Mystery Hunters
Encyclopedia
Mystery Hunters is a Canadian
Documentary television series aimed at a Young audience. It aired on YTV in Canada and on Discovery Kids
in the United States
. It was also dubbed in Japanese
and aired in Japan
on NHK
.
Teenage hosts Araya and Christina investigate real-life reports of mysteries such as spirit
s, legendary creature
s, monsters, dinosaur
s and UFOs. They use scientific rigour to try to find plausible explanations for the sightings and eye-witness accounts that trigger their investigations. In another section of the show, Doubting Dave, a scientist played by David Acer
, attempts to explain mysterious personal experiences that have been emailed in by viewers, in a feature called "V-Files", as well as a way to create your own versions of the mysteries in the show in his "Mystery Lab" segment.
Produced by Apartment 11 Productions, four seasons and 78 episodes
of the series have been made, and it has garnered awards and accolades from around the world, including eight Gemini Award
nominations, a 2006 Parents' Choice Award
, and a 2007 Japan Prize (sponsored by the Japanese television network NHK
) for the "Stonehenge" episode, awarded the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Prize in the Early Education category.
It currently airs as re-runs on weekends through syndication.
Next comes the "Mystery Lab" segment featuring "Doubting Dave" doing some kind of experiment or laboratory demonstration to illustrate a point that is most often related to that week's theme. Finally, Araya and Christina conclude their stories.
At the conclusion of each program the hosts appear together in a comedic wrap-up link, usually closing out with the Mystery Hunters signature tag-line: "Remember, things aren't always what they seem!"
has 2 segments in each episode, in which he provides more logical answers. In one segment, he answers questions sent in to Mystery Hunters by fans of the show. In the other segment, he conducts an experiment that has to do with the episode's topic (eg. UFO's)
and Araya Mengesha are the ones who go to a wide variety of locations to investigate the topic(s) included in the show. In most episodes, they go to separate locations, but in some episodes, they go together to the same location.
Another DVD was released early December 2007, titled Mystery Hunters: Alien Encounters, featuring three episodes from the series about the said topic. Extras include interviews with the cast and a behind the scenes featurette with Araya.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Documentary television series aimed at a Young audience. It aired on YTV in Canada and on Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was also dubbed in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and aired in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
.
Teenage hosts Araya and Christina investigate real-life reports of mysteries such as spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s, legendary creature
Legendary creature
A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature.-Origin:Some mythical creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures, for example the dragon, the unicorn, and griffin...
s, monsters, dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s and UFOs. They use scientific rigour to try to find plausible explanations for the sightings and eye-witness accounts that trigger their investigations. In another section of the show, Doubting Dave, a scientist played by David Acer
David Acer
David Acer is a Canadian scientist, stand-up comedian and close-up magician.As a magician he has performed at The Magic Castle and FISM. He has also authored numerous well respected books on magic. Since 2002, he has had a regular column in Genii magazine...
, attempts to explain mysterious personal experiences that have been emailed in by viewers, in a feature called "V-Files", as well as a way to create your own versions of the mysteries in the show in his "Mystery Lab" segment.
Produced by Apartment 11 Productions, four seasons and 78 episodes
Mystery Hunters episodes
This is a list of episodes of the Discovery Kids TV series Mystery Hunters.-Season 1:-Season 2:-Season 3:-Season 4:...
of the series have been made, and it has garnered awards and accolades from around the world, including eight Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
nominations, a 2006 Parents' Choice Award
Parents' Choice Award
The Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
, and a 2007 Japan Prize (sponsored by the Japanese television network NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
) for the "Stonehenge" episode, awarded the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Prize in the Early Education category.
It currently airs as re-runs on weekends through syndication.
Sequence
The program begins with a question that introduces the two investigations of the week, leading into the opening title sequence. Then follows part one of each of the two stories with Araya and Christina each featured in one. Then the "V-File"; Doubting Dave answers a viewer's question about some mysterious occurrence. Then, part two of each adventure.Next comes the "Mystery Lab" segment featuring "Doubting Dave" doing some kind of experiment or laboratory demonstration to illustrate a point that is most often related to that week's theme. Finally, Araya and Christina conclude their stories.
At the conclusion of each program the hosts appear together in a comedic wrap-up link, usually closing out with the Mystery Hunters signature tag-line: "Remember, things aren't always what they seem!"
Episodes
Since its original run in 2002, Mystery Hunters has 78 episodes and 4 seasons.Doubting Dave
Doubting Dave, played by David AcerDavid Acer
David Acer is a Canadian scientist, stand-up comedian and close-up magician.As a magician he has performed at The Magic Castle and FISM. He has also authored numerous well respected books on magic. Since 2002, he has had a regular column in Genii magazine...
has 2 segments in each episode, in which he provides more logical answers. In one segment, he answers questions sent in to Mystery Hunters by fans of the show. In the other segment, he conducts an experiment that has to do with the episode's topic (eg. UFO's)
Araya and Christina
Christina BroccoliniChristina Broccolini
Christina Broccolini is a Canadian actress and producer, best known for her role in the popular television series Mystery Hunters.- Biography :Broccolini was raised in West Island, Montreal, Quebec...
and Araya Mengesha are the ones who go to a wide variety of locations to investigate the topic(s) included in the show. In most episodes, they go to separate locations, but in some episodes, they go together to the same location.
Music
Claude Castonguay, Christian Clermont and Marc Ouellette compose the musical score for Mystery Hunters. It is a mixture of pop, techno and orchestral styles. The composers were nominated for a Gemini Award in 2005 in the category "Best Original Music Score for a Documentary Program or Series".DVD releases
In September 2007, the first-ever Mystery Hunters DVD was released in Canada, a three-episode collection timed for Halloween called Mystery Hunters: Beastly Beings and Monstrous Mysteries, and in the Fall of 2008, a Mystery Hunters/Doubting Dave guide to paranormal tricks and hoaxes called Gotcha! 18 Amazing Ways to Freak Out Your Friends will be published by Kids Can Press.Another DVD was released early December 2007, titled Mystery Hunters: Alien Encounters, featuring three episodes from the series about the said topic. Extras include interviews with the cast and a behind the scenes featurette with Araya.