Where is The Real Ghostbusters on DVD?

This would have to be my number one cartoon want. I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest in this considering that JMS of B5 fame was so involved in the series, especially the first season done for ABC. DIC was one of the producers/distributors of the series, but their web site does not list this as an available property. At one point, Rhino had the show listed in a poll for animation on DVD, but I don't know if they had rights or would get rights if it did well in the poll - I think it came in behind Transformers in that poll. I think Columbia owned it, but whether they've retained ownership, I don't know.

For me, this would be an instant purchase. I've watched my tapes to death, and I've even done two issues of an RGB fanzine over the years. I know a lot of people who would put this top of their Christmas (or Channukah, or Kwaanza, or Solstice, or whatever) list.

Me three! Some execellent writing and the story editor/show runner has some familer initials.... JMS

Me four. This, D&D, and The Tick are my most-wanted animated series.

Columbia TriStar owns the series and at the present time (or a month ago) they have no plans to release it.

Gord

Especially now since we're at the 20th Anniversary of the film and Columbia is rumored to be putting out a new DVD of the film. Would be a good tie in.

I don't think it's a rumour. Isn't it coming out in October of this year?

I'd also love to see the Ghostbusters cartoon. They used to show it on tv here, but I kept missing the show. I watched one episode and it was the halloween episode where all the ghosts are released. The next episode I saw months later was the same halloween episode. Then a few weeks after that...the same episode. At that point I stopped trying to watch it.

You said it!

The number one animated series of it's day. I hope Columbia reconsiders given the immense sales and marketing possibilities for such a collection...

I would kill to see that Boogieman episode again, that had to have been the single greatest cartoon episode of any televised series ever produced!

It would also be fun if Columbia would include some of those more-cartoony style "Slimer" shorts that they used to run on ABC in the early nineties in rerun. Even though the styles of the series clashed and the newer show was much weaker, I would still like to see 5 or 10 of these shorts included as bonus extras!

I wonder if Columbia doesn't feel they milked this cow to death in the day, though. The merchandising was staggering - I know, I've tried to track it all down. :> The subsequent series, Extreme Ghostbusters wasn't nearly as successful, and they may interpret that as the franchise is exhausted (as opposed to the fact that most RGB fans I know consider EGB to be one of the greatest travesties in the history of animation, and refuse to even acknowledge it ever existed).

Fox Family ran the show briefly, but pulled it after only a few weeks. The show was buried on Sunday mornings and soon disappeared. I don't think the Powers that Be realize that much of the RGB fan base is older and Sunday mornings may not be an optimal timeslot for them (dealing with family to church, or Sunday-morning-sleep-in, or any host of household projects or commitments or just plain the alarm ain't on on Sunday mornings).

Based on the prices that bootlegged sets go for on eBay, I'd say this could still be a lucrative franchise if Columbia would just get the product out.

And I agree - those silly Slimer bits would make great extras. Heck, the discs could even include a tribute to Lorenzo Music, who voiced Peter Venkman the first couple of seasons. And how about an interview with Frank Welker (Ray Stanz and Slimer), the "Man of a 1000 Voices"? The show featured some of the best voice talent out there (Arsenio Hall, Dave Coulier, the fabulous Maurice LaMarche, Kath Soucie, etc.).

Sigh. C'mon Columbia - take my money, please! :>

If the info at IMDB is correct, there may be some music rights issues:

Must have Ghostbusters NOW. Over the years my tapes have become lost or got recorded over (thanks, mom), so my once complete set is now scattered to the 4 winds.

Of every TV show on the planet, aside from Doctor Who, this one is the Holy Grail. This is the series I would kill someone for.

Heh, not much to say here, other than I agree. This and Thundercats are the 2 cartoons that i want most on dvd

Apparently this is being released in R2. Any more info?

^ They look like individual compilation discs though. They're retailing for £5.09 and only have 87 minute running times. That's pretty weak...

Judging by the titles, they also feature some of the less than memorable episodes, "Adventures Of Slime 'N' Space" & "Sea Fright".

I'm not jumping on any R2 product just yet, we need proper season sets of this show in North America...

They sound like DVDs of the episodes previously released on VHS PAL a few years ago. I'd LOVE to get this series in full season sets - and I know a lot of other folks who would, as well, which I can't often say about shows I want.

Any region, I'll take it.

I don't understand this hesitation to make a lot of money...I'm kidding of course, I'm sure they have their reasons and no plans now doesn't mean there won't be plans later.

I'd buy this on release date maybe more than once...you know its funny I often tell people on HTF that you can't judge the internet audience for something and assume sufficient enough demand for a release but I am not kidding when I say that I know many many people that have nothing to do with internet discussions that would snap this up in a second.

Now that Alf is coming out this is at the top of my list, moreso than anything else I might have said was at the top of it previously.

I think you might have to wait and see how sales of the Astro Boy set do. Sony's only animated box set releases so far have been comedies aimed at adults (Dilbert & The Critic). They also released the CGI Spider-Man set, but that's adult oriented as well.

Since the Ghostbusters cartoon is geared more towards kids, sales of Astro Boy may have an impact on how they view those types of properties.

I would definitely buy a Season 1 set of Real Ghostbusters though. They could do a nice 2-disc set (ala the CGI Spider-Man or what BV did for Gargoyles S1).

I'd love for seasons sets.

Er... no... not exactly...

I heard JMS (who was story editor on the show) talk on this once, and if you watch it with an 'open ear', you see that the shows were designed to operate on two levels, kids and adults (with more of an emphasis on the audlt).

I wasn't necessarily referring to how we as an audience perceived the show, but how the studio perceives it. Any 40-year-old executive at Sony is going to see the show and think "cartoon for kids".

Whatever happened to that?

Well, seeing as how the 20th anniversary would have been last year (as I'm fairly certain this was a 1984 release), it would seem that ship has sailed.

Oh, and if anyone reads from the He-Man press release the fact that the same company owns the rights to "Ghostbusters", I've been told this is a separate show entirely.

Entertainment Rights' "Ghostbusters" is the orginal one with two guys and a gorilla. "The Original Ghostbusters", as it were. Which is why the one based on the Bill Murray film got the title "The Real Ghostbusters"...a stick-your-tongue-out shot at the owners of "TOG".

The Filmation show "The Ghost Busters" was a live action show from 1975 (or thereabouts) with Larry Storch, Forrest Tucker and Bob Burns. When 1984 rolled around, Ivan Reitman and pals were nearly done with the film when someone remembered "Hey, wasnt there a kids show with the same name?" They quickly scrambled and got the rights to the name, and becoming the monster hit that we all know and love.

Filmation, smelling money, decided to revive the old show in 1986 in an animated form. The Real Ghostbusters (in production about the same time) was a dodge around the legal entanglements of the filmation liscense.

Also wasn't the movie called "Ghost Busters" with the space intentional? I never got that. Maybe we'll get a cool edition of the movie in HD.

Back to the topic of the cartoon. If I recall this show ran for five season and I saw it a while back on TV. I can't say I was impressed with the animation of the early episodes, kind of sub par if ask me when compared to other cartoons of the day (like the Disney TV cartoons) but the latter episodes looked pretty good. Its been a while, but I liked how the show kind of mimicked the musical score of the movie that Ivan Reitman movies are famous for. The elevator music as you could call it.

When some of the voice actors were replaced, they re-recorded some of the old episodes with the new voice actors. If these the series is released on DVD, I hope both audio tracks are included for these episodes.

Also imdb mentions that a song was replaced on one of the episodes. I hope that song is restored.