Miss Frizzle is a Time Lord

by bagshotrow, May 25, 2010, 6:34:23 PM
Journals / Personal

Playing: HeartGolds

I'm not sure if I ever posted about this before, but an invitation to the Carmen Sandiego/Waldo shipping fan club reminded me: I'm pretty sure Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus is a Time Lord. (Actually, a Time Lady. But now you know what I am talking about.)

She has a thorough comprehension of science and history. She speaks in a long winded, whimsical manner and her style of dress is eccentric. Taking up a job as a teacher on Earth--as The Doctor has done at least twice--suggests a fascination with the human culture of curiosity, exploration, and resilience, as does her catch phrase "Take chances; make mistakes; get messy!" This occupation would also satisfy the need for companionship which comes with being among the last of her kind.

The bus is a TARDIS--a shapeshifting, time traveling space vessel disguised as a commonplace Earth object, which is suggested to be partially sentient or "alive". The bus is filled with all manner of whimsical mechanical parts ("mesmerglobber") unheard of in earth terminology, and so it must be taken to a specialized mechanic ("Radius Ulna Humerus") who is similarly eccentric and solitary, and may be another extraterrestrial and/or a former traveling companion.

okay done with geekery time to paint

16 Comments

Miss Frizzle is a Time Lord by bagshotrow

Watch

NavaroneIsRealNavi Featured By Owner Sep 10, 2014 Student Artist

IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!!!

Estelore Featured By Owner Aug 23, 2012

[link]

I swear that I didn't read your post before I wrote this, but we seem to have arrived at the same set of thoughts roughly a month apart.

Your brain is awesome!

MountainLygon Featured By Owner Jan 16, 2012 Professional Digital Artist

The only thing that can't quite be explained without adding some fan-made elements is her large family, all quite obviously related to her. My theory is, she's part human on her mother's side (like the Doctor once claimed to be; but the Doctor lies). And she was conceived on the TARDIS, which first belonged to her father, explaining how she can drive it even though she's not full-blood Time Lord. I've already theorized that RU is her godfather. So he could have been a companion, and after Valerie's father got put on a bus (as they say over at TV Tropes), RU became the father figure in her life, and the go-to for all TARDIS-related problems. Whether or not he's actually human is never brought up in the show, so for theoretical purposes it doesn't matter much here.

Who is her father? Redbeard, of course. The MSG--Magic Spanish Galleon--is now assuming the form of a yellow school bus (the one in the chest was just a model). Why would she tell the kids Redbeard is her ancestor and not her actual father? Rule number one: Time Lords lie.

An alternative theory would be that ALL the Frizzles are from Gallifrey, which doesn't negate my last point, and it DOES explain why the Friz seems to have only cousins and no confirmed siblings (though she does have two nieces and a nephew). However, such a large group of Time Lords hiding out on earth would almost certainly attract the Doctor's attention. One Time Lord can escape his notice, but a whole family? Probably not.