Ghostwriter (1992 TV Series)

Ghostwriter is a 1992 American, children's mystery, fantasy television series. It was created by Liz Nealon and the first two seasons were co-produced by BBC Television with the Children's Television Workshop. There are 78 episodes and 18 story arcs in total, 4 episodes each (excect for the first and fifth story arcs, which have five). It was followed by The New Ghostwriter Mysteries in 1997 and a 2019 reboot.

Plot
One day, an ethnically-diverse group of middle-schoolers come across an apparition that looks like a glowing, floating orb. The apparition can communicate by manipulating and switching around letters wherever words are found, and has no recollection of his past. The kids name him Ghostwriter and after forming a crime-solving team, he accompanies them on their mystery-solving missions, often playing a part in helping to solve them. The intention of this series is to teach children literary and inscribing skills, as well as problem-solving in the case of sleuthing.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) This has quite a creative concept.
 * 2) It is a cleverly done way of encouraging and inspiring kids to take up more reading and writing.
 * 3) The cases are not only interesting but exciting as well.
 * 4) The acting is mostly well-performed.
 * 5) A majority of great, memorable, and likable characters.
 * 6) The writing is some of the strongest ever written for a kids' show.
 * 7) Not only is the theme song great, but the rest of the soundtrack, with its hip-hop and new jack swing flavors, is superb, especially Lenni's song, "You Gotta Believe", from the story arc, "Don't Stop The Music".
 * 8) It holds up well and is still enjoyable years later.
 * 9) Positive, well-given messages.
 * 10) In Summer 2006, it spawned a radio version of the show on BBC School Radio for elementary school students.
 * 11) It spawned novelizations of some of the story arcs.
 * 12) Guest stars appeared, including actor Samuel L. Jackson and female pop-rap group, Salt-N-Pepa.
 * 13) Memorable quotes, such as the line, "I'm boiling mad, I'm steaming mad!" by the Slime doll from the last story arc, "Attack of The Slime Monster".

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Despite its popularity and what might have been while it was at the height of it, the series was cancelled due to funding problems.
 * 2) Some viewers may miss and prefer the original actress (Mayteena Morales) who played one of the main characters, Gabby, throughout most of the series.
 * 3) The New Ghostwriter Mysteries wasn't quite as popular nor well-received.

Trivia

 * It wasn't until 2010 that Ghostwriter's past identity was finally revealed. In an interview that year, writer/producer Kermit Frazier explained that Ghostwriter is the ghost of an American Civil War, runaway slave. He taught other slaves reading and writing before he got caught by the slave masters' dogs and met his demise. Over a century later, one of the main characters, Jamal, finds him in a book after being trapped in there for so long and frees him.

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