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Comment by postalcoder | Hacker News Reader

The entire PBS slate of shows was elite. Very little did I know at the time how initiative-driven it was (a great thing). To me where in the world was Carmen Sandiego was a fun trivia game. To the creators, they were trying to address the issue of americans not knowing where the country was on a map.

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"To the creators, they were trying to address the issue of americans not knowing where the country was on a map."

This is a very glib take. The origin of the series was a 1985 educational computer game from Broderbund. The target age group wasn't expected to know all this information, which is why the game shipped with an almanac.

Not sure if it was on purpose but your take is the glib one.

“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.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_in_the_World_Is_Carmen...

Now of course the tv show is an offspring from the video game but it’s well documented that the specific format was to combat geography. So it’s a fine statement to state that is the purpose of the show creators as that was the mission from PBS at the time.

> To me where in the world was Carmen Sandiego was a fun trivia game. To the creators, they were trying to address the issue of americans not knowing where the country was on a map.

Was there a show? To me Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego was a reoccurring segment on a show called Square One. I liked it, but it didn't feel like it was the source of Carmen Sandiego mythology; it felt more like a minor epiphenomenon.

There was also a computer game, which I didn't play much of because it was a lot of work. It felt a lot more fully developed than the TV segments, though.

Yes, there was half-hour game show for kids that aired on PBS in the early 90s. For anyone who's ever seen it, chances are the theme song is permanently burned into their brain: Do it, Rockapella! [1]

0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_in_the_World_Is_Carmen_S...

1: https://youtu.be/9ubKvQe2hQU?si=jHjOKvKuWukQkBUJ&t=1510

The game came first, and the TV shows were spun off from it, which is probably why the game feels more fully developed. It grew into a whole media franchise -- there were Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? game shows on PBS, as well as a Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? Saturday morning cartoon, and more recently, an animated series on Netflix. I don't remember there being Carmen Sandiego segments on Square One but I also don't remember Square One all that well in the first place.

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