Gumshoes

What does RoboCrook, Vic the Slick, Top Grunge, Rockapella, Lynne Thigpen, and have in common?

No answer? What about if I include the following lyrics:
"Well she sneaks around the world from Kiev to Carolina,
She's a sticky-fingered flicher from Berlin down to Belieze.
She'll take you for a ride on a slow boat to China,
Tell me _____ __ ___ _____ __ ______ ________?

Steal their Seoul in South Korea, make Antarctica cry uncle,
From the Red Sea to Greenland they'll be singing the blues
Well they never Arkansas her steal the Mekong from the jungle,
Tell me _____ __ ___ _____ __ ______ ________?

She goes from Botswana to Thailand, Milan via Amsterdam
Mali to Bali, Ohio and back

Well she'll ransack Pakistan and run a scam in Scandinavia.
Then she'll stick 'em up Down Under and go pick-pocket Perth.
She put the Miss in misdemeanor when she stole the beans from Lima.
Tell me _____ __ ___ _____ __ ______ ________?"

No guess? What if I say it is an old television show on PBS and the above lyrics is the third verse of the theme song?

Still no clue? What if I say that Rockapella (who sang the theme song), does a different version of the song for the Today show, and it is used approximately twice a year for a week at a time?


Keep guessing...


Ok, if you haven't figured it out yet, the show was "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" The show aired from 1991 to 1996 on PBS. RoboCrook, Vic the Slick, and Top Grunge were criminals that the contestants were chasing across the globe. Lynne Thigpen was the "The Chief" and as previously stated, Rockapella sang the theme song.

Why am I posting about a show that has been off the air for 12 years? Well, for some reason, right as I was finishing up my shower this morning, the song popped into my head and I sang it for the next hour or two. I have no idea why, just a very random thing so I decided to create a post about it.

Some links to enjoy:
Rockapella "Where in the World is Carmen Sandeigo?" Theme Song


Rockapella Folgers Commercial (well known commercial)


Why is this show no longer on the air, not even reruns? (NOTE: the 1991 season was never re-aired because following that season, the USSR collapsed and the show was not politically correct. Starting the following year, at the end of the show, The Chief would say something about the show being correct as of the date of production, which was then shown on the screen) I learned more geography watching that show than I did in school. The show should still be on, at least reruns, so children of today can learn where different countries, or different states, are located.

Still don't get the reference to the Today show? A few times a year, they do a segment called "Where in the World is Matt Lauer" where he travels to a different location each day for a week. I tried finding a clip of this, but couldn't get a decent version. Best I could find.