A Real Gem of a Find

SoulBlazerFan · Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:27 am

I don't know how many of you here are/were Ghostbuster fans back in the day (I must imagine there will be a few) but I found this video. It was the original Promo pilot created to gain interest for the cartoon, which ran for seven seasons during the mid eighties/early ninties.

The Real Ghostbusters Promo Pilot

Some of you more observent viewers might see that some of the promo pilot ended up being used as the opening of the actual show. You might also notice that each character is wearing a tan suit, as opposed to their different suits that they wear in the actual series. Finally, take a look at Venkman's face... it's a bit more round, and he actually looks closer to Bill Murray in some of the shots. (The reason they were different than the movie counterparts is that the actors likenesses were not to be used in the cartoon)

Interesting piece of trivia: The original actor who voiced Venkman was Lorenzo Music, probably most famous for voicing Garfield that Cat. Apparently, Bill Murray didn't like this performace and, during the third/fourth season, Music was replaced by Full House alum, Dave Coulier.

Many years later, after Music passed away, Bill Murray would then go on to voice Garfield in two semi-live action films. Ironic if you ask me.

club · Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:49 pm Post subject:

Awesome. I watched every episode of that show multiple times back in the day. Never saw this promo though.

And that's really why Music left the show? That really sucks. I loved his voice and it always pissed me off after they made the switch. I thought about that Music/Venkman/Murrey/Garfield twist before also. Didnt know Music had died. That's disappointing.

The show was just an all around great cartoon. Stayed faithful with the movie and it always sounded like they really did their homework with the supernatural terminology and theology.

I'm also reminded of the other cartoon series The Ghostbusters (minus the "real" in the title) that had absolutely nothing to do with the Ghostbusters franchise we all knew and loved (dubbed "the baby ghostbusters" by me and my friend at the time). Not sure why Im even mentioning it really lol

SoulBlazerFan · Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:30 pm Post subject:

club wrote:Awesome. I watched every episode of that show multiple times back in the day. Never saw this promo though.

And that's really why Music left the show? That really sucks. I loved his voice and it always pissed me off after they made the switch. I thought about that Music/Venkman/Murrey/Garfield twist before also. Didnt know Music had died. That's disappointing.

The show was just an all around great cartoon. Stayed faithful with the movie and it always sounded like they really did their homework with the supernatural terminology and theology.

I'm also reminded of the other cartoon series The Ghostbusters (minus the "real" in the title) that had absolutely nothing to do with the Ghostbusters franchise we all knew and loved (dubbed "the baby ghostbusters" by me and my friend at the time). Not sure why Im even mentioning it really lol

I only found out about the promo pilot when they announced the real Ghostbusters DVD set a few years ago.

And to expand a little on the Music/Murry story, apparently Bill Murray had asked the producers why his character sounded like "Garfield," which is why they brought on a celebrity impressionist like Coulier.

Great show, but suffered the same fate as many others- waning popularity, forced changes that changed the show beyond it's original structure. (Mostly to make it more kid friendly- apparently the networks thought the show was "Too scary)