March 2019

Posted 29 March 2019

Carmen Sandiego / Netflix / 2019-??? (With this new WordPress Editor, it’s hard to figure out how to stack the lines without adding blocks that add excessive space to the lines. When I review a show, this is how the format will be for the time being.)

There were the computer games in the ‘80s, the game shows in the ‘90s, then a cartoon in the ‘90s as well. Now, in 2019, this franchise got itself a reboot. On one weekend (February 9-10, 2019), I binge-watched the latest incarnation of the Carmen Sandiego cartoon on Netflix. I’ll just say it was sure worth the weekend binging. As for everything else…keep reading.

I watched the game show “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” (PBS, 1991-1995) when I was younger. I would also watch my uncle watch the animated “Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?” (FOX, 1994-1999) in bits and pieces. If I recall correctly from my own past thoughts, it was Rockapella that made “The World” interesting to watch. For the animated series, I thought the intro sounded intense and I really digged seeing The Chief as a face on a screen. I started playing the games later in life and only found “Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego” (PBS, 1996-1997) in 2011. When I later on found “The World” and “On Earth” and watched them again, they were a lot better than I remembered. I was paying attention more so I learned more about geography/history than I did in school. When I discovered there was a new “Carmen Sandiego” show on Netflix, it would be a complete crime (Mmm-Hmm) to skip it.

So Many Changes!

There were dozens of changes to get used to in this version. For one thing, this version of Carmen looks really young, about the age of an average Netflix binger (main target audience) whereas, in the earlier versions, she seems like a fully-established adult. Also, I’m used to the Zack and Ivy of the old series. Here, they are redheaded siblings with obvious Bostonian accents. All of this while Player becomes a hacker instead of a computer gamer and pals around by device with Carman with Zack and Ivy. And what was it with Carmen becoming good? I always thought that the objective of the Carmen Sandiego game was to capture her crooks then capture Carmen herself and throw them in jail. They would rot in jail and that would be the end of it until the game restarts. But that’s probably just the game. Do I have to get used to Carmen being good? There were other abrupt changes but you’d be reading this all day.

But That’s OK

Despite the changes, there were a few things I enjoyed. Some may complain that the animation may look a bit lazy. Lazy yes, but modern and streamlined. It makes me feel good to be viewing modern shows. It won’t make me feel like my likings are stuck in the ’90s. I enjoyed finding out about Carmen’s origins in the first 2 episodes. Those explanations had a lot of depth in them. I enjoyed seeing the story about her younger years and her time at V.I.L.E. academy. The first episodes were a great idea as they set the stage for how Carmen will be in this new series and why she is now against V.I.L.E. The following episodes take you places all over the world while you watch in your comfy place. You’ll want to find out where you and the gang will go next.

Is It Worth the Binge?

Despite the complaints about the numerous changes, this show is definitely binge-worthy. It’s way different than the ‘90s cartoon in terms of character set-up and animation but I can get used to it. How can you go wrong with Carmen Sandiego? It’s the reason I keep watching. For now, until I see more episodes, I will give this show 3 stars. I greatly anticipate the arrival of season 2. Hopefully, the rating can get higher as time progresses. For now, good start to a reboot with changes that blew my mind.