round. V.I.L.E. V.I.L.E. is Carmen's gang of crooks and the rogues' gallery of ne'er-do-wells comprises the following: Carmen Sandiego: Master thief, criminal mastermind and the leader of V.I.L.E. During the show's "Phone Tap" segments, she was heard talking to the episode's crook, giving them advice to evade detection. The ultimate goal of the game is to capture Carmen after the crook was caught. Vic the Slick: A tactless salesman who wears a loud polyester suit. He also has a seedy moustache, shifty eyes and slicked black hair. The Contessa (Appearing in seasons 1, 4 & 5): A so-called criminal of style who fancies herself to be near-royalty. Top Grunge: A burly and unkempt biker who was always riding his chopper motorcycle. Dirty and surrounded by flies, he continually sneezed, snorted, and coughed during conversations. Eartha Brute: A muscular, dimwitted woman. RoboCrook (Unit-059): A cyborg spoof of RoboCop. Patty Larceny: A flighty, blonde schoolgirl with a sweet and giggly personality. Her name is a pun on the phrase "petty larceny". Double Trouble: A pair of Yin and Yang party-boy twins with quarter moon-shaped heads. They speak in a voice similar to Jack Nicholson. Kneemoi (Introduced in season 2): A shape-shifting alien from the planet Roddenberry. Her name is a reference to Leonard Nimoy best known for playing Spock of Star Trek and her home planet to the franchise's creator Gene Roddenberry. Wonder Rat (Introduced in season 2): A superhero parody who wears a makeshift rat costume. Sarah Nade (Introduced in season 3): A loud, obnoxious teenage punk rocker with rainbow-colored hair. Her name is a pun on the word "serenade". Gameplay Each episode consisted of three middle-school-aged contestants (10–14 years of age) competing against one another answering geography-related trivia questions to determine the location of one of Carmen Sandiego's cronies and eventually Carmen herself. Throughout the program the contestants are referred to as "gumshoes", in reference to fledgling detectives just starting out in the profession. Round One After Lee meets the day's gumshoes at the beginning of the show, the Chief briefs them on the crime and the crook who committed it, often adding the crook's reason for committing the crime. The gumshoes began with 50 ACME Crime Bucks each. Assorted live action, celebrity, musical, animated, and costumed comedy sketches were performed, each providing clues to a geographical location of the day's crook. A map with three possible locations was shown