New Licenses for "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego?", A Carmen Sequel in Development, A New Show for All-dome Video, and A Live Theatrical Presentation for Planetariums

Since first opening in 1998 in planetariums across the US and Canada, "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego?", has broken box office attendance and income records, typically beating all competition, including IMAX movies, by 100% and more. Created under license from and in conjunction with PBS, Broderbund Software, Inc., and The Learning Company, the show is part live theater for children and families and partly a fast paced "quiz show in outer space". It features original 2- and 3-D animation, music and sound effects by Hollywood's Mark Mercury, and the talent from PBS's award winning series, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? including on-camera appearances by Rockapella, Tony Award winner Lynne Thigpen as "The Chief", and Academy, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award winner Rita Moreno as the voice of Carmen herself.

Now that mergers are complete between Broderbund Software, Inc,, The Learning Company and Mattel, the license for "Carmen" is being extended for planetariums currently holding rights to perform the show and new licenses for additional planetariums are being made available. Spanish, German and Japanese versions of the show also have been sanctioned by Broderbund/TLC and are currently in pre-production.

In addition, a Carmen sequel is in development. In the first show, Carmen absconds with the rings of Saturn. The audience, as a stalwart band of Gumshoes in the service of the ACME Detective Agency, encounters aliens, unravels clues, solves puzzles and pursues Carmen across the solar system ultimately capturing her and bringing her to justice.

In the sequel, our beautiful but dastardly villain escapes from prison on Jail House Rock, develops warp drive and goes after the giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy!! Once again, it's off to adventure. This time, the audience visits and learns about single and multiple stars, star clusters, stellar evolution, nebulae, pulsars, black holes and the basic structure of our galaxy. The Chief, Rockapella, Rita Moreno and a host of aliens again join in the fun as kids practice listening and math skills, and use deductive reasoning while having a great time tracking down Carmen. "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego? II" is set to go into production this winter with release and licenses available by mid- to late 2000.

Meanwhile, in cooperation with the EcoTarium (formerly the New England Science Center) and NASA, the author is set to write, produce and direct a full length planetarium feature for the exciting new medium of All-dome Video. Pending final NSF funding, "ORIGINS" will deal with the 4 billion year pageant of the rise of life on Earth and the search for it elsewhere in the solar system and beyond. Designed for 4 and 6 projector systems, "ORIGINS" will be created for SkyVision but may be made available in other formats as well. With an animation budget alone estimated to top $600,000, the show will be designed to push the magic of All-dome Video to the limit and give planetarium audiences a visual experience like none before as they sail from the one celled kingdoms of our planet's primordial seas to the orange oceans of Europa; from the hydrocarbon dunes and ethane lakes of Titan to the jungles of Earth-like planets in orbit around other stars.

Based on an economic and logistical model developed by the author, an initial consortium of planetariums assisting in the funding of "ORIGINS" will receive the show complete with the SkyVision projection hardware installed in their theater for a period of 3 to 4 months for an extremely reasonable buy-in cost. In this way, the program initially will be handled like a traveling exhibit. The result will be greatly increased affordability for this expensive new medium, unprecedented public relations opportunities for the host institutions and, most significantly, the opportunity for the host planetarium's Directors to showcase the new technology in front of their CEOs, Trustees, and potential funders who have the economic and decision making means to purchase such hardware for the facility on a permanent basis as well as enter into joint ventures to make future productions financially viable. Production on "ORIGINS" is expected to commence this winter with release to initial consortium members tentatively scheduled for late 2000.

Finally, rewrites are now nearing completion on a stage play originally written by the author as the premier offering for the renovated Pacific Space Centre in Vancouver in 1997.

"The Night of the Martians" spans 500 years in time and traces our past, present and future fascination with the Red Planet and the possibility of Martian life from the late 19th to the 24th centuries. Utilizing stage sets and props, video, laser projections and more, the program can be staged with as little as a single actor. Live, audience interactive acts are interspersed with pre-recorded segments to allow for make up, costume and set changes. The actor(s) sequentially take on the roles of Percival Lowell in his famed observatory, the on-the-scene field reporter in the 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, a modern day scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the last of a long line of Chief Engineers on board a terraforming station in orbit around Mars in the 24th century ­ an engineer who together with his or her spouse and children are about to journey to the surface of the planet, take up residence, and become the first Martians. For information on these and other programs, please contact me. "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego?" and "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego? II" are created, written and produced by Dr. William Gutsch in cooperation with and under license from The Learning Company. "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego?" ?" and "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego? II", Carmen Sandiego and all related characters are trademarks of The Learning Company. Used with permission. "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego?" ?" and "Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego? II" are based on the computer software product Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego?, created by Broderbund Software, Inc. "ORIGINS" is a trademark of the EcoTarium (formerly the New England Science Center) SkyVision is a trademark of Sky-Skan, Inc. "The Night of the Martians" is a trademark of Great Ideas. Created in conjunction with The Pacific Space Centre.