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Like You! Thank you! In 1980, brothers Doug and Gary Carlson founded
their own computer software company named Broderbund. Both programmers by trade, the Carlson brothers
led Broderbund to develop many popular titles, including Choplifter, Gumball, Lode Runner,
Karateka, and The Print Shop. By 1983, Broderbund supported a staff of over
forty people and sold millions of dollars worth of software annually. Despite the stable business model, the Carlson
brothers were nervous about one of their upcoming titles, a new geography-based game named Where
in the World is Carmen SanDiego? Lacking the confidence for a standalone release,
the brothers opted to release the game alongside a World Almanac. Despite the hesitation, "Where in the World
is Carmen Sandiego?" was a smash hit, immediately becoming the company's most popular title. While computer enthusiasts were impressed
by the game's 4-color graphics and innovative menu system, casual gamers were captivated
by the globe-trotting, cat and mouse gameplay, and mix of trivia and humor. The game saw players pursuing the notorious
thief Carmen Sandiego and her gang of crooks throughout various countries and landmarks. Although not explicitly designed as an educational
game, parents and teachers saw its value as a teaching tool, and the software was purchased
for computer labs throughout the US. By 1989, Carmen Sandiego was a budding franchise
with the original game spawning four sequels, "Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego?", "Where
in Europe is Carmen Sandiego?", "Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?" and "Where in North
Dakota is Carmen Sandiego." The Carmen Sandiego franchise was soon a significant
portion of Broderbund's 45 million dollars in annual sales. The company had created an iconic character,
and it was not long until they looked into ways to expand the brand. Broderbund considered taking Carmen Sandiego
from the computer screen to the television screen. One potential partner was Walt Disney Television. Producers from Disney had considered creating
a Carmen Sandiego show for Disney Channel. This would not come to fruition, and Broderbund
continued their search. Around this time, the company would receive
a valuable piece of advice from a producer named Howard Blumenthal. Blumenthal had worked on shows for MTV and
Nickelodeon, and when Broderbund asked him to consult on the development of a Carmen
SanDiego series, he suggested an interesting strategy. Blumenthal did not believe that licensing
the show was where the money was. Rather, the value of the television venture
was the national promotion of the Carmen SanDiego software. Blumenthal recommended that Broderbund sell
the television rights to Carmen SanDiego to a Public Broadcasting Service station, entrusting
PBS to create a successful program and deliver it to their large audience. The price that Blumenthal advised Broderbund
to sell the rights for? One dollar. By giving away the rights, the show was more
likely to be produced by PBS. Blumenthal left Broderbund with the advice
and went to work on other shows. It would take another few years, but Broderbund
would take Blumenthal’s advice. Given the educational focus of PBS children’s
shows, Broderbund would emphasize the geography of the Carmen SanDiego series. The importance of the subject matter was highlighted
by the release of a National Geographic survey that found that one in four Americans could
not locate the Pacific Ocean on a map. With a public need for geography education
and a cheap, semi-recognizable property to base a show-off, two PBS stations, WQED Pittsburgh
and WGBH Boston, agreed to co-produce a pilot for a Carmen SanDiego television series. Broderbund opted to allow PBS to use the Carmen
SanDiego name and concept for free, one dollar less than Blumenthal had suggested. Broderbund would again reach out to Blumenthal
for his help on the series, and Blumenthal would join the project as a producer. PBS ordered 65 episodes of the show with a
total budget of around 3.5 million dollars. The Carmen SanDiego name, character, and subject
matter would not be the only elements taken from the computer software. The game aspect would be adapted as well,
with the PBS show utilizing a game show format with adolescent contestants. The show’s pilot episodes were shot at WQED’s
studios in Pittsburgh. It was clear to the team that the show needed
work. The geography aspect of the game was educational,
but it lacked the energy necessary to draw kids in. Blumenthal knew that the children of the early
1990s responded to quick, colorful content like the shows found on MTV and Nickelodeon. After the lackluster pilot episodes, Blumenthal
needed to inject more energy into the production, and in order to do this, he went straight
to the source. Blumenthal personally interviewed over 900
kids to acquire a sense of what they would like to see in a show. The kids told him exactly what they wanted;
adventure, silly characters, comedy, cool prizes, animation, and music. These elements were the exact energy the show
needed. In order to craft these into a cohesive show,
Blumenthal liked the idea of a 40s Noir parody, integrating the genre throughout his first
script for the game show. The format would feature three young contestants
who would be classified as rookie Detectives, assigned to hunt down Carmen Sandiego and
her gang. They would report to the Chief, the head of
ACME Crimenet, as well as the host, ACME’s Special Agent in Charge of Training New Recruits. With the new roles to fill, the crew began
casting for the series, and the production was moved from Pittsburgh to New York. The show would find a new home at Chelsea
Studios, where it would have plenty of room for a new elaborate, interconnected set that
featured Crimenet headquarters, the Chief’s office, a city street, various international
terminals, a giant floor map, and a studio audience of 200 kids. Greg Lee, a children’s game show veteran
that had worked as a contestant coordinator on NIckelodeon’s Double Dare and a co-host
on Total Panic, was cast as the show’s host. For the role of Chief, Blumenthal fought to
cast film and theater actress Lynne Thigpen, as he had imagined her for the role when he
conceived it. However, Thigpen repeatedly turned down the
role due to the show’s intense production schedule, with the production planning on
shooting the show’s 65 episodes between March and May. Blumenthal auditioned hundreds of actors for
the role of Chief, but it was clear to both him and Greg Lee that Thigpen was the best
person for the job. The two met with the actress over brunch and
were able to convince her that she was perfect for the part. Thigpen agreed to play Chief in the game show. The show was coming together quickly, but
Blumenthal was still needing to integrate music into the show. He researched different musical types, specifically
attempting to integrate rap music into the show. It was during this investigation that Blumenthal
would watch a laserdisc of "Spike Lee & Co. Do It Acapella” with his family. The PBS documentary, directed by Spike Lee,
was focused on Acappella music and it featured a small band of singers named Rockapella singing
an original song "Zombie Jamboree". Rockapella: "One female zombie, she wouldn't
behave. See how she's dancing out of the grave!" Blumenthal's wife suggested that he should
use Rockapella’s music for the Carmen Sandiego idea, and he took her suggestion. Rockapella's music would become an integral
part of the show’s energy. The singers, Sean Altman, Scott Leonard, Elliott
Kerman, and Barry Carl, also pulled double duty as a supporting cast to Greg in many
sketches. "The only active volcano on mainland Europe
today, 2000 years ago, it's not Pompeii." Greg: "Now that's a clue ladies and gentlemen! Rockapella!" PBS assigned a portion of the show's budget
for animated segments, so Blumenthal decided to represent Carmen and her crew of criminals
as 2D animations created on a Macintosh computer. This approach was groundbreaking for the time
and logistically challenging since there was no easy way to digitize the drawings. The workaround was sending the drawings through
a fax machine and then converting them for use on the computer. The often crude drawings of Carmen and her
gang, referred to as VILE, were weird, wacky, and a large source of the show’s humor. Criminal Mastermind Carmen Sandiego retained
her appearance from the computer game with her trademark trench coat and red fedora. Many original criminals were created for the
show, including The Contessa, Patty Larceny, RoboCrook, Top Grunge, Vic the Slick, Eartha
Brute, and the Double Trouble twins. Each episode would feature a different crook,
and the ACME Crimenet recruits pursued Carmen Sandiego in the finale of each show. The digitally animated scenes also served
to retain the feel of the computer games. The final piece of the casting puzzle was
the contestants. For every episode, three gumshoes joined ACME
Crimenet as new recruits. Blumenthal and the producers sought out kids
between the ages of 9 and 14 who could handle the pressures of a television game show. They also made sure that the children had
a strong knowledge of geography, having them take a written exam before being selected. Every episode began with the Chief shouting
over the rowdy child audience… This cued what would become the show's iconic
theme song. The Chief then introduced the three contestants
and the title of the episode's case, usually a pun on a common phrase. Once in the ACME offices, Greg entered, and
after a very brief introduction, began the game. The Chief communicated with contestants primarily
via a television that Greg would tune. Cases for each episode involved different
members of Carmen's gang stealing important cultural works and landmarks. In the first season, this included the Mona
Lisa, The Great Wall of China, the leaning tower of Pisa, and even Abraham Lincoln's
nose from Mt. Rushmore. The Chief showed footage that revealed the
crook's history and the item that was stolen, before ordering the Gumshoes to recover the
stolen item, arrest the criminal and find Carmen Sandiego. Chief: "Here's your mission. Put Patty in the patty wagon! Free the Declaration of Independence and then
capture Carmen Sandiego! Greg!" Greg then explained the rules of the round,
and the Chief returned briefly to provide a clue. Chief: "Crispus Attucks was killed there in
an infamous massacre, a Black man who was the first victim of the Revolutionary War,
now this could be a tough search! Especially along the small winding streets
of Freedom Trail, but gumshoes, I know you can do it! Greg!" Greg: "Thanks Chief, alright gumshoes, name
the city!" The three contestants were asked to answer
a multiple-choice, map-based question and were awarded or deducted points based on their
answers. Points on the show were referred to as Crime
Bucks. The questions in the first round were sandwiched
in between player bios... Greg: "Now why do you like fishing?" Kid: "I like to eat them." Greg: "You eat the fish! Good!" short sketches... Greg: "Oh my, that was great! You're good!" "Thank you! You should see my Hamlet!" Greg: "I'd love to!" songs... Granny Rapper: "So hop a plane to these islands
off the Scotland coast! Tell him Nana Rap sent you! That's no joke! You've got the nana! Na- Na- Nana!" and guest agents... "I don't have much time so listen carefully. Brush up on your German!" Most of these segments led into the next question. Halfway through the match, a frustrated Chief
would call Greg into her office, upset that he and the recruits had yet to capture the
Crook or Sandiego. To motivate the detectives, she offered a
free trip to anywhere in the contiguous United States, which was the show’s grand prize. Chief: "Find Carmen, and I will send you anywhere
in the whole country!" Greg: "Chief..." Chief: "Why not? Oh, anywhere in the lower 48 states! Hey! Still a heck of a deal!" Once back at the ACME office, Greg played
a recording of a tapped phone call between Carmen and the Crook of the day. The call would contain clues to the Crook's
next destination, and the trio of detectives would determine where to travel to next. Carmen: "Head to a South American country
with two capital cities. Take the towers to the legal capital." Double Trouble: "Good thinking, Carmen. ACME won't figure us for anything legal." The final question of the first round displayed
a map with three locations. Before revealing the question, the contestants
could wager between 0 and 50 Crime Bucks that they could answer the question correctly when
asked. Greg: "So take a look at this map and think
about it!" Rockapella: "How much you gonna risk? Yeah yeah yeah yeah. Ooooh." At the end of the round, the lowest-scoring
gumshoe was eliminated from the competition, but they were not sent home empty-handed. The eliminated contestant was awarded an ACME
travel kit including a World Atlass, a year subscription to National Geographic World
magazine, an Official Carmen Sandiego watch, and other Carmen swag. The show's second round began with the Chief
debriefing the remaining detectives on a specific location that the Crook was traveling to. She presented historical, geographical, and
cultural information about the destination as a slide presentation. Greg and the recruits arrived at the terminal
of the location, and a "memory" style game featuring a large board was played. Contestants alternated revealing portions
of the board in pursuit of "The Loot," "The Warrant," and "The Crook," the first to find
all three put the Crook in jail and advanced to the next and final round. A runner-up prize was awarded to the loser
of the second round, which included the ACME Travel Kit along with the addition of a pocket
translator and a world-band radio. Before starting the final round, the winning
detective would write down their grand prize destination city for Greg. The captured crooks called the new agent to
inform them of Carmen's location, narrowed down to either the United States, South America,
Europe, Africa, or Asia. Crook: "Carmen double crossed me so I'm going
to get even. Find her in Asia!" Greg then took the contestant to a humongous
map of the location, and the Chief rattled off a list of places Carmen may have traveled. The contestant had 45 seconds to race around
the map, placing light-up markers on the correct locations as Greg rattled off three clues
followed by the location name. If the kids set the marker wrong, they got
a second chance before moving on. If a contestant could place seven markers
in the correct position before time was up, they caught Carmen and won the grand prize. The prize location chosen by the contestants
was only revealed when they won the game, and kids who didn't capture Carmen parted
with a CD player and CDs from around the world, including the acapella soundtrack to the show. Win or lose, every episode ended with Greg
and the contestant pointing to the camera and yelling the show's signature sign off
"Do it, Rockapella!" triggering the band to perform Carmen's title theme. Rockapella: "Well, she sneaks around the world
from Kiev to Carolina. Tell me Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" Production of the first season moved at a
pace as frantic as the show itself. The entire 65 episode season would be shot
in six weeks, taping three to four episodes every workday. Being a PBS show, "Where in the World is Carmen
Sandiego?" aired without commercial interruptions, resulting
in 27-minute episodes. For the first season, the cast and crew performed
the episodes as if they were live. The exception was the Chief, whose interactions
were limited to clue giving and skits with Greg. Lynne Thigpen pre-recorded the Chief segments
for each episode, and the videos were intercut and shown on monitors to the contestants throughout
the show. The game itself evolved over the first season,
changing point values and dropping the three clues for each location in the final game. Rockapella frequently had to create impromptu
songs and parodies mere minutes before the taping of segments. Rockapella: "She's got a thrill that's long
and true. Just look at all that mad doggy do. Pretty Patty." Viewers could hear the group's distinctive
voice throughout the show, including in the narration for Round 2’s memory board. The season wrapped on schedule in May of 1991,
and PBS was pleased with the product. "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" premiered on the afternoon of September 30th,
1991, on PBS stations throughout the United States. That same night, PBS broadcast back-to-back
episodes of the new show in its primetime slot. After this, the showed aired Monday through
Friday in the after-school block. Children across the country became instant
fans of the show. The focus on high-energy fun paid off, and
young viewers kept coming back for more. The show also drew a diverse audience, and
the show itself was focused on diversity, both in its contestants and in its geography. Executive Producer Kate Taylor explained,
"We did not want to have a show that was culturally insensitive, that focused too much on the
Western world. We didn't want a show that too narrowly defined
what geography really is." The show was renewed for a second 65 episode
season, moving production to the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, the home of Sesame Street. This was not the only change made between
seasons. In the early 1990s, massive geopolitical changes
were happening throughout the world, and many maps and clues used during the first season
were already out of date. Episodes after season one included the disclaimer
"all geographic information was accurate as of the date this program was recorded." As countries changed their names or borders,
the giant maps used on the show were updated, often overnight for recording the next day. The second season also expanded the grand
prize to allow children to travel to anywhere in North America rather than just the contiguous
United States. Blumenthal would also push for more silliness
for the second season, encouraging the staff to watch shows like "Animaniacs" and "Rocky
& Bullwinkle" for inspiration. Greg Lee also joined the writing staff in
addition to his hosting duties, and the series built a world of recurring characters and
gags, frequently played by a Rockapella member in some form. The show expanded Carmen's gang of crooks
in season 2 to include the space alien, Kneemoi, and the superhero character Wonder Rat. Season two's first episode was the series
only "double" episode where the contestants were paired with celebrity teammates Mayim
Bialik, Tatyana Ali, and Jeremy Miller. Celebrities also supported the series throughout
its run by pre-recording clips as special agents of ACME presenting clues to the players. Rhea Perlman, Sally Jesse Raphael, Walter
Cronkite, Penn & Teller, ZAP and TURBO, X the Owl and Henrietta Pussycat performed Mr.
Rogers, and many more delivered clues on the show. Joe Biden: "Greg, this is Senator Joe Biden. I just proposed a congressional resolution
naming you the best detective of the year." In one surprising case, Greg Lee's mother
provided the info to surprise her son. Greg's Mom: "Greg! You've got to do something! This alien came to town and now we can't stop
doing the tango! This is corn country song, son, and farm folks
have to get up early! Just because Fred Astaire was born in this
state, doesn't mean we all like dancing. Get here quick Greg, our feet can't hold out
much longer!" Greg: "Can we please get a round of applause
for the finest informant ever on this show." The second season also introduced a new game
element called "The Chase", where contestants answered a quick progression of questions
leading to the Crook's predicted destination. In some cases, "The Chase" was preceded by
an actual chase through the sets and audience before the questions were asked. In the final episode of the season, "Gotta
Get a Yeti", the series had its only geographical error, causing the correct answer to be considered
wrong and noted as such in the end credits. The contestant, who had been eliminated in
the first round, was invited to come back in season 3, where he won the game and caught
Carmen Sandiego in Asia. Greg: "You should feel good, you came back
the second time, you did it! A few moments ago you wrote down where you'd
like to go, so that means you and a parent are going to Florida!" Season Two of the show increased its audience
size by 16%. By the end of 1992, the show was broadcasting
on 92% of the nation's 331 PBS transmitters Approximately 5.4 million viewers watched
at least once per week. The show won a Peabody award as well as a
Daytime Emmy for Art Direction and Set Design. Broderbund continued its success with its
line of Carmen Sandiego software, releasing a deluxe version of the original game along
with officially licensed board games. Another Carmen Sandiego series was developed,
this time an animated serial produced by DIC animation called "Where on Earth is Carmen
Sandiego.” This Saturday morning cartoon premiered on
Fox’s Fox Kids Network Block in 1994. Title Theme: "Where is Carmen Sandiego? Carmen Sandiego!" The series followed ACME in their pursuit
ofCarmen Sandiego and VILE, and the animation incorporated elements from both the original
game and the game show. The series would last for four seasons for
a total of 40 episodes with the final episode premiering in 1999. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego was
renewed for a third season on PBS. PBS created a new prize program for season
three to reward the viewers at home. The Chief instructed kids to write down the
loot and location of each episode on a postcard. After listing four episodes of info, the kids
mailed in their postcard to ACME Crime Net. If correct, they entered into a drawing and
five kids each day won a Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego T-shirt. International versions of the show were also
developed for broadcast, mimicking the show's style and friendly Chief and Greg relationship. British Greg: "Thanks Chief will do! Seeing the Chief upset like that has made
me feel like I'm going through torch-ure." Season 3 of Carmen Sandiego would also consist
of 64 episodes, and it would air from September to December 1993. The show would be renewed for a fourth and
fifth season of 50 episodes each, airing in 1994 and 1995 respectively. These seasons brought more recurring characters,
including VILE criminal, Sarah Nade, and many alter egos for Greg Lee, including ACME Man,
Gus Lee (Greg's retired detective father), and Phil the Barber. Phil: "How about this? I call it my Marlon Bran-dew!" In the last taped episode of Season 5, Phil
the Barber surprised the audience and Rockapella by cutting off the singer Sean Altman's signature
braided hair at the end of the show. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? was
a great success for PBS and the team that made it, but after five seasons, some believed
it be easier to secure funding for a new show rather than the existing one. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?'s final
episode aired on December 22nd, 1995, but a spin-off game show, "Where in Time is Carmen
Sandiego?" would air starting in October less than a year later. Title Theme: "Tell me where in time is Carmen
Sandiego? Stop the crime, and solve this mystery!" Lynne Thigpen reprised her role as Chief in
the new series, but Greg Lee was replaced by Kevin Shinick as the host of the new show. "Where in Time" was retooled significantly
from the original show, taking place in a science fiction setting and focusing on world
history rather than geography. Also, the VILE characters were portrayed by
actors instead of represented by animation. Carmen: "Blast! Everyone thinks V.I.L.E. is evil, which it
is, but we need pazazz." The new show’s animation budget was instead
spent on computer-generated 3D effects. Rockapella was no longer featured and a new
theme song was created for the show, performed by the show’s new musical group, The Engine
Crew. Title Theme: "We're on the case and we're
chasing her through history! Chronoskimmer engines hot! Our brave Squadron Leader will help us defeat
her and bring back the loot to its rightful place in time! Tell me: where in time is Carmen Sandiego? Stop her crime, and solve this mystery!" These just a few of the many differences between
the two shows. "It's 1991, how many advertising dollars are
spent in the US?" "37 billion!" "Yes come on! [Sci-Fi Gibberish] Now capture Carmen Sandiego! You've completed every one of your missions!" Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego would last
for two seasons, for a total of 115 episodes. Since the conclusion of "Where in the World
is Carmen Sandiego?" The titular character has continued her cultural
relevancy through consistent video game releases. Carmen Sandiego was even given a fourth television
series on Netflix, which premiered in 2019 and ran for four seasons. This animated show incorporated elements from
the original 90’s animation, the computer games, and of course, the hit PBS game show. *Theme Song Riff* Over the decades, geographical changes have
made much of the trivia featured on "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" outdated and incorrect. Fans can find VHS rips of the series on YouTube,
but there have been no official releases of Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego. The game show is well remembered for its elaborate
theming, high energy, production value, and talented cast. It is considered not only one of PBS’s greatest
children's shows, but one of the greatest game shows created for children, more impressive
considering it aired in the golden age of children’s game shows. Above all, the show had a very specific goal
of educating children on geography, a goal that it achieved and surpassed, resulting
in not just education, but a celebration of the world and its cultures. All of this wrapped inside a humorous, non-stop
detective adventure. It is no wonder that the show was a hit, and
it is obvious why millions of gumshoes tuned in every day to find out, Where in the World
is Carmen Sandiego?
Defunctland makes insanely high-quality content!
“All right now, for all you boppers out there in the big city, all you street people with an ear for the action, I've been asked to relay a request from the Grammercy Riffs. It's a special for the Warriors, that real live bunch from Coney ...”
Wow - it's been a VERY long time since I played this game, but I remember it well.
I just looked it up on one of those retro-game online emulators. It was actually pretty fun.
In fact, what's MORE fun about it right now is that - much like this YouTube episode said was even a problem for them during their live broadcast - tons of the geographical information is different. There was no EU back then, so you have to remember all of the currencies. The Chinese still used their old spelling and so it's Peking as opposed to Beijing, just as an example. The Communist Bloc was still very active. Things like that.
So perhaps not for the same reason initially programmed, I actually found the clues kind of fun.
For those interested: https://www.retrogames.cz/play_1305-DOS.php?language=EN
I love defunctland, anyone interested should check out their Jim Henson series!
I love the fact that I used to watch a game show when I was young where kids would dance to acapella music and then answer geography questions from a goofball host with an oversized magnifying glass, and then I grew up and Netflix was like, What if we said that goofball killed a guy?!
From the island of DefunctTV! Good work, gumshoe.
The Chief was the absolute perfect pick.
There is a Carmen SanDiego Netflix show too. I absolutely recommend it, it’s fun, educational, quite silly.
Ah yes, my favorite sticky-fingered filcher