''Mystery Hunters'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

documentary television series aimed at a young audience. It aired on YTV in Canada and on Discovery Kids and

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It was also dubbed in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and aired in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

. Teenage hosts Araya and Christina investigate paranormal or global historical reports of mysteries such as

legendary creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical accoun ...

s/ monsters, disembodied spirits,

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s and

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

unidentified flying object An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are Ide ...

s. They use scientific rigour to try to find plausible explanations for the sightings and eye-witness accounts that trigger their investigations. In another section of the show, Doubting Dave, a scientist played by David Acer, attempts to explain mysterious personal experiences that have been emailed in by viewers, in a feature called "V-Files", as well as a way to create your own versions of the mysteries in the show in his "Mystery Lab" segment. Produced by Apartment 11 Productions, four seasons and 78 episodes of the series have been made, and it has garnered awards and accolades from around the world, including eight

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

nominations, a 2006

Parents' Choice Award The Parents' Choice Award was an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It was considered a "prest ...

, and a 2007 Japan Prize (sponsored by the Japanese television network

) for the "Stonehenge" episode, awarded the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Prize in the Early Education category.

Sequence

The program begins with a question that introduces the two investigations of the week, leading into the opening title sequence. Then follows part one of each of the two stories with Araya and Christina each featured in one. Then the "V-File"; Doubting Dave answers a viewer's question about some mysterious occurrence. Then, part two of each adventure. Next comes the "Mystery Lab" segment featuring Doubting Dave doing some kind of experiment or laboratory demonstration to illustrate a point that is most often related to that week's theme. Finally, Araya and Christina conclude their stories. At the conclusion of each program, the hosts appear together in a comedic wrap-up link, usually closing out with the ''Mystery Hunters'' signature tag-line: "Remember, things aren't always what they seem!"

Episodes

''Mystery Hunters'' has aired 78 episodes over four seasons.

Characters

Doubting Dave

Doubting Dave, played by David Acer, has two segments in each episode, in which he provides more logical answers. In one segment, he answers questions sent in to ''Mystery Hunters'' by fans of the show. In the other, he conducts an experiment that has to do with the episode's topic (e.g.

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

Araya and Christina

Christina Broccolini and

Araya Mengesha Araya Mengesha(born July 23, 1987) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Kandae in '' Nurse.Fighter.Boy'', Michael in ''Cul de sac'' and Zoffi in ''Ruby Skye P.I.: The Maltese Puppy''. Biography Mengesha was born in Toronto to Ethio ...

are the ones who go to a wide variety of locations to investigate the topic(s) included in the show. In most episodes, they go to separate locations, but in some episodes, they go together to the same location.

Music

Claude Castonguay, Christian Clermont and Marc Ouellette compose the musical score for ''Mystery Hunters''. It is a mixture of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

and orchestral styles. The composers were nominated for Music Score for a Documentary Program or Series".

DVD releases

In September 2007, the first-ever ''Mystery Hunters'' DVD was released in Canada, a three-episode collection timed for Halloween called ''Mystery Hunters: Beastly Beings and Monstrous Mysteries'', and in the Fall of 2008, a Mystery Hunters/Doubting Dave guide to paranormal tricks and hoaxes called ''Gotcha! 18 Amazing Ways to Freak Out Your Friends'' will be published by Kids Can Press. Another DVD was released early December 2007, titled ''Mystery Hunters: Alien Encounters'', featuring three episodes from the series about the said topic. Extras include interviews with the cast and a behind the scenes featurette with Araya.

Online games

In September 2010, a set of ''Mystery Hunters'' themed online adventure games entitled ''Mystery Hunters Training School'' was released. The website was produced in an 'interactive comic book' format containing 13 episodic adventures featuring intro and closing videos from Christina and Araya, quizzes in Doubting Dave's voice, and puzzle games and animation following themes presented in the show.

References

External links

* *
Apartment 11 Productions

David Acer's web site
{{Former YTV original series Canadian children's mystery television series Canadian children's fantasy television series Canadian children's education television series 2002 Canadian television series debuts 2009 Canadian television series endings 2000s Canadian documentary television series Paranormal television YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Television series by Corus Entertainment 2000s Canadian children's television series Television series about teenagers Discovery Kids original programming English-language television shows