TLC Channel August 27, 2007 The Magic School Bus S3 Ep 13 Holiday Special

The last day of school before winter break is spent sorting recycling items to send to the recycling center, thanks to a suggestion from Arnold. Wanda isn't as enthusiastic, wanting to hurry so she can go see The Nutcracker, which is offering free entry if a toy to be donated is brought. She plans to give her favorite toy soldier. Ms. Frizzle then comes around and assists the class with their recycling spree. Once Arnold arrives, he shows Wanda an early Hanukkah present he got from his mother: a rock, which Wanda takes a liking to. Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the recycling center, which her cousin, Katrina Eloise "Murph" Murphy, owns and runs. Ms. Frizzle introduces the class to her cousin and the class begins sorting. During the chaos of the sorting, Arnold accidentally throws in Wanda's soldier, which she witnesses getting recycled. Wanda tries to warn Murph, but the latter can't hear her due to having on earmuffs. Wanda is then forced to watch in horror as her soldier ends up getting compacted along with the rest of the junk. Wanda is seen sadly holding the plastic pellets of her soldier and her sadness turns to anger as she yells at Arnold, saying she didn't blame him, but rather, blames his "crummy idea". A remorseful Arnold tries to make amends with his good intentions, but Wanda refuses to listen, complaining that she will now have to miss the ballet. Phoebe insensitively tries smooth things over and suggests a sullen Wanda think of the good things recycling does. She snaps at her, "Okay, Phoebe, name three," which she can't; Phoebe just feels sure it's a good thing. In her fury, Wanda wishes recycling had never been invented. When Ms. Frizzle contemplates granting Wanda's wish, Murph immediately advises against it, warning, "It won't be a purty [sic] sight." Still, she follows along and Liz activates the Un-Recycler, which fires a laser beam that causes the recycle center to transform into a huge pile of trash. As Ms. Frizzle drives the Bus, the Un-Recycler gets rid of the trees and newspapers. Since newspapers have to be made with wood, all the trees have been cut down, which Phoebe tells Wanda is the first reason recycling is good. Wanda, however, is relieved that her favorite soldier probably didn't get cut into pellets. The recycle bins also disappear and more garbage has to go back to the city dump, which can only accommodate so much garbage. The Bus stops to the park, and to the class's surprise, the Un-Recycler trashes the playground material into tin cans and cartons. As the Bus approaches Walkerville Elementary School, the Un-Recycler takes aim, transforming it into a trash dump. Tim also tells Wanda that more garbage is the second reason why recycling is vital. Wanda decides to just forget about her soldier and apologizes for messing up the town. When Wanda laments her wish and asks why she ever contemplated getting rid of recycling was such a good idea, she inadvertently sets off the Un-Recycler, which converts the Bus into all the recyclables that made it what it is. Wanda is now seriously regretful of what she has done. The class asks what the Bus has to do with the recyclable junk (as well as the swing sets and benches), and they try to figure out how to rebuild it into the junk it transformed into. Ralphie learns that the bottles are made of glass like Bus's windows, Dorothy Ann learns that the cans are aluminum like its chassis, and Phoebe finds that the green bottles are plastic, like everything else on the Bus (such as the seats, dashboard, and even some of the MagicWare materials, like the Portable Shrinkerscope and the Dew Dinger alarm). Wanda then figures out that it takes glass, aluminum, and plastic to rebuild the Bus, and Murph tells the class to melt the bottles to make new things out of old material, similar to how the plastic melted in the recycling plant. The class collaborates and melts the material in the cousins' portable recycling vat. The class and Frizzles finally fix the Magic School Bus, and Wanda then learns that certain materials made out of glass, plastic, and aluminum wouldn't be made without recycling, being the third reason why recycling is important. She also learns that recycling something to make something old or new saves the natural resources. Ms. Frizzle tweaks The Magic School Bus so it could undo what Wanda has wished. Everything is now back to where it was before, and the recycling plant is back. Arnold then suggests that the plastic pellets should be used to make new toy soldiers. So Wanda helps Murph make new toy soldiers and everyone gets one each. Arnold says he has to take care of his sick grandmother for the first night of Hanukkah, and won't be able to make it to the The Nutcracker with the rest of the class. Wanda is also offered her bag back and notices Arnold's rock, given to her as a gift by him. The rest of the class, along with Murph, make it on the train with Arnold to celebrate Hanukkah, and had decided not to go to The Nutcracker stating that some things are more important than going to see a play. Wanda also thanks Arnold for the rock and offers him plastic pellets as a gift. Arnold thanks Wanda, and Murph dedicates a song to recycling as the class sings along with her. The Bus, attached to the train, rides along, as the class breaks the fourth wall and wishes the viewers a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and happy Kwanzaa.