Encyclopedia Brown

HBO had many great shows on in the mid eighties that I watched religiously. Encyclopedia Brown was my favorite book series as a kid and I loved the fact it translated well into television. The basic premise was a 10 year old kid that solved crimes amongst the people in his town. It was perfect for that point in time when HBO really cared about the younger viewers. They don't have as much family oriented programming as they once did.

HBO strikes gold with this quality family series. The first was a 60 minute special, followed by 10 30 minute episodes that aired monthly.

Case of the Missing Time Capsule was the 60 minute special. The town of Idaville celebrates its centennial & the time capsule is stolen. It's up to Encyclopedia Brown & Sally Kimbell to solve this mystery.

You had brothers Buddy Clagett (Rich Overton) & Casey Sparkz (Alan Merrill), whom Buddy was jealous over because he only cares about being a superstar & making a zillion dollars.

Alan Merrill also wrote "Who Done It?", a song he performed during the closing credits.

So I feel like it was a special time and place when Encyclopedia Brown came out ... it was on a premium channel so not everyone knew about it and it was way before the time of YouTube or streaming ... from the amount of reviews I can see it's so under appreciated..

This show is a beautiful homage to Columbo , murder she wrote , hardy boys and Sherlock homes .

Our main character EB is perfect in the lead and his sidekick Susie plays off him perfectly.

Each act manages to keep you guessing until EB catches the culprit. Don't ever forget this amazing show a truly lost treasure.

Encyclopedia Brown 1989 on HBO One 60 minute pilot episode, six 30 minute episodes, and one straight to video "One Minute Mysteries".

1. "The Case of the Missing Time Capsule" (hour long special first aired in March 2nd 1989 to kick off series and aired over 200 times on HBO) "Idaville is celebrating its 100th birthday by opening a time capsule left by the town founder. But before anyone can discover what riches it contains, the capsule is stolen! When E.B. and his friend Sally investigate, they find no shortage of suspects. 2. "The Case of the Missing U.F.O." (Case #529) aired first on 3/9/90 . Something eerie is going on in Idaville when a flying saucer and flashing lights appear in the night sky. Encyclopedia Brown and his side-kick Sally interupt their relaxing camping getaway to brave the unknown and uncover the mystery of the U.F.O. 3. "The Case of the Amazing Race Car" (case #524) first aired 3/16/1990 Davey looks like a sure winner in a funny car derby, that is, until someone steals his car. Encyclopedia Brown steps in to solve the mystery. 4. "The Case of the Ghostly Rider" (case #525) aired 3/23/1990 The ghost of the WildCat Kid has returned to haunt Old Glennville , can EB and Sally with a little help from Bugs Meany save the day? 5. "The Case of the Flaming Beauty Queen" (case #932) first aired 6/5/1990. Encyclopedia Brown investigates who set the fires in the library and whether the case of the hidden money is a scam or not. 6. "The Case of the Incredible Culpepper" first aired 7/10/1990. This episode does not seem to have been released to VHS. The big Idaville magic show is spoiled when a mountain lion belonging to The Incredible Culpepper is stolen. E.B. and Sally are immediately on the case and identify several suspects. With their typical detective skills they soon solve the crime and return the lion to Culpepper. The magic show finally entertains all the good folks of the town- Thanks to Encyclopedia Brown.) 7. "The Case of the Burglared Baseball Cards" (case #523) first aired 9/1/1990 Encyclopedia looks into the late night theft of a priceless collection of baseball cards. 8. "Encyclopedia Brown, The Boy Detective in One Minute Mysteries" (This includes 5 of the Encyclopedia Brown stories from the books, "The Case of the Scattered Cards", "The Case of the Foot Warmer", "The Case of the Bitter Drink", "The Case of the Civil War Sword", and "The Case of the Great Merko". This was also released to VHS.)