As Told by Ginger: Looking Back

So, it's been months since I posted a new review or countdown list for this blog. In the back of my mind, I felt that this blog needed a proper close, and what better time to do it than on New Year's Eve (at least, in the western hemisphere of the world).

Looking back on what made As Told by Ginger so great, it's hard not to think of at least a good handful of reasons off the top of your head. Its originality, well-developed characters, realistic drama--it all contributes to this highly underrated show that's chock-full of life lessons everyone could have used growing up.

It's a shame that when people talk about their favorite Nickelodeon shows from their childhood, you hear everything from Rugrats to Catdog to the questionable-for-kids Ren and Stimpy. Never have I heard anyone mention As Told by Ginger, which is a shame. True, while Nickelodeon is not known for airing tween animated drama-comedy hybrids (its main focus being on live-action rich teens desperate to rise to fame), it still boggles my mind as to why this show rarely ever comes up in conversation when people discuss 90s/early 2000s Nickelodeon.

Yeah, Ginger, I feel the lack of love for your show, too.

This is also part of the reason why I wanted to do this blog. While, yes, I originally wanted to rip apart a more popular Nickelodeon show back in 2014, I still think doing a review of As Told by Ginger was the better choice. Here, there's an entire website deep in the backroads of the Internet dedicated to this virtually unknown tween dramedy. I just wanted to give Ginger the love it deserves, even though there are quite a number of moments that make my blood boil and bubble like the three witches' cauldron in Macbeth.

Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Hey, Dodie, want a free spa treatment? >=)

And yet, even with As Told by Ginger's flaws, it makes me love the show even more. Now that I think about it, the completely illogical and unrealistic resolution in "Dodie's Big Break" is kind of a lesson in of itself--life is unfair. People get undeserved chances. People suck. Now, this may be an abstract way of looking at the cringe-worthy episodes, but you have to admit--would it be as much fun ripping apart Dodie if she got the karma she so desperately deserved?

I know I joked a lot about how it would have been awesome to see an episode where Ginger and Dodie break off their friendship for good and Dodie gets sent to an asylum (and I still think that would be a great episode idea!) but if you think about it, wouldn't that conflict the entire message of the show? As Told by Ginger is grounded in realism, and in real life, justice is not always served. Perhaps that's why I never cared much for superhero movies. And if that's what Emily Kapnek intended when she wrote the show, then I just might have to give her a standing ovation--it wasn't that it was bad writing--it was truthful writing.

So, perhaps those flaws I meticulously picked out weren't really flaws at all. Of course, no show is flawless--but rather, its flaws were intentional.

So, every time you see Dodie with her big, fat, purple smile, it's most likely done out of intention.

And just like Dodie was struck with the lucky stick repeatedly by the devil himself, Courtney Gripling, unfortunately, got the opposite treatment. As someone as kind and generous as Courtney was, of course she didn't deserve the abuse and robbery of wealth that came with her development, further fueling the overall message of this show that life isn't fair. 

But of course, the show isn't that depressing that all we get is the negative side of what life throws at us. There were times when goodness reigned over grief. In "Fair to Cloudy," Ginger realized that inviting Darren along to her "best friend tradition" of going to the county fair every year was a terrible idea--not because she was breaking tradition, but because he just didn't belong in every aspect of Ginger's life. And instead of the show teaching us that "everyone is equal and deserves to join in everything, yadda yadda yadda..." we're left with the realization that it's okay to keep some things the same.

Just because you have a new boyfriend or girlfriend or puppy or whatever doesn't mean they're automatically entitled to butt into every aspect of your life since you are now associated with them. And it's one of those moments that we realize, "Hey, you know, maybe "justice" isn't needed everywhere." I'm sure you wouldn't want to take all of your friends to every movie, convention, party, or villainous crime spree you go on. Not because you don't love all your friends, but because some things are more suited to a certain group of friends, and a little bit of tradition and stagnancy is perfectly fine and nothing you should feel obligated to change.

And sure, we get the traditional life lessons about growing up, staying true to yourself, and following your passion, but that's not what this show is about. Otherwise, I could understand why this show would be forgettable. But As Told by Ginger brings us another dimension of realism, a dimension that we don't like to admit, even to ourselves sometimes, and it's what makes the show great.

Now, if people would just look past at how "ugly" the character designs are, they just might see that there is definitely something worth watching at least one run through. Luckily, I have readers like you who have kept this blog alive that brought me to this moment in time where I could say this.

But always remember, it could have been worse; the characters could have ended up looking like this:

That's all I have to say to bring this blog to a close. It was truly a pleasure writing this blog from top to bottom. And while I'm officially closing up this blog to new posts, I'll still be around, working on Hey Arnold! Reviewed every week. If this is completely new to you, here's the link to the blog:

http://heyarnoldreviewed.blogspot.com/

So, while this isn't an official goodbye, it's a silent wave goodbye to As Told by Ginger: Reviewed!

Someone once told me the grass was much greener... on the other side.