The Ghostbusters Thread

*DrSpengler* · 06-30-2005, 02:28 PM

just really REALLY want to talk about Ghostbusters.

So c'mon. Talk about ANYTHING Ghostbusters-related. Do it for Spengler.

My thoughts on various parts of Ghostbusters Media...

The Real Ghostbusters: One of the best cartoons hows ever. What made it so good? Lots of factors. For one thing, they had some of the best writers on staff, including likes of J. Michael Straczynski and Michael Reaves.

Another factor was that the Ghostbusters had a new villain every week, unlike GI Joe, Transformers, He-Man, Thundercats, etc...who had to fight the same battle over and over and over again. This format kept the show consistently fresh. Of course, the more popular villains like Samhaine, the Boogeyman and Stay-Puft made come-backs and cameos every now and then.

Also, the show was really dark (especially in the first season) and really pretty edgey for the time period. In the first episode-alone ("Knock Knock, written by Straczynski) an entire train-load of people DIE and come back later in the episode as zombies.

All that, great animation (for seasons 1-3) and some awesome humor. UNFORTUNATELY, good things never last. After the first season outraged parents and celebrities forced the show to undergo some serious retooling. For one thing, parents were apalled at the violence, occult undertones and biblical references. So the intensity of the show was toned down and Slimer was placed in everysingle episode to lighten the mood.

Then Bill Murray complained that Lorenzo Music (Garfield) didn't sound enough like him. So they FIRED Music and hired Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey) to do a Bill Murray impression. Ech.

And then they butchered Janine. In the first season Janine was an empowered woman who could take care of herself and stand up to the forces of darkness. Oh, and she wore pointy glasses. The execs at ABC didn't like this interpretation of the character so they redesigned her to be more "Appealing" to children, gave her circular glasses because pointy object scared children (apparantly) and recast her character (formerly voiced by Laura Summer) with Kath Soucie and her high-pitched squealing.

That last one is what made Straczynski quit the show, since Janine was his favorite character to write for. The show still managed to have good episodes, and Straczynski even returned in season 4, but nothing was as consistently good as the first season. Then when they switched from Toei Studios to Wang Films after season 3, the show didn't eve LOOK good.

Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters: Season 3 marked the next revamp of the series. Arsenio Hall left to do his talk show so they recast Winston with Buster Jones (Blaster). They also changed the format to 1-hour. The first half hour contained 2 god awful Slimer! shorts; exploring his cliched cartoon life outside of the firehouse. He hung-out with an extended cast including ice cream woman Chilly Cooper, pizza chef Luigi, and the evil mad scientist Professor Dweeb (voiced by Late Show comedian Jeff Altman) who was always trying to disect him.

The show was geared for little kids, understandably. But even when I WAS a little kid I still hated it. Just stupid. And even worse, characters from the Slimer! shorts started having cameos in the Real Ghosbusters segments. Professor Dweeb showed up three times, I think. Now this is a show I don't particularly miss.

The Extreme Ghostbusters: Now before you all jump on the Hate-Train, hear me out. The show wasn't very good, but in retrospect it wasn't terrible, either. The scripts and bad guys were dark. Way darker than most of the Real Ghostbusters villains. My favorite was the ancient Chinese Bone Demon who sucked the bones out of people's bodies but left them alive as crippled sacks of skin and organs. Damn.

The show also kept continuity with the Real Ghostbusters. Villains like the Grundel made come backs, references to the show wereoften made, and the Real Ghostbusters themselves showe dup for the series finale.

The reason the show hurt to watch was the Extreme Ghostbusters-themselves. All politically correct stereotypes. Kylie was the feminazi goth chick, Garret was the cripple in a wheelchair who also had the brightest attitude and best upper body srength, Roland was the black guy who also happened to be smartest of the bunch, and Eduardo was...um, the sleazey Mexican guy.

The new characters were utterly unlikeable despite some really clever writing the show had. Looking back, I don't hate them nearly as much as I used to, but at the time they felt like sacraligious..

The show also had a damn good 2-part series finale. The Real Ghostbusters returned (voice actors and all) to help the Extreme Ghostbusters battle a mobile Bermuda Triangle. They were portrayed as old men at first, which REALLY bugged me, but once they got out and did some busting they were their themselves again. It was a good series finale.

88MPH's Ghostbusters Comic: Wow, have I got some hate brewing in me over THIS little comic. For one thing, if you're going to make a comic at least TRY to stick to a coherent release schedule. That's a LOT more important thatn 30 varient covers for one issue. Issue #1 got delayed FOUR months, #2 and #3 got delayed just as long. And #4 had the shipping screwed up and got released on different dates all over the country. Next they go and print a limited run of the TPB so that it can only be purchased from their website. And after ALL that the ongoing series gets "delayed". That's their pussy-talk for "it's been canceled because we can't get a book out on time to save our lives".

That aside, the book showed some real promise. Good art and some clever writing. However, the imbeciles at 88MPH couldn't do the job like professionals, so now I'm just waiting anxiously for their contract to end so that a COMPETANT company can get a hold of the license.

There, just some stuff on my mind.

06-30-2005, 02:28 PM	#1
DrSpengler Foot Elite Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 4,842	The Ghostbusters Thread just really REALLY want to talk about Ghostbusters. So c'mon. Talk about ANYTHING Ghostbusters-related. Do it for Spengler. My thoughts on various parts of Ghostbusters Media... The Real Ghostbusters: One of the best cartoons hows ever. What made it so good? Lots of factors. For one thing, they had some of the best writers on staff, including likes of J. Michael Straczynski and Michael Reaves. Another factor was that the Ghostbusters had a new villain every week, unlike GI Joe, Transformers, He-Man, Thundercats, etc...who had to fight the same battle over and over and over again. This format kept the show consistently fresh. Of course, the more popular villains like Samhaine, the Boogeyman and Stay-Puft made come-backs and cameos every now and then. Also, the show was really dark (especially in the first season) and really pretty edgey for the time period. In the first episode-alone ("Knock Knock, written by Straczynski) an entire train-load of people DIE and come back later in the episode as zombies. All that, great animation (for seasons 1-3) and some awesome humor. UNFORTUNATELY, good things never last. After the first season outraged parents and celebrities forced the show to undergo some serious retooling. For one thing, parents were apalled at the violence, occult undertones and biblical references. So the intensity of the show was toned down and Slimer was placed in everysingle episode to lighten the mood. Then Bill Murray complained that Lorenzo Music (Garfield) didn't sound enough like him. So they FIRED Music and hired Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey) to do a Bill Murray impression. Ech. And then they butchered Janine. In the first season Janine was an empowered woman who could take care of herself and stand up to the forces of darkness. Oh, and she wore pointy glasses. The execs at ABC didn't like this interpretation of the character so they redesigned her to be more "Appealing" to children, gave her circular glasses because pointy object scared children (apparantly) and recast her character (formerly voiced by Laura Summer) with Kath Soucie and her high-pitched squealing. That last one is what made Straczynski quit the show, since Janine was his favorite character to write for. The show still managed to have good episodes, and Straczynski even returned in season 4, but nothing was as consistently good as the first season. Then when they switched from Toei Studios to Wang Films after season 3, the show didn't eve LOOK good. Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters: Season 3 marked the next revamp of the series. Arsenio Hall left to do his talk show so they recast Winston with Buster Jones (Blaster). They also changed the format to 1-hour. The first half hour contained 2 god awful Slimer! shorts; exploring his cliched cartoon life outside of the firehouse. He hung-out with an extended cast including ice cream woman Chilly Cooper, pizza chef Luigi, and the evil mad scientist Professor Dweeb (voiced by Late Show comedian Jeff Altman) who was always trying to disect him. The show was geared for little kids, understandably. But even when I WAS a little kid I still hated it. Just stupid. And even worse, characters from the Slimer! shorts started having cameos in the Real Ghosbusters segments. Professor Dweeb showed up three times, I think. Now this is a show I don't particularly miss. The Extreme Ghostbusters: Now before you all jump on the Hate-Train, hear me out. The show wasn't very good, but in retrospect it wasn't terrible, either. The scripts and bad guys were dark. Way darker than most of the Real Ghostbusters villains. My favorite was the ancient Chinese Bone Demon who sucked the bones out of people's bodies but left them alive as crippled sacks of skin and organs. Damn. The show also kept continuity with the Real Ghostbusters. Villains like the Grundel made come backs, references to the show wereoften made, and the Real Ghostbusters themselves showe dup for the series finale. The reason the show hurt to watch was the Extreme Ghostbusters-themselves. All politically correct stereotypes. Kylie was the feminazi goth chick, Garret was the cripple in a wheelchair who also had the brightest attitude and best upper body srength, Roland was the black guy who also happened to be smartest of the bunch, and Eduardo was...um, the sleazey Mexican guy. The new characters were utterly unlikeable despite some really clever writing the show had. Looking back, I don't hate them nearly as much as I used to, but at the time they felt like sacraligious.. The show also had a damn good 2-part series finale. The Real Ghostbusters returned (voice actors and all) to help the Extreme Ghostbusters battle a mobile Bermuda Triangle. They were portrayed as old men at first, which REALLY bugged me, but once they got out and did some busting they were their themselves again. It was a good series finale. 88MPH's Ghostbusters Comic: Wow, have I got some hate brewing in me over THIS little comic. For one thing, if you're going to make a comic at least TRY to stick to a coherent release schedule. That's a LOT more important thatn 30 varient covers for one issue. Issue #1 got delayed FOUR months, #2 and #3 got delayed just as long. And #4 had the shipping screwed up and got released on different dates all over the country. Next they go and print a limited run of the TPB so that it can only be purchased from their website. And after ALL that the ongoing series gets "delayed". That's their pussy-talk for "it's been canceled because we can't get a book out on time to save our lives". That aside, the book showed some real promise. Good art and some clever writing. However, the imbeciles at 88MPH couldn't do the job like professionals, so now I'm just waiting anxiously for their contract to end so that a COMPETANT company can get a hold of the license. There, just some stuff on my mind.