Where on earth--behind the scenes


Who knew that this simple child's series would turn out as well as it did? And who knew that such a high-flying success would ultimately crash to its doom? It started out as the dream of one man...or rather, computer.

CHIEF: So I'm sitting here going over last week's data files and I'm thinking to myself, you know, they've got 'COPS' and they've got documentaries, but what about something in between? Something you can sit through without falling asleep, but doesn't have any of the shooting or the bleeping.

The Chief approached his detectives and asked them how they felt about the idea, and most of them thought it was too risky. But two of them were willing to go with the idea.

ZACK: I thought it was wild. I'd get to be on TV and everything. Next I knew, the autograph sessions were rolling in (pauses). Wha? Oh, right, right, the show. Yeah, I thought it would be...okay.

The Chief did use one gimmick; he was in charge of the division that tracked the famous thief Carmen Sandiego. His documentaries were so successful that he was approached by FOX network to do a series based on his detectives' work. But some of the prospective cast were a little hesitant at first.

CARMEN: It was a little strange at first. I mean, a staged heist? What is that? They would have me doing some pretty weird things, too. Why would I want my own dinosaur? And I kept finding technical problems with the script. But I'd always wanted to make a shot at acting.

Eventually, FOX filmed the first season. It was a moderate success, the only educational series on the top ten animated shows list. But it still had a rocky start.

IVY: First we were pre-empted by a 'Power Rangers' special. Then it was 'The Masked Rider'. We felt so second-rate. (covers hand with face) It was so humiliating.

FOX filmed its second season and it was much more successful. 'Where on Earth' started to get a name for itself in the world. But as always, there was still work to be done.

ZACK: People think if you're in show business, you make a lot of money. NOT true. We had enough to pay the bills, sure, but we weren't exactly rich. (pouts)

IVY: I really wanted to get back to detective work. I hated having people always hanging around me, trying to do stuff I could do myself. And then there were these weirdoes...

CARMEN: These psychos started following us around. I won't even repeat what they said to us. Whenever I went out, Ivy and I would go together. We felt safer that way.

IVY: I know it sounds like it was a nightmare, and sometimes it was. But we had a lot of fun too. When we travelled somewhere to shoot a scene, we got to stay in a nice hotel for a change. And both Zack and I started to get more respect for Carmen. I think it showed in some of the later episodes.

The peak came with the critically acclaimed episode 'Follow My Footprints'. The cast was emotional both on and off stage. This was followed by celebration immediately after the Daytime Emmys.

HOST: And the winner for Best Children's Series is, 'Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego'! (Carmen in red sparkly dress, Zack in tux, and Ivy also in tux, come upstage and accept award with waves and smiles.)

CARMEN: (wipes away tear) I know you're all waiting for one of my witty remarks right now...but I'm afraid I'm speechless!

Despite the show's success, the writers seemed pressed for good material. Things started going downhill in the third season, with nonsensical episodes accompanying the quality ones.

CARMEN: (on set) What the--I get caught?? Because of a streak of bad luck? What kind of story is that?!

ZACK: (on another set) Who is this Chester dork and why does he have such a big spread in the next ep?

To make matters worse, FOX had decided to abandon its 'quality programming' scheme and had sold out to Saban. Saban provided writers for the next season, and the whole thing began to unravel.

LEE: I admit, in 'Boyood's End' I was a jerk, but at least I had a mind and a personality. In 'Can You Ever Go Home Again' I was just a half-brained average thug. It was all I could do to make them cut out the nosepicking scene!

CARMEN: It was just shocking. They took a woman of power and demoted her to a whiny child.

IVY: THey wanted us to do this scene where we drain the gas out of Carmen's aircraft--while she was flying in it! What the heck was that?

The whole thing came to a head when, as a joke, one of Saban's drunken associates said that they should put Ivy in a racy bar scene. She gave him a foot to the head, and half stunned already with vodka, he fell headfirst into a ice chest. He had Ivy arrested for attempted murder.

JUDGE JUDY: Ay, it was the word of some silmy moron with about fifty misdemeanors on his record against this kid who was squeaky clean and did marathons for MS. I said 'fuhgettaboutit' an' threw the case outta court.

Even though they had won victory in the court, the cast still had the problem of the contract and the dumpster-destined fourth season...so they went on strike with the actor's guild.

CARMEN: Not fulfilling the contract wasn't a problem for me, it wasn't like I never broke the law before. Ivy was just mad. And I think Zack decided he wasn't getting paid enough for it to be worth it.

Undaunted, FOX hired new actors to film the last few episodes, then decided to ditch the series.

CARMEN: 'Retribution' was the first one they filmed. I can't believe nobody knew that girl wasn't me. Just listen to her voice and her lousy acting when she does her little Titanic speech!

ZACK: By this time we'd given up and jumped clear. And it didn't matter all that much, because the show had stopped running regularly. They showed 'Retribution' as some kind of special, then all the others on FOX's 'rejects' network, FOX Family. Then the show went to PAX. (grimaces)

CARMEN: It was still painful to watch those episodes, even though I wasn't in them. It was just...so wrong...

Not long after, the show went off the air for good. Its fans were disappointed, but despite many happy memories, the cast was glad to leave. They returned to their previous lifestyle, a world away from what had been portrayed in the series finale.

Next time, we'll take you behind the scenes of Lee Jordan's first gig, 'Captain Planet and the Planeteers.'

LEE: I'm like, you know, this goody-good thing just wasn't making it for me. I wanted to try my hand at devilish or evil.