The Real Ghostbusters
:
This article is about the animated spin-off of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters. For other meanings of "Ghostbusters", including the movie itself, and the similarly titled but unrelated Filmation productions, see Ghostbusters (disambiguation).The Real Ghostbusters was an
American animated television series based on the hit
1984 movie
Ghostbusters. The series ran from
1986 to
1991, and was produced by
Columbia Pictures Television and
DiC Entertainment. "The Real" was added to the title over a dispute with
Filmation and their
Ghost Busters properties. The series continued the adventures of Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, Dr. Ray Stantz, their secretary
Janine Melnitz and their pet ghost Slimer with their adventures running a business for the "investigating and elimination" of ghosts.
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, anda popular toy line manufactured by
Kenner.
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 an old 1970s show. Despite rumors to the contrary, Columbia was allowed to use the name
Ghostbusters for its cartoon but added "The Real" to snub Filmation.
The cartoon characters were dramatically redesigned from how the characters looked in the movie due to likeness-rights issues. However, the series features 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 (with the exception of Ray Stantz), the change in the design of the containment unit, and Slimer's residency with the Ghostbusters was explained in the season two episode "Citizen Ghost", which was told in flashback at 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.
J. Michael Straczynski, the head writer for the show's first two years, 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. The series was even granted a prime-time
Halloween special.
When the show's producers began to see the appeal of the (at the time) background 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. 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.
The Ghostbusters' phone number is 555-2368. The first season episode "Citizen Ghost" recounts the events just after the first film, explaining both why the Ghostbusters have different color uniforms in the series, and how Slimer got his name and became the Ghostbusters' mascot/pet. Season Two had an episode called
The Collect Call of Cathulhu, which made reference to horror writer
H.P. Lovecraft's creations (as well as a riff on "
The Call of Cthulhu," Lovecraft's work that inspired the title of a popular
horror roleplaying game). Specifically, the episode included the
Necronomicon and the boys had to take down
Cthulhu 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'; Clark Ashton, a reference to fellow writer and friend
Clark Ashton Smith and the character of Alice Derleth being a reference to fellow writer and friend
August Derleth. In one episode of
The Real Ghostbusters, 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 resemblence 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.
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 "Lean Green Teen Machine." 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 show producer J. Michael Stracsynski that Bill Murray had caused Lorenzo Music to leave the show, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Orginally aired on the
ABC Network, 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. 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).
Lorenzo Music,
Arsenio Hall and
Laura Summer (voices of Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddemore & Janine Melnitz, respectively) left the show after the third season and they were replaced (respectively) by
Dave Coulier,
Buster Jones and
Kath Soucie. Pop culture references were generally limited to parodies, with two exceptions: reference was made to
Star Wars twice, and Peter was a fan of
The Bob Newhart Show. Kenner produced both
Star Wars and Real Ghostbusters toys. Lorenzo Music was co-creator of
The Bob Newhart Show.
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 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.)
In 1997, in an attempt to revive the franchise another short-lived sequel cartoon called
Extreme Ghostbusters was created to coincide with a brand new toy line. A cast of new characters was created to work alongside three characters from
The Real Ghostbusters; Egon, Janine and Slimer which helped to bridge both cartoons.
On February 28, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first of three "The 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.
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".
 |
The Ghostbusters: Egon, Peter, Winston, Ray, from left to right |
*
Peter Venkman -
Lorenzo Music (seasons 1-3),
Dave Coulier (seasons 4-7)
*
Egon Spengler -
Maurice LaMarche*
Ray Stantz -
Frank Welker*
Winston Zeddemore -
Arsenio Hall (seasons 1-3),
Buster Jones (seasons 4-7)
*
Janine Melnitz -
Laura Summer (seasons 1-3),
Kath Soucie (seasons 4-7)
*
Slimer -
Frank Welker*
Louis Tully -
Roger Bumpass (seasons 5-6)
* Rafael -
Charlie Adler* Professor Dweeb -
Jeff Altman * Mrs. Van Huego -
Fay DeWitt * Catherine -
April Hong * Jason -
Katie Leigh*
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man -
John Stocker* Donald -
Danny McMurphy* Morris Grout -
Alan Oppenheimer* Chilly Cooper -
Cree Summer* Luigi -
Danny Mann* Rudy -
Jeff Marder* Bud -
Danny Mann*
Spook Central: The Unofficial Companion To The Ghostbusters Phenomenon*
Real Ghostbusters at TV.com*
Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters at TV.com*
Ghostbusters.net : Real Ghostbusters*
Real Ghostbusters Fan Page*
Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters (1988-1990) at IMDB*
Ghostbusters Official Site*
Ghostbusters.net*
Episode Guide for The Real Ghostbusters*
Proton Charging - Ghostbusters news and information*
Ghostbusters Central*
Ghostbusters' Headquarters*
Ghostbusters Toy Archive*
NYGB Tourguide - Your guide to New York Ghostbusters locations.*
NYGB Comicguide - Your resource to Ghostbusters comics.*
The Ghostbusters Universe At Your Fingertips*
Ghostbusters: ECTO-WEB
