Extreme Ghostbusters
| Extreme Ghostbusters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Based on |
Ghostbusters by Dan Aykroyd Harold Ramis |
| Developed by |
|
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Jim Latham |
| Opening theme | "Ghostbusters" by Jim Cummings |
| Composer(s) | Jim Latham |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 40 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Production company(s) | |
| Distributor | Bohbot Kids Network |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | September 1 – December 4, 1997 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Real Ghostbusters (1986–1992) |
Extreme Ghostbusters is an animated television series and a follow-up to the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. It is a part of the Ghostbusters franchise. The series originally aired in late 1997, and features a team of younger college-level Ghostbusters who are led by veteran Ghostbuster Egon Spengler. In some TV listings, the show was called Ghostbusters Dark.[1]
Plot
Set years after the end of The Real Ghostbusters, lack of supernatural activity has put the Ghostbusters out of business. Each member has gone their separate way, except for Dr. Egon Spengler, who still lives in the firehouse to monitor the containment unit, take care of Slimer, further his studies and teach a class on the paranormal at a local college. When ghosts start to reappear, Egon is forced to recruit his lone four students as the new Ghostbusters. These are Kylie Griffin, a goth girl genius and expert on the occult; Eduardo Rivera, a cynical Latino slacker; Garrett Miller, a young white paraplegic athlete who uses a wheelchair; and Roland Jackson, a studious African-American machinery whiz. Filling the cast are Janine Melnitz, the Ghostbusters' previous secretary who returns to the job, and Slimer, a hungry ghost.
The series follows the adventures of this "Next Generation" of Ghostbusters tracking down and capturing ghosts all over New York and occasionally beyond the city. The series is styled as a supernatural comedy, following the trend set by its predecessor, but given an updated and darker feel. This is reflected by the use of a gritty, rock/punk-inspired variation of Ray Parker, Jr.'s song "Ghostbusters" as the opening theme written by Jim Latham and performed by voice actor Jim Cummings. Recurring themes throughout the series are the new team learning to work together despite their differences, Janine's largely unrequited affection for Egon, the love-hate relationship between Kylie and Eduardo that is never resolved, and the Ghostbusters' frequent clashes with authority figures who disbelieve their work.
Production
Showrunner Bob Higgins told Ability Magazine that the decision to create a new Ghostbusters was taken by the studio, which hoped to reinvigorate a lucrative franchise.[2] Originally announced as Super Ghostbusters in 1996, the initial press release had Janine, teaching history at a local college, bringing together a new team with "a hip new attitude" to face a new plague of ghosts; "short on time and more than a little desperate, Janine turns to four of her teenaged students". (Egon would be "huddled in front of a computer screen, battling program bugs instead of spooks")[3]
The show's creators decided "what we wanted to do was really put together a team of misfits in a way, people that you would not necessarily associate with being superheroes on television": hence Eduardo as a slacker, Roland as a "square", and Kylie as moody and sarcastic, with Garrett as the balance, "an adrenaline junkie... who could kind of kick start the team".[4] Fil Barlow, the designer, was given rough outlines and originally designed all the characters bar Eduardo as girls (Garrett as Lucy and Roland as Julia), with Egon originally designed as bearded and robed. This aspect would be dropped.[5][6] (Barlow pitched "Egon as an ambassador to the ghost realm trying to stop an impending war on the other side")[7]
During production, Lucy/Garrett was found to be quite bland and annoying until producer Jeff Kline suggested putting the character in a wheelchair; Higgins stated this made Garrett more interesting to write, as he was now "one of these guys that takes what he is given and makes the best of it and really lives up to any potential that he has". When designed as Lucy, she was given proton-blasting callipers and crutches but producer Richard Raynis requested the wheelchair instead. (Barlow attempted to show a female character could "be fearless and gung ho" but Raynis requested the gender change) The show ended up winning an award from the Los Angeles Commission on Disabilities for its work on Garrett.[8][9][10]
Various elements would be changed before airing: Egon would replace Janine as the teacher, Slimer lost a goblin sidekick called Gnat, and Garrett was originally "Lucas". Roland was originally a clumsy "gentle giant", Eduardo had a dream of running in the Olympics, and Lucas had a hair-trigger temper.[11] (Some of these still made it to the character profiles on the EGB website)
The team that helmed Extreme Ghostbusters consisted of many producers and writers that had done work on The Real Ghostbusters, including Richard Raynis. As a result, the show was made as an explicit sequel to Real. This made the show one of the few direct sequels to a 1980s cartoon series — other franchises, such as Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, opted for series relaunches — and as such opted for a more realistic passage of time. Maurice LaMarche was brought back to play Egon Spengler — though Frank Welker and Laura Summer did not return to play Slimer and Janine, respectively. The series would start to have more explicit tie-ins to Real as it went on — "Slimer's Sacrifice" referenced Egon entering the Containment Unit in an episode of Real Ghostbusters: Xmas Marks the Spot; "Grundelesque," was a direct sequel to Real Ghostbusters episode "The Grundel", bringing back the eponymous villain and revealing Kylie lost a friend during its first attack. Finally and notably was the two-part finale "Back in the Saddle", which featured the remaining original Ghostbusters returning and teaming up with their successors — with Dave Coulier (the second voice of Peter Venkman), Buster Jones (the second voice of Winston Zeddemore), and Frank Welker (the voice of Ray Stantz) all reprising their roles.
Characters
- Egon Spengler (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - The only original Ghostbuster to become a regular in this spin-off series, Egon takes on the role of mentor for the new team of Ghostbusters. He still lives in the fire house with Slimer, enabling the building to become the Ghostbusters headquarters when paranormal activity starts again. Before the first ghost escaped, Egon was teaching classes on the paranormal at New York City College - four people taking his class was double the usual. He usually leaves the field work to the new members, opting to provide audio back-up from the fire house and information on their current adversary, but has joined them in action when he feels the crisis requires his presence. Other than ghosts, he also has an interest in mold and started to grow cultures in Eduardo's bathtub when the two roomed together. He continues to have romantic tension with Janine. The official website gave his age as 41[12] and in "The Sphinx", he suffered a mid-life crisis and tried to prove he could physically still cut it.
- Janine Melnitz (voiced by Pat Musick) - The Ghostbusters' original receptionist returns to the role after she is reunited with Egon by taking his Paranormal 101 class at New York City College. Like Egon, she watches over the new team, and on occasion contributes an active part in ghostbusting. According to Egon, she also functions as the team's accountant and collector. She also shows off obvious signs of attraction to Egon, but he is completely oblivious to this, which only frustrates her. The official website said "she's spent the last decade flitting from job to job... trying not to pine for Prof. Spengler".[13]
- Eduardo Rivera (voiced by Rino Romano) - Seemingly a lazy, sarcastic and somewhat clueless character, Eduardo nevertheless makes himself an integral part of the team by being determined and reliable. Eduardo, along with Garret, resembles original Ghostbuster Peter Venkman in that, like Venkman, Eduardo is sarcastic, has a penchant for pursuing attractive women, and is generally unscientific and constantly spouts pop culture references. He also reads "J.N. Kline" young-adult horror novels. Eduardo has a long-running subplot dealing with a love/hate relationship between him and Kylie, although it is very much revealed "In Your Dreams" that he has intimate feelings and dreams about her. These feelings are further enforced in that he is usually the one to rescue Kylie from dangerous situations, and vice versa, in several episodes. He once said to Kylie herself that nothing was going to happen to her "while [he's] around". In fact, in the episode "Darkness at Noon" he outright admitted to Kylie, who was possessed by a ghost at the time, that he felt an attraction of sorts when he saw her for the first time and even showed the intention of kissing her when Kylie asked him to. In "The Unseen" he takes the rap for Kylie's mistake, not wanting "the worst day of her life to get any worse". In "Rage", Eduardo reveals to have an older brother, Carlos "Carl" Rivera, an NYPD officer who is angry with Eduardo for not being a police officer like the rest of their family, and thinks the Ghostbuster are a scam, which is why Eduardo kept his job a secret. In the same episode it is also implied that his father is dead (or at least retired) as he and Carlos refer to him in the past tense during a heated argument. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Eduardo has a fear of death (specifically his own). He has a vicious rivalry with Slimer, but has ended up working with the ghost, and volunteered to save him in "Slimer's Sacrifice". He also has a on the surface rivalry with Garrett with the two often mocking each other and attempting to one up the other. In spite of this as the series goes on the two seem to have the closest thing to a friendship even though Garrett's enthusiatic personality completely contrasts Eduardo's cynical attitude. (The official website claimed he slacks off due to fear of failure.[14]) Despite all his cynicism and slacking he demonstrates a reasonably high level of intelligence as in the episode "Eyes of a Dragon" he states how the proton aspect of light works to Kylie and later on how to defeat the ghost of that episode. Eduardo was also the one to smash a cursed orb, causing the eye-stealing ghost to disintegrate in the episode "The Unseen" and also continued the incantation that destroyed the demon of an alternate dimension in which he, Roland and Kylie were imprisoned in the episode "Casting the Runes". Eduardo has also exhibited bouts of jealousy whenever Kylie seemingly flirts with other men and in "Till Death Do Us Start" he showed signs of sheepish nervousness when asked if he and Kylie were together.
- Roland Jackson (voiced by Alfonso Ribeiro) - The mechanic of the group. Roland is the most level-headed and mechanically-gifted of the new Ghostbusters, helping Egon repair and improve the Proton Packs and Ecto-1; his reason for joining Egon's class was seeing the Ecto-1 at an auto show. Roland approaches the paranormal from a practical point-of-view, and in the episode "Fear Itself" reveals that his only fear is the dangerous breakdown of his equipment. In "The Infernal Machine", he became disgruntled that his technological efforts were being taken for granted. Roland's strongest wish is to get into the Ivy League and become a doctor. He's a very staid, square personality, slow to anger, though he came close to striking one of the racists in "The True Face of the Monster"; it's implied he's had to deal with racist attitudes before. Roland has twice come under the mental control of villains, the Siren in "Sonic Youth" and Luko in "The Infernal Machine". "Grease" reveals Roland is the oldest in a lower middle-class family and volunteers for the Little League and helps the homeless; in "Grundelesque" we meet his very mischievous younger brother whom Roland (at first) refuses to believe is a troublemaker.
- Garrett Miller (voiced by Jason Marsden) - Despite being a lifelong wheelchair user, Garret has a very 'jock'-like attitude and is a huge fan of extreme sports and attempting mad stunts. In the episode "Grease", it's revealed that Garrett was born with the inability to walk and studying to be a physical therapist, and throughout the series he only refers to his condition to mock it (and in "Be Careful What You Wish For", uses it as an excuse to dump some work on Eduardo). He is the most headstrong and enthusiastic of the new Ghostbusters, often claiming that he's in it only for the adrenaline rush; he was left bitterly disappointed in "Ghost Apocalyptic Future" to learn he was the only Ghostbuster not remembered in the future dystopia. While he studies to be a physical therapist to help other disabled people, his secret dream is to be an NBA star. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Garrett is claustrophobic (though he never admits it to anyone), and has a deep disdain towards the FBI ever since the incident where two agents arrested them under the belief they were causing the sabotages and released a gremlin they recently captured while they were on a plane. He has a rivalry with Eduardo, the two of them constantly bantering and trying to one-up each other. In "Deadliners", we find out Garrett wrote a (bad) horror story starring himself (the other Ghostbusters died on the first page, to their annoyance). Garrett is the only Ghostbuster in the history of the franchise never to be made as a toy (all other Ghostbusters received at least two toys, including Louis and Janine), presumably due to the implausibility of having the wheelchair as a separate assembling piece. Though a prototype figure was made. Bob Higgins has said that during a focus group of young children, the creators found Garrett was the most popular character: "when we asked... which of these characters would you want to be and they all wanted to be Garrett, they all wanted to be the guy that does the crazy things. They all wanted to be the guy that was the leader and they all kind of saw him as the leader of this group [even though he wasn't]".[15]
- Kylie Griffin (voiced by Tara Charendoff) - The only member of the new team to have any sort of paranormal knowledge before signing up as a Ghostbuster, after her friend Jack was a victim of the Grundel. Kylie is in awe of Egon when the series began, but this soon shifts to a more equal footing, and becomes somewhat of the unofficial leader in the field, after Egon. Kylie's calm exterior often sets her as a foil against Eduardo's brashness, as part of the ongoing love/hate dynamic between the two. Although she has never admitted it, she often seemed to appreciate Eduardo's feeling towards her, such as giving a thankful smile on the occasions when he saves her life and vice versa. She is also the one who most commonly wields the Ghost Traps. She is depicted as something of a "Goth" girl, judging by the black hair and lipstick. In the episode "Grease", it is revealed that her parents divorced and she currently lives alone with her cat; she was highly close to her grandmother Rose, who died a year before the show started, and both her interest in the paranormal & Gothic styling are implied to be related to her grandmother's death. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Kylie is afraid of maggots as she finds them creepy, and in "Heart of Darkness" it is revealed she used to be "Cheerleader of the Year" when she was in the 8th Grade of her junior high school (something she finds mortifying). There is a running gag where she often replies with the sentence, "I'm not a...", followed by what has happened. It is also hinted throughout the series that she's attracted to older, intelligent men. Kylie Griffin also appears in the Ghostbusters comic books published by IDW Publishing. In the comics, she originally only appeared in cameo roles as a worker in Ray Stantz's occult book shop before being made a Ghostbuster in issues starting in 2013.[16]
- Slimer (voiced by Billy West) - Slimer remains the most unchanged of all the characters in terms of personality. However, he is given a less cartoony look to fit in with the series' overall style. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Slimer is afraid of broccoli (which is ironic, as he has been shown to eat anything). Slimer is very well-meaning, but is often pushed around by the Ghostbusters as he gets in their way and eats continually. His actions often affect the story, usually adversely, though he often acts to fix his mistakes and on a number of occasions has been shown to have a heroic nature and that he can wield a proton pack.[17] He's got a strong rivalry with Eduardo, similar to the one he had with Peter Venkman, though several episodes show that Eduardo - and the other Ghostbusters - do care for him as much as he annoys them.[18] He's been living with Egon for over a decade now, and the two are closer than in the original series; when trying to get Egon to discipline the ghost in "Glutton for Punishment", Janine says she knows the two have been through a lot together, and in "Slimer's Sacrifice" Egon immediately suits up to enter the Containment Unit to rescue him, but after he is attacked by the ghost, Eduardo goes in to save Slimer.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| 1 | 40 | September 1, 1997 | December 4, 1997 | |
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Darkness at Noon, Part 1" | Rafael Rosado | Billy Brown, Dan Angel & Dean Stefan | September 1, 1997 |
| When Achira, a disease-spreading entity, is released by a group of subway workers, former Ghostbuster Egon Spengler, now a professor teaching paranormal studies at a New York college, attempts to handle the situation alone. When he fails, his only option is to round up the (only four) students in his class to be the next team of Ghostbusters - but one of them has already fallen to Achira. | ||||
| 2 | "Darkness at Noon, Part 2" | Rafael Rosado | Billy Brown, Dan Angel & Dean Stefan | September 2, 1997 |
| With Achira spreading her disease through a possessed Kylie, Egon, himself infected, helps to train and equip the new recruits for battle. | ||||
| 3 | "The True Face of a Monster" | Rafael Rosado | Bob Skir & Marty Isenberg | September 3, 1997 |
| A rabbi's son creates a golem to ward off vandals who have been spray painting anti-Semitic symbols and destroying the temple late at night, but the golem proves to be too powerful for the boy to control. Meanwhile Garrett reunites with some old friends, unaware that they're the gang responsible for the attacks. (Roland reveals he's familiar with racist abuse, saying he recognises the gang giving him "the 'we don't want your kind' look") | ||||
| 4 | "Fear Itself" | Audu Paden | Duane Capizzi | September 4, 1997 |
| The XGBs investigate strange occurrences in a recently renovated hotel and face a creature that brings to life any intruder's innermost fears. (The fears shown are claustrophobia (Garrett), maggots (Kylie), death (Eduardo), his equipment going dangerously wrong (Roland), and broccoli (Slimer)) | ||||
| 5 | "Deadliners" | Scott Wood | Duane Capizzi | September 5, 1997 |
| The XGBs investigate a string of disappearances, and discover the culprits to be Vathek - spirits who enter the mortal realm through writing. They have now taken the form of villains from the stories of famous horror novelist J. N. Kline. (The scenes have many similarities to the Hellraiser films, while Kline is a homage to R. L. Stine; Vathek, the name of the creatures, may come from William Beckford's Gothic novel.) | ||||
| 6 | "Casting the Runes" | Vic Dal Chele | John Semper | September 8, 1997 |
| A petty thief steals a pouch of runes from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it soon becomes clear that anyone who touches one of the cursed stones will become a slave to a self-proclaimed god. The XGBs must find a way to save the victims when Eduardo becomes one of the demon's chosen slaves. (The title is a reference to a short story by M. R. James.) | ||||
| 7 | "The Infernal Machine" | Bob Fuentes III | Steve Roberts | September 9, 1997 |
| The XGBs battle Luko, a demon that jumps to various electronic devices and controls them. Also they become worried when Roland exhibits obsessive behavior in constructing his "infernal machine". | ||||
| 8 | "Home is Where the Horror Is" | Frank Squillace | Neil Ruttenberg | September 10, 1997 |
| The XGBs investigate a house when two boys go missing. They come to find out the house is not just haunted, it is a ghost. | ||||
| 9 | "Killjoys" | Tim Eldred | Alexx Van Dyne | September 11, 1997 |
| The XGBs go after vampiric clowns that devour victims that laugh in their presence. When Eduardo captures one of the clowns, he soon begins to turn into one himself. (Egon later wears a special proton pack with floodlights and a modified blaster - this was written in late as it was part of the Egon toy.[19]) | ||||
| 10 | "The Unseen" | Tim Eldred | Siobhan Byrne | September 12, 1997 |
| The XGBs have been split up by an accident on a bust. While Kylie and Eduardo track down her missing proton blaster, the others have to deal with a spate of attacks that have cost the victims their eyes. | ||||
| 11 | "The Crawler" | Scott Wood & Gloria Jenkins | Steve Slavkin | September 22, 1997 |
| Fed up with Egon not showing her any attention, Janine resorts to making him jealous by dating a handsome Hispanic man, who turns out to be a bug-like monster in search of a queen. | ||||
| 12 | "The Pied Piper of Manhattan" | Rafael Rosado | Steve Cuden | September 23, 1997 |
| The XGBs are rendered useless when a man appears to be able to lead ghosts away with his piper music. However, things take a turn for the worse when the mayor won't pay the piper. | ||||
| 13 | "Be Careful What You Wish For" | Bob Fuentes III | Lara Runnels & Patricia Carr | September 24, 1997 |
| A sinister salesman arrives in New York City who can apparently grant people's deepest desires. However, it soon becomes apparent that each of the granted wishes cause more harm than good — particularly for Eduardo, who becomes trapped in Kylie's pampered cat Pagan after wishing she would respect him more. (The heart's desires the Ghostbusters are tempted with are playing in the NBA for Garrett, getting into the Ivy League for Roland, and being with her grandmother again for Kylie.) | ||||
| 14 | "Grease" | Gloria Jenkins | Steve Roberts | September 25, 1997 |
| The XGBs must combat a mischievous gremlin on a plane, all the while under the watchful eye of two government agents who see the Ghostbusters as criminals. | ||||
| 15 | "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It" | Tim Eldred | Ernie Altbacker & James Krieg | September 26, 1997 |
| The XGBs must protect a town from the Jersey Devil, despite not having any of their equipment. | ||||
| 16 | "Dry Spell" | Vic Dal Chele | Neil Alsip | September 29, 1997 |
| The XGBs must combat a creature that can drain moisture from the human body, and an obsessed oceanographer who wants to capture it. | ||||
| 17 | "Sonic Youth" | Bob Fuentes III | Greg Pincus | September 30, 1997 |
| The hunt to track down a Banshee takes on an extra level of difficulty when the Banshee's peace-loving sister, the Siren, enchants Roland with her beautiful voice. | ||||
| 18 | "Ghost Apocalyptic Future" | Tim Eldred | Steve Perry | October 1, 1997 |
| A disturbance in the space-time continuum results in Kylie switching places with a rebel fighter from the future, where New York is ruled by a paranormal tyrant called Tempus. In the process, Tempus is split into two versions of himself in both time zones. (The future characters know Kylie, Roland, and Eduardo as legendary heroes of the "Great Ghost War" but don't know who Garrett is. This is played for humor but the underlying implication is Garrett died early on) | ||||
| 19 | "Bird of Prey" | Chris Berkeley | Mark Hoffmeier | October 2, 1997 |
| A huge, bird-like dragon known as the Hraesvelg causes the weather in New York to change drastically, and the XGBs must stop it before the weather threatens the city. | ||||
| 20 | "Seeds of Destruction" | Sam Liu | Richard Mueller | October 3, 1997 |
| A seed inhabited by a vengeful paranormal entity causes havoc when it starts transforming plants into overgrown monstrosities that can cause whole buildings to collapse. | ||||
| 21 | "The Luck of the Irish" | Frank Squillace | Brooks Wachtel | November 3, 1997 |
| A recently-released leprechaun has set out on a vendetta to persecute those it believes stole his pot of gold, with matters becoming even more complicated when he curses Garrett with bad luck. | ||||
| 22 | "The Ghostmakers" | Vic Dal Chele | Mark Amato | November 4, 1997 |
| Reports are coming in of people acting strangely. Eduardo is possessed by a mirror-inhabiting demon which mimics his behaviour - but not perfectly. Eduardo's spirit is consigned to a spirit realm where even other ghosts cannot see or hear him. | ||||
| 23 | "Slimer's Sacrifice" | Gloria Jenkins | Adam Gilad | November 5, 1997 |
| Slimer accidentally becomes trapped in the Containment Unit and the Ghostbusters are being picked off one by one by an aggressive dog-like monster called Fenris. Eduardo decides he must save the green spud by travelling into the Containment Unit, leaving the others to stop the demon god Surtr's plot to bring about Ragnarök. (Several older monsters appear, most crucially the Siren and Banshee - the former implied to be at risk of assault if she doesn't follow Surtr's commands) *Note: Egon mentions to Roland that he has gone into the containment unit before, referring to the episode "X-Mas Marks the Spot" from the "The Real Ghostbusters" series, where Egon entered the containment unit to find the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. | ||||
| 24 | "Grundelesque" | Vic Dal Chele | Martin Olson | November 6, 1997 |
| The Grundel appears to be hunting after children again, but when Egon reveals that the original Ghostbusters captured the Grundel years ago, Kylie realises that this new Grundel is actually connected to Jack, her long-lost childhood friend. (A direct sequel to "The Grundel", a Real Ghostbusters episode that aired ten years before) | ||||
| 25 | "In Your Dreams" | Chris Dozois | Steven Melching | November 7, 1997 |
| Morpheus, the dream ghost, uses an obnoxious talk-radio DJ to turn people's dreams into living nightmares. | ||||
| 26 | "Moby Ghost" | Alan Caldwell | Richard Stanley | November 10, 1997 |
| When an entity that resembles a whale causes electronic chaos across the city, the XGBs must join forces with a spectral hunter in order to stop the creature. | ||||
| 27 | "Fallout" | Chris Berkeley | Bruce Reid Schaefer | November 12, 1997 |
| The XGBs have to devise a new plan when an entity that feeds on nuclear isotopes is unaffected by their Proton Packs. Janine leaves town to see her relatives. She has a sister named Doris. | ||||
| 28 | "Eyes of a Dragon" | Sam Liu | Joseph Kuhr | November 13, 1997 |
| After a Chinatown merchant disappears, the XGBs find that people across Chinatown are having their bones stolen. | ||||
| 29 | "Till Death Do We Start" | Tim Eldred | Lane Raichert | November 14, 1997 |
| A city yuppie asks the XGBs for protection when he is plagued by an undead bride. | ||||
| 30 | "Glutton for Punishment" | Gloria Jenkins | Steven Melching | November 24, 1997 |
| Citizens across New York are going into inexplicable feeding frenzies, and the problem comes too close to home for comfort when it seems the disorder has also affected Slimer. Can the Ghostbusters stop him from eating the entire firehouse? | ||||
| 31 | "Ghost in the Machine" | Bob Fuentes III & Tim Eldred | Steve Cuden | November 25, 1997 |
| When a formerly abandoned oil well is reopened, an old spirit escapes and starts possessing vehicles. | ||||
| 32 | "Dog Days" | Chris Dozois | Barry Hawkins | November 26, 1997 |
| The XGBs must combat problems of a canine nature when a demonic dog enslaves all dogs in the city. | ||||
| 33 | "Mole People" | Vic Dal Chele | Reed Moran | November 27, 1997 |
| A string of power outages is blamed on a group of people living underground, but the XGBs discover that a quartet of energy-based ghosts are the true culprits. | ||||
| 34 | "A Temporary Insanity" | Tim Eldred | Richard Mueller | November 28, 1997 |
| When Janine goes on vacation, the XGB hire a temp to handle her workload, but it becomes obvious that the temp isn't all that she seems. | ||||
| 35 | "Rage" | Frank Squillace | Thomas Pugsley & Greg Klein | December 1, 1997 |
| With the Firehouse being sprayed for bugs, Egon is forced to move in with Eduardo. The arrangement is complicated with a troll on the loose in the city and Eduardo's brother (who despises him for being a Ghostbuster) responding as part of the NYPD. | ||||
| 36 | "Heart of Darkness" | Gloria Jenkins | Neil Ruttenberg | December 2, 1997 |
| A recent spate of thefts of electrical equipment and a set of priceless crystal skulls bring Egon into contact with an old associate. (Of note, Dr. Edward Kirilian is voiced by Star Trek: The Next Generation actor John de Lancie.) | ||||
| 37 | "The Sphinx" | Bob Fuentes III & Tim Eldred | Steve Roberts | December 5, 1997 |
| A sphinx is turning Manhattan's intellectuals into blathering idiots as punishment for not solving his riddle. Meanwhile, Egon is depressed over getting old and starts to impose himself in the Ghostbusters' field work. (Note: Originally aired as the third last episode of the series, so it was set before "Back in the Saddle". As he mentions, Egon's only 39. Near the end, Egon calls Garrett "Ray" by mistake.) | ||||
| 38 | "Witchy Woman" | Alan Caldwell | Robin Bernheim | December 8, 1997 |
| Three teenaged witches try to recruit Kylie into their coven to bring about a spirit that will grant them more power, but when Kylie refuses, they recruit the oblivious (and infatuated) Eduardo. | ||||
| 39 | "Back in the Saddle, Part 1" | Tim Eldred | Gary Stuart Kaplan & Larry Swerdlove | December 3, 1997 |
| Janine arranges a unique birthday present for Egon's 40th birthday: a reunion with Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore (The Real Ghostbusters). However, the surprise is spoiled by a growing friction between the old and new Ghostbusters. (Note: Part 1 of the series finale. Venkman says he tried to pitch another Ghostbusters film to Hollywood; a Ghostbusters film was the focus on an early Real episode.) | ||||
| 40 | "Back in the Saddle, Part 2" | Chris Berkeley | Brooks Wachtel | December 4, 1997 |
| The Extreme Ghostbusters and The Real Ghostbusters must put aside their differences when a mysterious entity begins devouring people, boats, and even whole towns down the length of the Eastern American Seaboard. The problem only grows worse when the Ghostbusters discover it is heading for Manhattan and that it has come from the Bermuda Triangle. (Note: The conclusion to the two part series finale.) | ||||
Merchandise
The cartoon series generated a line of action figures released by Trendmasters. The line included Roland, Eduardo, Kylie, and several ghosts, as well as an updated version of Egon Spengler, and the Ecto-1; Garrett did not have a figure released, although collectors have found a prototype figure. Also released was a role playing Proton Pack and Ghost Trap.
Home video
In 1999, three VHS volumes of the show were released by Columbia TriStar Home Video, all of which are now out of print. These videotapes were available to purchase separately or as a packaged boxed set containing all three volumes. The episodes included on the VHS volumes were:
- Volume 1: "Darkness at Noon, Part 1", "Darkness at Noon, Part 2"
- Volume 2: "The Infernal Machine", "Grundelesque"
- Volume 3: "Back in the Saddle, Part 1", "Back in the Saddle, Part 2"
A two disc DVD set of the series was released in Australia on June 2, 2009[20] and in the UK on June 15 the same year[21] containing the first thirteen episodes of the series.
Video games
Three video games based on the series were also created, Extreme Ghostbusters for the Game Boy Color, Extreme Ghostbusters: Code Ecto-1 for Game Boy Advance and Extreme Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Invasion for the PlayStation. There are also two PC games: Extreme Ghostbusters: Zap The Ghosts! and Extreme Ghostbusters Creativity Centre.
Website
The original website (still available online) contained a Flash tour of the Firehouse, character profiles, descriptions of the ghosts fought, and a Flash game. Some of the character details in the profiles had never made it into an episode.
The "Spengler's Spirit Guide" section contained journal entries by "Egon" himself, about haunted areas and the how-to of ghostbusting. Two of the entries, The Bermuda Triangle and The Jersey Devil, were topics that showed up in episodes.[22]
Reception and legacy
In a retrospective of the show, SFX referred to the "consensus that any extension of the Ghostbusters brand requires a whole new team of newbies to take on the mantle" and that Extreme Ghostbusters was the first time it was put into practice. The failure of the show, blamed by the showrunners on poor US scheduling and the decline of non-educational children's syndication in favor of carriage on networks such as Fox Kids and Kids' WB and cable channels ("broadcast mid-morning in a slot only suitable for pre-schools," though some American stations still did carry the show between 3:00pm and 5:00pm in the afterschool period), was seen by SFX as showing "the appeal of Ghostbusters was only partially the concept... that it's the characters we love above all must be a sobering thought for anyone charged with rebooting Ghostbusters again." The show was also noted for being aimed at "a slightly more adolescent audience with a tougher edge", "clearly intended to test the boundaries of child-friendly horror" and the Eduardo/Kylie relationship pushed the edges of the ratings.[23]
The character of Kylie Griffin appeared in the IDW comics in the 2010s.
See also
References
- ↑ The Complete SFX Guide to Ghostbusters (2014), "Extreme Makeover" (pg 190)
- ↑ "ABILITY Magazine "Extreme Ghostbusters"". Abilitymagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "Spook Central: "Extreme Ghostbusters - The Original Version"". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "ABILITY Magazine "Extreme Ghostbusters"". Abilitymagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ The Complete SFX Guide to Ghostbusters (2014), "Extreme Makeover" (pg 119)
- ↑ Barlow's DeviantArt section: XGB: Early Concept ~ Female Characters, XGB: Early Concept ~ Julia
- ↑ "Egon: Conceptual Design XGB". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "DeviantArt: "XGB: Early Concept ~ Lucy ~ Part 1 by filbarlow"". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "Lucy - Part 2". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "ABILITY Magazine "Extreme Ghostbusters"". Abilitymagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "Spook Central: "Extreme Ghostbusters - The Original Version"". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "ExtremeGhostbusters.com - Egon". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "Extreme Ghostbusters - Janine". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "Extreme Ghostbusters.com - Eduardo". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "ABILITY Magazine". ABILITY Magazine. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "'Ghostbusters' Gets New Recruits This February In IDW's Ongoing Series - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ Extreme Ghostbusters episode 19 Bird of Prey"
- ↑ Extreme Ghostbusters episode 23 Slimer's Sacrifice
- ↑ AJ Quick (2010-01-11). "GB Fans "Killjoys"". Gbfans.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "Extreme Ghostbusters - Volume 1 (2 Disc Set)". Ezydvd.com.au. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "Extreme Ghostbusters [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Maurice LaMarche, Jason Marsden, Pat Musick, Alfonso Ribeiro, Rino Romano, Tara Strong, Susan Tyrrell, Billy West, David Prince, Gary Anthony Sturgis, Alan Caldwell, Chris Berkeley, CategoryCultFilms, CategoryKidsandFamily, CategoryMiniSeries, CategoryUSA, Extreme Ghostbusters - Season 1 (Vol. 1) - 2-DVD Set ( Extreme Ghostbusters - Season One - Volume On, Extreme Ghostbusters - Season 1 (Vol. 1) - 2-DVD Set, Extreme Ghostbusters - Season One - Volume One, Extreme Ghost busters - 13 Episodes: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "Extreme Ghostbusters.com: Spengler's Spirit Guide". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ The Complete SFX Guide to Ghostbusters (2014), "Extreme Makeover" (pg 118-22)
External links
- Extreme Ghostbusters at TV.com
- Extreme Ghostbusters at the Internet Movie Database
- Description of the show (via Internet Archive)
- Official Website (via Internet Archive)
- Extreme Ghostbusters Official 2nd Website Archive
- Extreme Ghostbusters Action Figures Trendmasters Archive
- Extreme Ghostbusters at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016.