Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?

''Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?'' is an American animated television series based on the series of computer games. The show was produced by DIC Productions L.P. and originally aired from 1994 to 1999, on Saturday mornings during FOX's Fox Kids Network block. Reruns aired on the Qubo television network from June 9, 2012 (alongside '' Animal Atlas'') to May 26, 2018.

The series won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program in 1995, and in the same year was spun-off into a ''Where in the World''-styled video game entitled '' Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective''. Its theme song uses the melody from the chorus "Singt dem großen Bassa Lieder" ("Sing Songs of the Great Pasha") from Mozart's opera ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' (''The Abduction from the Seraglio'').

History

Production and broadcast (1994–1999)

The script for every ''Earth'' episode had to meet the approval of Broderbund, which created and, at the time, owned the ''Carmen'' franchise. Their cause for concern was the level of the violence on other FOX children's shows such as ''X-Men'' and ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers''. Broderbund did not require this of the creators of the ''World'' and ''Time'' game shows that aired on PBS, presumably since PBS, as the distributor of such shows as ''Sesame Street'', had a long-standing reputation for non-violent educational children's programming. The lead characters of ''Earth'' were featured in '' Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective'', released in 1995. The opening theme song for the show is "Singt dem großen Bassa Lieder" from ''Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', with new lyrics, pop instrumentation, and a backbeat. The Rainbow Animation Group (later renamed Galaxy World, Inc., not to be confused with the Italian studio Rainbow S.p.A.), and Han Yang Productions contributed some animation for this series.

Home media releases

Fox Video originally released the series on VHS through their Fox Kids Video label, which contained two episodes each.

In November 2001, Lions Gate Home Entertainment and Trimark Home Video released two VHS tapes, ''Carmen's Revenge'' and ''Time Traveler'', consisting of the show's three-part episodes ("Retribution" and "Labyrinth") in a feature-length format. ''Time Traveller'' was also released on DVD, and alongside the "Labyrinth" episode, also came with a demo of ''Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge''. A video of the episode "Timing is Everything" was included with some versions of the mentioned game.

In September 2003, Sterling Entertainment released ''Into the Maelstrom'' and ''No Place like Home'' on VHS and DVD. ''Into the Maelstrom'' contained the three part "Retribution" episode, while ''No Place like Home'' contained the episode "The Remnants" and the two-part episode "Can You Ever Go Home Again?" The DVD versions contained "When it Rains..." and "Follow My Footprints" as bonus episodes, respectively. NCircle Entertainment reissued both DVDs in 2007.

In June 2006, Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music Entertainment released the first season on DVD. Due to poor sales, no further seasons were released.

Mill Creek Entertainment released ''Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? – The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1 on February 21, 2012. This four-disc set contains all forty episodes of the series. They also released a ten-episode best-of collection the same day. These releases have been discontinued and are now out of print. Mill Creek re-released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in June 2017.

PIDAX, a German company, released the complete series on DVD for Region 2 in 3 Volumes in 2019 in English and German.

The whole series is available to stream on Paramount+.

Plot

Following the plot of the ''Carmen Sandiego'' franchise, ''Earth'' sees international thief Carmen Sandiego (voiced by Rita Moreno) lead the organization V.I.L.E. in stealing treasures from around the world and leaving clues behind for ACME agents Zack (voiced by Scott Menville) and Ivy (voiced by Jennifer Hale), under the guidance of the Chief (voiced by Rodger Bumpass), to find, in order to capture her. In this version, Carmen Sandiego is a former agent of ACME who left to seek a greater challenge, and has a strong code of ethics when stealing items. The Player is an unseen live-action character who bookends acts by communicating with Carmen; it is implied that to them the television series is a video game that they are playing from a computer.

While Carmen is originally presented as the show's antagonist, she becomes more like an anti-hero as the series progresses; she even helps Zack and Ivy against mutual enemies.

Characters

Main characters

* Carmen Sandiego (voiced by Rita Moreno) – An international thief and the head of V.I.L.E. Despite the name of her organization, she has a strong code of morals and only steals for the challenge of it. She was a former agent of the ACME Detective Agency.
* Chief (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) – The head of ACME. Short for Computerized Holographic Imaging Educational Facilitator, his role consisted of providing exposition, information, alerts of Carmen's recent crime, and comic relief. He had a very intimate professional and personal relationship with Carmen. He once also had a robotic body while working with Carmen back when she was still part of the ACME Detective Agency.
* Ivy (voiced by Jennifer Hale) – A young woman who has short red hair and green eyes. She and Carmen seem to have a past history, although it is only hinted at in the series. Her skills include having multiple black belts in martial arts and being an expert pilot. She can get frustrated easily, such as hating it when Zack calls her "sis" or when Carmen is getting away.
* Zack (voiced by Scott Menville) – Ivy's younger brother, who has blond hair and blue eyes. He takes cases less seriously than his sister Ivy. Zack's jacket has his name misspelled as Zak.
* Player (portrayed by Jeffrey Tucker in Season 1, Justin Shenkarow in Season 2, Asi Lang and Joanie Pleasant in Seasons 3–4) – The only live-action character on the program, always seen from behind as a computer user at the beginning and ending of the show. They are the ones who transport Zack and Ivy to their locations and summon ACME detectives to their aid.

ACME detectives

The following are ACME detectives who help out Zack and Ivy:

* Aileen (voiced by Janice Kawaye) – A Hawaiian ACME detective.
* Amati – A brilliant archaeologist and African-American ACME detective.
* Armando – an Argentinian gaucho ACME detective.
* Barrow – A British ACME detective.
* Billy "Running Bird" – A Native American ACME detective.
* Chester – An ornithologist American ACME detective.
* Chotu – An Indian ACME detective.
* Crow (voiced by Chadwick Pelletier) – A Norwegian ACME detective and a friend of Zack.
* Jasmine – A Jamaican ACME detective.
* Josha – A brilliant inventor and ACME agent. He has a crush on Ivy. Zack is the one who helps get them together.
* Ketut – An Indonesian ACME detective who loves hang gliding and is very wise.
* Lee – A Chinese ACME detective.
* Lloyd – An Australian ACME detective.
* Maria (voiced by Kath Soucie) – A Brazilian ACME detective from ACME's Rio de Janeiro bough. At the end, she might be interested in Zack as she takes him to the opera.
* Marco – An Italian ACME detective who's good friends with Ivy.
* Max - A Hawaiian ACME detective and the older brother of Aileen.
* Michelle – A Space Camp ACME detective.
* Reggis – A British ACME detective.
* Tatiana (voiced by Candi Milo) – A Russian ACME detective who Zack has a crush on.
* Wahidullah – An Afghan ACME detective.

V.I.L.E. agents

The following are agents who work for Carmen Sandiego's organization V.I.L.E.:

* Abe L. Body – A V.I.L.E. agent and an athlete who's a team player to V.I.L.E. who likes to steal items from the Olympics and any other sports. His name is a play on "able body".
* Al Loy – A hotheaded V.I.L.E. agent. He wanted to be a loner when it comes to crime, but he couldn't get along with Dara Riska. Al Loy is a play on "Alloy". He appears in "A Date with Carmen" Pt. 2 and "All for One".
* Auntie Bellum – A V.I.L.E. agent from the South who likes to steal items from the South in the Civil War. She appeared in "Timing is Everything" where she assisted Mason Dixon in one of his heists. Her name is a play on "Antebellum".
* Archie Ology – A V.I.L.E. agent and a good archaeologist. He likes to steal artifacts and other classics as seen in "Follow My Footprints" and "The Trial of Carmen Sandiego". Archie Ology is a play on "Archaeology".
* Buck N. Bronco – A V.I.L.E. agent whose name is a play on "bucking bronco".
* Clair E. Net and Cora Net (both voiced by Kath Soucie) – Twin sisters of evil for stealing talent and music. Cora Net plays the guitar while Clair E. Net sings opera. Chief mentioned that ACME once busted Clair E. Net and Cora Net in a lip-synching scandal a few years back. Clair E. Net and Cora Net are plays on "clarinet" and "cornet". They appear in "Music to My Ears".
* Clay Tandoori – An Indian-American V.I.L.E. agent who steals anything that's in India like Taj Mahal and other things. Clay Tandoori is a play on " Tandoori Clay". He appears in "Labyrinth" Pt. 1.
* Dara Riska – A V.I.L.E. agent who always takes any risks and sometimes get hot-headed when she gets to a fight with the equally-hotheaded Al Loy. She appears in "All for One".
* Dee Tritus – A female V.I.L.E. agent whose name is a play on "detritus". She appears in "Hot Ice".
* Four Chin Hunter – A big-time evil treasure hunter of V.I.L.E. who's an expert of stealing gold when it comes to treasure hunting and is a play on " Fortune Hunter". He appears in "A Higher Calling" and "A Date with Carmen" Pt. 1.
* Frank M. Poster – A big-time master of disguise and Carmen's V.I.L.E. henchman who can disguise himself as any person he wants to impersonate and is a play on "The Great Impostor". He appears in "Birds of a Feather".
* Hannah Lulu – A V.I.L.E. agent and an expert when it comes to Hawaii a treasures and locations who is very superstitious and is afraid of almost everything including Hawaii's Nightmarchers. In "Curses, Foiled Again", Carmen Sandiego tried to make Hannah Lulu face her fears by stealing an object from the place where a Hawaiian queen died. Hannah Lulu is a play on "Honolulu".
* Iggy Nition - A V.I.L.E. agent. His name is a play on "ignition" and appears in "The Remnants".
* Ira Gation (voiced by Michael Earl) - A V.I.L.E. agent whose crimes revolve around water. His name is a play on "irrigation" and appears in "When It Rains".
* Judge R.B. Traitor – A court judge-turned-criminal who hunts crooks down and sentences them to a secret jail while stealing their loot. He appeared in "The Trail of Carmen Sandiego" where he had Carmen Sandiego abducted from her caper in the Mayan Ruins and subpoenaed Zack and Ivy to his hidden courtroom in Italy using Lee Galese as bait. Once Zack and Ivy arrived, Judge R.B. Traitor dismissed Galese and had them represent Sandiego when she was accused of stealing a copy of ''Magna Carta''. When it came to where the copy of ''Magna Carta'' is, it turned out that Traitor was actually in cahoots with Sandiego and Ology. R.B. Traitor is a play on " arbitrator".
* Lars Vegas – A big shot and V.I.L.E.'s greediest member who always complains when he is trapped in a net because it messes up his hair and whose greediness can always foil his plans. Lars Vegas is a play on "Las Vegas". He appears in "Follow My Footprints" where he assisted Moe Skeeter in robbing an Italian museum, accompanied Carmen in hacking Chief in "Just Like Old Times", and stole from ACME agent Josha in "Cupid Sandiego".
* Lee Galese – A V.I.L.E. agent who is Carmen Sandiego's lawyer whose name is a play on "legalese" and his firm has a catchphrase "If you're not happy, consider suing". He read Carmen Sandiego's will in "Follow My Footprints" and briefly served as Carmen's defense attorney in "The Trial of Carmen Sandiego" before being dismissed by Judge R.B. Traitor.
* Moe Skeeter – A V.I.L.E. agent with a long nose who is kinda like a bungling buffoon. His name is a play on "mosquito". He appeared in "Follow My Footprints" where he assisted Lars Vegas in robbing an Italian museum, accompanied Carmen in hacking Chief in "Just Like Old Times", and stole from ACME agent Josha in "Cupid Sandiego".
* Paige Turner – Paige Turner is a V.I.L.E. agent who is a world-renowned expert on literature and loves playing out crimes from famous novels. Her name is a play on "page-turner".
* Pearl Diver - Pearl Diver is a V.I.L.E. agent who specializes in diving. She appears in "A Date with Carmen" Pt. 1.
* Pop A. Wheely - A V.I.L.E. agent. His name is a play on "pop a wheelie" and appears in "The Remnants".
* Rip Shipoff – An aquatic pirate agent with his pet parrot.
* Stu L. Pijin - A V.I.L.E. agent. His name is a play on "stool pigeon".
* Touriest Classe – A V.I.L.E. agent and also an international con man and a master art thief who always wanted to scam people with other art. Touriest Classe is a play on " Tourist Class". He appears in "The Stolen Smile" and "Labyrinth" Pt. 1.
* Yin and Yang – Yin and Yang are a pair of Chinese V.I.L.E. agents, both wearing a tattoo that is a piece of the Yin Yang symbol. They both like to steal antique Chinese artifacts.
* V.I.L.E. Henchmen - A substantial number of unnamed henchmen of V.I.L.E. that work for Carmen Sandiego and her V.I.L.E. agents.

Other villains

As Carmen Sandiego became less villainous and evolved into more of an antihero, other characters began to fill her original role as the show's antagonist. The following villains are:

* Dr. Sara Bellum – Carmen Sandiego's former mad scientist who makes all sorts of gadgets for Carmen Sandiego and her V.I.L.E. agents to use. In one episode, she tried to flood the Atacama Desert in Chile to retrieve the Giant of the Atacama, all while dressed as Carmen Sandiego in an effort to take over V.I.L.E. Eventually, Carmen, Zack, and Ivy stopped Sara Bellum's mad plan in time, but in the episode "Follow My Footsteps", she returned to V.I.L.E. It is possible she might be pretending to help Carmen or she no longer conspires against Carmen. Her name is a pun on "cerebellum", a part of the brain.
* Dr. Gunnar Maelstrom (voiced by Tim Curry) – A Swedish hostile and extremely violent criminal whose archenemy is Carmen Sandiego. Maelstrom considers her a threat because she and Chief captured him back in her detective days at ACME in 1985 and got him sent to Folsom State Prison in northern California. In "Maelstrom's Revenge", he escapes from prison by using a bomb attached to his watch as a diversion so he could escape through the back door. Carmen Sandiego was forced to team up with Zack and Ivy to help capture him and send him back to prison.
** Bilge - Dr. Gunnar Maelstrom's henchman.
* Mason Dixon – The henchman who betrayed V.I.L.E. in numerous ways in the episode "Timing is Everything". It began in 1989 when Carmen and Mason were in Amsterdam to steal a Rembrandt painting. Mason was captured and sentenced to 7 years in prison, while Carmen escaped from the police. When Mason was released, Carmen began searching for a Civil War-era sofa in the Appomattox Courthouse. The caper failed, resulting in Carmen being furious with Mason. As retaliation, he stole Carmen's time machine and went back to 1989 to change the outcome of the Rembrandt theft so Carmen would go to jail and he would go on to run V.I.L.E. as the world's greatest thief. In this alternate reality, Carmen becomes Mason's henchman and has low self-esteem because she "almost always etscaught". Mason, with Carmen's unwilling aid, began stealing a series of items that would change the outcome of the Civil War. Carmen helped Zack and Ivy recapture him and take back control over V.I.L.E., making her the world's greatest thief once more. His name is a play on the surveyors Mason and Dixon who drew the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania in the 1760s known as the Mason–Dixon line.
* Lee Jordan (voiced by David Coburn) – The only ACME agent to have "officially" captured Carmen Sandiego. He was perhaps the most accomplished of all of ACME's employees and as such, had quite a conceited attitude about himself. He was often flirtatious with Ivy (much to her disgust), who hated his arrogance. He went on hiatus from ACME for an indeterminate amount of time, during which his outlook on his career took a drastic turn. Embittered by his fame and the lack of challenge the concept of fighting crime, he quit working for ACME and helped Carmen Sandiego escape in order to train to be a V.I.L.E. agent. However, his impulsive and unscrupulous nature clashed greatly with Carmen Sandiego's more refined, pacifistic approach. Because of that, he was fired. Infuriated by this, he joined the ranks of former V.I.L.E. agents who sought to usurp Carmen Sandiego from her title as "the world's greatest thief". He was foiled twice in this endeavor, both by the combined efforts of ACME and Carmen Sandiego in both parts of "Boyhood's End" and "Can You Ever Go Home Again?", but still remains hostile, violent and dangerous. Unlike Carmen Sandiego, he sees nothing against putting another person's life in danger to further his own personal gain and has even abducted and used a hostage as blackmail to force Carmen Sandiego into working for him.
** Cruiser - Lee Jordan's henchman who appears in the two-part episode "Can You Ever Go Home Again?"

Episodes

Cast

* Rita Moreno as Carmen Sandiego
* Rodger Bumpass as the Chief
* Jennifer Hale as Ivy
* Scott Menville as Zack
* Justin Shenkarow as Player #1 (Season 2)
* Jeffrey Tucker as Player #2 (Season 2)
* Ashi Lang as Player #1 (Seasons 3-4)
* Joanne Pleasant as Player #2 (Seasons 3-4)

Additional voices

* James Avery -
* Yoshio Be -
* Jim Belushi - Paul Revere (in "A Date with Carmen" Pt. 2)
* Susan Blu -
* Bettina Bush -
* Rocky Carroll -
* Kevin Castro -
* David Coburn - Lee Jordan (in "Boyhood's End" and "Can You Ever Go Home Again")
* Jesse Corti -
* Tim Curry - Dr. Gunnar Maelstrom (in "Retribution: The Unsinkable Carmen Sandiego", "Retribution: In Memorium", "Retribution: Maelstrom's Revenge")
* Shelly DeSai -
* Grisha Dimant -
* Feisha Dimetros -
* Michael Earl - Ira Gation (in "When it Rains")
* Jeannie Elias -
* Dave Fennoy -
* Efrain Figueroa -
* John Garry -
* Brian George -
* Dan Gilvezan -
* Fernanda Gordon -
* Kevin Guillaume -
* Alaina Reed Hall -
* Clayton Halsey -
* Jamie Hanes -
* Dorian Harewood -
* Jess Harnell -
* Karen Hartman -
* Phil Hayes -
* Hector Herrera -
* Amy Hill -
* Vien Hong -
* Michael Horse -
* Patricia Van Ingen
* Robert Ito -
* Marabina Jaimes
* Nick Jameson -
* Marcia Jeffries -
* Jamie Kaplan -
* Janice Kawaye - Aileen (in "Curses, Foiled Again")
* Gene Kidwell -
* Clyde Kusatsu -
* Alexander Kusnetzsrv

* Maurice LaMarche -
* Joe Lala -
* Frederick Lopez -
* Danny Mann -
* Dawn McMillan -
* Sidney Miller -
* Candi Milo - Titania (in "Rules of the Game")
* Pat Musick -
* Humberto Ortiz -
* Laurel Page -
* Samantha Paris -
* Chadwick Pelletier - Crow (in "In Memorium")
* Stan Phillips -
* Matt Plendl -
* Phil Proctor -
* Lisa Raggio -
* Don Reed -
* Frank Renzulli -
* Kevin Michael Richardson
* Robbie Rist -
* Brogan Roche -
* Eugene Roche -
* Sean Roche -
* Roger Rose -
* John Rubinow -
* Marco Sanchez -
* Brandon Scott -
* Alan Shearman -
* Stacy Sibley -
* Susan Silo -
* Jane Singer -
* Kath Soucie - Maria (in "Music To My Ears"), Claire E. Net (in "Music To My Ears"), Cora Net (in "Music To My Ears")
* David H. Sterry -
* Michael Su -
* Russi Taylor -
* Dierk Torsek -
* Frank Welker -
* Ian Whitcomb -
* Reuven Bar Yotam -

Critical reception

The show was given a rating of 4 stars out of 5 by ''Common Sense Media'', noting that the format of the show – which includes trivia sessions between acts, vocabulary definitions, and the use of foreign languages – is "designed to pique kids' interest in these subjects". ''DVD Talk'' noted that the show exceeded the obligatory action of comedy of a cartoon, by respecting its audience with an intelligent sensibility rarely seen in children's television.

References

External links

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{{Fox Kids

Earth
1990s American animated television series
Television series by DIC Entertainment
1994 American television series debuts
1999 American television series endings
Fox Broadcasting Company original programming
American children's animated action television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated education television series
American children's animated mystery television series
American children's animated science fiction television series
English-language television shows
Fox Kids
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program winners
American animated television spin-offs
Animated series based on video games
Television shows set in San Francisco
American detective television series
American television series with live action and animation
Works set in computers