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Goldstealer

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◄ In the Zone
Goldstealer
The Magic School Bus Movie ►

"Well, as field trips go, I think this one deserved gold."
—Ms. Frizzle

Goldstealer (Speed) is the fourth and final episode of the third season of The Magic School Bus Rides Again. It first released on DVD in Canada on November 9, 2021.[3]

It officially aired on television on the Knowledge Network in Canada on October 30, 2023[4].

It is available to watch here on Knowledge Network’s official site.

On March 22, 2024, it was confirmed that this is the series finale of The Magic School Bus Rides Again, with the next episode being the premiere of the new series[5].

Character appearances[]

Ms. Frizzle’s outfit[]

For her default outfit, Ms. Frizzle's skirt is light blue, showing diagrams of physics. Her necklace pendant features two forces (one one of them being frictional force) moving in opposite directions, reflecting the recurring theme of friction in the episode. Also, Ms. Frizzle wears glasses in some scenes, and a transformed Bus as her bracelet that functions similar to the Bus Remote.

Summary[]

Episode[]

The title screen fades out as the camera pans over a mountain in Tokyo, Japan, the setting of a race track. A squirrel is shown happily eating a nut as a biker speeds right past the rodent on her bike. Ms. Frizzle and the class follow the cyclist in the Bus, and the two vehicles zoom past a jinja. The camera zooms in on the Bus as Ms. Frizzle drives it up the mountain with a determined look on its face and its tires squeal. The Bus gets even faster, catching up to the biker pedaling fast about the road. Keesha is desperate to not let the cyclist get away from the Bus. The biker spots a fork in the road and turns right, while the Bus takes the left road. Ms. Frizzle assures Keesha that the cyclist won't lose the Bus because the roads are about to cross up ahead. Keesha redirects Ms. Frizzle to speed up, and the Bus goes faster to catch up to the biker. Carlos and Wanda are in awe at the biker's speed, which is a perfect pace for this year's World Wheel Games. Keesha tells Carlos that this biker is none other than one of her two mothers—Angela Franklin, a world-class cycling champion. The Bus is pacing Franklin on her warm-up lap, so she can be prepared to go for the gold in the big race.

Producer segment[]

  • Hosted by Annie and Liz
  • PhD gag: Annie Guglia, PSB (professional skateboarder)
  • Caller: Kaden Stephen
  • No teaser

Appearances[]

Voices[]

No speaking roles[]

Notes: The credits only focus on Keesha for this episode.

Bus forms[]

Allusions[]

  • James Bond franchise: This episode parodies the 1964 film Goldfinger:
    • "Goldstealer" is a reference to Auric Goldfinger. Both she and Goldfinger are obsessed with something related to gold.
    • The MI5 (Magical Intelligence Service) alludes to the MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service).
    • F (Ms. Frizzle) and L (Liz) parody M and Q, respectively.
    • The 00 codenames parody 007.
      • Keesha is Agent 00Yeah.
      • Arnold is Agent 00No.
      • Carlos is Agent 00HoHo.
      • Wanda is Agent 00Good.
      • The Bus is Agent 00BeepBeep.
    • Keesha introduces herself as "Franklin, Keesha Franklin", similar to "Bond, James Bond."
  • Nintendo: The bracelet form of the Bus resembles a Japanese Famicom color palette of the Game Boy micro, the 2005 entry in the Game Boy Advance family of systems. It could also pay homage to the fact that the remake of The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean was released for GBA's successor, the Nintendo DS, which was released a year before (North America/Japan) and the following year of (Europe/Australia) the Game Boy micro. Coincidentally, this episode takes place in Japan.
  • Olympic Games: This episode was possibly made to promote the Tokyo 2020 Games if COVID-19-related complications did not cause its delay to 2021. The episode takes place in Tokyo, Japan, and skateboarder Annie Guglia is the Guest Star and Producer Segment host here, playing a version of herself from The Magic School Bus TV series universe. The "World Wheel Games" is a reference to the Games themselves, and its π-ennial intervals could allude to the different times of Summer Games.
  • Pokémon: The rock cage that Smythe traps Keesha in could be a reference to the animation for the Stone Edge attack in Pokémon X and Y onward, where the enemy Pokémon is encased in a cage of long stones.

Trivia[]

  • This is the only episode of The Magic School Bus Rides Again not to be Netflix-original. Instead, it first came out on DVD, similar to certain episodes of SpongeBob.
    • In late 2023, this episode and the rest of the third season went in rotation on Canadian network Knowledge Kids' Rides Again site, where it also made its debut in high definition.
    • This episode is also the only episode in the entire franchise to be direct-to-video.
    • It is also the only episode to debut on physical media instead of digital media or television.
  • It released exactly 25 years after "Works Out". Coincidentally, both episodes are themed after sports and feature biking.
  • This episode is one of the few episodes in which the handle at the middle of the dashboard does not activate the Mesmerglober, Shrinkerscope, or Biggifier. In this case, the Bus goes faster as Ms. Frizzle pulls the handle.
  • In this episode, the shading on characters has a purplish tint.
  • When Keesha enters the MI5 headquarters, the other kids' seats on the Bus are in the room. But when the other students enter, they are gone and reappear as each student falls into the room.
  • When Ms. Frizzle hands Keesha the keys, it parallels “Frizzle of the Future.”
  • In the captions, Dorothy Ann and the Magic School Bus are referred to as "Dorothy" and "Magic Bus" offscreen, respectively.
  • Like in "Inside Ralphie," the Bus's gas and brake pedals are not the usual "foot" design used since "Plays Ball." Instead, they are shaped rectangularly and colored gray like in an ordinary vehicle, but only during the scene where Ms. Frizzle hits the brakes. This is also the second episode to feature this error.
  • Annie introducing herself as "Annie Guglia, PSB" in the producer segment is a callback to the way Professor Frizzle, PhD would use her suffix when introducing herself to callers.
  • This is the third episode to parody something other than Fantastic Voyage, the first being "Out of This World" with Star Trek, and "Claw and Order" with Law and Order.
  • This episode was probably supposed to be released during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 before COVID restrictions, given this episode's setting in Tokyo and its featuring Olympic athlete Annie Guglia.
  • The World Wheel Games is a reference to the Olympic Games.
  • This is the third episode not to take place in Walkerville, the first two being "Kids in Space" and "The Frizz Connection". Instead, this episode takes place in Japan. However, the city is shown briefly in the flashbacks to Carlos's bedroom and locker when he fanboys over Annie and mentions his Annie Guglia posters.
  • In chronological/production order, the class visits Japan for the second time in "In the Zone", though it is offscreen. In airing order, this is the first time they visit Japan.
  • Music from “Kids in Space” is used when the Bus exits the cave as a bulldozer.
  • Music from “Claw and Order” is used when the kids discuss their plan to stop Laura Smythe in the bus' headquarters form.
  • “Portashrinker” is revealed to be short for “Portable Shrinkerscope” in this episode when Wanda receives half of the Bus Remote.
  • This is the second time the Bus Remote breaks, the first being “Under Construction.”
  • The World Wheel Games’ happening every pi years could be a reference to how pi is involved with circles.
  • On June 9, 2023, YouTuber Maher & Ibrahim's Avengers became credited with uncovering this formerly lost media[6] to the US and abroad, having imported The Magic School Bus Rides Again: The Complete Second Season to the US, ripped this episode from the DVD, and posted it on the Internet Archive, which is linked on the beginning of this page.[7]
  • Unlike the rest of the season, on the original 2021 DVD print, the 2014 Netflix vanity plate is used instead of the 2019 one like in Seasons 1 and 2. The 2023 Knowledge Network print does not play a Netflix logo at all, instead skipping right to the Netflix Original tag.
  • This is the current series finale of The Magic School Bus Rides Again.
  • This is also the final appearance of Ms. Frizzle, Liz, Arnold, Wanda, Ralphie, Dorothy Ann, Carlos, Tim, Keesha, Jyoti and The Magic School Bus.
  • Because this episode released a year after the other Joanna Cole specials, the dedication to the late Joanna Cole is not present.
  • This is the first episode to include LGBTQ+ characters as major protagonists, as both Angela and Annie are lesbians. Previous episodes have shown LGBT characters in cameos, such as "Pigs in the Wind", where Angela and her unnamed wife are shown in the audience for the play.
  • As of this episode, every student's family has been formally introduced in the TV series except Tim's. If the spin-off books from the 2000s and pre-Rides Again 2010s are counted, then everyone’s families were introduced, as Tim’s aunt Maxine appears in The Magic School Bus Takes a Risk.
  • This episode shares similarities to “Plays Ball.”
    • Both are the third episodes of their seasons in production order.
    • Both discuss friction, but "Goldstealer" goes more in depth about drag and traction, as it focuses on friction’s role in vehicle motion.
    • Both focus on a sport.
    • Both released in November; "Plays Ball" in November 1994 and "Goldstealer" in November 2021 respectively.
    • Both include a use of the Shrinkerscope.
    • Both make a pun on "Stranger than Fiction" with "friction".
    • In both Is This the Magic School Bus? segments, Liz is seen doing things that involve less friction such as rollerskating or skateboarding.
  • This is the second episode in which an actor plays themself, the first being "Kids in Space" with Commander Chris Hadfield. In this case, it is Annie Guglia, a Canadian Olympic athlete for skateboarding.
  • This episode released three days before Plays Ball's 27th anniversary (November 12, 1994), furthering these episodes' connections.
  • This is the third episode to feature a former student of the Frizzle class. Annie Guglia's MSB counterpart reveals herself to be a Frizzle alumna from prior to the original series. The first two episodes like this were "In the Arctic" and "Works Out", which featured Harry Arm. It is unknown if Harry and Annie were classmates.
  • Annie is the second Frizzle alumna known or hinted to be of Canadian extraction. The first was Phoebe.
  • This is the first episode to share a similar lesson with an original series episode. This episode is "Plays Ball" (Forces).
  • Multiple references to the James Bond franchise are made in this episode. For example, “Goldstealer” as a shoutout to “Goldfinger”, Keesha introducing herself to Ms. Frizzle as "Franklin, Keesha Franklin", and the "Double 0" agent names as shoutouts to 007, such as Keesha's "Double Oh Yeah".
  • The Bus's bulldozer form is shown for the second time, the first being "Gets Swamped".
  • This is the second episode in which the Portashrinker is malfunctioned, the first being "Butterfly and the Bog Beast".
  • One of Keesha's mothers, Angela Franklin, makes her speaking debut in this episode. She is a world-class bicyclist who made her debut in "Pigs in the Wind." and also appears in the Season 3 credits baking the kids into a pie.
  • A callback to "Making Magic" is made at the beginning of the episode.
  • Its name appears on producer Michelle Awad's LinkedIn page in camel case (GoldStealer) with "Stealer" capitalized, but on the rest of the crew's LinkedIn pages in title case (Goldstealer) with "stealer" in minuscule.
  • It is the third episode in Season 3's production order.[8]
  • Scenes from this episode are reused in "In the Zone".
  • This is the first episode after the hiatus from "In the Zone".
  • This is the first episode to release somewhere else before its worldwide debut, akin to anime releasing in Japan before Western countries.
  • This episode has the first one-word English title, although it is a compound of the two words "gold" and "stealer".
  • Because it debuted on a DVD in 2021, this was the first and only episode to initially release in that year.
  • Because of its initial DVD release, "Goldstealer" is the first episode to be originally presented in standard definition since "Takes a Dive", and the first Rides Again episode exclusively in standard definition until 2023, when Season 3 entered rotation on the Knowledge Kids site, where it is presented in HD.
  • The following 00 aliases are used by the class in this episode: Agent 00No for Arnold, Agent 00Yeah for Keesha, Agent 00BeepBeep for The Magic School Bus, Agent 00Good for Wanda, and Agent 00HoHo for Carlos.
  • This is the fourth episode (and the only Rides Again one) to feature foul play or fighting of any kind. The previous were "Ups and Downs", "Works Out", and "Makes a Stink".
  • This episode takes place during the summer holidays following the class's fifth grade year. It is the second episode to take place during the summer holidays, the first being "Goes to Mussel Beach".
  • It also takes place after “Making Magic,” as implied by one of Ms. Frizzle’s lines in the beginning.

External links[]

See also[]

Navigation[]

EPISODE NAVIGATIONS
The Magic School Bus

Season 1 (September 10, 1994 – December 3, 1994)
Gets Lost in Space · For Lunch · Inside Ralphie · Gets Eaten · Hops Home · Meets the Rot Squad · All Dried Up · In the Haunted House · Gets Ready, Set, Dough · Plays Ball · Goes to Seed · Gets Ants in Its Pants · Kicks Up a Storm

Season 2 (September 9, 1995 – December 2, 1995)
A: Blows Its Top · Flexes Its Muscles · The Busasaurus · Going Batty · Butterfly and the Bog Beast · Wet All Over · In a Pickle · Revving Up
Specials: A Magic School Bus Halloween
B: Taking Flight · Getting Energized · Out of This World · Cold Feet · Ups and Downs

Season 3 (September 14, 1996 – December 25, 1996)
In a Beehive · In the Arctic · Spins a Web · Under Construction · Gets a Bright Idea · Shows and Tells · Makes a Rainbow · Goes Upstream · Works Out · Gets Planted · In the Rainforest · Rocks and Rolls · Holiday Special

Season 4 (September 13, 1997 – December 6, 1997)
Meets Molly Cule · Cracks a Yolk · Goes to Mussel Beach · Goes on Air · Gets Swamped · Goes Cellular · Sees Stars · Gains Weight · Makes a Stink · Gets Charged · Gets Programmed · In the City · Takes a Dive

The Magic School Bus Rides Again

Season 1 (September 29, 2017)
Frizzle of the Future · Pigs in the Wind · In the Swim · The Battle for Rock Mountain · The Magnetic Mambo · Carlos Gets the Sneezes · Hides and Seeks · Three in One · Space Mission: Selfie · The Tales Glaciers Tell · Ralphie Strikes a Nerve · Monster Power · DA and the Deep Blue Sea

Season 2 (April 13, 2018)
The Land before Tim · Claw and Order · Ghost Farm · Nothin' but Net · I Spy with My Animal Eyes · Ready, Set, Fail · The Good, the Bad, the Gnocchi · Send in the Clouds · Ralphie and the Flying Tennellis · Tim and the Talking Trees · Waste Not, Want Not · Janet's Mystery Gene · Making Magic

Season 3 (August 7, 2020 – November 9, 2021)
Kids in Space · The Frizz Connection · In the Zone · Goldstealer

Third series

TBA

References[]

<references>

  1. ↑ https://www.knowledgekids.ca/videos/magic-school-bus-rides-again/s2/e3/goldstealer
  2. ↑ https://ca.linkedin.com/in/michelleawad
  3. ↑ https://9story.com/season-2-of-the-magic-school-bus-rides-again-now-on-dvd-in-canada/
  4. ↑ https://www.knowledgekids.ca/videos/magic-school-bus-rides-again/s2/e3/goldstealer-0
  5. ↑ creen.com/2024/03/22/qa-scholastic-9-story-aim-for-360-degree-franchise-building-with-new-investment/
  6. ↑ Although not entirely lost media, it was unreleased to the U.S., and several countries.
  7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMb2HMuVFOI
  8. ↑ https://ca.linkedin.com/in/craig-barnikis-drikis Prod. for GS finished in June 2020, with ITZ being finished a month later.
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