Carmen Sandiego (Netflix)

[The Nth Doctor]

I'm assuming this is one of those things that never made it across the pond as despite being a child of the 80's & 90's, I don't think I've ever heard of this character at all.

Probably so. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is quite possibly the very first video game I ever played, certainly among the first. The subsequent series of games, shows, and comic strips (in the kids version of National Geographic) were a major part of my childhood. Hell, I have the app version of World on my phone.

 

[Reverend]

By the way, it occurred to me that Carmen's use of decoys in two episodes (including the finale) was a good explanation for why a master thief wears such a conspicuous bright red outfit.

I kinda got that from the very first episode, where they mention she makes sure she's seen multiple times prior to a heist: the only sane reason a thief would draw that much attention on purpose is for misdirection.

Probably so. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is quite possibly the very first video game I ever played, certainly among the first. The subsequent series of games, shows, and comic strips (in the kids version of National Geographic) were a major part of my childhood. Hell, I have the app version of World on my phone.

I suppose it makes sense since it's a little hard to export educational programming. After all, it tends to be publicly funded and localised. Which actually reminds me of a weirdly vivid memory of them showing us one of those educational type videos at school that was definitely American or Canadian in origin as it featured two kids with Yank accents going on about how to calculate whether they could afford to buy one action figure or two. Even back then it seemed like a very odd and random thing to show us since it had to be explained to us that over there, tax is added on at the till, not included on the sticker price (they also had to explain to us what "tax" even was...we were only 8 or 9 after all! )

I have only vague memories of the video games I played at school, but 'Through the Dragon's Eye' on the old Acorn BBC rather stands out. Mostly because the show that came with it was very weird and kinda terrifying for a kid's educational show.

 

[Christopher]

I never played the computer games, but I watched the PBS game shows. Lynne Thigpen's "Chief" was the breakout character of the original game show, and I like it that they've homaged her in the new show. There was a "Chief" character in the '90s FOX Kids cartoon, but it was a Max Headroom-like male character.

Although I got a bit confused -- the Chief here is voiced by Dawnn Lewis, and until I double-checked just now, I mistook her for Jenifer Lewis, who plays Professor Granville in Big Hero 6: The Series and seems to be doing a Lynne Thigpen impression in the role. I guess that explains why this Chief sounds less like Thigpen than Granville does -- a similar timbre, but softer-spoken. I thought it was the same actress and thus was puzzled by the difference in the characterization.

 

[tomalak301]

The finale was pretty cool. Some more surprisingly intense action/peril, and pretty nice character work with Carmen and Shadow-san (though I still hate how they misuse the honorific in his name).




Well, it is supposed to be educational, but that was the value of the mystery format of previous shows, both the PBS game shows and (I suppose) the earlier animated series that introduced Zack & Ivy. Focusing on kid heroes trying to track down a criminal and solve a mystery is a good way to teach problem-solving and analytical thinking. The show could use more of that.

There’s educational and there is dumbing it down. I felt the show was bordering on dumbing things down for the audience.

 

[Christopher]

There’s educational and there is dumbing it down. I felt the show was bordering on dumbing things down for the audience.

Well, the target audience is preteen children.

 

[fireproof78]

Probably so. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is quite possibly the very first video game I ever played, certainly among the first. The subsequent series of games, shows, and comic strips (in the kids version of National Geographic) were a major part of my childhood. Hell, I have the app version of World on my phone.

There's an app version? O_o

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Yup, produced by Think Tesla Studios. It's a pretty good recreation of the original World with updated information and characters.

 

[fireproof78]

Yup, produced by Think Tesla Studios. It's a pretty good recreation of the original World with updated information and characters.

Well, my wife will be happy.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

When are they going to bring back the game show? I loved that show.

Also, does the cartoon feature any of the other villains from the show like Top Grunge?

 

[Christopher]

Also, does the cartoon feature any of the other villains from the show like Top Grunge?

The only returning villains appear to be Dr. Maelstrom and Dr. Sara Bellum from the 1994 FOX Kids series. It also brings back Zack & Ivy, who were the leads in that series, but here they're Carmen's assistants instead of her pursuers.

 

[JD]

I suppose it makes sense since it's a little hard to export educational programming. After all, it tends to be publicly funded and localised. Which actually reminds me of a weirdly vivid memory of them showing us one of those educational type videos at school that was definitely American or Canadian in origin as it featured two kids with Yank accents going on about how to calculate whether they could afford to buy one action figure or two. Even back then it seemed like a very odd and random thing to show us since it had to be explained to us that over there, tax is added on at the till, not included on the sticker price (they also had to explain to us what "tax" even was...we were only 8 or 9 after all! )

So in the UK the price on the tag is the full price you end up paying?
I used to be in the toys department at the store where I work, and I couldn't even begin to count how many time I heard parents explaining to their young kids that they had to make sure they had they had enough money to cover the tax on top of the price on the tag.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Interestingly, while I remember having to calculate for sales tax all the time living in a big city when I was a kid, I also remember going to small towns like Pine, AZ and they would have small independent stores that would include the tax with the sticker price.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

So in the UK the price on the tag is the full price you end up paying?
I used to be in the toys department at the store where I work, and I couldn't even begin to count how many time I heard parents explaining to their young kids that they had to make sure they had they had enough money to cover the tax on top of the price on the tag.

I think that all countries in Europe have the full price on the tag. Not sure, but I think that it's more common around the world to include full price instead of separating price and tax.

 

[Reverend]

So in the UK the price on the tag is the full price you end up paying?
I used to be in the toys department at the store where I work, and I couldn't even begin to count how many time I heard parents explaining to their young kids that they had to make sure they had they had enough money to cover the tax on top of the price on the tag.

As far as consumer products and services go, yeah, VAT (value added tax) is almost always included in the sticker price. It's a little different with certain things, but they are still required to specify is a price is "plus VAT", which at the moment is a flat rate of 20% (it can change, but very very rarely.) Plus of course there's wholesalers and things like that, but you have to be a registered business for that so most people don't encounter it. IIRC most food and children's clothing are by law VAT exempt and certain other essentials have a reduced rate of about 5%, but again, that's to be included on the sticker too.

Personally, I've never had it adequately explained to me why the US does it differently. I mean if it's in the interests of transparency, then why not have the "before tax" price in smaller print under the full price? It just seems like a way to make things more difficult for the customers and allow businesses to make it look like they're charging less than they really are.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

We finally have a trailer for season 2:

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October 1 is just around the corner!

 

[Xerxes82]

I keep meaning to watch this show. I miss the old game show on PBS. So much fun!

Personally, I've never had it adequately explained to me why the US does it differently. I mean if it's in the interests of transparency, then why not have the "before tax" price in smaller print under the full price? It just seems like a way to make things more difficult for the customers and allow businesses to make it look like they're charging less than they really are.

If I were to hazard a guess, (and that's all this is) it's about ease and uniformity. Sales tax varies by state, county, even municipality. Particularly with the large national chains, they want to be able to establish a price that they can post at any location, regardless of the underlying tax structure.

Take my local community, for example. There are 12-15 Wal-Marts (big box department store) all within 30-45 minutes. They all sell the same items, and list the same prices. But what you end up paying varies depending on which store you go to. All of the ones in our neighboring county pay state sales tax, no county sales tax, but municipal sales tax depending on which town/village/or city they are in. In my county, there is an additional county based sales tax, plus an extra municipal school sales tax in a couple of the municipalities. So everything at those stores costs about 2-5% more than at the other stores. And that's just in that 30-45 minute area. When they run flyers in the local paper, or television ads, or internet ads or whatever, they would have a hard time listing any pricing at all, because of how much it varies. Before tax simplifies it and lets them list a single retail price, which gets modified by taxes at the register.

 

[fireproof78]

Personally, I've never had it adequately explained to me why the US does it differently. I mean if it's in the interests of transparency, then why not have the "before tax" price in smaller print under the full price? It just seems like a way to make things more difficult for the customers and allow businesses to make it look like they're charging less than they really are.

Part of it is due to the fact that each state can levy it's own tax rate. I used to work for a retail store that covered 11 different states, and I worked right on the state line, so advertising had to show pre-tax since it covered multiple states.

 

[JD]

You can easily cross into three different cities within just a few miles of my house, and I believe the rates are different in at least 1 or 2 of them. I have to admit, I never really paid that much attention, but I know one of them is a bit higher than the city I live in.

 

[Reverend]

*tunes brain back into a conversation from 7 months ago*

OK, but if the taxes are geographically variable, but these shops are stationary and don't get up and stroll across state lines on a regular basis, then surely each business should know how much tax they need to charge as a fixed value, and label accordingly. I mean it's a simple enough calculation that it should be easily automated.
It kinda just smacks of laziness on the part of the retailers to me, which is weird since they have to calculate it at the till anyway...

 

[fireproof78]

*tunes brain back into a conversation from 7 months ago*

OK, but if the taxes are geographically variable, but these shops are stationary and don't get up and stroll across state lines on a regular basis, then surely each business should know how much tax they need to charge as a fixed value, and label accordingly. I mean it's a simple enough calculation that it should be easily automated.
It kinda just smacks of laziness on the part of the retailers to me, which is weird since they have to calculate it at the till anyway...

It's a matter of is the extra labor worth it to the retailer.