| Opentheme: | "Ghostbusters", performed by Jim Cummings |
| Composer: | Jim Latham |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 40 |
| Network: | Syndication (Bohbot Kids Network) |
Extreme Ghostbusters is an American animated television series, based on the Ghostbusters franchise, which initially aired from September 1 to December 8, 1997. A sequel to The Real Ghostbusters, which aired from 1986 to 1991 on ABC, Extreme Ghostbusters is set after that series' finale.[1] The 40-episode series initially aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network's "Extreme Block" in 1997, and featured a team of college-aged Ghostbusters led by veteran Ghostbuster Egon Spengler.[2] In some TV listings, the series was called Ghostbusters Dark.[3]
Several years after the end of The Real Ghostbusters, a lack of supernatural activity has put the Ghostbusters out of business. The members have gone their separate ways except for Egon Spengler, who still lives in the firehouse, monitors the containment unit, takes care of Slimer, furthers his education, and teaches a class on the paranormal at a local college. When ghosts begin to reappear, Egon is forced to recruit four students as the new Ghostbusters: Kylie Griffin, a goth genius and expert on occultism; Eduardo Rivera, a cynical Latino slacker; Garrett Miller, a young wheelchair athlete; and Roland Jackson, a studious African-American machinery whiz. The cast also includes Janine Melnitz (the Ghostbusters' secretary, who returns to the job) and Slimer, a hungry ghost.
The series follows the next generation of Ghostbusters, who track down and capture ghosts throughout New York and (occasionally) beyond the city. A supernatural comedy, following the trend set by its predecessor, it has an updated, darker feel exemplified by a gritty, punk-inspired variation of Ray Parker Jr.'s song "Ghostbusters" as its opening theme. The song, written by Jim Latham, is performed by voice actor Jim Cummings. Throughout the series, the new team learns to work together despite their differences: Janine's largely-unrequited affection for Egon, the unresolved love-hate relationship between Kylie and Eduardo, and the Ghostbusters' frequent clashes with authority figures who are skeptical about their work.
See main article: List of Ghostbusters characters.
Showrunner Bob Higgins told Ability that the decision to create a new Ghostbusters was made by the studio, which hoped to reinvigorate a lucrative franchise.[6] Originally announced as Super Ghostbusters in 1996, its initial press release had Janine teaching history at a local college and bringing together a team with "a hip new attitude" to face a plague of ghosts; "Short on time and more than a little desperate, Janine turns to four of her teenaged students." Egon was "huddled in front of a computer screen, battling program bugs instead of spooks."[9]
The show's creators decided "to put together a team of misfits in a way, people that you would not necessarily associate with being superheroes on television"; Eduardo is a slacker, Roland is a "square," and Kylie is moody and sarcastic. Garrett provides balance, "an adrenaline junkie, who could kind of kick start the team."[6] Designer Fil Barlow was given rough outlines and originally designed all the characters except Eduardo as girls (Garrett as Lucy and Roland as Julia), with Egon originally bearded and robed.[10] [11] Barlow imagined Egon as "an ambassador to the ghost realm trying to stop an impending war on the other side."[12]
During production, Lucy/Garrett was bland until producer Jeff Kline suggested putting the character in a wheelchair; Higgins said that 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 lives up to any potential that he has." When the character was Lucy, she was given proton-blasting calipers and crutches. Producer Richard Raynis requested a wheelchair instead; although Barlow attempted to show that a female character could "be fearless and gung ho," Raynis requested the gender change. The series received an award from the Los Angeles Commission on Disabilities for its depiction of Garrett.[13] [14] [6]
Other elements were changed during production: Egon replaced Janine as the teacher, Slimer lost a goblin sidekick called Gnat, and Garrett was originally Lucas. Roland was originally a clumsy "gentle giant," and Eduardo dreamed of running in the Olympics. "Lucas" had a hair-trigger temper.[9] The team which helmed Extreme Ghostbusters consisted of a number of producers and writers who had worked on The Real Ghostbusters (including Raynis), and the series was a sequel of the earlier show. It was one of the few sequels of a 1980s cartoon series; Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opted for series relaunches, but Extreme Ghostbusters opted for a more realistic passage of time. Maurice LaMarche was brought back to voice Egon Spengler, but Frank Welker and Laura Summer did not return as Slimer and Janine. The series had more explicit tie-ins to The Real Ghostbusters as it continued. "Slimer's Sacrifice" referenced Egon entering the containment unit in the Real Ghostbusters episode "Xmas Marks the Spot"; "Grundelesque" is a sequel of the Real Ghostbusters episode "The Grundel," bringing back the villain and revealing that Kylie lost a friend during its first attack. "Back in the Saddle," the two-part finale, featured the remaining original Ghostbusters joining 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) reprised their roles.
The series initially aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network (BKN) in 1997, and was aired on ABS-CBN in the Philippines two years later. It aired in the Republic of Ireland on RTE Two from 19 February 1998 to 1999. The channel broadcast a short rerun in the summer of 2007. In 2021, for the upcoming release of , episodes of The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters were posted on the Ghostbusters YouTube channel.[15]
In 1999, Columbia TriStar Home Video released three VHS volumes of the show. The videotapes were available to purchase separately or as a boxed set of all three volumes. The episodes included in the VHS volumes were:
A two-disc DVD set with the first thirteen episodes of the series was released in Australia on June 2, 2009, and in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands on June 15 of that year. The UK release was edited to remove scenes of horror and threat. The series was re-released in the UK on June 27, 2016, with the first 13 episodes.
In February 2021, the episodes were uploaded weekly to the Ghostbusters YouTube channel in high definition.[16]
On March 19, 2024, Sony released the complete series as a 9-disc DVD set.[17]
In a series retrospective, SFX said that the "consensus that any extension of the Ghostbusters brand requires a whole new team of newbies to take on the mantle", and that Extreme Ghostbusters was its first application. The series' failure, blamed by its showrunners on poor US scheduling and the decline of non-educational children's syndication in favor of networks such as Fox Kids and Kids' WB and cable channels (although some American stations carried the series in the 3:00–5:00 pm after-school slot), was seen by SFX as demonstrating that "the appeal of Ghostbusters was only partially the concept, and that it's the characters we love above all must be a sobering thought for anyone charged with rebooting Ghostbusters again." The series was also noted for aiming at "a slightly more adolescent audience with a tougher edge," "clearly intended to test the boundaries of child-friendly horror." The Eduardo/Kylie relationship pushed the edge of the ratings.[18]
The series generated a line of action figures manufactured by Trendmasters. The line included Roland, Eduardo, Kylie, several ghosts, and updated versions of Egon Spengler and the Ecto-1; Garrett did not have a figure, although collectors have found a prototype figure that went unreleased. Deluxe versions of the four Ghostbusters figures were also released, featuring electronic light and sound. A role-playing proton pack & plasma blaster, standalone plasma blaster, and ghost trap with positron blaster were released alongside the action figures.
The original website included a Flash tour of the firehouse, character profiles, descriptions of ghosts fought, and a Flash game. "Spengler's Spirit Guide" contained journal entries by "Egon" about haunted areas and the how-to of ghostbusting. Two entries, "The Bermuda Triangle" and "The Jersey Devil", appeared in episodes.[19]
Three video games based on the series were 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 are two PC games: Extreme Ghostbusters: Zap The Ghosts! and Extreme Ghostbusters Creativity Centre.