Ghostbusters

After reading a previous post, I feel the need to set the record straight. This is Not a rip-off of the film 'Ghostbusters', also, the naming of the cartoon did NOT force the other cartoon to be renamed 'The Real Ghostbusters'. This was a TV show that was on when I was kid in the mid-70's. I used to watch it all the time. The show starred the men from F-Troop, and was made by Filmation. Filmation still held the TV naming rights to the Ghostbusters name, so that is why the other cartoon had to be renamed. I had forgotten about this show until the cartoon came out, and everyone told me I was crazy and such a show had never existed, but I showed them who's crazy didn't I?? Hee hee, anyway, I just felt it was my duty to correct this error.

I used to love this show when I was very very young but when I went back and saw it, I was not really that impressed. Perhaps I could only remember the best episodes. Therefore I can give a somewhat unbiased review of this series. This show actually does follow an earlier show which originally came up with the name and concept of "Ghostbusters". It thus not a ripoff at all.

This show did have a few notable strengths, namely the title song, music by Saban and some good villains. The animation is OK and strangely enough, the title sequence is indeed better animated than the technically superior "Real Ghostbusters" or RGB, as are some of the backgrounds. However, the animation standards in most episodes were'nt really that good. I would have been less harsh had this show released in the late 70s or early 80s but given that it actually did air during the same time of the other RGB series (1986), one could expect higher standards.

Unlike the other GBs, these guys had all sorts of Ghost themed merchandise and equipment which was rather nice. The characters were nice but underutilized and rather static. The biggest problem with them was that they lacked expression and emotion of any degree! That was just primitive of the animation standards being followed. Their gait, mannerisms and action were also pretty primitive and repetitive. Other characters attempt to be wacky but ended up looking lame and static. While the two main characters made their Gorilla do pretty much everything (the solutions to a problem or a situation presented by him were mostly really illogical, more akin to pulling a rabbit out of a hat), the Gorilla still felt a bit useless.

Not so with the villains. Prime Evil was a superb main villain and will grab more attention than any character from RGB. Other villains were no where as good, but were actually better than the heroes themselves. Were it not for the excellent baddies in the series, it could indeed be classified as a rather poor production.

The poorest area of this series was in the writing. Plots were excessively simple and had no twists or any real attempts at storytelling. They all revolved around some sort of moral motive which was summed up by an annoying talking bat at the end of each episode. Ghostly Aesop's fables perhaps? There were also plenty of clichés and there was really no real action or dialog (from the heros) worth mentioning or remembering. But that can be forgiven if one considers that the intended audience were just young children.

Some fans of the admittedly superior "Real Ghostbusters" cartoon series unfortunately have a filthy reputation for slandering things that are not their cup of tea, especially Filmation's GB series. Therefore, when one comes in and starts to fart about how this is a FAKE, copy, crap etc, make sure to ignore them.

Remember that even though this series is perhaps best viewed and appreciated by very young children rather than a more mature audience, the other GBs cartoon, "The Real Ghostbusters" was also quite childish, even if far superior to this series. The best of all Ghostbuster cartoons was however, Extreme Ghostbusters (XGB) which actually was mature and made for adults for a change. So if the RGB fans laugh at this series for technical reasons, lesser production values or immaturity, note that the XGB fans also retain the right to laugh at RGB for the same reasons.

From 9/6/75 - 9/4/76 there was a live action show known as Ghost Busters. After the Ghostbusters film was a hit, Filmation put out an animated updated version of the show, the Original Ghostbusters in 1986. In the live show The Ghost Busters were a trio (Jake Kong, Eddie Spencer, and Tracy, the gorilla) that dealt with ghosts and other supernatural creatures. At the beginning of each episode, the trio get a taped message outlining their new mission. Once the message plays, the recording self destructs (ala Mission: Impossible). But unlike Mission Impossible, they never manage to get rid of the recording before it explodes.

The Ghost Busters then head out to find, capture, or get rid of the supernatural being. In almost every case, the various creatures end up in the old castle. The various creatures they encountered included vikings, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, vampires, gypsies, werewolves, and of course, various ghosts.

A previous comment posted about this show is entirely false. Actually, this show claimed the name "Ghostbusters" first, as it was a follow up of the live-action 1970's sitcom "Ghostbusters," which featured a similar plot. Because of this live action show, makers of the Ghostbusters movie had difficulties using the name, since it was already taken. Similarly, the cartoon came before the "Real Ghostbusters" cartoon.

It's a little known fact but the characters depicted in this series were around long before the movie version was. Back in 1975 there was a short lived TV series called "The Ghost Busters" that featured ghosts being hunted by a trio armed with strange equipment. After the success of the successful film (the title of which had to be paid for by the producers to Filmation who owned the name) they brought the characters back in this series. That's not to say that this show is BETTER than the theatrical Ghost Busters, but it is interesting to note that this isn't the rip off... the theatrical Ghost Busters was the rip off (even if it was a vastly superior rip off!