As Told by Ginger

As Told by Ginger is an American Emmy-nominated 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. 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.

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.