The Real Ghostbusters

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
File:RealGhostbusters promotionalimage.jpg The Ghostbusters: Winston, Peter, Slimer, Egon, Janine and Ray.
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	United States
No. of episodes	140 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 30 min.
Original release
Network	ABC Syndicated Columbia USA Network Fox Family
Release	September 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 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.. 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.

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.

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

• 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 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 humans, while others simply wished to rest in peace.

• One episode, "The Collect Call of Cathulhu", 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.

• The Headless Horseman was the only ghost who appeared both in an episode of The Real Ghostbusters (written by Randy Lofficier) and of Filmation's Ghostbusters.

• 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 both show producer J. Michael Stracsynski and Maurice LaMarche that Bill Murray had caused Lorenzo Music to leave the show, either intentionally or unintentionally.

• 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.

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 Ghostbbusters 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

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.

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, despite the fact that Sony never had a lot of faith in the series since it was a Saturday-morning cartoon. Also, the original Columbia logo at the end of each episode has been replaced with a modern one.

• 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.

Cast

File:10shows5.jpg

The Ghostbusters: Egon, Peter, Winston, Ray, from left to right.

• Peter Venkman - Lorenzo Music (seasons 1-2), Dave Coulier (seasons 3-7)
• 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 1-2), Kath Soucie (seasons 3-7)
• Slimer - Frank Welker
• Louis Tully - Rodger 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 in one episode, Frank Welker
• Donald - Danny McMurphy
• Morris Grout - Alan Oppenheimer
• Chilly Cooper - Cree Summer
• Luigi - Danny Mann
• Rudy - Jeff Marder
• Bud - Danny Mann

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

Main article: List of The Real Ghostbusters episodes

External links

• Ghostbusters Official Site
• Real Ghostbusters at TV.com
• Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters at TV.com
• The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991) at IMDb
• Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters (1988-1990) at IMDB
• Ghostbusters Deutschland(German)
• PKE Online (Sweden)
• Spook Central: The Ghostbusters Companion
• Ghostbusters Prop Archive
• Ghostbusters.net
• Proton Charging - Ghostbusters news and information
• Ghostbusters Headquarters