Extreme Ghostbusters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Developed by Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis, Extreme Ghostbusters is a Sequel Series to The Real Ghostbusters (which was itself a Spin-Off of the first Ghostbusters film), airing for one season in late 1997.

The show takes place ten years after the original Ghostbusters disbanded after they captured all the ghosts. While Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore move away, Egon Spengler stays in New York, living in the Firehouse with Slimer and working as an instructor for the class "Paranormal Phenomena 101" at a community college. But when construction workers inadvertently release a new breed of ghosts, Egon has little choice but to form a new team of Ghostbusters using his students:

  • Kylie Griffin: A Goth who was a big believer in ghosts and the supernatural even before joining the team; she's as knowledgeable in these areas as Egon (her idol) or Ray. She has a weaker Proton Gun than her teammates, but she's also the only one with a Ghost Trap. When the team encounters unknown threats in the field, she's the most likely one to identify and strategize around them (or at least translate Egon's words to the others).
  • Eduardo Rivera: A slacker who only joined Egon's class for the "E-Z-A." He initially did not believe in ghosts but this changed when he had to go face-to-face with one. Like Peter, Eduardo can act like a smart alec at times and often speaks for the group, out of turn, he is also a frequent target of Slimer's pestering. His Catch Phrases are "Maybe he's/she's dead" and "We're scientists."
  • Roland Jackson: The team's tech expert and unofficial leader after Egon, responsible for getting the Ecto-1 back in working order (also installing a wheelchair ramp for Garrett) and doing the lion's share of upgrading the Proton Packs, PKE Meters and Kylie's Ghost Trap. Like Winston, Roland treasures the Ecto-1.
  • Garrett Miller: Born a paraplegic, he's the jock of the team who is the most gung-ho about busting ghost tail. His attitude and demeanor are similar to Ray and Peter. Put together.

Janine Melnitz, Egon's fifth and final student, returns to work as the Ghostbusters' receptionist, accountant and collector. Slimer returns to his role as Non-Human Sidekick, when he's not eating everything in sight.

The show ran for 40 episodes and was canceled months later, though went out on a high note.

Tropes used in Extreme Ghostbusters include:


  • Acrofatic: Despite being rather chubby, Roland was quite limber and agile.
  • Adult Fear: Just try to watch the episode "Grundelesque" without thinking pedophilia...
  • Ammunition Backpack
  • Arbitrary Skepticism: People (such as Mayor McShane) don't believe in ghosts, believing instead that the original team tricked people and the new team is continuing the tradition. Note, however, that this series is in continuity with The Real Ghostbusters, which featured many public instances of supernatural activity in New York, as well as others across the planet.
    • In the premiere, Eduardo says that anyone that believes in ghosts has half a brain cell. Coming face-to-face with Slimer changes his outlook, however.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Garrett was a die-hard fan of the originals, which was why he signed up for Egon's class. Roland also qualifies. Being a techie, he was quite fascinated by Ecto-1 and their hardware in general.
  • Badass Grandpa: Egon. Just cause he's a decade older doesn't mean he can't still let ghosts have it.
    • Also the other members of the original Ghostbusters during their brief appearance. When coming up against a ghost the current 'busters were having trouble with, they take it down in a matter of seconds.
  • Badass Longcoat: Kylie has one.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: The title of an episode featuring a Literal Genie as the Monster of the Week.
  • Belly Mouth: The Piper has one.
  • The Bermuda Triangle: Is revealed in the second part of "Back in the Saddle" to be a huge, all-devouring spiritual entity.
  • Big No: Kylie, when she succumbs to her fear of maggots, and Eduardo, when he succmbs to his fear of death, in the episode "Fear Itself."
    • "Home Is Where the Horror Is" has two kids saying this trope after attempting to sell candy to an old woman in the beginning of this episode.
    • "Slimer's Sacrifice": Inside the containment unit, Slimer himself says this trope when he's consoling Eduardo after he gets hypnotised by Siren to destroy Eduardo's air tank. Also Kylie says it when she believes Slimer and Eduardo are caught in the fire by the ghouls in the containment unit, only for both of them to escape safely from the containment unit.
  • Black and Nerdy: Roland, the African-American Techno Wizard who prefers classical music to rock or rap.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Garrett may be the first paraplegic example.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: "Brilliant" may be stretching it, but every so often, Eduardo will do or say something that indicates he's much brighter than his teammates give him credit for. He just doesn't put much effort into studying, which leads to ignorance.
  • Casual Danger Dialogue
  • Catch Phrase: Eduardo's are noted above; another one is the team's Battle Cry: "On Three! Three!"
    • As well as Kylie's "I'm not a (verb)er."
  • Character Development: Unlike some animated shows of the time that suffered Negative Continuity, this series did feature some recurring themes, the most obvious of which was Eduardo and Kylie who both grew closer and, in Eduardo's case, more mature and competent as the series went on.
  • The Cheerleader: Kylie used to be one. She's very ashamed of it.
  • Claustrophobia: Garrett (though unlike the others, he would be the last person to admit his fear).
  • Cool Old Guy: Egon.
  • Composite Character: Janine combines her later-series design style with her early-series personality from the original show.
  • Continuity Nod: To both events in RGB and XGB:
    • In "Slimer's Sacrifice," the containment unit is populated by Siren and Banshee (from "Sonic Youth") and Lotan (from "Moby Ghost"; even though Lotan was destroyed and not captured). Surt is also mentioned as being previously captured by the RGB.
      • Same episode has Egon refer to entering the Containment Unit before - which he did in RGB in "Xmas Marks the Spot."
    • "Grundelesque" features the Grundel, as in the exact same Grundel that the RGB defeated.
    • "Back in the Saddle" gives the original (RGB) Ghostbusters some screen time.
      • The same episode contains a more direct nod. During Egon's party, Slimer brings down the birthday cake - half of which he ate. Peter snaps at him, "You never change, you nasty green slime machine you?!" In "Slimer, Come Home" on the original series, Slimer devoured all of Winston's birthday cake and Peter yelled at him over it.
      • The events of "Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin" are also slyly referenced, where Egon compares the bowling alley case to "...the time we busted that Class-4 shape-shifter in the Poconos." Also, in the same episode, the bowling-alley bust is a nod to the very first bust in the very first RGB episode, "Knock Knock".
    • In "The Sphinx", Egon calls Garrett "Ray" in a fit of frustration.
    • In "Eyes of a Dragon", Garrett takes offense to an FBI agent, citing how he and the other XGBs were arrested by "Feds" and handcuffed to a plane being torn apart by a gremlin (which happened in "Grease").
  • Custom Uniform: What Kylie and Eduardo wear does not match the traditional Ghostbuster uniform at all.
  • Darker and Edgier: While the show retains the trademark Ghostbusters humor, it treats the horror elements more seriously than either the movies or The Real Ghostbusters.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Kylie, Eduardo and Garrett.
    • Janine also retains this, when she's onscreen.
  • Did Not Do the Research: In "Home Is Where the Horror Is," Kylie mistakenly calls the summer solstice the longest night of the year, instead of the shortest.
    • In "Seeds of Destruction," the possessed plants were subdued by spraying them with oxygen -- presumably, it was as toxic to them as carbon dioxide is to animals. In real life, the plan would have backfired spectacularly: plants use oxygen in their respiration just like animals do, but don't usually need to extract it from the atmosphere.
  • Disabled Means Helpless: Garrett is hardly this trope, but he is savvy enough to exploit it.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Many villains fall into this territory. A hell of a lot more often than in The Real Ghostbusters.
  • Expy: "Deadliners" delivers a double-helping. A special type of eldritch abomination called the Vathack invade the works of young adult horror genre writer "JN Kline". They bring to life the titular Deadliners, monsters which are clearly based on the Hellraiser's Cenobites.
  • Eye Scream: The episode "The Unseen" has the XGB crew track down a monster who takes away a person's eyes the moment a person looks at it.
  • Five-Man Band:
  • Five-Token Band: Although quite against those tokens' stereotypes.
  • Golem: In "The True Face of a Monster", a rabbi's son creates one when his father's synagogue is victimized by racist hooligans.
  • Goth: Kylie exemplifies the Gloomy Goth subtrope.
  • Forbidden Chekhov's Gun: Egon tells the new team never to cross the streams the pilot.
  • Gratuitous Spanish: Eduardo. A milder case than most, as he only does it occasionally and can go entire episodes without speaking a word of Spanish.
  • Griping About Gremlins: The Monster of the Week in "Grease".
  • Handicapped Badass: Garrett takes this trope Up to Eleven. One fan theory is that the executives wanted a character in a wheelchair, as was growing ever more popular, and the creators responded by turning their gung-ho jock character into the wheelchair-bound one... and having him act like he didn't know he was handicapped.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In "Slimer's Sacrifice," a damaged ghost allows Fenris to break free and threatens to allow the other ghosts in the Containment Unit to escape. Slimer rams the escaping ghosts and closes the unit from the inside - trapping himself in the process. The trope is naturally subverted when Eduardo goes in to retrieve the spud.
  • Hidden Depths: Mostly Eduardo who, among other things, is an avid reader who Garrett seeks out for literary advice. He even tells him "There's a lot about me you don't know."
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: In many cases, the Ghostbusters defeat the Monster of the Week through their own tricks. Most notably is when Kylie and Eduardo turn an orb that marked anyone who looked at it as a target for a ghost who steals eyes on said ghost, causing all its victims to regain their eyesight.
    • Also, there was a spirit from the dream world who was impervious to the busters' Proton Packs who decided to come over into the human realm, but in doing so, he lost his immunity to the packs and was captured the instant he crossed over. Big oops there.
  • I Can't Feel My Legs: When Garrett Invoked it, you know it's Played for Laughs.
  • I Need To Go Bathe My Cat
  • Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Averted. Garrett isn't treated any better or worse because of the fact that he's in a wheelchair.
  • Irony: Kylie screaming when succumbing to her fears, despite that she said previously she's "not a screamer" in "Fear Itself."
  • Ironic Fear: In the "What Do They Fear?" Episode, Eduardo's fear is of death: ironic both because he was taunting Kylie earlier claiming she was afraid of death, and because he's always joking about it with his catch phrase "Maybe s/he's dead".
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Eduardo and Garrett.
  • The Jersey Devil: "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It". It's a spiritual being that created a vaguely bat-like physical form by possessing ores and minerals.
  • Kneel Before Zod: In the episode "Casting the Runes," Kylie and Roland experience this when they both encounter Kahlil:

Kahlil: How does it feel to be on your knees before the great Kahlil?
Kylie: Lousy.

  • Marty Stu / Author Avatar: In an In-Universe example, Garrett writes a short story starring himself (he has his teammates die after the first page so he can be the sole hero and avenge them). According to Eduardo, there's nothing in the story to grab the reader and it's "just 40 pages of [Garrett] blowing away ghosts and chasing skirts."
  • Mood Whiplash: While the episodes usually ended on a triumphant or funny note (unless it was the odd two-parter), the ending credits music was strangely eerie, marked by a few demonic growls and laughs. Then again, this show was Darker and Edgier than its predecessor.
  • My Brain Is Big: Kahlil.
  • New York City
  • No Ontological Inertia: Once the Ghost Of The Week is captured, any of its spells or effects are conveniently undone. This is in-keeping with standards set by RGB, though.
  • Not as You Know Them: The original Ghostbusters, when they return. Just for example, the idealistic, dedicated-to-the-paranormal Ray Stantz...is a used car salesman.
    • Though nothing has changed about their personalities or behavior; it's just that Ghostbusting was so important to the characters, it was jarring to see them living without it.
    • And for the record, Ray's current profession is more the result of a destructive incident at a university in Idaho than a bonafide career choice. (Not that he's bitter about it.)

"There was a minor mishap followed by a major explosion."

  • The Obi-Wan: Egon and Janine.
  • Oh Crap: In the premiere, the PKE meters and other equipment detect supernatural activity for the first time in years. Realizing what that means, Slimer has this reaction and rushes to find Egon.
  • Old Hero, New Pals: When Egon Spengler assembles a brand new team.
  • Old Shame: In-Universe, where viewers learn that Kylie was voted best eighth grade cheerleader. She's mortified when the others find out and insists that "was another life."
  • Only One Name: A variation; the Extreme Ghostbusters have last names, but since the entire team is on a First-Name Basis with each other, they're used very rarely.
  • Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Kylie and Garrett's accents are very inconsistent.
  • The Other Darrin: Neither Laura Summer nor Kath Soucie returned to voice Janine. (Her voice actor in this series was Pat Musick.) Meanwhile, Billy West took over for Frank Welker as Slimer, although Welker returned as Ray Stantz.
  • On Three: "THREE"!
  • Our Ghosts Are Different: Seriously, are they really ghosts or Eldritch Abominations from a different dimension?
    • The 2009 video game explains this: the "shockwave" in 1991 made ghosts much bigger, stronger, and meaner. The Extreme Ghostbusters are therefore "Busters of Extreme Ghosts."
  • Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette/Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Kylie
  • Putting the Band Back Together: The Real Ghostbusters' reunion in later episodes.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Even more so than the original group.
  • Rearrange the Song: A darker version of the famous Ghostbusters theme sung by Jim Cummings.
  • Retired Badass: Egon & Janine.
  • Riddle of the Sphinx: In the episode "The Sphinx" when, even though Egon figured out the answer, no one knew what it was beforehand.
  • Running Gag: Eduardo asking "Maybe he's dead?"
  • Sadly Mythtaken: Hraesvelg from the episode "Bird of Prey." In Norse Mythology, Hraesvelg is a giant in the shape of an eagle whose name means "corpse swallower" and whose wing-beats cause the wind to blow. In XGB, Hraesvelg is a dragon whose name quote "Literally translates from Old Norse as 'Bird of Prey'" and who has complete control over the weather.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Achira in "Darkness at Noon", who was sealed in an underground tunnel until it is broken by tunnel workers trying to open up a path for the subway. Her release also unleashes other ghosts at the end of the episode. Several other episodes had the team fight a few ghosts that were imprisoned until being recently freed, such as the Leprechaun in "Luck of the Irish", the Oil Demon in "Ghost in the Machine", and Cohila in "The Crawler".
  • Sequel Series
  • Ship Tease: Eduardo and Kylie. Egon and Janine promptly pick up where the old show left off with a couple of hints that their relationship had progressed to another level.
  • Small Annoying Creature: Slimer, although less so than in The Real Ghostbusters.
  • Specs of Awesome: As always, Egon wears them.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: With the exception of Kylie, the new team look like dead ringers for the original Ghost Busters, especially Garrett (who looks like Ray) and Roland (who looks like Winston).
  • Take That Me: The FBI agents in "Eyes of a Dragon" are mostly there to parody Men in Black.
  • Team Dad: Egon
  • Team Mom: Janine is capable of being a Mama Bear when called for. Even towards Egon.
  • This Is Sparta: "Throw! The! Trap!" is what Roland says when the gang is about to catch ghosts in "Darkness at Noon" and in "Casting the Runes."
    • Kylie gives one to Edwardo in "The Unseen" concerning the loss of their proton packs:

Eduardo: Well, looks like you lost my gun. That makes us even.
Kylie: Eduardo. Get! Out of! MY! FACE!

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