Wikipedia

The Real Ghostbusters

This article is about the television series. For other uses, seeThe Real Ghostbusters (disambiguation).
Not to be confused withGhostbusters (1986 TV series).

The Real Ghostbustersis an American animated television series, a spin-off and sequel of the 1984comedyfilmGhostbusters.[4]The series ran onABCbetween September 13, 1986 and October 5, 1991, and was a joint production ofDIC Enterprisesin association withColumbia Pictures Televisionand distributed byCoca-Cola Telecommunications.[5]

The Real Ghostbusters
Title card
Also known asSlimer! and the Real Ghostbusters(seasons 4–7)
Genre
Based on
Developed byJoe Medjuck
Michael C. Gross
Voices of
Theme music composerRay Parker Jr.
Opening theme"Ghostbusters"
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No.of seasons7
No.of episodes
  • 140
  • + 13 (Slimer!spin-off shorts)
(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Running time14–24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseSeptember 13, 1986(1986-09-13)–
October 5, 1991(1991-10-05)[2][3]
Related
Extreme Ghostbusters

The series continues the adventures of paranormal investigators Dr.Peter Venkman,Dr.Egon Spengler,Dr.Ray Stantz,Winston Zeddemore,their secretaryJanine Melnitzand their mascot ghostSlimer.[6]

"The Real" was added to the title after a dispute withFilmationand itsGhost Bustersproperties.[7]

There also were two ongoingReal Ghostbusterscomics,one published monthly byNOW Comicsin the United States and the other published weekly (originally biweekly) byMarvel Comicsin the United Kingdom.Kennerproduced a line of action figures and playsets based on the cartoon. In 2023, events from the series would be adapted for thecanonvideo gameGhostbusters: Spirits Unleashed,in particular the character ofSamhain.

Plot

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The series follows the continuing adventures of the four Ghostbusters, their secretary Janine, their accountant Louis, and their mascotSlimer,as they chase and capture rogue spooks, specters, spirits and ghosts aroundNew York Cityand various other areas of the world.[8]

Slimer!

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At the start of the fourth season in 1988, the show was retitled toSlimer! and the Real Ghostbusters.[5]It aired in a one-hour time slot, which the show had begun doing under its original name earlier that same year on January 30, 1988.[9]In addition to the regular 30-minuteReal Ghostbustersepisode, a half-hourSlimer!sub-series was added that included two to three short animated segments focusing on the characterSlimer.Animation for theSlimer!cartoons was handled byWang Film Productions.At the end of its seven-season run, 147 episodes had aired, including the syndicated episodes and 13 episodes ofSlimer!,with multiple episodes airing out of production order.[10]

Voice cast

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Episodes

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Main article:List of The Real Ghostbusters episodes
SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
1—13September 13, 1986(1986-09-13)December 13, 1986(1986-12-13)ABC
265September 14, 1987(1987-09-14)December 11, 1987(1987-12-11)Syndication
313September 12, 1987(1987-09-12)December 12, 1987(1987-12-12)ABC
48September 10, 1988(1988-09-10)December 3, 1988(1988-12-03)
Slimer!3313September 10, 1988(1988-09-10)December 3, 1988(1988-12-03)
5—21September 9, 1989(1989-09-09)December 23, 1989(1989-12-23)
616September 8, 1990(1990-09-08)November 24, 1990(1990-11-24)
74September 7, 1991(1991-09-07)October 5, 1991(1991-10-05)
CrossoverApril 21, 1990(1990-04-21)ABC
NBC
Fox
CBS
USA Network
Syndication

Production

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At the same timeThe Real Ghostbusterswas being created,Filmationwas making a cartoon revamp (Ghostbusters) of their 1975[11]live action seriesThe Ghost Busters,due to disagreements with Columbia over animation rights.

A short pilot episode was produced, but never aired in full. The full 4-minute promo was released onTime Life'sDVDset in 2008. Scenes of the pilot can be seen in TV promos that aired prior to the beginning of the series. Among differences seen in the promo pilot, the Ghostbusters wore beige jumpsuits as in the film and the character design forPeter Venkmanbore more of a resemblance to actorBill Murray.The character designs byJim McDermottwere dramatically different, with color-coded jumpsuits for each character.[12]When he auditioned for the voice ofEgon Spengler,Maurice LaMarchenoted that while he was asked not to impersonateHarold Ramis,he did so anyway and eventually got the part.[13]LaMarche also noted that Bill Murray had remarked off-handedly to producers thatLorenzo Music's voice for Peter Venkman sounded more likeGarfield(who was also voiced by Music at the time). Murray went on to voice Garfield inGarfield: The Movieandits sequelin the 2000s after Music died in 2001.[14]Dave Couliertook over the role of Venkman from Music starting in the third season. Coulier explained thatJoe Medjuck,a producer on both the original 1984 film and the animated series, wanted the character to sound more like Murray.[15]Ernie Hudsonwas the only actor from the films who auditioned to play his character in the series; however, the role was given toArsenio Halland laterBuster Jones.[16][17][18]

Although theGhostbustersconcept was tinkered with, the finalized show does feature many tie-ins from the films. In the season 1 episode "Take Two", the Ghostbusters fly to Hollywood to visit the set of a movie based on their adventures, which is revealed to be the 1984 movie at the end of the episode. TheStay Puft Marshmallow Manmakes numerous appearances. During the third season, Walter Peck, theEnvironmental Protection Agencyantagonist from the original film, reappears. The uniforms and containment unit are redesigned, and Slimer is changed from a bad ghost to a resident and friend, events which are explained in the episode "Citizen Ghost" that flashes back to what happened to the Ghostbusters right after the film's events. Gozer is mentioned repeatedly throughout the series, usually in comparison to a ghost they are currently battling (e.g. "Cthulhumakes Gozer look likeLittle Mary Sunshine").

In the third season, some of the character designs were modified. Ray's character design was slimmed down to give the character a less overweight appearance and Slimer was given a tail instead of the formerly rounded bottom (he reverted to a stub in Season 6). The biggest change was to the character of Janine, whose hair was completely changed from being short and spiky to long and straight. Her overall design was softened, as was her personality. Her voice was also softened withKath Soucietaking over the voice role fromLaura Summer.ABC also went back, and redubbed Peter's and Janine's dialogue in several episodes of the show with Dave Coulier and Kath Soucie, respectively.[19]Changes to Janine's character were eventually addressed in the season 6 episode (#118) entitled, "Janine, You've Changed".

Most of these changes were the result of ABC hiring a consulting firm called Q5, in an attempt for guidance on improving the network's low ratings for their Saturday Morning lineup, a move strongly criticized by show writersJ. Michael Straczynski,who was a story editor on the series and wrote episodes for every season except 4 and 7, andMichael Reaves.[20]Many of the changes brought on by Q5 were even criticized by Straczynski as being racist and sexist,[20]such as having each Ghostbuster have a specific role (such as a body, Peter being the mouth, Ray the heart, and Egon the brain) but making Winston (the only main African American character) the driver saying he is "the hands".[21]Another example would be stating how the character of Janine needed to be "more nurturing", put her in more "dress-like outfits"[22]and "making her less harsh and slutty".[20]

At the start of the series' fourth season in 1988, the opening was completely redone to center around Slimer. Eventually the episodes were expanded from their original half-hour format to last an hour, and the overall feel of the show was changed to be more youthful, with episodes having a lighter tone to be less frightening.[23]

By season 5, Louis Tully was added to the show following the character's appearance inGhostbusters II.

Voice acting and animation

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Recording for the show took place in Los Angeles, California. The cast always recorded together, instead of separately as is custom.[22]After recording of the dialogue was completed, sound tapes, storyboards, backgrounds, and character designs were then shipped to Japanese animation studios for animation and filming. South Korean studios were also used during the final two seasons.[24]

Broadcast

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The show originally aired onABCfor its full run, except for the second season, which ran insyndicationat the same time as the third season ran on ABC. Later, reruns of the show appeared on theUSA Network'sUSA Cartoon Expressfrom September 16, 1991[25]to September 11, 1994.[26]Fox Family Channelalso reran the series from August 17, 1998[27]to October 1, 1999.[28]In August 2012, reruns began airing onFearnetduring the weekends, part of their "Funhouse" block, and on April 1, 2017, the show began to stream onNetflix,but was removed two years later.[29]Then the show aired in Spanish onTeleXitosfrom 2022 to 2023.[30]As of June 25, 2024, the show is currently airing onMeTV Toons.[31]It aired onITVin the U.K. in February 1988.

To celebrate the upcoming release ofGhostbusters: Afterlife,bothThe Real GhostbustersandExtreme Ghostbusterswere released onto the official GhostbustersYouTubechannel.[32]

Media

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The Real Ghostbusterssoundtrack was released in 1986 on CD, records, and cassette byPolyGram Records.All songs were performed by Tahiti (Tyren Perry & Tonya Townsend).[13]

From 1986 to 1989, several episodes were released by Magic Window, the children's imprint of RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. The episodes on the cassettes were from the first season of syndication.[citation needed]

In 2004 and again in 2006,Sonyreleased bare bones episode compilations in the United Kingdom and United States, respectively. The DVD release ofGhostbusters IIalso included two episodes of the series as bonus features, "Citizen Ghost", a story focusing on events set immediately after thefirst movie,and "Partners in Slime" (this episode has the original broadcast version and the original end logos—DiC "kid in bed" andColumbia Pictures Television(1988) logos, respectively), which featured the psycho-active slime fromGhostbusters IIand a brief mention of its villain Vigo the Carpathian.[33][34][35]

Time Lifeacquired the home video rights to the series in May 2008 and released a complete series on DVD in the Fall of 2008.[36]That July they allowed fans the chance to vote between two variations of an outer box for the set[37]—one designed to look like the main characters' firehouse headquarters and the other all black with different images on each side. Both featuredlenticular printing,the firehouse version to show the Ecto-1 and the black version to have oozing "slime".[38]Released on November 25, 2008,[39]in the "firehouse" casing,[40]the set spans 25 discs containing all 147 episodes of the series.[41]They subsequently began releasing the individual volumes on March 31, 2009, but only the first three were released. Volumes 4 and 5 were not released due to poor sales. The Time Life releases have been discontinued and are now out of print.

Main article:List of The Real Ghostbusters episodes § DVD releases

Sony began re-releasing the series on DVD in Region 1 in 2016. Volumes 1–5 (each containing 11 or 12 episodes) were released on July 5,[42]while Volumes 6–10 (with 10 or 11 episodes each) were released on September 6.[43]Unlike the previous Time Life edition, the Sony release is incomplete, missing 29 episodes that were inexplicably omitted, as well as the entireSlimer!sub-series. Additionally, title cards were removed from all episodes in the first five volumes (title and writer credits were superimposed over the animated opening).[44]All 10 volumes, spanning 10 discs containing 111 episodes, were released in a slim plastic box set in October 2017 (comprising 80% of the series).[citation needed]

The complete first season was released on DVD in Australia on June 3, 2009,[citation needed]and in the U.K. on June 15.[45]

Spin-off:Extreme Ghostbusters

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Main article:Extreme Ghostbusters

In 1997, a sequel cartoon entitledExtreme Ghostbusterswas produced byColumbia TriStar TelevisionandAdelaide Productions.It premiered on September 1, 1997, and ran for forty episodes until its conclusion on December 8. Set several years after the end ofThe Real Ghostbusters,the series opened by saying the team has disbanded due to a lack of supernatural activity. Only Egon remains in the firehouse, along with Slimer, to care for the containment system while teaching classes at a local university. When supernatural events begin occurring in New York, Egon recruits four of his university students as a new team of Ghostbusters, and Janine, also one of Egon's students, returns to manage the office. The original Ghostbusters return for the two-episode season finale to celebrate Egon's 40th birthday, leading to them reluctantly working together with the younger generation to solve one last case.

Reception

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The series has received critical acclaim since its premiere. The first season received an approval rating of 100% onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,based on five reviews.[46]Common Sense Mediagave the series a three out of five stars: "Parents need to know thatThe Real Ghostbustersis an animated series spun off the mega-popular 1984 movieGhostbusters(the "Real" was added to avoid confusion with an unrelated cartoon of the same name). The core characters remain the same, though the cartoon is skewed toward younger kids and as such, drops the swearing, the smoking, and the sexual innuendo. While the Ghostbusters do spend their days vanquishing evil, the monsters and phantoms they encounter are often quite silly (some of them even make wisecracks) and not too scary ".[47]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Animation outsourced toWang Film Productions,TMS Entertainment,Toei Animation,Trans Arts,Dong Yang Animation,Plus One Animation,Ajia-do Animation Works,Sei Young Animation,Daiwon,Visual 80,Hanho Heung-Upand KK DiC Asia (Later known as KK C&D Asia).
  2. ^Winston's last name was alternately spelledZeddemore,as in the movies, andZeddmore.

References

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  1. ^"Top 100 animated series".IGN.Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2010.RetrievedOctober 19,2010.
  2. ^"Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search".news.google.com.RetrievedJuly 25,2019.
  3. ^"Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search".news.google.com.RetrievedJuly 25,2019.
  4. ^"The Real Ghostbusters DVD news: Announcement for Sony Volumes 1 through 5".TVShowsOnDVD.com.May 5, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon September 1, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 10,2016.
  5. ^abPerlmutter, David (2018).The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows.Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 491–493.ISBN978-1538103739.
  6. ^"The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection".DVD Talk.RetrievedAugust 14,2010.
  7. ^"Interview: Lou Scheimer: A Candid Conversation with Filmation's Founder".The Trades.Archived fromthe originalon April 19, 2014.RetrievedOctober 21,2009.
  8. ^Erickson, Hal (2005).Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003(2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 653–654.ISBN978-1476665993.
  9. ^"TV Listings".Daily News.New York City, New York. January 30, 1988.
  10. ^The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection(Booklet). Fairfax, Virginia:Direct Holdings Americas,Columbia Pictures Television.2008. 80083-Z.
  11. ^Singer, Matt (June 21, 2016)."Way Before the Ivan Reitman Film, These Were the First 'Ghost Busters'".screencrush.com.ScreenCrush.RetrievedJanuary 25,2023.The real original Ghost Busters appeared in a short-lived television series that aired on CBS for a single 15-episode season in 1975.
  12. ^Solomon, Charles (September 18, 1986)."Animated Shows For Kids".The Los Angeles Times.RetrievedAugust 23,2010.
  13. ^abKen Plume (January 1, 2007)."Quick Stop Interview: Maurice LaMarche".Quick Stop Interview.RetrievedAugust 13,2007.
  14. ^Lindquist, David (June 19, 2018)."Garfield turns 40: Nine lives of Indiana's top cartoon cat".indystar.com.Indianapolis Star.RetrievedJanuary 25,2023.
  15. ^"Episode 90 Dave Coulier (Live Ustream)".Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2014.RetrievedOctober 20,2014.
  16. ^Harris, Will (June 13, 2012)."Ernie Hudson talks Oz and losing out on the Ghostbusters cartoon".The A.V. Club.RetrievedMarch 5,2021.
  17. ^"Ernie Hudson talks Oz and losing out on the Ghostbusters cartoon".The A.V. Club.June 13, 2012.
  18. ^"That time an actor lost a gig for not sounding enough like, themself".December 23, 2021.
  19. ^"Spook Central - The Real Ghostbusters Alternate Episodes".Theraffon.net.October 18, 1988. Archived fromthe originalon August 8, 2012.RetrievedMarch 3,2016.
  20. ^abcHaithman, Diane (September 3, 1987)."How Image Makers Shape Kids' TV: Q5 Firm Advises ABC on the Look and Style of Cartoon Shows; Some Writers Call It Intrusion".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedFebruary 16,2018.
  21. ^Time-Life'sThe Real Ghostbusters Complete CollectionDVD set special features
  22. ^abTime-Life'sThe Real Ghostbusterscomplete collection DVD set special features
  23. ^Plume, Kenneth (September 6, 2000)."Interview with J. Michael Straczynski (Part 2 of 4)".IGN. Archived fromthe originalon July 20, 2010.RetrievedOctober 18,2009.
  24. ^Slimer Won't Do That! The Making of The Real Ghostbusters(television film).ITV.1990.
  25. ^TV Guide – September 14–20, 1991
  26. ^Tyrone Daily Herald's TV Week – September 9–16, 1994
  27. ^TV Guide – August 15–21, 1998
  28. ^TV Guide – September 25 – October 1, 1999
  29. ^Joe, Medjuck (February 20, 2019)."Ghost".bloody disgusting.Netflix.RetrievedOctober 18,2023.
  30. ^"The Real Ghostbusters - Telexitos".Telexitos.com.September 13, 2022.RetrievedJune 25,2024.
  31. ^Alexa, Laurén (June 19, 2024)."MeTV Toons Unveils Debut Programming Schedule".Animation World Network.RetrievedJune 25,2024.
  32. ^"Classic Episodes of" The Real Ghostbusters "and" Extreme Ghostbusters "Officially Coming to YouTube Each Week!".February 10, 2021.
  33. ^"The Real Ghostbusters: Spooky Spirits".DVD Talk.RetrievedAugust 14,2010.
  34. ^"The Real Ghostbusters: Slimefighters".DVD Talk.RetrievedAugust 14,2010.
  35. ^"The Real Ghostbusters: Creatures of the Night".DVD Talk.RetrievedAugust 14,2010.
  36. ^Gord Lacey (May 27, 2008)."Time-Life to Release Complete Series This Fall!".The Real Ghostbusters.Archived fromthe originalon May 29, 2008.
  37. ^"Vote for the Complete Series Artwork".The Real Ghostbusters.TVShowsOnDVD.com.July 21, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon July 30, 2008.RetrievedAugust 2,2008.
  38. ^"Help Select the Box Art".The Real Ghostbusters.TVShowsOnDVD.com.July 21, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon July 21, 2008.RetrievedJuly 21,2008.
  39. ^Lambert, David (November 10, 2008)."Small Date Change for Time Life's Complete Series Set is Made Up by FedEx Shipping".The Real Ghostbusters news.TVShowsOnDVD.com.Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2008.RetrievedNovember 10,2008.
  40. ^"The Real Ghostbusters – Cover Art 'Winner' Plus Release Date Update".The Real Ghostbusters.TVShowsOnDVD.com.August 11, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon August 18, 2008.RetrievedAugust 18,2008.
  41. ^"Formal press release for The Real Ghostbusters — The Complete Series".The Real Ghostbusters.TVShowsOnDVD.com.July 25, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon July 30, 2008.RetrievedAugust 2,2008.
  42. ^"The Real Ghostbusters DVD news: Announcement for Sony Volumes 1 through 5 - TVShowsOnDVD.com".tvshowsondvd.com.Archived fromthe originalon September 1, 2016.
  43. ^"The Real Ghostbusters DVD news: Announcement for Sony Volumes 6 through 10 - TVShowsOnDVD.com".www.tvshowsondvd.com.Archived fromthe originalon July 17, 2016.
  44. ^"The Real Ghostbusters Volumes 6 to 10 Sony 2016 DVD Review".Spook Central: The Ghostbusters Companion.RetrievedJuly 25,2019.
  45. ^"HMV - Music, Films, & Games - hmv.com".hmv.com - home of entertainment.
  46. ^"The Real Ghostbusters (Season 1)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango.RetrievedDecember 1,2021.
  47. ^Jenny Nixon (July 10, 2021)."The Real Ghostbusters - TV Review".Common Sense Media.
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