The Real Ghostbusters

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This article is about the animated spin-off of the 1984 film Ghostbusters. For other meanings of "Ghostbusters", including the film itself, and the similarly titled but unrelated Filmation productions, see Ghostbusters (disambiguation).
The Real Ghostbusters

Logo displayed at the opening title.
Format Animated
Created by Dan Aykroyd
Harold Ramis
Developed by Columbia Pictures
DiC
Starring Lorenzo Music
Maurice LaMarche
Frank Welker
Arsenio Hall
Dave Coulier
Buster Jones
Laura Summer
Kath Soucie
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 140 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Syndicated
Original run September 13, 1986 – October 22, 1991
Chronology
Followed by Extreme Ghostbusters
External links
IMDb profile

The Real Ghostbusters is an Emmy-Nominated 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.

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.

Contents

[edit] 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, is the primary source of expertise the group uses to understand (and many times combat) the ethereal realm. A skilled theorist, 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 sheer intelligence, and leans toward practical applications of science as opposed to Egon's pure research – the engineer to Egon's physicist. He is also a child at heart, cheerful and optimistic (and rather enamored of cartoons and stuffed animals). 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 and straight-man of the group; his accuracy with the proton gun is his forte. Of all the Ghostbusters, Winston Zeddemore has the subtlest character development; it is hinted that he is an avid reader and the descendant of a powerful African bloodline.

[edit] Development

A short pilot episode was produced, but never aired in full. Scenes of the pilot can be seen in TV promos that aired prior to the beginning of the series. As with most pilots, the short episode has several striking differences from the finished product. For the most part, the differences come down to a greater faithfulness to the movie: Peter Venkman's design bears a greater resemblance to Bill Murray, the Ghostbusters still use their original uniforms, and Slimer appears as a gluttonous bad guy as he does in the movie. Certain scenes from the pilot would be edited and used in the show's intro, most notably the encounter at the end with the Staypuft Marshmallow Man. Other scenes from the pilot, including a shot of Ray waking up from bed with a Mr. Staypuft doll, the team sliding down the fire pole in sillhouette, and a skeletonized Red Baron laughing as he flies across the sky, would be used in the special intro used for the Real Ghostbusters halloween special, "The Halloween Door".

Maurice LaMarche, the voice of Egon Spengler, described that even though the auditioners did not want him to impersonate Harold Ramis, he did so and got the part.[2] LaMarche mentioned that, supposedly, Bill Murray asked why Lorenzo Music's voice sounded like Garfield and not like himself, and this may have weighed in the replacing of Music, with Dave Coulier replacing him after 65 episodes. This is ironic considering that Bill Murray took over the role of Garfield for the live-action movies. Ernie Hudson was the only actor from the film who auditioned to reprise his role, Winston Zeddemore, for the animated series, but he lost to Arsenio Hall.

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.[original research?] In one episode, a charlatan spiritualist wore an outfit similar to that of Jake Kong.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 one episode 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 (the characters scorn the idea of being portrayed by "Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis"), implying 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.

Another tie-in, was the "Terror Dog." It had first appeared in the movie, but was famous to get in the series. instead of it being brown, it is the color of blue, although his red eyes stayed the same. He was first seen in "Egons Ghost". However there was no reference to Zuul or Vinz.

Gozer was mentioned in one episode; Egon said that Cthulhu made Gozer look like "Little Mary Sunshine".

[edit] The 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.

[edit] Usage of folklore, mythology and pop culture

The Bogeyman as in The Real Ghostbusters.
The Bogeyman as in The Real Ghostbusters.

The series made use of a rich and diverse history of folklore, mythology and pop culture, while generally staying true to the tenets of the original film. For example, the Ghostbusters encountered gremlins, vampires, the Bogeyman (one of the few recurring foes), The Grundel (another recurring foe going from Real Ghostbusters to Extreme Ghostbusters), the ghosts of famous people such as Harry Houdini, Babylonian gods Marduk and Tiamat, the three Fates from Greek mythology, Russian house spirits called domovoi, and so forth. The series differed from the films in that the supernatural characters were not always the villains; occasionally, ghosts and monsters sought out the Ghostbusters' help to fend off other supernatural beings or enemies that were entirely human, while others simply wished to rest in peace.

Samhain in The Real Ghostbusters
Samhain in The Real Ghostbusters
Samhain as seen in Extreme Ghostbusters
Samhain as seen in Extreme Ghostbusters

One of the only recurring villains 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 II 1/2". He also made cameo appearances in the episodes "X-Mas Marks the Spot," "The Devil to Pay," "Partners in Slime", and "Jailbusters". Samhain was also the villain of the Ghostbusters International adventure Pumpkin Patch Panic. Samhain appeared in the theme song for Extreme Ghostbusters, but was not featured in any episodes. However, in the newer series, his appearance was altered. His pumpkin head was made green and was reduced to a smaller size, and he was given a carrot nose. Despite not appearing in any episodes, Samhain appeared 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 Cathulhu" (sic), made reference to 1920s horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's creations. The episode's title was a (misspelled) 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 1920s 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.

  • The series had no issues spoofing competing cartoons or toy lines, such as He-Man, in the form of "Power Guy", a dumb brute who lived on the planet Petunia (a parody of He-Man's planet Eternia) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the episode "Mean Green Teen Machine."
  • Pop culture references were generally limited to parodies, with two exceptions: Star Wars was referenced twice, and Peter was a fan of The Bob Newhart Show. Kenner produced both Star Wars and The Real Ghostbusters toys. Lorenzo Music was co-creator of The Bob Newhart Show. Also, in the episode "Rollerghoster", Peter makes reference to David Letterman. MTV was mentioned in the episode "Who're You Calling Two-Dimensional", again by Peter; when complaints of "terrible sounds - moaning, groaning, chains rattling" are made by Fleischman Studios, Dr. Venkman responds that it could be MTV, and in the episode "Slimer's Curse" Janine plays a CD by Debbie Gibson (who had an uncredited cameo in the movie) on the stereo that Slimer bought her. The first Batman movie was parodied when one of Egon's inventions, a machine that could read peoples' dreams, was used on Peter; Peter was dreaming that he was dressed as Batman, dating Kim Basinger, who played Vicki Vale in the movie.

[edit] 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 style became more similar to that of other American cartoons of the time. 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).

There is a connection between Lorenzo Music and Bill Murray. Music did the voice for both Peter Venkman in The Real Ghostbusters cartoon and Garfield in the cartoon Garfield and Friends, while Murray played Venkman in both Ghostbusters movies and voiced Garfield in the live-action Garfield movie and its sequel. It was also suggested by both show producer J. Michael Stracsynski and Maurice LaMarche that Bill Murray had caused Lorenzo Music to leave the show, either intentionally or unintentionally. The possible cause could be that Bill Murray once mentioned his dislike that Venkman in the cartoon didn't sound like him, causing the hiring of Dave Coulier, who did a voice similar to Murray's. [2]

[edit] Network runs

The show originally aired on ABC for its full run, except for the third season which ran on syndication at the same time as the second season ran on ABC. Later, reruns of the show appeared on USA Network, Fox Kids before moving to Nickelodeon from 1996 to 1999 and on Cartoon Network in 2002. Teletoon aired episodes of the series in the month of October beginning in 1998, but has not done so in recent years.

[edit] 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 UK 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, 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. The rights for ITV to show the series expired that year.

In 2003, Fox Kids now Jetix (in the UK) began broadcasting episodes of The Real Ghostbusters from Season 1, however the run didn't last very long and it ended in the beginning of 2004.

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] Slimer! cartoons

When the show was reformatted in 1988, kid-friendly Slimer! cartoons began to air following a "normal" The 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 The Real Ghostbusters cartoons, where he looks down upon the team's paranormal research and declares his "ghost busting" superior; although his appearance remained overtly cartoony, inexplicably leaving him with only three fingers. One episode, called Don't Tease The Sleaze, showed the Ghostbusters chasing and capturing a ghost called the Sleaze. The Sleaze later appeared in in episode of The Real Ghostbusters with his brother, the Glob in an episode called The Slob.

Slimer was one of the cartoon characters featured in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.

[edit] Extreme Ghostbusters

Main article: 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.

[edit] "Fan Projects"

[edit] DVD

On February 28, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first of three The Real Ghostbusters DVDs for Region 1 (USA). These DVDs weren't complete season box sets, but rather minor collections of individual episodes. The original Columbia logo at the end of each episode has been replaced with a modern one (with the exception of "Ghostbuster of the Year" on Volume 2: Spooky Spirits).

  • Volume 1: Creatures of the Night includes "Night Game", "Lost and Foundry", "Bird of Kildarby" and "Killerwatt".
  • Volume 2: Spooky Spirits includes "Ghostbuster of the Year", "Revenge of Murray the Mantis", "Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin" and "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream".
  • Volume 3: Slimefighters includes "Adventures in Slime and Space", "They Call Me Mr. Slimer", "Victor, The Happy Ghost" and "Slimer, Come Home"".

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:

  • Adventures In Slime & Space includes "Adventures In Slime And Space", "Ghost Busted", "Knock, Knock" and "Venkman's Ghost Repellers".
  • Sea Fright includes "The Spirit Of Aunt Lois", "Beneath These Streets", "Sea Fright" and "Ragnarok 'N Roll".

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. With an upcoming video game and possibly a third film, the TV series might be brought out in boxsets if the franchise once again becomes popular. Slashform.net has announced that Sony will release "big" news about the Ghostbusters franchise at Comic Con 2008. The convention program features an interesting tease that features the classic Ghostbusters logo and “something exciting is coming to the neighborhood!”

On May 27, 2008, Time-Life announced they would be responsible for the complete series being released on DVD in the Fall of 2008. The 26-disc set will cover every episode of "The Real Ghostbusters" as well as "Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters".[3]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of The Real Ghostbusters episodes

[edit] References

  1. ^ Subject: Viewers for Quality TV for B5. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
  2. ^ a b Ken Plume (2007-01-01). Quick Stop Interview: Maurice LaMarche. Quick Stop Interview. Retrieved on 13 August 2007.
  3. ^ {{cite web | author=Gord Lacey |date=2008-05-27 | title=The Real Ghostbusters - Time-Life to Release Complete Series This Fall!| url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Real-Ghostbusters-Time-Life-Complete-Series/9711

[edit] External links

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