The Real Ghostbusters, Volume 1

Two years after Ivan Reitman's live-action Ghostbusters movie, the animated The Real Ghostbusters series made its 1986 debut. Airing for six years on ABC and in syndication, the episodes revolve around four paranormal investigators who battle poltergeists, phantoms, spirits, demons, and the like: Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore (voiced by a pre-talk show Arsenio Hall). Operating out of a Gotham firehouse, the quartet (who do not resemble Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, et al—in a DVD extra, character designer Gabi Payne explains that he was supposed to avoid direct likenesses) are often joined on their ghostbusting missions by sidekicks, including secretary Janine Melnitz and the gooey green Slimer (voiced by Frank Welker of Scooby-Doo fame), who often join. During the 17 episodes from the 1986-87 first season and 13 syndicated installments collected here, the team takes on a breakdancing troll, a polka dot-shirted genie, and the same blue-haired bogeyman who tormented Egon as a child. Not much in the way of educational value here, to be sure, but The Real Ghostbusters does offer goofy, sometimes surrealistic fun for most ages (although tiny tots might find some of the creatures too scary). DVD extras include a “making-of” featurette, episode introductions, and five visual commentaries in which the producers, writers, and storyboard artists appear onscreen above the image. Adult viewers may be surprised to find that the writers took some of their plot ideas from the works of Charles Dickens and Thomas Wolfe (as in the episode “Look Homeward, Ray”). Fun trivia note: story editor J. Michael Straczynski went on to create Babylon 5. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)