Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego: Carmen's Only Animated Series

Who could have imagined that a villain would be popular enough to star in three television series? The antagonist in question is Carmen Sandiego, the international thief notorious for stealing the world's greatest landmarks in order to initiate her most wicked schemes. There were the two game shows-Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego-that would prove to be fun as well as educational. Then there was the animated Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego, which would also become a favorite among fans from its premiere in 1994. This series would likewise mix education and excitement to create a show that would make children want to learn about geography and history. Here, I shall tell you more about Carmen's first and only animated series.

Unlike the game shows, where Carmen never pulled off any of the heists herself, the thief would actually swipe landmarks, usually with some high-tech help. The twist was that all of this was occurring in a computer game, and once the theft had been performed, Carmen would typically taunt the live action player by telling him that her plans could not be stopped. That was when the player would contact ACME, the organization dedicated to capturing Carmen, who was once one of their own members until she turned to thievery. Young agents Zack and Ivy, who just happened to be brother and sister, would be informed of the crime by the Chief (presented here as a holographic, disembodied floating head) and would set off to retrieve the stolen item and catch Carmen.

Throughout each episode, Zack and Ivy would travel around the world, and sometimes through time, with the help of the player and his ability to transport them to another part of the world or another time period in seconds. There, they could obtain assistance from other ACME agents, find clues left by Carmen herself, or run afoul of other members of V.I.L.E. (Villains International League of Evil) who wanted to detain them long enough for Carmen to try and get away. Along the way, the detectives as well as the viewers would learn more about the item that was stolen and the places that they would have to travel to in order to solve the mystery. In fact, the show would test the viewer's memory on what he or she had just seen by asking him or her a question about an important fact right before a commercial break. The correct answer would be given after the break. All of this made the series educational amidst the excitement and humor.

Typically, Zack and Ivy would finally catch up with Carmen and foil her schemes. However, while the stolen items would be returned to where they belonged, Carmen would still get away, and in the rare instances that she was caught, she would not stay captured for long. She would taunt the player yet again, vowing that her plans will succeed next time. Carmen herself was villainous, but she still had some good in her, never wanting to actually kill the young detectives and sometimes trying to stop the plans of other villains. In the two-part series finale, she found someone whom she felt was her father, but who ended up losing his memory, leaving her with many unanswered questions.

A total of thirty-nine episodes aired over four seasons. Many of them were self-contained, but there were occasional story lines lasting two or three episodes. One two-part episode had Carmen swiping items from the 1700s to prevent the American Revolution from happening, and Zack and Ivy had to set things right before history was permanently altered. Many of the episodes aired on FOX before moving to ABC Family (then called the Fox Family Channel), then ION (PAX at the time), and finally to syndication. The episodes have been sporadically released on home video and DVD over the years, though only one season set-containing all thirteen episodes from Season One-has been made.

While I feel that the game show versions of Carmen were the best, I still enjoyed Where on Earth for its action, its humor, and for its ability to teach as well as entertain its young viewers. The animation was good, and the series also included a fine voice cast. Carmen herself was voiced by the talented Rita Moreno, who fit the role perfectly, and Rodger Bumpass made the Chief into a hilarious character a few years before he first voiced Squidward of Spongebob Squarepants fame. The questions throughout the show were informative and did a good job in testing the memories of its young audiences. This was DIC at the top of its game, and it is the only one of the Carmen shows to be commercially available, giving fans old and new alike a chance to see how an educational series should be made.

It is sad to see that Carmen Sandiego is no seen very much in any form of media anymore. In the 1990s, she was seen practically everywhere, and Where on Earth was proof of her popularity. Now, however, she seems to have been forgotten not by fans, but by the media in general, which seems to want to expose younger children to educational fare, leaving older children to settle with school. Even so, we still have memories of all three Carmen shows, and in the case of Earth, we actually have episodes available to watch. Some of my fellow Carmen fans wish for a Carmen revival of some sort, and I would have to agree, since Earth, and the game shows, are likely better educational shows than those that air today. Will Carmen pop out to commit more crimes someday, or will she remain in hiding forever? For now, we can still remember and enjoy her animated series, and reminisce about a simpler time in the history of entertainment for children.