DefunctTV: The History of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
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- čas přidán 29. 04. 2024
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In this episode of DefunctTV, Kevin explores the history of the Carmen Sandiego franchise, specifically the hit PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
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"Where in the USA" fair
"Where in Europe" ok
"Where in Time" neat
"Where in North Dakota" *amazing*
Where in this Pizza Hut is Carmen Sandiego?
@@TK17000 the bathroom?
If I recall correctly I think there was some sort of deal with North Dakota school districts and the company
Makes me remember the SNL sketch "Where in the World is San Diego California."
@@TK17000 trick question, she's in the taco bell
The fact that Rockapella were making up those songs basically on the fly is insane talent on display.
they were the cornerstone of this show. i hope they got paid very well
Remember their Folgers commercial? 😅
Once when Greg muffed a line, the group or at least a member, spontaneously and off camera sung the correction. Greg acknowledged the goof and thanked the group. They instantly sang “save it!”
My twin, who was blind,also died at 29, loved em so much he got their tapes and would listen all the time. We'd sit in front of our 13" TV with coat hanger and aluminum foil rabbit ears and watch every day after school. We could've been on the show we were so good at geography. From Boston so wasn't far.
There's a local radio station in my city that plays Rockapella's Carmen San Diego theme once a week. I dig it, but it's pretty baffling.
I used to watch this show with my 5 year old son, who fell in love with geography because of it. He was a finalist in two Geography Bee's when he was in middle school. He couldn't decide if he wanted to be a Meteorologist or map maker growing up. He finally graduated college with a Geography degree, and now works as a cartographer. Amazing how a kids show can influence a child's life.
just goes to show how much of our future depends on making sure children have a good and inspirational upbringing. Crap parents and education systems are probably to blame for a lot of our societal ills
Cool
Wow, my Grandfather was a mathematician and during WW2 he was a map maker. It was his job to take photographs and other information along with current maps and use math to determine where things were to make new maps that included bases and artilery and other things like that. I wish I had learned more about the specifics when he was still alive.
I absolutely adore this comment! It's so wholesome and I love it!
Thats awesome, tell him a random dude in youtube comments thinks hes cool as hell
I love that Greg absolutely broke character the second he saw his mom, it was so sweet.
*Greg's Mom (REALLY...No Kidding.)*
@RepentandbelieveinJesusChristno
@RepentandbelieveinJesusChristI refuse
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ i like that but comeonnn
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ shut up
Nothing says 90s educational programming like "We wanted to include rap music so we hired an a cappella group."
I guess the cappella Here’s Comes Treble wasn’t available 😉
Yo, have you seen "Do It A Capella?" Rockapella's out there making Brooklyn audiences do the Arsenio hand-pumping whoop thing. They were hip-hop as shit.
I am very curious about an alternate universe where The Persuasions or Ladysmith Black Mambazo ended up on Carmen Sandiego, though.
and including a rapping grandma
I did get the impression that they picked Rockapella because they were truly excellent musicians and had the right energy for the show, not because they were safer than rap music.
the 90s were wild and i miss them sooooo badly
Lynne Thigpen was the HEART & SOUL of that show.
I was so upset when she passed on. My mom watched All My Children. I remember her on there and called her "the chief." I think she was doing both shows and Broadway at the same time which is probably she prerecorded her segments.
I will forever call her "The Chief." I was actually annoyed in the cartoon series for Carmen Sandiego in the 90s that the Chief wasn't Lynn, and was actually some annoying nasally voiced face on a screen. Lynn was THE Chief! Then, Now, Till The Ends of Time.
Also, thank you Carmen Sandiego, for making me pretty damned good at geography! 😅
She was also one of my favorite parts of The Warriors.
@@angelmarie2281 Same here.... TOTALLY devastated. 😢
This, to me, is the perfect example of a show that can be enjoyed by all ages. You've got the silly cartoons and wacky costumes to appeal to the little kids, you've got the exciting, globetrotting detective adventure aspect to appeal to the big ones, and enough sly references and genuinely clever wordplay to keep even the adults entertained. And learning? Learning can be fun at any age.
Exactly! :-)
I would sit down now and watch this. I have nostalgia from watching it as a kid. But watching this footage, reminds me how exciting it was, so well done!
One thing I loved about this show and the fact they had it on PBS is it made a fun show accessible to the poor kids like me. We didn't have cable, we used the rabbit ears and were only able to pick up 2 channels - PBS channel 2 and one that played a lot of golf lol. So many shows I wasn't able to watch as a kid and having a 'hip' show on PBS really helped me feel like I fit in.
Same here hun. We had channels 2, 4 and 7. Sometimes we could get channel 3 if you move the rabbit ears just right.
Let me get this straight. This show was popular because it was good, and it was good because the people working on it cared about what they were making to the point of consulting the creators of the source material, listening to a good chunk of their target demographic, and using music that was current for the time? Unthinkable!
Well when you take a look at all the inclusionist, 'ist' and 'phobe' accusing, brain dead morons, that are in charge of the shows that are on now; Yeah it is. But then again at that same time we had other masterpiece shows like 'Married With Children' that had Al 'The Great Modern Philosopher' Bundy, as well as many others.
@@buckrodgers1162 17:59
@@iguanaafternoon,
Yes I know. But it's one thing to have it naturally. It's an entirely different thing to forcefully retcon things to have it, and then call the original fans of the subject 'ists' and 'phobes' for simply disagreeing.
Like WB's BatWoman, the Ghostbusters movie from 2016, Star Trek Discovery, and so on.
@@buckrodgers1162 you can disagree with something without being transphobic or racist and its disingenuous to pretend that anyone who criticizes something gets painted with those labels. Its also really weird to even bring that up on an entirely unrelated topic. log off and go outside m8
@@Wootmaster,
And there we go with the accusations of being 'ist' and 'phobe'. All I said was direct and to the point. There was no malice behind it, yet you start saying that it was 'this and that', when it wasn't. Maybe you should take your own advice, and then take a good look in the mirror. Because this is the exact stuff I was talking about.
As a kid in the early 90's without basic cable, after school PBS programming was a godsend. Carmen Sandiego, Ghost Writer and Bill Nigh the Science Guy. Great time.
I loved ghost writer
Agreed 👍
Ghost writer was so good.
Same here! 😁
Yes!
Even as an adult now, when I think of a chef detective I think of Thigpen. She played the role perfectly.
She also was the DJ and the narrator of the movie Warriors. And a lot more. But that’s what i first remember her from.
It's very easy to see why she was chosen. This energy and enthusiasm really shows how much fun the role was for her.
She was a great actress. She played every role greatly including the mom from Lean on Me. So great that it was hard to watch her as Thigpin.
She played Ella Mae Parker on The District.
The way Greg Lee reacted to seeing his mom was so sweet, he was so shocked in the best way
The fact that they brought Greg's mom on just to prank him is a testament to how much they loved making this show.
Well, as the man said: The writing staff were encouraged to watch Animaniacs,
and Rocky & Bullwinkle for inspiration on how to make the show funnier.
And sneaking the host's own mother in as a prank
sounds like something one might see in either cartoon.
I wish more game shows would do that. So funny and adorable at the same time
The fact that there are two comments side by side _(besides this one)_ that both start with "the fact that" is something I wish I had a nickel for, every time it happened!
I mean, I would only have one nickel, but it's still weird that it'd happen!
I remember seeing that episode!
Really wholesome I saw that episode it was just sweet
This show is proof that elaborate, interesting and successful educational kids shows don't need all the money in the world, but a team of people passionate enough.
Right! This and the magic school bus
@@LadellTurner also reading rainbow
Always been that X-Factor. The Chief and Greg's chemistry was electric, and Rockapella being everpresent but not in the spotlight was a perfect example of what musicians would call "The notes you don't play"
$3.5mil was a lot of money back in the day
the 90's were littered with shows like this.... ask anyone in their 30's about Beakman's World, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Reading Rainbow, Encyclopedia, etc etc and watch their eyes light up... this vid brought back many memories for me.
Rest in peace Lynn Thigpen. She died during production of The District. Even though I was an adult I did enjoy Where In The World.
it's one of the reasons it was a hit
parents could watch it along with their kids
@@thewkovacs316 I watched it myself and I had no children.
you have to think that at least part of the reason for the switch to Time from World was that they figured it would require less last-minute changes to do a history game show than a geography game show in the early 90s
The theme song actually changed part way through the series. The original says "to Czechoslovakia and back" where later it was changed to "to Czech and Slovakia and back". I only noticed because I had two copies of the song and picked it up when listening to both of them.
@@jeffy210 Great catch as its hard for me to hear those sort of changes as i am hard of hearing sadly.
Also, wow, Where in Time owed a LOT to Doctor Who!
"Personally interviewed over 900 kids." *"Personally interviewed over 900 kids."* That is *insane* commitment. Huge props to this guy.
That's how you really get a feel for what kids want, and work with that and find ways to logistically incorporate the kids' wild ideas into a coherent show. Nobody does that anymore, its all about money, so you just get a bunch of CEO's slapping garbage together and then it flops.
@@MrWolfSnack although if they wanted to actually make money the smart way instead of the quick way, they would continue to workshop ideas from actual kids. The problem is that they don't want to take the time and would rather recycle something from old formulas that are proven. Then they change the formula in some awful way and ruin it anyway lol.
If you interviewed 10 an hour for an 8 hour work day, you could power through that in nearly 2 and a half weeks, ballpark. Hey, they didn't say personally one-on-one, and PBS didn't have that much money. Haven't you ever been part of a marketing study?
Its over 900!
Nowadays that'd get ya 20 years...
Dude you cant just say "Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego?" and keep moving on like that.
I know! I have so many questions.
I’ve never met anyone from North Dakota. Or even South Dakota. Are y’all around, or what’s the deal? Where. In the. world. Is. Anyone from a Dakota?
@@sirdavos9319 Presumably most of them are in North and/or South Dakota
Why is North Dakota so special?
Blame North Dakota Education and Tourism boards for that one.
I’m not sure anyone has enjoyed their job nearly as much as it seems like Rock a pella enjoyed theirs.
Also props to Greg for how much composure he still managed to hold onto when his mom gave a clue.
I wasn't expecting the intense hit of nostalgia at hearing The Chief's voice
Greg’s pure genuine shock to seeing his mom pop up on screen is so good and wholesome lol
"Yes ma'am." lol 😂!
Greg Lee was the best. I don't think the show works without him or Lynne Thigpen (RIP).
God I actually remember watching that one back in the day. It was the talk of the school all week as we debated whether it actually was Greg's mom or just an actress.
@@mikeb8674 I always wondered why they replaced him with Kevin Chinnick on Where in Time
Former Senator and now President Joe Biden
Rockapella singing"where do you want to go?" has been living rent free in my mind for nearly 30 years.
lol funny but true
Or “How Much You Gonna Risk?”
Literally 😂
SHE STOLE THE BEANS FROM LIMA
FOR PETES SAKE
YESSS
I am convinced that this show was the reason Legends of the hidden temple was so successful.
This came first and if you pay attention many ideas reflect this game show.
My children were born in 85 and 89. I watched this with my children. We loved it. We also watched the animated one on saturdays.
My dad never cared to tell any of the Carmen Sandiego extended universe apart, so when I was a kid we played “Where the Hell is Carmen Sandiego”, a memory I had completely forgotten until now. At least I can hope for an identically-titled spin-off in a perfect world
Sounds funny 🤣
Here's a joke: where the hell is Carmen sandiego?
Me: she's on sandiego California jackasses!
Sounds like a legit way to go through Dante’s Inferno tbh.
...You might just get your wish at this rate. My writer's brain likes this very much. oAo Do you mind if I play with it some??
@@avivagodfrey9272 lol as long as you link it to me! Would love to read it :)
Greg Lee getting teary eyed to his mother appearing on the show was sweet.
yeah that was so wholesome
I wonder if they surprised him, and that's why.
He couldn’t handle it, absolutely adorable! You could tell he is a good son who really loves his Mom! ❤️
@@catloverKD He definitely seemed surprised when she appeared
No one else like this comment
I love PBS for making shows like this that I could watch with my kids and play along with at home. It really did educate and challenge you in a fun way. That Rockapella theme song is so catchy;it's been stuck in my mind for decades! Those guys really could harmonize... anything! "Where in the world is Rockapella?!"
They are still at it! I saw them in concert a few years ago. Go if you can!
they are still going but not with the members that appeared on the show. Only one is still active in the group.
I went on the quebec version of this show! I was 12 and they selected 6 of us for two episodes. We had to have above a certain grade in our geography class and then they had us pass a test and took the top six. I felt so freakin special and the cast really took time to make us feel welcome.
Oh! And the “this show was made possible from viewers like you” thing that PBS does? **chef’s kiss mwah**
He did it 2 times before with Between The Lions & I think Zoboomafoo
@@marcusblackwell2372 I'm pretty sure the "thank you" after the viewers like you thing was added to PBS programming long after Carmen Sandiego aired, though
@@boriszakharin3189 but they did. Unless... When did they start that? Zoboomafoo came out 4 or 5 years after Where In The World ended, and Between The Lions came out 6 years after it ended
@@marcusblackwell2372 According to LogoPedia, "thank you" was added in 1999, so after Where in theWorld is Carmen Sandiego finished its run: logos.fandom.com/wiki/PBS/Viewers_Like_You#:~:text=They%20didn't%20add%20%22Thank,Russel%20Comedy%20Special%20in%201991).
@@boriszakharin3189 in that case, it WAS there for Between The Lions because that came out in 2000
RIP Lynn Thigpen. She will always be Chief of ACME Detective Agency in my heart.
RIP Lynne. It was SO sad when she passed! :(
She died!?
@@Carmelmen1 yes. In 03
@@Carmelmen1 Yes, in '03 from cancer sadly.
Agreed. I did some research and found out she was born/raised, has a school named after her, and is buried in Joliet, IL where I currently reside. Pretty cool 😎
Seeing the video game version of "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego" brought back some memories I've forgotten.
I’m 18 so I never saw the show growing up, but my dad played me an episode earlier this year and I loved it so much!! If it could be redone for the modern geography but still keeping the cast, humor, and style, that would be awesome!
Unfortunately, a reboot with the original cast is impossible. Lynne Thigpen, who played The Chief, passed away in 2003.
@@kattrielladoesstuff Yeah she died relatively young, I didn't know her from much but I always did love her in this role growing up.
If they were to do a modern reboot of “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” I could kind of see Leslie Jones or Yvette Nicole Brown playing The Chief.
Man u missed out. I feel sad for the gen zers lmao.
@@kattrielladoesstuff "That Rockapella" is most likely off the table as well... though weirdly enough based on interviews with Geoff Castellucci it sounds like getting together a reboot of the show filming in Orlando is like... "A thing" that VoicePlay are seriously interested in (...or at least were for quite a while)?
Of note: apparently the entire genesis of that group started with Geoff, Layne, and Earl gathering after school to watch every episode and nerd out over Rockapella together!
I just want to take a second to appreciate Carmen’s character design. She looks like a badass
And despite the changing definitions of fashion over the years, her look has always managed to remain stylish.
There is just something almost timeless about variation on that 40s Noir look. Her early incarnations with the black fedora look like Frida's getup in the ABBA music video of "Money, Money, Money" funnily enough!
Also, the fact that they decided to make her latina woman instead of the typical white male master criminal is pretty cool, especially since her characterization isn't stereotypical or sexually objectified at all. She's just a badass master criminal looking fly in her awesome coat and fedora, who happens to be a hispanic woman.
Greg's "Yes ma'am." after his mom shows up is a pure embarrassed child reaction.
Living in Québec, Canada, I was lucky to get to watch both the original English-speaking version, AND the French-speaking version, totally remade specifically for the Québec audience! This video really took me back! ❤️
This is amazing! I loved the cartoon
Même chose pour moi!! Sauf que je tombais rârement sur cette émission, mais n'empêche que cette vidéo m'a rempli de nostalgie.
I didn't watch the English one, but the Québec one was one of the French shows I didn't mind watching because it wasn't just another cheap voice-over! And I remember their a cappella group were called Voxappella, which included a woman and a black man.
I find it funny that having an a cappella group was specific to that show, but it did give it a fun energy.
Yes! I remember so well! From Québec as well ❤
Why don't yall speak English like normal people?
My wife and I were 18 and still dating when the show premiered and we never missed an episode. Thank you for this trip down memory lane!
No ask
I still have my gumshoe kit from the show! They gave them out in pieces to collect at Wendy's! I was living in a hotel after a house fire and my mom bought me so many Wendy's kid meals for dinners. I'd watch the show in the hotel room and then go pretend to try and catch Carmen around the hotel. Thanks PBS for making a rough time in my life a little better!
This is a great anecdote!
This is such a sweet story, thank you for sharing
Your mom sounds awesome
I remember the following sweepstakes. I won forst prize if i recall correctly . Which was the 1994-95 edition of the where in the world game, and either an atlas or guiness book of world records. Can't recall what the grand prize was. I think it was a paid for trip?
Awesome story, tyvm for sharing! 😊
I was on the show. What a great experience! I still remember walking through the hallways and hearing Rockapella warming up for the taping. Dynamic.
you were a contestant? Spill the deets!
So jealous! I wanted to be on the show so much! Please make a video about your experience!
Nice
That is so cool!
So cool!! I’m really happy that you had that experience
"Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?"
Carmen, right behind them: "Day 100. They still haven't noticed."
I took my brother to a Rockapella concert sometime in the mid 2000s. They were great. And at the end of the show they told the audience to "say it." They didn't need to explain. The entire stadium bursted out "DO IT, ROCKAPELLA!" and then the place lit up even more as they sang the song from this show.
I saw them in the early 2000's at a small venue in Long Island, NY with my dad, he loved them and bought all of theirs CD's! It was a great show!
That sounds amazing. Best ending to a concert.
That's bad ass.
I love when people can embrace their pop culture past.
Instead of getting pissed. Anytime someone brings it up.
I'm talking about you Harrison Ford!!!
Incredible
I'd bet that they're pretty proud of their stint on that TV show. I can't imagine there's many things more emotionally rewarding than making a generation of kids happy.
30 years later and my desire to own one of those jackets has not dimished
SAMEEEE!!!
I wrote to DIC and requested how could I get one. Still waiting on a response...
Me too
That jacket was Fire
SAAAAME!
4 real
Lynne Thigpen and Rockapella were iconic back in the 90's. I'm thankful we had this show. And your channel does a wonderful service to it.
This was one of the coolest shows for me growing up! And honestly this (and 90s Ghost Writer) is what sparked my inner crime sleuth!!! I was so envious of the kid who made it to the last round, but I always wanted them to win!
Yes! Ghost Writer was my jam. With every episode getting closer to solving Ghost Writer's identity.
The last episode of ghost writer freaked me out and I loved it.
In the 90's, I remember that the kid who made it to the last round would rarely catch Carmen Sandiego because it was so tough. That infamous giant floor map!
G-ghost writer!
(Wuh wuh wuh wuh word)
R.I.P Lynne Thigpen for raising us all on proper education, we miss you! 🙏🏾🌹
She really was a wonderful educator and besides Rockapella, she's the part of the show I remember and cherish the most.
@@Sgt_Glory same Lynne Thigpen was awesome I miss her she would’ve been that kind of teacher that made you excited to learn.
She was such a talented stage actress too, and Tony Award winner. She died very suddenly at only 54.
She was a national treasure, globally
♥
Contestant: “I won the game, I want to go to Hawaii!”
PBS Exec: “Whoa, whoa, whoa kid... we don’t have the budget for that. What do you think this is Nickelodeon?”
I wonder if any of them wrote "Disney Land" or "Disney World" on their grand prize. They're in the contiguous 48 states, after all!
@@nick012000 Many of the kids wanted to go to California (where Disneyland is) or Florida (where Walt Disney World is). The producers told them to write down anything else, because they didn't want the big reveal to be the same two states every time, but they still got to go where they really wanted to go.
@@furrykef That explains why one time I swear I saw a kid win and he wrote down New Jersey
@@nick012000 well after Season 1, it became anywhere in North America. Hawaii is part of North America.
Contestant - "No, they only give out cans of tuna... and they're not even dolphin-safe!"
PBS Exec - "..."
I love the celebratory tone you take in so many of your videos. It’s so refreshing and relaxing after watching so much critical content. I love media critiques but it’s lovely to listen to someone talk about the factual history of something that was genuinely and earnestly great.
agreed! my youtube-addled brain kept waiting for something to go wrong but it was just blissfully wholesome
My niece won one of the T-shirts and when the show came to our local mall, her mom took her there to meet "the chief", Lynn Thigpen. When she finally got to meet Lynn, she was wearing the Carmen Sandiago T-shirt and asked Ms. Thigpen to sign it. Lynn said she was only supposed to sign pictures. After a second, she snuck my niece around the table she was sitting at and signed the shirt.
We'd always liked "the chief" before but she became our hero that day. Thank you, Lynn Thigpen - you are still missed!
Lynn Thigpen was taken well before her time.
This is literally causing me to cry nostalgic tears reading this; that is so sweet!
@@rightsarentpolitical Yes, she was a real lady!
Rockapella honestly needs more credit. They carried alot of the weight for that show
totally
I still get upset when I type in "Carmen Sandiego theme" into youtube and the first few hits are from the cartoon.
And the cartoon's theme is pretty good too, it just gets BTFO by the game show's.
If anyone mentions a warrant or I hear it on tv I still hear "The warrant!" in my head.
I literally dont remember this show but I could still sing the theme song before watching this
Tell me you weren’t one of the people who watched the show just waiting for Rockapella to sing the theme at the end of every episode! 😂 They were awesome.
I'm smiling from ear to ear while watching this well done documentary. I loved this show growing up! thanks for the memories. 😊
You know even if a lot of the geography has changed, it shouldn't detract from the show, if anything be a good piece of history showing changes day by day in the world at times.
It's crazy the amount of time and effort that used to get pumped into shows mostly in the 80's and 90's with shows like this one and one's later like All That. Really pushed the boundaries and helped define a generation. I was born in 92.
Yeah, 91 here! :-)
I was a 30-year-old career woman when this show was out and I actually used to watch it, it was so entertaining.
I also watched as a young adult. It was a good show. That theme song lives rent free in my head.
As an adult now you gotta love the energy they put into the show.
I’d love to go on an adult version of the show.
Despite her hesitation, Lynne Thigpen WAS the perfect The Chief. Her knack for authoritative delivery really sold how serious the outlandish scenarios were to the plot.
I think they had to sell her on the educational part.
This show got me interested in geography so much. I would study maps and memorize them in hopes that one day I could be on the show.
I don’t think there’s been a game show segment since that’s more edge-on-your-seat to watch than the giant map sequence of Carmen Sandiego. The timer going down while Rockapella did their ‘bombawachick’ song can’t be duplicated.
I remember when the geographical changes of the early 90s caused the theme song to change. They had to change “Czechoslovakia and back” to “Czech and Slovakia and back”. Which as a kid, just amazed me. A TV show CHANGED IT’S THEME SONG? To match with events? What was this craziness!
This is really interesting. I wish I got to see this show. But I did get to see a few reruns of the animated one and later Carmen Sandiego on Netflix. They changed it to “Czech Republic and back”
I remember that change.
@@shawnise me too
It was also really weird when the "Roseanne" theme song got lyrics for the first time. It was never intended to have words.
Animaniacs did that with the line about Bill Clinton playing the sax to we pay tons of income tax
At 20:08 Greg getting completely flustered over his mom's unexpected participation in the show is the most wholesome thing I've seen today.
ikr? that was so sweet!
He had tears in his eyes! So precious!
That was so nice! And she did a great job!
That was so amazing! Made my week
Grown men turn into shy boys when their moms appear.
I was in high school when this came out, and though not in the target audience, I absolutely LOVED this show!! Watching this has brought back some major nostalgia! I also still have the original Rockapella soundtrack from the show, on CD. Listening to it in the video reminded me how amazing their music was!! 💕
I remember the 1996 Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? computer game very fondly. My daily computer game 'screen time' allowance had a limit, but anything education-based was exempt from the limit, and thus relished by me and my little sister as a way to keep playing on the computer. I can personally attest to the fact that my geographical knowledge, cultural knowledge and vocabulary as a child were all successfully contributed to by this game. I'll always have a soft place in my heart for Carmen Sandiego. :)
It's only now as an adult that I can appreciate how incredibly hard working and talented Rockapella was. I mean the amount of work they had to do on that show every day is impressive and they always looked like they were having a blast!
I'd never really liked musicals, with the exception of stuff like Tiny Toons and Animaniacs... not even Disney movies got me. But damned if I didn't appreciate Rockapella
90s TV, for kids at least, really was superior to anything we have today, it was bring the country together too, far less issues with race and now it seems like everything is about division.
@@DATWagonator And like they said in the video: The show actually DID take diversity into consideration. But they didn't say "Did you see the chief is black?", "Today we have a black male contestant, a Hispanic female contestant, and Mark whose heritage and gender are boring, forgettable, and regrettable." , etc. The show was just FUN.
@@vlo4829 Yup. I watched this show as a kid and I just saw all different types of kids. I didn't even care if it was a girl or boy, it was just fun to see kids doing this
I've sang in a few amateur quartet/ ensemble barbershop type groups. Those Rockapella fellas just have that absolute genuine love of music and showmanship. I've been with guys who'd don a tux on a Tuesday evening and sing with as much enthusiasm and heart at a sleepy senior center just for the love of music and the opportunity to entertain people, no matter the venue. These guys are having the time of their lives here!
Also, the general societal moods of genuine equality and diversity we had in the 90s was so unifying and wholesome; we really need to get back to that. Things today are totally toxic. Seems like the people griping the loudest about perceived problems are sowing the most division. We're much more united than we think; unfortunately there's a lot of $$ to be made in the online race grifting sphere and in the griping about race grifting sphere.
As a kid from the inner city of NY weirdly enough this show changed my life...I was around 8 or 9 when I first found it and loved it...it legit sparked my love for geography and travelling...I'm 37 now work for American airlines and have traveled almost all around the world 🌎...idk if it was coincidental or not but I always credit them for sparking the thoughts of looking outside ny environment 👌🏿😎💯
I'd pay first class rates for a crowded coach middle seat if Rockapella did the pre-flight safety briefing.
Aww this comment gave me all the feels, so wholesome 🥺 I loved Carmen San Diego as a child it made me understand that there was A WHOLE WORLD of different countries and continents and places to see. I remember highlights magazine made a mail in game inspired by Carmen (at least I think that was the idea) where you had to solve geographical puzzles and I would get it in the mail every month (my grandma bought it for me since she saw my interest in the show) and I loved getting it in the mail I felt so important that I was finally getting mail 😂 I was about 6 when the show was still popular
@@lisalove991 wowwww my grandmother did the same for me with those highlight books...omg I absolutely forgot about that ‼️👌🏿🖤
@@twizzy585ful yesss I loved them so much! Thanks for your comment 💕
@@lisalove991 yours aswell thank you
I had no idea they made them so quickly and often on the fly. Some crazy talent to do it and stick around for it all. It gives me more respect for those involved in something that was a nice part of my childhood and ignited my love of A cappella.
Only the 90s could make educational this awesome...
I may be a miserable, bitter pissed off millennial now, but I’ll tell you - growing up in the early 90s with all this great stuff was incredible. Amazing time to be a kid.
I totally agree, Geddy!
Same! Though I still suck at geography.
Sure was a great time to grow up! I feel for the kids nowdays with this time period being their "good ol days"
Definitely
Agreed. To me, the 90's was this show, Thomas the Tank engine, etc we didnt have cable either. I had no idea who Doug or Hey Arnold was lol
This was one of my favorite shows.
"She put the Miss in misdemeanor when she stole the beans from Lima
Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?"
As an adult I'm now realizing that must have been one of the US towns named Lima because the one in Peru is pronounced "leema".
@@stevethepocket No, that's how they pronounced it in the song.
@@stevethepocket It's pronounced Lima. As in, the bean type.
20:22 I love how they just called Greg’s mom… Greg’s Mom.
I used to watch Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego, it was my most favorite show.
WQED and WGBH deserve so much credit for the influence they had on kid's programming. Probably the most important non-family positive influence on 2 full generations of children.
THISSSS!!!!!!!!!!!! And it was free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
as a boston native so much of my childhood was defined by wgbh. LOVE them and all they’ve done!!
@monny287 OOOH TWO OOOONE THREE FOOOOOUR! SEND IT TO *ZOOM*!
I never realized how lucky I was to grow up in Pittsburgh! 🙂
My friend has an intellectual disability and she insisted we watch this every time I came over to play. She loved the songs and colors and we'd sing with the theme song. They did a fantastic job with keeping her attention (which was hard to do) and we both learned a lot. It was a great way to spend time with a girl I didn't really understand at the time but who was genuinely fun. I should send this to her. It has been 30 years and I bet she can still sing the song.
I have autism and this was middle school for me. I definitely still know all the words ☺️. I bet she does too. Acapella just does it for me lol like Pentatonix. 😁
Do it, and we wanna know if she remembers
may i ask what her disability had to do with this comment?
@@stormcloudsabound One has to imagine that it was included as a sort of invitation to be condescended and lectured to by a busybody stranger with schoolmarm energy on the internet. You wouldn't be able to do us all a favor by being that person, would you?
@@stormcloudsabound I think the original poster was saying that it helped them bond with someone that they really didn’t understand too well at the time. It brought people together.
i was a kid obsessed with geography, i grew up just after the original PBS airing but I still loved Carmen Sandiego media when i could get it (i knew about her from "where on earth," that theme song is STILL stuck in my head). Just from the clips shown, you can tell that a lot of care went in the show - i've noticed that's actually not that uncommon for a lot of kids media in the 90's.
The creativity on display from the show writers and producers is incredible
Hey that's my dad!! Great job on this, Defunctland!
Cool. Thanks to your dad for putting together such a great, fun show.
I loved that show so much. Your dad did a great job!
Your dad is a legend. Tell him thanks for all the amazing work he put into this show!
Awwwww! I was a grown woman(and a high-school English teacher) by the time the game came out, and still I loved it. Also enjoyed watching PBS Kids TV in the afternoon to unwind. This show was such a delight.
Yo your Dad is a legend! This was my show growing up. Please thank him for all of us.
Honestly props to those kids, some of those clues were really niche
maybe by todays standards
@@magicamadeye Trust me, it was worse back then.
Not really, it seems pretty easy.
When the theme song for the old animated Carmen Sandiego show played I immediately started singing along! never would have thought I remembered it.
Man I used to want to be on the show when I was a kid. I wish they still did shows like this
When my local PBS station stopped putting this show on, I called into a pledge drive to complain. I was 3
I admire your drive.
Your parents should of whipped your butt! Who told you to use the phone!!!!!??🤨
No u weren’t
I mean...forget the obvious oddities here, how the hell could any 3 year old in that day and age know that a show is "done"?
Bless your heart! I told PBS years later that I won't pledge any money until they bring it back. To this day I still haven't sent them ANY money....
Seeing a new Defunctland vid is like walking in the door at your home and finding fresh baked chocolate chip cookies waiting for you and a glass of warm milk.
accurate
I just got off of a shit day of work and opened CZcams to see it. Day is automatically better!
EXACTLY!😃
Very appropriate simile my friend
I've never had warm milk
Sounds abhorrent
I loved this show as a kid! I never realized how important "Rocapella' was to the shows success! Those guys were beyond awesome, and made the whole show what it was!
My grandad had the “where in the world” game in the 90’s
It was impossible.
I think I remember that game. There was also another computer game trying to find Carmen that I had. . .man it was difficult and long and you needed Windows 98 at the minimum.
Had the pleasure of seeing Rockapella perform at my college. They've had changes to the crew but the band remains. They saved Carmen Sandiego for last. It was a full 90 minute show, too. They then performed three other encores.
Rockapellas were the doo-wop group of the 1990’s reviving the sound of the 1950’s and 1960’s doo-wop music of the Moonglows, the Heartbeats, the Flamingos, the Marcels, the Platters, and others doo-wop groups of the time.
I remember when Don K Reed was with the Rockapellas as a guest on the “Doo-Wop Shop” a long time ago when it was on WCBS-FM and it was good, and they sang the show’s theme.
I saw them a couple of times in the 1990s good to hear they are still around.
Their vocal drummer was AMAZING. Did he get a solo break in Carmen Sandiego?
The Chief's actress makes the entire show alongside Rockapella. It's cool to know they had her in mind from the start; her delivery of every line is something I remembered for 25 years.
Lynne Thigpen is her name.
She was also the moon in the bear in the big blue house!
@@the_emmasculator Never would have guessed that one, what a throwback.
I love her surprise appearance on Lincoln (2012)!
Rest in peace, Lynne Thigpen.
I played this game in public school here in FL. It was very educational.
I watched the original show and played the original computer game. Then watched the first animated version. My younger brother and I loved the game and show. Even my parents would sing the theme song with us watching this brought me right back. That song ill probably sing it at random now like I used to as a child. Thank you for this video I almost forgotten about one of the biggest pieces of my childhood ❤
Man I can’t even believe how fast they get these things out even with their extreme high quality
4-5 episodes A DAY is an insane production pace. I was just thinking that while watching them party on the map at the end of the episode. I'd bet once cameras cut they were like "Alright kids, that was fun! NOW GET OUT OF HERE. We've gotta shoot another episode in FIVE MINUTES."
I appreciate now why Greg looked exhausted at the end of some of those episodes.
They could only film in June and July probably.
I'm glad the guy who did the casting didn't give up on Lynne Thigpen after she initially turned him down. She made the show. I'm just like the guy who cast her, I can't imagine anyone else in that role.
Same. She was the best!
I grew up with the Carmen Sandiego CD-Rom games. Lynne Thigpen will always be the Chief to me.
She is my recollection of the show
strange that she would turn down the offer
doing the electric company exposed rita moreno to a whole new gen and opened a ton of doors for morgan freeman
@@thewkovacs316 She probably heard "kids game show" and just reflexively said no out of habit. No one knows how the kids game show is gonna turn out before it starts. She definite didn't think she would become an icon. David Alan Grier turned down the role of Bubba in Forrest Gump because if he was going to play someone mentally challenged, he wanted to be the lead. He was not happy how things turned out.
The way the two halves of the chief's face came together and then she smiled was damned unsettling.
I loved that show. I wanted to be a contestant so bad. Definitely played the Brøderbund games, too. Their DRM consisted of finding a specific word or phrase in the World Almanac that came packaged with the game. The 90s were a trip!
Thank you for recognizing a Classic TV show that Boomerang or Nickelodeon would never pick up
Their loss lol!
The PBS stations and HMH own the rights to the game shows. The 90's cartoon is on the DHX CZcams channels.
@@JeffreyPiatt too bad HMH doesn't have a production company then maybe it could dvd release or even whatever production company makes Mrs Maisel (not amazon, I actually found out Mrs Maisel has a Game Show Carmen connection)
They will eventually
As much as I loved a plethora of 90’s era Nickelodeon & Cartoon Network shows, I really don’t think WitWiCS would have meshed very well with other shows on those networks (with the possible exception of Legends of the Hidden Temple)..
Without a doubt, Carmen San Diego will always score MAJOR nostalgia points with me (&prolly just about every other American 90’s kid who at some point got that relentless ear worm of a theme song lodged in their skulls as well!)
If you weren’t a kid during this time, you missed a lot of great fun Tv like this show. I LOVED watching this
I remember the Chief would always, at a certain point in the show, try to make a basket with a basketball thrown over her shoulder. I only ever saw her manage it once, and she was just as thrilled as everybody else! lol
😆
The chief was perfect. She was absolutely hilarious with her overly serious demeanor. Absolute gold with that casting
Man, I remember this show. I was really into geography myself so I always liked the geography trivia. Always wondered what happened to it
I spent hours with an almanac on my school's Apple 2s playing this. It definitely contributed to my love of travel and world facts.
Sometimes karma actually does right and a show gets popular for all the right reasons - it was wholesome, positive, and executed at a pretty damn high level.
Where in the world is Karma Sandiego?
@@haulforlove9720 ⏰ out for me
The chief was my favorite on the show. It’s so sad that Lynne Thigpen died so young (early 50s, brain hemorrhage) - she just had such a Charisma about her.
One of my favorite shows as a kid.
I remember when her death was announced. My response, "Chief died?" She was a memorable part of my childhood
I remember her as the radio dj from “The Warriors” movie.
I remember her from Lean on Me as one of the parents. Even though her character on that movie was annoying, she really was a favorite of kids who watched Carmen Santiago…
She was amazing in Godspell, too. What a wonderful performer. It’s a dreadful shame.
WHAT!?
Broderbund was also made famous in the early 1990s when they helped develop one of the most iconic and beloved point-and-click adventure games;
Myst!
9:25 Me, a non-American: I JUST REALIZED THAT THIS IS WHERE RHETT AND LINK GOT THEIR MELODY FOR “WHERE IN THE WORLD DID THE .. COME FROM” EPISODES
The actress who played the chief really made the show as I remember. I honestly can't imagine this show with anyone else.
She was even included on certain PC games, as well.
@Andrew McFadden Oh dude they better at least ask her to do it. It would be dumb not to as people like me who watched the show as a kid will have hardcore nostalgia. It would be cool if they got the guy too but that is secondary imo.
@Andrew McFadden well shit.
She was also Luna on Bear and the Big Blue House. 🌝🐻
Hahah same. I forgot much of the show details, but the chief is unforgettable!
As an average homeschooled white kid in the 90's, who was never indoctrinated into any overt racism but simply didn't interact with African Americans much in daily life, I'm now convinced that seeing Lynne Thigpen and Levar Burton in such important leadership roles was overwhelmingly important in my social development. They were literally the only black people in authority who ever spoke directly to a lot of white kids like me... I don't think I'm alone in being indebted to PBS for having the guts to cast the way they did.
Yeah, I think I was in the same sorta boat. I grew up in rural Ontario and there just wasn’t many non-whites due to our location and the local economy (we were in the middle of dairy country). We didn’t have cable tv and the internet was about ten years away, but PBS in Buffalo was one of the few channels we could get. Lynne Thigpen and LeVar Burton were definitely two key entertainment personalities in my early life.
Indeed, it is an examp
le how how race relations have actually decreased over the past 20 years.
I’ve never thought about this, but your absolutely right. Thanks PBS!
As I was also an average homeschooled white kid in the early 90s...I think you're onto something here.
(I met Greg Lee at a mall signing around 1992. It was great!)
I loved Reading Rainbow.
Did you know DMX sang on the theme song? You can look it up on CZcams. It's definitely not doctored at all.
Really nice touch with the "viewers like you, thank you". That line is so fuckin nostalgic
too bad the Thank You line wasn't around when the show was on, that was added long after
Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego? Why Tioga, where the oil is!
This is great, thank you for accepting the suggestion and producing this.
Waldo: I’m the most notorious person on earth. Everyone is trying to find me.
Carmen: Sure you are.
Waldo is great but he ain't never stole the statue of liberty
@Josue Rodriguez Put whatever it's called... safe search or whatever... on with that because I got some rule 34 results. So I'm going to go bleach my brain now.
Waldo: Honey please just let me have this one!
They had kids named Hyde and Zeke.
@@Redcruiser813 Clever.