The Real Ghostbusters 

The continuing adventures of the staff of the ghost removal service.

Stars:

Maurice LaMarche, Dave Coulier, Frank Welker

3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Frank Welker	...	Dr. Raymond Stantz / ... 140 episodes, 1986-1991
Maurice LaMarche	...	Dr. Egon Spengler / ... 140 episodes, 1986-1991
Arsenio Hall	...	Winston Zeddemore / ... 91 episodes, 1986-1987
Lorenzo Music	...	Dr. Peter Venkman / ... 78 episodes, 1986-1987
Laura Summer	...	Janine Melnitz / ... 70 episodes, 1986-1987
Dave Coulier	...	Dr. Peter Venkman / ... 62 episodes, 1987-1991
Kath Soucie	...	Janine Melnitz / ... 59 episodes, 1987-1991
Buster Jones	...	Winston Zeddemore / ... 49 episodes, 1988-1991

Storyline

Animated cartoon series that followed the hit movie. Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddemore, Egon Spengler, and Ray Stantz are still hunting ghosts, but now with the friendly assistance of Slimer, who is no longer out to slime the good guys.

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Plot Keywords:

1980s | 1990s | reference to tombstone arizona | gunfight at the o.k. corral | tombstone arizona | 

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Taglines:

They're here to save the world again!

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1988, the start of the fourth season, the series was part of a one-hour block of Ghostbusters cartoons (it was joined with the newly created "Slimer!" series) known as "Slimer! And The Real Ghostbusters." This title would stick with the series to its very end (season seven in 1991). The title change also rippled through the marketing of the show in toys, cereal, and Ecto-Cooler Hi-C drink. All of these products changed their logos from "The Real Ghostbusters" to "Slimer & The Real Ghostbusters".

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Goofs

Though the series takes place in 1980s New York City, the traffic lights in some episodes only have red and green light - no amber

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Quotes

Peter: If I ever see another bug again it'll be too soon. Like I said before, the world would be better off without them.
Egon Spengler: That's not true, Peter. The world couldn't survive without insects.
Ray Stantz: That's right. Our whole eco-system depends on them. So give them a break, all right?
Peter: But they're all so ugly!
Winston Zeddemore (I): Look again, Peter!
[a brightly colored butterfly lands on Peter's nose]
Ray Stantz: You know, I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Slimer: Beautiful!

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Alternate Versions

The german dubbed version has a slightly different audio-track for the opening sequence. While the theme song and the sound effects have been kept intact, reactions for the main characters have been added (e.g. Venkman yells when falling off his chair; Janine utters a disgusted "Eww!" when being kissed by Slimer). At the end of the sequence, when the Ghostbusters are charging their proton guns, they say "We ain't afraid of no ghosts!", and at the very end, Venkman says "I ain't afraid of no ghosts." when the title is shown.

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Connections

Referenced in Tourist of Terror Presents: The Saturday Morning Cereal Killers: The Ghost Busters (2016)

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Soundtracks

Charge You Up
Performed by Tahiti - Tyren Perry & Tonya Townsend

User Reviews

Not just for kids...

With completely imaginative stories, and top notch writing, The Real Ghostbusters was far superior to Ghostbusters 2. This show benefitted from an excellent cast (Lorenzo Music, Arseno Hall, and cartoon workhorse Frank Welker,) as well as an incredible cadre of writers, including Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Strazynski, and Star Trek Tribble-meister David Gerrold.

Unlike the lackluster movie sequel, The Real Ghostbusters assumes that the increase in supernatural activity in New York doesn't subside after the banishment of Gozur the Gozerian. Instead, the series assumes that the guys stayed in business. Now, with most kids shows, this would have rapidly devolved into a series of stupid plots and repetitiveness. However, the production team for the first two seasons managed to avoid this. Instead, they dug into the deepest wells and pits of human folklore to find storylines (Indeed, this is the only 'kids' series that I have ever seen which borrowed from the works of HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton, and August Derlith!) Gerrold, Strazinski, and the other writers (many of whom are extremely well known within Science Fiction circles) managed to construct plots which were always funny, exciting, and genuinely engaging, ranging from a spoof of Gerrold's own 'The Trouble with Tribbles (Attack of the 50 foot Slimer) to a top notch tribute to one of the greats of early 20th Century Literary Horror (Collect Call of Cuthulu) Also, the characterizations were top notch (even though Peter Venkman's lecherousness had to be toned down, obviously)

Unfortunately, after the second (?) season, the show underwent a major upheval, and most of the original creative staff left, along with some of the cast (Lorenzo Music was replaced by Dave Coulier, who, while he did a dead on Bill Murray impression, didn't have the ability to give the character as much personality.) And with the staff, so went the soul of the show. The writing went downhill, and, while the show was still above average, it just didn't catch the viewer's interest like it used to. By the time of it's final season (on the heels of Ghostbusters 2) it just wasn't worth watching...

Details

Release Date:

13 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Real Ghostbusters

Company Credits

Production Co:

DIC Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

23 min