This post is an extract from The Retro Machine (Vol 6) posted by Spencer over at RetroJunk.

No, this is not a piece about the PC game, this is a piece on the fantastic PBS game show that aired in the early 90’s. The cheesy clue sketches, comedic interactions between Greg and The Chief, the memorable melodies of Rockapella, and the colorful cast of Carmen’s crooks, all added up to one of the finest educational game shows to ever air on public television. Seriously, if you missed this show as a kid, you truly missed out.

Lynne Thigpen (The Chief), who sadly passed away in 2003, was the true anchor of the show. She had this authoritative air about her that retained the humor of the show, but at the same time instilled this sense of urgency that compelled you to watch in hopes that Carmen would get caught.

The show captured the spirit of the game, keeping close to the detective theme (words like “gumshoe” come to mind) all throughout. The prizes they gave away were always funny. The third place contestant would walk away with a Carmen T-shirt while the second place contestant would get something like a world band radio. The grand prize was always a trip to anywhere in the lower 48 states, but to get that you had to find seven places on a continent in 45 seconds. It wasn’t easy, and many kids failed to catch Carmen. The ones who did had to have an absolutely flawless run.

Without a doubt, the one thing that to this day remains as the shows legacy was it’s quirky theme song. I can’t think of any other way to end this than to show the amazing a capella theme song…