The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad
Ms. Frizzle's class is currently holding a contest to find the most rotten food; Ralphie brings in a rotten orange, which nets him "two noseholds and a faint", a pretty good score, apparently.
Next up is Phoebe's rotten banana, which fell behind a counter at her old school (which makes one wonder why she kept it all this time?) and is so decomposed that it's mush. This gets her three noseholds.
Finally, Wanda steps up, holding a plastic container. Carlos asks her what is inside, but not even Wanda knows; whatever is in that container has been in her refrigerator since she was four. This fact horrifies the class, and Arnold is even apprehensive over it being opened at all. However, Ms. Frizzle makes her entrance and encourages Wanda to open the container.
She does so, revealing... Well, whatever it is or was cannot even be described. The smell is so foul that even Liz's gas mask cannot ward off the smell.
Her score? Three faints, which makes Wanda the clear winner.
Ms. Frizzle awards Wanda with a small tree, still in a pot. However, unlike with the rotten foods in the contest, this tree is very much alive, and for that matter, so is rot. Ms. Frizzle then asks Wanda what she wants to do with the tree, and Wanda responds that she wants to plant it, and furthermore, she knows just the spot to do so: a lot near her house, in the neighborhood of Decatur.
In the bus, the class asks Wanda if she is sure that she wants to put her tree in that old lot; after all, it's filled with dead stuff. Wanda says that that's the point, because she wants to make the lot beautiful again. All they have to do is clear out the dead trees and stumps, and plant her fresh, new tree. She then fantasizes about how nice the lot will look after the tree grows big and the lot becomes a park (of note, in the fantasy she is sitting under the tree with Arnold); she aims to call the park "Wanda World".
No, wait! Carlos has an even cooler idea: he wants to turn it into a theme park. The class—Wanda included—does think that this is a better idea. The theme would be based around rot, and they would call it "Rot Land". Ms. Frizzle is liking what she is hearing so far, and asks the class for any more ideas. Keesha has one: she wants to build a restaurant, and Ralphie adds that it could be a fast food stop.
However, Phoebe brings the class back to reality when she mentions that theme parks and restaurants mean that there would be a lot of litter. She urges the class to think of the environment, and decides that she wants to build a recycling center. Wanda is appalled at this idea (and Arnold is not keen on it, either).
Before this conversation and go any further, they arrive at the lot, and Wanda takes her tree and a shovel out of the bus to have a look around. She then realizes that there is a lot of stuff for just one child to remove, and calls on her class. However, the class is still in the bus and is in a heated argument about what to do with the lot. She then spots a poster plastered onto a tree nearby for a "Larry's Log Away", and runs to a nearby payphone (remember those?) to call the number. She asks Larry—voiced by Ed Begley, Jr.—if he could clear out the lot of the dead logs, and he cheerfully says that he could be there right away.
Wanda runs back onto the bus, and tells them that they have to wait to talk about what to do with the lot until after it's cleared. However, Arnold takes this moment to speak up: he wants to leave the lot the way it is. Wanda asks him why he always wants to leave things alone instead of doing something, but Arnold has a theory that if you leave nature alone, it'd get along just fine. Wanda is not having it.
Yep, it's time for a field trip. And the first thing Ms. Frizzle does: shrink the bus. Not good, Wanda worries, because Larry will be there at any moment.
Wanda pleads for Ms. Frizzle to get the class out of there, but Ms. Frizzle is adamant on showing her what rot has to do with life. After ordering the class out of the bus, the class immerse themselves in their new point-of-view of the rotting log. Wanda tries to get the class to go back, but they choose to climb the log instead. Suddenly, Wanda is caught in the fur of a passing-by chipmunk that runs to the class. Wanda drops off of its chest and into Ms. Frizzle's arms as the chipmunk runs off.
The top of the log is teeming with bugs, which Carlos decides is the perfect look for Rot Land. Wanda again tries to get the class out, but Ralphie discovers a hole in the log which Ms. Frizzle takes the class into. As they are walking inside, Wanda is still trying to convince them that they should leave. In fact, there's a log in her backward that they could go to instead, and she'll even serve cookies and milk. Arnold gets irritated and starts to blame Wanda for the whole thing.
Wanda climbs up to a hole in the log above her and notes that Larry is nowhere to be seen. However, she is then taken by surprised by a woodpecker and falls back into the log. After reuniting with the rest of her class, Carlos sees all of the tunnels inside of the log, and D.A. suggests a tunnel tour for Rot Land. Wanda once again tries to get them out of the log, before encountering a betsy bug, one of the animals that created the tunnels. The bus drives up to them, and Wanda says that with the bus there, they can leave; not so, because the bus transforms into a "betsy bus" and drives/crawls deeper into the log with the class in tow.
Tim gets part of his shirt caught in some root-like threads, and D.A. explains that those threads belong to the mushrooms that they saw outside of the log.note Carlos decides that the threaded look would be great for the haunted house portion of Rot Land, before the class is interrupted by the return of the woodpecker. They run away as it picks out an unfortunate bug to eat.
In this new area of the log, they find it filled with all sorts of bugs, before Ms. Frizzle slides along on orange slime mold nearby. The class follow her, pulling Wanda and Arnold with them, and upon reaching the end, she says that the slime mold is yet another living creature that survives off the log. The slime mold slide gives Carlos another idea for Rot Land, but Ms. Frizzle shushes him, because rodents are sleeping nearby. D.A. tells him that his idea of the slime mold being found "exclusively" in Rot Land is wrong, because it's found naturally in a rotting log, which she decides is fine the way it is, to which Carlos agrees. Wanda cannot believe what she is hearing, but Arnold instead welcomes Carlos and D.A. into his "Leave It As It Is" club.
Wanda tries to get the class to leave again, but a sound draws them in the opposite direction. Turns out, it's Ms. Frizzle and the bus, calling the class over for lunch. However, on the menu is log nuggets, wood dumplings, and pureed bark. Ralphie asks Ms. Frizzle if she has anything that is, well, food, but Ms. Frizzle tells him that the log is food. Food and energy for all of the creatures that live inside of it. In addition, some of those creatures are also eaten by other creatures in the log. Keesha notes that it's lunchtime wherever they look, and Ralphie decides that the log is already a restaurant. Like before, Wanda is shocked to hear this, and Keesha tells her that she and Ralphie do not want to clear it away anymore. Two more members for Arnold's club.
Wanda decides that they should grow big again to argue about it, but Arnold says that since five out of eight kids want to keep the log the way it is, majority rules. Despite this, Wanda still sees that she has one more chance to get everyone out and clear the log, and runs to speak with Tim and Phoebe.
As the class marches along, Phoebe mentions that the log reminds her of the mush that her banana became. Ms. Frizzle tells her that the process of decomposition breaks everything down, including wood, banana, or bug. Wanda reaches Phoebe and Tim and sucks up to them by saying that their recycling center idea is the best ever (remember; before she was opposed to their idea), and then pleads with them to convince Ms. Frizzle to get big so they could recycle the log.
However, Phoebe says that the log is already being recycled, because it is food for fungi and bugs. Tim adds that it is also a place for moss and lichens to grow, and finally, Phoebe says that it is a home for many creatures. Wanda accepts that, but she also mentions that all of those creatures leave a lot of litter (playing on Phoebe's earlier concern over litter), including "bug plops". Phoebe notes that even that is being used as well, and we see a large bug leaving behind a trail of feces, which smaller bugs come out to eat. Wanda finds this disgusting, though Tim considers it "natural recycling". Ms. Frizzle adds that it's another part of decomposition, and at this point, Wanda gives up on trying to convince the class to get rid of the log and storms towards the bus. However, she has not given up on getting them out, but Keesha calls the class out to where she is.
Keesha has found rich soil outside of the log, which Arnold says is perfect for Wanda's tree. Wanda can't believe thisnote , but then genuinely decides that the log is fine the way it is, and that there is absolutely no reason to take the log away.
At that point, they hear a sound from nearby; the sound of a vehicle pulling up. Wanda then realizes that they are in serious trouble: Larry has finally arrived. "Who's Larry?", Arnold asks. He gets his answer as a giant boot stomps down in front of the class.
The class runs back into the log as Larry starts up his chainsaw and cuts into the log, causing chaos inside. Ms. Frizzle asks Wanda if there is anything she has to tell them, and Wanda explains that when she called Larry, she had no idea what was actually going on inside of the log. Soon, though, she gets an idea and goes to the bus to find some rabbit-like fursuits. The class is not happy with having to put them on, but Wanda asks if they have any better ideas. The situation in the log gets worse as the class rushes into the bus. Ms. Frizzle then flies the bus out of the log and land on Larry's helmet. Running out of the bus, Wanda calls out to Larry, which gets his attention. The rest of the class come and grab each other by the legs and lowers Wanda down to his eye. There, she tells him that she is from the "Organization of Log Gremlins, Local 119" and that they do not like people coming in to "shake things up".
Now on his shoulder, she asks him what he sees when he looks at the log, to which he answers a "routine rot removal". She urges him to look again, and tells him that it is a theme park, restaurant, recycling center, and "Wanda World" in one package. She also notes the many creatures that call it home, and that they are nature's "rot squad". Rot is a wonderful yet necessary thing, because it's nature recycling itself to create new from old. Larry, however, concludes that this is all a prank and looks for a hidden camera, during which the rest class makes their exit. Wanda remains, and Larry is impressed that a rotting log has such an "eloquent spokesgremlin". As she leaps off of him, he wonders why he never heard them before, and decides that he shouldn't be operating heavy machinery before picking up his chainsaw and leaving.
Back in the class, Arnold congratulates Wanda on her gremlin idea, and she has decided that after her experience, she will leave things the way they are. However, their conversation is interrupted when they find that all of the rotten food from the contest is reacting with each other inside of the bucket that they were put inside of. Wanda takes the bucket in hand and orders the class back on the bus. They drive back to the lot, where Ms. Frizzle asks Wanda what she plans to do with the contents of the bucket. Wanda answers by saying that rot is an important part of nature, and Arnold adds that one of its uses is to provide food for other living things. "Who's up for a picnic?" Wanda asks with a wave of a spoon. The class is disgusted at the implication that they're going to eat the rot inside, but Wanda says that her tree doesn't find it disgusting as Arnold pours it out around said tree.
Ms. Frizzle delivers the last line of the episode: "As I always say, it doesn't have to be delicious to be nutritious!", after which the class laughs.
The caller states that that episode was rotten with a laugh, before adding that she was kidding. Then she gets to her real reason for calling.
- Rotting things are not always filled with bugs and fungi. A lot of rot is caused by things too small to see. The producer mentioned that she wanted to have the class shrink to the size of bacteria, but Arnold wouldn't go with them if they did.
- Only things that were once alive will rot. This includes plants, animals, and bacteria. Even the things that rot will eventually rot.
- The process of rot can take a very long to finish, but at the end it will become soil.
- The caller was disappointed that the earthworm was not mentioned in the show, because earthworms eat, plow, and improve the soil.
- If there was no rot, the soil would not get back the nutrients that plants need to grow, which would cause most plants to die and the Earth to become barren, much like a desert.note
Finally, the caller mentions that there are no such thing as log gremlins, which at that point Liz leaps onto the desk, now dressed up in one of the log gremlin suits from the episode. The producer responds to this by saying that it depends on who you talk to.
Tropes
- 555: The number of Larry's Log-Away.
- An Aesop: Stated bluntly by Arnold: if you leave nature alone, it'll get along just fine.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Arnold at the end, regarding the bucket of rot.Arnold: Wanda, what should we do, what should we do, what should we do?
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: At this point, it's more of a Running Gag.
- Giant Foot of Stomping: When Larry arrives; the class narrowly avoids being stepped on twice.
- Ironic Echo: When Arnold tells her to leave the log alone, Wanda asks him "Why do you always want to leave well enough alone instead of doing something?" Later, when the class are inside the log as it's being sawed up, Wanda bemoans to herself "Why don't I ever just leave well enough alone instead of doing something?"
- It Came from the Fridge: Wanda's entry in the class' rotten food contest is some green, bubbling indistinguishable... thing in a Tupperware container that's been in her fridge since she was four. She wins easily.
- Oh, Crap!: Wanda, after the bus shrinks.Wanda: Oh, no! Not now! What did I do? What did I do?!?
- Piss-Take Rap: Arnold and Keesha rap about how logs are eventually broken down and allowed for new things to thrive. There's no real reason why they rap it, other than the usual, of course.
- "Psycho" Strings: When Wanda shows off her rotten entry, which had been in the fridge since she was four.
- Psychotic Smirk: Wanda does this twice just before taking the lid off of her rot.
- Punny Name: The name of the lot where all the action takes place? Decatur.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Not as scathing as other examples, but Arnold gives Wanda one after she keeps pestering the class to leave the log. Though to be fair, she does have a very good reason for trying to get them out.Arnold: "You were the one who said, and I quote, 'JUST LOOK AT IT!' Remember??"
- Standard Snippet: The class marches down into the log to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching One By One."
- This Is Gonna Suck: As she begs Ms. Frizzle not to shrink them down to explore the log, Wanda puts on her seat belt, expecting the inevitable.
