The Real Ghostbusters
File:RealGhostbusters promotionalimage.jpg
The Ghostbusters: Winston, Peter, Slimer, Egon, Janine and Ray.
Created byDan Aykroyd
Harold Ramis
Developed byColumbia Pictures
DiC
StarringLorenzo Music
Maurice LaMarche
Frank Welker
Arsenio Hall
Dave Coulier
Buster Jones
Laura Summer
Kath Soucie
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes140 (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeapprox. 30 min.
Original release
NetworkABC
Syndicated
Columbia
USA Network
Fox Family
ReleaseSeptember 13, 1986 –
October 22, 1991

The Real Ghostbusters was an American animated television series based on the hit 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television (now Sony Pictures Television), DiC Entertainment and Coca-Cola. "The Real" was added to the title over a dispute with Filmation and its Ghost Busters properties.[1]. The series continues the adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, Dr. Ray Stantz, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot ghost Slimer.

Characters

Dr. Peter Venkman is the group's first-among-equals. While not their official leader, Venkman often makes the decision whether or not they will take a case. He also provides comic relief and is usually nominated for tasks no one else wants to do. Dr. Egon Spengler, a scientific genius, provides the technical expertise the group needs to understand (and many times combat) the ethereal realm. In many episodes Egon formulates the solution when all hope seems lost. Dr. Ray Stantz is portrayed as an excitable jack-of-all-trades. He is second only to Egon in technical genius, while still remaining a child at heart. As the only one of the four who can reliably understand what Egon is talking about, he is usually the one to put his theories into practice. Winston Zeddemore (sometimes spelled "Zeddmore") is the courage of the group; his accuracy with the proton gun is his forte. Of all the Ghostbusters, Winston Zeddemore has the least character development in the cartoon series, even though he does star in a few episodes.

There also were two ongoing Real Ghostbusters comics, one published monthly by Now Comics in USA and the other published weekly by Marvel Comics in the United Kingdom, and a popular toy line manufactured by Kenner.

History

After the success of the film, a TV series based on the Ghostbusters began production. At the same time The Real Ghostbusters was being created, Filmation was making a cartoon known as The Original Ghostbusters, which was a revamp of Filmation's 1970s show/concept, The Ghost Busters. (Note that this show's title is written as two words, whereas the 1984 movie's title is usually written as one word.) Despite rumors to the contrary, Columbia was allowed to use the name Ghostbusters for its cartoon, but added "The Real" to snub Filmation. In one episode, a charlatan spiritualist wore an outfit similar to that of Jake Kong.

With character designs by Jim McDermott, the animated characters were dramatically redesigned from the way the same characters looked in the movie due to likeness-rights issues.

Character designs

Prior to the series premiere in September 1986, two promo animations were released for public consumption and to drum up interest in the series. These two promotional animations, adapted from a single source, featured character, equipment and vehicle designs which were yet to be finalized.

Tie-ins from the films

Although the "Ghostbusters" concept was tinkered with, the finalized show does feature many tie-ins from the films. The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man made numerous appearances and there was even an episode that featured Walter Peck, the Environmental Protection Agency antagonist from the original film. The uniform change for all the main characters, the change in the design of the containment unit, and Slimer's residency with the Ghostbusters were explained in the episode "Citizen Ghost", which was partially told in flashback to the time right after the movie's events.

After Ghostbusters II hit theaters, the character of Louis Tully was introduced to the show and voiced by Rodger Bumpass. In the episode "Partners in Slime", Peter was covered with the very same psycho-reactive "mood slime" from Ghostbusters II.

In "Citizen Ghost", the Ghostbusters have just finished destroying the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man at the climax of the film. Several episodes later, they are supervising the production of a film based on that incident, lending credence to the story that the animated series shows the "real" Ghostbusters, and the two films are an adaptation based on their accounts. At the end of the episode they even attend the premiere and the start of the opening scene of the movie is shown, with a tongue-in-cheek reference to how the cartoon characters bear little resemblance to the real ones by having Peter comment "You know, he doesn't look a thing like me."

"Elementary, My Dear Winston" was the only episode to briefly feature nametags on the Ghostbusters' uniforms like their movie counterparts.

In the episode "Partners in Slime", the psycho-reactive "mood slime" from Ghostbusters II is depicted as being yellow, but in the film it was pink. This episode featured the only direct reference to the events from the second movie, despite the inclusion of a cartoon Louis Tully and a change in Janine's haircut to resemble the one Annie Potts had when the film was made.

Ernie Hudson, who had played Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters films, auditioned for the same role in The Real Ghostbusters, but ultimately the role was given to Arsenio Hall.[2]

A darker tone

J. Michael Straczynski, the head writer and story editor for the show's first 78 episodes, gave the series a darker tone not often seen in Saturday morning cartoons. The series often drew from popular literature as well as fairytales and folklore, as well as delve deep into the character backgrounds of the Ghostbusters. The series was even granted a prime-time Halloween special.

Usage of folklore, mythology and pop culture

File:Samhain.png
Samhain in "The Real Ghostbusters"
File:Samhainegb.png
Samhain as seen in "Extreme Ghostbusters"

One of the only recurring villians is Samhain. He first appears in the episode When Halloween was Forever. In the episode, he is released from his captivity by two goblins on Halloween. Once set free, he sends his minions all over New York. His plan is to make Halloween an eternal night that will last forever all over the world. Just before the world falls under his evil reign, the Ghostbusters put a stop to him and his terror. He is placed within the ecto-containment unit where it is assumed that he would stay. He was seen in two episodes; Halloween 2 1/2 and made a cameo on Extreme Ghostbusters. Due to the character's likeness being owned by Columbia Pictures Television, his appearance was altered. His pumpkin head was made green and was reduced to a smaller size. He was also given a carrot nose. Samhain also appears in the Extreme Ghostbusters toy line. He was the only ghost featured in The Real Ghostbusters, besides Slimer, that was given a toy portrayal.

One episode, "The Collect Call of Cthulhu", made reference to 1920s horror writer H.P. Lovecraft's creations. The episode's title was a riff on "The Call of Cthulhu," one of Lovecraft's most famous stories; it included the one of Lovecraft's most enduring creations, the Necronomicon; and the team was forced to confront a Cthulhu-esque being at the climax. The episode also featured other small references to either Lovecraft or the Cthulhu mythos, as suggested by: Ray Stantz's friend 'Mr. Howard', a possible reference to Lovecraft's first name, or a reference to fellow 1920's pulp writer Robert E. Howard of Conan fame; 'Clark Ashton', a reference to fellow writer and friend Clark Ashton Smith; and 'Alice Derleth', a reference to fellow writer and friend August Derleth.

Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters, other changes and eventual cancellation

When the show's producers began to see the youth appeal of the character Slimer, the show began to feature him more prominently. In 1988, the series was retooled and renamed Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters. The show now featured an hourlong format with a typical Ghostbusters episode leading into a more kid-friendly "Slimer" cartoon. As the series progressed, the regular Ghostbusters episodes started to become lighter in tone so as not to frighten the growing child fanbase. Additionally, the characterizations became more one-dimensional, and the animation became more Hanna Barbera-esque. More changes went on behind the scenes as well with the departure of Straczynski. Dave Coulier of Full House fame came on to fill the role of Peter, Buster Jones would take over Winston and Kath Soucie took on Janine. Many of the older fans disliked the switch to more kid-friendly stories and by the turn of the decade, the Ghostbusters franchise was slowly starting to fade out of the public eye. The show was ultimately cancelled in 1991. Straczynski returned to the series for a temporary spell in the 1990 season.

The only cast members who remained throughout the entire series were Frank Welker (voice of Ray Stantz and Slimer) and Maurice LaMarche (voice of Egon Spengler).

Network runs

Originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company, then in syndication, then on USA Network and Fox Kids. Later it aired on Nickelodeon in 1996 to 1999, on Cartoon Network in 2002 and Teletoon in 1998-present.

Overseas

The series was also very popular in other countries, including the United Kingdom, where typically it was shown at 4:20 p.m. on Monday afternoons as part of Children's ITV, generally rotating runs with and gradually taking over from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe which had ceased production the previous year and was slowly starting to dip in popularity around that time. As with many imported programmes of the era, the U.K. did not show the episodes in the original broadcast or production order, and were very often edited for time.

The first two seasons were shown and repeated in the above mentioned slot; later episodes turned up as part of Saturday morning children's show Ghost Train (ITV), later Motormouth, where the episodes were typically split into two halves over the course of the programme. Although being from the Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters era of the show, only the Ghostbusters half of the package was shown (despite the title, and reflection of the change in the credits sequence). These showings were generally (but not always) less heavily edited, but seldom included the full opening and closing credits; the picture was also often squashed up to feature messages and other information relating the to Ghost Train / Motormouth strand.

In the early-mid 1990s, later episodes still, as well as repeats of earlier ones, appeared in a daily 9:25 a.m. weekday slot during school holidays (again taking over from a position previously held by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe).

The last time the series was shown on British terrestrial television was back in the afternoons as part of Children's ITV in 1999 (days and times varied), with more repeats of episodes from the first two seasons. These episodes in particular were very heavily edited for time. The episodes were alternated with a first screening of the revamped version of the series, Extreme Ghostbusters (see below). The rights for ITV to show the series expired that year.

Spin-offs

Slimer! cartoons

When the show was reformatted in 1988, kid-friendly Slimer! cartoons began to air following a "normal" Real Ghostbusters cartoon. The animation for Slimer! was more cartoony and the storytelling more simplistic.

The Slimer cartoons were centered around Slimer and his adventures with his friends -- Fred the Dog; Bud, a bellboy from the Sedgewick Hotel where Slimer was busted in the Ghostbusters movie; Junior Ghostbusters Donald, Catherine and Jason; Chilly Cooper, an ice cream truck driver; and Luigi the Italian chef -- as well as his enemies -- Manx, a scruffy alley cat; Bruiser a neighborhood dog that bullies him; Morris Grout, the grumpy manager of the Sedgewick Hotel; and Professor Norman Dweeb; an incompetent mad scientist with a poodle named Elizabeth. Dweeb's life goal was to capture Slimer and experiment on him. Professor Dweeb also appeared in the comics and was later added to the normal Ghostbusters cartoons, where he looks down upon the team's paranormal research and declare's his "ghost busting" superior; although his appearance remained overtly cartoony, inexplicably leaving him with only three fingers.

Extreme Ghostbusters

In 1997, in an attempt to revive the franchise, another short-lived sequel cartoon, Extreme Ghostbusters, was created. A group of new Ghostbusters joined Egon, Janine and Slimer, who helped to bridge both cartoons.

The newer show had one notable event which was conceivably designed for the fans of the 1986 cartoon: a two-part story arc which briefly reunited Egon Spengler with the other three "original" Ghostbusters, who came out of retirement to defeat the entities from both episodes of the arc. Dave Coulier, Frank Welker and Buster Jones returned to reprise their roles as Peter, Ray and Winston respectively.

DVD

On February 28, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first of three Real Ghostbusters DVDs for Region 1 (USA). To the dismay of some fans, these DVDs aren't seasons, but rather minor collections of individual episodes. It has been speculated by fans that how well these volumes sell may determine if actual season box sets are released. Also, the original Columbia logo at the end of each episode has been replaced with a modern one.

The DVD release of Ghostbusters II included two episodes of the series as special features, "Citizen Ghost", a story focusing on events set immediately after the first movie, and "Partners in Slime", which featured the psycho-active slime from Ghostbusters II as well as a brief mention of Vigo the Carpathian.

Region 2 (United Kingdom) currently has two DVD releases available:

Two episodes were included on a double disc set of both films released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of Ghostbusters. These episodes were "Citizen Ghost" and "Partners in Slime", which featured prominent references to the first and second films respectively.

Cast

Note: Winston's last name varied between Zeddemore, as in the movies, and Zeddmore (no second e) throughout the show's run and its associated merchandise.

Episodes

References

  1. ^ "Subject: Viewers for Quality TV for B5". Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  2. ^ a b Plume, Ken. "Quick Stop Interview: Maurice LaMarche". Quick Stop Entertainment. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Real Ghostbusters.
Feature films
Television
Characters
Music
Video games
Comics
Related
Categories