DVD Corner

Extreme Ghostbusters: The Complete Series DVD Review

“Extreme Ghostbusters” is a worthy follow-up to “The Real Ghostbusters.”

In honor of the recently released “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” Sony has given Ghostbusters fans a bonus treat by releasing the complete series of “Extreme Ghostbusters” for the first time on DVD. Taking place after “The Real Ghostbusters,” the 40 episode 1997 animated series finds the Real Ghostbusters have disbanded after a lack of paranormal activity in New York. Egon (who still lives at the firehouse with Slimer) is now teaching a paranormal class at a city college, but when ghostly activities begin to pop up again, Egon recruits students Garrett Miller, Roland Jackson, Kylie Griffin and Eduardo Rivera to form a new Ghostbusters team. Plots in the series involve possessions, a Golem, fears, book characters, runes, a ghost house, vampire clowns, an orb, Janine and Egon’s dynamic, a pied piper who controls ghosts, wishes, a gremlin, the Jersey Devil, a Siren, time travel, the Hraesvelg, witches, a leprechaun, Slimer in the containment unit, the Grundel, Morpheus (a ghost version), bones, food, a temp, a Real Ghostbusters reunion, a sphinx, and various ghosts, demons, and creatures.

Created by Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis, “Extreme Ghostbusters” is often overshadowed by its predecessor “The Real Ghostbusters.” Granted, TRG is the better series and is arguably one of the best animated series based on a film franchise, but ‘Extreme’ deserves credit too. While some may argue the new characters are largely reiterations of the TRG characters (a valid point to be sure), the characters definitely come into their own thanks to character centric subplots spread throughout the series. Kylie in particular stands out as the best of the lot as her spirited characters feels like the most original here. Of course, many fans will be quick to point out the TRG characters Ray, Peter and Winston do indeed appear in the wonderful “Back In The Saddle” two-parter which is undoubtedly the highlight of the entire series. Not only was it fun to see the now aging Ghostbusters back in action, but the clashes and eventual collaborations with the new team members was a joy to behold. It’s the kind of Ghostbusters material fans treasure.

Where ‘Extreme’ really shines in my opinion is with the ghosts and monsters. As someone who is always wanting to see more horror for a younger audience, it’s refreshing to see a series like “Extreme Ghostbusters” dish out some seriously freaky and nightmarish creations like “The Grundel” in “Grundelesque” and the Hellraiser esque creatures in “Deadliners” (which itself is an homage to the works of R.L. Stine).

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.33:1. How does it look? Unfortunately, the series was not restored and the video quality is all over the place. No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Some episodes do indeed look better than others while episodes such as “Deadliners” appear blurry. Other episodes have noticeable dirt and scratches. It’s a shame the picture quality wasn’t better but it’s just nice to see this series released at last.

Audio Track: Dolby Stereo. How does it sound? On the plus side, the audio fares better here with a dynamic Dolby Stereo track. The sound effects and music really pop here.

No extras have been included

March 29, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Egon, Extreme Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters: The Complete Series DVD Review, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Real Ghostbusters