Episode Guide
Who Do You Think You Are? – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Gorilla War – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Happy Death Day – | Review Score – 4/5 Free Pass – | Review Score – 3/5 Moonah Ston – | Review Score – 4/5 Getting Out – | Review Score – 4/5 Created by the brilliant minds behind the Horrible History books, Ghosts is a smartly written comedy, playing on ghostly situational humour to great effect. While the story is a little lackadaisical and the overarching plot simple and a bit uninspired, it’s ultimately the characters that make this such an enjoyable watch. The first episode is used to set the scene, introducing us to young couple, Alison and Mike, who go flat hunting together. After a fruitless search, Alison learns they’ve inherited her Grandmother’s house and as they head off to the lavish estate to check out the property, they soon realize things aren’t what they seem. A nasty bash to the head sends Alison to A&E and as she regains consciousness, she begins seeing the ghosts haunting the property. From here, the series takes on an episodic format, with specific issues cropping up each episode while the overarching plot around restoring the property is sprinkled throughout the 6 episodes. While there is a little inconsistency with the episodic stories, jumping from a more character-specific focus in one to a broader perspective in the next, it’s the humour itself that keeps this one interesting and enjoyable. There’s a lighthearted slapstick to a lot of the writing and this, combined with the charismatic personality of each ghost, is really what make this such an enjoyable comedy. Stylistically, there isn’t a lot here that really stands out, with much of the composition relying heavily on the rigid structure seen in many other comedies. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does give the series somewhat of a mediocre feel, blending in with other sitcoms and failing to really do enough to stand out. Ghosts won’t be for everyone, especially with its basic comedy set-up. Thankfully, the execution is polished enough to give it a broad appeal to a large age group which certainly helps. While it’s a far cry from comedies like What We Do In The Shadows or The Office, Ghosts makes up for this with its eclectic range of enjoyable characters. With a second season and a more focused episode range, exploring the backstory of each ghost, this could be a really solid, long-running sitcom. Whether it’ll get the audience it needs to achieve this though is another matter. Ghosts is certainly enjoyable but it’s unlikely to leave a lasting impression once you’re done binging through this one.
