Tag: The Real Ghostbusters

Episode Review: Xmas Marks The Spot

SpengsLeave a comment

christmasghosts

I had previously written about season 1’s Xmas Marks The Spot going back 4 or 5 years. I no longer have that file and it probably wouldn’t match my review format. I watched the episode twice today and spent about a half a day getting the review along with screen caps together for Ectocontainment. The new review mostly follows the format of Mrs. Roger’s Neighborbood, which was the last episode I wrote about.

In honor of Christmas I give you a present, Ectocontainment’s review of Xmas Marks The Spot, a personal favorite of ghostheads and a tribute to Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.

However you celebrate, Merry Christmas!

Slimer Bubble Gum Toothpaste

SpengsLeave a comment

slimebubbletoothpost

As a kid growing up in the 1980s I was in the demographic of companies who marketed licensed products with children’s characters on them. This constantly happened with toy companies. Some of our favorite cartoon series were designed to sell us toys. These characters from comic books, video games, and certainly cartoons were on any product imaginable kids just had to have. This also includes hygienic products which isn’t much different from today.

Other The Real Ghostbusters hygienic products included a bathroom set which had a white toothbrush with The Real Ghostbusters logo on the handle. That sounds right. I never owned one because if I had to guess it came out when I was older. I’ve seen them on a popular auction site. It doesn’t seem right to buy a used bathroom set. Their was also this pretend shaving set (which I don’t own, would like to) for when you need to shave your already smooth face. You wanted to be like your dad, he didn’t have the heart to tell you some day having to shave isn’t all that exciting. Their was also Slimer bubble bath.

slimebubbletooth

I vaguely remember toothbrushes with characters on them. At least I think I do. I know toothpaste companies marketed toothpaste with their own characters for children. Without minutes of unnecessary research I don’t know if their were other licensed character toothpastes. If you had to pick two popular franchises, you can’t go wrong with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Real Ghostbusters. What other cartoon characters from around that time love to eat? True, Pac-Man is based on a pizza with a slice missing. “What about those Italian guys Rich?” Okay, the list can’t be that long.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Slimer toothpaste (with fluoride, whatever that really is) possibly came out around 1991. I was already in middle school and children based toothpastes were passing me by. I don’t remember if I had even heard of The Real Ghostbusters/Slimer toothpaste at the time. Twenty two years later I would confess if I had ever used this toothpaste. I could have never admitted it in 7th grade. It wouldn’t have been from young peer pressure either.

slimebubbletooth4

Perio Products (today Perio Inc.) from Dublin, Ohio (who makes the shaving cream your dad and barbershops use) distributed The Real Ghostbusters and Slimer toothpaste. It came in three flavors, bubble gum, grape, (just like the gum, please kids don’t eat the toothpaste) and the usual mint. It doesn’t contain any sugar. Yeah, its bubble game flavor, still its toothpaste. Kids didn’t really need a disclaimer.

Slimer, showing how no one really cares about The Real Ghostbusters 😦 and moments earlier having held his iron clad contract then points to his name written in toothpaste. Because of this, the other packaging may have omitted The Real Ghostbusters logo.

slimebubbletooth5

Slimer Fluoride Toothpaste naturally helps to fight cavities from snack cake and cheesy products. None of them are sponsors of Ecto-Containment. If your parents bought you the very specific The Real Ghostbusters Fluoride Rinse, your kid teeth (which will be replaced naturally) reduces cavities by 40%. Notice Perio doesn’t give percentages without using the rinse they made.

The Real Ghostbusters Slimer toothpaste was also sold in the United Kingdom. As Ghoulish Minty Gel. The box graphics are more detailed then its United States counterpart. If you know who made/distributed the toothpaste in the UK, please leave a comment.

Just like any good company advertising to kids a commercial was made to sell us on the fact we could have brushed our teeth with a gel that resembles slime. This could be a separate post, I like how The Real Ghostbusters/Ghostbusters products were animated and told a story. The animation just seemed to work for these products.

You can watch the video on Spook Central. Its near the bottom of the merchandise page.

Ecto•Plazm Grape Bubble Gum

SpengsLeave a comment

ectoplazmgrapegum

During the 1980s as the cola wars raged on with adults who had expendable income, another corn syrupy battle was taking place on suburban playgrounds across America. Thanks to a product that could be bought almost anywhere, GUM.

Their were some major players who used the power of marketing and flavor to build brand loyalty during childhood. Bazooka Joe, owned by the trading card company Topps. Hubba Bubba, owned by gum giant Wrigley. Bubbalicious, today a Cadbury Adams division. You don’t get to give kids free gum, become a gum giant or be a part of a division without a lot of children’s quarters. Once in a while a whole dollar.

A nickel bought you a piece of gum, quarters got you a pack with 5 (yes 5) whole pieces. When you’re on the play ground, your choice of gum could define you, until you went home. Any kid could buy those gum brands from the nearby deli. As young ghostheads we could come to school with gum that stood out from the crowd. Gum derived from Ecto-Plazm.

ectoplazmgrapegum2

The Real Ghostbusters ECTO•PLAZM is a grape flavor bubble gum that came from the Amurol Products Company. Today known as Amurol Confections Company, a Wrigley’s brand. It isn’t like we had portfolios in 1986, gum could have been our currency.

Unlike traditional gums of the day, The Real Ghostbusters Ecto•Plazm comes in a tube, that resembles toothpaste. I’d like to think A.P.C wanted a rectangular piece of gum with gel inside. Unless their was a patent dispute, it wasn’t slimy enough. It couldn’t possibly ooze that way. Ironically the solution comes from the product that helps prevents cavities and is recommended by 4 out of 5 dentists.

Out of just about every flavor on planet earth, I don’t know why they chose grape. Yeah, kids like grape. When it came to gum it wasn’t my favorite flavor. Back then I might have wondered how gum could taste like other real fruits, such as watermelon. How about when worlds collided, gum that tasted like soda? That could only have been achieved by wizardry.

The reason we have “slime gum” is because of the purp.., I mean grape ghost that is coming at us in 3D. It could have, if A.P.C knew for sure we could still buy school milk.

ectoplazmgrapegum3

I don’t think they could back that claim up, “Proof Of A Ghostly Encounter.” You know someone got a refund.

For some reason this Ecto•Plazm I bought as a ghosthead and collector was never opened. It still feels like if tens of years of exposed air wouldn’t change the chemical properties it could still squeeze out a gel which then becomes chewable gum.

I’m probably wrong, I feel like opening a 27 year old tube of mint gum will lower its value. Also, in my 5 minutes of research I didn’t see The Real Ghostbusters Ecto•Plazm gum. The Real Ghostbusters Slimer gum (which I don’t own) seems to be more common. If I have rare gum, I’m going to invest in a tech company.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Real Ghostbusters Patch

Spengs1 Comment

rgbnoghostpatch

Apologies on the slight blurring during scanning. I tried to take a pic too, the lighting in my office area wasn’t bright enough on the packaging. Of course the bubble chose today (after 27 years) to no longer stick. Can a bead of glue turn to dust?

During 2011 when I was buying and collecting Kenner‘s The Real Ghostbusters toys, every now and then I’d come across The Real Ghostbusters merchandise that may be unique, rare, (I know, subjective) or not seen very much these days. Such as, BooloonBusters. Growing up during the Ghostbusters/The Real Ghostbsuters era I do remember some non Kenner RGB items. Unfortunately a The Real Ghostbusters Patch wasn’t one of them. Oh, I would have definitely remembered as I put together a Ghostbusters costume when I was around 10 years old. If I could have had an official patch, I would have wanted one. Even if it’s 3 x 5.

Before the age of the information superhighway (where my 30 somethings at?) and social media you weren’t always going to know about other licensed merchandise from your favorite cartoons. Even if the iron on patch was sold nationally, I’m not imagining stores always keeping these in stock. Unless you’re a millennial, you may remember “five and dime” stores such as the now long out of business in the United States Woolworth’s. Outside of a mall, a downtown or other shopping area in town may have had a local or similar regional store. These are the types of general stores that probably sold a smaller novelty character iron on patch. I’m not calling the manufacturer, Gordy International, who appears to have seen better days a novelty company. I tried to look to see if they had a website. Until 2011 I had never heard of the then NY based company. I don’t know if you could have, perhaps a more arts and crafts retailer could have carried these too.

Packaging

I don’t know if this was unique to the time, I like how the bubble is shaped to fit around the “no ghost” patch, keeping it snug. The company could have made a round one or something squared, risking it tumbling around, like with Matty Collector’s Retro-Action P.K.E Meter. The front features The Real Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters logo. The back is pretty plain and explains the iron on instructions.

The Patch

One of Gordy International’s selling points for buying this is the “real embroidered stitching.” Considering a machine (most likely) in Taiwan did the stitching, it’s mostly well made. Looking at the “no ghost” patch closely 27 years later I can see slight imperfections, where material wasn’t 100%, mostly on the outlines. People and computers (1980s tech) aren’t perfect. As this couldn’t have cost more then a $1.00 USD, kids probably wouldn’t have complained. I might have noticed if I had a Ghostbusters patch back then. I still would have been happy enough.

A nice little feature for the price is your mom could have sewn or glued the patch to some material to make you even cooler. I doubt the science to accomplish two ways to make a patch stay on was new, even then. “No ghost” patches sold today are made the same way. Obviously I’m not an expert, sewing a patch instead of applying glue would seem to make a patch more secure. And would probably be better for the material.

Graphics

Maybe it looked better on a Macintosh Plus, if they were lucky. The Real Ghostbusters logo is too dark. It appears to be the “Ghostbusters” font. Black on a dark purple doesn’t stand out. I wonder why Gordy International didn’t just use the colors from the series. Other companies, even if they didn’t have the title logo used bright colors.

Have you ever seen The Real Ghostbusters be so expressive? For unknown reasons three out of the four of them appear to be yelling, like they’re angry. Especially Ray. Was mood slime around? Ray and Egon almost seem like they’re defending what they do from government officials. Winston seems like he’s had enough of a ghost and is ready for some ‘busting action. As for Peter, he seems somewhat surprised by what’s happening. He might not know what do about it. Also, where is Ray and Egon’s undershirt?

Overall

I was also reminded (thanks to my memory) that a company (could have been Gordy International for all I know) also made and marketed a Ghostbusters iron on patch from around the same time. That’s probably cooler to have, of course won’t feature the actors portraying the characters. Whether its Ghostbusters or The Real Ghostbusters their are certainly better and larger “no ghost” patches. Which aren’t hard to find. If you’re a ghosthead, collector, and want something a bit different, this can be nice to have.

Matty Collector Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters

SpengsLeave a comment

retroactioncardback

November 2013 edit: Removed a sentence about a personal blog post which I opted not to bring over.

Recently I bought a The Real Ghostbusters figure I look forward to receiving and writing about. As I don’t have all the figures in that series this felt like a really good time to write about Matty Collector’s Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters.

Matty Collector produced and first sold Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston in 2010. They were available in chain toy stores such as Toys ‘R Us, collectible shops, and through on-line retailers. In 2011 Matty Collector produced and first sold a Janine and Samhain 2 pack which included a small Slimer and a firehouse diorama. Which was also available at Toys ‘R Us, collectible shops, and through on-line retailers.

Mattel also offered two different Peter Venkman figures from The Real Ghostbusters episode, Citizen Ghost. Both Peters wear movie style uniform and come with movie style proton packs. The second Peter Venkman is the spectral version of the Real Peter Venkman.

In the next Retro Action The Real Ghostbusters updates we’ll look at the Janine/Samhain 2 pack and the Citizen Ghost Peters.

The Real Ghostbusters Equipment: Ghost Tether

SpengsLeave a comment

ghostether

When I wrote about the Ghost Grab-A-Meter on February 15, 2012 I shared an opinion about how Kenner only had one toy that tied into Ghostbusters II. And that the Ghost Grab-A-Meter reminded me of two pieces of equipment from Ghostbusters II. What I didn’t remember then or yesterday when sharing its instructions because I hadn’t seen the episode in recent years is that Kenner may have based their toy on the Ghost Tether. A piece of tech used in the 5 season episode, Partners In Slime.

Matthew from Ghostbusters Wiki shared with us Ectocontainment and The Real Ghostbusters readers that they concluded Kenner’s version could have been based on this gadget. After seeing the GB Wiki’s images and watching part of the episode today for reference, enjoyment, and to make my own screen caps it continues to make sense.

ghostethercollar

Of course the Ghost Tether and Ghost Grab-A-Meter operate differently. You couldn’t expect a respected toy company to make a capture like toy which “fires” a collar. They knew their could be law suits, Plus Kenner would have had to work with universities or NASA to add the laser like technology.

More pictures of the Ghost Tether can be found at its respective page on Ghostbusters Wiki.

Thanks & Credit: Matthew Jordan/Ghostbusters Wiki Staff/Ghostheads

Disclaimer: Screenshots are used for reference and no ownership is implied.

Custom Figures: Ghostbustin Mutagen Ooze

SpengsLeave a comment

therealraph

I knew once Playmates released its Mutagen Ooze figure line it’d only be a matter of time before creative ghostheads would transforms Ghostbusters inspired Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into ectoplasm fighting machines! A Raph Mutagen Ooze figure was customized by ghosthead Slaysghosts.

leo04

Ghosthead Derrico13 took a Mutagen Ooze Leo (pictured at top obviously) and modeled it more on Ghostbusters then The Real Ghostbusters, replacing Leonardo’s swords for a certified (it was right?) proton pack. Derrico even customized a Mouser to look like a ghost. Good or bad it reminds me of Slimer.

More pictures can be seen in Derrico13’s auction.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turt…Busters?

SpengsLeave a comment

mutagenralph

It isn’t a secret that the ooze (you had to go their Rich) changed 4 pet turtles and their rat master into “lean, green fighting machines.” Their exact origins vary depending if you’re going by the original comic, cartoon, or 1990 movie that didn’t have a popular ninja rap. Not surprising as a child of the ‘80s I think of the cartoon first. Then their first words, “pizza.” Ahh.

Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be forever linked by the period they were around, how both shaped impressionable minds, which franchise’s toy lines would ultimately spend more of our parents hard earned money, the debate that TMNT was a factor in RGBs ending, and now a current toy line that sorta emulates our beloved ghostbusting heros.

Playmates who have the rights to TMNT toys have been making them since I was about 9 years old. Is this important to this entry? Sometimes their turtle variants were strange and out there. Same could be said of Kenner’s RGB figure lines. What we didn’t know then was that more figures made respective toy companies a lot of money. Hit cartoon series and marketing with the best toy commercials made us want a lot of the “out there” figures.

I doubt Playmates would have dared to make “heroes on a half shell” figures that looked like they were ready to team up with The Real Ghostbusters. TMNT has been enjoying a renascence (smooth) in the twenty teens. With a serious lack of Ghostbusters figures at this time Playmates released their Mutagen Ooze figure line. Why didn’t they just call it Mutagen Ooze blower?

Two out of the four figures wear flight suit type outfits and all 4 mutant turtles have “back packs” that can be filled with ooze. Need more proof someone at Playmates was thinking of Ghostbusters? A prototype Leonardo even included a name tag.

Fun & Games: BooloonBusters

SpengsLeave a comment

booloonbustersfront

You’re about 8 years old, you love Ghostbusters and the only real way to play it is to wait for family and friends to stop using the parent’s Commodore 64, for them to quit playing Missile Command on the family’s Atari 2600 or stop trying to save that princess on…you get the idea. With time moving too slowly until 1987 where Kenner will have made an actual proton pack (with ghost trap to follow by 1989) how are you suppose to play Ghostbusters when you’re not on the school playground?

Realizing kids had a void in their Ghostbusters playing, Intergalactic Games (corporate HQ located in the future on Mars) from Joilet, IL who arguably made the world’s numero uno card game Uno (see what I did their) came up with a solution that could continue to make them money until we were about 12. Or would it?

Intergalactic Gaming creatively came up with Booloon Busters, (simply clever) a card/balloon game that encourages children to pump up balloons until they burst with no adult supervision. OK I made up the latter part.

If you could find another kid who liked Ghostbusters before 1986 and wanted to play a REAL game instead of blowing bubbles with a puny “magic” wand you had quite the Saturday ahead. Truthfully I never knew that many young ghostheads and I had never even heard of Booloon Busters until I was 33 years old. This is why I will time travel with Booloon Busters so my young self can become a master of kids card games and he’ll have adult supervision to pop balloons safely. A win win.

Booloon Busters includes 2 balloon pumpers shaped like a proton gun and ghost trap. Respectively I feel IG’s ghost trap pumper is a cross between an EMF Meter and The Real Ghostbusters ghost trap. We can agree to disagree.

Booloon Busters includes 36 cards and 40 balloons. While you could play with more then one person, Intergalactic envisioned kid team outings where our moms would allow us to eat cheese doodles, probably drink a can of cola (hey, no sponsorships here) and chew gum with sugar in it. Those were the days.

While the balloon graphics on the front feature Slimer (of course) and what could be Slug from Ghosts ‘R Us, the truth is The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Corporation with its mighty influence left Intergalactic Games no choice, but to print 40 balloons featuring the giant marshmallow himself, The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. If I knew it would make a difference I’d send a letter to the past.

booloonbustersback

Intergalactic Games who must have printed a million and 11 Uno cards shut down Uno production for 4 days to print over existing cards to make the OFFICIAL Booloon Busters game cards. I can’t really prove that, it seems plausible.

Once your friend or teams chose which pumper you wanted colorful balloons could be secured (I’m guessing) by the metal ring ties.

When it was a child’s turn the chosen card would tell him or her how many times to pump their balloon. Without looking at the instructions that are sealed inside the 26 year old game I’m safely assuming if the balloon didn’t burst it was the next child’s turn. This would continue in “rounds” until a balloon bust and a child was declared the victor!

What would happen to game time once all 40 balloons were eventually popped? I’m not exactly sure if mom and dad could just buy OFFICIAL Booloon Busters balloons. However, standard party balloons should have sufficed. Probably cost a bit less too. Booloons or no balloons, for less then $5 (even in 21st Century dollars) kids had a deck of cards, a mini proton gun, (nutrona wand) ghost trap, and their imaginations. Who ya gonna call? BOOLOON BUSTERS!

booloonbustersides

The Real Ghostbusters Coming To Fearnet

SpengsLeave a comment

rgbtitle

In the mid to late 2000s (at least in the United States, can’t speak for other countries) The Real Ghostbusters aired on cartoon networks (not THE Cartoon Network, I always thought it should have) and on demand. I was practically thirty and knew it wouldn’t be aired as it was in 1986. I also have the complete Time Life set and had little reason to sit through kid promos and commercials.

Between then and now life altering events occurred in my life and as I was getting older anyhow I gave zero thought into 80s cartoons re-airing or re-re airing. However as things have settled down I do like to see that today’s kids and “children of the ‘80s” can turn a TV on and watch their favorite Saturday morning cartoons without a box set.

Which brings us to this Summer. TV Network, FEARnet is going to air The Real Ghostbusters as part of their Funhouse lineup. No word yet if episodes will air in season order. Hopefully they’ll air complete and not be edited as episodes were during the Fox Kids run years ago.

The Real Ghostbusters begins airing on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 10:00 AM on FEARnet and their On Demand channel.

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Equipment: Belt Gizmo

SpengsLeave a comment

beltgizmoanimated

Last month around April 13, 2012 a Ghostbusters fan, (HandSolo) shared his discovery of the animated version of the “Belt Gizmo.” A piece of Ghostbusting equipment that’s always been part of the uniform, we’ve never known its function. That wasn’t good enough for the creative behind The Real Ghostbusters. When a story or script called for it, they gave a couple of functions to the Belt Gizmo.

beltgizmoanimatedradio

In the season 1 episode Mr. Sandman, Dream Me A Dream we see for the first time what the Belt Gizmo can do, used as a communications device. Kind of like emergency personnel’s “walkie talkies.” It’s a professional term I first learned when I was a kid. Peter pulled the belt gizmo up from his belt in a hallway before the Sandman temporarily got to him.

In fact three out of four times the Belt Gizmo was used, it was as a “walkie talkie.”

beltgizmoradio

In the season 3 episode Baby Spookums Ray’s Belt Gizmo has a button that lights up. Which he answers. In the season 3 episode The Headless Motorcyclist Winston pulled his Belt Gizmo up from his belt in a client’s apartment to speak to the other The Real Ghostbusters.

ecto2beltgizmo

What I and others find more interesting for the Belt Gizmo’s function is it being used an alert/pager system. We did see that briefly in Baby Spookums. The full range of what the Belt Gizmo can do was seen in the season 3 episode Once Upon A Slime. In the episode Peter and Winston were in trouble with Ecto-2. About the same time Ray and Egon were at the library. This is when Egon’s Belt Gizmo “goes off.” He receives the text message “Ecto 2.” When a The Real Ghostbusters is out of range he (or Janine. maybe Louis) can use their Belt Gizmo to alert another The Real Ghostbusters.

Disclaimer: Screenshots are used for reference and no ownership is implied.