A couple questions really. when u first watched this did u have any idea that johnny was actually a ghost. Ile be honest at 1st i had no idea till the end but obviously if u watch it a 2nd time all the signs are there. 2nd question can anyone explain why johnny didnt realize he was dead i mean if u look closley when his sister shows him the paper of donna if u look carefully at the paper it also mentions his name how come he didnt notice that.
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@ Imshady i wondered why the sister didn't freak out also too. I thought maybe he had came back previous times and just forgot or did it all the time and she got use to it. I guess he didn't notice anything because "Ghost on see what they want to see" (lol Sixth Sense)
But this was a pretty good episode.
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It's funny that the Sixth Sense was actually based on/inspired by this episode.
shareThat was my biggest gripe...not a single person at her place of employment noticed her talking to an empty bar stool? Come on, now.
And they did go a little too far with the girls at the bowling alley. "Do you hear somebody talking?" "Psh, I don't hear anything."
I wondered why his sister didn't initially freak out once she realized he was a ghost...but also, when they were at the graveyard, she acted annoyed at the fact that he didn't know how he'd found his girlfriend's/his grave.
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LOL, yeah, I laughed about her response to his graveside reaction.... Like "Dang it, figure this out already so you can go away!"
shareI would've just assumed that as a children's show, they wouldn't expect their audience to pick out the logic holes, albeit big ones, in the plotline—though I remember asking some of the same questions as a kid.
I haven't seen the episode in a while, but from what I remember, it could be possible that his sister was actually aware that he was dead the whole time, but had psychologically removed it from her mind (possible symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder), and the whole episode could just be an apparition in her mind. Of course, this is probably looking way too far into it.
The OP is right--on second viewing, all the signs ARE there, but I admit I didn't put it all together at first either. Which, of course, is the idea, and I'm glad I didn't, so that I could feel the full impact of this brilliant episode.
Why didn't he notice his name in the paper? Well, first of all, as a ghost he's probably "blocking out" any evidence of the fact that he's no longer alive. Second...it would have been easy enough to miss, anyway. He wasn't focusing on anyone else. His sister had to unfold the paper at the end to reveal the truth of his own fate to him.
I've always tended to just try to reason out and answer such questions for myself when I watch things, tried to develop the simplest theories that would most likely match the creators' explanations. Why didn't his sister freak out? I assumed she was in a sort of spiritual communication with him and was able to quickly sense that he had returned, and was going to have to be shown the truth in order to help him "cross over" peacefully...I just figured that she was unusually wise and not the type to spaz in front of her brother's spirit.
Since the most intense mourning period does seem to be over (especially for the parents), it would indicate that he's been dead for some time...though not necessarily walking Earth with his sister as a ghost for that entire period, since then it would seem strange that he didn't notice anyone else's failure to acknowledge him. Unless he was just so in tune with her that she made him feel alive and he DID fail to notice the lack of attention from anybody else, or something.
Why he didn't recognize his girlfriend...possibly because it was easier to recognize people whom didn't have such strongly traumatic events associated with them? Again, a guess. Who can fathom the mysteries of "AYAOTD?" ghosts? As to his sister talking to and interacting with thin air, and him holding or wearing "floating" objects...I surmised that she must have been really, really good at being subtle about it (without arousing his suspicions either, but then again, with him "seeing only what he wants to see," that would be easier than preventing others around them from getting spooked.) And they must have been very lucky as far as people not seeing the things he picked up or moved...or she did a great job of shielding them from it, or ensuring that he didn't touch much, or SOMEthing. Maybe the clothes he wore weren't visible either. Maybe somehow no one else could see things moving when he moved them...since she's the only one who's meant to see him. I don't know, I just try to come up with ideas that satisfy me.
I'm just sifting through the boards right now as I've started watching episodes again for a nostalgia rush, such a great show!
But anyway I did watch this episode today, and definitely all the signs were there that nobody could see him. The only issue was that he could physically interact with things (thus the manager at the bowling alley didn't need to hire anyone for maintenance because a ghost was doing it for him). So technically he could clothe himself, so wouldn't everyone be seeing floating clothes around?
Lol there was an actual mistake during somewhere halfway through the episode where Johnny is walking along the lanes and someone almost runs into him (where they stop and put their arms up before bumping into him).
Oh, man, this is probably my favorite old school Nick show; I'm SO thrilled that they're doing a Halloween marathon of it on "The 90s Are All That!" YES! I won't have to do my own DVD one, as I did last year! ;)
Nice catch on that little slip-up there! XD
I had to infer that, although he COULD physically interact with material objects and wear clothing, these things are invisible to others (save for his sister) when in contact with him...and that the bowling alley manager believed another employee to be doing Johnny's work.
ghosts= cheapest labor source ever!!!!
how did johnny never figure out that he never got paid and also the fact his mom was either a total jerk in never speaking/responding to him.
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Whoa whoa whoa! Did Johnny and Donna die a a few months before the episodes timeline? I always assumed they died in the 50's. If they've been dead for decades isn't it impossible for Johnny to he the sisters real brother? Or was Johnny killed recently and just didn't remember what happened to him?
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I forgot the story. I think I confused it with the one where the girl is from the 50s and the guy doesn't realize it.
As a kid, I probably was blown away. But like two minutes into it, I was like "Oh Dag. He's a ghost!!!!" Because everyone ignores him, and who is that creepily close to their sister?
But I totally agree that M. Night Shamalamadingdong ripped off this story for the Sixth Sense. There were a few similar moments.
IT is probably the reason why when my mom and dad came back from seeing that movie and said "Go see it before anybody else does...there's a twist," I promptly replied "What? Is Bruce Willis a ghost or something?" My mom did not believe I hadn't heard it from someone, but it was the first night it was out and it just seemed like the obvious choice if there was a twist.
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But I totally agree that M. Night Shamalamadingdong ripped off this story for the Sixth Sense.
Except M. Night Shyamalan has directly stated that he got the idea from the Tale of the Dream Girl. I wouldn't call it a rip off because he was very open about where he got his inspiration from. But to claim that it had nothing to do with the Tale of The Dream Girl is inaccurate.
Its something you'll get used to a mental mind *beep* can be nice!
Two things always bothered me about this episode:
1. Cheryl Lightheart (Donna Maitlaind's lookalike) never gets explained. Why does she look just like Donna? They have different last names so they aren't twins or anything. It never gets explained and always drove me nuts.
2. How horribly insensitive the boss is. He is talking to the sister about how great it is that nothing is breaking down and that he hasn't had to hire another repairman, all while her brother had been the repairman. Just a terrible thing to say, "Hey sorry that your brother died and all, but I haven't had to replace him yet which is rather lucrative for me!"
Regarding the first question, although it is pretty obvious after you watch it the second time, I myself didn't see The Sixth Sense twist coming.
On another note, this episode is probably my favorite in the series. Though not perfect, the acting and overall story is top-notch. I love it.
Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!