Editing Three Investigators (section)

==Premise==
The Three Investigators are a junior detective team that initially came together because of a mental exercise club. They live in Rocky Beach, a fictional coastal town between [[Los Angeles]] and [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]]. In some of their cases, the boys are supported by Alfred Hitchcock, the chauffeur Worthington, and the police inspectors Reynolds and Cotta.
“We Investigate Anything” is The Three Investigators' trademark slogan on their business card. Most often, Jupiter is the one to hand over the card in a fitting moment to see the clients’ reactions to the three question marks. Often, that reaction is a joke, with the clients asking whether the question marks mean the investigators doubt their own abilities. Jupiter usually retorts something like: “That's our symbol. [...] The question marks stand for mysteries unsolved, riddles unanswered, puzzles of any kind. So we use it as our trademark. We investigate any kind of mystery.”<ref>The Mystery of the Talking Skull (1969, by Robert Arthur)</ref>

To prove themselves, The Three Investigators usually have a lot of persuading to do in the beginning, as the clients often mistrust their abilities because the investigators are so young.

In their first cases, The Three Investigators also provide, apart from their business card, a letter of recommendation from the Police Department of Rocky Beach signed by Chief Inspector Samuel Reynolds. It says: "The holder of this badge is a junior volunteer assistant to the Police Department of Rocky Beach. The authority advocates any support from third parties."

===Jupiter===
'''Jupiter "Jupe" Jones''', First Investigator—A former child actor named "Baby Fatso", although he hates it when people mention this. Jupiter is intelligent and stocky, and has a remarkable memory and deductive skills. Jupiter's parents (professional [[ballroom dancer]]s) died in an accident when he was four years old. Although “An Ear for Danger” mentions a car accident as their cause of death, in the episode “...&nbsp;das leere Grab” (German only), they are said to have disappeared following a plane crash. Jupiter lives with his uncle and aunt, Titus and Mathilda Jones, who manage a scrapyard.

Jupiter's past acting ability benefits him frequently in mysteries because he can act older than he is, perform imitations of people when necessary and act less intelligent to extract information from potential suspects.

Jupiter is a prolific reader and inventor and frequently invents a device that simplifies solving a mystery. Jupiter has a knack for interpreting clues to solve otherwise unsolvable mysteries. He also likes to play pranks on the other two investigators. Because of his intellectual side, Jupe is adept at using big words and frequently uses them to his advantage, particularly to seem older, annoy Pete, and startle adults. Jupe hates to dismiss an unsolved mystery, which frequently means that he drags Bob and Pete along for the ride.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://3investigators.homestead.com/files/t3ihome.htm|title=T3I Readers' Site|website=3investigators.homestead.com|access-date=2019-03-13}}</ref>

===Peter===
'''Peter "Pete" Crenshaw''', Second Investigator—Pete is an athletic youth who dislikes dangerous situations, but is nonetheless reliable as the "action member" of the team. Pete loves and cares for animals, and is fond of uttering the exclamation "Gleeps!". His father works as a film technician for special effects in Hollywood.

Pete is a frequent companion of Jupiter on stake-outs and other field trips, particularly in the earlier mysteries, when Bob is unavailable. While he may not have the intellectual ability of Jupiter, Pete is nonetheless considered as an equal in the stories and is able to point out Jupiter's own shortcomings (usually in a comical fashion). He is also capable of making deductions and sometimes serves as the clue-bearer instead of Bob. He has an excellent sense of direction, as in ''The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot''.<ref name="auto"/>

===Bob===
'''Robert "Bob" Andrews''', Records and Research—Bob is studious and meticulous, and wears glasses. Depending on the case, Bob's father is a [[Sports journalism|sports writer]], [[business journalist]], or [[Political journalism|political journalist]], and occasionally helps The Three Investigators in some of their cases.

Early in the series, Bob is hampered physically by a leg brace he wore, due to multiple fractures suffered when he rolled down a hill. This handicap relegated him to a more studious and less physical involvement. Bob works part-time in the [[Public library|local library]], suiting his role as data collector. Bob also serves as the clue-bearer for many of the adventures, because of his research at the library. Bob's leg brace is removed between the end of ''Whispering Mummy'' and the beginning of ''Green Ghost''.<ref name="auto"/>

===Headquarters===
Part [[workshop]], hideaway, and detective office, the Three Investigators maintain their headquarters in an old [[house trailer]] hidden among piles of junk at the edge of the Jones' scrapyard. The house trailer is outfitted with multiple secret exits, a small lab, [[darkroom]], telephone, typewriter, and [[reference works]]. Jupiter often used spare parts salvaged from the scrapyard to build equipment for the team, including a [[tape recorder]] and [[periscope]].