Release Date: November 20, 2008
MSRP: $179.99
Video: 4:3 Fullscreen and
4:3 Letterbox (intros & commentaries)
Audio: Stereo
Languages: English
Subtitles: No
Closed-Captioned: No
Discs: 25 (including the bonus disc)
Sides: 1
Layers: 2 (v2d5 & v4d5 are 1 layer)
DVD-Rom Content: Yes (only v1d5, v2d5, v3d5, v4d5, v5d2, bonus)
Regional Coding: All
Video Format: NTSC
The box set is comprised of 25 DVDs (that includes one bonus DVD), packaged in a specially-constructed firehouse-design box with lenticular panels, containing all 134 half-hour episodes of The Real Ghostbusters (including both 30-minute and 1-hour versions of “Deja Boo“) and all 13 half-hour episodes of Slimer!. In total, that’s all 140 The Real Ghostbusters stories, and all 33 Slimer! stories. The discs are collected in five separate volumes (each containing 5 DVDs, except for volume 5 which has 4 DVDs), each packaged inside an individual case, with specially-designed cover art. Also included is a 52-page book with episode synopses, trivia, and art. As if that’s not enough, there is over 13 hours of bonus material, all of which is detailed below. The bonus DVD alone contains nearly three hours of extra materials, including extended interviews, the never-before-seen promotional pilot (with commentary and storyboards), and more.
Note #1: Volumes 1 through 3 were released individually over the course of two years, starting on March 31, 2009, and ending on August 3, 2010. These sets included all of the episodes and bonus content from the same volumes included in the box set, along with a booklet inside each case. Each volume’s booklet contained the same content as the relevant section for that volume of the box set’s book, and included the same liner essay (tailored to the individual releases) and credits page as well (so I’m credited in all three booklets). However, the box set is the only way to get Volumes 4 and 5 (they were not released individually, though some people might sell them separately on the Amazon Marketplace or eBay), the bonus DVD which contains the promotional pilot, the Firehouse box, and the complete 52-page book (though individual edited-down booklets were made for each retail volume).
Note #2: When the DVD box set was first released back in November 2008, the five smaller sets (“volumes”) inside were each housed in a metal SteelBook™ case. When Vol 1. was released by itself in March 2009, it retained its Steelbook case from the box set. However, in early 2010 TimeLife begun the process of replacing the Steelbook metal cases with plastic cases that are of the same dimensions. It started with the individual release of Vol. 2 in January 2010, then within a few months after that the Complete Collection box set and the individual Vol. 1 started using the plastic cases, as well. The individual release of Volume 3 that followed was, of course, in a plastic case.
I, Paul Rudoff, am proud to say that I was involved in the making of this set as a design consultant and as a contributor of research and art materials. You will see my credits listed as such on the last page of the episode guide book and in the end credits of all five featurettes (view: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5) and all seven extended interviews (view: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7). Plus I received an extra credit in the back of the book for all of my hard work promoting the set. My four biggest contributions that are easily seen in the final product are: (1) It was my idea to use the firehouse for the outer box. (2) The containment unit background for Volume 5’s cover. (3) Janine’s color scheme on the Volume 2 cover. (4) Nine scripts on the DVD-ROM portions of all of the volumes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Episode Introductions
The talented people behind the series give you a special introduction to 88 select episodes.
Visual Commentary Tracks
Twenty-one select episodes (including the pilot); featuring producers, writers, artists, voice actors, and other series personnel. Watch the commentary participants as they interact, while inset screens show the episode and a dynamic slideshow.
Isolated Music & Effects Tracks
Twenty-four select episodes have an alternate audio track that contains the music and sound effects, but not the voices of the actors.
Original Series Bumpers
The bumpers are included in every episode that originally had them. Even the Slimer! Intros are included.
Exclusive Interviews
In addition to the interviews in the featurettes, you’ll also get extended interviews recorded in June 2008 with Joe Medjuck (executive producer), Michael C. Gross (executive producer), J. Michael Straczynski (writer & story editor), Len Janson (writer & story editor), Maurice LaMarche (voice of “Egon Spengler”), Laura Summer (voice of first “Janine Melnitz”), Kath Soucie (voice of second “Janine Melnitz”), and Kevin Altieri (director & storyboard supervisor).
The Original Promotional Pilot
Included by itself, and also with a visual commentary track featuring director Kevin Altieri and artist Dan Riba.
Alternate Textless Series Credits
Two versions of the closing credits without text on top of them, though the second one is the same as the first series opening. (Video of this can be found on the Real Ghostbusters Multimedia page.)
DVD Promo Trailer
This short one minute trailer was shown at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2008. It features an interview clip of J. Michael Straczynski interspersed with footage from the series opening. It is also known as the Comic-Con Teaser Trailer. (You can view it in the Multimedia section below.)
DVD-ROM Material (PDF format):
All of the bibles and scripts, including the ones that I contributed, can be on The Real Ghostbusters and Slimer! script pages. All of the storyboards can be found on The Real Ghostbusters Storyboards page.
Notes & Comments
Defects & Errors
For a list of more defects and errors, read this blog post – especially the user-submitted comments section.
Missing Alternate Episodes
Please don’t ask me for copies of these episodes. You can try the forums listed on my e-mail page, and maybe someone there will be able to help you. Thanks.
FULL-LENGTH ALTERNATE AUDIO
* The Boogieman Cometh – Redubbed
* Ghosts ‘R Us – Redubbed
* Mr. Sandman, Dream Me A Dream – Redubbed
* Mrs. Roger’s Neighborhood – Redubbed
* Slimer, Come Home – Redubbed
* Slimer, Is That You? – Redubbed
* Troll Bridge – Redubbed
* Short Stuff – Production Tape (voices only, no music or effects)
SMALL PORTION OF ALTERNATE AUDIO
* Knock Knock – Alternate Tahiti Music (AVAILABLE ON VHS: Vol. 1 – Knock Knock, which can be purchased in the Store)
* Venkman’s Ghost Repellers – Alternate Tahiti Music (AVAILABLE ON VHS: Vol. 4 – Venkman’s Ghost Repellers, which can be purchased in the Store)
* A Fright At The Opera – Alternate Series Music
* Play Them Ragtime Boos – Alternate Series Music
* The Bird Of Kildarby – Alternate Series Music (AVAILABLE ON DVD: Creatures Of The Night, which can be purchased in the Store)
SMALL PORTION OF ALTERNATE VIDEO
* Attack Of The B-Movie Monsters – Bridge Version
* Don’t Forget The Motor City – Grey Gremlins Version
* Lights! Camera! Haunting! – Victorian Skyscrapers Version (AVAILABLE ON DVD: Sony’s Volume 4, which can be purchased in the Store)
Note: The “Short Stuff” Production Tape isn’t an official alternate version, per se, but since it exists in fan circles, and does provide an audio track different from the final version of the episode, it’s considered an alternate version by the fans.
Multimedia
REVIEWS:
OUTSIDE LINKS:
