Extreme Ghostbusters
Encyclopedia
Extreme Ghostbusters is an animated television series and a follow-up to the animated series Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters. It is a part of the film/TV Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters (franchise)
Ghostbusters is a supernatural comedy multi-media franchise created in 1984. Its inception was for the movie Ghostbusters, released on June 8, 1984 by Columbia Pictures. It centered around a group of eccentric New York City parapsychologists who investigate and capture ghosts for a living...

franchise. The series originally aired in the autumn 1997
1997 in television
The year 1997 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1997.- Events :-Debuts:-Miniseries:*Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac, a reunion of the 1979–93 series*The Last Don...

, and features a team of younger university-level Ghostbusters who are led by veteran Ghostbuster Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler is a fictional character appearing in the films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, and in the animated television series The Real Ghostbusters and later Extreme Ghostbusters. He is a member of the Ghostbusters, and one of the three doctors of parapsychology on the team...

.

Plot

Set years after the end of The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with...

, 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, further his studies and teach a class on the paranormal at a local university. When ghosts start to reappear, Egon is forced to recruit his lone four students as the new Ghostbusters. These are Kylie Griffin, a goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...

 girl genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....

 and expert on the occult; Eduardo Rivera, a cynical Latino slacker; Garrett Miller, a young white paraplegic
Paraplegia
Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek: παραπληγίη "half-striking". It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida that affects the neural elements of the spinal canal...

 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 and general comic relief.

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
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with...

, but given an updated and darker feel. This is reflected by the use of a gritty, rock/funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

-inspired variation of Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...

's song "Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters (song)
"Ghostbusters" is a 1984 song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks...

" as the opening theme written by Jim Latham and performed by voice actor Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...

. 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
Love-hate relationship
A love–hate relationship is an interpersonal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and hate. This relationship does not have to be of a romantic nature, and may be instead of a sibling one...

 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. 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. Garrett was created as a balance to this, "an adrenaline junkie... who could kind of kick start the team", but was found to be quite bland until producer Jeff Kline suggested putting him 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". The show ended up winning an award from the Los Angeles Commission on Disabilities for Garrett.

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
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe is a media franchise created by Mattel....

and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...

, opted for series relaunches — and as such opted for a more realistic passage of time. Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...

 was brought back to play Egon Spengler — though Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...

 and Laura Summer
Laura Summer
- Anime Roles :* Digimon Adventure/Digimon Adventure 02 - Patamon* Flint the Time Detective - Princess Hightower* Mirmo! - Ponta* Hello Kitty - Mimi- Non-Anime roles :* The Real Ghostbusters - Janine Melnitz...

 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 and "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 most 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
Dave Coulier
David Alan "Dave" Coulier is an American stand-up comedian, impressionist, television and voice actor, and television host. He is well-known for his role as Joey Gladstone on the ABC sitcom Full House, which ran from 1987 to 1995....

 (the second voice of Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, Ph.D. is a fictional character from the Ghostbusters franchise. He is a parapsychologist and member of the Ghostbusters, appearing in the films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II and in the animated television series The Real Ghostbusters...

), Buster Jones
Buster Jones
Edward L. "Buster" Jones is an American voice actor.He is probably best known from his roles as Black Vulcan in Super Friends, Blaster in The Transformers, Doc in G.I...

 (the second voice of Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore is a fictional character appearing in the Ghostbusters films, TV series, and video games. He was played by Ernie Hudson in both movies and was voiced by Arsenio Hall in the first two seasons of The Real Ghostbusters. Buster Jones provided Winston's voice in the remaining seasons,...

), and Frank Welker (the voice of Ray Stantz) all reprising their roles.

Characters and cast

Egon Spengler (voiced by Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...

)
The only original Ghostbuster to become a regular in this spin-off series, Egon takes on the role of mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...

 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 Columbia University - 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
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...

 and started to grow cultures in Eduardo's bathtub when the two roomed together. He continues to have romantic tension with Janine.


Janine Melnitz (voiced by Pat Musick
Pat Musick
Pat Musick is an American voice actress. She is the mother of Mae Whitman.-Television roles:* 2 Stupid Dogs - Additional Voices* The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda - Additional Voices...

)
The Ghostbusters' original receptionist returns to the role after she is reunited with Egon by taking his Paranormal 101 class at Columbia University. 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.
  • Janine: "Grab your blasters boys and girls, we got ourselves some live ones."


Eduardo Rivera (voiced by Rino Romano
Rino Romano
Rino Romano is a Canadian voice actor who has portrayed Batman in the animated series The Batman, Spider-Man in Spider-Man Unlimited, and Tuxedo Mask in the English dub of the anime Sailor Moon...

)
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
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, Ph.D. is a fictional character from the Ghostbusters franchise. He is a parapsychologist and member of the Ghostbusters, appearing in the films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II and in the animated television series The Real Ghostbusters...

 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. In "Rage", Eduardo reveals to have an older brother, Carlos "Carl" Rivera, an NYPD officer who hates 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 "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 Sacrific".
  • Eduardo: "We're scientists, Man."
  • "Maybe He's dead"


Roland Jackson (voiced by Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro is an American actor, director, dancer, game show host, and comedian. While he received attention for his performance in the title role of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid and his appearance as a dancer in a Pepsi commercial featuring Michael Jackson, Ribeiro is best...

)
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. 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
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 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.
  • Roland:

"You work on the Specs, I'll do the rest."

Garrett Miller (voiced by Jason Marsden
Jason Marsden
Jason Christopher Marsden is an American screen and voice actor who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series.-Early life:...

)
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. While he studies to be a physical therapist, his secret dream is to be an NBA star. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Garrett is claustrophobic
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...

 (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
Gremlin
A gremlin is an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more...

 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).
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]".

  • Garrett: "Never underestimate the abilities of the physically challenged!"

  • "Brooklyn Heights is in The House!"


Kylie Griffin (voiced by Tara Strong
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...

 [credited as 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. 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 were 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: "I'm not a screamer."


Slimer (voiced by Billy West
Billy West
William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...

)
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. He's got a strong rivalry with Eduardo, similar to the one he had with Peter Venkmen, though several episodes show that Eduardo - and the other Ghostbusters - do care for him as much as he annoys them. 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.

Episode list

# Title Original airdate


Merchandise

The cartoon series was actually based on a line of action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...

s released by Trendmasters
Trendmasters
Trendmasters was an American toy company most notable for its figures based on the Godzilla series, as well as the 1998 film of the same name...

. The line included Roland, Eduardo, Kylie, and several ghosts, as well as an updated version of Egon Spengler, and the Ecto-1.

Home video

In 1999, three VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 volumes of the show were released by Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment, 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 3, 2009 and in the UK on June 15, 2009 containing the first thirteen episodes of the series. As of 2011, the show has yet to arrive on DVD in the U.S.

Video games

Three video games based on the series were also created, Extreme Ghostbusters for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...

, Extreme Ghostbusters: Code Ecto-1 for Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...

 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.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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