“A diverse group of kids in New York gets written messages from the ‘Ghostwriter,’ an enigmatic spiritual entity who communicates by using …found letters and words to provide clues to mysteries for the children to solve. This popular PBS series offers young viewers a chance to…
…learn about reading, writing and problem-solving. Samuel L. Jackson appears in several episodes as Reggie, the father of one of the kids.”
That’s right. This is Ghost Writer season one, episode one, and I am live-tweeting it.
Holy crap, Samuel L. Jackson starts strong. But why can’t he see neon Casper?
Oh my god, the intro credits are as awesome as I remember. These kids are so diverse. But why no LGBT representation?
Oh, no, Jamal! You’re carrying groceries back home and some kids in alien masks are watching!
… it’s NYC in the 90s. Get out of there!
“Hello, computer. My name is Jamal. Ready for one dynamite dude?”
Why would he type that into his computer??
Ghost Writer: highlights ‘Don’t fool with the cool.’ Then writes “HELP! HELP! HELP! Where are the children? Are they all right?”
… creepy.
Also, why does the computer default to a blue screen word processor that writes in size 250 font? Oh, the 90s.
I’m glad he called in his sister to deal with the internet predator. Because this PBS show could have gone an entirely different way.
Oh, no! Gaby’s backpack was stolen by one of the aliens!
I believe Jamal just passed on his psychosis to Lenni. While he was furiously trying to help her pick up the books he knocked down.
GW: “Where are you, Dynamite Dude Jamal?”
Lenni freaks out about losing five minutes of writing terrible music & pokes her book with a stick
GW: “Lenni fights for what’s right.” I wonder if Ghost Writer is the ghost of a pedophile.
Jamal finds a bright blue paper that says “Near the park/After dark/You were there./So BEWARE!!!/THABTO”
THABTO = Creepy alien dudes
Lenni confronts Jamal demanding to know how he rearranged the letters in her notebook. Jamal accuses her of being THABTO.
Lenni’s solution to Jamal’s mystery: “Strange stuff. Maybe you should just throw it away.”
She would make a terrible Watson.
GW: “Careful After Dark My Children”
Lenni: “Nobody else sees that.”
Jamal: “Shh! People will think we’re nuts!”
Alex and his dad have very different accents in Spanish. And they only use Spanish to punctuate their English. Just like 90s TV.
Lenni lives above Alex & Gaby’s parent’s store. Her dad plays terrible music and looks like Jesse from Full House.
The code Jamal finds “looks like Russian or something.” They try looking at it in a mirror. Smart kids.
GW: “What in the world are cornflakes?”
Jamal and Lenni: “What do you want from us?”
Remind me to never ask them a simple question.
GW: “Why do you not answer me?”
J&L: “Do you want us to speak louder?”
… These kids might be diverse, but they’ve never met a deaf person.
GW: “ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME!”
… Okay, I’m creeped out. If this weren’t PBS, I’d think it was Paranormal Activity 0.
And the episode ends with Lenni asking “How?” and Jamal responding “I don’t know.”
… I guess they’ve never had keyboarding lessons.