When there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?

GHOSTBUSTERS!

In 1984 something big happened: A film called Ghostbusters about 4 crazy guys hunting ghosts captivated audiences across the country. The movie eventually lead to a sequel and started one of the greatest stories and surprising franchises of our childhood. Now thanks to Time-Life, The Real Ghostbusters: The Complete Series is available for the first time EVER on DVD. The series set includes all 147 episodes on 25 discs. Yes, 25 discs! This is as complete as it gets folks! But wait, there’s more: OVER 12 hours of NEW interviews, introductions, and more!
 

The series established itself with the help of some awesome voice talent and writing talent who you should still recognize today:

Voices:
Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey from Full House)
Lorenzo Music (Garfield)
Maurice LaMarche (Brain from Pinky and the Brain and Calculon from Futurama)
Frank Welker (Megatron from Transformers)
Arsenio Hall (Coming to America)

Writing:
Acclaimed writer J. Michael Straczynski wrote the first 78 episodes of the hit series. He helped to set the dark tone that made this series stand out from other cartoons of its time. You might recognize Straczynski’s name because he created Babylon 5. Additionally his run on Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man is considered to be one of the best interpretations of the character in recent years.

Highlights
One of the coolest parts about the series is that is drew from different cultures mythologies and folklore. During the 147 episodes Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston fought against ghosts, vampires, monsters, Cthulhu, werewolves, and even the boogeyman!

“Ghosts-R-Us”- When Slimer accidentally releases a Class 5 spectre from the containment unit the guys must rush to recapture them. Only one thing stands in their way: Ghosts-R-US! Now they must capture the ghosts and learn the identity of their competitors (who are actually the escaped ghosts themselves!)

“The Boogeyman Cometh”- The guys must go run around New York and go house to house to stop the elusive Boogeyman! When they get sucked into the Boogeyman’s world, they must fight to stop this trickster once and for all!

“Take Two”- The team fly to Hollywood to see the set of a movie being made about them. During the tour they come under attack by ghosts and find themselves without their gear. Now they must find a way to trap the ghosts.

“Citizen Ghost”- One of the best and most memorable episodes of the series. This episode explores the time gap between the movie and the beginning of the series. Learn what the team did right after their fight with GOZER! How did Slimer join up with the team? What happened to the original uniforms seen in the movie? All this and more is answered in this amazing episode

“Ghost Busted”- After the guys capture all the ghosts in NYC they come to a realization: They are broke! The team accidentally stops a robbery and decide to go into the crime fighting business! Thus the Crime Busters are born!

“Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster”- When the city becomes overwhelmed with ghosts Janine has to solve a ghost problem on her own and dawns a jumpsuit and a proton pack!

“Halloween II 1/2”- The spirit of Halloween is here! Samhain is released from the containment unit and begins to cause havoc across the city! It is also interesting to note that Samhain is one of the only reoccurring villains during the series run.

DVD Features
Where do I begin? This set has more features than I have ever seen.

-Promo Pilot- The original four minute pilot for the Real Ghostbusters (never before aired)

-Promo Pilot Visual Commentary- Director Kevin Altieri and artist Dan Riba provide commentary

-Extended interviews with Joe Medjuck (Exec Producer), Michael Gross (Exec Producer), J. Michael Straczynski (Writer and Story Editor), Kevin Altieri (Director and Storyboard Supervisor), Maurice LaMarche (Egon Spengler), Laura Summer (first voice of Janine), and Kath Soucie (second voice of Janine).

-DVD Promo trailer

-Alternate Series Credits

-DVD ROM with Series Bibles and Promo Pilot Storyboard for the Real Ghostbusters in PDF format (This is probably the coolest feature included in the entire set!!!)

-The Real Ghostbusters Image Galleries

-Episodic Scripts and Storyboards

-Featurette: “Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghosts: Creating the Real Ghostbusters”

-Featurette: “Animating the Real Ghostbusters”

-Featurette: “Who Ya Gonna Call: The Heroes of the Real Ghostbusters”- A look at the transition between real actors to the cartoon counterparts (another awesome featurette!)

-Featurette: “Something Strange In The Neighborhood: The Creatures of the Real Ghostbusters”

Packaging
It is also worth noting that the packaging itself was specially designed to look like the home base of the Ghostbusters: The Iconic Firehouse! The DVDs are encased in steel cases and showcase production art and character art for the series. It has a separate paper sleeve for the bonus disc which has most of the special features.

Overall
This is probably the most comprehensive collection of any animated series that has been released. With over 12 hours of new features created for this series it makes this set a MUST HAVE for any Ghostbusters fan. The series does justice to the movies and allows for further exploration of the character’s and their universe. If you are looking for a great holiday gift for someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s this would definitely be a good choice!

ComicsOnline gives The Real Ghostbusters: The Complete Series 5 out of 5 captured ghosts!