There were so many people running around chasing ghosts in the 80s that it may be hard to keep track of what was what and who was who. Just for fun, let’s try. While the popular 1984 movie Ghostbusters did spawn an animated series called The Real Ghostbusters, this cartoon—called Ghostbusters which is not confusing at all—was inspired by a 1975 live action sitcom about Jake Kong and Eddie Spenser, two paranormal detectives, called—all together now—The Ghost Busters. Visual aids will be provided at the end of the presentation.

Filmation produced the Ghostbusters in question, featuring the sons of Kong and Spenser, grown now and operating their fathers’ business. The two guys were also called Jake and Eddie and frequently alluded to their dads who had disappeared while battling the show’s main big bad, the red-caped Prime Evil.

The original live action sitcom included a gorilla named Tracy and the friendly ape continued on in the animated series. Tracy, Jake and Eddie made their headquarters at Ghost Command, a haunted mansion located among modern skyscrapers. The mansion was filled with supernatural objects that had a life of their own and served as supporting characters in the show. There was Ansa Bone, a talking skull phone; Skelevision, a talking, skeletal TV; Belfry, a pink talking bat; and Ghost Buggy, a talking car inherited from their dads.

Jake Jr. and Eddie Jr. had vowed to continue their fathers’ work and typically went up against Prime Evil and his henchmen. They also encountered a variety of other ghostly types, like Dracula and the Headless Horseman.

The Ghost Busters and The Real Ghostbusters went head to head for a few months but the former was not as popular and as a result it was canceled after 65 episodes.

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