Ghostwriter - Season 1

I used to work for PBS back in the early 90s and loved this show. The premise is that several kids solve mysteries through the use of a ghost. Sort of like the opposite of Mystery Inc, I guess.

Anyway, here's why the show is so cool. The only way these kids can communicate with the ghost is by writing it notes. Thus, part of the show focuses on how to put what you want to say into a clear and concise sentence or short paragraph.

While kids are being entertained with the mystery, they're also learning how to write clearly. Taking the thoughts in your head and putting them into words is a valuable skill to learn. As a lawyer who reads a lot of what people write, it's also not a skill many people have.

I'm buying this set for my 7 and 8 year olds.

I could not believe it when I heard the news...that Ghostwriter would be out on DVD! I pre-ordered immediately and have watched half of Season 1. This was an amazing show to watch while growing up. Yes, I enjoyed shows like Saved by the Bell, California Dreams and anything SNICK. However, Ghostwriter always took the cake. This show was about a ghost wanting to help kids and these kids solving crime. It was educational in the way of how these Brooklynites (go Fort Greene) analyzed situations, as well as using proper grammar from diverse viewpoints.

Aside from that, it was also an entertaining show. My friends and I have enjoyed watching the first season. Talk about star power: Samuel L. Jackson as Jamal's Dad?! Also featured are Max Wright from ALF, Mark-Linn Baker from Perfect Strangers, Dule Hill from Psych, Spike Lee...need I say more?!

Just to give a heads-up, both cases with 5 episodes (Ghost Story and Into the Light) are on this season. All the other cases span four episodes.

I hope anyone who buys this can relax and take a trip back in time when teenagers were not boozing it up on the Upper East Side or going loco in 90210. Sit back, relax and go to a time when Cross Colors ruled, bodegas were great places to hang out and you could always communicate to your friend by writing to Ghostwriter!

RALLY!

Go...go...Ghostwriter! While the title of this review is what you'll hear at the beginning of every episode (seeing as the second half of the statement serves as the focal point of the learning that goes on in this television series), the first sentence in this paragraph/review is what you'll hear at the conclusion of every episode, following the credits (both declarations are sung by actress Blaze Berdahl who plays singer/songwriter Ghostwriter team member Lenni Frazier on the show). This is one of THE GREATEST, MOST EDUCATIONAL children's television series ever to hit the big screen! Now, 15 years after it went off the air on PBS, Season 1 has been preserved on DVD! Yeah, baby! This series has it all--reading- and writing-based education, teamwork among kids both academically and socially, morals right and left, and, yes, it knows how to be hip. Even though this premiere season was made nearly 20 years ago (1992-1993), it can reach Middle School/Junior High- and even late Elementary School-aged children on an internal as well as external level today. The fact that these young actors and actresses not only play local Brooklyn neighborhood residents (with well-rounded cultural appeal to viewers), but students as well, shows how important and worthy sharing knowledge with your peers can be. To top it off, THE DVD CASE IS SHAPED EXACTLY LIKE THE CASEBOOKS USED BY EACH MEMBER OF THE GHOSTWRITER TEAM ON THE SHOW ITSELF! Ha; top that!

Here is how each episode breaks down. The fact that this is a mystery series means that every story contains multiple chapters (almost like a book), which are divided into 4-5 episodes. This opening season has 8 stories, each containing 4 parts (one story bears a fifth). Multiply 8 x4, +1, and you get a total of 33 episodes. (I am not quite sure what the bonus features hold [according to Amazon, it states "Ghostwriter Casebook"], so I'll have to wait until I receive my own copy of the DVD to verify its content) Except for the final episode of each story, viewers are presented with cliffhanger endings so as to be held in suspense, and adequately prepared for what seemingly lies ahead. I recall watching Ghostwriter every Sunday night for three years (the length of the entire series) on my local PBS station, and it prepared me for what lay ahead academically at my school. In fact, I must say my desire to (continue to learn how to) read and write on a daily basis was heavily inspired by this t.v. show! Therefore, I recommend it for ANYBODY in school--student, teacher, administrator, parent. This series defines learning in the utmost form! Go grab your own personal copy on Tuesday, June 8, 2010--right in time for summer!