Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? is an American half-hour children's television game show based on the Carmen Sandiego computer game series created by Broderbund. The show was hosted by Greg Lee, who was joined by Lynne Thigpen and the a cappella vocal group Rockapella, who served as the show's house band and comedy troupe. The series was videotaped in New York City at Chelsea Studios and Kaufman Astoria Studios (the latter of which also housed the set of Sesame Street) and co-produced by WQED and WGBH-TV, and aired on PBS stations from September 30, 1991, to December 22, 1995, with reruns continuing to air until May 31, 1996. A total of 295 episodes over five seasons were recorded (65 each in Seasons 1 through 3, and 50 each in Seasons 4 and 5).
The show won seven Daytime Emmys and a 1992 Peabody Award. In 2001, TV Guide ranked the show at No. 47 on its list of 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time.
The show was created partially in response to the results of a National Geographic survey indicating little knowledge of geography among some of the American populace, with one in four being unable to locate the Soviet Union or the Pacific Ocean. The show's questions were verified by National Geographic World, who also provided prizes to the contestants in the form of subscriptions to their magazine.
Each episode consisted of three contestants (10–14 years of age) competing against one another answering geography-related trivia questions to determine the location of one of Carmen Sandiego's cronies and eventually Carmen herself. Throughout the program the contestants are referred to as "gumshoes", in reference to fledgling detectives just starting out in the profession.
After Lee meets the day's gumshoes at the beginning of the show, the Chief briefs them on the crime and the crook who committed it, often adding the crook's reason for committing the crime. The gumshoes began with 50 ACME Crime Bucks each. Assorted live action, celebrity, musical, animated and costumed comedy sketches were performed, each providing clues to a geographical location of the day's crook. A map with three possible locations was shown on-screen to the gumshoes, Lee reminded them of the clues and each gumshoe chose an answer. Ten Crime Bucks were added to each gumshoe's score for a correct answer, and there was no penalty for a wrong guess.
Various elements of the first round included:
If the first round ended in a tie for second place, Lee read clues related to a famous person or place (typically a U.S. state). Gumshoes could buzz in as often as they wanted; the first gumshoe to buzz in with the correct answer received an additional five Crime Bucks and moved on to Round 2. Generally speaking, the last clue contained the answer. If the round ended in a three-way tie, then Lee read two tiebreaker questions and only two gumshoes were tied and moved on to the next round.
The two higher scoring gumshoes continued on to Round Two, following the crook to their next destination (the same destination described in the Final Clue from Round One). The Chief briefed the two on their destination, using a "Photo Recon" to describe different landmarks and venues in the location from the final question of the first round. Fifteen trilons were then displayed on a large game board, each one labeled with the name of a different landmark, including those shown during the Chief's briefing. Hidden behind three of the trilons were the day's stolen loot, an arrest warrant, and the crook him/herself, and behind the other twelve were shoe prints, which indicated nothing was there.
The higher of the two scoring gumshoes from round one chose first. If the two gumshoes were tied for first place, a coin toss determined who started. The gumshoes then alternated taking turns until one of them found all three of the key items in the required order:
Finding either the loot, warrant, or crook at any time allowed the gumshoe to take another turn, but if one of these was found in the incorrect order (such as if the crook was uncovered before either the loot or warrant were), Lee would remind the gumshoe that the items needed to be found in the correct order and the gumshoe therefore would have to choose a space that was blank and pass control.
At round's end, the winning gumshoe pulled a ring on a chain rope, activating a foghorn and incarcerating the crook. A consolation prize was announced by the Chief to the losing and departing gumshoe, after which Lee reminded the winning gumshoe of the grand prize.
At the end of the second round, Lee then handed a portfolio to the winning gumshoe for them to secretly write down their chosen destination if they were to win the grand prize in the Bonus Round, after which the gumshoe received a phone call from the apprehended crook, who instructed them to look for Carmen on a certain continent: Asia, Africa, Europe, South America or the United States (the latter of which expanded to include the rest of North America beginning in season 3), and the Chief then gave a list of thirteen locations on the chosen continent.
Lee and the gumshoe then moved to a giant map that covered the entire floor in front of the studio audience. The map showed small red circles denoting cities of countries or states, and later added red arrows marking bodies of water and red squares for national parks and monuments.
To capture Carmen, the gumshoe had to identify seven different locations on the map (eight beginning in season 2) in 45 seconds or less, each time grabbing one of a set of large markers with police beacons mounted on top, and quickly placing the marker on one of the red spots on the map.
What made the round especially challenging was that the map was upside down from the gumshoe's perspective.
The Chief (Lynne Thigpen) is head of the fictional "ACME Crimenet". As the de facto announcer for the show, the Chief eloquently uses dialogue with wordplay. The Chief became so popular that Thigpen reprised the role in later editions of the PC games, and also in the subsequent TV series Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?
New York City a cappella group Rockapella was the house band for the show and also contributed to the comic relief. During the series run, their lineup included:
The group performed the theme music and also brief musical interludes and introductions. They also performed the "think music" during the wager period of the first round and the section where the winner writes where they want to go if they capture Carmen. They also provided brief humorous musical sound effects during the Jail Time Challenge round of the game, as well as background music during the 45-second bonus round.
V.I.L.E. is Carmen's gang of crooks and the rogues' gallery of ne'er-do-wells comprises the following:
A staff of 150 worked to produce the show. Each season was produced in six weeks. Typically three to four episodes were taped each shooting day in a New York studio. Producers contacted local New York schools and considered children aged 8–13; entrants were required to take a geography test. Prospective contestants who passed the test were then interviewed by producers.
All of the music on the series (including assorted short stings and stagers) was arranged and performed by Rockapella. The theme song played in full over the animated end credits as the studio audience danced to the music on the map, and in later episodes the audience joined in singing along. The main theme song was written by Rockapella co-founder Sean Altman and David Yazbek, and appears on the 1992 soundtrack album Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and also in the compilation Television's Greatest Hits Volume 7: Cable Ready (TVT 1996).
Graphic designer Gene Mackles recalled: "I took on the assignment to produce about 2 hours of animation for the [show]. With a ridiculously tight deadline and budget, the only possibility for this to work at the time involved purchasing half a dozen Macintosh computers and assembling a team of animators using Macromind Director to get it to happen. Amazingly enough it worked, and Chris Pullman and I won a daytime Emmy for our effort". All the animated characters were created on the Mac.
Following the completion of taping for the first season, massive geopolitical changes in the world—including the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the breakup of Yugoslavia—rendered the entire season geographically inaccurate. Starting in the second season, a disclaimer aired in the closing stating "All geographic information was accurate as of the date this program was recorded."
NerdHQ deemed the series the "crown jewel" of the Carmen Sandiego franchise.
Aside from the aforementioned Emmy and Peabody wins, the show was nominated for several other awards.
Disney's Buena Vista Productions International (BVPI) co-produced the series in Germany with MDR in Chemnitz (formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt) where it aired on national broadcaster ARD and was entitled Jagd um die Welt – Schnappt Carmen Sandiego (Chase Around the World: Catch Carmen Sandiego) in 1994. In the same year, BVPI also co-produced the Italian series in Naples with national broadcaster RAI (entitled Che fine ha fatto Carmen Sandiego?, "What has come of Carmen Sandiego?"), and also co-produced the Spanish version, ¿Dónde se esconde Carmen Sandiego?, ("Where is Carmen Sandiego hiding?") which was co-produced in Valencia with national broadcaster TVE in 1995.
Canada's Télé-Québec produced a French-language version called Mais, où se cache Carmen Sandiego? (But, Where is Carmen Sandiego Hiding?), which aired between 1995 and 1998 and stars Pauline Martin as "The Chief" and Martin Drainville as the ACME Agent in Charge of Training New Recruits.
A French version produced by Marina Productions, also entitled Mais où se cache Carmen Sandiego?, was launched in April 1995 and aired Sundays on France 3.
There was also a New Zealand version of Carmen Sandiego that lasted from 1995 to 1998, there a talent group called the "Chemistry Boiz" took Rockapella's place. Radio Television of Malaysia produced their own iteration of the show in 1998 titled Di Mana Joe Jambul (Where Is Pompadour Joe). In this version, contestants composed of two teams of three kids try to find clues and stop Pompadour Joe and his gang's criminal activities around the world. The show was rebooted in 2012 with a new set, animation and rules.