Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? is an American half-hour children's television game show loosely based on the computer game of the same name created by Broderbund Software. Just like its predecessor, the show was produced by WGBH Boston and WQED Pittsburgh. The program ran for two seasons on PBS, consisting of 115 episodes (65 in Season 1 and 50 in Season 2), which ran from October 7, 1996 to December 12, 1997, with reruns airing until September 25, 1998. The show starred Lynne Thigpen as "The Chief", Kevin Shinick as "ACME Time Pilot Squadron Leader" replacing Greg Lee and "The Engine Crew" who is considered a replacement for Rockapella as various informants. The show replaced Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and was recorded entirely at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City, the longtime home of Sesame Street.
Gameplay
Opening
Before the show began, the viewing audience would see Carmen Sandiego in her V.I.L.E. headquarters. In Season 1, Carmen appeared in a fourth wall type of narration. In Season 2, a surveillance nano-probe from ACME filmed Carmen in her lair where it went unnoticed. She would be complaining to herself and plotting to steal the historical "seed" of her complaint. Carmen then summoned one of her V.I.L.E. henchmen or henchwomen and told him/her what to steal and where to go. In Season One, she would shine an "Info-Beam" on the villain to give the details of the object in question. In Season Two, she would give the thief a "Loot Orb" or "Cybersphere" to contain it and are just told to bring the object back to her when they find it. Once the villain takes off to do their mission, The Chief then told the audience that one of Carmen's chosen henchman had stolen something from the past. She tells them to recover the loot in 28 minutes (the length of each episode) to prevent temporal paradox. The show then began with the Engine Crew preparing the ACME Chronoskimmer (a flying saucer capable of time travel) for launch like activating the Chrono-Computer, launching the Time Pods, powering up the boosters, and then singing the show's theme song while dancing. Afterward, the Chief would introduce host "Kevin Shinick". In the first season, Kevin would directly enter from the left of the Chronoskimmer. In Season 2, Kevin was seen goofing around in his room until the Chief called him to do the show. He would then enter from the right of the Chronoskimmer.
Each episode's general theme stemmed from the loot of the day, which helped to shape the history of its kind. For example, when Carmen stole P.T. Barnum's "The Greatest Show on Earth" slogan, the episode focused on the history of advertising.
Round One
Three players (ages 10–14) known as "Time Pilots" competed. Each was given 100 'Power Points' to begin. Each section of the round had an informative skit, a question, and then a warp to pursue the villain through time; the round had four sections in Season 1 and three in Season 2.
After a skit, Kevin would present three possible answers to the pilots. The viewer could see the individual choices represented by an individual color (pink, green, or blue). All three pilots answered the question, and anyone with the correct answer scored 10 Power Points, with no penalty for incorrect answers.
Skits include the following: