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Kids in Space |
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- "Never a dull moment on the ISS!"
- —Ms. Frizzle
Kids in Space (International Space Station) is the first episode of the third season of The Magic School Bus Rides Again. It first released on Netflix worldwide on August 7, 2020.
It is the first episode of the four Joanna Cole specials, and the start of the second design era of The Magic School Bus Rides Again.
Descriptions
Netflix (version 1): "The Magic School Bus kids blast into orbit and onto the International Space Station — only to find themselves on the run from a giant tardigrade!"
Netflix (version 2): "3… 2… 1… blast off! Adventure awaits Ms. Frizzle and the class on an important mission in outer space."
Ms. Frizzle's outfit
Ms. Frizzle does not wear a version of her normal outfit in this episode. Instead, it is a navy blue jumpsuit with a picture of Earth on it as seen from space.
Plot
An afraid Arnold yells his famous catchphrase as Ms. Frizzle activates booster shutdown on the Bus, in the form of a giant rocket, which is heading into outer space. The Bus detaches itself from its rockets into a pod-shape as it leaves Earth's atmosphere into its orbit. As they approach the International Space Station, Keesha is in awe and calls it "the It's So Spectacular!" Arnold then notices a sudden speed-up and begs Ms. Frizzle to slow down, before she docks the Bus with the ISS, relieving him. Ralphie unbuckles his seatbelt, then floats around inside the Bus as he yells "Hey, I'm flying!" Ms. Frizzle tells Ralphie that he's not "flying", but actually in freefall around Earth. (which is what orbit is). Ralphie doesn't care, and he still thinks it's a superpower, but he is unsure how to control himself. Keesha tells him that he just has to push off of something, and Carlos grabs Ralphie and gives him a boost. Arnold figures out how to untie all the extra seatbelts he added on the Magic School Bus, and when he does, Ms. Frizzle opens the Bus doors and lets the class enter the International Space Station.
When the kids enter the station, Ms. Frizzle reunites with her old buddies from her previous trip there. As usual, Ralphie is confused and says "Wait. You've already been here?" The Friz then explains to the kids that she took a four-month tour of duty at the Station before she started teaching.
Characters
| Character | Voice |
|---|---|
| Ms. Fiona Frizzle | Kate McKinnon |
| Liz Ard | |
| Bus | |
| Arnold Perlstein | Roman Lutterotti |
| Carlos Ramon | Leke Maceda-Rustecki |
| Dorothy Ann Hudson | Gabby Clarke |
| Jyoti Kaur | Birva Pandya |
| Keesha Franklin | Mikaela Blake |
| Ralphie Tennelli | Matthew Mucci |
| Tim Wright | Kaden Stephen |
| Wanda Li | Lynsey Pham |
| Chris Hadfield | Himself |
Bus forms
Home video
DVD
Allusions
Trivia
- This episode, "Inside Ralphie", "In the Arctic", "Goes to Mussel Beach", and "Sees Stars" are the only five episodes not to feature the Bus's intact default form. The Bus is either transformed with the Mesmerglober or appears in the default form's chassis with a slight modification to itself (e.g. treads and skis or a satellite for TV broadcasts) throughout the entirety of these episodes.
- Ms. Frizzle's line "Международный язык (International language)" could not only refer to the "Runglish" astronauts and cosmonauts use on the ISS, but also the Unua Libro, a primer for the Esperanto auxiliary language written by its inventor, L.L. Zamenhof, where this Russian term is displayed on the cover.
- ”Goes Upstream” can also be included in this list if the archived footage from “Kicks Up a Storm” of the Bus parked at WES is not counted.
- This episode makes the first time size manipulation is utilized on a space field trip, with that method of size-manipulation being the Bus Remote.
- August, the episode's release month, was the same month of ISS Day, August 16.
- This episode also commemorates the 20th anniversary of crews on the ISS.[2]
- Out of Season 3's four episodes, this one and "Goldstealer" are the only ones not to have "the" in the original English title.
- The fact that Carlos spoke over the P.A. in this episode might make viewers recall how he did the same thing in Gets Programmed.
- We see more of Ralphie's character in this season, acting more childish than his normal laid-back and relaxed personality.
- For its representation in the specials' credits, Ralphie and Liz are seen in the International Space Station.
- This is the first episode with the ending tag, "For Joanna Cole, who educated and inspired us all." The next episode will have this dedication.
- Arnold's job as safety officer might reference "Getting Energized", when he held this position when the class was put in charge of the Double Trouble Wheel of Wonder.
- This is the first episode that aired in August.
- This is the second episode in which the guest star does not have acting or music experience. In this case, it happened to be a famous astronaut. The first time this happened was in Space Mission: Selfie, when the guest star was astronaut Mae C. Jemison.
- This is the second episode in which a guest star plays themself, the first being the late Alex Trebek in Shows and Tells.
- Tim's voice is noticeably deeper, because Kaden Stephen was going throught puberty, however he never got replaced.
- Starting with episode and onward, Arnold and Ralphie are voiced by Roman Lutterotti and Matthew Mucci, respectively.
- The term "Portashrinker" is used in a Rides Again seriesepisode for the first time.
- Arnold grows big for the second time, with the first time being "The Busasaurus", possibly referencing his fight against the T. rex in that episode, for which he went kaijū-size.
- A new art style is implemented for the second time. The first time this happened was in "Frizzle of the Future".
- The Bus' space-bus form in this episode is the biggest out of all the Space Buses (excluding Planet School Bus from "Gains Weight", which is not a vehicle), surpassing the flagship rocket from the books and logo, the USS Enterprise from "Out of This World", the Space Bus from "Sees Stars", the one from "Space Mission: Selfie", and the one from "Making Magic".
- This is the one of the times that the Bus' transformation sequence is not played. The first time is in "Sees Stars". Coincidentally, they both focus on space.
- This is the first episode longer than the usual 30 minutes that is completely animated, without any live-action.
- The Bus' default form does not appear in the episode itself, but rather in the credits. Also, stills of the theme song are shown in the credits in the Cole Specials art style while the theme plays. The credits change for the remainder of the season.
- This is the first episode that Professor Frizzle does not appear in the Producer Says Segment, which references the 1994 series, in which guest stars would take calls and fill in for the Producer while he's away. Also, Liz's appearance in the segment furthers the reference, as she has appeared in each of the prequel’s segments.
- This episode (as well as the sequels) is/are dedicated to Joanna Cole, who passed away a month before its release.
- Former astronaut Chris Hadfield is the guest star of this episode who plays himself. He appears in Ralphie's and Tim's flashbacks, as well as the Producer Says segment.
- Ralphie's middle names are revealed to be Alessandro Giuseppe.
- Carlos does not make any puns in this episode. This happened in In the Arctic and Revving Up.
- This is Liz's first time in the Producer Says segments in The Magic School Bus Rides Again. She will appear in the subsequent ones.
Errors
- In a few lines in the captions, Arnold is misidentified as Arthur, probably because his voice actor, Roman Lutterotti, also voices the titular protagonist of the fellow PBS series Arthur.
- For the theme song, Ralphie and Wanda are erroneously credited for saying the "achoo" and "take that" ad-libs, respectively. They were the ones who said them in the original series. This is also the same in "The Frizz Connection."
Netflix link
https://www.netflix.com/title/81054979?preventIntent