Help! Supervillain Odd Todd has struck three times: first at #1 First Street, next at #2 Second Street, then at #4 Fourth Street. Can you discern the pattern, and tell us where he’s going to strike next? These are the sorts of puzzles solved by the kid agents on PBS Kids’ new series, Odd Squad.
Created by Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman, and co-produced by The Fred Rogers Company, Odd Squad details the adventures of the agents of the titular organization as they use math and logic to solve odd mysteries, and fight math and science themed villains. The show can be described as a cross between Men in Black and Sesame Street, with a little bit of Inspector Gadget thrown into the mix.
Our main characters are twelve-year-old Agent Olive, and her new partner, ten-year-old Agent Otto. They are assisted by their resident wacky inventor (think James Bond’s Q, if he’d never hit puberty), eleven-year-old Agent Oscar. They are led by the mysterious, juice-box swilling, Miss O, who looks six but is actually much, much older. All of the agents are kids; no adults are allowed at Odd Squad HQ.
The mysteries are mostly fun and silly: Odd Todd wants to make the world more odd with his magic bubble gum; someone is making houses dance; a villain is reversing numbers, turning Olive from 12 to 21 (and thus booting her out of the Odd Squad). Along the way the agents explore math and logic concepts: they follow the pattern of numbers on a line to determine which door won’t lead to a pit of lava or black hole, they discover how graphs can be used both to illuminate and deceive, they use shapes to fill portals that are spewing pies into the middle of headquarters (Agent Olive is afraid of pies).
Most episodes feature two linked mini-stories, and each week is usually a mini-series featuring the same villain. Interspersed are little featurettes presenting little puzzles to be solved, mostly presented by Agent Oscar. It’s educational, but fun; kids will hardly notice they’re learning basic algebraic concepts. It’s probably most suited for young viewers aged 6 to 10.
So, have you figured out where Odd Todd is going to strike next? It’s a doubling pattern, so the scene of the next crime will be … #8 Eighth Street. Don’t worry, the Odd Squad deciphered the clues and got there in time. Odd Todd, however, got away to plague them for the rest of the week.
Watch Odd Squad every weekday morning at 7 a.m. on KIXE Channel 9.
Chad Grayson has been a gas station attendant, sold video games over the phone, and even was the person who cuts the mold off the cheese in the cheese factory, but spent most of his career as a middle school Language Arts and History teacher. He is now a full-time stay at home dad and writer. You can find him on twitter at @chadgrayson and on his blog at cegrayson.wordpress.com.
