02x11 - Water, Water Everywhere/Commander Cressida Story Contest

[bunniefuu]

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ That's his name ♪

♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ He'll rocket to fame ♪

♪ When he arrived, he created a buzz ♪

♪ 'Cause there was no house ♪

♪ And then there was, he said ♪

- ♪ People of Earth! You ain't seen nothing yet! ♪

♪ I'm from Bortron , and my name is Jet! ♪

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ That's his name ♪

♪ He looks like us ♪

♪ But he isn't the same ♪

- ♪ I'm a space tripper and a galaxy crosser ♪

♪ My parents brought me here in a flying saucer ♪

- ♪ And just to prove it was a fact ♪

♪ He flew them out to space and back ♪

♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[spaceship whirring]

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

- ♪ He showed up, and now it's a blast ♪

♪ Looks like the future really got here fast ♪

- ♪ Nice to meet you, human race ♪

♪ Tell me all about the place ♪

- ♪ Jet Propulsion! ♪

- ♪ Jet Propulsion! ♪

- ♪ Jet Propulsion! ♪

all: Ready! Jet! Go!

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- [sighs] Wow, I love this lake.

You guys have so much water here on Earth,

more than most places I've been in the solar system.

- That's true, Jet.

[Sunspot squeaks]

[squeaking happily]

- What's going on with Sunspot?

Looks like he's trying to tell you something.

- [barking]

- Huh. Sunspot makes a good point.

Earth has way more water than we have on Bortron .

Look.

- Whoa. - Now I get why Sunspot

is so happy to have the lake here to himself.

[pleasant music]

- You know, Sunspot and I talk about Earth water a lot.

- You do? - Oh, yeah, Sean-zo.

Ever since we've been on Earth,

we've seen all these different things

that you Earthies do with water.

Drink it, use it to grow plants and trees.

- Yep, and we do things in water too.

- Right. Like, you take baths in it,

surf in it, swim, sail, and even dance underwater.

♪ ♪

- Um, mainly space alien pets dance underwater.

- [chuckles] Uh-huh. You know, though,

Sunspot and I still haven't even tried

most of those Earthie water activities.

both: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

- I know I am! Let's all build a house

made of cheese and peanuts and eat our way out.

- Actually, Sean and I were thinking about something else.

All that water talk makes us...

- Thirsty? I knew it. - No, Jet.

It makes us wanna show you some of those water activities

you and Sunspot have been dreaming of.

- [chuckles] Right.

Of course. Good idea.

That was the second thing I was thinking.

Well, let's go and make a plan.

Going up!

[exciting music]

♪ ♪

[jet engines whooshing]

- On Earth, there's water everywhere.

In huge oceans, rivers, lakes, and tiny ponds.

- And water also comes in different forms besides liquid,

like solid ice. - [chuckles] Bravo!

So is there an ocean around here in Boxwood Terrace?

- Uh, Sorry, Jet.

The ocean's kind of far from here.

- Huh. Oh, well.

You got any smaller bodies of water nearby?

- Sure. We have way smaller bodies of water.

- Oh, you mean like a pond? - Even smaller.

[Sunspot squeaking]

Exactly, Sunspot. That is called a puddle.

- [laughs] Pud-dle.

[chuckles] Another hilarious Earth word.

And, yes, that is very small.

- [squeaking]

[slow, stealthy music]

♪ ♪

- [chuckles] Okay, that's pretty funny, Sunspot,

but I'm ready to hit some bigger, wetter Earth water.

- [squeaking happily]

- [chuckles] That's more like it.

- Wow, I guess we're gonna go find some water.

- Yes! Let's get wet

in all kinds of bodies of Earth water, big and small.

[tires screeching]

- Did someone say, "Let's get into some Earth water,

big and small"?

- Uh, yep. [chuckles] We did, pretty much.

- You know, I wish I could go,

but I have to memorize the names of the Moon's craters.

Oh! Oh, and I also think

I lost one of my favorite socks.

- ♪ Five, four, three, two, one ♪

♪ Doors are shut, engines on ♪

♪ Everybody in their place ♪

♪ Let's go into outer space ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

[tires squealing]

[Sean shouting]

[mystical music]

- Nice view of good ol' planet Earth.

- Oh, yep, it's a beaut, isn't it?

- Did you know that Earth is mostly covered with oceans,

and there are thousands of rivers all over it?

- I knew none of those Earthie facts of science, Sean.

Thanks.

Hey, look, an ocean right there!

- [squeaking happily] - A surfboard lesson?

Good idea! [Sunspot barking]

[jet engines whooshing]

[exciting music]

♪ ♪

- Here we are, kids. The Pacific Ocean.

- Wow, amazing.

Earth oceans are so...

What's that word? Big!

Wanna look through my Bortronian binoculars?

- Definitely.

- The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean in the world.

Can you believe it, Jet? - Jet?

Where's Jet? - Huh?

Oh, there he is. Look.

- [laughing, humming]

♪ ♪

We're Earth dudes!

Wipeout!

Whoa!

[jet engines whooshing]

[slow, relaxing music]

Now we're Earth sailors on a lake.

♪ ♪

And now, we're having a picnic

next to a huge waterfall.

[sighs] Waterfall. What a great word.

And what a watery planet.

- We could go experience other kinds of water-falling.

- [chomps]

[whoosh]

- Oh, drops of Earth water are falling on us.

Oh, it's called, uh-- oh, what's that word

for when water falls out of the sky?

both: Rain.

- Ah, right, Earth rain.

- Uh, can we continue the conversation

inside the saucer?

I'm getting pretty wet.

[whoosh]

♪ ♪

- [grunting] - Also, did you know

that some raindrops weigh more than others?

- I didn't know that, but now I do!

- And water sometimes comes in another form.

Remember? - [squeaking]

- Thanks, Sunspot.

See, liquid water, frozen water.

- Ah, ha, got it.

- Well, speaking of frozen water,

how 'bout we take Jet to a really frozen place?

- Ooh, I'm on it, Sydney.

Next stop, the South Pole!

- Wait, the South Pole?

It's super cold there.

We should make a plan before we--

[engines revving] - Excelsior!

[mystical music]

♪ ♪

- Here we are, the South Pole.

- Wow. - Whoa...

- This is such an awesome planet.

And that is an impressive amount of ice.

- Yep, it is an awesome planet, isn't it?

♪ Tiny blue dot ♪

♪ So lonely in the dark ♪

- Good idea, Sunspot!

Let's go down there and do some skate-icing!

Whoo-hoo!

- ♪ So easy just to pass it-- ♪

Uh--oh, wait, wait, what are we doing?

[slow music]

♪ ♪

Whoa!

♪ ♪

[sighs]

I'm okay--whoa!

[sighs]

Oh, steady...

Whoa! Hold on, Sean.

- You're still standing, Sean. Whoo! Good for you.

Who wants to play slappy-biscuit?

both: [laugh] You mean hockey?

[both laugh]

- What was that? - Wow.

These Earthie words are getting funnier all the time.

[laughs] Hoc-key?

[laughs] - Hockey is fun,

and it seems a lot like your game.

- Huh, good to know. Wanna play?

- Sure. - [laughs]

There's nothing like playing a Bortron game

on a part of Earth that's frozen water.

[funky music]

- How do you play it if there's no ice on Bortron ?

Do you have to go to other planets that have ice?

- Yep. There's plenty of ice on Bortron .

- There's ice in other places in our solar system too.

Ah! Whoa! - You're right, Sean.

We should go find some ice

somewhere else in the solar system.

- Uh, I didn't mean-- - Great suggestion.

How about we start with Jupiter's moon Europa?

- I was afraid you were gonna say that.

- I'll rev up the saucer. - Whoa.

- Whoo-hoo! Come on, Sean!

Europa's ice, here we come!

- [whistles] Sunspot, space trip!

- Ah. - Next stop, outer space!

- But there's lots more water we could explore on Earth--

Whoa!

- It'll be so great to skate around on Europa,

one of Jupiter's many moons.

- Uh, I just remembered,

it's pot roast night at my house tonight.

Maybe we should turn back.

- Sean, first Europa, then pot roast.

- Okay, but tonight, I will have pot roast.

[whooshing]

[mystical music]

- Here we are, kids. Europa.

♪ ♪

- Whoo-hoo! - Yeah! Europa!

Oh, I love skating in outer space.

- Here we go again.

Haven't we already done this?

[Sunspot squeaks] - You're right, Sunspot.

When on ice, you gotta play some slappy-biscuit.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Ah!

♪ ♪

- What?

- [squeaking]

- Send the biscuit over to Sydney, Mom!

♪ ♪

Ooh, nice one!

[tense music]

all: Sean!

- Biscuit incoming, Sean!

- [grunts]

- He shoots, he scores! [buzzer sounds]

[all cheering]

- That's how you play slappy-biscuit!

- I can't believe I--whoa! - Gotcha, Sean.

Wow, what a day.

Exploring water on Earth and Europa!

- Well, it was just supposed to be on Earth,

but somehow we ended up on solid ice in outer space.

- That's the thing about the Propulsions.

You never know where the adventure will take you.

- Whoa! - Whoo-hoo!

This is a blast!

You good, Sean? - Yep.

Whoa! [grunts]

No.

[both grunt] Thanks.

Sean standing on space ice.

That's somehow even better than pot roast.

[funky music]

♪ ♪

- And now here's my friend astronomer Amy Mainzer!

- Thanks, Jet.

Water's pretty amazing stuff, if you think about it.

Water's a great way to think about

what scientists call states of matter.

Liquid, solid, and gas.

Water can exist in all three of these states,

and you can turn it from one state to another

just by changing its temperature.

Let's take some liquid water and turn it into solid ice

by putting it in the freezer.

♪ ♪

Water isn't the only thing that changes

when you make it really cold or really hot.

Let's see what I've got in the kitchen and have some fun.

I've got chocolate syrup, ketchup, salad dressing,

dish soap, sports drink, cooking oil, and salt water.

♪ ♪

Okay, let's see what we've got.

Oh, the water ice is frozen solid,

but the chocolate sauce, the ketchup,

and the salad dressing, they're kinda goopy.

The dish soap is pretty solid,

but, ooh, the sports drink-- definitely frozen solid.

And, ah, the oil, very liquid.

And the salt water here too is pretty slushy.

That's because all of these things freeze

at different temperatures.

Ketchup-pops, anyone?

I think I like regular old ice cubes better.

So the next time you drink a glass of ice water,

just remember, that's two states of matter in one glass.

[smooth blues music]

- Hey, Sydney, why are you walking back and forth?

- Walking back and forth is just what I do when I'm thinking.

I've got to come up with a great idea

for the Commander Cressida story contest.

- Maybe I can help.

So what's the prize for the story contest?

A new bike? A new telescope?

A trip to Pluto? - Even better.

The winner gets to have their story published

in a real Commander Cressida comic book.

- Wow. - That's right.

This is my chance to be a published author.

That's why I'm working so hard on the story.

- You are?

But you're not writing or drawing anything.

- I'm doing the most important part, thinking.

I'm trying to imagine a good problem

for Commander Cressida to solve in the story.

- Mm... Whoa!

- Hey, Sydney, bad news. We have a problem.

- A problem? That's great.

Maybe the problem can help Sydney think of an idea

for her Commander Cressida story contest.

- Mindy, what's the problem?

- Well, we wanted to go to the beach and swim in the ocean,

but my mom won't take us,

because she thinks it will be too crowded.

- And Sunspot was gonna teach us how to windsurf.

Now I'll have to figure it out myself.

[laughs] - So, that's our problem.

Does that help your story?

- Uh, well,

I think Sydney's looking for a bigger problem,

something like in outer space maybe?

- You know what, I think we do have something for our story.

All: Really? What is it?

Our contest entry will be... [clears throat]

"Commander Cressida finds the perfect beach."

- Are you sure that's a big enough story

to win the contest?

I mean, just a day at the beach?

- Did I say it was a beach on Earth?

- Ooh...

Spacey and mysterious.

So, where is that beach?

- Hmm, maybe it's a beach on Mars or Venus!

- But they don't have oceans there.

- Oh. And that means no windsurfing?

- Now we have a problem!

- And that's a problem big enough for Commander Cressida,

so let's solve it together!

Okay, first, do oceans exist on any other planets?

- I think they used to be on Mars and Venus,

but they don't have oceans there anymore.

- Aha! So we'll start there.

- What do you mean they're not there anymore?

How do you lose a whole ocean?

Oceans are really big,

with lots of water. - They are.

It's a mystery where the oceans on Venus and Mars went.

- I know! Maybe someone was super thirsty

and drank them all. - Nah.

Even if someone could, they'd taste awful.

They are salt water. - Huh. Or maybe...

someone took out the plug

and the water drained out like a big bathtub.

- But those things can't really happen.

- You know what, anything can happen in my story.

It's up to my imagination.

What could the story be?

- What if Commander Cressida

could make an ocean on Mars and Venus?

- Great idea, Mindy. The question is,

how will she carry all that water there

to make an ocean? - [squeaks]

- Bucket by bucket? That would take forever.

- Maybe she has a giant watering can!

[slow music]

Eh, not enough water.

- What about a super long garden hose?

Whoa!

Hmm, I can't figure this out.

How can we get enough water to fill an ocean

onto Mars or Venus?

- And carry enough water that far?

- [squeaking]

[jaunty music]

- What did you do that for? - Oh, wait.

I get it. Sunspot's showing us

that if you make water really cold and freeze it,

it turns into solid ice.

Then you can carry it more easily.

- Huh. But how are you going to unfreeze it?

- [squeaks]

- Ah, the old Bortronian heat lamp.

- Whoa, the ice melted into a puddle.

Now it's liquid water again.

- So, maybe the easiest way

to carry a lot of water somewhere

is to freeze the water into a giant ice cube.

A space cube. - Uh, Earthies,

where are we going to get a giant space ice cube?

- Um, Jet,

there already are giant ice cubes in space,

and they're called comets.

Remember my mom showed us a comet

is basically a dirty snowball in space full of ice?

- [gasps] Right! I remember now.

She called 'em dirty snowballs,

or snowy dirtballs.

- So, if Commander Cressida can find a comet,

she could melt the frozen water in there

to make an ocean on Mars or Venus?

- Sounds like a plan, Sean-zo!

- Okay, let's all act out the story like a play.

I'll be Commander Cressida, of course.

Jet, you can be my helper, Captain Comet.

- Ooh, Captain Comet!

- And I'll be the intergalactic lifeguard.

I'm a great swimmer on any planet.

- What about me?

- Mindy, you can be spunky cadet Astrid,

Commander Cressida's official ocean tester.

- Yay! I love being Astrid,

the official ocean tester.

- And Sunspot--aha! You can be Sirius.

- [squeaking]

- That's dog companion. - [barks, panting]

- Uh, we'll work on that.

[chuckles]

[mystical music]

Come on, everybody. Let's use our imaginations.

♪ ♪

Here's the galaxy-famous Commander Cressida

piloting her amazing spacecraft through the galaxy.

We're looking for a comet out there,

so we can melt it into an ocean on Mars or Venus.

Comet spotted! Alert! Comet spotted ahead!

- Whoo-hoo! Ha-ha, yeah!

[rhythmic grunting]

[comet whooshing] [laughs]

[adventurous music]

Never fear!

Captain Comet is here!

- [barking happily] - Down, Sirius.

- Captain Comet, help me lasso a comet with our space tether.

♪ ♪

We just need to pull this comet all the way to Venus.

Okay, Sirius, cut the rope and release the comet.

- [squeaks]

[comet whirring]

- Brilliant idea, Commander Cressida.

Venus's hot temperature will melt the comet into water,

enough to fill an ocean!

- Hooray! An ocean on Venus!

- Yay! Venus beach day, here we come!

- [blows whistle] No running, even on Venus!

- And that's how Commander Cressida

brought an ocean to Venus.

- Yay! Let's go swim in it!

Hey... Where is the ocean?

- What? We only turned our backs for a minute.

- Boy, you'd think you could trust people around this planet

not to go and steal an entire ocean.

- [blows whistle] I think I know what happened.

[blows whistle] I think the problem

is that it's a little too hot on Venus.

Come on, I'll show you.

- [squeaks]

[ice cube crackling]

- Ooh, look.

- Where'd it go?

- Actually, we just saw what happened to it.

When water gets too hot,

it boils and rises up as steam.

- That's right. That must be what happened

to the icy comet when we put it on Venus,

because it was such a hot planet.

- What can we do now?

Venus was too hot for an ocean.

- We're going to find another comet to make another ocean.

But where? - I know a place that's cooler.

Let's go to Mars.

- Let's go! In our imagination.

♪ ♪

Looks like lifeguard Sean was right.

Mars is our spot.

- Yep, seems pretty cold down there.

- [squeaks] [scissors scrape]

[comet whirring]

[expl*si*n] [ice sizzling, crackling]

- Ready to test the ocean on Mars.

Eek! It's still frozen.

- I didn't count on just how much cooler it is here on Mars.

Not exactly a beach day.

- I guess Mars was so cold,

the comet wouldn't melt into an ocean.

It's still a giant ice cube.

- [chuckles] Well, it looks like someone is having fun.

- [squeaking happily]

[all gasp]

[all panting]

- All right, we will not give up.

- [squeaks] - So, if Venus is too hot

and Mars is too cold,

how can I make a great Commander Cressida story

about an ocean on another planet?

I need to make it just right.

- That's it. Just right!

Sunspot, remember the story I told you

about Goldilocks and the three bears?

- [squeaking] - You know, the porridge?

- [squeaking]

[soft music]

- Once upon a time,

there was a little girl named Goldilocks,

'cause she had gold hair.

And there were three bears,

and they made three bowls of porridge.

- Porridge? - That's a kind of hot cereal.

- So then the bears went for a walk,

and then Goldilocks came into their house

to taste their porridge.

She tried Papa Bear's and said,

"Ouch! This is too hot."

And then she tried Mama Bear's and said,

"Yuck, this is too cold."

So see, one bowl's too hot

and one bowl's too cold.

But one bowl was just right.

[dynamic music]

- So, what I get from that story is...

- Wanting to eat lots of porridge?

- No, that Venus is too hot, like Papa Bear's porridge.

Mars is too cold, like Mama Bear's porridge.

But Earth is like a Goldilocks planet.

It's just right.

- So if Commander Cressida

can make one of these planets just right,

we can put an ocean there.

- Ha-ha! I've got a great idea.

Sunspot, we're gonna need your Bortronian heat lamp

for the story. - [squeaking]

- Hang on, everyone. Here we go,

back into our imaginations.

[drum roll]

[adventurous music]

- Here we are! Back on Mars!

♪ ♪

[scissors scrape] [comet whirring]

♪ ♪

[expl*si*n]

[ice sizzling, crackling]

We can melt the ice with this heat!

- And the dome will keep the liquid water

at just the right temperature.

[angelic music]

♪ ♪

- Wow, what a story.

- Congratulations, Sydney.

I don't know what those contest judges will say,

but I think you're amazing

for writing and drawing this comic!

- Thanks for all your help, everyone.

This new Mars beach under a dome is great,

but there's no beach like an Earth beach.

What do you say?

- This Earth beach really is just right.

- Bunga-cowa, dudes!

It's Earth beach time!

[splashes]

- It's "cowabunga," Jet.

[quirky music]

- Hi, I'm astronomer Amy Mainzer.

You might wonder, "What's an astronomer

doing in all this dirt?"

To answer that question, we have to go back in time

/ billion years ago,

right after our solar system was formed.

There were also these icy and rocky leftovers

called asteroids and comets.

They ranged in size from mountains

down to as small as pebbles.

Today, we're gonna make our own comet.

[upbeat music]

We're gonna need dirt, water, corn syrup,

and ammonia, mix it all together.

It kind of looks like stinky chocolate cake batter.

Wow, oh, boy. [laughs] It really stinks.

It's time to add the final ingredient, dry ice.

Now, this stuff is really cold, so you need to wear

safety glasses and special gloves.

Don't try this without a grownup.

Now we're really cooking.

We're gonna put it back in the freezer and wait.

Oh, wow. [chuckles]

Okay, it's been about minutes.

Let's see what happens when

we put it close to this warm light.

Just like a real comet approaching the Sun,

the dry ice and the water ice

that's frozen inside of this thing

is starting to evaporate.

This is just like what happens with a real comet,

as it approaches the Sun.

You can imagine, if it spends too long close to the Sun,

it might actually just evaporate completely away.

% of the Earth's surface is covered with water.

Scientists think that the Earth's oceans

might've been brought here by comets.

So the next time you're out in the yard making mud pies,

the water and maybe even some of the dirt

could've been brought here by comets.

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Jet Propulsion! - Jet Propulsion!

- Jet Propulsion!

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!