Special Agent Oso

Special Agent Oso  is an American animated children's television series created by Ford Riley for Playhouse Disney. It stars Oso, a panda bear who is a special agent working for the United Network for Investigating Quite Usual Events (U.N.I.Q.U.E.), an agency dedicated to helping children with everyday tasks such as mailing a letter, riding a bike, or making a sandwich. The series debuted on April 4, 2009 and ended on May 17, 2012. The series had a total of 60 episodes over two seasons.

The series received generally positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for Outstanding Original Song at the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards. Both Special Agent Oso and the spin-off, which aired during interstitials, Special Agent Oso: Three Healthy Steps (a show on healthy habits), which aired during interstitials, are available to stream on Disney+.

Premise
Each episode begins with Oso beginning a training exercise one of his three instructors, Wolfie, Dottie, or Bufo, give him. During the exercise, a child is confronted with a simple task related to Oso's assignment that they struggle to complete and which a Shutterbug drone notices. Paw Pilot, Oso's computerized assistant, alerts him about a special assignment, which causes Oso to fail his training exercise. Oso is assigned to the case, and Paw Pilot, along with Mr. Dos, illustrates his client's plight and assigns him a mission to help the child complete the task. To do so, Paw Pilot provides Oso with "three special steps," a simplified step-by-step guide to completing the task, while Mr. Dos gives Oso a briefing on the child's problem. Oso is transported to the child's location and attempts to follow the steps; Paw Pilot also gives further elaborations, including a helpful trick which reveals the mistake he made during the training exercise. During the third and final step, Paw Pilot senses the time limit on the task between 3 and 19 seconds and begins counting down as the time limit approaches. Oso and the child usually complete the task as the time runs out. The completion of all three steps often involves gadgets, such as a pen that can become a grappling device and a jetpack.

After returning from the assignment, the helpful trick given during the assignment turns out to be the same trick Oso needed to complete the training exercise, which he completes and passes, earning a "digi-medal" for the training exercise and the special assignment.

Episodes
The show has 60 episodes, with 24 in the first season and 36 in the second season. The episode names are usually references to the titles of Eon Productions' James Bond films, such as The World Is Not Enough and The Man with the Golden Gun. Across its run, Special Agent Oso had at least one episode title that referenced each of the then-22 Bond films, as Skyfall was still in development at the time it concluded. Other episode titles reference the Carly Simon song Nobody Does It Better, the theme song to The Spy Who Loved Me, and Jack White and Alicia Keys's song Another Way to Die, the theme song to Quantum of Solace. One episode references the non-Eon film Never Say Never Again.

Format
Each episode has four components:
 * The Three Special Steps are the steps that Paw Pilot gives Oso to follow when on his special assignments. The third step is usually timed between 3 and 19 seconds.
 * The training exercises are Oso's training task, which Wolfie, Dotty or Buffo assign. Oso usually fails on his first try, but while doing the special assignments, he refers to the mistake he made in his training exercise. He then returns to his training exercise and does it right on his second try, then earns a "Digi-Medal."
 * The special assignments are missions that Mr. Dos requests Oso to help a child in need. After completing the assignment by using the Three Special Steps, he earns a "Digi-Medal."
 * Audience participation or interaction with Oso. Oso often asks the audience to help him. Sometimes, Oso will ask the audience to help him find something hidden or missing on the screen. Other times, Oso will ask the audience to try something physically demanding that he is doing.

Main

 * Oso (voiced by Sean Astin ) is a panda who works for U.N.I.Q.U.E. to help children perform tasks. His name is derived from oso, the Spanish word for bear.
 * Paw Pilot (voiced by Meghan Strange ) is Oso's computerized assistant, who guides him through the three special steps he needs to accomplish his mission. Her name is a reference to the Palm Pilot series of handheld computers.
 * Mr. Dos (voiced by Gary Anthony Williams ) is Oso's smartwatch boss, who assigns him missions.
 * Wolfie (voiced by Phill Lewis ) is a wolf that regularly oversees Oso's training.
 * Dottie (voiced by Amber Hood ) is a cat that regularly oversees Oso's training.
 * Professor Buffo (voiced by Brad Garrett and later Jess Harnell ) is a clumsy and excitable Italian-speaking bison who invents Oso's gadgets.
 * Whirly Bird (voiced by Cam Clarke ) is Oso's bird-shaped autogyro who takes Oso to wherever someone needs help. He often misunderstands what Oso tells him, usually leading to Oso's ejection at inopportune moments and places.
 * Shutterbugs are ladybugs-shaped robotic camera that keeps an eye out for children who need help.

Guest voices

 * Madison Davenport as Stacy/Fiona
 * Grace Rolek as Molly/Sophie
 * Khamani Griffin as Danny/Aaron/Paulie
 * Maria Celeste as Samantha
 * Kara R. Stribling as Abby/Jessica
 * Isabella Murad as Sally/Cassie/Michelle/Anna/Audrey
 * Colin Ford as Joe/David
 * Sekai Murashige as Jack/Jennethan
 * Ciara Bravo as Sarah
 * Billy Unger as Michael/Quinn
 * Kurt Doss as Dawson/Austin/Logan
 * Kimberly Brooks as Grace
 * Kristen Combs as Caroline/Aaliyah/Avery
 * Quinton Lopez as Jim
 * Juliette Alba as Olivia
 * Jack Samson as Ben/Nathan
 * Harrison Fahn as Jake/Oliver/Anthony
 * Isabella Acres as Jade/Mia #1
 * Madison Pettis as Katie/Tara
 * John Devito as Sam/Theo
 * Fiona Riley as Addison/Maya
 * Church Lieu as Frank
 * Jillian Henry as Brianna
 * Stefanie Scott as Emma
 * Hynden Walch as Hailey
 * Nina Barry as Nicole
 * Jacob Bertrand as Spencer
 * Tiffany Espensen as Joon Kim/Carina
 * Élan Garfias as Cody/Grayson/Jose/Eric
 * Luke Manriquez as Carlos
 * Kwesi Boakye as Andrew
 * Diane HSU as Min/Meehwa
 * Firoozeh Adli as Makayla/Marie/Faith
 * Zachary Gordon as Tyler/Rasheed
 * Kailey Swanson as Ashley
 * Jelani Imani as William/Joshua/Dylan
 * Avion Baker as Natalie/Nadia/Charlotte
 * Abby Weiss as Lisa
 * Nancy Kim as Jennifer
 * Luke Davis as Gavin
 * Zachary Michael as John
 * Brianna McCracken as Alexis
 * Cameron Escalante as Chloe
 * Sabre Jacobs as Kaylee
 * Parish Allen as Lizzie
 * Vanessa Millsaps as Lily
 * Coleen Crabtree as Leila
 * Raymond Ochoa as Noah
 * Ryan Christopher Lee as Noh Yoon/Nicholas/Liam/Charlie
 * Rico Rodriguez as Lin/Xavier/Marco/Brandon
 * Jacob Medrano as Alberto
 * Sayeed Shahidi as Evan
 * Liberty Smith as Madison/Lena
 * Alec Gray as Dimitri
 * Caitlin Carmichael as Athena
 * Jet Jurgensmeyer as Rudy/Gabriel/Aiden
 * Maxim Knight as David #2
 * Wilmer Valderrama as Handy Manny
 * Nika Futterman as Stretch & Squeeze
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Felipe
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Turner
 * Tom Kenny as Pat
 * Fred Stoller as Rusty
 * Kath Soucie as Dusty
 * Grey DeLisle as Flicker
 * Nancy Truman as Kelly
 * Erica Luttrell as Dylan and Sophie’s moms
 * Jennifer as Ashley #1
 * William Cwammendi as Wontwo

Additional voices

 * Lou Holtz as Uncle Lou (character was modeled to look like himself)
 * Rob Paulsen as Cassie's Dad/Dawson's Dad/Emma's Dad
 * Gwendoline Yeo as Jack's Mom
 * Maria Canals as Cody's Mom
 * James Sie as Joon Kim's Dad
 * Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Jade's Mom/Jake's Mom/Nadia's Mom
 * Sarah Chalke as David's Mom
 * Jeannie Elias as Michael's Mom/Quinn's Mom
 * James Arnold Taylor as Mr. Thompson
 * Lucas Grabeel as Uncle Eric
 * Mel Brooks as Grandpa Mel
 * Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Brayden's Dad
 * Kimberly Brooks as Andrew's Mom/Caroline's Mom

Broadcast
The first season of Special Agent Oso premiered in the United States and United Kingdom on April 4, 2009, and aired through April 17, 2010. The second and final season premiered on July 10, 2010 and the series finale aired May 17, 2012. In season 2, new characters, Professor Buffo and Special Agent Musa, were introduced. The show has a crossover with Handy Manny called "The Manny with the Golden Bear."

Critical response
Hannah Johnson of Screen Rant found the character of Dotty to be a positive role model, writing, "It is evident that she has worked hard to get where she is, being the only female supervisor in an androcentric career, where all her colleagues are men. The orange cat has a fun and giggly personality, her favorite color is pink, and she likes visiting space as part of her missions. Dotty is a complex character succeeding in a man's world." Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave Special Agent Oso a grade of four out of five stars, praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, citing resourcefulness and perseverance, and complimented the presence of educational value in the show, saying, "Age-appropriate skills like shape recognition, chronology, and spatial relationships are emphasized within the context of the plot, so kids learn while they enjoy the stories. The show's best quality is its positive message about the joy to be found in helping others."

Ratings
During April, Playhouse Disney UK saw its best weekly share among kids at 2.3%, a month that also had its best series launch with the preschool-targeted Special Agent Oso, which premiered on April 4 at 9:50 a.m. and attracted 377,000 viewers, including 181,000 kids aged four to 15.

Special Agent Oso: Three Healthy Steps
Special Agent Oso: Three Healthy Steps is a short series that aired in the United States during the Disney Junior programming block. The spin-off premiered on February 14, 2011. It encourages children to use "three healthy steps" regarding eating, being healthy, and exercising. This series combined both animated characters and real life actors. The animated characters that are featured in the short series are Special Agent Oso, Paw Pilot, Special Agent Wolfie, Special Agent Dotty, and Professor Buffo.