Time Warp Trio

Time Warp Trio is a Canadian-American animated television series based on the children's book series of the same name. Created by Jon Scieszka, the series was produced by Soup2Nuts in association with WGBH Boston. The series aired on PBS Kids, Discovery Kids, and The Hub (now Discovery Family) in the United States and on CBBC in the United Kingdom. It also aired as part of a two-hour Discovery Kids block on NBC until September 2, 2006, and on Jetix (later Disney XD) in India and in Latin America.

This article is about the television series. For the original book series, see The Time Warp Trio.

Time Warp Trio
Created byJon Scieszka
Directed byDavid SanAngelo
Voices ofMark Rendall
Darren Frost
Scott McCord
Sarah Gadon (episodes 2–14)
Tajja Isen (episodes 20–26)
Sunday Muse
Laurie Elliott
Annick Obonsawin
Opening theme"Time Warp Trio" by Riddlin' Kids
Country of originUnited States
Canada
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesSoup2Nuts
WGBH Boston
DistributorPBS[1]
Release
Original networkPBS Kids/Discovery Kids (US)
TVOKids (Canada)
Original releaseJuly 9, 2005 (2005-07-09) –
July 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
External links
Website

The final six episodes aired on July 15, 2006. It ended its run on NBC on September 2, marking the end of the "Discovery Kids on NBC" block.

Plot

For his tenth birthday, Joe receives a mysterious blue book (known only as "The Book") from his magician uncle, Joe the Magnificent. By reading the book, Joe and his friends, Sam and Fred, are (often accidentally) transported to various times and places throughout history, such as Ancient Egypt and the Old West. In the year 2105, the trio meets their own great-granddaughters, Jodie, Samantha, and Freddi.

After each time warp, the group must find and use The Book in order to return to the present day. Later in the series, Joe's evil uncle, Mad Jack, makes several attempts to capture the children and The Book with crafty tricks, such as stranding them in Antarctica (since The Book does not work there).

Characters

Main Characters
  • Joseph "Joe" Arthur (voiced by Mark Rendall) – An up-and-coming magician and the present-day owner of The Book. His penchant for experimenting with The Book results in many of their adventures, and his talent for magical tricks helps them out of tough situations. At one point, Joe is awarded the title of Time Page, and he is said to eventually become a Warp Wizard. According to Freddi and Jodie, Joe will fight his uncle, Mad Jack, in a great battle that will determine the fate of time itself. He lives in Brooklyn with his archeologist father, his mother, and little sister Anna.
  • Samuel “Sam” (voiced by Darren Frost) – A friend of Joe and Fred who solves problems using intelligence and historical knowledge. He wears thick glasses and is allergic to wool. Sam is wary of time travel, being convinced of their imminent doom every time they open The Book. An amateur inventor, he is told by Freddi that he will invent something very important in the future.
  • Frederick “Fred” (voiced by Scott McCord) – A friend of Joe and Sam who is a sports fan and known for being headstrong, sometimes to the point of idiocy. Fred is the most interested in using The Book for material gains, whether hunting for treasure or patenting future technology.
  • Jodie Arthur (voiced by Sarah Gadon until ep. 14; voiced by Tajja Isen starting with ep. 20) – Joe's great-granddaughter from the year 2105. She loves fashion and is known for being bossy, complaining, and allergic to cats. Jodie is referred to as a "third-level warper" and demonstrates mastery over The Book.
  • Samantha (voiced by Laurie Elliott) – Sam's great-granddaughter from the year 2105. She is known for being teasing, daring, and klutzy– the exact opposite of Sam. Samantha has a robot cat named Rivites and a time-traveling pocket watch that belonged to Sam.
  • Freddi (voiced by Sunday Muse) – Fred's great-granddaughter from the year 2105. She is usually shy, and seems to be the exact opposite of Fred.

Recurring Characters
  • Anna Arthur (voiced by Annick Obonsawin) – Joe's annoying younger sister, who seems to have greater knowledge of The Book than her brother.
  • Joe the Magnificent (voiced by Tony Daniels) – Joe's uncle and namesake, a would-be magician who fails at live performances. He sent his nephew Joe The Book, which he didn't know how to use, and instead traverses time and space with an enchanted pocket watch. He believes in the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny.
  • Mad Jack (voiced by Tony Daniels) – Mad Jack is the evil brother of Joe the Magnificent and Mrs. Arthur. He is intent on stealing The Book so that he can be the sole ruler of eternity. He shadows the trio in many of their travels, once facing down with his nephew Joe. Mad Jack travels through time and space using a scepter with an hourglass on top.
  • Mrs. Arthur (voiced by Susan Roman) – Joe and Anna's mother. She knows how to use The Book, being the one to originally give it to her brother.
  • Mr. Arthur (voiced by Tom Arnold) – Joe and Anna's father. He is a world-famous archeologist
  • Mike (voiced by Dan Petronijevic) – Fred's mean older brother who appears in "See You Later, Gladiator" and "Viking It and Liking It".

Historical characters

Episodes
No.TitleTimePlaceOriginal air date
1"The Not-So-Jolly Roger"1718North CarolinaJuly 9, 2005 (2005-07-09)
Fred wishes for buried treasure after Joe receives the Book for his tenth birthday, and the boys find themselves facing down the pirate Blackbeard.
2"2105"2105, the futureBrooklyn, New YorkJuly 16, 2005 (2005-07-16)
A class trip to the Natural History Museum ends up transporting the boys one hundred years into the future. The Trio run into ray gun-toting robots and meet three mysterious girls who turn out to be their own great-granddaughters. Based on the Time Warp Trio book 2095.
3"You Can't, But Genghis Khan"1170Outer MongoliaJuly 23, 2005 (2005-07-23)
Fred, Joe and Sam travel back to experience life and culture in Mongolia in the 12th century, and pair up with 9-year-old Temüjin — the future Genghis Khan.
4"Tut Tut"1470 BCAncient EgyptJuly 30, 2005 (2005-07-30)
The Trio accidentally warps to Ancient Egypt where they meet a 10-year-old Thutmose III.
5"Sam Samurai"1615JapanAugust 6, 2005 (2005-08-06)
An accidental haiku sends Sam, Joe and Fred back to Japan in the middle of the Tokugawa shogunate. They meet a samurai named Honda and the evil Owatabut of Yomama who attempts to get rid of the great leader Tokugawa Ieyasu.
6"See You Later, Gladiator"120 ADRome, ItalyAugust 13, 2005 (2005-08-13)
The Book transports Joe, Sam, and Fred back to Ancient Rome in the 2nd century AD— and face-to-face with one gladiator. Based on the book of the same name.
7"Lewis and Clark... and Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha"1805Rocky MountainsAugust 20, 2005 (2005-08-20)
The girls' wish for a camping trip transports them back to join Lewis and Clark on the first U.S. overland expedition to the Pacific coast where they meet Sacagawea.
8"Viking It and Liking It"1001 ADGreenlandAugust 27, 2005 (2005-08-27)
The boys want to play Vikings Football Smashfest, but instead find themselves in AD 1001 amidst real Vikings, including Leif Erikson. The boys accompany Ericson on his voyage to North America.
9"Hey Kid, Want to Buy a Bridge?"1879Brooklyn, New YorkSeptember 3, 2005 (2005-09-03)
Joe, Fred and Sam transport back to New York City near the late 19th century and meet Emily Roebling, the woman who helped with the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. However something goes wrong with the warp, and Sam somehow has Thomas Edison's plans to manipulate electricity in his head.
10"Me Oh Maya"960 ADChichen Itza, MexicoOctober 1, 2005 (2005-10-01)
The boys transport to Chichen Itza, Mexico in the middle of a Maya ringball court a thousand years ago, where they must compete in the game. Based on the book of the same name.
11"The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy"1868Western United StatesOctober 8, 2005 (2005-10-08)
The Trio travel back to the Old West where they must survive a stampede, a band of Cheyenne with their leader Black Kettle, and a full-blown charge of Custer's Seventh Cavalry.
12"Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba"1815Paris, FranceJanuary 7, 2006 (2006-01-07)
Fred and Joe transport to 1815 Paris and meet Napoleon Bonaparte. Samantha is also there with pioneering aeronaut Sophie Blanchard. However Napoleon gets his hands on the Book and learns how to win The Battle of Waterloo, where he continues to conquer through the USA.
13"The Seven Blunders of the World"580 BCIraqJanuary 14, 2006 (2006-01-14)
Deeming the Book too dangerous Joe locks it up. However a Babylonian thief steals it on orders of Mad Jack. Accidentally warped to Babylon, the trio meet King Nebuchadnezzar II and Queen Amyitis, the creators of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
14"Jinga All the Way"1624Angola, AfricaJanuary 21, 2006 (2006-01-21)
Jodie, Sam and Fred land in 17th century Angola. They join the fierce Queen Jinga and battle warring tribes in a trek along the Kwanza River on their way to a historic meeting with the Portuguese governor.
15"Birdman or Birdbrain?"1765Rapa NuiFebruary 4, 2006 (2006-02-04)
When The Book's pages transform into rongorongo script, Freddi, Samantha, and Fred transport back in time to Rapa Nui (a.k.a. Easter Island). Eventually, Freddi must jump off a cliff and, swim through shark-infested waters to the Birdman's Island (Motu Nui).
16"Dude, Where's My Karma?"720 ADIndiaFebruary 11, 2006 (2006-02-11)
When Joe realizes that he's slowly disappearing, the kids find a malfunction in his family tree in The Book and follow it to India during the Gupta Empire. Sam, Fred, Samantha and Freddi have to help Joe's ancestor Prince Karna win the hand of Princess Lakshmi to save the entire family line.
17"My Big Fat Greek Olympics"404 BCGreeceFebruary 18, 2006 (2006-02-18)
A wild warp at the Olympia Diner sends Fred and Samantha to Ancient Greece during the Olympic games where they must team up with philosopher Plato to help avoid a historical disaster.
18"Wushu Were Here"621 ADShu ChinaFebruary 25, 2006 (2006-02-25)
Sam gets trapped inside The Book, and Anna, Fred and Joe travel back to the Tang dynasty in China in 621 AD to figure out how to get him out. En route they help the Shaolin Monks rescue General Li Shimin from prison, travel past the beginnings of the Great Wall, learn about the teachings of Chan Buddhism, and confront Mad Jack.
19"What's So Great About Peter?"1698Moscow, RussiaJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
Sam's Grandpa Dima tells some big stories to Sam, Fred and Samantha about his ancestor, Alexander Kikin, but the crew is skeptical. Fred and Samantha convince Sam to travel back to Russia, where they save Kikin (a member of the Russian guardsmen, the Streltsy), from the wrath of Peter the Great.
20"The Caveman Catastrophe"51,000 BCGermanyJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
When the kids warp back to the Stone Age, they manage to decipher some cave paintings and find The Book in the camp of the Neanderthals. However, when they trade Jodie's binoculars to get it back, something goes wrong, and the kids become hairy.
21"Nightmare on Joe's Street"1816SwitzerlandJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
Frankenstein's monster has escaped from Mary Shelley's imagination and is wreaking havoc in Joe's apartment in Brooklyn. Joe, Sam, and Jodie transport the monster to 1816 Switzerland.
22"Breaking the Codex"1503Florence, ItalyJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
Jodie and Freddi unexpectedly grab Joe and transport him to 1503 in Italy at the height of the Renaissance. They must rescue the artist, scientist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci from Mad Jack who has gotten the idea that Da Vinci can help Mad Jack create his own time-traveling book.
23"Break an Egg"1911AntarcticaJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
Joe, Sam and Fred transport to 1911 Antarctica where they encounter Robert Falcon Scott at the Terra Nova Expedition. They endure extreme cold, eat hoosh (seal liver), and discover that Mad Jack has brought them to the one place on Earth that's too cold for The Book to work.
24"The High and the Flighty"1937Miami, FloridaJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
The girls hear a mysterious radio transmission, which Freddi recognizes as the voice of her heroine, pilot Amelia Earhart, who is broadcasting a distress message on her last flight. The girls transport to 1937 and try to solve the mystery of Amelia's disappearance on her attempted around-the-world flight.
25"Harem Scare'm"1540Istanbul, TurkeyJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
Jodie talks Sam and Fred into traveling to the Ottoman Empire, location of the Time Map, which will reveal the location of the Book in any time period. On arrival, they meet Selim II, Suleiman the Magnificent's son, and his wily monkey, Dimples.
26"Plaid to the Bone"1338Medieval ScotlandJuly 15, 2006 (2006-07-15)
Joe, Jodie, and Anna are flung from a trebuchet and hurtling towards Castle Dunbar in Scotland during a siege in 1338 led by William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury. However, when the kids meet Agnes Randolph and Uncle Joe in the dungeon, they realize much more is at stake. Joe watches Uncle Joe and Mad Jack battle it out over the fate of the universe and it's up to the kids to save the timeline. Series Finale

In other media

Comics
  • Nightmare on Joe's Street
  • The Seven Blunders of the World
  • Plaid to the Bone
  • Meet you at Waterloo (Able Was I, Ere I Saw Elba)

Chapter books
  • You Can't, But Genghis Khan
  • Lewis and Clark...and Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha
  • Wushu Were Here

References
  1. https://pbsinternational.org/programs/childrens/
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