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GHOSTWRITER
WHEN IT AIRED:
oct '92 - feb '95
SUMMARY:
Ghostwriter is the story of a group of New York City kids, brought together by the spiritual being known as "Ghostwriter".? The kids work together, with Ghostwriter's help, to solve the mysteries they encounter.? The series featured a cast of widely different ethnic groups, and focused on the concept of "making reading fun".? While Ghostwriter was only on for a limited time, it was very successful in ratings and merchandising - with CD-Roms, posters, and a large variety of books.
Ghostwriter originally aired on PBS from 1992-1995. The lack of funding forced the show to be cancelled in its third season. The show ran on PBS in re-runs for awhile after the cancellation due to popularity. CBS made a desperate attempt to revive the series by creating The New Ghostwriter Mysteries in 1997, which unfortunately flopped.? Ghostwriter is currently on Nickelodeon's partner network, Noggin, as part of "The N" where it is hugely popular.
ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE
WHEN IT AIRED:
september '93 - november '96
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays at 8:30:AM on Nickelodeon
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays at 12:00 AM on Nickelodeon
Fridays at 5:00:AM on Nickelodeon
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays at 5:00:AM on Nickelodeon
SUMMARY:
Settling in small-town O-Town with his stupid, hyperactive dog Spunky, Rocko did his best to make sense of America. He took a job at Kind-Of-A-Lot-Of-Comics, settled into a home, and befriended neighbors Heffer Wolfe (a hungry cow) and Fliburt (a nerdy turtle). Heffer was the only steer in a family of wolves, although he never caught on that he was adopted until Rocko tipped him off. Heffer told his wallaby-hating grandfather, Willie, that Rocko was a coyote, although Willie thought he was actually a beaver, which he equally despised. Filburt appeared in a variety of roles before becoming a regular friend of Rockos. The turtle dated and ultimately married a multi-talented cat named Dr. Hutchinson, who appeared as a surgeon and a pharmacist, among other medical-related positions. With his new friends, Rocko set about discovering the joys of a modern American lifestylehealth clubs, garbage day, discount airlines, etc. Many of the episodes were based around a single, simple premise, like going grocery shopping, attending traffic school, or getting fired. Regardless of the situations simplicity, something would always go drastically wrong and chaos would ensue, setting Rocko up for one crazy, bizarre adventure after another. Rockos next-door neighbor was the unpleasant Mr. Bighead, who worked at mega-corporation Conglom-O (slogan: We Own You). Bigheads son Ralph had moved to Hollywood, where he created the cartoon-within-a-cartoon The Fatheads. Other regulars and semi-regulars included superhero Really Really Big Man and Spunkys resident parasites, Bloaty the Tick and Squirmy the Ringworm. The latter characters had yet another show-within-a-show, a classic TV-style sitcom titled The Bloaty and Squirmy Show.
ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?
WHEN IT AIRED:
August 1992 - October 2000 (halloween)
SUMMARY:
The age-old tradition of the campfire ghost story got a 1990s update in Nickelodeons Are You Afraid of the Dark? Debuting as part of the Friday night SNICK block in 1992, the show featured a group of teen and preteen storytellers, each telling tales of the spooky and the macabre. Horror fan Gary was the founder of the Midnight Society, a club of kids who each week retired deep into the woods, lit a campfire and took turns scaring the living daylights out of one another. In addition to Gary, the original Midnight Society lineup included Betty Ann, Kiki, Frank, Kristen, David and Eric. As each episode began, one of the Midnight Society members would begin spinning his or her web of gloom, and the show would segue into a dramatization of the story. The familiar vampires, werewolves, haunted houses, mad scientists, etc., were all present in the kids tales, but the stories also delved into Twilight Zone territory. Kids were given twisted morality lessons about prank phone call police, magic mirrors that showed inner ugliness, the problems with having your wishes all come true, and so on. And for the hard core scare fans, the Midnight Society also had its share of voodoo, cannibals, scary clowns and raising the dead.
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