The Daily Think

THE SETUP
It’s a weekday and you’re only 30 minutes before school starts and you got to get on the bus. But you are enjoying your gum destroying Cap’N Crunch as you watch the cartoon version of the Ghostbusters battling Cthulu at Coney Island. Or perhaps it’s

Saturday morning and you’re waking up to watch the Ghostbusters trying to trap the Headless Horseman on a motorcycle. Through 7 seven seasons and more than 140 episodes, you watched the Real Ghostbusters from 1986 to 1993 and you were exposed to high level horror under the guise of a cartoon. The first 3 seasons were more heavily dependent on scary lore, and cryptids that were more adult in theme. The final 4 seasons of the Real Ghostbusters had to unfortunately rely more on Slimer, and the storylines became more childish and kawai. But those first 3 seasons, man what a ride! And

if you were a kid you had to love the toy lines that the Real Ghostbusters offered to you, from proton packs to Ecto-1’s to of course the Ecto Cooler drink that is legend!

THE INGREDIENTS
The first thing you will notice is the name, the Real Ghostbusters was used because there was a cartoon called the Ghostbusters from Filmation and in order to avoid confusion and also lawsuits, they added the Real Ghostbusters to distinguish itself. And it came with fantastic art that was on par with the GI Joe and Transfomer artwork coming out at the time. Add to that a powerful voice cast that had heavyweight Arsenio Hall (Winston), Maurice LaMarche (Egon) Lorenzo Music (Peter) and Frank Welker (Ray) this was a loaded voice cast that went beyond just this cartoon and did some

other projects you might be familiar with, Garfield, Arsenio Hall show, Futurama ring a bell? Combine all these elements along with some powerful storytelling, ideas, and a New York setting and you got the foundation for a great show that could stand the test of time. Oh and maybe tie in that live action Hollywood franchise with the major actors that spawned multiple films and reboots over the years.

THE GREATEST HITS
Make no mistake this show was not your run of the mill capture the latest bad guy ghost of the week that was made up by some writers. One of the writers a J. Michael Straczynski, a fellow SDSU Aztecs alum and prolific writer from He-Man, Babylon 5, and World War Z credits handled many of these early season episodes. But

what were some of those greatest Hits? Here is a list of the top 13 episodes that are essential watching for any Ghostbusters fan:

1. The Collect Call of Cthulu – this has it all! Necronimcon, Cthulu, Occult books, doomsday cults, magic (needless to say I looked up H.P. Lovecraft after this one!)
2. When Halloween was forever – the Ghostbusters first battle with the powerful entity Sam Hain (yes the spirit of Halloween and not related to Michael Myers)
3. Ragnarok and Roll – an occultist brings the Norse Mythology of the end of the world with a Flute from Hell (yes very much like Legend of Zelda’s Ocarina)
4. No One comes to Lupusville – a vampire hires the guys to take out a rival vampire clan while Werewolves are imprisoned (a little scarier episode content than you think)
5. The Headless Motorcyclist – the legend of Sleepy Hollow follows a woman to Brooklyn but this time he’s on a Chopper!
6. Ghost Fight at the O.K. Corral – the guys head out to Tombstone to battle the ghost of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday!
7. Ghostbuster of the Year – the guys have an overnight stay at the Hearst Castle and have to find out what Rosebud means (yes a Citizen Kane referenced episode!)
8. I Am the City – ancient Babylonian god Marduk battles with the multi-headed Tiamat! Heavyweight fight between 2 ancients in New York City!
9. The Long long long Etc. Goodbye – a 1940’s ghost gumshoe helps the guys battle a former cat burglar turned into an Egyptian cursed Monster!
10. The Cabinet of Calimari – a magician who stole the tricks of Houdini while Peter visits a Surrealist Painting spirit world!
11. Hanging by a Thread – the guys end up tangling with the Three Fates, going to the underworld via Charon the ferryman of the River Styx and fighting demons!
12. The Ghostbusters in Paris – where the Eiffel Tower is one of the oldest ghost traps and the guys have to gather clues at the Louvre and Notre Dame!
13. Boo-Dunit – Winston is the teams resident detective and the ghosts of an Agatha Christie novel manifest before the guys at the reading of her will!

And so many others in which they battle Al Capone, Bermuda Triangles, various demons, and even help out a real estate developer in Donald Trump!

THE LEGACY
The Real Ghostbusters might have just rolled off the assembly line as another cartoon tied to a toy line and an iconic film. But the excellent character development, storylines and villains they battled really laid the ground work for the whole fascination of the “Monster of the Week” type shows that would soon follow in the footsteps of the Real Ghostbusters. The X-Files, Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a host of other monster hunting shows seemed to take their cues from the similar monster manual that the Real Ghostbusters fought, except without the constraints of a kid friendly format for ABC Saturday Morning Cartoons!