Usually, cartoon spinoffs of movies are a joke. They take whatever made the movie great and drain it dry for fear of upsetting the kiddies, leaving a pale husk behind that bears not even superficial resemblance to the original. "The Real Ghostbusters" was an exception to the rule. With a voice cast that included some of the best talents in the business (Maurice "The Brain" LaMarche, Lorenzo "Garfield" Music, Frank "Nibbler" Welker and, oddly enough, Arsenio Hall), lovely animation and some surprisingly mature and scary writing from future "Babylon 5" creator John Michael Strazynski, episodes of "The Real Ghostbusters" often rivaled their progenitor in terms of quality. But, by 1988, things changed. First Music and then Strazynski left, and the show was drastically retooled to make it more "kiddie friendly." The show went on for another two years, but it was no longer the show it had been.
Five years later, "Extreme Ghostbusters" showed up, pretty much out of the blue. The show was a direct continuation of the original series, though only LaMarche's Egon Spengler reprised his role, with the "pet" ghost Slimer now voiced by Billy "Stimpy" West. This show followed a "next generation" concept, with Egon taking on a group of neophyte grad students to replace the old team. Lasting only for a season, it was an attempt to bring back the old series' dark tone. For the most part, it succeeded; perhaps too well. Some of the story lines in this new incarnation were fairly horrific, including a group of creatures closely modeled on Hellraiser's Cenobites who mutilate children, a bridal ghost with no skin and a demon who removes the bones from its still-living victims. From the black-infused colour schemes to the apocalyptic goth-rock cover of the once-jaunty Ghostbusters theme, it was clear that this show was aiming for the same "young adult" market vacated by shows like "Batman: The Animated Series". The show wasn't quite good enough to reach those heights, perhaps because Strazynski had no hand in it, but it contained a number of episodes that held up well against the best of the first series. The show also suffered a bit from political correctness (the new team comprises a black, a Latino, a woman and a guy in a wheelchair) but, mercifully, these elements had little or nothing to do with the way the characters were portrayed. Given its often disturbing tone, I'm not surprised this show wasn't renewed, but it's a shame that there hasn't been anything since.
Five years later, "Extreme Ghostbusters" showed up, pretty much out of the blue. The show was a direct continuation of the original series, though only LaMarche's Egon Spengler reprised his role, with the "pet" ghost Slimer now voiced by Billy "Stimpy" West. This show followed a "next generation" concept, with Egon taking on a group of neophyte grad students to replace the old team. Lasting only for a season, it was an attempt to bring back the old series' dark tone. For the most part, it succeeded; perhaps too well. Some of the story lines in this new incarnation were fairly horrific, including a group of creatures closely modeled on Hellraiser's Cenobites who mutilate children, a bridal ghost with no skin and a demon who removes the bones from its still-living victims. From the black-infused colour schemes to the apocalyptic goth-rock cover of the once-jaunty Ghostbusters theme, it was clear that this show was aiming for the same "young adult" market vacated by shows like "Batman: The Animated Series". The show wasn't quite good enough to reach those heights, perhaps because Strazynski had no hand in it, but it contained a number of episodes that held up well against the best of the first series. The show also suffered a bit from political correctness (the new team comprises a black, a Latino, a woman and a guy in a wheelchair) but, mercifully, these elements had little or nothing to do with the way the characters were portrayed. Given its often disturbing tone, I'm not surprised this show wasn't renewed, but it's a shame that there hasn't been anything since.