Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
Take Two

The Ghostbusters go to California to see their movie being made. But someone frees a silence-loving ghost and their proton packs have been replaced by props!

How cool is it that not only is the movie referenced, but it's actually one-upped! You gotta love how JMS flipped the script and made The Real Ghostbusters truly the REAL Ghostbusters, and the movie Ghostbusters turned into Hollywood fiction. I wish Dan Aykroyd would adopt that idea so that Ghostbusters II can be written out of the canon as "Hollywood fiction". And who here DIDN'T get a charge out of seeing the actual movie footage IN the episode itself?!? Winston gets my favorite line of the episode: Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis?!? What's that, a law firm?

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
Citizen Ghost

Cynthia Crawford from UBN News interviews Peter and comes away with a story about how the Ghostbusters came to let Slimer live with them.

What a jam-packed episode! You have a direct follow-up to the events of the first movie; you have an explanation for the new colored uniforms; you have EVIL ghostly Ghostbusters; and you have a really sweet and adorable Janine/Egon moment. The episode also contains two of my favorite obscure lines that I repeat to myself from time to time just for my own amusement:

Cynthia Crawford: Oh, you must be Janine Melnitz.
Janine: Well, if I must, I must. Though all things considered, I'd rather be Meryl Streep. But then, wouldn't we all?

Peter: Hey, don't make fun. This is how I got through college.

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
The Grundel

When an evil spirit takes possession of a young boy, his brother asks the Ghostbusters to save him.

Now this is how you write a story with a moral message without talking down to your audience or hitting them over the head with the message. Needless to say, it was written by JMS. The Grundel is definitely in my short list of favorite and most memorable Real Ghostbusters villains. Oh, and who wouldn't have killed for the Ghostbusters to have given a demonstration at their school. Heck, I'm not even in school anymore and I want them to give me a demonstration of their equipment.

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
Halloween II 1/2

Samhaine escapes from the Containment Unit and causes trouble for the guys and the Junior Ghostbusters.

Samhaine - one of the most memorable villains of the series. So memorable, in fact, that he was brought back 10 years later in the Extreme Ghostbusters toyline, even though he only appeared in that series' opening titles! You might be wondering why I chose this episode instead of his first appearance in When Halloween Was Forever. Well, the short answer is that I remember this episode much more clearly - and I always liked the way Samhaine redecorated the firehouse. He should get his own show on the Home & Garden channel. Martha Stewart has nothing on him! See, I got through all of that and I didn't even mention the dreadful Junior Ghostbusters and their crapmobile, the Ecto-Junior. Drat!

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster

When her apartment is haunted and the guys disappear, Janine straps on a proton pack to battle a primal demon called Proteus and save the day.

I've made it no secret that I absolutely love the original Real Ghostbusters Janine. The wild red hair, the aqua-green pointy glasses, the pretty pink lips and the sweet voice that comes out from them, the sexy blouse and skirt ensemble, and that smart and witty personality. It all adds up to one of my favorite animated female characters of all time. So an episode that centers entirely on her, in which she dons a jumpsuit and kicks some ghost ass, is seen in bed, in her nightgown, AND in the shower, ranks pretty damn high on my list! And who doesn't love a woman in uniform?!?

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
Janine, You've Changed

In a desire to improve her appearance, Janine falls prey to a Makeoveris Lotsabucks and it may be too late for the guys to save her.

I absolutely love the original Real Ghostbusters Janine, and absolutely hated it when they changed her look and voice for reasons that I won't go into here - and No, it's NOT because she was the least liked character in focus tests, despite when the 2nd/3rd season bible says. I also hate it when a series makes major changes without explaining them. So I'm very thankful that someone at ABC came to their senses and got JMS back to write this episode, in which he explains Janine's changes, and at the same time brings the Egon/Janine relationship a little closer to the next level. And MAJOR kudos to you, Mr. Straczynski, for managing to come up with an very plausable and excellent explanation for those changes to Janine that were originally made without any regard to the characters or the fans of the show.

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
The Boogieman Cometh

Two small children hire the Ghostbusters to get rid of the Boogieman in their closet, a being with whom Egon is well-acquainted.

I love how not only do we get a classic villain, but we also get a very significant piece of Egon's history. This is definitely one of the best Egon-focused episodes of the series. This episode also holds fond memories for me because I had the View-Master reels.

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream

The Sandman is putting everyone in New York to sleep and Winston may be the only one left to stop nightmares from becoming reality.

What I like about this episode are the crazy dream creatures, that Winston gets to save the day, and the "twist" ending involving Janine. I have to count The Sandman amongst the rogues gallery of top Real Ghostbusters villains. Sadly, this was his only lead appearance in the series. Don't feel bad for him, though. Later he would go on to much fame, and very little fortune, plying his trade in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Oh, wait...sorry, that's a different Sandman.

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
X-Mas Marks the Spot

A time warp on Christmas Eve takes the Ghostbusters back to Victorian England where they trap the three Ghosts of Christmas, thus putting an end to Christmas. In order to restore it, they must pose as the three ghosts while Egon enters the containment unit to rescue them.

Genius! Pure genius, doing a cross-over with Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". And it works so perfect, too. I wonder how many kids watching this episode back in 1986 even knew that this was a cross-over.

Brought to you by The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection, available on DVD exclusively from TimeLife
Mrs. Rogers Neighborhood

The demon Watt takes possession of Peter in order to free the ghosts in the containment.

Love the house, love the creatures that inhabited it, love Peter's possessed look, and especially love how well Janine was drawn in this episode. And Mrs. Rogers was pretty creepy. It just proves the old saying to be true: never trust kindly old ladies!