Ghostbusters vs. Mythbusters Rap Battle

OK I am not the biggest fan of rap music and R’n’B (that’s my wife’s thing whereas I am more of Johnny Cash kind of guy) but a few years ago I stumbled across these guys. Epic Rap Battles of History pit figures from history, movies and literature against one another in a rap battle but rather than just have them swear at each other, which is how I perceive rap battles to be like, they have to use as many references from the theme of the characters as possible. A lot of work goes in to these short videos and the wordplay is brilliant. In the latest video we see the Ghostbusters (in case you haven’t guessed I am something of a fan) against the Mythbusters from the Discovery Channel. To help produce this one they have help from the Key of Awesome crew who are the masters of music parody on YouTube. This was just superb and if you haven’t heard of these guys I suggest you check them out.

REVIEW: The Real Ghostbusters 2×03 “Ragnarok and Roll”

Jeremy is a young man hurt by the woman he loves who can’t return his affections and so decides that there is far too much pain in the world. Aided by his loyal yet reluctant companion DyTillio whom he saved from being run over by a car many years earlier he sets about a chain of events that will bring Ragnarok… the end of the world! The Ghostbusters devise a plan to stop Jeremy summoning Ragnarok but will involve the four of them being killed in a blast that will destroy a quarter of a mile of New York around them. Fortunately however DyTillio manages to convince Jeremy that what he is doing is wrong and Jeremy reverses the spell to summon Ragnarok.

This was a surprisingly emotional episode being very character driven around the antagonist Jeremy and his companion DyTillio. Honestly, it feels like it’s their story and that the Ghostbusters are just there in the background. Their relationship is an interesting one. I found Jeremy very selfish in his motivation and to me the fact he is doing this because a girl didn’t return his affection made him seem like an angry teenager who hates the world as a result. That was probably Straczynski’s intention while writing this episode perhaps to help it relate to some of the older members of the audience. DyTillio seems to be following Jeremy through blind faith and later it becomes clear that he doesn’t support Jeremy’s actions. DyTillio was very obviously intended to be a Quasimodo type of character being physically unattractive but having a beautiful soul. The last scene of them with DyTillio hanging over the side of the building was especially touching.

The first scene in this episode with the Ghostbusters in it has them facing these gargoyle-type creatures on the streets of New York. I don’t think it was intentional but Ghostbusters: The Video Game has a similar scene after the Sedgewick Hotel level. On a similar note however I felt the climax of this episode on top of the building was almost a complete rehash of the original movie complete with demonic voice in the cloud and the Ghostbusters ready to use their equipment to sacrifice themselves in order to save the world. They even had the Ghostbusters saying good bye to one another. I didn’t like it to be honest as I felt it was cheap in terms of writing. I also thought that the image of the demon in the sky was very Walt Disney looking like it had been taken from Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. This episode did have its light hearted moments however in particular with Peter and Cindy although again in this instance she was simply taking the role of Dana Barrat from the movie; i.e. she is simply there for the villain to have an interest in and for Peter to flirt with.

On the whole this was an episode with a great start, an interesting villain with a strong emotion-based motivation for his actions and a sidekick who starts off quite low and then seizes the moral high ground at the end. Unfortunately it doesn’t hold well throughout becoming what feels like a retelling of the movie and therefore losing the worth it had established in the beginning.

QUOTE: It’s A River Of Slime!

It’s a river of slime! There’s gotta be 25,000 gallons of it! It’s flowing through here like a river! Van Horne! Pneumatic transit. I can’t believe it! It’s the old pneumatic transit system! It’s still here!

– Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd)

Ghostbusters II

The pneumatic subway line that Ray finds when they lower him below the street was based on a pneumatic line built in 1870 by Alfred Beach. It operated using compressed air and was built as a demonstration of a pneumatic transit system. The one-block-long tunnel was built prior to any other subways in the area and without any City approval. It had a single beautifully appointed station adorned with frescoes, easy chairs, statues and a goldfish pond. The line was shut down in 1873 due to lack of official and financial support. The tunnel entrance was sealed and the station was reclaimed for other uses. In 1912, when digging for the modern subway system, workers found the original tunnel, still in good condition, and the remains of the passenger car. The tunnel was removed to make way for the contemporary subway lines and the passenger car has disappeared into history. Today there are no physical remains of Beach’s experimental and ambitious subway project.

(SOURCE: IMDB)

Behind the Lines: A Hole in the Head

Peter: Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole in your head, remember that?

Egon: That would have worked if you didn’t stop me.

– Ghostbusters (1984)

Sound like just another goofy line in one of the best movies of the 1980s? Well two things are interesting to know about this little moment in the movie; firstly Harold Ramis’ response was not scripted but ad-libbed on the spot. In fact much of the film was ad-libbed especially Bill Murray’s scenes.

Secondly and perhaps most incredibly the idea behind the line was inspired by a real event. John C. Lilly was a neuroscientist who in the 1970s while working with dolphins proposed drilling holes in his head to unlock some of the brain’s higher functions which he believed were being blocked physically. Fortunately (for him) he never went through the experiment but he remained a controversial and some would say eccentric scientist for many years. Harold Ramis was partly inspired by him when conceiving Egon’s character hence the reference in the movie.

ARTICLE: Ghostbusters Classification System

Tony Wilkins looks at the classification system used by the Ghostbusters

“Sir, what you had there was what we refer to as a Focused, Non-Terminal, Repeating Phantasm, or a Class 5 Full-Roaming Vapor . . . a real nasty one too”.
– Ray Stantz

Ever since that line was uttered after “Slimer” was busted in the original Ghostbusters movie millions of fans have wondered “What is a Class 5 and what are the other classifications since there are at least 5 of them?” While the movies never established this classification list one was produced for the role-playing game that came out shortly after the movie. This classification list established that there were seven distinct classes of ghosts referring to their psychokinetic energy. Because it was directly tied in to the movie many fans now consider it canon to the movies.

The animated series frequently made mention of classifications but differed markedly from the ones established in the RPG with numbers going as high as 12 therefore it is generally agreed that this is a separate system. In this article we will only be looking at the movie/RPG system. I have tried to find pictures that would best fit the description.

So here goes…

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Class 1 – A Class 1 is an undeveloped ghost being difficult to see with the naked eye. Often they have no form but appear as spectral lights or whispy clouds. They have limited interaction with the environment in which it inhabits meaning they are neither hostile nor friendly.

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Class 2 – Class 2 ghosts are generally similar to a Class 1 except that they are a little more powerful and have more of an effect on the environment they inhabit. When visible they remain faint but take a more defined shape which is often incomplete. Some poltergeists are Class 2.

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Class 3 – Class 3 have a distinctly human shape and some of the higher examples possess personality traits from their previous lives although often they have no memory from before their death. Some of the more aggressive poltergeist cases are often Class 3.

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Class 4 – Class 4 ghosts are the same as Class 3 except that they have memories of their past lives. They are often fully formed ghosts that believe they are still alive although many accept their deaths and use their new found energies to continue the ambitions they had in life. Often a Class 4 can be dealt with by helping it complete it’s “unfinished business” at which point it will crossover.

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Class 5 – Class 5s like Slimer are ectoplasmic manifestations as a result of the psychokinetic energy around a place of significant spiritual importance. In Slimer’s case it is now firmly established thanks to the video game that he was created as a result of rituals performed by a cult at the Sedgewick Hotel. Because they weren’t ever alive they don’t take on a human form.

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Class 6 – A Class 6 is the ghost of a lower life form such as a cat, dog, horse etc. The power of these types of ghost varies significantly based firstly on the type of creature and the level of psychokinetic energy it possesses. Therefore animal ghosts have a range like human ghosts do but because they are not as common (or often not as frightening) they are consolidated in to a single category.

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“Are you a God?”
– Gozer

Class 7 – A Class 7 is an exceptionally powerful “Metaspectre” often residing in an adjacent dimension to ours until someone on this side grants them access. Most religions refer to these beings as demons rather than ghosts because they are so powerful. The RPG actually says that the best tactic against these beings is to prevent them from coming in to our dimension in the first place. Gozer was a Class 7.

Thanks for reading…

GAME REVIEW: Ghostbusters

As the Order of Trinity continues its Ghostbusters themed weekend to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the movie Tony Wilkins looks back at the first video game of the franchise released on the Sega Master System

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Ghostbusters was one of those franchises that was universally loved. Comedy, action and romance it offended few and endeared many. How many movies can say that today? You can also see straight away that the movie was destined to become a video game. It had a lot for game developers in the 1980s to work with; proton packs, Ecto-1 and of course ghosts. The franchise was a gift for the rapidly advancing 8-bit games industry but what did they do with this gift? They threw it away.

I was 8 years old when I got my hands on this game for the first time. At that point in my early youth I was obsessed with Ghostbusters and that’s not an exaggeration. I really was. The cartoon was in to it’s 5th season and Ghostbusters II was still a ‘new’ film only just being released on VHS. Now for those of you who know your history you have probably come to realize that I got this game several years after its original release but back then you didn’t care about how old a game was you just got what you wanted and I wanted Ghostbusters.

So what were my thoughts then and what are they now?

Well, even when I was 8 years old I was disappointed with this game. The main screen is a map of New York city and every so often you have to get to a city block where ghosts are attacking. First however you have to establish your ghost busting business. That’s right; you don’t play as the main characters but rather you establish your own company. You have four cars to chose from as your “Ecto-1” which you have to equip with certain items and from there on you face Gozer and his minions.  Once you are set up you spend most of the game chasing after ghosts in the flashing city blocks, emptying your traps and trying to keep Stay Puft from crushing the city and except for the final boss that’s it. The game is also notorious in gamer circles for its spelling mistakes as a result of its translation from Japanese to English.

From what I gather online you either love or hate this game. Personally; I hate it. The gameplay is primitive and not very exciting. It is actually described more as a business simulation rather than a ghost-fighting action game. Who wants that in a Ghostbusters game? Certainly not the 8 year old me and not the 29 year old me writing this review. This could have been far more action packed but instead we got a strategy game that irritates more than it entertains. You have to respect the developers for trying to capture the spirit of the movie but it fails to deliver. It is also insanely difficult to play and requires a patient gamer to get the most of out it.

As a PC game this might have been better but as a console game it needed to be a faster experience with a bit more action and adventure. I would have preferred a game like Mario or Alex Kidd where you control a Ghostbuster and walk around catching ghosts with your proton pack before dragging them to a trap. Perhaps an Ecto-1 scene in between? I am as hardcore a Ghostbuster fan as they come but this is one I skip.

Thanks for reading…

ARTICLE: Reflecting on Ghostbusters as a fan

As the Order of Trinity continues its Ghostbusters themed weekend to celebrate the 30th anniversary Mark Berryman looks back at how he came to the franchise and how it has stayed with him all these years.

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As this weekend is the 30th anniversary of the release of Ghostbusters it’s got me thinking about where my love for it started and how it has progressed.

I have never told anyone what I am about to share, simply because it’s rather embarrassing! When I was a young child every now and again in the village hall they used to show movies for kids on a big screen. I remember when it was Ghostbusters I had been looking forward to it. However, this was not where my love for the film started. For the first few minutes it was great, then the immortal line “GET HER!” was shouted, the Library ghost turned, I SCREAMED, started to cry and was promptly taken home.

A couple of years later I managed to convince my mum to let me get it from the video shop, I watched it, this time without crying and I loved it. I was still wary of the Library Ghost, but the rest, I loved every second of it.

When the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters started I was addicted from the start. I remember going to the village shop and there was one copy of the first issue of the comic that went along with the series. Another kid was eyeing it up, he asked his mother if he could have it, she said no and I pounced, grabbed it and spent some of my pocket money on it. My mum then put in an order for it and every week another issue was always there, just for me. I can remember my favourite part of it was “Egon’s Spirit Guide”. I loved reading about all the different types of ghost. The one thing that always puzzled me about the cartoon was where was Dana? I can remember that she was mentioned once in the comic, when Peter said he was going out to dinner with her, but after, nothing else. I’m still puzzled to this day about why they left her and initially Louis Tulley out (although he did make an appearance later on).

When Christmas rolled around that year I remember my brother and I asked for Ghostbusters toys. I received Peter and Ray, my brother Egon and Winston. As birthdays and other Christmases passed between us we had the fire station, Ecto 1 and 2, proton packs, traps, PKE meters, we both loved it so much.

Now I know lots of people don’t think much of Ghostbusters 2, me I loved and still do love it. I think it still has all the fun and excitement of the first film. I bought the novel of the film before it was released. I can still remember that Ecto 2 was briefly in it, although I’m still kind of disappointed that it didn’t make it into the film. I always loved that bike/helicopter. I have both of the movies on DVD, they were two of the first films I bought and I still love them as much as I ever did. I still chuckle at “GET HER” for reasons until now, no one else remembered!

I’m glad we’re finally getting a Ghostbusters 3 but I am sad there will be no Egon Spengler. I think it will always have a piece missing. Harold Ramis is an actor I will always miss. He’s always been there since I was a child in one film or another. I think tomorrow will be another day when his loss will be felt by geeks and fans of film all over the world. I look forward with slight trepidation as to who will be cast in the movie. I wonder if gold can be struck twice. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver cast a very long shadow, can any ensemble come close? I know who I’d cast, but will it come close? Regardless I’ll be buying my large sweet popcorn and sitting down in the cinema to watch it.

Ghostbusters holds a special place in the hearts of all three members of the Order of Trinity. For the last year we’ve wanted to have a synchronized viewing of the film, me in England, Tony in Wales and Wes in America, but something always seems to stop us. Hopefully soon we’ll get to do it.

So this weekend join us in celebrating a movie that is still as good as it has ever been. Join us in celebrating the talent that is Harold Ramis. If you’ve never seen it give it a first viewing, if you’re like us give it the tenth, twentieth or even hundredth viewing it deserves. I still wish Ghostbuster was a viable career choice! I know the three of us would be busting ghosts together and loving every second of it!

Order of Trinity does Ghostbusters

As it is 30 years this weekend since Ghostbusters hit the movie theaters we at the Order of Trinity are celebrating by having a Ghostbusters weekend with at least one post a day over the coming days on our favorite paranormal investigators and eliminators.

We have made this little homage using our Bitstrip avatars and drawn in an Ecto-1 around it. It will be 30 years exactly on June 8.

COUNTDOWN: Top 5 Animated Ghostbusers Alternative Vehicles

As it is 30 years this weekend since Ghostbusters hit the movie theaters we at the Order of Trinity are celebrating by having a Ghostbusters weekend with at least one post a day over the coming days on our favorite paranormal investigators and eliminators. Kicking us off is Tony Wilkins counting down the top 5 alternative vehicles to the classic Ecto-1 that have appeared in the animated series.

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5. Ecto-Junior

It might not be the most practical ghostbusting vehicle but I bet it is the one you’d have the most fun driving. It was built by a group of children who wanted to emulate their hero’s exploits and to that end the animators were instructed to make it look like it was assembled using glue and sticky tape rather than nails in case children tried in reality to build one.

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4. Ecto-Garbage Truck

What do you do when you have a really big ghost to bust? Easy; convert one of the city’s garbage trucks in to a super ghost trap. That’s effectively what this is. It was one of a number of vehicles built to battle the powerful S.I.D.N.E.E. while an earlier version was used to rid a town of its ghost population. Would have been useful against Mr. Stay Puft surely.

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3. Ecto Fire Truck

Since Ecto-1 was a former ambulance then a fire truck was the next logical choice for a vehicle. Built to battle S.I.D.N.E.E. it was developed for situations where very heavy proton streaming was required and mounted a proton cannon where the fire hose used to be. The vehicle had a sophisticated array of advanced targeting equipment for aiming the powerful proton cannon and was normally operated by a minimum of three people. Because it was a rush job the fire truck remained red rather than the more traditional white and had a single no-ghost logo applied (on the driver’s cab).

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2. Ecto-Ichi

How cool would this look in real life? Ecto-Ichi (Ichi is Japanese for “one” so this translates in to “Ecto-one”) was a vehicle provided by the Tokyo police when a number of Japanese TV and movie monsters were brought to life forcing the Ghostbusters to travel to the land of the rising sun. Looking like the love child of Ecto-1 and the Mirthmobile from Wayne’s World, the biggest problem the Ghostbusters encountered with this beast was that all its cutting edge technology was labelled in Japanese forcing them to simply press buttons and see what happens. It probably won’t win over any Ecto-1 purists but you have to admit there is a part of you that wants to see Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and co. drive this thing in Ghostbusters III.

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1. Ecto-2

This is the one most fans would have liked to see in live action not just for its role in the series (which was far more frequent than any of our other entries) and not just because it flew but because many of them played with their Ecto-2 toy as a child. Yes it was introduced primarily as a gimmick to expand Kenner’s toyline but we didn’t care and while some people don’t like it being a patchwork of parts they tend to forget that Ecto-1 was a patchwork job too. Ecto-2 had some notable appearances in the series with even Slimer getting the chance to fly co-pilot in one episode.

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There’s more posts to come as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ghostbusters hitting theaters. In the meantime please feel free to view our previous Ghostbusters articles by clicking on “Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary” link in the menu bar above. Ghostbusters.wikia.com was a big help for this article; check it out.

Thanks for reading…

 

REVIEW: The Real Ghostbusters “The Last Train to Oblivion”

As it is 30 years this week since Ghostbusters hit the movie theaters we at the Order of Trinity are celebrating by having a Ghostbusters weekend with at least one post a day over the weekend on our favorite paranormal investigators and eliminators. In the meantime we are reblogging our older posts for our newest followers to look over if they wish.

Eurylade Reviews

The ghost of Casey Jones, an old train engineer who died in one of the worst train crashes in history, comes back to try and commandeer a modern train. Unable to use the modern controls he kidnaps Peter Venkman, who is as it turns out a closet train enthusiast, and forces him to shovel coal on an antique train that looks set to crash into an express train on the mainline. However it is Peter who works out that Casey Jones’ ghost cannot rest until he prevents a train crash like the one that killed him in the first place (even if it means creating the situation himself).

“The Last Train to Oblivion” was one of the show’s second season episodes first airing in 1987. It would probably have disappeared into obscurity had it not been for the ghost that was the main antagonist. Casey Jones is an example of…

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