The Real Ghostbusters (1986 - 1991)

     So with the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to Kablama Slam once again, this time with a look at Saturday morning’s run in with the ever so popular paranormal investigators. 

The Premise: The further adventures of Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore who, along with their ghost sidekick Slimer, take on the various spooks and specters that terrorize New York City. 

     This cartoon was, of course, based on the hugely successful 1984 film. That film, however, wasn’t the first property to bear the name ‘Ghostbusters’ and had to get permission from Filmation to share the name with their 1975 television series, The Ghost Busters. In 1986, after the success of the film Ghostbusters, I guess Filmation thought that maybe there would be some new interest in their obscure series and rebooted it as a Saturday morning cartoon, this time without the space in the title and simply called Ghostbusters. You with me so far? This prompted Columbia Pictures to title THEIR Saturday morning cartoon (which was released the same year) The REAL Ghostbusters in order to differentiate. The Real Ghostbusters ran for seven seasons while Ghostbusters only ran for one, proving that it doesn’t really matter who is first; only who is best. 

     The Real Ghostbusters was my first official introduction into this franchise since I was only three years old when the movie hit theaters. Whenever I first saw the film, I remember instantly falling in love but thought it was strange how Peter Venkman looked nothing like his animated counterpart. I think the thing I love most about The Real Ghostbusters was how well it made light of horror by injecting humor, just like the film on which it was based. I’m a big wimp and, therefore, not a fan of horror in the least. While I watched my fair share of this show, I found some of the show’s ghosts pretty nightmare-inducing and eventually stopped watching. However, I was still okay with one aspect that, let’s face it, was the true drive behind all of Saturday morning television …Toys! 

Kablama Slam! Fun Fact: Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore in the film, auditioned for the voice of Winston in the series but DIDN’T GET THE PART!