History Series / WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego

->''Time Pilots, the [[JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TV Tropes Wiki]] has stolen something from the past! You've got...[[RealTime 28 minutes]] to get it back, or history will change forever! [[ActivationSequence Initiate Chronoskimmer launch sequence! Boot up the Chrono Computer! Power up the engines!]] [[TechnoBabble Extend the temporal sequencer!]] Now, get going!''

* HardTruthAesop: A variation. The show pulled no punches about presenting the darker aspects of human history, speaking frankly about subjects including the forced and deadly relocation of indigenous Americans on the Trail of Tears, Japanese internment camps during World War II, and both the slavery of the past and its continued practice in the present in the form of sweatshops and barely-paid work. Kevin would use these opportunities to explain that part of studying history is learning what ''not'' to do in the present and preventing the mistakes of the past.

* NintendoHard: The Trail of Time wasn't this in theory, but it became this in execution. The time pilot would stand in one of six gates and be asked a history question with two answers (Example: It's 1939, what epic movie has its premiere in Atlanta: ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'' or ''{{Film/The Ten Commandments|1956}}?'') If they got the answer right, the gate opened, but if they didn't, they had to perform some time-consuming manual task such as pulling up a rock with a rope. It became downright maddening when they decided to scatter the gates in a big mess, without any type of trail on the ground (lights would flash on the appropriate gate, and the Engine Crew would point the pilot there with airport flashlights). It's led some to believe that PBS deliberately made the whole thing confusing to avoid paying out the grand prize.
** A number of the questions relate to some of the clues given in the main game. So, it's possible to win with a lack of knowledge if you've been paying attention all game.

* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: One of the Cluefinders is a fruit vendor from Peoria, Illinois, in 1941. He is miffed that English physicians, looking for sources of mold for penicillin, happened to find mold in one of his cantaloupes. Since then, he has been called "the Moldy Melon Man." It probably doesn't help that some of his fruits [[NauseaFuel actually do look moldy]].

** The "Trail of Time" bonus round was played in 90 seconds. Between the fact that [[TimeKeepsOnTicking each question chewed up six seconds of your time]] and you had to work off any wrong answers by opening the gate manually, you needed 4 out of 6 to even have a fighting chance, and that's if you could work the device quickly enough. Five or six, on the other hand, more or less guaranteed a win...although see NintendoHard, above.

** In the episode about Expositions, during a clue, Kevin is prompted by a woman about the new technology of Television. Kevin then describes possible shows one could watch on this new device, including [[{{Foreshadowing}} "....a host and three kids chasing an imaginary crook through time."]] After the Q&A, Kevin laments that if they don't stop the criminals antics, the show "might not exist."

** AristocratsAreEvil: [[http://m.youtube.com/index?client=mv-google&desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US&rdm=4ozmbjp0z#/watch?v=vXPmYxuwOL4 Baron Wasteland]].
** JekyllAndHyde[=/=]SplitPersonality: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giSfAVG_l9g Jacqueline Hyde]].
** MadScientist: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ8tbKar3lg Dr. Belljar]].
** [[EvilSorcerer Evil Sorceress]]: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVkUCeVoYk0 Medeva]].
** KnightErrant: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-t_U5SJ8Os Sir Vile]].
** TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily[=/=][[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have to Be Bugs?]]: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN6WoRxhNXs&feature=related Buggs Zapper]].

* AdaptationalVillainy: In most media, Carmen Sandiego is a FairPlayVillain who's more interested in the thrill of the chase and generally avoids hurting people. This series is the exception, where Carmen is maliciously altering time and her henchmen are given orders to attack the Time Pilots. However, this may simply be a case of EarlyAdaptationWeirdness. At the time, the portrayal of Carmen as an AntiVillain basically only existed in the ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego'' cartoon, which was treated as an AlternateContinuity. Her ''Earth'' characterization wouldn't be explicitly worked into the video games until ''VideoGame/CarmenSandiegoTreasuresOfKnowledge'' in 2001.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Sir Vile has a code of honor despite being evil. As a few examples, he would never partake in GraveRobbing[[note]]In the episode where he stole the arches used to build the Roman Colosseum, he said that he would never defile the Taj Mahal because it was the tomb for the empress that it was a memorial to and the emperor who built it for her.[[/note]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9o5eOEAmCo he is horrified by the evil of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the events of "Trail of Tears."]]
** The Chief's EvilTwin from a parallel universe hates many forms of kindness and virtue... But ''does'' think it's perfectly okay for a woman to be in a position of power.

* CatchPhrase:

* CelebrityParadox: In the episode on computing, one of the items in the reverse chronological order game is the debut of the first ''Carmen Sandiego'' computer game in 1985.
** Another episode had a clue about what year did "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?" debut (even having Lynne Thigpen past and present see each other). It was 1991.

* IntangibleTheft: Several episodes have the crooks stealing non-physical items, including the theory of the atom, the voices of the griots of Western African nations, and P.T. Barnum's "The Greatest Show on Earth" slogan. It's also implied that the thieves are stealing the ''idea'' of particular items rather than just the items themselves--in the episode about protest songs, for example, the anthem "La Marseillaise" is taken, but presumably there wasn't just one copy of the sheet music or lyrics, so the crook must have stolen the very concept of the song itself.

* NintendoHard: The Trail of Time wasn't this in theory, but it became this in execution. The time pilot would stand in one of six gates and be asked a history question with two answers (Example: It's 1939, what epic movie has its premiere in Atlanta: ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'' or ''{{Film/The Ten Commandments|1956}}?'') If they got the answer right, the gate opened, but if they didn't, they had to perform some time-consuming manualtask such as pulling up a rock with a rope. It became downright maddening when they decided to scatter the gates in a big mess, without any type of trail on the ground (lights would flash on the appropriate gate, and the Engine Crew would point the pilot there with airport flashlights). It's led some to believe that PBS deliberately made the whole thing confusing to avoid paying out the grand prize.

* ForWantOfANail: Each episode features the history of a different concept (ranging from atomic theory to amusement parks to hiking trails to protest songs), with Carmen's crook stealing the "seed" of that concept from its earliest known point in the past. Kevin and the Chief both repeatedly stress that if the loot is not restored to its original time period, the history the Time Pilots have been exploring would either change dramatically or cease to exist altogether.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Sir Vile has a code of honor despite being evil. As a few examples, he would never partake in GraveRobbing[[note]]In the episode where he stole the arches used to build the Roman colosseum, he said that he would never defile the Taj Mahal because it was the tomb for the empress that it was a memorial to and the emperor who built it for her.[[/note]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9o5eOEAmCo he is horrified by the evil of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the events of "Trail of Tears."]]

* TheCameo: One episode had the ''World'' Chief suddenly appear on the ship as it traveled around 1991, and as you'd expect she wondered where Greg Lee and Rockapella were. Thigpen wore her ''World'' costume and even got to speak with [[TalkingToHimself her equally confused future incarnation]]. (Considering that the whole reason ''Time'' existed was because ''World''[='s=] budget was slashed, this cameo may fall squarely into BitingTheHandHumor and/or SelfDeprecation.)

* FiveManBand:
** BigBad: Carmen herself.
** TheDragon: Sir Vile (Carmen's most loyal minion, and the one most willing to do her bidding).
** TheBrute: Buggs Zapper.
** EvilGenius: Dr. Belljar.
** DarkChick: Jacqueline Hyde, specifically her "Hyde" persona.
** SixthRanger: Medeva/Baron Wasteland.
** TokenGoodTeammate: Jacqueline Hyde's good "Jacqueline" side.

The second game show in the ''Franchise/CarmenSandiego'' franchise, and the successor to ''Series/WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego'' on Creator/{{PBS}}, ''Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?'' challenged kids with history instead of geography. The action took place aboard The Chronoskimmer, a massive floating TimeMachine powered by knowledge and dancing crew members. The gumshoes were renamed "Time Pilots", host Kevin Shinick was their "Squadron Leader", and "The Chief" Creator/LynneThigpen from ''World'' had a much less prominent role. And for the first (and, to date, only) time, a live actress played the lady in red herself.

* TheOmniscient: Omniscia.

* HolyIsNotSafe: There's a being that's implied to be an EldritchAbomination called "Omnicia" who the Chronoskimmer rarely contacts. Make no mistake: she's ''good'': every time they contact her, she provides information helpful for recovering the loot and stabilizing the timeline. But that doesn't make contacting her a safe proposal; hence the paucity of times they contact her.

* BenevolentAbomination: Omnicia has the benevolent part nailed, as every time she's contacted, she always gives the Time Pilots useful information for tracking down the villain, recovering the loot, and repairing the timeline. The abomination part is heavily implied; we aren't really told what she ''is''.

** Justified when there was a Data Boost round after that clue, as those were caused by the crook attacking the Chronoskimmer, implying such gloating was likely trying to bait the Time Pilots into a trap.

* BenevolentAbomination: Omnicia has the benevolent part nailed, as every time she's contacted, she always gives the Time Pilots useful information for tracking down the villain, recovering the loot, and repairing the timeline every time they contact her. The abomination part is heavily implied; we aren't really told what she ''is''.