Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon)
The new super enthusiastic party-style themesong I always thought was…an odd choice.
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? was a Saturday morning cartoon show based on the Carmen Sandiego series of edutainment computer games. It should not be confused with the better-known PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. The Earth show was made by DiC Entertainment and originally aired on FOX. Its episodes have subsequently been repeated on both the Fox Family Channel and the Pax network. The series won an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Animated Children’s Program” in 1995.
The C.H.I.E.F. (Computerized Holographic Imaging Educational Facilitator) is the head of ACME. In the Earth series, the traditional role of “The Chief” was drastically retooled, becoming a wise-cracking sentient computer image not unlike Max Headroom. Playing a slightly more important role than his counterparts in the franchise, the Chief was still limited to providing exposition, alerts of Carmen’s recent crime and comic relief. He was voiced by Rodger Bumpass and was also featured in Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition.
This version of the Chief had a very intimate professional and personal relationship with Carmen. They were both trained as agents when ACME was in its infancy (the Chief more likely created as an attempt at an autonomous robotic agent, complete with android body), and were often partnered up with each other on many cases. They became fast friends, and although he was angered and shocked at Carmen’s defection to a life of crime, he didn’t have the heart to close her file. It’s clear that Carmen also thinks highly of their friendship, having once entrusted the help of ACME agents Zach and Ivy to help restore a virus-stricken Chief back to health after she ‘kidnapped’ him for a Christmas night to ‘relive the good ol’ days’, and once again teaming up with him to capture the criminal Maelstrom, whom they had captured during their detective years and had returned to take his revenge.