The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo
| The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
Children's Mystery |
| Created by | Alan Goodman |
| Starring |
Irene Ng Pat Morita Adam Busch Preslaysa Edwards Steve Purnick Ellen David Eleanor Noble Noah Klar |
| Composer(s) | Bill Johnson |
| Country of origin |
Canada United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 41 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Alan Goodman (seasons 1–3) Micheline Charest (season 4) Ronald A. Weinberg (season 4) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Out of My Mind Productions Cinar (Season 4) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | March 16, 1996 – December 20, 1998 |
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo is a Canadian-American children's mystery television series that ran on Nickelodeon between 1996 and 1998. A total of 41 episodes of 30 minutes each were produced. Episodes from the first three seasons were taped at the now defunct Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, and was one of the few single-camera productions there, while season 4 episodes were shot in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
History
The series first aired in March 1996 as a six-episode test run, since Nickelodeon usually produced one major new series at a time and they were already producing Space Cases.[1] The success of the test run prompted Nickelodeon to re-introduce the series on SNICK in January 1997, along with seven new episodes.[1] During the show's third season, production stopped after eight of a proposed thirteen episodes were filmed due to a crew strike, as the show's budget did not cover the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees's demands, partly due to the decision to shoot film instead of videotape.[2] Production resumed in Montreal in February 1998, after Cinar agreed to co-produce the series.[3] As a result, the show's setting changed from Cocoa Beach, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts.
Starring Irene Ng as the title character, the series revolves around the adventures of a Chinese American teenage girl who lives with her innkeeper grandfather and works as a non-sworn intern at the local police department where she helps out with odds and ends around the office. Occasionally an intriguing case comes to Shelby's attention, prompting her to apply her unique insight and enlist the help of her friends to solve it. Her supervisors, however, do not appreciate her help, as she is only a teenager. Her grandfather also does not want her getting involved in cases, often reminding her, "We are not detectives with warrant badges, we are innkeepers with brooms." Many of the stories, with three clear suspects, keep the audience guessing until the truth is ultimately explained.
On December 28, 2011, TeenNick aired the episode "The Smoke Screen Case" on The '90s Are All That block. The series began airing on a more permanent basis in late October 2015 on The '90s Are All That's successor block, The Splat.
Cast
Primary characters
- Shelby Woo (Irene Ng): Main protagonist of the show, who solves mysteries and is an overachiever. She lives in Florida in Seasons 1-3 and moved to Boston with her grandfather in Season 4. Despite Woo being portrayed as a teenager, Ng was 24 years old by the end of the series. Shelby's parents aren't seen though are mentioned in episode S1Ep05 "Hot Seats" to be in China after Shelby receives a package from them.
- Michael "Mike" Woo (Pat Morita): Shelby's loving grandfather and legal guardian who is looking after Shelby while her parents are in China. He's a practical retired detective with the San Francisco PD. Mike doesn't want Shelby to solve mysteries because he's afraid that she'll get hurt.
- Cindy Ornette (Preslaysa Edwards): Shelby's perky best friend in Cocoa Beach; like Shelby, she likes getting involved in cases. Cindy is close to her cousin Wayne.
- Noah Allen (Adam Busch): Shelby's other best friend in Cocoa Beach; he doesn't like getting involved in cases. Noah wants to be an actor.
- Detective Whit Hineline (Steve Purnick): Works at the Cocoa Beach PD; he is Shelby's sarcastic former boss and doesn't like her interfering in his investigations. Detective Hineline does care about Shelby's well-being.
- Detective Sharon Delancey (Ellen David): Works at the Boston PD, and is Shelby's new boss. While she isn't thrilled with Shelby's help, she is more accepting of it than Detective Hineline was.
- Angela "Angie" Burns (Eleanor Noble): Shelby's new best friend from Boston who replaces Cindy; very good at science and applies that knowledge in certain cases.
- Vincent "Vince" Rosania (Noah Klar): Shelby's other new best friend from Boston who replaces Noah; originally a suspect in one of Shelby's first cases in Boston.
Recurring characters
- Detective Muldoon (Angelo Tsarouchas): heavy set detective who assists Shelby in a few cases in Detective Delancey's absence; does needlepoint
- Will (Joshua Harto): works at CJ's burger joint where Shelby and her friends hang out in Cocoa Beach; known for breaking things or coming up with poorly-thought-out ideas
- Christie Sayers (Jennifer Finnigan): Shelby's nemesis who is determined to solve a case before she does and fails each time; only appears in season 4
Episodes
Season 1 (1996)
| No. | Title | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Hot Seats" | March 16, 1996 | 101 |
| Shelby must clear a scalper's name when he's framed for giving out counterfeit concert tickets. | |||
| 2 | "Hot Seats - Part 2" | March 24, 1996 | 102 |
| Conclusion. The mystery tightens when the young man accused of selling fake tickets vanishes. | |||
| 3 | "Wipeout" | March 31, 1996 | 103 |
| When a local surf champ is poisoned, his rival is blamed. Shelby must prove the man's innocence. | |||
| 4 | "Fool's Gold" | April 7, 1996 | 104 |
| A priceless gold coin is stolen from a local surf shop. | |||
| 5 | "The Missing Dolphin" | April 14, 1996 | 105 |
| A popular dolphin vanishes from a research facility in Cocoa Beach. | |||
| 6 | "The Missing Astronaut" | April 21, 1996 | 106 |
| A NASA astronaut is kidnapped during a party held in his honor at Shelby's own house. | |||
Season 2 (1997)
| No. | Title | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | "The Alligator Mystery" | January 4, 1997 | 201 |
| A gambling addict goes missing in an alligator park. | |||
| 8 | "Eye of the Storm" | January 11, 1997 | 202 |
| During a hurricane, a valuable watch is stolen from its safe. | |||
| 9 | "The Alley Cat" | January 18, 1997 | 203 |
| A criminal who eluded Shelby's grandfather resurfaces. | |||
| 10 | "The Smoke Screen Case" | January 25, 1997 | 204 |
| Shelby investigates an arson that covered up the disappearances of animals. | |||
| 11 | "Tag, Not It" | February 1, 1997 | 205 |
| Shelby Cindi, and Noah must clear Cindi's cousin's name when he's framed for graffiti. | |||
| 12 | "The Case of the Knockout Gas" | February 15, 1997 | 206 |
| Cashiers at local mini-marts are being knocked unconscious by gas seeping through air vents. Who is responsible? | |||
| 13 | "Two Faced" | February 22, 1997 | 207 |
| It is a case of mistaken identity when Noah is kidnapped due to his resemblance to a son of a scientist. | |||
Season 3 (1997–98)
| No. | Title | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | "The Hit and Run Case" | September 28, 1997 | 301 |
| Detective Hineline is framed for a hit and run. | |||
| 15 | "The Shell Game" | October 5, 1997 | 302 |
| 16 | "Mystery in the Wilderness" | October 12, 1997 | 303 |
| A thief steals a computer chip during Shelby, Cindi, and Noah's nature trip. | |||
| 17 | "The Mascot Mystery" | October 26, 1997 | 304 |
| The school mascot assaults the soccer champ. | |||
| 18 | "The Hot Dog Mystery" | November 2, 1997 | 305 |
| Students get sick from eating the school's hot dogs. | |||
| 19 | "The Macbeth Mystery" | November 9, 1997 | 306 |
| Accidents begin to plague a play. | |||
| 20 | "The John Doe Mystery" | August 25, 1998 | 307 |
| An amnesiac man may play a role in the search for a missing satellite | |||
| 21 | "The Seminole Mystery" | August 27, 1998 | 308 |
| An authentic Seminole weapon is stolen. | |||
Season 4 (1998)
| No. | Title | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | "The Paul Revere Mystery" | September 6, 1998 | 401 |
| Shelby is a suspect when someone steals a silver bowl made by Paul Revere himself. | |||
| 23 | "The Spare Parts Mystery" | September 13, 1998 | 402 |
| Shelby has to find who has been stealing parts from cars being worked on at the school's auto shop. | |||
| 24 | "The Skin Deep Mystery" | September 20, 1998 | 403 |
| Shelby goes undercover at a beauty pageant where mysterious accidents are occurring. | |||
| 25 | "The Itchy Shorts Mystery" | September 27, 1998 | 404 |
| Someone has stolen the basketball team's money and put itching powder in their uniforms. | |||
| 26 | "The Robot Mystery" | October 4, 1998 | 405 |
| A brilliant inventor has been attacked, and some of his blueprints have been stolen. | |||
| 27 | "The Art Attack Mystery" | October 11, 1998 | 406 |
| A new outdoor art exhibit has been trashed and the artist disappears shortly thereafter. | |||
| 28 | "The Baseball Fan Mystery" | October 13, 1998 | 407 |
| Shelby investigates the disappearance of four valuable baseball cards. | |||
| 29 | "The Yearbook Mystery" | October 18, 1998 | 408 |
| Shelby and her friends investigate why page 86 is missing from most of the yearbooks. | |||
| 30 | "The UFO Mystery" | October 20, 1998 | 409 |
| Shelby sets out to disprove a UFO sighting. | |||
| 31 | "The Haunted House Mystery" | October 25, 1998 | 410 |
| 32 | "The Moon Rock Mystery" | November 1, 1998 | 411 |
| 33 | "The Egg Mystery" | TBA | 412 |
| In 1926, a priceless Faberge egg vanished from what later became the Easterly Breeze. 70 years later, Shelby's grandfather attempts to reenact the crime. | |||
| 34 | "The Jinxed Campaign Mystery" | TBA | 413 |
| Shelby gets involved with politics when someone tries to get a mayor candidate to drop from the race. | |||
| 35 | "The Movie Star Mystery" | TBA | 414 |
| When a detective movie is being filmed in town, one of the stars goes missing, and Shelby is on the case. | |||
| 36 | "The Racetrack Mystery" | TBA | 415 |
| A race horse about to retire goes missing. | |||
| 37 | "The Toy Store Mystery" | September 20, 1998 | 416 |
| A popular doll and its accessories begin to malfunction. | |||
| 38 | "The Mystery Under Our Noses" | TBA | 417 |
| When the President of the United States is planning a visit, the itinerary is stolen from the police station. | |||
| 39 | "The Mystery of The Mice That Roared" | December 20, 1998 | 418 |
| Someone is playing pranks on the diners at a new restaurant. | |||
| 40 | "The Train Mystery" | TBA | 419 |
| An architect is thrown off of a train on a trip from Boston to Washington DC. | |||
| 41 | "The Big Cheese Mystery" | October 25, 1998 | 420 |
| A bank robber wears a cheese costume from a popular children's show while committing the crime. | |||
Home release
All 12 episodes from seasons 1 and 2 are available for download on the iTunes Store and Amazon Video.
On November 24, 2014 the full series was released on DVD through Amazon's CreateSpace service
References
- 1 2 "Shelby Woo, Relentless Girl Detective". The New York Times. 16 February 1997. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ↑ "Woo producer: lousy weather, unruly unions". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ↑ Brendan Kelly. "Cinar picks Nick to ‘Woo’". Variety. Retrieved 1 May 2016.