Time Warp Trio

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

Time Warp Trio
Voices of	Mark Rendall Darren Frost Scott McCord Sarah Gadon Tajja Isen Sunday Muse Laurie Elliot
Country of origin	United States Canada
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer	Jim Rapsas
Running time	22 minutes
Original release
Network	Discovery Kids, NBC
Release	July 9, 2005 (2005-07-09) – September 30, 2006 (2006-09-30)

Time Warp Trio is an American animated television series, based on the children's book series written by Jon Scieszka. Produced by Soup2Nuts in association with WGBH Boston, the show airs on Discovery Kids 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).

Plot

For his tenth birthday, Joe receives a mysterious blue book from his magician uncle and namesake, "Joe the Magnificent," known only as The Book. Using an often unpredictable number of voice and print clues, The Book transports Joe and his friends Fred and Sam to a variety of places in history, like Ancient Egypt, the Old West & to the year 2105, where they meet their own great-granddaughters, Jodie, Sammantha & Freddi. The only way they are able to return present-day Brooklyn, New York is to find The Book again within whatever time period they are in. Later in the series, Joe's evil uncle, Mad Jack, makes several attempts to capture the children and The Book with his crafty tricks, whether stranding them in Antarctica (where the book doesn't work) or trying to make their new home in China (during the Tang Dynasty).

Characters

• Joseph "Joe" Arthur (voiced by Mark Rendall) - An up-and-coming magician and the present-day owner of The Book, Joe is the unofficial leader of the Time Warp Trio. While his penchant for carrying The Book around with him and experimenting with it often results in many of their adventures, his talent for magical tricks also helps them out of many tough situations. Joe is at one point awarded the title of Time Page (which Jodie says she hasn't since she was five, despite not receiving The Book herself until her tenth birthday) and 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 his little sister Anna.
• Samuel "Sam" Walterson (voiced by Darren Frost) - A friend of Joe and Fred who contributes his intelligence and historical knowledge to the group's problems. He wears thick glasses (he is self-conscious about being a nerd) and is lactose intolerant. Sam is also very wary of time travel, convinced their doom is imminent every time they open The Book. An amateur inventor, he is told by Freddi that he will invent something very important in the future (though it is not revealed what).
• Fredrick "Fred" Johnson (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 known for being the one of the group most interested in using The Book for material gains, whether hunting for treasure or patenting future technology (although in 'Dude, Where's my Karma?' he decides to use the book in order to save Joe). He has a bullying older brother named Mike.
• Joe the Magnificent (voiced by Tony Daniels) - Joe's uncle, a would-be magician who fails at live performances. He originally 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.
• Mrs. Pamela Arthur (voiced by Susan Roman) - Joe & Anna's mother. She understands how to use The Book, originally giving it to her brother (Joe's uncle).
• Mr. Clyde Arthur (voiced by Tom Arnold) - Joe & Anna's father. He is a world-famous archeologist, whom Joe was talking about in the episode "Jinga All The Way".
• Anna Arthur (voice by Annick Obonsawin) - Joe's annoying younger sister, who shows having more knowledge of The Book than her brother.
• Jodie Arthur (voiced by Sarah Gadon (until ep. 14) Tajja Isen (ep. 20 on)) Joe's great-granddaughter from the year 2105, who occasionally cross the paths of the trio with her friends Samantha and Freddi (all three have a great mastery of The Book). She is known for being bossy, complaining, loving fashion, and allergic to cats. Jodie is also a third-level warper.
• Samantha Walterson (voiced by Laurie Elliott) - Sam's great-granddaughter from the year 2105, who occasionally cross the paths of the trio with her friends Jodie and Freddi (all three have a great mastery of The Book). She is known for being teasing, daring, and a bit clumsy, an exact opposite of Sam. Samantha owns a robot cat named Rivites and a time-traveling pocket watch that belonged to Sam.
• Frieda "Freddi" Johnson (voiced by Sunday Muse) - Fred's great-granddaughter from the year 2105, who occasionally cross the paths of the trio with her friends Jodie and Samantha (all three have a great mastery of The Book). She has a fear of heights and bugs and seems to be an exact opposite of Fred.
• Mad Jack (voiced by Tony Daniels) - A character created for the TV series, Mad Jack is the evil brother of "Joe the Magnificent" and Mrs Arthur (though we don't know her first name yet). He is intent on getting his hands on The Book so that he can be the sole ruler of eternity, shadowing the trio in many of their travels and even once facing his nephew Joe down. Mad Jack travels through time & space with a scepter with an hourglass on top.
• Michael "Mike" Johnson (voiced by Dan Petronijevic) - Fred's mean older brother who appears in "See You Later, Gladiator" and "Viking It and Liking It".

Episodes

Ep #	Episode	Air date	Plot	Time	Place
1	The Not-So-Jolly Roger	July 9, 2005	Joe's Uncle gives him a mysterious book for his birthday (THE BOOK!), and when Fred wishes for buried treasure, the boys find themselves on the wrong end of the gun barrel of Edward Teach — more familiarly known as the vicious, infamous pirate Blackbeard.	1718	North Carolina
2	2105	July 16, 2005	A class trip to the Natural History Museum ends up zapping the guys 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! Note: First appearances of Jodie, Freddi and Samantha.	2105, the future	Brooklyn, New York
3	You Can't, But Genghis Khan	July 23, 2005	Fred, Joe and Sam travel back to experience life and culture in Mongolia in the 12th century. Their partner in adventure is 9-year-old Temüjin — the future Genghis Khan. Can the boys survive another meal of mutton?	1170	Outer Mongolia
4	Tut Tut	July 30, 2005	The Trio accidentally warps to Ancient Egypt where they meet a 10-year old Thutmose III and — thanks to his evil minister Hatsnat — get a little too up close and personal with the mummification process. Note: First appearance of Anna.	1470 BC	Ancient Egypt
5	Sam Samurai	August 6, 2005	An accidental haiku sends Sam, Joe and Fred back to Japan smack-dab in the middle of the Tokugawa Shogunate. They meet a samurai named Honda & the evil Owatabut of Yomama who attempts to get rid of the great leader Tokugawa Ieyasu.	1615	Japan
6	See You Later, Gladiator	August 13, 2005	The Book transports Joe, Sam, and Fred back to Ancient Rome in the 2nd century AD— and face-to-face with one big ol' gladiator. They've seen plenty of professional wrestling on TV — but will the smackdown body slam be enough to save them at the Colosseum? Note: First appearance of Mike.	120 AD	Rome, Italy
7	Lewis and Clark... and Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha	August 20, 2005	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. Even with Sacagawea's help, will Jodie, Samantha and Freddi survive life in the snow-covered, bear-populated great outdoors?	1805	Rocky Mountains
8	Viking It and Liking It	August 27, 2005	The boys want to play Vikings Football Smashfest, but instead find themselves in AD 1001 with a bunch of real Vikings! It's one wild ride with Leif Ericson as they sail on his voyage of discovery to North America.	1001 AD	Greenland
9	Hey Kid, Want to Buy a Bridge?	September 3, 2005	There's no place like home — nearly a hundred years ago?! Joe, Fred and Sam warp back to the brawling, sprawling city of New York near the late 19th century & meet Emily Roebling, the woman who helped with the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge and Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park lab.	1879	Brooklyn, New York
10	Me Oh Maya	October 1, 2005	A basketball game gets interrupted and the boys find themselves in Chichen Itza, Mexico in the middle of a Maya ringball court a thousand years ago! Of course in this game, the stakes are a little higher because if they lose, they lose their heads!	960 AD	Chichen Itza, Mexico
11	The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy	October 8, 2005	The Trio discovers the hard way that life in the Old West is nothing like a cowboy movie. They need all of their tricks and wits to survive a stampede, a band of Cheyenne with their leader Black Kettle, and a full-blown charge of Custer's Seventh Cavalry.	1868	Western United States
12	Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba	January 7, 2006	Fred finds out firsthand what it means to have a "Napoleon Complex" when he and Joe warp back to 1815 Paris and meet Napoleon Bonaparte. Luckily, Samantha is also there with pioneering aeronaut Sophie Blanchard, and the three of them experience the ride of their lives.	1815	Paris, France
13	The Seven Blunders of the World	January 14, 2006	Joe, Fred and Sam warp to Babylon to figure out who stole The Book and meet King Nebuchadnezzar II and Queen Amyitis, the creators of the Famous Hanging Gardens. Can they recover the book before all of Babylon is destroyed, and Joe's evil uncle Mad Jack takes over the world? Note: First time Mad Jack is not a background character.	580 BC	Iraq
14	Jinga All the Way	January 21, 2006	Jodie, Sam and Fred land in 17th century Angola and encounter African royalty, customs – and treachery! 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.	1624	Angola, Africa
15	Birdman or Birdbrain?	February 4, 2006	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) and come face to face with a 15-ton Moai! It's just another day at the beach as the trio jump off cliffs, swim through shark-infested waters to the Birdman's Island (Motu Nui)... oh, and try to find The Book along the way!	1765	Rapa Nui
16	Dude, Where's My Karma?	February 11, 2006	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!	720 AD	India
17	My Big Fat Greek Olympics	February 18, 2006	A wild warp at the Olympia Diner sends Fred and Samantha to Ancient Greece during the Olympic games (and Sam to another diner on the edge of Time). Can the three of them get it together to avoid historical disaster?	404 BC	Greece
18	Wushu Were Here	February 25, 2006	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 come face to face with the evil Mad Jack!	621 AD	Baigu Shu China
19	What's So Great About Peter?	March 18, 2006	Sam's Grandpa Dima tells some pretty amazing stories to Sam, Fred and Samantha about his ancestor, Alexander Kikin — but could they be true? Fred and Samantha convince Sam to travel back to Russia just in time to save Kikin (a member of the Russian guardsmen, the Streltsy), from the wrath of Peter the Great.	1698	Moscow, Russia
20	The Caveman Catastrophe	July 15, 2006	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. But when they trade Jodie's binoculars to get it back, something goes wacky, and the kids are suddenly a lot hairier than usual.	Prehistoric	Germany
21	Nightmare on Joe's Street	July 15, 2006	Frankenstein's Monster has escaped from Mary Shelley's imagination and is wreaking havoc in Joe's apartment in Brooklyn! Joe, Sam, and Jodie warp the monster back to Switzerland in 1816 and endure ghost stories and vampires while attempting to turn fact back to fiction!	1816	Switzerland
22	Breaking the Codex	July 15, 2006	Jodie and Freddi unexpectedly grab Joe and warp him to 1503 in Italy at the height of the Renaissance. Their mission? To rescue the brilliant artist, scientist & inventor Leonardo Da Vinci from Mad Jack who has some how gotten the idea that Da Vinci can help him create his own time-traveling book.	1503	Florence, Italy
23	Break an Egg	July 15, 2006	Though it's a very hot day, warping back to ice-cold Antarctica in 1911 isn't exactly what Joe, Sam, and Fred had in mind. They encounter Robert Falcon Scott at the Terra Nova Expedition, endure 47-degree-below-zero weather, 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!	1911	Antarctica
24	The High and the Flighty	July 15, 2006	The girls hear a mysterious radio transmission, but Freddi recognizes that it's the voice of her heroine, famous pilot Amelia Earhart, broadcasting an urgent message on her last, ill-fated flight. The girls warp back to 1937 and try to solve the mystery of Amelia's disappearance on her attempted around-the-world flight. Last appearances of: Freddi and Samantha.	1937	Miami, Florida
25	Harem Scare'm	July 15, 2006	Jodie, Sam and Fred warp to the Ottoman Empire, where they meet Selim II, Suleyman the Magnificent's son & his wily monkey, Dimples! The kids find themselves in a race through the palace with a crazed Dimples who suddenly starts wielding a sword and looking and sounding an awful lot like Mad Jack! Last appearances of: Fred and Sam	1540	Istanbul, Turkey
26	Plaid to the Bone	July 15, 2006	Joe, Anna, and Jodie are on a wild ride — flung from a trebuchet and hurtling towards Castle Dunbar in Scotland during a siege in 1338 led by William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury. But when the kids meet Agnes Randolph & Uncle Joe in the dungeon, they realize much more is at stake. Family conflict takes on a whole new meaning when Joe has to watch Uncle Joe and Mad Jack (his other uncle) battle it out over the fate of the universe!	1338	Medieval Scotland

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

Future

The last first-run episode of "Time Warp Trio" aired on Discovery Kids on July 15, 2006 (during a marathon featuring six other first-run episodes) and on NBC on September 2 (also marking the end of the "Discovery Kids on NBC" block). TV.com blogs have stated a new season and a movie should be expected, but there have been only non-committal responses from WGBH, Soup2Nuts, and PBS on future productions.

See also

• Discovery Kids
• The Time Warp Trio
• Kenny the Shark
• Tutenstein

External links

• Official website
• Template:Tv.com show