Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters deals with an underdog crew of parapsychologists who establish an emergency service organization in New York City for the sole purpose of investigating, catching and containing ghosts. Composed of sarcastic Dr. Peter Venkman [Bill Murray], enthusiastic paranormal historian Dr. Ray Stanz [Dan Aykroyd], oddball scientist Egon Spengler [Harold Ramis] and reasonably-minded Winston Zeddmore [Ernie Hudson,] the team of four respond to emergency calls rung from their poorly renovated firehouse base by secretary Janine Melnitz [Annie Potts]. They race to the scene like a police squad, via their Ecto-1 vehicle - an antique ambulance converted to a gear-laden transport.

In order to catch ghosts, the team uses sophisticated "proton packs" conceptualized by Egon: back-worn nuclear acceleration devices that stream forth energy beams from special neutrona wands, that are used to ensnare their ecotoplasmic adversaries. As a finisher, a ghost trap is pulled from the proton pack and slid under the ensnared ghost, then opened in a flash of blinding light - effectively vacuuming the ghost within the trap. Once returning back to base, the trap is inserted within a special containment unit, and removed once the transfer is complete.

The Ghostbusters tend to receive ill will from city officials, being dismissed as crocks and hooligans. However, their heroic stand against monstrous specters such as Sumerian god Gozer the Gozerian and Vigo save the city from annihilation. One of their most famous battles is against the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, a manifestation of Ray's imagination that came to life once Gozer proposed that the arriving traveler's form be chosen. Its lumbering, building-high marshmallow body added to the comic relief of the first movie.

Also notable is the mischievous, always hungry green ghost who Peter refers to as a "spud," later named "Slimer" for an incident involving his collision with Peter at the Sedgewick Hotel. Slimer would later become a merchandising powerhouse for numerous Ghostbuster-themed memorabilia.

In June of 1989, Ghostbusters II: a sequel for the series was released, following a dry spell in the Ghostbusting business, when the guys are called forth again to investigate what is later seen as a haunted painting depicting Vigo the Carpathian, who later raises havoc by invoking ghosts all over New York City with its very presence.

The franchise was later rumored to have had a Ghostbusters III in the works, slated for a theatrical release sometime in 1995, featuring actors Will Smith and Chris Farley. Due to lapses in the screenplay's progress, the death of Chris Farley and a refusal of participation by actor Bill Murray, the film never came to fruition. The rumors re-surfaced throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, giving light to the next plot involving the travel between modern day New York City, and its evil alternate hell dimension.

Ghostbusters became a lucrative merchandising venue, spanning a vast action figure and play set series, trading cards, clothing, stickers, arcade, computer and console games, and seemingly endless categories of collectibles. To this day, it still maintains a strong fan base, of which has achieved impressive feats such as construction of movie-accurate proton pack props and replica suits.

On September 13, 1986 - Colombia Pictures and DiC Animation released what became one of the greatest and most successful cartoon series of the 1980s: the Real Ghostbusters. Based loosely after the motion picture, the setting of the cartoon took place after the end of the movie, as the four guys continued to protect New York from supernatural threats: such as the Bogeyman, Samhain, Cthulhu, and hordes of runaway ghosts. With compelling plots, great background music composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban, the series lasted for 140 episodes and concluded on October 22, 1991.

The cartoon series was also interesting in the sense that the four Ghostbusters didn't resemble those of the movie's actors. In addition, each one wore a differently tinted jump suit. They also kept Slimer as a pet (originally, Egon wanted to keep him for scientific observation, but he became more of a "family pet" instead) - who constantly annoyed and played pranks on Peter.

Several years before the series' demise, the show was brought into a new format as "Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters," which mixed in short Slimer episodes to appease the young viewers.

Watch original Real Ghostbusters toy, cereal and product commercials!

In 1984, the first official Ghostbusters video game was released by Activision for the home PC (including Commodore 64), Atari 2600, NES and Sega Master System consoles. Beginning in map mode, players drive around a top-down view of the city, to buildings marked with ghosts. The game then switches to a fixed side-scrolling environment, where players have to defeat ghosts with a variety of weapons that could be purchased (many of which didn't even come close to representing proton streams). The city's PKE meter was displayed on the map, and the goal of the game was to achieve an income of $10,000 by the time it reached full power.

An arcade game fashioned after the Real Ghostbusters cartoon was released by Data East in 1987. Unlike the previous game, this one was a 3rd person perspective scrolling arcade/action game where a player took control of one of the four Ghostbusters, as they blasted and ran their way around each level. After shooting a ghost, it would become a vapor which could then become captured with the usage of a trap.

In early 2007, rumors about a brand new Ghostbusters video game for the XBOX 360 surfaced, featuring several eye-popping videos that fans had hoped were not simply part of some graphic artist's portfolio. They were indeed very real, as spoken about in this article on IGN.

It finally happened on June 16, 2009: a glorious rendition of what could have been "Ghostbusters 3" in 1992. Join the original cast, voiced by original actors, as they continue on a few years after the 2nd movie. You're a trainee thrown right into the fray, learning the ins and outs of being a Ghostbuster. The game is reviewed to be best on consoles, as the PC version was dumbed down (as usual), not including the multiplayer or sub-quest features. Rumors say that the success of this game might hint at the possibility of a Ghostbusters 3 movie.

Devised and created by Columbia Pictures, the Proton Pack of the Ghostbusters series was an obviously fictional back-mounted nuclear accelerator or positron collider. It streamed forth a positively-charged energy beam from a hand-held particle thrower that would trap negatively-charged spirits, effectively holding them for immediate entrapment, and was developed by Dr. Spengler in the movie. In the late 1980s, the Kenner toy company produced a plastic Proton Pack toy, as well as a projecting/modulating Particle Thrower toy.

Several Ghostbuster fans took it upon themselves to make movie-accurate renditions of the proton pack. Although it is a labor of love, it's a pretty daunting task that requires a lot of time, patience, and the right shop tools. Many resources exist for anyone looking to create their own Proton Pack - even down to exact replicas of the warning stickers located on various areas of the pack and wand!

:: Visit our section on Proton Packs!

Beyond the hit movie was the Ray Parker, Jr. theme song for the movie, which had three consecutive weeks in the #1 Billboard spot. The song is responsible for an approximate sale of some 28 million copies of the Ghostbusters movie soundtrack, and was even nominated for a Grammy Award in 1984. In addition, a music video was released, featuring various celebrity appearances, and a New York City street appearance by Parker Jr. and the four Ghostbusters. Did you know that Ray Parker Jr. was later sued by band Huey Lewis and the News over infringement? They claimed that the bass line of the song was ripped off from their radio hit, "I Want A New Drug." The musicians settled out of court the year later.