History Recap / TheMagicSchoolBusS1E1GetsLostInSpace

** Janet makes a lot of reckless decisions to collect proof that she was on other planets, but her biggest dumbest decision is to ''dive directly into the Big Red Spot of Jupiter''. Keep in mind that the Big Red Spot is Jupiter's gigantic ''hurricane''. She would have doomed everyone on the bus for her reckless abandonment of the driver's seat just to get a little of gas on Jupiter.

* TooDumbToLive: If this was real life, Arnold could've suffocated on Pluto by taking off his helmet!

* [[AlienTropes Aliens]] - Comes up a few times in the episode.
** Ralphie asks Janet about aliens in the solar system, to which she replies that Earth is the only planet that can support life.
** The class fears that they have encountered an alien on Mars, due to their poor vision through the Martian dust they knocked up. It was actually just Arnold carrying buckets of Martian Dust.
** At the end of the episode, Ralphie pranks the class into thinking that scientists have made contact with an alien complaining about the mess left on Pluto.
** In the Producers Segment, the caller is heavily implied to be said alien.

* ArtisticLicenseSpace - Several, some of which were pointed out in the Producers Segment:
** AsteroidThicket - Asteroids are actually very far apart and it is rare that a spacecraft would encounter even a single one while traveling through the belt. This is not addressed in the Producer's Segment.
** SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale - The solar system is far too big to travel in the span of one school day, as addressed by the Producer. However, as seen with [[http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html this accurate scale]], it would take far more time to accurately show how far the planets really are from each other. File this under AcceptableBreaksFromReality.
** Also addressed by the Producer is that all the planets are rarely ever aligned with each other. Another case of AcceptableBreaksFromReality.
** Subverted when the caller points out that there are alternating scenes of the kids floating on the Space Bus and then walking around normally. The Producer asks if AWizardDidIt counts, but the caller rejects it.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Janet's moment of this in the asteroid thicket causes Ms. Frizzle and Liz to zoom off into space.
** To clarify, she goes out to help Ms. Frizzle repair the map, handing her tools. Then she sees an asteroid and abandons Ms. Frizzle and Liz to lasso a space rock. Because of her actions, the asteroid nearly crashes into Ms. Frizzle, and Liz has to activate the teacher's jetpack to zoom both of them to "safety" . . . and lose contact with the bus. Janet only doesn't get called out on this because no one in the ship saw her moment of weakness.

While in the school bus, Arnold wonders what Ms. Frizzle has up her sleeve and lists off field trips that they have already gone on (incidentally, these are trips would not happen until much later in the series, implying that [[OutOfOrder this is not the first episode in chronological order]]). However, Janet is unimpressed that Ms. Frizzle is taking them to a planetarium, and Arnold is shocked that she is taking them on a "normal" field trip, which he deems as unusual itself. However, Ms. Frizzle appears to have other plans...

While in the school bus, Arnold wonders what Ms. Frizzle has up her sleeve and lists off field trips that they have already gone on (incidentally, these are trips would not happen until much later in the series, implying that this is not the first episode in chronological order). However, Janet is unimpressed that Ms. Frizzle is taking them to a planetarium, and Arnold is shocked that she is taking them on a "normal" field trip, which he deems as unusual itself. However, Ms. Frizzle appears to have other plans...

* UnexplainedRecovery: After his head becomes a block of ice, somehow after getting back to Earth Arnold only has a cold.

->'''Ms. Frizzle:''' [[JustForPun I-screaaaaaaaam!!]]

* CatchPhrase:
** Janet: "Prove it."
** And Arnold gets two variations of his "should have stayed home today" quip at two different points in the episode.

** Ms. Frizzle: "We're perfectly safe...as long as we keep our spacesuits on!"

* NeverSayDie: The Producer and the caller make it all too clear what could happen if you removed your helmet on Pluto, but without actually saying the words "die" or "death".

->'''Carlos:''' [[IncrediblyLamePun Meteor-wrongs!]]

* IronicEcho: Janet tells Arnold to "Prove it!" when the latter tells her about Mrs. Frizzle's field trips. Later, during their visit to Mercury, Janet is excited to tell her classmates back on Earth, until a couple of Mrs. Frizzle's students remind her what her own classmates would tell her: "Prove it!"

* IronicEcho: Janet tells Arnold to "Prove it!" when the latter tells her about Mrs. Frizzle's field trips. Later, after visiting Mercury, Janet is excited to tell her classmates back on Earth, until a couple of Mrs. Frizzle's students remind her what her own classmates would tell her: "Prove it!"

* {{Planetville}}: The kids find the Friz rather quickly after arriving on Pluto. Yes, Pluto is tiny in astronomical terms (too tiny to be a planet, as it turns out), but it's still huge on a human scale. The surface area of Pluto is roughly the same as that of Russia. Try searching all of Russia for one person. Granted, it would be easier with Pluto since it lacks foliage, buildings, and a human population to blend in with, but still.

* At the time of the show's airing, Pluto was actually closer to the Sun than Neptune, due to the former's elongated orbit that sometimes takes it inside Neptune's orbit.

** To clarify, she goes out to help Ms. Frizzle repair the map, handing her tools. Then she sees an asteroid and abandons Ms. Frizzle and Liz to lasso a space rock. Because of her actions, the asteroid nearly crashes into Ms. Frizzle, and Liz has to operate the teacher's rocket boots to zoom both of them to "safety" . . . and lose contact with the bus. Janet only doesn't get called out on this because no one in the ship saw her moment of weakness.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy - Several, some of which were pointed out in the Producers Segment:

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: If this isn't the first canonical episode, then it can be easily inferred that the others find some of Carlos's puns to be pretty clever.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Arnold's "block of ice" moment seems implausible enough that it gets brought up in the Producers Segment. [[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/survival-in-space-unprotected-possible/ It has since been established that you can, in fact, survive brief exposure to outer space.]] Even ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' discussed this phenomenon and portrayed it accurately 12 years priot!

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Arnold's "block of ice" moment seems implausible enough that it gets brought up in the Producers Segment. [[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/survival-in-space-unprotected-possible/ It has since been established that you can, in fact, survive brief exposure to outer space.]]