SLIMER! AND THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS
(ABC, Syndication, September 13, 1986-September 28, 1991)
DiC Enterprises, Coca-Cola Telecommunications, Columbia
Pictures Television
MAIN CAST:
Lorenzo Music – Dr. Peter Venkman, Jim Venkman, various (season 1)
Dave Coulier – Dr. Peter Venkman, Jim Venkman (season 2-6)
Frank Welker – Dr. Ray Stantz, Slimer, ghost, Elizabeth, Fred, various
Maurice LaMarche – Dr. Egon Spengler, various
Arsenio Hall – Winston Zeddemore, ghost (season 1-2)
Buster Jones – Winston Zeddemore (season 3-6)
Laura Summer – Janine Melnitz (season 1)
Kath Soucie – Janine Melnitz (season 2-6)
Roger Bumpass – Louis Tully (season 4-6)
Cree Summer – Chilly Cooper (season 3)
Jeff Marder – Rudy (season 3)
Jeff Altman – Professor Norman Dweeb (season 3)
Danny Mann – Bud (season 3)
Actor, comedian and
singer Dan Aykroyd had one passion he had yet to bring to the screen:
the paranormal. Inspired by an article on quantum physics and parapsychology,
Aykroyd was determined to correct that. Wild with imagination, Aykroyd created
an epic that followed a group of Ghostbusters with SWAT-like gear across time,
space and other dimensions to battle giant ghosts and demons. It was meant to
serve as another starring vehicle for him and his friend, fellow Saturday Night Live alum
and bandmate John
Belushi, to complement their 1980 hit Blues Brothers.
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| Movie storyboards depicting the original uniform concepts. |
Presenting the script to
director Ivan Reitman, Reitman realized that Aykroyd’s vision, in 1980s money,
would cost several hundred million dollars to create (remember, kids, this was
before CGI). At Reitman’s suggestion, Aykroyd paired up with Harold Ramis, with whom Reitman had worked with before, to help ground
the script in reality and tone down the more elaborate sequences in order to
secure a more realistic budget.
The
result was a movie about three washed-up scientists who discover how they could
capture and hold a supernatural entity indefinitely. Losing their jobs at a
prominent university lead them to turn this knowledge into a business and
become the Ghostbusters.
Aykroyd and Ramis would play scientists Dr. Ray Stantz and Dr. Egon Spengler,
respectively. Following Belushi’s death in 1982, the role intended for him was
reconceived and fellow SNL alum and Reitman collaborator Bill Murray was cast as Dr. Peter Venkman. Ernie Hudson was brought in as the everyman Winston Zeddemore, to
whom the more technical elements could be explained for the audience’s benefit.
Rounding out the crew was Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz, the no-nonsense secretary with a
crush on Egon. Serving as the innocent victims the Ghostbusters must rescue
from the threat of model Slavitza Jovan’s Gozer the Gozerian were Sigourney Weaver as cellist Dana Barrett and Rick Moranis as accountant and Daner’s stalker-ish neighbor Louis
Tully. Released by Columbia
Pictures, the film opened on June 8th, 1984 to
critical and commercial success, becoming the second highest grossing film of
the year behind Beverly Hills Cop.
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| Ghostbusters vs. GhostBusters. Which do you like best? |
During production of the
movie, the existence of Filmation’s live-action television show The
Ghost Busters was discovered. Alternate names were considered up
until the filming of the climax on Central Park West with crowds chanting
“Ghostbusters,” causing a frenzied push by the producers to acquire the rights.
Along with the movie’s success, Columbia was surprised at the number of younger
fans the film had gained and contemplated continuing the franchise with an
animated spin-off. Filmation president Lou Scheimer proposed a series to Columbia, going so far as to
have initial designs for it produced. They passed. Undaunted, Filmation went
ahead with their own GhostBusters cartoon
based on their earlier show, featuring the sons of the main characters, in
order to cash in on the popularity of the Ghostbusters name. Deciding not to be
outdone, Columbia eventually partnered with DiC to create their animated series. As they only had the
rights for the name for the movie, and as a little jab at Filmation, the title
became The Real Ghostbusters.
A short pilot was
commissioned to give a general idea of the look and concept of the series. The
characters were designed by Jim McDermott, but instead of trying to acquire expensive likeness
rights, they went for the embodiment of the characters themselves. To help
differentiate between the three white, brunette characters in distance and
group shots, their hair colors were changed along with their bodies. Peter was
given brown hair and an average build, Ray was made a pudgy redhead, and Egon a
tall, slender blonde with a large hairstyle. To make them easier to animate,
the proton packs and Ecto-1 were streamlined. Set to a re-recorded version
of Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” performed by John Smith, the pilot
followed the Ghostbusters from their firehouse all across the city as they
battled random supernatural threats, including the green ghost they first
busted (dubbed Onionhead during the film’s production due to the awful smell of
the puppet used, but later named Slimer for the series) and Mr. Stay Puft (the
only surviving giant entity from Aykroyd’s original concept).
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| Promotional art featuring the refined designs. |
The series was greenlit,
and the final revisions were made. To further distinguish the Ghostbusters, as
well as make them more appealing as toys, they were given new colored uniforms:
Egon in blue with pink trim, Winston in gray with red trim and Peter in brown
with green trim. Ray’s was largely kept the same from the movies and pilot. The
equipment was further streamlined and changed from black to blue. The pack
designs from the pilot, though, continued to live on as they were used as the
basis for the action figure line produced by Kenner. Slimer was also softened to look friendlier and became
the Ghostbusters’ live-in ghost mascot as a further draw for the kids. The
containment unit, where a captured ghost was stored, went from a small wall
panel to a massive room-sized device in the basement of the firehouse where the
Ghostbusters were headquartered.
While changes in a
movie-to-television adaptation are not unusual, what was unusual was the fact
that most of these changes were explained WITHIN the show. Specifically, the
episode “Citizen Ghost,” which took place in flashback that immediately followed
the events of the first movie. It stated that the uniforms, covered in
marshmallow goop after the defeat of Mr. Stay Puft, had become so infused with
spectral energy that they had to be destroyed. Luckily their new customized
uniforms arrived during all the chaos. Slimer was found while they were fixing
up the firehouse and Egon decided to keep him around as a guinea pig, much to
Peter’s chagrin (since Slimer slimed him when they first met, and would
continue to slime him throughout the series as a running gag). The cartoon was
also made to have been the inspiration for the movie rather than spun off from
it, as asserted in the episode “Take Two.”
Ivan Reitman, Michael C. Gross and Joe Medjuck, the latter two producers on the film, served as producers
for the series. Ernie Hudson was the only actor from the movie to audition for
the role of his character in the series, but somehow lost out to then up-and-coming
comedian Arsenio Hall. Hall also provided the voice for the commercial bumpers,
spoken through the ghost in the no-ghost logo. Maurice LaMarche, a known
impressionist, was asked not to impersonate Ramis when auditioning for Egon. He
did and got the part anyway, although he began the series with a much deeper
tone for the first few episodes than he would use for the remainder. Lorenzo
Music was cast as Peter, Frank Welker as Ray and Slimer, and Laura Summer as
Janine. Another unusual aspect of the show was that the cast recorded their
lines together to retain the ensemble feel of the film, whereas many shows had
their actors recording individually. Often, when someone was unable to make a
session, the other actors would have fun imitating them for the duration of the
recording.
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| The Real Ghostbusters soundtrack album cover. |
The producers wanted to
feature music in the series much like was featured throughout the movie. Ollie Brown, a friend of Ray Parker, Jr., organized a duo called
Tahiti comprised of Tyren
Perry and Tonya Townsend. They were brought on board and provided songs in 10 early
episodes, which were later released as a soundtrack album for the show by Polygram Records. However, as the series began to pick up steam on its own,
they decided the added expense and effort was no longer needed and kept to just
using the standard series score by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy.
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| One of the big bads: Samhain, the spirit of Halloween. |
The series was
simultaneously produced for broadcast on ABC Saturday
mornings with 13 episodes and syndication with 65 episodes, leading to a
whopping 78 episodes made during the first season’s production. J.Michael Straczynski (abbreviated as JMS, of Babylon 5 fame),
who loved the movie, met with the producers and was brought on as story editor and
writer for a number of episodes. Given absolute freedom, JMS and the writers,
which included Richard Mueller (who also penned the movie adaptation
novel), Chuck
Menville, Len Janson, Michael
Reeves and even comic scribe J.M. DeMatteis, delved deep into mythology, science fiction, obscure
occult references and many other places while embracing its movie roots,
creating a very mature yet still kid-friendly experience. And it worked,
as The Real Ghostbusters met with critical acclaim when it
debuted on television.
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| The many faces of Janine, from The Real to Slimer! to Extreme. |
Unfortunately, parent
groups found the show a bit too scary for children and expressed their
displeasure to the network. As a result, ABC brought in consultants Q5 to retool
and “improve” the
show as well as the rest of their Saturday line-up.
Their suggestions included giving the Ghostbusters specific roles: Egon became
the brain, Ray the builder, Peter the comedic con-man, and Winston the driver.
Janine was designated to be the den mother, with her feisty personality toned
down and her design altered; her short hair was softened and lengthened as was
her skirt, and her pointy glasses were rounded as “sharp objects frighten
children.” Summer was replaced by Kath Soucie, who had a less-harsh
voical performance. The story content and subject matter was to be toned-down
to be even more kid-friendly and a greater focus was put on Slimer, which
resulted in his receiving more intelligible speech patterns and slowly working
his way to the center of stories. Peter also became less hostile towards him,
giving him the nickname “spud.” New recurring children characters called
the Junior
Ghostbusters were introduced to give the
intended audience characters they could relate to. The animation and character
designs were also altered slightly, with Ray becoming thinner and Slimer
gaining a tail. Under protest about these changes and many others that were
successfully shot down (such as eliminating Ray from the cast), JMS quit the
show. Janson and Menville were promoted to story editors in his place.
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| Ray has gone on a diet. |
Further changes came as the
series progressed. Music was replaced by comedian Dave Coulier (who would
become famous as Uncle Joey on Full House) for the second season. Two reasons for this persist:
either Murray approached Reitman with the complaint that Peter sounded
like Garfield (also voiced by Music) while the others sounded like
the actors (made ironic by Murray voicing Garfield in the two live-action
movies) or Medjuck wanted someone who could sound more like Murray. This also
created some confusion for viewers as the syndicated episodes aired alongside
season 2 with Music and Summer still in their roles. At the end of the season,
Hall began development on the highly-successful first incarnation of The Arsenio Hall Show and
left the series. He was replaced by Buster Jones, with Welker rerecording the
commercial bumpers in a Slimer-like voice.
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| The Ghostbusters examine the mysterious changes in Janine in "Janine, You've Changed." |
The changes made to the
show proved unpopular, and viewership steadily declined. ABC had, at one point,
asked JMS to return as story editor, but he was busy with other projects. He
did, however, contribute several scripts to the show including “Janine, You’ve
Changed” which gave an in-story explanation to Janine’s constant redesigns. He
also wrote the show’s only prime-time special episode, “The Halloween Door.” The show managed to last for six seasons on ABC before
being cancelled in 1991.
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| Real Ghostbusters handheld game by Renco. |
In 1987, Data East produced a Real Ghostbusters arcade game that was a 360-degree top-down shooting game. It was
later ported to various home consoles. In 1988, Remco released
a handheld game that featured Peter having to repel a horde of ghosts as they
descended down on him. Remco also produced two electronic table-top
games. In 1993, a Game Boy game was developed by Kemco and
released by Kotobuki Systems in Europe and Activision in
America. The game had very little to do with the show or concept as it was
originally developed as a Mickey
Mouse game in Kemco’s Crazy Castle series of games called Mickey Mouse IV: the
Magical Labyrinth. In Europe, it
featured Garfield while the American version featured only Peter as he tries to navigate through an enemy-filled maze.
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| The Real Ghostbusters omnibus from IDW, collecting the first half of NOW's run. |
In 1988, licenses for a
comic based on the show were granted to Marvel’s United Kingdom division for international
publication while NOW Comics obtained
the domestic
rights. The Marvel books were magazine-sized and
ran weekly until its last few issues, featuring several short comic strips and
a prose story. Many future prominent creators worked on the series,
including Richard
Starkings, Phil Hester, Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Al Williamson. Marvel also made a point of including various items exclusive
to the toy line into their stories. NOW’s series featured a more mature tone
than the Marvel books and typically featured only one story per issue. It was
primarily written by James Van
Hise with art by future Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias. Occasionally during their runs, Marvel and NOW would
share stories and cover art, and both books featured the only time the
character of Dana would be rendered in The Real style as she
never appeared on the show. Both companies also produced a short-lived Slimer! spin-off
book, however the Marvel version was typically a reprint of the NOW series.
Both series outlived the show, ending in 1993. In
2006, Titan Books reprinted some of the Marvel UK strips in three
digest-sized collections.
The last vestige of the
series came from the most unlikely place. In a promotional tie-in to the
show, Hi-C began production of a flavor called Ecto-Cooler: a
green-colored orange and tangerine drink that featured Slimer on the packaging.
The drink lasted well beyond the show, remaining unchanged until 1997 when
Slimer was finally removed. The flavor continued on and was eventually renamed
“Shoutin’ Orange
Tangergreen” in 2003 before eventually being
discontinued altogether. Along with trying to petition Coca-Cola, the makers
of Hi-C, to bring the flavor back, fans of the drink have taken to figuring out
the recipe for it and making
their own. Ecto-Cooler did return
for a limited time (still without Slimer) in 2016 as part of a promotion for Ghostbusters: Answer the
Call. Other food items included a line of marshmallow cereals by Ralston, canned pasta and sauce by Heinz, and fruit
snacks by Kids Classics.
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| Extreme team: Slimer, Garrett, Kylie, Eduardo, Roland and Egon. |
In 1997, Sony, now owner of
Columbia and its properties, sought to revitalize the Ghostbusters brand with a
new animated series entitled Extreme Ghostbusters (originally Super
Ghostbusters, both popular adjectives to add to the titles of things
throughout the 80s and 90s). The Ghostbusters had disbanded and Egon (LaMarche)
remained behind to monitor the containment unit with Janine (Pat Musick) and Slimer (Billy West,
whose casting was okayed by Welker due to other commitments) while he taught at
the university. Circumstances led to Egon’s only students—cynical slacker
Eduardo Rivera (Rino
Romano), intelligent and gifted Roland Jackson (Alfonso Ribeiro), goth Kylie Griffin (Tara Strong)
and wheelchair-bound jock Garrett Miller (Jason Marsden)--to
reform the Ghostbusters. While many things were similar to The Real,
the designs for the show were owned by DiC, necessitating some redesigns (some
explained in-story) as the show was now produced by Sony's own Adelaide Productions.
The series, despite having some of the same writers and producers from the
previous show, failed to achieve the same success and was cancelled after only
one season. But, not before the other Ghostbusters (portrayed by their Real actors)
made an appearance in the two-part series finale.
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| The Real Ghostbusters complete series DVDs by Time Life. |
At the conclusion of Extreme, all
was quiet on the animated Ghostbusters front until three bare-bones
collected DVDs were released in 2006 with
four episodes on each. This was the first time The Real had
been available on home video since the original VHS
releases during the show’s run. Sales were
sufficient enough that Time Life produced a full-series collection in 2008, which
included steelbook cases (replaced with similar plastic cases in later
releases) with design sketches inside, an episode guide and a bonus disk of
additional content. Fans got the chance to vote for the set’s packaging: a
slimed black box with some images on it, or a reproduction of the firehouse
(pitched using an image of the real New York firehouse). The firehouse
packaging won out, resembling the cartoon firehouse with two lenticular
holograms. The steelbooks within were later individually
released as season sets. The set was further broken down in 2016 by Sony Home
Entertainment into 10
volumes, each containing a dozen or so episodes and reusing some of the
Time Life artwork. The first five volumes were put together in a
box set at the time of their release, and in 2017 all 10 volumes were
gathered together into a single
box.
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| The RetroAction figures on display with the included Firehouse backdrop. |
In 2011, five sets of Minimates figures based on the series were made, while Mattel produced
a line of Reto-Action
action figures; 7” dolls with cloth uniforms.
Although the show has yet to return to its own comic series, several references
have been made to it in 88MPH’s Ghostbusters:
Legion and throughout IDW’s
ongoing Ghostbusters series,
as well as a couple of back-up features set in the animated world. IDW
also published omnibus
collections of NOW’s books.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Ghosts R Us” (9/13/86) – Slimer accidently frees a ghost family, who
seek to get revenge on the Ghostbusters by being better Ghostbusters.
“Killerwatt” (9/20/86) – The Ghostbusters must remove an electrical
ghost from the city’s power plant.
“Mrs. Roger’s Neighborhood” (9/27/86) – The Ghostbusters investigate a
haunted house which turns out to be a decoy for a larger plot to open the
containment unit.
“Slimer, Come Home” (10/4/86) – Slimer runs away from home and gets
involved with mean Poltergeists, whose leader wants to absorb him and other
ghosts to become invincible.
“Troll Bridge” (10/11/86) – A troll comes to New York and his family
come looking for him, taking over a bridge and threatening the city unless he’s
returned.
“The Boogieman Cometh” (10/18/86) – Meghan and Kenny Carter come to
the guys to get the Boogieman out of their closet, leading to the revelation
that Egon has encountered him before.
“Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” (10/25/86) – To bring peace to the
world the Sandman seeks to put everyone to sleep…for 500 years.
“When Halloween Was Forever” (11/1/86) – Samhain, the spirit of
Halloween, is freed and seeks to stop time and make Halloween last forever.
“Look Homeward, Ray” (11/8/86) – Ray is invited to participate in a
parade in his hometown, but a jealous rival casts some spells releasing a
creature on the town.
“Take Two” (11/15/86) – While overseeing the production of their
movie, the guys have to face a ghost terrorizing the studio demanding absolute
quiet.
“Citizen Ghost” (11/22/86) – Reporter Cynthia Crawford gets the story
of what happened following the Gozer battle and how Slimer came to live with
them.
“Janine’s Genie” (12/6/86) – Janine comes to possess a genie, which
seems to grant her wishes but is really allowing more ghosts to enter the
world.
“Xmas Marks the Spot” (12/13/86) – The guys unknowingly rescue
Ebenezer Scrooge from the three spirits in the past, resulting in the end of
Christmas in the present.
Syndication:
“Knock, Knock” (11/6/87) – Construction workers accidentally find and
open a door that unleashes a horde of supernatural entities that seek to
transform the entire world.
“Station Identification” (12/9/87) – Ghosts attempt to take over the
world via their own television station, which they can use to transport
themselves through any TV.
“Play Them Ragtime Boos” (11/26/87) – Ghostly trumpet player Malachi
seeks to turn back time by playing “When the Saints Come Marching In.”
“The Spirit of Aunt Lois” (11/9/87) – Ray’s Aunt Lois hires a phony
psychic to remove ghosts from her house, but ends up enraging them instead.
“Sea Fright” (11/10/87) – A ghostly pirate ship comes to New York to
reclaim their treasure.
“Cry Uncle” (11/12/87) – Egon’s Uncle Cyrus, not believing in ghosts,
forces Egon to quit the team and the guys’ trying to convince Cyrus otherwise
results in Mr. Stay Puft being freed.
“Adventures in Slime and Space” (9/15/87) – Egon’s new invention
causes Slimer to split into millions of little copies, roaming around and
sliming the entire city.
“Night Game” (9/22/87) – Winston ends up caught in an ancient battle
between good and evil whose fight takes the form of their surroundings: a
baseball game.
“Venkman’s Ghost Repllers” (10/20/87) – Peter’s father sells phony
ghost repelling ponchos that causes a science expedition to become trapped in
the New Jersey Parallelogram.
“The Old College Spirit” (11/27/87) – Peter’s old fraternity calls the
guys to remove the ghosts of former students who were expelled and swore
revenge on the university.
“Ain’t NASA-Sarily So” (11/17/87) – The guys trek to space to rescue
the new space platform from a power sucking ghost.
“Who’re You Calling Two-Dimensional?” (9/24/87) – The guys investigate
the haunting of Walt Fleishman’s old studio where they enter a cartoon world
and meet his creation Dopey Dog.
“A Fright at the Opera” (10/26/87) – Valkyries are terrorizing the
opera at the behest of the Phantom of the Opera.
“Doctor, Doctor” (10/13/87) – A chemical plant bust leaves the guys
covered in slime they can’t remove, which seems to have a powerful hunger to
feed off other ectoplasm.
“Ghost Busted” (10/22/87) – Slow business force the guys to take other
jobs before they find their new niche: crime busting!
“Beneath These Streets” (11/25/87) – Ray discovers ghosts have
disrupted the grease flow to the rotating pillar holding up Manhattan,
resulting in earthquakes and heat waves.
“Boo-Dunit” (10/30/87) – Winston must solve a late mystery author’s
final story in order to remove the ghosts acting it out in her house.
“Chicken, He Clucked” (10/19/87) – A deranged man uses magic books to
remove all the chickens from the world, but the demon who helped him wants out
of the deal.
“Ragnarok and Roll” (9/16/87) – Heartbroken Jeremy uses a magic flute
to bring about the end of the world.
“Don’t Forget the Motor City” (12/3/87) – WWII gremlins interfere with
the operations of a Detroit Generous Motors plant.
“Banshee Bake a Cherry Pie?” (10/28/87) – Peter’s favorite rock-star
singer Shanna O’Callahan turns out to be a banshee who wants to use her concert
to spread chaos across the country.
“Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Ghost” (10/9/87) – The guys are summoned
to a mansion to bust the ghost of Uncle Horace, who turns out to be the one who
actually called them.
“Hanging by a Thread” (12/10/87) – The guys are put in the position to
retrieve the Shears of Fate of the Three Fates from the underworld before a
demon gets them.
“You Can’t Take it With You” (10/14/87) – A billionaire opens a doorway
to the afterlife to take his money with him, unleashing a horde of ghosts on
the world.
“No One Comes to Lupusville” (10/5/87) – The guys end up enlisted in a
war between vampires and the original residents of Lupusville.
“Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” (10/29/87) – The guys believe a real
goblin in a fake sideshow is causing havoc in all the surrounding towns.
“The Man Who Never Reached Home” (10/12/87) – Simon Queg has been
cursed for 100 years to never reach home, and when Ray tries to help him he
inherits the curse himself.
“The Collect Call of Cathulhu” (10/27/87) – The spawn and cult of
Cathulhu steal the Necronomicon from the library in order to bring Cathulhu
back to Earth.
“Bustman’s Holiday” (11/13/87) – Ray must eliminate the ghost in his
inherited Scottish castle, which causes two warring clans to rise up and resume
their centuries-old fight.
“The Headless Motorcyclist” (11/3/87) – The guys have to save the
descendant of Ichabod Crane from the Headless Horseman and Peter from being
framed for the Horseman’s latest victim.
“The Thing in Mrs. Faversham’s Attic” (11/4/87) – Peter, reminded of
his mother, takes Mrs. Faversham’s case for free to remove the ghost in her
attic.
“Egon on the Rampage” (12/8/87) – Reporters mucking with the guys’ equipment
causes Egon’s soul to be exchanged with that of a demon’s.
“Lights! Camera! Haunting!” (12/7/87) – A movie director enlists real
ghosts to appear in his picture in exchange for help in eliminating the guys.
“The Bird of Kildarby” (10/6/87) – The mayor hires the guys to remove
the ghosts from an Irish castle erected in Central Park.
“Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster” (9/29/87) – It’s up to Janine to save
the guys from a powerful elder god.
“Apocalypse—What, Now?” (11/18/87) – Janine accidentally unleashes the
Four Horsemen by reading a book, bringing the Apocalypse to New York.
“Lost and Foundry” (10/16/87) – A ghost becomes fused with molten
steel, and everything made from it comes to life seeking to bring itself back
together.
“Hard Knight’s Day” (11/30/87) – Peter’s date drags him to a tapestry
display where they come to life seeking to drag his date back in with them.
“Cold Cash and Hot Water” (10/8/87) – Peter’s father uncovers a demon
trapped in black ice in Alaska, which in a cash grab he frees in New York.
“The Scaring of the Green” (11/16/87) – In exchange for getting the
guys out of legal trouble, police chief O’Malley asks them to help rid his
family of a leprechaun’s curse.
“They Call me MISTER Slimer” (9/18/87) – To earn money Slimer becomes
the bodyguard for a bullied kids, but then the bullies hire their own monsters
to deal with Slimer.
“Last Train to Oblivion” (11/24/87) – Peter is trapped on a train
racing to oblivion whose conductor, Casey Jones, seeks redemption for a
terrible train crash a century ago.
“Masquerade” (12/1/87) – Peter makes bullied Kenny Fenderman a Junior
Ghostbuster and gives him an untested device, prompting his antagonists to
challenge Kenny to stay in a haunted house.
“Janine’s Day Off” (9/14/87) – While Egon visits Janine’s relatives
with her, the others deal with an imp infestation at the firehouse.
“The Ghostbusters in Paris” (10/23/87) – Workers accidentally break a
device in Gustave Eiffel’s secret lab, releasing the ghosts held within the
Eiffel Tower.
“The Devil in the Deep” (12/4/87) – Necksa, ruler of the sea
elementals, declares war on the surface world for their constant pollution of
the oceans.
“Ghost Fight at the O.K. Corral” (11/11/87) – The guys face the Earp
brothers and Doc Holiday at Tombstone, Arizona.
“Ghostbuster of the Year” (10/1/87) – A woman hires the guys to remove
the ghost from Hearst Castle for the title of Ghostbuster of the Year.
“Deadcon I” (12/2/87) – Ghosts hold a convention at a hotel and the
owners want them out.
“The Cabinet of Calamari” (9/30/87) – A magician sends Peter through
his cabinet into another dimension.
“A Ghost Grows in Brooklyn” (11/20/87) – A ghost possesses the
geranium Janine takes back to her place, causing it to grow large enough to
conquer the city.
“The Revenge of Murray the Mantis” (11/2/87) – Ghosts possess the
Murray the Mantis parade balloon, and the guys’ only chance to beating it rests
with Mr. Stay Puft.
“Rollerghoster” (9/23/87) – A carnival cashes in on the guys by having
a roller coaster called Ecto-1, which ends up taken over by ghosts.
“I Am the City” (11/23/87) – Babylonian god Marduk and the dragon
Tiamat wage their ancient battle in New York City.
“Moaning Stones” (11/5/87) – Winston is the only person who can banish
the demon released by three ancient stones.
“The Long, Long, Long, Etc. Goodbye” (10/7/87) – A private detective’s
ghost helps the guys free a thief who was possessed by an Egyptian curse 40
years ago.
“Buster the Ghost” (9/21/87) – A disgraced tooth fairy, Buster, tries
to befriend the guys by bringing ghosts right to them.
“The Devil to Pay” (11/19/87) – Peter, Winston and Ray go on a game
show run by a minor demon who seeks to claim their souls and become the next
Devil.
“Slimer, is that You?” (9/26/87) – A ghost challenges Egon in a battle
of the mind for New York—just as Egon ends up with his mind switched with
Slimer’s.
“Egon’s Ghost” (9/28/87) – Egon’s invention causes him to phase
slightly out of reality, rendering him essentially a ghost.
“Captain Steel Saves the Day” (9/17/87) – The hero and villain from a
comic about to be cancelled escape from the pages and bring their adventures to
the real New York.
“Victor the Happy Ghost” (10/15/87) – The guys take in a ghost too
cute to bust, not know it’s really a hideous malevolent spirit.
“Egon’s Dragon” (10/2/87) – The guys accidentally awaken a large
dragon that Egon’s ancestor had summoned centuries earlier.
“Dairy Farm” (9/25/87) – The guys go on vacation at Ray’s cousin’s
farm, but discover the former owners’ ghosts remain to ensure their farm is
taken care of.
“The Hole in the Wall Gang” (10/21/87) – A haunted house is full of
holes where ghosts emerge, and the bigger the hole the bigger the ghost.
Season 2:
“Baby Spookums” (9/12/87) – Slimer decides to take care of a small,
friendly ghosts that has wandered into New York, not knowing his parents have
come looking for him.
“It’s A Jungle Out There” (9/19/87) – A demon makes animals
human-like, using them to help take over the world.
“The Boogeyman is Back” (10/3/87) – A near-fatal fall allows Egon’s
fears to get the better of him, giving the Boogeyman a way to escape his realm.
“Once Upon A Slime” (10/10/87) – Slimer places his book on one of
Egon’s devices, accidentally bringing its contents to life.
“The Two Faces of Slimer” (10/17/87) – Something escapes the
containment unit and possesses Slimer, making him a monster when he sleeps.
“Sticky Business” (10/24/87) – The guys release Mr. Stay Puft for a
charity event but end up also freeing a more malevolent entity in the process.
“Halloween II ½” (10/31/87) – Samhain is freed from the containment
unit and turns the firehouse into his own personal fortress.
“Loathe Thy Neighbor” (11/7/87) – The guys are hired by a family to
find out why weird things happen in their house.
“Big Trouble With Little Slimer” (11/21/87) – Walter Peck returns and
after failing to get the guys arrested manages to legally confiscate Slimer and
plan his destruction.
“The Copycat” (12/5/87) – A shapeshifter is loose in the firehouse.
“Camping it Up” (12/12/87) – The guys head out on a camping trip that
is anything but relaxing.
“The Grundel” (11/14/87) – Lee asks the guys to find out why his
brother Alec is doing bad things, and they discover he’s being influenced by a
Grundel and in danger of becoming one.
“Transylvania Homesick Blues” (12/11/87) – The guys are hired by a
vampire to help prove the giant bat-men attacking a village aren’t of his
people.
Season 3:
“The Joke’s On Ray” (9/10/88) – Ray inherits a joke store and releases
two imps that feed off practical jokes.
“Flip Side” (9/17/88) – Peter, Egon and Ray are transported to another
dimension where ghosts live in the city and mortals are dealt with by the
Peoplebusters.
“Poultrygeist” (9/24/88) – A werechicken hatches from the egg the guys
recover from a job and bites Egon, turning him into one.
“Standing Room Only” (10/8/88) – Too sick to work, Peter invents a
ghost attractor to bring ghosts to the firehouse, but they come to escape an
entity that will destroy New York.
“Robo-Buster” (10/15/88) – Janine’s new boyfriend steals the guys’
technology to make a robotic Ghostbuster that seemingly destroys ghosts instead
of trapping them.
“Short Stuff” (10/22/88) – The Ghostmaster sends bounty hunters after
the guys, resulting in their being shrunk.
“Follow That Hearse” (11/12/88) – A ghost escapes the guys and
possesses Ecto-1.
“The Brooklyn Triangle” (11/19/88) – Winston’s father’s construction
company unearths a portal to a realm where all lost items go, including Winston
and his father.
Season 4:
“Something’s Going Around” (9/9/89) – A ghost supplies the guys with
potato crisps that make people allergic to ghosts.
“Three Men and an Egon” (9/16/89) – A clock monster causes Egon to age
backward to nothingness.
“Elementary My Dear Winston” (9/23/89) – The ghost of Sherlock Holmes
recruits Winston to help him find Moriarty in New York when Watson ends up
captured.
“If I Were a Witch Man” (9/30/89) – The guys are called to deal with a
witch who wants revenge on the descendants of those who imprisoned her, which
includes Egon.
“Partners in Slime” (10/7/89) – Peter has to go to Ghost Town to
rescue Louis and Janine from Poso, a ghost who wants to take over the business.
“Future Tense” (10/14/89) – The guys are paid for a job with a new TV
which Ray discovers predicts their future, including their deaths.
“Jailbusters” (10/21/89) – The guys are captured by ghosts and put on
trial, leaving Janine, Louis and Slimer to save them.
“The Ghostbusters Live! From Al Capone’s Tomb!” (10/28/89) – The guys
await the arrive of Al Capone’s ghost but end up transported to the other side
instead.
“Trading Faces / Transcendental Tourists” (11/18/89) – A Slimer
lookalike sends Slimer and Louis into Ghost World. / A vacationing ghost family
seeks to remove anything that interrupts their peace and quiet.
“Surely You Joust / Kitty-Cornered” (11/25/89) – The guys must rescue
Janine from a medieval fate. / Slimer finds a wish-granting cat.
“Slimer’s Curse / Til Death Do Us Part” (12/2/89) – Slimer’s lottery
winnings are paid in cursed money. / The guys’ temporary replacement for Janine
is a ghost who wants to marry Egon.
“It’s About Time / The Ransom of Greenspud” (12/9/89) – An accident
with a trap sends the guys and Slimer back to 1959. / Ghosts abduct Slimer to
exchange him for Spiderlegs’ freedom.
“Revenge of the Ghostmaster / Loose Screws” (12/16/89) – The
Ghostmaster returns and casts a spell on the guys disabling all electronics
around them. / Slime breaks a trap and poorly repairs it, resulting in the
essence from the next ghost trapped to ooze out and bring objects to life.
“Venk-Man! / Slimer Streak” (12/23/89) – Peter is turned into a
powered superhero. / The guys have to play games in order to stop the train
they’re stuck on.
“The Halloween Door” (10/29/89) – A group wants to eliminate Halloween,
breaking a seal in the process and loosening Boogaloo on the world.
Season 5:
“Russian About” (10/27/90) – The guys must stop a Russian cult from
awakening one of the Old Ones.
“The Haunting of Heck House” (9/29/90) – Peter regales local kids with
the story of when the guys had to spend the night in a haunted house without
their packs.
“You Can’t Teach an Old Demon New Tricks” (9/15/90) – The guys end up
in another dimension where they meet a demon who insists on Ray teaching him
magic tricks.
“Janine, You’ve Changed” (9/8/90) – The guys realize Janine has gone
through many unexplained changes over the years, learning there’s a
supernatural reason behind it.
“Mean Green Teen Machine” (10/6/90) – A trio of pizza-loving ghosts
invade the guys’ dreams in order to trap them forever.
“Spacebusters” (10/13/90) – Winston gets to go up to a space station
where a ghost is absorbing the life force of anyone there.
“Guess What’s Coming to Dinner” (11/24/90) – The guys return from a
vacation only to discover a family of ghosts had moved into the firehouse.
“Very Beast Friends” (12/8/90) – Two Sumerian gods possess Peter and
Ray in order to have a definitive ending to their millennial-long fight.
“Ghostworld” (9/22/90) – A ghost uses an amusement park to capture the
guys, leaving only a sick Egon and his mother to save them.
“Afterlife in the Flast Lane” (11/17/90) – A ghost gamesmaster takes a
charity race and brings it to the Netherworld.
“The Slob” (11/3/90) – Dweeb makes an arrangement with the Glob to
capture Slimer in exchange for freeing the Sleaze.
“Busters in Toyland” (12/15/90) – The guys have to rescue Louis’
nephew from Toyland after Louis gives him toys possessed by ghosts.
“My Left Fang” (10/20/90) – A German town requests that the guys save
their local ghosts from a creature that feeds on them.
“Stay Tooned” (12/1/90) – An accident brings cartoon character Sammy
K. Ferret to life, causing the real world to blend with the animated one.
“The Magnificent Five” (12/22/90) – The guys have a showdown with Black
Bart in Texas.
“Deja Boo” (11/10/90) – Dweeb captures Slimer and uses a device to
read his mind and learn the vulnerability of ghosts.
Season 6:
“The Treasure of Sierra Tamale” (9/7/91) – Ray and Slimer join Peter’s
father to find a treasure in Mexico.
“Not Now, Slimer!” (9/14/91) – While the guys take on a squid ghost,
Slimer tries to evade Professor Dweeb.
“Attack of the B-Movie Monsters” (9/21/91) – The guys face off against
Japanese movie monster ghosts in Japan.
“20,000 Leagues Under the Street” (9/28/91) – Peter is abducted by
giant insects whose leader plans to sacrifice him.
Slimer:
“Slimer for Hire / Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’ / Nothing to Sneeze At”
(9/10/88) – Slimer helps Rudy walk dogs but Dweeb is after him. / Slimer tries
to get Fred past Bruiser to attend a BBQ. / Slimer is in charge when the guys
are sick and has to deal with Manx.
“A Mouse in the House / Cash or Slime / Doctor Dweeb, I Presume”
(9/17/88) – Manx chases a mouse around the firehouse, causing a mess Slimer is
blamed for. / Bruiser keeps Slimer from buying Chilly’s birthday present. /
Dweeb tries to nab Slimer at the doctor’s with Janine.
“Pigeon-Cooped / Go-pher It” (9/24/88) – Slimer tries to teach a
pigeon how to fly while protecting it from Manx. / Slimer deals with a gopher
in his garden.
“Sticky Fingers / Don’t Tease the Sleaze” (10/8/88) – Dweeb interrupts
Slimer’s wallpapering of the kitchen. / Slimer attempts to recapture the Sleaze
after accidentally releasing him.
“Room at the Top / Tea but not Sympathy / Special Delivery” (10/15/88)
– Slimer tries to find a quiet place to enjoy his new comic book. / Manx fakes
being sick so Slimer has to take care of him. / Manx tries to get at the food
Luigi asks Slimer to deliver for him.
“Out With Grout / Dr. Strangedog” (10/22/88) – Bud and Slimer get
Grout a job at a new hotel but must get him back when Dweeb takes over the old
one. / Slimer must stop Dr. Strangedog from turning humans into dogs’ servants.
“Slimer’s Silly Symphony / Little Green Sliming Hood / Monkey See,
Monkey Don’t” (11/5/88) – Egon gives Slimer a conductor’s baton, inspiring him
to start his own symphony. / To stop his watching TV, Peter tells Slimer the
story of Little Red Riding Hood. /
Rudy is inspired to go into business after seeing an organ grinder.
“Beach Blanket Bruiser / Class Clown / Dog Days” (11/12/88) – Slimer
has to prevent Bruiser from spoiling Fred’s fun at the beach. / Slimer has
difficulty getting Donald scripts he lost. / Slimer helps Fred pass obedience
school.
“The Dirty Half-Dozen / Movie Madness” (10/29/88) – Ghoullem and Zugg
put the guys to sleep to get uninterrupted revenge on Slimer. / Slimer helps
Bud clean the theater to see his favorite movie for free, but Dweeb has other
plans.
“Show Dog Showdown / The Not-So-Great Outdoors / Unidentified Sliming
Object” (12/3/88) – Slimer and Fred compete against Dweeb and Elizabeth at a
dog show. / Slimer and Chilly encounter mischievous rabbits on a camping trip.
/ Aliens abduct Slimer.
“Up Close and Too Personal / Sweet Revenge” (12/10/88) – Slimer uses
his video camera to catch Manx in embarrassing moments and film Luigi’s
commercial. / Dweeb dresses as Slimer on Halloween and ends up doing his chores
and being targeted by evil ghosts.
“Rainy Day Slimer / Slimer & the Beanstalk / Space Case”
(11/26/88) – On a rainy day Slimer enters his drawing of the amusement park to
have fun. / Peter reads Slimer Jack and
the Beanstalk. / Slimer gives an alien a tour of the city.
“Scareface “ (10/1/88) – Slimer disguises himself as Scareface to
evade Ghoullem and Zugg.
Originally posted in 2014. Updated in 2017.
Originally posted in 2014. Updated in 2017.
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