Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991)

Genre

game show

Country

United States

Length

5 seasons, 106 episodes

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 20 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Teams of kids compete in a geography trivia game show. They answer questions to track down the elusive thief Carmen Sandiego and her henchmen.

educationalplayfulenergeticquirkyupbeatfast-pacedinteractive90s nostalgia

What happens

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? is an American children's television game show based on the Carmen Sandiego computer game series created by Broderbund. The show was hosted by Greg Lee, who was joined by Lynne Thigpen and the a cappella vocal group Rockapella, who served as the show's house band and comedy troupe. The series was videotaped in New York City at Chelsea Studios and Kaufman Astoria Studios (the latter of which also housed the set of Sesame Street) and co-produced by WQED and WGBH-TV, and aired on PBS stations from September 30, 1991, to December 22, 1995, with reruns continuing to air until May 31, 1996. A total of 295 episodes over five seasons were recorded (65 each in Seasons 1 through 3, and 50 each in Seasons 4 and 5). The show was created partially in response to the results of a National Geographic survey indicating little knowledge of geography among some of the American populace, with one in four being unable to locate the Soviet Union or the Pacific Ocean. The show's questions were verified by National Geographic World, who also provided prizes to the contestants in the form of subscriptions to their magazine. The show garnered critical acclaim for its unique approach that blended geography and other subjects in game show and its faithfulness of the source material, consider it to be a "forgotten masterpiece" of an adaptation of video game. It also received numerous accolades including seven Daytime Emmys and a 1992 Peabody Award. In 2001, TV Guide ranked the show at No. 47 on its list of 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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