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The Real Ghostbusters
1986 · TV series · 25 min episodes · 7 seasons
Created by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
ActionAdventureAnimationComedyKidsScience FictionFantasy
The continuing adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot ghost Slimer.
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2 comments on Hacker News
Actors appear in docudramas all the time who do not resemble the real people they're playing. Jordan Belfort doesn't resemble Leonardo DiCaprio. So maybe, in the universe of the films, (most of) the characters don't actually resemble the actors who play them in our universe, but the parallel universe versions of those actors do resemble themselves.
This was played with a little bit in the 80s cartoon show, The Real Ghostbusters. The show was actually named that to distinguish it from the Filmation cartoon Ghostbusters (which was unrelated to, but made to capitalize on, the popularity of the 1984 film and take advantage of the rights to the name that Filmation still held) and reassure the audience that yes, unlike the Filmation cartoon, these are the Ghostbusters you're familiar with -- Peter, Ray, Winston and Egon, the Beatles of spook hunting.
But there is an in-universe explanation of the show's title, as well: in the universe of the show, the 1984 film Ghostbusters exists, and is based on the lives of the main characters of the show -- who, due to player-likeness issues in real life, look nothing like the film Ghostbusters. In an early episode, Venkman comments on his resemblance (or lack thereof) to his movie counterpart.
Technically the original movie wasn't the first to use the "Ghostbusters" name, and there were some legal issues around that. This is why there was a "Ghostbusters" cartoon that was not tied to the movie franchise, and a "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon that was tied to the franchise.