Revisiting the hallowed halls and sacred tv shows of my childhood

Earlier this year, my friend Kelly and I were talking about our awesome childhood's in the 90s. So of course, we ended up talking about Ghostwriter. For those of you not in the know, Ghostwriter was a mystery show for kids that was on PBS from 1992-1995. It's about 5 (or 6) kids and their "friend" who we would now totally not trust because of excellent advice that we learned from Mr. Weasley-never trust something that thinks for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain! Luckily, we were then ignorant of this important magical rule. Also luckily, Ghostwriter really is a friend and not an evil product of dark magic.

After our talk, I found out something marvelous: Ghostwriter season 1 is out on DVD! Bazinga! So I took it upon myself to rewatch that season, to once again see if my childhood innocence could stand up to evil, nostalgia defeating reality. The results? See for yourself.

Let's talk characters. We'll start with Jamal. Oh, Sheldon Turnipseed. You have the most awesome last name ever! And your dad was played by Samuel L. Jackson in a couple of episodes. Street cred! Anywhoodle, Jamal is the first person to see Ghostwriter and also the one to utter the immortal line, "He's a ghost, and he writes to us! Ghostwriter!" In retrospect, Jamal tries waaaaay too hard sometimes to be cool, and it really seems like he might be overcompensating for something. What? I guess we'll never know, because the show has been off the air for 15 (!) years.

Next up, Lenni. I feel bad about this now, but before Kelly and I had our conversation, I didn't remember Lenni at all. She did not really leave much of an impression on me. But I have no idea why! Of the girls on the show, Lenni is by far the doofiest dresser. The sartorial horrors perpetrated by Lenni are now so firmly burned into my mind that I couldn't forget them if I wanted to (but I don't. It's much too funny to forget). Plus, Lenni is a rapper! Way hardcore.

Then we have Alex. Oh, Alex. So cute, and for a junior high student, quite the womanizer. All those penpals and all of them girls! And yet he's totally creeping on a 5th grader! Sure, Tina's smart, but she's still in elementary school! I think the warddrobe department must feel the same, because there's no other explanation for the fact that Alex finishes neck and neck with Lenni in the doofy outfits competetion. His aren't necessarily as fundamentally hideous as hers, but they look more like the warddrobe of a middle aged cat lady than a cool, confident ladies' man (boy).

Keeping it all in the family, let's visit Gaby! My favorite character for most of the series, in large part because she's pretty much the best actress. She's able to pull off dorky (witness her desperation to star in Tina's videos) and cool (then see her totally dominate when she and Tina do their anti-violence dance), as well as the fine balancing act of bratty but ultimately caring sister to Alex. In all honesty, even though the untimely cancellation of Ghostwriter was a tragedy, in a way it was also a blessing, because it meant we only had to live through two mysteries worth of new Gaby, who was a poor substitution. I don't know why OG left, but I felt the sting of it even in elementary school.

On to Tina. In direct contrast to Lenni and Alex, Tina is by far the best dressed of the characters. Kids today might not be embarassed to be seen in some of Tina's outfits. Unfortunately, she's a terrible actress. Could not act her way out a paper box. Yikes. Still, she really is too cute, and I always admired her for getting an older boy to like her (one as cute as Alex, even!), so it evens out in the end.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Rob. Rob wasn't an original member of the Ghostwriter Team, nor did he make it all the way to the end of the series (his family moved to Australia in season 2-sad face), but I still thought he was dreamy. Next to Tina, Rob would definitely be least embarassed to be seen in today's society wearing his Ghostwriter outfits. Plus, he was a writer! And he was friends with homeless people! And could skateboard! And although he was a little bit sexist in that one episode, he totally changed his mind after being knocked out and tied up by a female stunt double. Seriously, such the crush on Rob.

Of course, we also have Grandma Jenkins, who is the lone grown-up in the cast. Now that I think about it, I think she and Alex might have been sharing a warddrobe (zing!!). Not really sure why she's a main character, since she doesn't appear to be in the show any more frequently than any of the other adults, but there you go.

And let's not forget Ghostwriter himself. He can't talk. He's not an alien. We think he might be a ghost! I always thought he looked like a snowball wearing a winter hat. I don't know who designed him, but that's awesome. Nonsensical, but awesome.

As for the rest of the show, the mysteries were reasonably clever, but easy enough that kids who paid attention had a chance of solving them along with the kids. The diversity of the cast is impressive, even if the acting isn't, and the very special episodes actually do address important topics that kids should be aware of. All in all, I know why I loved this show so much as a kid, and even though I mock now, I totally do it out of love. Thanks for the memories, Ghostwriter! And thanks for being still awesome enough to enjoy but also dorky enough to make fun of!

Pictured, from left: Alex, Tina, Jamal, Lenni, Gaby, and Rob. Ghostwriter's in the "O." See what I mean about the snowball and the hat?