It seems, that in the 70s Filmation had produced a campy kids show starring Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker, of F-Troop fame. The show was like watching The Electric Company (you remember, that old live action learning show with Spiderman), with vaudeville jokes, and at a pace that even the dead could keep up with. Which was appropriate somehow.

Basically, an episode would go like this;

Spencer (Storch) and Kong (Tucker) are sitting around their office, hamming it up with their gorilla, Tracy (I'm not making this up). Eventually, Kong gets sick of them and sends the other two for their assignment. Spencer and Tracy (get it?) ride in the Ghost Buggy to this hardware store. Tracy goes into the store and comes back with something wacky, like a tuba or a door. It plays a message from the mysterious Zero about their newest assignment and then blows up. Tracy never, ever, thinks to throw the damn thing away, so he always blows up. Stupid monkey.

Spencer and Tracy return to the office where Kong asks Spencer to retrieve a file from the filing cabinet. The filing cabinet never makes it easy so approximate comedy ensues.

Running around occurs and the Ghost Busters get ready to zap the ghosts with their Ghost Dematerializer, or whatever. They only have one, they never make another, and they let the ape carry it around in a carpet bag, so it's never handy.

In a moment of insanity, Filmation updated the show as cartoon. Kong and Spencer gone, but Tracy was still there, only now he was joined by the sons of Kong and Spencer; Jake, Eddie (Venkman and Stantz-like characters). Also joining the team were Belfrey (a talking bat), Futura, and Jessica (kind of a cross between April O'neil from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dana). But it never flew.

However, Filmation still had the name, so while an agreement was struck for the movie (money was likely involved) they wouldn't give up the cartoon rights, and so when it came time to make a cartoon based on the movies, Columbia had to call it the REAL Ghostbusters. Clever eh?

And now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

To be honest, I've never thought much of the show, although the theme song is fantastic. However I've been receiving more and more mail all the time from fans who used to watch the show as kids (part of the reason why I'm not nuts about the show might be because it didn't show where I grew up. I don't have the same sense of nostalgia for it that others do). Amazing as it may seem, I have one of the few pages of substance on the entire world wide web in any way devoted to this cheesy classic (the other two notables are to the right). Since I put this page up, more and more fans have started talking about the show, and of course the toys it produced. I love hearing from the fans of this show so don't be afraid to drop me a line.

AUDIO
DOWNLOAD - The Ghost Busters Main Theme (300Kb)
DOWNLOAD - The Ghost Busters End Theme (150Kb)
DOWNLOAD - The Ghost Busters Main Theme cartoon (189Kb)
DOWNLOAD - The Ghost Busters End Theme cartoon (73Kb)

requires Real Audio.

OFFICIAL LINKS
Internet Movie Database
Bob "Tracy the Gorilla" Burns Homepage

UNOFFICIAL LINKS
70s Kid Vid
Yesterdayland



EPISODE GUIDE
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