The Real Ghostbusters

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See The Ghost Busters for the Filmation live-action children's television series that ran from 1975 to 1976.
See Filmation's ghostbusters for the Filmation animated children's television series that ran from 1986 to 1988.
See Ghostbusters (disambiguation).
File:10shows5.jpg
The Ghostbusters: Egon, Peter, Winston, Ray, from left to right

The Real Ghostbusters was an animated television series based on the hit 1984 movie Ghostbusters which ran from 1986 to 1990, 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 (see the Ghostbusters article for more information). The series continued the adventures of Dr. Peter Venkman (first voiced by Lorenzo Music of Garfield fame, later by Full House star Dave Coulier), Dr. Egon Spengler (Maurice LaMarche), Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall of late-night stardom, later voiced by Buster Jones), Janine Melnitz (Laura Summer, later voiced by Kath Soucie), Dr. Ray Stantz and their pet ghost Slimer (both voiced by Frank Welker).

There also were two Real Ghostbusters comics, one published monthly by Now Comics in USA and the other published weekly by Marvel Comics in The United Kingdom.

History

See Ghostbusters for more information about the movie Ghostbusters.

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 their old show starring the characters' children: see The Ghost Busters. Despite rumors to the contrary, Columbia was allowed to use the name Ghostbusters for their cartoon, but they added "The Real" to it to snub Filmation. A popular toy line followed the success of the cartoon and was manufactured by Kenner.

Due to likeness rights issues, the characters were dramatically redesigned from their movie counterparts (so, as a result, the Ghostbusters barely resembled their movie counterparts). Everything from the movie was well represented on the show in some form or another. The head writer for the first two years was J. Michael Straczynski. During his run the series had a dark tone not often seen in Saturday morning cartoons, and even had a prime-time special. However, the producers began to realize the child appeal of (at the time) background character Slimer.

In 1985, game publisher West End Games produced a Ghostbusters roleplaying game which later spawned a second edition called Ghostbusters, International. The Ghostbusters game was a revolutionary design, influencing countless other designs including Risus and Over the Edge, and winning the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1986.

In 1988 a Ghostbusters comic series started, published monthly by NOW Comics.

In 1988, the series was retooled and renamed Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters. The show now featured an hour-long format with a typical Ghostbusters episode leading into a more kid-friendly Slimer-centric one. The animation was more cartoony and the storytelling more simplistic. As the series progressed, the regular Ghostbusters episodes started to become lighter in tone so as not to frighten the growing child fanbase. More changes went on behind the scenes as well with the departure of Straczynski. Dave Coulier of Full House fame would come on to fill in the role of Peter, Buster Jones would take over Winston and Kath Soucie took on Janine.

There were also cartoon shorts called Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters where Slimer had these friends:-

Fred the Dog and Bud the bellboy (both from the Sedgewick Hotel where Slimer was busted in the movie, more on that later)
Junior Ghostbusters Donald, Catherine and Jason
Ice cream truck driver Chilly Cooper, Italian chef Luigi, and schemer Rudy.

and these enemies:-

A scruffy alley cat named Manx who causes him no end of trouble
Bruiser, a neighborhood dog that always bullies him.
An incompetent mad scientist named Professor Norman Dweeb, and his poodle Elizabeth. Dweeb's life goal was to capture Slimer and experiment on him. Professor Dweeb also appeared in comics. In the comic, he has at least two proton packs, which have plain rectangular red backpacks with rounded edges and corners, and gun parts much bulkier than in the Ghostbusters' proton packs.
Morris Grout, the grumpy manager of the Sedgewick Hotel.

After Ghostbusters II hit theaters, the character of Louis Tully was introduced to the show and voiced by Roger Bumpass. This was far from being the only movie tie-in on the series. The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man made numerous appearances and as the focus of the movie made within the cartoon universe, a nod to the originating motion picture. The uniform change and Slimer's residency with the Ghostbusters was explaned in the season two episode "Citizen Ghost", which was told in flashback at the time right after the movie's events. Human nemesis Walter Peck also made an appearance in the later Slimer! episodes. In the episode "Partners in Slime", Peter was covered with the very same psycho-reactive slime that powered Vigo the Carpatian and effects everyone's emotions from Ghostbusters II.

In 1989 NOW Comics, realizing a cross-promotional opportunity, released a series about the green ghost Slimer, his friends, and his enemies in 1989. The title lasted about a year and a half.

During this period, the series spawned a popular toy-line by Kenner and two comic series published by NOW Comics.

After 1991 Ghostbusters slowly phased out of the public eye with the cancellation of the cartoon, the toys and the comics.

In 1997, in an attempt to revive the franchise, another short-lived cartoon called Extreme Ghostbusters was started, and a related toy line. Because Sony Pictures Television owned all the rights to The Real Ghostbusters, new character designs were needed, and it featured a group of new Ghostbusters being led by Egon and Janine.

With the current 80s nostalgia craze, Ghostbusters made a quiet return.

In 2004, 88MPH Studios began releasing their "Legion" limited series, which retconned the Ghostbusters' world to 6 months after the first movie and pushed the timeline up 20 years to present time. The limited series might lead into an on-going series by the company. Neca released a series of action figures based on the first movie. Their first and so far only series included Gozer, Slimer (or Onionhead), the Terror Dogs Vinz Clortho and Zuul, and a massive Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, contrasting the diminutive figure that was in the original figure line. Ertl released a die-cast 1/25 scale Ectomobile, also known as Ecto-1, the Ghostbusters' main transportation. iBooks published the novel Ghostbusters: The Return by Sholly Fisch.

Future

On February 28, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is due to release the first of three "The Real Ghostbusters" DVDs. The downside is that these DVDs won't be seasons, but rather a collection of individual episodes.

  • Volume 1: Catch Me If You Can includes "Night Game, "Lost and Foundry," "Bird of Kildarby," and "Killerwatt."
  • Volume 2: Booware of Evil includes "Revenge of Murry and the Mantis," "Ghostbuster of the Year," "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.""

Sales of these volumes will determine if actual season box sets are released.

Ghostbuster vehicles

  • Ecto-1 : Also known as the "Ecto-mobile." A converted 1959 Cadillac ambulance, equipped with various ecto-related devices, and custom blue flashing lights. Presumably the distinctive siren noise is regarded to be original to the ambulance. (Frequently this vehicle is mistaken to be a hearse, probably due to the macabre nature of the Ghostbusters storylines. However, numerous fansites as well as other sources provide this to be false, particularly fansites where Ghostbuster fans build their own Ecto-mobiles, all seeking and using the 1959 Cadillac ambulance chassis when being accurate.) Originated in the movies.
  • Ecto-1a : An upgraded version of the Ecto-1, seen only in Ghostbusters II, which included more technical equipment placed on the roof of the chassis. Most noticeably this upgrade included digital announcement boards on each side of the vehicles roof, broadcasting Ghostbuster advertisements, specials, and their phone-number. Also the logo was updated on the doors and back entrance of the ambulance
  • Ecto-2 : A small open-topped one-man helicopter : in the cartoons and the comics as well as a toy. Its stern end has a pistol-type grip and trigger to let a child playing with it hold it in the air and make its rotor spin; this grip and trigger are copied in the comic despite the resulting aerodynamic unnaturalness.
  • Ecto-3 : There have been 3 vehicles with this name:-
  • Ecto-4 : The jet-like vehicle, renamed when the unicycle version appeared in the TV cartoons.


For links verifying the Ecto-1 as a 1959 Cadillac ambulance, please refer to these:--

http://www.virgin.net/movies/galleries/moviemotors/gal_01_09.html -- A gallery of pictures hosted by Virgin.net for famous TV and movie cars, ranking the "coolness" factor of cars shown
http://archive.ghostbusters.net/propslist/10/ghn/ -- Under the archive section of the fan-popular Ghostbusters.net, the props section allows fans to show off their prop making prowess. While some fans convert their current vehicles to pay tribute to the Ecto-1, others seek out the original body for accuracy.

Ghostbusters tools / equipment

The form of these devices varies much between the movies and the cartoons as well as the comics and the videogames. However, the overall archetypes and concepts for this equipment remains the same.

Proton pack

The equipment used by the Ghostbusters to capture ghosts is the proton pack, which fires a positron ion stream that polarizes with the negatively charged energy of a ghost, allowing it to be held while the stream is active. According to Dr. Spengler's calculations, each pack's energy cell has a half-life of five thousand years. Knobs on the main stock of the proton pack can perform various functions to customize the proton stream, including adjustments for stream intensity, length, and degrees of polarization. Alternately referred to by Dr. Venkman as a "positron collider". Note: When using a Proton Pack, never, under any circumtances, cross the streams. According to Dr. Spengler's reference from the movie, "Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneuously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light". In other words, from Ray Stantz's point of view, a Total Protonic Reversal, or a semi-nuclear explosion. The only time the proton streams were crossed is when the Ghostbusters used them on the dimensional gateway where Gozer came through from, destroying the Terror Dogs and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.

Ghost trap

This is a box with a split hinged lid, remote controlled by a simple foot-pedal switch, attached to the end of the box by a long cable. When a ghost is brought close to the trap (usually by means of the proton pack, though not necessary), the ghost trap is activated by the foot switch, its lid then opens, and a force field draws the ghost inside. For images, see:- (however, these items are shorten than their fictional counterparts)

http://marksconventionphotos.co.uk/images/ghostbusters/Trap.jpg
http://home.freeuk.net/key-master/trap.htm

PKE meter

A PKE meter is a handheld device, used is locating and measuring ghosts. PKE is an acronym for PsychoKinetic Energy, which is a unique environmental byproduct emitted by ghosts. For further images, see:--

http://marksconventionphotos.co.uk/images/ghostbusters/PK_Meter.jpg A replica PKE meter
http://home.freeuk.net/key-master/eqi.htm An image of a PKE meter

Spectro-Visor

This is a special pair of goggles that visually traces PKE readings, and is particularly useful in helping its wearer see normally invisible ghosts. It can also be used to assist in tracking ghosts within a visible field of search. An image can be found here:--

http://home.freeuk.net/key-master/goggs.gif image.

Ecto-Splat

Unique to the Ghostbusters comics, this is a flamethrower-like device with a backpack part and a handheld gun. It fires a hard jet of ectoplasm, which can damage or break up ghosts. As it fires it makes a noise spelt as "zzzax". It may be a fictionalized adaptation of some sort of real water-squirting device.

Slime Blower

As seen and developed in the movie Ghostbusters II, this piece of equipment is a metal tank strapped to the back of its user, with an attached sprayer used to project streams of so-called "good slime," which is psychomaganatheric slime, (aka "mood slime"), that emotionally has been positively reinforced. Illustration can be found here:--

http://members.aol.com/gbtestsite/images/slime.jpg (hand drawing)

Ecto-Containment Unit

Also referred to as the "Containment System." This is a big horizontal cylinder in the basement of the Ghostbusters' headquarters. It was developed after Dr. Spengler and Dr. Stantz, (along with Dr. Venkman), made their first actual contact with a ghost in the basement of the New York Public Library. According to data from that experience, they theorized that since a ghost's ionization rate is constant, then they could capture and hold it indefinitely. It is the heart of what makes the Ghostbuster business work.

The containment unit itself looks something like a large heater or industrial steam boiler. All captured ghosts are stored in it. The containment unit has an easy-access slot to put a ghost trap in; after two buttons are pressed in sequence, and a lever pulled, the ghost is pumped from the trap into the unit's containment field. After completing these steps, a green light attached to the containment system briefly turns on, denoting a successful containment. Thus the rule: "When the light is green, the trap is clean."

It should be noted that the containment system seen in the cartoon is radically different than the one found in the original movie Ghostbusters. Initially in the movie the device was simply installed into a cramped basement area of the old firehouse, built into the concrete wall. However as seen in the cartoon, the basement is a sprawling, two-story warehouse-like space, with the large red, cylindrical containment unit given new prominance. The reason given in the cartoon series for these changes is that improvements were made to prevent any further complications like those which occurred in the movie, such as the system reaching maximum capacity, or Walter Peck's ordering the system powered down, re-releasing all contained ghosts into New York City. To this end, the basement of the Ghostbusters's headquarters was expanded, as well as the containment unit upgraded in size and technology, with a back-up power source to prevent sudden shut-downs. However at one time, the company once had to resort to a bicycle attached to an electrical turbine during a serious power loss to maintain the protection grid while the others struggle to restore power.

In addition, the Ghostbusters in the animated series are shown to be working on more permanent solutions to the disposal of ghosts such as devices that could open up portals which ghosts could be exiled in another dimension.

Cast

Trivia

The Ghostbusters' phone number is 555-2368


In one episode of The Real Ghostbusters, the "boys" (Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore) 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 film is an adaptation.

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

Quotes from the series

Winston: (reading the cast list for the movie based on their adventure) Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis. Sounds like a law firm.

Egon: I have a plan.
Winston: No electric shock, Egon.
Egon: I have another plan.

First Client: (after an unsuccessful capture attempt by the Real Ghostbusters) Next time, let's call the Real Ghostbusters.
Second Client: But...I thought those were the Real Ghostbusters!

Professor Dweeb: (trapped in his own ghost capture net with his poodle Elizabeth)
Elizabeth...did anyone ever tell you you have...doggie breath?

Peter: (confronting the ghostfather, Poso in the episode, Partners in Slime) Rub-a-dub-dub you big, slimey tub! I got an offer you can't refuse!

The Kid in the Bed & the Choir

The 1986 season of "The Real Ghoustbusters" ends with the closing logo of "The Vortex". For the rest of its run however, it uses the "Kid in Bed" logo. This is one of the very small number of DiC shows of the 1987-1990 period that often (but not always) use the variation with the choir singing "DiC", rather than the normal kid voiceover.

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