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Fandom Overview: Real Ghostbusters
What’s that "No Ghosts" logo doing on the side of the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
crack_van this month, girls and boys? And where did all that dripping green slime come from? I think WE GOT ONE!!!!!
Who ya gonna call?
In the summer of 1984, the answer to this question was, of course, the “Ghostbusters,” from that hit movie about disgraced Columbia University professors of parapsychology, who, after they’re kicked off campus, open a business, well, busting ghosts. They’ve famously spent their last bit of petty cash on Chinese food when their secretary sounds the alarm and calls out, “We got one!”, thus leading to their first bust at the Sedgewick Hotel. These unconventional paranormal investigators, complete with unlicensed nuclear accelerators on their backs, took Manhattan by storm as they responded to busts in their converted 1950s Cadillac ambulance—dubbed “Ecto-1”, use their proton packs to trap the ghosts, and then store them in the containment unit in the basement of Ghostbuster Central, a remodeled firehall at the corner of Mott and Pell, not far from Chinatown. Ultimately they saved New York City (and probably the world) from Gozer the Gozerian, who rampaged through the city streets in the 20-story tall guise of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
The success of the movie, not to mention its catchy Ray Parker Jr. hit song (the tagline for which is still heard selling cars in Southern California and elsewhere) spawned a cartoon series, which is what inspired a still-active fandom. The Columbia Television/DiC series, which ran in various forms from 1986 to 1991 for 140 episodes, worked on two levels, both for kids and for adults who plugged into the wry sense of humor and the in-jokes. (When is the last time you heard H.P. Lovecraft, Cthulhu, and the Elder Gods referenced in a Saturday morning-style cartoon, huh?) The initial series continued with the same humor-driven, insouciant attitude of its movie progenitor, but under the guiding hand of J. Michael Straczynski, frequently delved into serious themes up to and including the end of the world. All of this has contributed to a very rich universe with diverse characters to explore through multiple genres of fanfic.
Later on, after Straczynski’s involvement with “Real Ghostbusters” ended, the series took a more juvenile turn. For a while, it was known as “Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters”; the plots were dumbed down, the RGBs frequently behaved out of character, and the adventures of Slimer and his buddies took center stage. And, a few years after the show was cancelled, an attempt to revive the animated franchise was made with “Extreme Ghostbusters”, which featured Egon, Janine, and a new team of teenagers who faced off against paranormal threats. The fandom primarily ignores both the dumbed-down Slimer series as well as EGB, not to mention the 1989 sequel to the original movie.
Main Characters
Physical appearances and characterizations are altered, sometimes substantially, from their movie counterparts, although the names are the same.)
Dr. Peter Venkman
With doctorates in psychology and parapsychology, Dr. Venkman is laconic, sarcastic, handsome, vain, and flirtatious, with quite the eye for the ladies. And sometimes they even give him the eye back. Peter was voiced for several episodes by the same actor who voiced the equally laconic and sarcastic Garfield the cat, Lorenzo Music. Later on, he was voiced by “Full House” actor Dave Coulier. On busts, he wears a brown jumpsuit with green trim that matches his eyes. (In fanfic, much is often made of Peter’s eye color).
Dr. Egon Spengler
With doctorates in physics and parapsychology, Egon is definitely the intellect of the team. He is essentially clueless as to the ways of women, even though the RGB’s secretary pursues him enthusiastically. He’s from a family of scientists based in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, Egon was plagued by visits from the Boogeyman, who by night came out of his closet to torment him… but no one in his family believed him. The angst this generated is often explored in fanfic.
Egon was voiced throughout the run of the series by Maurice LeMarche. On busts he wears a teal jumpsuit (which he probably picked out himself; Egon canonically can “do” your colors and tell you if you’re a Winter, Spring, etc.)
Dr. Ray Stantz
Ray has a doctorate in parapsychology. It’s been debated as to what his second doctorate is in, with most guessing engineering (although with the way he and Egon frequently blow up the lab, one would think it would be chemistry). He’s an expert in the occult. He’s enthusiastic, with an innocence the other GBs don’t have. He’s canonically a fanboy—he loves kiddie cartoons (Murray the Mantis and Dopey Dawg) and comics, and is a huge fan of “Captain Steel”. Frank Welker provided his voice throughout the run of the series. On busts, Ray wears a tan jumpsuit.
Winston Zeddemore
Despite being the only Ghostbuster without a doctorate, Winston, the team’s voice of reason, just might be the most intelligent of them all. In fanfic he’s frequently characterized as a Vietnam vet since he’s the right age to have served, and mention has been made in some semi-canonical sources that he has a military history. First Arsenio Hall (yes, THE Arsenio Hall), then later Buster Jones voiced Winston. Winston’s jumpsuit is a pale blue.
Janine Melnitz
The RGB’s secretary answers their phone in her heavy Carnarsie accent, files her nails at her desk, reads magazines, flirts with Egon… and more than once she’s stepped into her pink jumpsuit, strapped on a pack, and saved the RGB’s backsides when they need her.
Janine’s appearance and behavior dramatically changed throughout the series (an attempt to make her “less threatening” and more maternal to the kiddie audience). J. Michael Straczynksi came back on board to write an episode showing how Janine fell under the thrall of the “Makeoverus Lotsabucksus” (yes, a stupid name) in order to make herself more desirable to Egon. She very nearly lost her life to this powerful creature that preys on women’s insecurities. In the end it delivered a powerful feminist message about the importance of literally being yourself.
Slimer
You might remember Slimer from the movie – the ghost from the GBs’ first bust at the Sedgewick. Now he’s a mascot for the team. Only Ray can really understand Slimer’s overly-enthusiastic gibberish. He seems to exist for two reasons: to eat everything in sight, and to slime Peter.
Supporting Characters
(Some of these folks you’re more likely to run into than others, in fanfic.)
Mr. Venkman
Peter’s conman father, who was never given a first name in canon, but is universally referred to as “Charlie” in fanon. He’s a shady character who causes more trouble than he’s worth. Since his father was always out running some con or another over the holiday season, Peter canonically dislikes Christmas. (Peter does show a change of heart in one episode.) Still, as Peter points out, “He’s my dad,” and goes out of his way to bail him out of trouble.
(Peter’s mother is mentioned on rare occasion in the series, but one mention appears to be in past-tense. Thus, in fanfic, Peter’s mom can be posited both as alive and well, or recently deceased, depending on how much angst the author wants to induce in Peter’s life.)
Mrs. Spengler
Egon’s mom, voiced by the inimitable Rose Marie, who is known for her unpalatable home-made medications she inflicts on the RGBs every time anyone is under the weather.
Cyrus Spengler
Egon’s uncle, who at one point guilts him into returning to the family business in Ohio. (Egon’s dad is presumed to be deceased.)
Louis Tully
The nerdy accountant from the movie was added as the Ghostbusters’ accountant in later seasons.
Detective Frump
An occasionally-appearing character created especially for the cartoon to provide a new antagonist, Detective Frump is out to get the RGBs—most especially Peter—for any violation he can pin on them.
Walter Peck
The EPA nemesis from the first movie, who forced the Containment Unit to be turned off, thus releasing all the ghosts that had been captured.
What’s with the “Real” in “Real Ghostbusters”?
Well, in the 70s there was a live-action Filmation kids’ series called “Ghost Busters,” which had nothing to do with the movie. Rights were secured to use the name for the movie, but not for any subsequent projects. Later, to capitalize on the success of the movie, the live-action “Ghost Busters” was now produced in animated form, before Columbia could release their version of their own property. Because of the rights issues, as well as another cartoon with an identical name, all Columbia could do was to name their series the REAL Ghostbusters, to differentiate it from the pretenders to the throne. (If you run across “Ghostbusters” fanfic featuring a gorilla, um, you’re in the wrong universe.)
BTW, the “correct” fandom is abbreviated as “RGB” (from which I took my LJ name).
Fanfic trends and pairings
“Real Ghostbusters” fan fiction truly runs the gamut of what is available. The fandom’s origins were heavy on gen, but even early on it was skewing heavily towards hurt/comfort and smarm. (Note the definition of smarm here: but, in short, it’s defined as intense non-sexual male-bonding). The presence of slash has ebbed and flowed throughout the fandom’s history. And don’t forget the humor as shown in both the movie and the series. There’s even the occasional AU. This is really a “one-size-fits-all-your-fic-needs” fandom!
The most frequent het pairing is the one that is essentially canonical: Egon and Janine, while the primary slash pairing is Egon and Peter. (Yes, whichever way you spin his sexuality, Egon “gets it” the most of all the RGBs.) And it’s not out of line to mention here that the most popular “smarm pairing” is Peter and Egon.
Links
The must-visit link in RGB fandom is Sheila Paulson’s Real Ghostbusters Fan Page. Almost everything that is extant on the web can be found linked here.
The Wikipedia entry on RGB is also a good source of information, much of which I did not include here since, well, it was available on Wikipedia.
This month, I’ll try to bring you the best of every genre represented in RGB fandom. There’s so much rich fan faction in this fandom. Many of these stories originated not on LJ, not on fic-lists, not even on the ‘net, but date from the days of printed fanzines. We thank everyone from the “early days” who have made their classic stories available online.
And now, on to the recommendations!
Most images courtesy of Lith’s RGB Screencap Archive.
crack_van this month, girls and boys? And where did all that dripping green slime come from? I think WE GOT ONE!!!!!Who ya gonna call?
In the summer of 1984, the answer to this question was, of course, the “Ghostbusters,” from that hit movie about disgraced Columbia University professors of parapsychology, who, after they’re kicked off campus, open a business, well, busting ghosts. They’ve famously spent their last bit of petty cash on Chinese food when their secretary sounds the alarm and calls out, “We got one!”, thus leading to their first bust at the Sedgewick Hotel. These unconventional paranormal investigators, complete with unlicensed nuclear accelerators on their backs, took Manhattan by storm as they responded to busts in their converted 1950s Cadillac ambulance—dubbed “Ecto-1”, use their proton packs to trap the ghosts, and then store them in the containment unit in the basement of Ghostbuster Central, a remodeled firehall at the corner of Mott and Pell, not far from Chinatown. Ultimately they saved New York City (and probably the world) from Gozer the Gozerian, who rampaged through the city streets in the 20-story tall guise of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
The success of the movie, not to mention its catchy Ray Parker Jr. hit song (the tagline for which is still heard selling cars in Southern California and elsewhere) spawned a cartoon series, which is what inspired a still-active fandom. The Columbia Television/DiC series, which ran in various forms from 1986 to 1991 for 140 episodes, worked on two levels, both for kids and for adults who plugged into the wry sense of humor and the in-jokes. (When is the last time you heard H.P. Lovecraft, Cthulhu, and the Elder Gods referenced in a Saturday morning-style cartoon, huh?) The initial series continued with the same humor-driven, insouciant attitude of its movie progenitor, but under the guiding hand of J. Michael Straczynski, frequently delved into serious themes up to and including the end of the world. All of this has contributed to a very rich universe with diverse characters to explore through multiple genres of fanfic.
Later on, after Straczynski’s involvement with “Real Ghostbusters” ended, the series took a more juvenile turn. For a while, it was known as “Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters”; the plots were dumbed down, the RGBs frequently behaved out of character, and the adventures of Slimer and his buddies took center stage. And, a few years after the show was cancelled, an attempt to revive the animated franchise was made with “Extreme Ghostbusters”, which featured Egon, Janine, and a new team of teenagers who faced off against paranormal threats. The fandom primarily ignores both the dumbed-down Slimer series as well as EGB, not to mention the 1989 sequel to the original movie.
Main Characters
Physical appearances and characterizations are altered, sometimes substantially, from their movie counterparts, although the names are the same.)
Dr. Peter Venkman
With doctorates in psychology and parapsychology, Dr. Venkman is laconic, sarcastic, handsome, vain, and flirtatious, with quite the eye for the ladies. And sometimes they even give him the eye back. Peter was voiced for several episodes by the same actor who voiced the equally laconic and sarcastic Garfield the cat, Lorenzo Music. Later on, he was voiced by “Full House” actor Dave Coulier. On busts, he wears a brown jumpsuit with green trim that matches his eyes. (In fanfic, much is often made of Peter’s eye color).
Dr. Egon Spengler
With doctorates in physics and parapsychology, Egon is definitely the intellect of the team. He is essentially clueless as to the ways of women, even though the RGB’s secretary pursues him enthusiastically. He’s from a family of scientists based in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, Egon was plagued by visits from the Boogeyman, who by night came out of his closet to torment him… but no one in his family believed him. The angst this generated is often explored in fanfic.
Egon was voiced throughout the run of the series by Maurice LeMarche. On busts he wears a teal jumpsuit (which he probably picked out himself; Egon canonically can “do” your colors and tell you if you’re a Winter, Spring, etc.)
Dr. Ray Stantz
Ray has a doctorate in parapsychology. It’s been debated as to what his second doctorate is in, with most guessing engineering (although with the way he and Egon frequently blow up the lab, one would think it would be chemistry). He’s an expert in the occult. He’s enthusiastic, with an innocence the other GBs don’t have. He’s canonically a fanboy—he loves kiddie cartoons (Murray the Mantis and Dopey Dawg) and comics, and is a huge fan of “Captain Steel”. Frank Welker provided his voice throughout the run of the series. On busts, Ray wears a tan jumpsuit.
Winston Zeddemore
Despite being the only Ghostbuster without a doctorate, Winston, the team’s voice of reason, just might be the most intelligent of them all. In fanfic he’s frequently characterized as a Vietnam vet since he’s the right age to have served, and mention has been made in some semi-canonical sources that he has a military history. First Arsenio Hall (yes, THE Arsenio Hall), then later Buster Jones voiced Winston. Winston’s jumpsuit is a pale blue.
Janine Melnitz
The RGB’s secretary answers their phone in her heavy Carnarsie accent, files her nails at her desk, reads magazines, flirts with Egon… and more than once she’s stepped into her pink jumpsuit, strapped on a pack, and saved the RGB’s backsides when they need her.
Janine’s appearance and behavior dramatically changed throughout the series (an attempt to make her “less threatening” and more maternal to the kiddie audience). J. Michael Straczynksi came back on board to write an episode showing how Janine fell under the thrall of the “Makeoverus Lotsabucksus” (yes, a stupid name) in order to make herself more desirable to Egon. She very nearly lost her life to this powerful creature that preys on women’s insecurities. In the end it delivered a powerful feminist message about the importance of literally being yourself.
Slimer
You might remember Slimer from the movie – the ghost from the GBs’ first bust at the Sedgewick. Now he’s a mascot for the team. Only Ray can really understand Slimer’s overly-enthusiastic gibberish. He seems to exist for two reasons: to eat everything in sight, and to slime Peter.
Supporting Characters
(Some of these folks you’re more likely to run into than others, in fanfic.)
Mr. Venkman
Peter’s conman father, who was never given a first name in canon, but is universally referred to as “Charlie” in fanon. He’s a shady character who causes more trouble than he’s worth. Since his father was always out running some con or another over the holiday season, Peter canonically dislikes Christmas. (Peter does show a change of heart in one episode.) Still, as Peter points out, “He’s my dad,” and goes out of his way to bail him out of trouble.
(Peter’s mother is mentioned on rare occasion in the series, but one mention appears to be in past-tense. Thus, in fanfic, Peter’s mom can be posited both as alive and well, or recently deceased, depending on how much angst the author wants to induce in Peter’s life.)
Mrs. Spengler
Egon’s mom, voiced by the inimitable Rose Marie, who is known for her unpalatable home-made medications she inflicts on the RGBs every time anyone is under the weather.
Cyrus Spengler
Egon’s uncle, who at one point guilts him into returning to the family business in Ohio. (Egon’s dad is presumed to be deceased.)
Louis Tully
The nerdy accountant from the movie was added as the Ghostbusters’ accountant in later seasons.
Detective Frump
An occasionally-appearing character created especially for the cartoon to provide a new antagonist, Detective Frump is out to get the RGBs—most especially Peter—for any violation he can pin on them.
Walter Peck
The EPA nemesis from the first movie, who forced the Containment Unit to be turned off, thus releasing all the ghosts that had been captured.
What’s with the “Real” in “Real Ghostbusters”?
Well, in the 70s there was a live-action Filmation kids’ series called “Ghost Busters,” which had nothing to do with the movie. Rights were secured to use the name for the movie, but not for any subsequent projects. Later, to capitalize on the success of the movie, the live-action “Ghost Busters” was now produced in animated form, before Columbia could release their version of their own property. Because of the rights issues, as well as another cartoon with an identical name, all Columbia could do was to name their series the REAL Ghostbusters, to differentiate it from the pretenders to the throne. (If you run across “Ghostbusters” fanfic featuring a gorilla, um, you’re in the wrong universe.)
BTW, the “correct” fandom is abbreviated as “RGB” (from which I took my LJ name).
Fanfic trends and pairings
“Real Ghostbusters” fan fiction truly runs the gamut of what is available. The fandom’s origins were heavy on gen, but even early on it was skewing heavily towards hurt/comfort and smarm. (Note the definition of smarm here: but, in short, it’s defined as intense non-sexual male-bonding). The presence of slash has ebbed and flowed throughout the fandom’s history. And don’t forget the humor as shown in both the movie and the series. There’s even the occasional AU. This is really a “one-size-fits-all-your-fic-needs” fandom!
The most frequent het pairing is the one that is essentially canonical: Egon and Janine, while the primary slash pairing is Egon and Peter. (Yes, whichever way you spin his sexuality, Egon “gets it” the most of all the RGBs.) And it’s not out of line to mention here that the most popular “smarm pairing” is Peter and Egon.
Links
The must-visit link in RGB fandom is Sheila Paulson’s Real Ghostbusters Fan Page. Almost everything that is extant on the web can be found linked here.
The Wikipedia entry on RGB is also a good source of information, much of which I did not include here since, well, it was available on Wikipedia.
This month, I’ll try to bring you the best of every genre represented in RGB fandom. There’s so much rich fan faction in this fandom. Many of these stories originated not on LJ, not on fic-lists, not even on the ‘net, but date from the days of printed fanzines. We thank everyone from the “early days” who have made their classic stories available online.
And now, on to the recommendations!
Most images courtesy of Lith’s RGB Screencap Archive.