''Special Agent Oso '' () was an American computer-animated

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

. The series was created by

Ford Riley Ford Riley is an American producer, screenwriter, lyricist, and voice actor. He is best known for creating the Disney Junior animated television series ''Special Agent Oso'' (2009-2012) and he most recently created and developed the animated tele ...

. It premiered on April 4, 2009 with 2 episodes airing that day as part of Disney Channel's

Playhouse Disney Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Televi ...

block," and aired two seasons of 60 episodes through May 17, 2012. After the original broadcast of the series finale on May 17, 2012, reruns continued to air until December 25, 2016. The series was made available on

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

on May 14, 2021.

Premise

Each episode begins with Special Agent Oso in the midst of a training exercise, which he usually fails on his first try, causing him to say "It's all part of the plan more or less." Paw Pilot, his computerized assistant, alerts him by saying "Special Alert, Special Alert." Invariably, during the exercise, at least one child is confronted with a simple task which they have trouble completing, an event which a Shutterbug drone notices. Oso is always assigned to the case, and Paw Pilot, along with the seen unseen Mr. Dos, illustrates his client's plight and assigns him a mission to help the child complete the task. To do so, Paw Pilot provides Oso with "three special steps," a simplified step-by-step guide to completing the task. Oso is transported to the child's location and attempts to follow the steps as the steps, in and of themselves, are usually too vague to complete the task properly. Paw Pilot also gives further elaborations, including at least one helpful trick. On the third and final step, Paw Pilot senses the time limit on the task between 3 and 19 seconds and begins counting down when the time limit is near. Oso and the child usually complete the task, just as the time runs out. Returning from the assignment, the helpful trick given during the assignment always turns out to be the same trick Oso needed to complete the interrupted training exercise, which he likewise completes and passes, getting a "digi-medal," a digital award, for both the training exercise and the special assignment.

Episodes

The show has 60 episodes; 24 in the first season and 36 in the second. The episode names are usually references to the names of the ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

'' films from

Eon Productions Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''Bond'' films Eon was started ...

, such as ''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an ...

'' and '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' but not a parody of them. Across its run, ''Special Agent Oso'' had at least one episode title that referenced each of the then-22 Bond films (''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'' was still in development at the time the show concluded). Some episode titles also reference the Carly Simon song Nobody Does it Better, theme song to '' The Spy Who Loved Me.'' One episode references the non-Eon film '' Never Say Never Again''. One episode also spoofs

Another Way to Die "Another Way to Die" is a song by American musicians Jack White and Alicia Keys. Written and produced by White as the theme song to the 2008 James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'', it was released as a single in the United States on September 30 ...

, which is the theme song to '' Quantum of Solace''.

Components

Each episode is composed of four components: * The Three Special Steps are the steps that Paw Pilot gives Oso to follow when he is on his special assignments. Oso has a matter of time to finish the three special steps. The third step is usually timed between 3 and 19 seconds. * The training exercises are Oso's training task assigned by Wolfie, Dotty or Buffo. Oso usually fails on his first try, but in the course of doing the special assignments, he refers to the mistake he made in his training exercise, thanks to the person he is helping. He then returns to his training exercise and does it right on his second try, then earns a "Digi-Medal". * The special assignments are missions that Oso is requested to complete by the mysterious Mr. Dos, in order to help a child in need. Sometimes, Oso asks the audience to help him on his special assignments if it gets tricky and he needs some help. Oso tries to complete the Three Special Steps that Paw Pilot gives him. Then he earns a "Digi-Medal". * Audience participation or interaction with Oso. Sometimes, Oso will ask the audience to help him find something hidden or missing on the screen. Other times, Oso will ask the audience to try something physically demanding that he is doing.

''Three Healthy Steps''

''Special Agent Oso: Three Healthy Steps'' is a short series that airs 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

during the

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven y ...

programming block. It encourages children to use "three healthy steps" regarding eating, being healthy and exercising. This series combined both animated characters and real life actors. The animated characters that are featured in the short series are Special Agent Oso, Paw Pilot, Special Agent Wolfie, Special Agent Dotty, and Professor Buffo.

''
Handy Manny ''Handy Manny'' is a CGI-animated children's television series that premiered with its first two episodes consecutively on Saturday, September 16, 2006, originally as part of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney block. On Valentine's Day 2011, th ...
'' crossover

In episode 32 of season 2, Oso meets Handy Manny and they work together to help a kid named David fix his bicycle.

Characters

Main

Guest voices

Madison Davenport Madison Danielle Davenport (born November 22, 1996) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Kate Fuller in '' From Dusk till Dawn: The Series''. She also appeared in '' Kit Kittredge: An American Girl'' as Kit's best friend ...

as Stacy/Fiona * Grace Rolek as Molly/Sophie * Khamani Griffin as Danny/Aaron/Paulie *Maria Celeste as Samantha *Kara R. Stribling as Abby/Jessica *

Isabella Murad ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was originally broadcast as a ...

as Sally/Cassie/Michelle/Anna/Audrey *

Colin Ford Colin Ford (born September 12, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Wheeler in '' Daybreak'', Joe McAlister in '' Under the Dome'', the voice of Jake on ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'', Mikey on '' Can You Teach My A ...

as Joe/David *Sekai Murashige as Jack/Jennethan *

Ciara Bravo Ciara Quinn Bravo (; born March 18, 1997) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, starring in the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' and the Fox series '' Red Band Society''. She also appeared in the Nickelodeon televi ...

as Sarah *

Billy Unger William Brent Unger (born October 15, 1995) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase on the Disney XD series ''Lab Rats'' and '' Lab Rats: Elite Force''. Credited as Billy Unger before 2016, starting with ''Lab Rats: Elite Force'', h ...

as Michael/Quinn *

Kurt Doss Kurt Doss (born September 18, 1996) is an American child actor, best known for playing Frred in '' Happy Monster Band'', and playing the youngest son, Ben Gallagher in '' Ruby & the Rockits''. Biography Doss's home town is Erie, Pennsylvania. Fr ...

as Dawson/Austin/Logan *Kimberly Brooks as Grace *Kristen Combs as Caroline/Aaliyah/Avery *Quinton Lopez as Jim *Juliette Alba as Olivia *Jack Samson as Ben/Nathan *Harrison Fahn as Jake/Oliver/Anthony *

Isabella Acres Isabella Acres (born February 21, 2001) is an American actress who played Rose on ''Better Off Ted'' and Mirabelle Harris in ''The Kicks. Early life Acres was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where she discovered her love for acting in children's the ...

as Jade/Mia #1 * Madison Pettis as Katie/Tara *John Devito as Sam/Theo *Fiona Riley as Addison/Maya *Church Lieu as Frank *Jillian Henry as Brianna *

Stefanie Scott Stephanie Noelle Scott (born December 6, 1996) is an American actress and singer. Scott began acting with the comedy film '' Beethoven's Big Break'' (2008), and thereafter released her debut extended play ''New Girl in Town'' (2009). This was fol ...

as Emma *Hynden Walch as Hailey *Nina Barry as Nicole *

Jacob Bertrand Jacob Bertrand (born March 6, 2000) is an American actor who began his career as a child actor appearing in the 2009 film ''Duress'' and playing guest roles on television series such as '' The Cape'' and '' The Middle''. He is known for playing t ...

as Spencer *

Tiffany Espensen Tiffany Espensen (born February 10, 1999) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, before becoming known for her teenaged roles, such as Piper in the 2011 Nickelodeon series ''Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures'' and Beli ...

as Joon Kim/Carina *Élan Garfias as Cody/Grayson/Jose/Eric *Luke Manriquez as Carlos * Kwesi Boakye as Andrew *Diane HSU as Min/Meehwa *Firoozeh Adli as Makayla/Marie/Faith *

Zachary Gordon Zachary Adam Gordon (born February 15, 1998) is an American actor. He rose to prominence by playing Greg Heffley in the first three films of the '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series. He then went on to play Tate Wilson in '' Good Trouble'' and ...

as Tyler/Rasheed *Kailey Swanson as Ashley *Jelani Imani as William/Joshua/Dylan *Avion Baker as Natalie/Nadia/Charlotte *Abby Weiss as Lisa *Nancy Kim as Jennifer *Luke Davis as Gavin *Zachary Michael as John *Brianna McCracken as Alexis *Cameron Escalante as Chloe *Sabre Jacobs as Kaylee *Parish Allen as Lizzie *Vanessa Millsaps as Lily *Coleen Crabtree as Leila * Raymond Ochoa as Noah *Ryan Christopher Lee as Noh Yoon/Nicholas/Liam/Charlie * Rico Rodriguez as Lin/Xavier/Marco/Brandon *Jacob Medrano as Alberto * Sayeed Shahidi as Evan *Liberty Smith as Madison/Lena *Alec Gray as Dimitri *

Caitlin Carmichael Caitlin Elizabeth Carmichael is an American actress. Life and career Carmichael was born in Tifton, Georgia. She has appeared in a number television shows and films, including ''Shake It Up'', ''iCarly'', ''Hot in Cleveland'', '' Law & Order: ...

as Athena *

Jet Jurgensmeyer Jet Jurgensmeyer (born November 27, 2004) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, playing the role of Spanky in the 2014 film '' The Little Rascals Save the Day'', and Bobby Anderson in the 2016 Disney Channel television fil ...

as Rudy/Gabriel/Aiden * Maxim Knight as David #2 *

Wilmer Valderrama Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama ( , ; born January 30, 1980) is an American actor, producer, and television personality. He is known for his role as Fez in the sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Agustín Madrigal in '' Encanto'', and as Carlo ...

Handy Manny ''Handy Manny'' is a CGI-animated children's television series that premiered with its first two episodes consecutively on Saturday, September 16, 2006, originally as part of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney block. On Valentine's Day 2011, th ...

Nika Futterman Nika Futterman (born October 25, 1969) is an American voice and television actress. She is known for her voices in various animated series, including Asajj Ventress in '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' and Adam Lyon in ''My Gym Partner's a Mon ...

as Stretch & Squeeze *

Carlos Alazraqui Carlos Jaime Alazraqui (born July 20, 1962) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Deputy James Garcia on '' Reno 911!'' and for his voice acting roles. His extensive ...

as Felipe *

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...

as Turner *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...

as Pat * Fred Stoller as Rusty *

Kath Soucie Kath or KATH may refer to: * Kath (city), the historical capital of Khwarezm * Kath (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * KATH-TV, the NBC TV station in Juneau, Alaska * KATH (AM), a radio station in ...

as Dusty *

Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

as Flicker *Nancy Truman as Kelly *

Erica Luttrell Erica Luttrell is a Canadian actress. Personal life Luttrell was born in Toronto, Ontario to a Tanzanian mother and an American father. Luttrell is the youngest of four sisters. She can speak some French and Swahili. In August 2019, Luttrell ...

as Dylan and Sophie’s moms *Jennifer as Ashley #1 *William Cwammendi as Wontwo

Additional voices

* Lou Holtz as Uncle Lou (character was modeled to look like himself) * Rob Paulsen as Cassie's Dad/Dawson's Dad/Emma's Dad *

Colleen O'Shaughnessey Colleen Ann O'Shaughnessey (born September 15, 1971) is an American voice actress. She is best known as the voice of Sora Takenouchi in the ''Digimon'' anime, Jazz Fenton in ''Danny Phantom'', Wasp in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' ...

as Jade's Mom/Jake's Mom/Nadia's Mom *

Sarah Chalke Sarah Louise Christine Chalke (; born August 27, 1976) is a Canadian actress and model. She is known for portraying Elliot Reid on the NBC/ ABC comedy series '' Scrubs'', the second Becky Conner on the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'', Stella Zinman on ...

as David's Mom *Jeannie Elias as Michael's Mom/Quinn's Mom *

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the '' Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final ...

as Mr. Thompson *

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

as Grandpa Mel *

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (born August 18, 1970) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'', which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series a ...

as Brayden's Dad *

Kimberly Brooks Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...

as Andrew's Mom/Caroline's Mom

Broadcast

The first season of ''Special Agent Oso'' premiered in the United States and United Kingdom on April 4, 2009, and aired through April 17, 2010; the second and final season premiered on July 10, 2010 and the series finale aired May 17, 2012. In season 2, new characters were introduced, Professor Buffo and Special Agent Musa. The show has a crossover with Handy Manny called "The Manny with the Golden Bear".

References

External links

*
Disney Channel press release for Special Agent Oso
*

Special Agent Oso on LOVEFILM
* {{Teddy bears Disney Junior original programming 2009 American television series debuts 2012 American television series endings 2000s American animated television series 2010s American animated television series Television series by Disney Television Animation Fictional secret agents and spies American preschool education television series American computer-animated television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated fantasy television series Animated preschool education television series 2000s preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series Animated television series about bears Television series about wolves Animated television series about foxes English-language television shows Fictional bison Fictional teddy bears Fictional gentleman detectives