As Told by Ginger
or simply Ginger is a three-time Emmy nominated American
animated series that premiered on Nickelodeon in October 2000.
The show focuses on Ginger Foutley and her adventures at Lucky Jr.
High, as she records them in her diary. The series was noted for
its storylines, character development and the fact that the
characters change outfits each time a new day comes.
In the
United
States, about half the episodes of the third and final
season remain unaired. Also, several episodes that were once
available through reruns have been taken out of the rotation. This
came as a disappointment to fans during its initial run.
About the show
The show focuses mainly on the life of junior high school student
Ginger Foutley. She, along with her friends, Darren Patterson,
Dodie Bishop and Macie Lightfoot, all try to rise from the position
of school geeks as they solve many conflicts that come their way.
Luckily for Ginger, the most popular girl in school, Courtney
Gripling, has taken a liking to her and often includes her in her
social plans. She is intrigued by her 'gingerisms', as Courtney
calls them. However, Miranda Killgallen, Courtney's right hand
woman, makes sure that she is not bumped down from her position
thanks to Ginger. At home, Ginger records her lively adventures in
her diary. Her little brother Carl, is often scheming with
Robert-Joseph ("Hoodsey") Bishop in his own side plots, and her
mother, Lois, is always there for advice Ginger is always open to
listen to.
The series takes place in the fictional town
of Sheltered Shrubs, located in Connecticut
. It is very rare for a children's program,
especially an animated one, to be set in a specific area of the
country. Sheltered Shrubs is actually based on the real town of
Larchmont, New York. Other towns noted in the series are Protected
Pines, a
gated community in which
Courtney lives, Brittle Branches, where Ginger's father resides,
and Heathered Hills, the town of Ginger's summer camp crush,
Sasha.
Characters
Main characters
- (in credits' order)
Notable others
- (in order of actors' last name)
- Miss Cool- Jay sean
Episodes
Sixty episodes plus one pilot episode were produced for the show.
- The pilot was produced in 1999 and officially completed on
September 10 of that year.
- Season one was produced from November 1999-June 2000.
- Season two was produced from August 2000 - November 2001.
- Season three was produced from August 2002-November 2003.
TV movies
- There were four television
movies during the series' run.
- Summer of Camp
Caprice had Ginger, Dodie, Macie and Courtney heading to
summer camp, with Darren and Miranda going to military camp (where, as it happens, Miranda's
father works) and Carl and Hoodsey on the trail of dog
nappers.
- Foutleys on Ice (seen in the US as Far From
Home), following up on the Emmy-nominated
episode And She Was Gone, dealt with Ginger winning a
scholarship to an arts school, and Carl and Hoodsey making friends
with a new character, the telekinetic
Noelle Sussman (voiced by Emily
Kapnek). This episode was released on DVD.
- Butterflies are Free Ginger and her friends graduate
junior high.
- The Wedding Frame,
which closed out the 3rd season and the series as a whole, and
features Lois marrying one of the doctors at her hospital.
Nickelodeon originally asked for the ending of that telefilm to be
changed to something less conclusive in case they wished to make
future TV episodes, however, perhaps due to that situation being
very unlikely, the original ending was eventually retained. It was
released directly to DVD in the United States in November 2004, and
has not been broadcast in the US; also, the six episodes leading up
to the movie were never televised or released in the US, resulting
in some continuity problems.
Production
The pilot for the show was completed in September 1999. The show
premiered the following October on Nickelodeon. The show was
greatly popular at first, even making its way into the
teenager-aimed block
TeenNick. After the
second season, the show's popularity began to decline, partially
due to constant scheduling changes. Nickelodeon then took the show
off the air after airing less than half the episodes of the third
and final season.
Nickelodeon's sister channel, Nicktoons
Network has aired two episodes that have been unseen on
Nickelodeon, and it acts as the only network to air the show in the
United
States.
Show Airings
Nickelodeon6am Tuesdays?- March 2008
| Network |
Time |
In effect |
| Nickelodeon |
Wednesdays at 8 pm |
October 2000-January 2001 |
| Nickelodeon |
Sundays 7:30 pm |
January 2001-June 2003 |
| Nick on CBS |
Saturday mornings |
September 2002-September 2004 |
| Nickelodeon |
Selected Weekday Mornings |
November 2005 |
| Nicktoons |
Weekday mornings |
November 2006-May 2007 |
| Nicktoons |
Sunday and Monday mornings |
May 2007-July 2007 |
| Nickelodeon |
Monday mornings |
August 2007 |
| Nicktoons |
Monday - Saturday mornings |
October 2007- March 2008 |
|
| Nicktoons |
4:00am Monday - Friday mornings |
March 2008 - January or February 2009 |
- The episodes I Spy a Witch, Déjà Who?, An
"Even Steven" Holiday Special, and Piece of My Heart
were all made for the first season line-up, but aired during the
second season.
- Never Can Say Goodbye, Gym Class
Confidential, Fast Reputation, and The Nurses'
Strike all premiered in the same week during the teen nick
block. They aired February 11-February 14, 2002 (which
were the days between Monday and Thursday.)
- The episodes Detention, Kiss Today Good-bye,
A Lesson In Tightropes, Dodie's Big Break, and
Battle of the Bands are all high school episodes that have
yet to air in the United States. They were at one time scheduled to
air during the second week of November 2006, but were immediately
removed from the schedule after the first high school episode,
Stuff'll Kill Ya was aired. In most other
countries, especially in the United Kingdom
, they are part of the common re-runs. The
series finale The Wedding Frame has also never been
broadcast in the USA, but it is shown sometimes in other
countries.
- The
episode specials that run over 30 minutes with commercials are not
seen in the United
States.
- Nicktoons Network has been
showing more and more episodes including ones they wouldn't show in
the past such as "The Right Stuff". They have also been showing
specials such as "Even Stevens Holiday", "Far From Home" and "No
Turning Back" (January 2008).
DVD and iTunes releases
- The TV-movies Far From Home and The Wedding
Frame are available in the USA on Region 1 DVDs. Far From Home comes with the bonus
episodes Ginger The Juvey and The Pilot. The
Wedding Frame includes Stealing First and Dare I,
Darren.
- The first 13 episodes became available on iTunes on Tuesday, July 29, 2008, but were eventually
removed. The episode "I Spy A Witch" is listed as "Blizzard
Conditions" as an error. Blizzard Conditions is not available as an
error. The first episode Ginger the Juvey was already available on
Nick Rewind Volume 2.
- The episode "An Even Steven Holiday Special" is available on
Holly Jolly Specials '07.
- The episodes 1 through 45 are available on Russian DVD sets
with each DVD containing 5 episodes. The As Speaks
Ginger-DVDs as they are known in Russia (Cyrillic: Как говорит
Джинджер) are produced and distributed by Russobit-M and are only
available with a Russian soundtrack.
Theme song
Originally, Melissa Disney, who voices Ginger, sang the theme song.
Before the show's first airing, the theme song was switched to a
version sung by
Cree Summer, the voice
of Miranda. The first half of the first season used this theme song
version. After that,
all episodes used a new
version sung by R&B artist
Macy Gray.
Although
the Melissa Disney version has never been used in American airings, all three versions are featured regularly
in other English-speaking countries.
Closing credits
The closing credits are generally designed backgrounds with the
shows signature font. These backgrounds include the ice cream cones
from Ginger's bedroom walls, ladybugs from Dodie's bedroom walls,
pencils, lizards and more. The ending theme is most often an
instrumental version of the theme, although there have been
exceptions. The episode
Never Can Say Goodbye ended with a
song called "Wrong", sung by voice actor
Kenny Blank as Darren Patterson and
And She
Was Gone ended with a musical version of Ginger's poem during
the credits. The episode
Come Back Little Seal Girl
featured the songs
Courtney's World and
The Little Seal Girl blended together. In
About Face, a song called
Diamonds Are
Expensive, presumably sung by the engaged Lois and Dr.
Dave is played over the credits. Finally,
Next Question
ended with
The Teen Seal Girl song.
Character development and continuity
As Told by Ginger has been recognized by fans and
Nickelodeon alike for its character development, most of which is
unusual for a cartoon.
In the first season, Ginger's age group is hinted as being in
seventh grade. By the second season, they move up to eighth grade
rather than remaining the same age. They graduate Jr. high in the
third season and move on to becoming freshman in high school.
Carl's age group works in a similar way, as they become Jr. high
students by the third season. As the episode with the Jr. high
graduation aired in 2004, Ginger is most likely part of the class
of 2008. Also in the second season, Darren had his unwieldy
orthodontia that he had been wearing for
the entire first season removed, which resulted in rising
popularity. Also, many episodes (mostly seasons two-three, although
season one did this too) have references to previous episodes,
giving the episodes a definite order.
One of the more noticeable developments is the fact that the
characters change clothes each time a new day comes. Many cartoons
have their characters remain in the same outfits to save time and
money. The girls in Ginger's age group (Dodie, Courtney, Macie,
Miranda, and Ginger herself) and some of the adults were the only
ones to do this at first. But after Darren got his orthodontia
removed, he changed clothes as well. Carl's age group only changes
clothes so often, most of the time with little changes. Hoodsey's
coat rack has identical purple hooded-sweatshirts, mocking cartoons
that always remain in the same outfits. Also, unlike live-action
shows whose characters only wear an outfit once,
As Told By
Ginger characters wear their outfits in rotation, and new
outfits are added every few episodes.
The show also deals with several deeper themes than other
Nicktoons. In
Wicked Game, Ginger's two best friends
betray her after feeling jealousy toward her new boyfriend, Darren.
In
And She Was Gone, the staff and students at school
think Ginger is depressed after she writes a disturbing poem. In
the episode
No Hope For Courtney, Carl's pranks cause his
teacher to retire. After she agrees to come back, Mrs. Gordon
passes on. In actuality, the voice actress,
Kathleen Freeman died and the episode was
dedicated to her.
A Lesson in Tightropes has Ginger going
through an emotional break-up with Darren while, at the same time,
having to get surgery for acute
appendicitis. Furthermore, the episode
Stuff'll Kill Ya shows Ginger dealing with what could be
conceived as a caffeine addiction.
- In the TV movie The Wedding Frame, when the Foutleys'
are driving to their soon-to-be home, they pass a cemetery park.
One tombstone reads "ATBG" while the other reads "RIP". ATBG is
short for As Told By Ginger and RIP is short for Rest In Peace.
This is a nod to the fact that this movie is the series
finale.
- Piece of My Heart aired in the month of December, but
since then has been known as a Valentine's Day special.
- In the episode No Hope For Courtney, Mrs. Gordon
retires after having enough of Carl and Hoodsey. Carl begs her to
return. The script was originally written to have Mrs. Gordon
return to her teaching job. Kathleen
Freeman died in 2001 before the episode's first airing and the
script was re-written to have Mrs. Gordon die as well and the
newly-scripted episode aired some years later.
- A girl who had cancer and was also a Make-A-Wish patient
watched this show during treatment. Her wish was to be a character
on the show, and she was a character in one episode.
- ATBG was a rare occasion that a Nicktoon was aired on Teenick, rather than during the day like most other
Nicktoons. This was because the show was aimed at young
teenagers.
Awards
- Three Emmy nominations for Hello Stranger (in 2001),
Lunatic Lake (in 2002), and And She Was Gone (in
2003) (all three times As Told By Ginger was beaten by
Fox shows). They were all three
nominated in the Outstanding Animated Program (Less than One
Hour).
- "Best
Cartoon" at Nickelodeon Netherlands
' Kids Choice
Awards in 2005.
- Two episodes of As Told By Ginger will be ranked in
Nickelodeon's 100 Greatest Moments
in Nicktoons History. The episodes are Gym Class
Confidential and Stealing First and ranked in
positions 97 and 95.
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