Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)
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| Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? | |
|---|---|
 Title card of the show. |
|
| Format | Game Show |
| Created by | Brøderbund Software |
| Starring | Lynne Thigpen as The Chief Kevin Shinick as Time Pilot Leader The Engine Crew as Various Informants |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 100 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Original run | October 7, 1996 – October 2, 1998 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? |
| Related shows | Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? |
Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? was a children's television game show loosely based on the computer games of the same name created by now defunct Brøderbund Software. Time aired on PBS from 1996 to 1998 and stars Lynne Thigpen as "The Chief", Kevin Shinick as "ACME Time Pilot Leader" and "The Engine Crew" as various informants. The show replaced Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?.
Before the show begins, the viewing audience sees a live-action Carmen Sandiego in her CGI headquarters. She appears complaining to herself about something and quickly plots to steal the historical "seed" that lead to that something's existence. She then summons to one of her V.I.L.E. gang members and tells them what to steal and where to go. The Chief then appears and tells the audience that if the stolen object is not returned within twenty-eight minutes (the length of the show), history will be changed forever. Then the show begins.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main
- Lynne Thigpen as "The Chief"
- Kevin Shinick as "ACME Time Pilot Leader"
- The Engine Crew
- Owen Taylor as Engine Crew #1 (yellow uniform, season 1)
- Jamie Gustis as Engine Crew #1 (yellow uniform, season 2)
- Alaine Kashian as Engine Crew #2 (red uniform)
- John Lathan as Engine Crew #3 (maroon uniform)
[edit] V.I.L.E. Gang
- Janine LaManna as "Carmen Sandiego" (season 1)
- Brenda Burke as "Carmen Sandiego" (season 2)
- John Lathan as "Sir Vile"
- James Greenburg as "Baron Wasteland" (season 1) and "Buggs Zapper" (season 2)
- Alaine Kashian as "Jacqueline Hyde"
- Paula Leggett Chase as "Medeva"
- Owen Taylor as "Doctor Belljar" (season 1)
- Jamie Gustis as "Doctor Belljar" (season 2)
[edit] Various Informants
- Lynne Thigpen as Statue of Liberty, Commander (evil Chief), slave woman, Fumbles McWhoops (engineer), Libby (cafeteria robot), a bunch of grapes, and others
- Kevin Shinick as Kevin's Mom, alternate timeline Kevin, and evil Kevin
- Owen Taylor as various informants
- Jamie Gustis as shipwrecked man, Insurance Agent, and others
- Alaine Kashian as a French pigeon, Edna Dinglehopper, an ear of corn, the Grumpy Skunk, and others
- John Lathan as slave man, George Washington Carver, and others
- James Greenburg as Fred Dinglehopper, Lettucon, Abraham Lincoln, and others
- Paula Leggett Chase as Catherine the Great and others
- Brenda Burke as Eleanor Roosevelt and others
[edit] V.I.L.E. Gang
Other than playing the Engine Crew, Greenberg, Gurtis, and Lathan also portrayed Carmen's V.I.L.E. henchmen:
- Baron Wasteland (Jamie Greenberg) - The archetypical moustached and monocled villain, Baron Wasteland is, as his name suggests, a wealthy aristocrat who loves pollution and enjoys destroying the environment. His name is a play on "barren wasteland" and he is supposedly from the Industrial Era. He left the show after the first season and is the only villain on the show to not be adapted into the newer version of the computer game, although the game featured a different villain holding the title of baron, that being Baron Grinnit ("grin and bear it").
- Buggs Zapper (Jamie Greenberg) - Buggs Zapper is a gangster with a fear of insects who wears a pinstriped suit and constantly carries around an old-fashioned bug sprayer. He was introduced in the second season, replacing Baron Wasteland. In the computer game's manual, it is stated that his only goal in life is to "rub out" the single fly that supposedly torments him endlessly. His time era is presumably the 1930s or so. His name is a play on "bug zapper." Debuted in Season 2
- Dr. Belljar (Jamie Gustis) - A cyborg mad scientist, Dr. Belljar, according to the computer game's manual, works as Carmen Sandiego's computerized scientist-in-residence and plans to rewrite history so as to record himself as the world's greatest scientist. His name apparently refers to bell jars. He appeared on both of the show's seasons, but his appearance was drastically retooled for the second season.
- Jacqueline Hyde (Alaine Kashian) - Jacqueline Hyde is a teenage girl who has a split personality, one ("Jacqueline") being sweet and innocent with the other ("Hyde") being evil and insane. She repeatedly alternates between her personalities with each surfacing over the other for only a few seconds or so. As Jacqueline, she has a normal voice and seems soft-spoken, but as Hyde she yells loudly and has a "modulated" voice. She is either red-haired, strawberry blonde or blonde (the show's graphics make it difficult to tell) and she wears a red blazer, a pink blouse, a red miniskirt and knee-length stockings, perhaps to suggest a traditional schoolgirl uniform. Her clothing may indicate she is from the early-to-mid 20th century. Her name is an obvious play on "Dr. Jeykll & Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- Medeva (Paula Leggett Chase) - Medeva is a witch from the Middle Ages who speaks in rhyme. According to the computer game's manual, she graduated from a witch's charm school "centuries ago" and even her victims say she's enchanting. Her name seems to be a combination of "Medieval" and "diva".
- Sir Vile (John Lathan) - Sir Vile is an obsequious Medieval knight who bends to every whim of "Lady Carmen". The computer game's manual describes him as an evil knight in "not-so-shining" armor, who has been in a bad mood since the Middle Ages when he failed to corner the market on round tables. His name, "Sir Vile," implies more than just the fact that he is a knight recruited to work for V.I.L.E., for it is also a play on the term "servile".
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Round One
Three kids (ages 10-14) compete. The players are given 100 power points to begin the game, and The Chief briefs the players on what was stolen and what time it was stolen from.
Various skits are performed which give clues to the location the villain went to, like the Cluefinder which is locked-in to someone from the past or the future. After the skit, three possible answers or locations are shown to the players. All players simultaneously select their answers, then reveal them to Kevin. The viewer can see the individual choices represented by an individual color. You can see which choice the players made by the lights in front of them, before they actually reveal their answer. Any player with the right answer scores 10 power points. If a player is wrong, no points are lost or scored.
The points in time visited follow the historical progression of the "seed" that was originally stolen and it is repeatedly emphasized that all the history traveled through will be erased unless the artifact is returned. Therefore, the final point in time would always be the present or else very near the present. The typical course of the round would be as follows:
- Data Boost - At two points during the game (one in the second season), there is a Data Boost. The first one happens when fuel is low; the second happens after Carmen's henchman damages the ship. It also happens when some crew members report what was going on and tells Kevin that they need a data boost (Ex. the time probes launcher malfunctioning, the engine crew being teleported to time square, or engine problems). Kevin reads clues in a given subject and gives the players a choice of 2 or 3 answers (for example, "Bill Cullen - game show host, or pilot?"). The first to buzz-in with the right answer scores 5 power points; if the player is wrong, they lose 5 power points. Several questions like this are asked according to time.
- Global Pursuit - After one skit is performed, the Global Pursuit round is played (this replaced the second regular Data Boost in Season 2). This is played like "The Chase" round for a series of questions with three possible answers (all places in the world) were asked. Only one player could buzz in, for 5 power points up or down.
- Ultimate Data Boost - This series of questions are the final ones for the round. This is just like a normal Data Boost but the questions are worth +/- 10 power points and again several questions are asked according to time. The two players with the highest score move on to Round Two, the third-placed player is eliminated from the game.
In case of a tie for 2nd place, Kevin will read clues to a famous person or place. The first person to buzz in with the right answer moves on to Round Two. Like in "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego," the last clue, if needed, would contain the correct answer.
[edit] Round Two "The Chronological Order Game"
The two remaining contestants then forward speed to present or near-present day, where they must activate the tractor beam to bring back the stolen artifact away from the day's villain and place it safely on board. The Chief then lists eight events. All the events are related to the artifact that was stolen. The events are put on a board, and the player leading after Round One is given the option on who goes first. If there's a tie between the players, a coin toss decides who chooses (the coin tosses are seen in the 2nd season). Whoever goes first must now list the eight events in reverse chronological order (thus, starting with the most recent event, and finishing with the earliest event). As long as the current player continues to list events in chronological order, they can continue playing. If the player picks an event that breaks chronological order, or if they take too long, their turn ends, and their opponent must start again from the beginning.
The first player to successfully list all eight events in reverse chronological order recovers the artifact, wins the game, and the right to play the Bonus Round to catch Carmen & that day's villain.
[edit] Bonus Round "The Trail Of Time"
The player now has 90 seconds to answer six history questions posed by Carmen herself on The Trail Of Time. All questions are related to the artifact that was stolen in that day's show, and are dual-choice (Kevin has, on several occasions, noted that each question used up six seconds of the player's time to ask). The player runs to the first gate and presses a button to activate the question. If the player answered correctly (indicated by a ding), the gate will open automatically. If answered incorrectly (indicated by a buzzer), a device must be operated by the player (pulling a rope, turning a wheel, etc) to manually open the gate, using up time. The player runs to the next gate and the process is repeated. After the first three gates (sometimes two), the player catches the villain that stole the artifact at the beginning of the show. If the player can get through all six gates before time expires, they catch Carmen Sandiego and win the grand prize of a new multimedia Computer. Otherwise, they win a set of encyclopedias and a portable music system with a collection of music.
The set was slightly confusing, and required the engine crew be on-hand to wave the player to their next gate using airport-style marshalling wands. Despite this, players would occasionally arrive at the wrong gate, wasting precious time.
It should be noted that almost all players getting five out of six questions right won, and a player answering four correctly could complete the run, if they operated the gate devices rapidly enough. Some players got a perfect score.
[edit] Variations
One recurring sketch in the second season had the Chronoskimmer being pulled into a parallel universe, which seemed to be quite similar to Star Trek’s Mirror Universe. There, ACME was evil and V.I.L.E. was good.
On at least one occasion, a future Kevin has given clues to himself three episodes in the past (the current episode). The (fictional) contestants in the future episode usually have scores in the 500s or higher, though the highest score ever recorded on the actual show is 255.
[edit] Prizes
[edit] Grand prize
The budget was smaller on this version of the show compared to World. As a result, the grand prize for a winning contestant capturing Carmen Sandiego was a computer instead of a trip.
[edit] Consolation prizes
Eliminated contestants get a set of consolation prizes called the ACME Timenet Mission Package. Some of the consolation prizes include:
- (only for a final round loss) A 1997 Worldbook Encyclopedia Set
- (only for a final round loss) A Portable Music System with a music library
- A Carmen Sandiego T-Shirt and Hat
- "Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?" for Computer
- A Texas Instruments Calculator
- A Sony Walkman
- 52 Issues of Time Magazine
[edit] Comparisons to World
[edit] References
- In one episode, the "clue-finder" was Lynne Thigpen appearing in her Chief costume from the World edition, having been taken from the time when World first went on the air. Lynne Thigpen, as the Time Chief, then appeared on the monitor in the center of the stage and briefly conversed with her past self.
- In another episode, the contestants were given a series of names and asked to identify which were pilots and which were game show hosts. Greg Lee was one of the game show hosts listed.
[edit] Differences
- Unlike for World, scenes involving The Chief in this version were prerecorded. This eliminated interaction between her and the host on the Time edition.
- One reason fans of the original World didn't like the Time version as much was the elimination of Greg Lee, Rockapella and much of the comedy and skits that made the World edition very popular.
[edit] Funding
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1996-1998)
- Viewers Like You (1996-1998)
- National Endowment for Children's Educational Television (1996-1997)
- Delta Air Lines (1996-1997)
[edit] External links
- Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? Rules @ Loogaroo's Page
- Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? Rules at the Jackpot Page
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