Confessions of a Go-er (Filmation Ghostbusters fan)

(Photo property of Filmation. I don’t own it.)

Have any of you out there been on a real TV show bender? You know, where you’re glued to the same show for days on end? That’s certainly been the case with me, whenever I’m not doing homework or checking up on Mom.

Anyway, when I was a kid, I watched the hell out of Filmation’s Ghostbusters. No, I’m not going to go into the feud between this show and the Real Ghostbusters…there are plenty of sites that can give you details.

Why this particular cartoon? First of all, Filmation was a kick-ass animation studio in its time. It was the home of He-Man, She-Ra, Groovie Goolies, Bravestarr, Fat Albert, and many others. There was just something about the way Filmation did cartoons that drew me in.

However, it wasn’t just the animation. It was the sheer goofiness of the show. At times, it seems like they were channeling Scooby-Doo; other times, Abbott and Costello (not that many people these days know who they were). Don’t get me wrong, I do love the comedic aspect of it. However, there were some serious things that would pop up. In one episode, one of the GBs nearly drowned. The character’s face was actually blue from a lack of oxygen, and his partner performed CPR on him. Think about it for a moment…fictional characters in real-life situations. That scene may have scared a few kids then, but that sort of thing happens in real life.The rest of the time, you’re up to your eyeballs in silliness. The silliness was tied up with a moral at the end of the episode (as with most Filmation shows).

Now, I’ll get to my main reason for watching the show…the eye candy! Trust me, there was plenty for everybody. For those that are into gingers, there was Jessica Wray, the (annoying to me) TV reporter. I thought she was annoying because she acted like more of a groupie half of the time. But, then again, I probably would have done the same thing. Then, there’s Futura, the kick-ass Ghostbuster of the future. I liked her more for a few reasons: she was a Ghostbuster herself, she had a quiet way about her, she had awesome powers, and I admit, I had a bit of a girl-crush on her. Apparently, a lot of guys had a thing for her…perhaps it was the purple skin, black hair, and skimpy clothes she wore.

I have to add one more bit of girl eye candy, and this one’s from the rogues’ gallery: Mysteria. Yeah, I said it…Mysteria. I thought that even with her hair in a mullet (and mullets scare the hell out of me, by the way), she was smoking! (Pun intended.)

Now, on to the leading men! First, there’s tall, blond Jake Kong, Jr. I think most women my age who watched the show had crushes on Jake. I did myself…for a little bit. I got bored with him real quick. Why, you might ask? Honestly, he seemed too perfect. He was really smart, really handsome, really charming. He almost seemed to be an exaggeration. Perhaps the writers meant to depict him that way.

Now, we go on to Eddie Spenser, Jr., the ‘bumbling idiot’ of the group. Because he was fat, clumsy and lazy, he wasn’t meant to be eye candy. However, you know damn well there were people out there that had mad crushes on him, including yours truly. After all, I prefer the cuddly teddy-bear types myself. Besides, who wouldn’t want to give Eddie a giant hug? ^_^ If you look past Eddie’s appearance, he had a heart of gold underneath it all. I think that’s why people could relate to him. He was an ordinary guy who happened to make mistakes, but always did things for the right reasons, no matter what it cost him.

I believe that personality can enhance or detract from looks. In my eyes, Jake was a toad, and Eddie was a prince. (I’m sure I’ll be getting some flack for this, but hey, it’s my blog!)
I’m taking the whole Jake/Eddie dichotomy to a whole new level in my upcoming fan fiction piece. I’m taking the Jake/Eddie relationship and giving it the Dallas treatment. I have yet to decide who will channel J.R. and who will channel Cliff. Whatever happens, I have high hopes. I hope some of you that remember this show will enjoy reading my fan fic.