Aaron and Josh Sarnecky are here to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Magic School Bus.
The Magic School Bus is an animated children’s education show, based on the book series by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. The show premiered on PBS on September 10, 1994. The show ran for four seasons and a total of 52 episodes. It concluded on December 6, 1997 but was in reruns for years.
In the show, elementary school teacher Ms. Frizzle (Lily Tomlin) takes her students on fantastic adventures on her magic school bus, such as outer space and inside the human body. Ms. Frizzle’s class includes Arnold (Amos Crawley, Danny Tamberelli), Carlos (Daniel DeSanto), Dorothy Ann (Tara Meyer), Keesha (Eric Luttrell), Phoebe (Maia Filar), Ralphie (Stuart Stone), Tim (Max Beckford, Andre Ottley-Lorant) and Wanda (Lisa Jai).
Other characters include Ms. Frizzle’s pet lizard Liz and the producers (Malcom-Jamal Warner and Susan Blu) from the “Producer Says” segment. The show is known for its guest voices, such as Alex Trebek and Rita Moreno. Little Richard performs the show’s theme song.
The series earned multiple Daytime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Children’s Animated Program. Lily Tomlin won Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program in 1995. A new Netflix series, The Magic School Bus Rides Again ran from 2017 to 2021.
Aaron and Josh talk about their history with the series before going into the show’s characters, how educational and entertaining the show is, and its legacy.
For another science show, you can listen to Aaron and Josh talk to Allison Lips about Bill Nye the Science Guy.
