"Extreme Ghostbusters" (1997) TV series

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Directors:

Chris Berkeley
Alan Caldwell

Writers:

Siobhan Byrne (writer)
Gary Stuart Kaplan (writer)

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Family

Plot:

Follow-up series that expands on the Ghostbuster empire by recruiting new characters.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Ghostbuster | Fight To The Finish | Old Generation | Betrayal

Cast

Maurice LaMarche	...	Dr. Egon Spengler (40 episodes, 1997)
Tara Strong	...	Kylie Griffin (40 episodes, 1997)
Pat Musick	...	Janine Melnitz (40 episodes, 1997)
Jason Marsden	...	Garrett Miller (40 episodes, 1997)
Alfonso Ribeiro	...	Roland Jackson (40 episodes, 1997)
Rino Romano	...	Eduardo Rivera (40 episodes, 1997)
Billy West	...	Slimer / ... (40 episodes, 1997)

Runtime:

UK:23 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7 | Australia:PG

Company:

Adelaide Productions

Trivia:

This animated series is a continuation, a sequel of sorts, to "The Real Ghost Busters" (1986). It picks up some seven-years later after the original 'Ghostbusters' disband/break-up, supposedly due to lack of paranormal activity. All the ghosts & goblins simply up and vanish. Suddenly, when strange things/creatures start surfacing again in New York City 1997, 'Egon' recruits an all-new team of 'Ghostbusters' comprised mostly of his best physics class, university students. One of the best episodes was the return of the original "Real Ghostbusters." They appeared in a two-part episode fully dressed in their old-school jumpsuits and carrying their traditional proton packs. Except this time their true age began to show. They began to act/move a little bit slower.

Quotes:

Kylie: [Janine has been possessed by a bug demon and has almost completely transformed into a insect queen] Tell her you love her!
Egon: Is that appropriate?
Kylie: [shouts] Do it!
Egon: Ah, Janine, I love you.
Kylie: You want to press your lips to hers.
Egon: Ah, I want, to press my lips to yours.

Movie Connections:

Spin off Extreme Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Invasion (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Ghostbusters

Groundbreaking classic and the only one from the 90s.

Brilliant in every way and something to treasure deeply. Lovely characters, especially Kylie. However, I must react to two stupid comments made, comparing this unfavourably against the original. If you've never seen the original series as a prepubescent, you'll never understand why people even want to compare the older one with the newer one, which is ten generations ahead in every single way in terms of quality? However, you may be victim to a differing and skewed perspective if you did.

While the older series titled "The Real Ghostbusters" aka RGB derived a lot of success from the popularity of the GB-1 and 2 movies through offering continuity, this series distances itself from that original theme and introduces a brand new set of characters and new atmosphere. Older one was a fantasy but this ones closer to reality. The heart and engine running both series remains the same (for which I guess, we should credit Richard Raynis most) but the front ends are completely different. This may have invited harsh reactions from a few original fans but I wish to quote someone else who did a review on the Ghostbusters movie page,

------------------------------------------------------------ The premise of "Ghostbusters" is cool, too. We want to be transported into a world in which there are ghostbusters of this kind, so much so that we're prepared to overlook the fact that we're watching fumbled comedy rather than successful fantasy. ------------------------------------------------------------

He is of course, talking about the perspective of an 8 year old. The perspective of an 8 year old or any pre-pubescent blissfully enjoying the RGB series and the perspectives of the same grown man watching the same series cannot be the same. At the most, it can be blissful short term nostalgia. Add this disappointment to the fact that a superior series was derived through replacing the original favourites and making a lot of changes, one will start to feel cheated. So what would one do?

React sharply and choose to ignore reality? Yes. If a complete and utter fool willing to soak his mind in the darkness of ignorance. Or choose to embrace reality instead of your own skewed perspective? Any smart person would. The solution has been well formulated as XGB, the modernised and mature side of Ghostbusting which should appeal to any fan of the empire. XGB was never marketed as a fantasy comedy anyway, but a thriller bordering on horror themes. Yet they've maintained some of the RGB charm.

One must not let pre-pubescent emotional attachments with RGB rob one of common sense. In other words, XGB is the magnum opus and best effort in the Ghostbusting empire. RGB is not. It is old and it is a classic but its history and obsolete. While XGB is what the creators and need I mention, that these guys are veterans, have to be more proud of, the biggest flaw is the lack of depth, simply due to this series being restricted to just 40 episodes. As a 4 season show, the RGB offered much greater depth, even if replete with filler episodes. One must however not take into account such stuff like "Junior Ghostbusters" and "Slimer! and the RGB" which were just nonsense spin-offs.

PS The animation was brilliant and not like other Sony cartoons. Jtalledo is a lying idiot.