- Source: The Ghost Busters
The Ghost Busters is a live-action children's sitcom that ran on CBS in 1975, about a team of bumbling detectives who investigate ghostly occurrences. Fifteen episodes were produced. The show reunited Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch in roles similar to their characters in F Troop.
The series is unrelated to the 1984 film Ghostbusters (although Columbia Pictures did pay Filmation a significant fee for a license to use the name). Like the film, the series spawned its own animated sequel in 1986.
The series utilizes slapstick, with scenes centered on the perpetual bumbling of the characters, good and evil alike. The series also makes references to classic cinema; the names "Spencer" and "Tracy" were taken from the actor Spencer Tracy, while the name Kong – not given to the gorilla – was an homage to King Kong.
Premise
Spencer, Tracy, and Kong, bumbling paranormal detectives, billed themselves as "The Ghost Busters." Kong (Tucker) was the leader of the trio with Spencer (Storch) as his partner, and Tracy (a gorilla, played by Burns) as their assistant who also drove their barely-functional jalopy. Their headquarters was situated in a run down office building in an unspecified city. Outside of normal office equipment, plus a large armoire on which Tracy hung numerous hats including his trademark beanie with a propeller, the office itself was also dilapidated, with peeling wallpaper and a pay phone near the door as the Ghost Busters' only means of communicating with prospective clients.
Spencer's name on the office door was misspelled "Spenser." His first name was given as Eddie in the second episode, "Dr. Whatsisname." Kong's first name was never mentioned in the original series.
Each episode consisted of the same formula: in the pre-credits teaser, a ghost or monster (usually accompanied by a half-witted sidekick), would manifest and vow to wreak havoc or vengeance on a particular person, the city, or even the world. After the credits, Kong would send Tracy and Spencer to a general store to get their next assignment from the unseen "Zero" (Scheimer). The tape-recorded message was usually hidden inside an everyday object such as a bicycle, typewriter, or toy. In a parodic homage to Mission: Impossible, the recording would end with Zero saying, "This message will self-destruct in five seconds"; after Tracy counted down the seconds, the message (and often the item in which it was hidden) would explode in Tracy's face.
The Ghost Busters' assignments would invariably take them to the same place, a spooky castle with an adjoining graveyard on the city's outskirts (Kong would point out that the castle was the only one in or near the city), and after a series of farcical chases, the ghouls would be cornered and dispatched back to the netherworld by a "Ghost De-Materializer", usually activated by Kong as he triumphantly shouted "Zap!"
= Ghosts and monsters
=
The show frequently made use of ghostly characters and other characters from popular and literary culture, as well as real-life historical figures. These included:
Dr. Frankenstein and his monster
A Mummy
The Red Baron
The Canterville Ghost
Count Dracula
Billy the Kid
Belle Starr
The captain and first mate of the Flying Dutchman
Regular cast
Forrest Tucker as Jake Kong
Larry Storch as Eddie Spencer
Bob Burns as Tracy (credited as the gorilla's "trainer")
Lou Scheimer as the voice of Zero
= Others
=
Simon de Canterville: (portrayed by Ted Knight)
Carola de Canterville: (portrayed by Kathy Garver)
Jesse James: (portrayed by Lane Scheimer)
Martian: (portrayed by Richard Balin)
Construction Worker: (portrayed by Bob Burns)
Paul Revere: (portrayed by Richard Balin)
= Villains
=
The Ghost: (portrayed by Lane Scheimer)
Fat-Man: (portrayed by Johnny Brown)
The Rabbit: (portrayed by Billy Barty)
Big Al Caesar: (portrayed by Larry Storch)
Dr. Frankenstein: (portrayed by Bernie Kopell)
Frankenstein's monster: (portrayed by William Engesser)
Mr. C: (portrayed by Len Lesser)
Sophia: (portrayed by Dodo Denney)
Harry Albert: (portrayed by Lennie Weinrib)
Cap'n Aloysius Beane: (portrayed by Stanley Adams)
Scroggs: (portrayed by Phil Bruns)
Phantom of Vaudeville: (portrayed by Tim Herbert)
Elmo: (portrayed by Brian Berlin)
Queen Forah: (portrayed by Barbara Rhoades)
Mummy: (portrayed by Richard Balin)
The Witch: (portrayed by Ann Morgan Guilbert and Leigh Christian)
Gronk: (portrayed by Huntz Hall)
Billy the Kid: (portrayed by Marty Ingels)
Belle Starr: (portrayed by Brooke Tucker)
Countess Dracula: (portrayed by Dena Dietrich)
Count Dracula: (portrayed by Billy Holms)
Dr. Jekyll: (portrayed by Severn Darden)
Mr. Hyde: (portrayed by Joe E. Ross)
The Red Baron: (portrayed by Howard Morris)
Sparks: (portrayed by Robert Easton)
Eric the Red: (portrayed by Jim Backus)
Brunhilda: (portrayed by Lisa Todd)
Merlin the Magician: (portrayed by Carl Ballantine)
Morgan le Fay: (portrayed by Ina Balin)
Dr. Centigrade: (portrayed by Ronny Graham)
Abominable Snowman: (portrayed by Richard Balin)
Production
In an interview conducted with Bob Burns III in 2007, he revealed that all 15 episodes were taped in a span of 9 weeks, every other day. Burns also revealed that the show did well enough in the ratings to warrant a second season, coming in at number two behind The Shazam!/ISIS Hour, but Filmation decided instead to put more money into its number-one program, thus canceling the show after one season. Though the series ended, reruns were broadcast for some time afterward.
Sequel
In 1986, after the success of the Columbia Ghostbusters film, the show was revived in animated format with Kong and Spencer's sons, Jake and Eddie Jr., inheriting their fathers' business (and Tracy the Gorilla) in Ghostbusters.
Home media
BCI Eclipse LLC (under its Ink & Paint classic animation entertainment label) (under license from Entertainment Rights PLC) released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 on April 17, 2007. This 2-Disc DVD boxset contains all 15 episodes from the original 1975 live-action series, uncut, re-mastered and transferred from the original broadcast videotapes, and presented in their original production order. It also contains extensive special features including interviews, photo galleries, rare footage and trailers from BCI's Ink & Paint brand. In addition, unlike many of BCI Ink & Paint's other Filmation releases, this DVD set appears to have been sourced from the original NTSC videotapes (the show having been recorded on tape rather than shot on film).
Prior to this, there were at least three VHS tapes released by Continental Video during the 1980s. These are now extremely hard to find. The show was billed as The Original Ghostbusters.
Australia received the complete series on DVD in a two-disc set on July 11, 2016.
As of 2009, this release has been discontinued and is out of print as BCI Eclipse has ceased
operations.
Mill Creek Entertainment announced the re-release of the series on DVD.
Episodes
References
External links
The Ghost Busters at IMDb
The Ghost Busters @ 70slivekidvid.com
Screencrush review of The Ghost Busters
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