Ghostwriter

Back when Ghostwriter was on PBS, I never missed an episode, and was disappointed when it went off the air. Now when I catch it on Nickelodeon and Noggin (and educational children's channel), the show is just as good as I remember it. The best thing about Ghostwriter was that it never insulted the intelligence of its viewers, even though its targeted viewing audience was about 7 to 12 years old. Each mystery took four episodes to complete, and the plot was always complex and interesting enough to justify the continuations. It seemed like the writers never cut corners just because this was a children's show. Another great thing about the show was its setting in New York City. It was obvious that the show wasn't shot on some fake urban soundstage in Hollywood. The characters run around the city in an area called Fort Greene, and the community is portrayed in a warm and authentic way. A huge credit to the show was its great young cast. Even though their acting skills weren't great, they each managed to adhere a strong personality to the characters.

Special props go to Joey Shea, who was hilarious as Calvin Ferguson, the smarmy kid who was the de facto arch nemesis of the Ghostwriter team. Overall, the show was always entertaining and funny.

"Ghostwriter" fans will always remember the team of six kids who ran around Brooklyn cracking codes and solving mysteries. Some people have teased the show for its early 90's look of colorful outfits, trendy headgear, mild rap music, and brief introduction to the internet.

While the Ghostwriter team worked on solving mysteries, they also learned about environmentalism, drug abuse, violence, war remembrance, and family feuds.

So who IS Ghostwriter? In the pilot episode, a ghost suddenly pops out of a book in the basement of Jamal Jenkins. He's depicted as a bubble that floats around the screen before diving into books or a computer. Ghostwriter cannot hear or talk. It takes Jamal and his friend Lenni Frazer a few tries until they realize he can only communicate through words.

One of the hardest challenges for "Ghostwriter" was addressing difficult topics such as violence and drugs in a realistic environment. How do you do that on a PBS kid-oriented show? Through creative stories and compelling characters. And to do it through writing. As the show progressed, the characters faced peer pressure and social challenges.In "What's Up with Alex", Alex starts to shirk his responsibilities at home and is tempted to try marijuana because his "cool" friend Kevin uses it. The whole Ghostwriter team is concerned but thanks to their honesty with Alex, he turns down Kevin's offer and helps the team crack a crime ring.

This show is a nostalgia trip that is well worth taking.

Ghostwriter was this interesting show aimed for the juvenile trade to encourage folks to read. That's something you have to encourage at a young age. It was shot in and the episodes were located in some familiar areas of New York City and watching the show it all looked quite familiar to me.

Just who or what was Ghostwriter. He was this other worldly being who could only and who chose to only communicate with a select group of adolescents by writing wherever, be it on a computer or on a bathroom wall. The kids got involved in solving a mystery and their method was to read Ghostwriter's clues and keep a case notebook of what they learned. Eventually they put things together.

I remember one episode where Ghostwriter brought up some painful memories for people in Brooklyn. He had them go to Sullivan Place because an old ballpark was located there and that had something to do with the mystery. Kids their age in the 1990s would have no memories of Ebbetts Field, but they did the required research to learn. A show that teaches how to research is a valuable thing indeed.

I wish it were still running.

I love this show. It has mysteries along in Brooklyn, New York. But I haven't seen this one episode of Ghostwriter, "What's up with Alex?" This show, in the year 2001, is shown on the network "Noggin". I hope it goes on another network soon so I can see the episode I listed above. The members of the team are: Jamal Jenkins, Lenni Frasier, Alex Fernandez, Gaby Fernandez, Tina Nguyen, Rob Baker, Hector Carrero, and Casey Austin. The team list is shown in the order they saw Ghostwriter.

My siblings and I fell in love with the show as did our parents. We ate dinner in front of the television once a week to watch it. In a world were television is full of violence and gore this is important for kids to see wholesome television. I still rent the videos show it to the kids I baby sit.