January 21, 2002
Larry Jacobs
Joseph Kwong
George Arthur Bloom
Kristin Laskas Martin
Map reading
None
"Lost My Marbles" is the first episode of Season 1 of Cyberchase. It originally aired on January 21, 2002.
As the series premiere, "Lost My Marbles" follows directly from the "How It All Started" prequel series of webisodes, which were published the previous month in December 2001.
Characters
Aside from early versions of episodes that were test-screened or evaluated with limited audiences ("The Poddleville Case", "Bridge", "Lost My Marbles", "Snow Day to be Exact", and "Castleblanca"), this episode can be considered the television debut of each character and location that it includes. However, most of them made earlier appearances in the "How It All Started" webisodes.
Locations
Plot
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A day at the library turns into a cyberventure when Jackie, Matt, and Inez learn that Hacker has kidnapped Dr. Marbles, the only person who can save Motherboard from an evil virus! The team learns to use a map as a mathematical tool as they navigate across a cyber island in search of Marbles — then try to escape before a huge earthquake turns the island inside out!
Production
Work on "Lost My Marbles" presumably began once Nelvana had taken charge of production from Curious Pictures.
According to a formative evaluation dated to February 18, 2000, which presented early drafts of "Lost My Marbles" and "Snow Day" with ten-minute audiotapes and color drawings, Digit had been added at this point in the show's production. Additionally, "Lost My Marbles" originally involved a broccoli pit. Despite the listeners receiving this concept positively, it was scrapped or reworked as the episodes underwent later revisions.[1]
Transcript
- Main article: Lost My Marbles/transcript
Gallery
- Main article: Lost My Marbles/gallery
Trivia
- The episode does not make clear why Motherboard called upon Inez, Jackie, and Matt. A series plot synopsis that was shared in 1999 gives the following explanation[2].“… Desperate times call for desperate measures. Her only hope is to run an elaborate computer search of every being in every galaxy for the right combination of bravery, moxie and math skill. Three kids meet her needs: JACKIE, INEZ, and MATT.Because it is from a production phase from before the first known work on "Lost My Marbles", to what extent the explanation applies to the final series is unknown.
Each is as different as night and day, but together they make an awesome team. …” - When the bridge collapses, it is a reference to Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom.
- This is the first episode to be directed by Larry Jacobs.
- Inez mentions Xena: Warrior Princess, which was a popular series at the time of airing.
- Although Matt's second use of a portal leads him to quip that "there's no speed limit in Cyberspace", this is disproven in "A World Without Zero", where a highway in Gollywood has a speed limit of 60.
Errors
- When Hacker first calls Buzz a duncebucket, Buzz's boots have vanished.
- When Jackie says the line, "That sounds totally terrible!" her bun is yellow.
- When Digit tells Motherboard, "Hacker's got Dr. Marbles!", his beak doesn't move.
Extras
- Math Topic: "Lost My Marbles" deals with navigation using maps.
- For Real Segment: "Gorillas in the Midst" - At the local zoo, Bianca is on a mission to see a baby gorilla. She gets lost on the way, and even a map doesn't help—at first. Then she discovers how to orient herself with the landmarks on the map.
External links
PBS KIDS - Cyberchase Videos - Lost My Marbles
References
- ↑ Formative Evaluation of Stories for Cyberchase. InformalScience.org.
- ↑ Formative Evaluation of Cyberchase: The Poddleville Case. InformalScience.org.
