?

I have to do my slam dunk in just a few hours.

If only I could just do it once,

Just to see what it feels like.

Oh! But no matter what,

Gravity is always there, pulling down on me.

As my old friend les waite always says,

"If you can't take the gravity, get off the earth."

Hit it, liz.

Here we go.

Uh, ms. Frizzle, what are we doing all the way out here?

Well, keesha, we all agree that no matter where on earth we go,

Gravity is going to be pulling down on us.

So I thought we'd just make a planet of our own

With gravity we can control.

Ms. Frizzle: welcome to planet schoolbus!

The bus is a planet.

Mm-hmm.

Wanda: wow!

Care to take a closer look?

It is now a planet with its very own gravity.

Hey, guys? Is it just me, or is that a basketball court?

Wanda: cool! Just like the one at the walkerville arena!

Yeah, except this one's got an even bigger screen

For instant replay!

And a gigantic popcorn machine!

Mmm! Mmm!

Hmm. A different planet with its own gravity.

If I could just get the feel of doing a slam dunk,

Then maybe I'll be able to do it back on earth.

What's going on?

The gravity here pulls down on me

Just as much as the gravity back on earth.

Hmm. You're absolutely right, phoebe.

Time for a change.

Go for it, liz.

Carlos: hey! Our planet just got smaller!

Yeah, but what's that got to do with less gravity?

I think it's got a lot to do with it.

Wa-hoo!

Then, slam dunk, here I come!

I did it!

Keesha: uh...phoebe?

Yeah?

Oh, dear!

Carlos: hey, phoebe?

Looks like you've really got the hang of this, feebs.

Very funny, carlos. How am I going to get down?

Just let go.

With less gravity pulling you down,

You won't fall so hard.

Excellent observation, d.a.

Tim: yeah, look at this.

Less pull means I can lift this weight with one hand.

And so can liz!

They're right, phoebe.

On earth, I could barely jump off the ground.

Now I can jump over ralphie.

Hey, watch it!

Yeah, but jumping isn't falling.

Sure it is. Falling is just the down part of jumping.

Well, ok. If you say so.

I'm letting go now.

Ha ha ha! Too bad falling isn't this easy on earth.

So why is there less gravity here now?

A cheery query, arnold.

Is it because the bus planet got small?

Superior supposition, d.a.

Ms. Frizzle: the less planet you've got,

The less gravity it has to pull down on you.

Cool!

I feel light as a feather.

Does less gravity mean things weigh less?

Only one way to find out.

It's time to weigh in.

At home I weigh about 65 pounds,

But here I only weigh 15!

Amazing! I weigh less than I did when I was two!

So how much you weigh depends

On how much gravity there is to pull down on you.

Dynamically deduced.

Well, thanks to this field trip,

I know what it's like to do a slam dunk.

Yeah, so maybe we'd better get back to earth

So you can practice for the real thing.

Go home? Now?

But what a waste of an opportunity.

Keesha, don't you wanna--

[Whistle blows]

Play ball!

And don't let anything hold you down, class.

Man! Look how high these ba*ls are bouncing!

They may never come down!

Oh, they'll come down all right, tim,

Just like phoebe did.

With less gravity, it takes a little longer, that's all.

[Kids laughing and cheering]

Speaking of longer, look at me dribble.

My steps are a lot longer and higher than on earth.

And look how much farther I can throw the ball with less gravity.

Heads up, carlos!

Carlos--two, gravity--zip!

I did it!

All: yeah! Way to go, feebs!

Now, that's what I call a slam dunk!

You know, since it was so easy

To slam dunk with less gravity,

I wonder what it would be like

If there wasn't any gravity at all.

Well, take a load off your mind, phoebe.

Your "weight" is ended.

Over to you, liz.

Arnold: uh-oh. Our bus planet has almost disappeared completely!

Less planet, less gravity, right, ms. Frizzle?

Let me put it this way, dorothy ann.

Wahoo!

Wanda: ms. Frizzle!

Carlos: wow!

Dorothy ann: I don't believe it!

Come on up. The weather's fine.

I'm coming, ms. Frizzle!

Wahoo!

Wait for me!

Me, too!

Come on, arnold. Let's do it.

No way, keesha.

What if the bus planet suddenly gets bigger,

And gravity comes back?

Don't worry, arnold. Liz is nowhere near the controls.

Hey!

Time to lighten up, arn.

Whoa!

Yo, feeb! Bet you can do an awesome slam dunk now!

You've got that right, tim.

Here goes.

Oh, no! This isn't working!

I can't run across the floor!

I can't jump!

I can't even fall down anymore!

That's because with no gravity,

There is no down anymore.

And no pull down means no weight either.

I don't weigh a thing now!

Oops! Sorry, arn!

No problem.

Ahh! I just wish janet could see me now.

Phoebe: I don't know about having no gravity, ms. Frizzle.

It makes everything really hard to do,

Especially slam dunking.

Well, gravity does have its advantages.

Yeah. It keeps your feet on the ground so you can walk.

And helps you know up from down.

And when you throw a ball in the air,

Gravity makes it come down every time.

So if you don't mind,

I'm going to put the lever back to normal gravity

So we can go home.

I may not be able to slam dunk there,

But I can't slam dunk right now either.

Ready?

Carlos: whenever you are, phoebe.

Wanda: go for it, feebs!

The lever seems to be stuck.

Uh! Uh!

Oh, no!

All: whoa!

Arnold: I knew I should have stayed home today!

Uh! Are you guys all right?

I pushed the lever too far.

Tim: man! Talk about a downer!

I feel as if I weigh a million pounds!

Uh!

Me, too!

As les waite's brother, more, used to tell me,

"A lot of gravity is a heavy proposition."

At least we won't starve.

No wonder there's so much gravity.

Look!

Our bus planet is humongo!

So let's get the facts.

We just took chances, got messy, and became really heavy, right?

All: right!

[Crack]

What was that noise?

I didn't hear anything.

[Cracking]

[All gasp]

Phoebe: oh, no! There's so much gravity, it's pulling really hard!

Hang on, everybody!

All: whoa!

Carlos: well, folks, it looks like

We officially brought the house down.

All: carlos!

Ms. Frizzle: ah, that's right, carlos.

As you can see, none of this stuff was built

To take that extra pull.

All: wow!

[Panting]

Phew!

Keesha: since we made the bus planet so huge,

It's pulling down on us more--

Much more.

Phoebe, do something!

Like what? I can barely move.

Uh!

Uh!

[Creaking]

Oh, no!

Boy! Falling with extra gravity pulling you down is no picnic.

And there's no picnic because you must have eaten it!

You weigh 450 pounds!

Oh, great. Now we're stuck with heavy gravity forever.

I feel so heavy, I can barely move.

[Groans]

I can't even stand up!

Oh, don't get heavy-hearted, class.

It's not often you get to feel as heavy as a hippopotamus.

But if we don't get out of here,

I'm going to miss the slam dunk exhibition!

Wanda: what are we going to do?

We're too heavy to climb up there and reach the lever.

We're trapped by the pull of gravity.

Wait a second.

If we can't move because gravity is pulling us down so much,

Why can't we beat it with a stronger pull up?

Ms. Frizzle: good thinking, phoebe.

Yeah, but we can't even sit up,

Much less pull up.

If you could pull me and the scale up out of the hole,

Maybe I could crawl over to the gravity machine,

Switch it back to normal, and we'd be saved.

Wanda: yeah, but how?

Hey, look!

That rope that's holding the scale

Goes up through that pulley in the ceiling

And down here again.

So if we pull down on the rope hard enough,

It will pull up on phoebe

With more force than gravity is pulling her down.

But where do we get enough pull?

Phoebe weighs 450 pounds!

So what? If she does, so does each of us,

And together we weigh a lot more than that.

Cunningly crafted, class.

Now all you have to do is put all your weight into it.

Ready, guys?

All: ready!

Ready, phoebe?

Ready!

Ok! Pull!

All: pull!

Phoebe: hurry, guys! The rope is going to break!

Uh! Uh!

Almost there! Keep pulling!

[Groaning]

I can almost reach it!

Uh!

Are you guys all right?

Couldn't be better. How about you?

Can you move the lever?

Not yet.

Uh!

Uh!

Come on, muscles! Do your stuff!

All: push! Push! Push!

It's working! I'm not such a heavyweight anymore!

I can move again and even jump a little!

Ms. Frizzle: follow me, class. Alley-oop!

Uh! I never thought I'd appreciate normal gravity so much.

You did it, phoebe!

Keesha: you saved us!

Carlos: and just in time.

You're right, carlos. I've got a basketball to dunk,

And I think I know just how I'm going to do it.

Ms. Frizzle: way to go, phoebe! To the bus!

But, ms. Frizzle, this is the bus.

Excellent observation, arnold.

Ms. Frizzle: ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,

It's halftime and the moment you've all been waiting for--

The slam dunk exhibition!

From walkerville elementary, I'm proud to introduce the queen of the court,

The duchess of dunk--

Phoebe!

Kids: phoebe! Phoebe! Phoebe! Phoebe!

Thank you, ms. Frizzle. Thank you, everybody.

Unfortunately, what you all came here to see me do tonight

Isn't going to happen.

[Audience groaning]

It's not going to happen because it can't happen.

There's just no way kids our size can jump high enough

To slam dunk a basketball like a super tall basketball player.

[Audience booing]

Go on, phoebe. You're doing fine.

The reason I can't do a slam dunk is gravity.

That's right. Gravity.

You see, everything on earth, including us,

Is pulled down by this invisible force...

We call gravity.

The pull of gravity is caused by the whole earth

Pulling down on everything and everyone on it.

The bigger the planet, the stronger the pull.

The smaller the planet, the weaker the pull,

And there's nothing we can do about it.

Well, not unless you know how to push up

Harder than gravity is pulling you down.

Ready?

Kids: ready!

Just how does phoebe plan to overcome gravity

And complete a slam dunk?

Whatever her plan, I'm sure you're all "pulling" for her.

Ha ha ha!

Kids: come on, phoebe! You can do it!

Guys?

It's time to slam and jam, feeb.

Let's do it!

Ms. Frizzle: and phoebe jumps,

But gravity is pulling her down, down, down!

Ms. Fizzle: but wait! She's going back up, up, up!

The teeter-totter has pushed her up

With lots more force than the downward pull of gravity,

And she goes up for the dunk and slams it home!

Amazing!

[Cheering]

As I always say, you can count on gravity to pull you through.

[Giggles]

Is this the magic school bus?

Is this the magic school bus?

Is this the magic school bus?

Is this the magic school bus?

Magic school bus?

Magic school bus?

Magic school bus?

I want the magic school bus!

Hey, liz, want to go one on one?

Ha ha! Sorry, liz.

[Telephone ringing]

Magic school bus. The producer speaking.

Boy: since when can a school bus,

Even a magic one, become a planet?

Never underestimate the magic of the magic school bus.

And what about the magic of how the kids moved

When there was different gravity?

That change in gravity may have been caused by magic,

But the results were real.

With stronger gravity, it would be harder to move,

And things for normal gravity would break.

With weaker gravity,

Well, it would look just like that

When the astronauts when the astronauts

Walked and jumped on the moon.

But wouldn't it have been easier

To just change the pull of the earth's gravity?

Why go to all the trouble of making your own planet?

Well, first of all, how much gravity you have

Depends on how much stuff there is in the planet underneath you.

The only way to get less gravity on earth

Would be to remove a big chunk of it

To make it smaller and give it less pull.

Not a good idea.

So, does that mean that small planets, like mars and pluto,

Have less gravity than earth?

You got it.

Liz, what are you doing?

Would a pulley and a rope really work with all that extra gravity?

Absolutely.

No matter how much gravity we've got,

You can always lift something

As long as you use more force than gravity pulls down.

Thanks for calling. Bye.

Liz, what is going--

And the lizard scores! Ha ha!

That was fantastic, liz.

You really put your weight into it.

You want to do it again?

Ha ha! Guess not.

[Beep beep]

♪ Surfin' on a sound wave

♪ Swingin' through the stars

♪ Take a left at your intestine ♪

♪ Take your second right past mars ♪

♪ Step inside, it's a wilder ride! ♪

♪ Come on

♪ Ride on the magic school bus

[Beep beep]