Extreme Ghostbusters

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Extreme Ghostbusters
Genre	Animated series, Science-fiction, Mystery
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	40
Production
Running time	24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox 40
Original run	September 1, 1997 – December 8, 1997
Chronology
Preceded by	The Real Ghostbusters

Extreme Ghostbusters is an animated television series and a follow-up to the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. It is a part of the film/TV Ghostbusters franchise. The series originally aired in the fall of 1997, and features a team of younger university-level Ghostbusters who are led by veteran Ghostbuster Egon Spengler.

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, 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 girl genius and expert on the occult, Eduardo Rivera, a cynical Latino slacker, Garrett Miller, a young white athlete who uses a wheelchair, and Roland Jackson, a black studious 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, but given an updated feel. This is reflected by the use of a gritty, rock/funk-inspired variation of Ray Parker Jr.'s song "Ghostbusters" as the opening theme written by Jim Latham and performed by voice over 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, and the Ghostbusters' frequent clashes with authority figures who disbelieve their work.

In the two-part episode "Back in the Saddle", in which the four original Ghostbusters briefly return to team up with their successors. Dave Coulier (the second voice of Peter Venkman), Buster Jones (the second voice of Winston Zeddemore), and Frank Welker (the voice of Ray Stantz and originally Slimer) reprised their roles from The Real Ghostbusters. Maurice LaMarche remained as the voice of Spengler throughout the series.

The show was also one of the few direct sequels to a 1980s cartoon series and as such, opted for a realistic passage of time. Other franchises, such as Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, opted for series relaunches rather than sequels.

Characters and cast

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. 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.

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 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.

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 (to an extent) reliable. Eduardo, along with Garret, resembles original Ghostbuster Peter Venkman in that, like Venkman, Eduardo is sarcastic, has a penchant for pursuing attractive women, is generally unscientific and constantly spouts pop culture references. Eduardo has a long-running subplot dealing with a love/hate relationship between him and Kylie, although it is very much revealed that he has intimate feelings and dreams for her. Eduardo's catchphrases are "Maybe he/she is dead" (spoken whenever someone goes missing or else unaccounted for) and "We're scientists" (which was originally spoken by Venkman in the film). In "Rage", Eduardo reveals to have an older brother, Carlos "Carl" Rivera, an NYPD officer who hates Eduardo for being a Ghostbuster. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Eduardo is afraid of death (particularly his own).

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. Roland approaches the paranormal from a practical point-of-view, and in the episode "Fear Itself" reveals that his only fear is the breakdown of his equipment. In "Grundelesque", it is revealed that Roland has a very mischievous younger brother whom he (at first) refuses to believe is a troublemaker.

Garrett Miller (voiced by Jason Marsden)

He is the most headstrong and enthusiastic of the new Ghostbusters, often claiming that he's in it only for the adrenaline rush. In the episode "Grease", it's revealed that Garrett was born with the inability to walk, and throughout the series constantly pokes fun at his "condition". In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Garrett is claustrophobic (though he never admits it to anyone). 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).

Kylie Griffin (voiced by Tara Strong [credited as Tara Charendoff])

The only member of the new team to have any sort of paranormal knowledge before signing up as a Ghostbuster, Kylie 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. Kylie also serves as the most visible point of contrast between the nihilistic postmodernism of the late 90s, and the much more cheerful and modernist 80s films/cartoon series. In "Fear Itself" it's revealed that Kylie is afraid of maggots.

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.

Episode list

Merchandise

Home video

In 1998, three VHS volumes of the show were released by Sony Pictures 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 June 3, 2009^[1] 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 were also two PC games.

References

1. ^ http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/801585

External links

• Extreme Ghostbusters at the Internet Movie Database
• Extreme Ghostbusters at TV.com