Comedy
Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
Scratch is a ghost, the “worst of the worst.” His one job in the afterlife is to keep the people in his town of Brighton miserable. And he does a pretty good job of it.
Until one day, Molly McGee moves to town—right into Scratch’s house.
Ordinarily, Scratch would just frighten the new inhabitants until they’re absolutely miserable and continue terrifying the citizens of Brighton. Only, his normal methods of spooking don’t work on Molly McGee.
In fact, moments after meeting the specter, Molly declares him to be her new best friend.
Scratch tries to curse Molly, promising to haunt her for the rest of her days, but that doesn’t scare Molly either. It excites her. And, because of the rules of Scratch’s particular afterlife, it turns into a punishment for Scratch since he’s now forced to tag along with the young girl wherever she goes.
What’s worse is that Molly’s positive attitude is contagious. Even Scratch isn’t immune to her joy.
But if Scratch doesn’t find a way to break the curse and make Molly miserable soon, he’ll be banished to the Flow of Failed Phantoms (a sort of eternal prison reserved for ghosts who allow the living to get too happy).
The Ghost and Molly McGee, as the title indicates, deals with the supernatural. Molly follows the Thai tradition (explained to her by her grandmother) of san phra phum, which is the practice of keeping a tiny house within your home to honor the ghosts living there. Scratch and other ghosts have a variety of powers, including the ability to take possession of a human body. And when Scratch is in a scaring mood, he can make himself incredibly terrifying.
Characters occasionally get some bumps and scrapes. Kids can be mean at school. And ghosts can be rude and disgusting (when we first see Scratch, he’s eating garbage from a trash bin).
But those caveats aside, it’s a show about hope.
Molly has spent her life moving from town to town, but she’s optimistic that Brighton will be her “forever home” and that she’ll make “forever friends” there—starting with Scratch.
And even though Scratch has dedicated himself to making Molly’s life unbearable, he can’t help but be inspired by her happy-go-lucky attitude, letting her become his only friend.
When Molly and Scratch meet, Scratch accidentally curses himself to always be with Molly. Scratch helps Molly make friends on her first day of school.
Ghosts make frightening faces and apparitions, create curses and portals, levitate people and possess an unconscious girl’s body, among other spooky powers. We hear about a Thai tradition that honors ghosts by providing offerings of food and drinks.
Ghosts exist to make humans miserable. And those who allow humans to have too much joy are banished to a type of ghost prison by a grim reaper-like character.
Despite not having legs (or a physical body) Scratch asks if he should put on pants for a fancy nightclub. He later covers himself after exiting the bathroom, stating he’s “emotionally naked.”
A girl faints from fright. Several characters get injured by falling or getting hit with something. Someone makes a comparison to feces. Scratch eats out of a trash can. A mean girl tries to make Molly a social outcast. Other ghosts look down on Scratch and purposely exclude him from social events. Characters lie. There is some name-calling. A teacher blatantly avoids her responsibility to stop bullying from happening.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
