Page for characters appearing in The Real Ghostbusters.
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The Ghostbusters
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman
Voiced by: Lorenzo Music (Seasons 1 & 2), Dave Coulier (Season 3 onward); Yamil Atala (Latin American Spanish dub); Shigeru Chiba (Japanese dub)
"The Mouth" of the team who functions as something of a leader due to being the most forward and direct with clients, critics, the press, etc. Always ready with a sarcastic quip when things turn dire.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Ergo, he looks absolutely nothing like the generally average looking Bill Murray — he's made to be younger-looking, more muscular (albeit not ripped) and with more hair.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: He goes from starting to bald to having a full head of hair.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Downplayed — he mainly has the same personality he has in the movies, but the cartoon also gives him a fear of certain animals like cockroaches and rats, and a general hatred of bugs in general, that his movie counterpart lacked.
- Berserk Button: Is pretty chill usually but will become very angry and start yelling if Slimer bothers him. Or if someone or something bothers Slimer.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Has at least two PhDs and has been known to Macgyver a device or two in a pinch... but, if he could, he would spend all day lounging around the office listening to music and all evening with A Lady on Each Arm instead of using all his energy out busting ghosts. He also makes a fair number of successful plans when things are on the line, but under normal circumstances, he's content to let Egon or anyone else take care of that.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Can be... rather annoying, but when you need someone to take care of your paranormal pests, who ya' gonna call?
- Butt-Monkey: If someone is going to be humiliated or embarrassed in an episode, he's the most likely candidate. He's also Slimer's favorite target, which doesn't improve his irritation towards the ghost.
- Casanova Wannabe: Flirts with any pretty woman who crosses his path.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: According to the show's production staff, Venkman was modeled after former Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry.
- Con Man: More in his Backstory but still not averse to scamming people — it's In the Blood.
- Chivalrous Pervert: He may hit on women all the time, but he is always eager to protect them from whatever ecto-nuisance is plaguing them.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Last Train to Oblivion" focuses on him and his love of trains.
- In "The Devil in the Deep", he has to save the day after the others get swallowed by a demigod named Necksa.
- "Venk-Man!" focuses on him becoming a superhero.
- Deadpan Snarker: Full stream. He's often teasing people, insulting ghosts, and making quips about situations.
- Dirty Kid: In "Ghostbuster of the Year", he reveals that he's been reading swimsuit magazines since he was a child.
- Everyone Has Standards: Peter might scam others if the chance arises, but he won't stoop down to corporate sabotage when the chips are down. He's also much more caring than others take him for, and a big no-no is harming the innocent and especially children.
- The Face: Usually the one who speaks for the group.
- Freudian Excuse: His father was a Con Man who was rarely home when he was a kid, which explains why he plays fast-and-loose with the law sometimes and why he doesn't like Christmas in "Xmas Marks the Spot".
- Gadgeteer Genius: Usually he'll leave this kind of work to Egon, but "The Devil in the Deep" and "Standing Room Only" show he can build some very useful devices when he has to.
- Glory Hound: The primary reason he's the face of Ghostbusters Inc. is that he wants his face in the newspapers, getting positive press whenever possible.
- Good Is Not Nice: Has the heart of a hero but definitely not the manners.
- Greed: Downplayed — he's not particularly greedy, but he'll often complain if he doesn't get paid for a case.
- The Grinch: Downplayed in "Xmas Marks the Spot", where he complains about Christmas a little (mainly because his dad was hardly ever home on Christmas) but he still joins in on his coworkers with Saving Christmas.
- Guile Hero: What he lacks in tech-savvy he makes up for in trickery.
- Hidden Depths:
- He's very polite and caring towards Mrs. Faversham, even reducing the payment required to a single smile, because she's elderly and alone, and reminds him of his mother. He also refused to accept payment from children who hired them to deal with the Boogeyman.
- He's shown to genuinely care for Slimer at several points, such as when Samhain threatens to "do something unfortunate" to him in "When Halloween Was Forever."Peter: Nobody picks on the spud but me, got it?!
- Hunk: Many episodes show him to be quite buff, in spite of his laziness.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When Egon got thrown out of a carnival that he found using the Ghostbusters name and likenesses without permission, and complaining about it, Peter talked Egon out of suing because lawsuits are lengthy, expensive, and uncertain, not to mention that carnivals, especially fly-by-night carnivals like the one Egon encountered tend to have a very high rate of failure with many debtors coming after them, and a suit would only serve to entangle the Ghostbusters in the mess. Unfortunately, the Ghostbusters get entangled with the carnival anyway when the offending ride gets attacked by ghosts, and the carnival barker tries to hold the Ghostbusters liable in his stead.
- Jerkass to One: Slimer is the one he most often insults or gets angry with.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He mocks everyone and everything in his path and insists he doesn't work for free, but if you're an old woman, a kid, or young woman alone who needs help, he'll be the first to offer it, free of charge. Also, after busting the demonic spirit in Mrs. Faversham's attic, he returns at the end of the episode just to keep her company, because she reminds him of his mother.Peter: *softly* She's all alone, Ray...
- Knight in Sour Armor: Can't save the day without taking a sarcastic dig at something along the way.
- Lazy Bum: To the point where, if it's late and he's tired, he'd rather dismiss a Containment Unit alarm as It's Probably Nothing than investigate.
- The Leader: By default, due to being the group's frontman who's always the first to step forward.
- Like Brother and Sister: With Janine, one of his favorite sparring partners; the two constantly tease each other just like siblings.
- Never My Fault: As a side-effect of his Glory Hound tendencies, he's very reluctant to admit whenever he's at fault for something going wrong.
- Not a Morning Person: He'll often be shown sleeping late, as seen in "Mean, Green Teen Machine" when he's the only one still in bed.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- In "Venkman's Ghost Repellers," when he finds out his father's been lost in the bizarre Spirit World rift, he goes completely silent and stays that way for most of the ride looking for him, staring blankly over the side of the boat.
- He actually takes it as badly as Egon and Winston when Ray quits the team in "Look Homeward, Ray" and actively tries to convince him to change his mind.
- Despite insisting he's Only in It for the Money, he reduces the retainer in "The Thing in Mrs. Faversham's Attic" to a smile. The others are stunned speechless before he finally says Mrs. Faversham reminds him of his mother.
- Only in It for the Money: He tends to balk whenever he has to eliminate supernatural entities with no chance at getting paid for the job.Peter: We're professionals, not vigilantes! People pay us to do this! We can't go chasing after every ghost in the universe just because they're there!
- Pet the Dog: While he frequently insults Slimer for giving him misery, regardless of whether or not it was intentional on Slimer's part, he sometimes cuts Slimer some slack. This is most notable in "Knock Knock", where he secretly gives Slimer a mini-pizza after Egon informs him of how it must be for a ghost to live with people who capture his kind for a living.Peter: If you tell anybody about this, I'll deny it.
- Parental Abandonment: Peter's father was rarely around when he was a kid. It's also strongly implied that his mother is dead.
- Plot Allergy: Is revealed to have hay fever in "Standing Room Only".
- Plucky Comic Relief: The source of the best jokes plus something of a Butt-Monkey.
- The Prankster: Downplayed. He's pulled pranks on Janine in "The Devil to Pay" and "Janine, You've Changed", threw green gunk on Slimer as revenge for sliming him in "The Halloween Door", and joined in on pranking Ray at the end of "The Joke's on Ray".
- Psychic Powers: Possibly minor precognition; in "Apocalypse—What, Now?" and "Rollerghoster" he can tell the phone's going to ring before it happens.
- Punch-Clock Hero: Capturing ghosts and thwarting the plans of supernatural beings is just a job to him.
- Rail Enthusiast: He's shown enjoying trains (toy trains and the history of trains especially) in "The Last Train to Oblivion".
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: In "Standing Room Only," Peter thinks he built a "Ghost Attraction Machine" which everyone believed was working because ghosts were lining up to let themselves be captured. What he really built was an ectoplasmic harnessing device that stored a portion of the energy of every ghost that passed by it. This wound up saving the day as The Ghostbusters were able to blast Mee Kra with the combined energy of thousands of ghosts.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: If anything crosses his moral fiber, Peter will completely drop any pretense of asking for payment, particularly if he sees someone who needs help but can't afford it.
- Shared Family Quirks: His father Jim is a conman, and while Peter usually doesn't scam anyone, he has done so on occasion, such as haggling his way out of a hospital fee in "Doctor, Doctor".
- The Slacker: A common gripe from his teammates is that while he'll pull his weight when he has to, Peter is a chronic slacker. He'll do almost anything to lighten up his workload.
- Superhero Episode: In "Venk-Man!", he becomes a Flying Brick due to a lab accident and decides to become a superhero.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Peter tends to bring out the vitriol in just about all of his friends, particularly Janine and Egon.
- Wacky Parent, Serious Child: His father is an affable conman who's content to engage in all sorts of schemes, regardless of the repercussions. Peter's certainly a greedy schemer in his own way, but he knows to keep it legal. It's implied that he's had to clean up various messes his father made over the years.Peter: He's done it to me again!
- What the Hell, Hero?: After Janine finds out that Slimer ran away from the firehouse in "Slimer, Come Home", both Egon and Winston give Peter stern looks because of his angry outburst towards the ghost before going out to find him.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Peter can handle ghosts and other supernatural entities, but he can't stand roaches. He's also afraid of rats and snakes, as revealed in "My Left Fang".
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler
Voiced by: Maurice LaMarche; Martín Soto (Latin American Spanish dub); Tesshō Genda (Japanese dub)
"The Head" of the group — designer of technology, planner of plans, spotter of obstacles, strategist, with a cold, clear, stoic attitude to match… or so he strives for.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: Goes from having a short, slightly poofy, hairdo to a quiff.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Brunette in the movies, blond in the series.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Downplayed —- while he's still The Stoic, he has a lot more Not So Stoic moments than he did in the movies. He also sees having a craving for candy as a sign he's losing his intelligence in "Slimer, is That You?", while in the movies, he's shown to love confectionery.
- Admiring the Abomination: Finds many of their targets "fascinating".
- Aloof Big Brother: Comes off as this to his friends, sometimes to their admiration ("The Bogeyman Is Back") or their frustration ("Look Homeward, Ray").
- Ambiguously Jewish: His last name is common among the Jewish, he has a My Beloved Smother which is a common stereotype of Jews, and if he were Jewish, he'd be Jewish and Nerdy, but his religious identity is never stated.
- Arch-Enemy: The Bogeyman, to a degree, whose appearance when he was a child motivated him to study the supernatural in the first place to find a way to stop him.
- Badass Bookworm: His brain is his greatest weapon, but he regularly wields a proton gun and hunts down the Monster of the Week alongside the others.
- The B Grade: Egon considers this his secret shame he didn’t want the others to know about.Egon: In college I once got an A- on a test and my parents wouldn’t talk to me for a week.Peter: CAN YOU DROP THE BALL ON HIM!?
- Beware the Nice Ones: Usually remains calm and cool, but push him to his Rage Breaking Point, and you will regret it.
- Bookworm: He'll often be seen milling about reading.
- Celibate Eccentric Genius: Love is only needed by the insecure, or so he claims...
- Chick Magnet: Aside from Janine, a good number of other women have shown interest in Egon regardless of his technobabble.
- Child Prodigy: He's implied to have been a genius since he was a child, since he mentions having gotten a microscope for his third birthday in "The Brooklyn Triangle" and built a sophisticated water balloon launcher as a preteen in "Three Men and an Egon".
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Prone to getting distracted enough by the science behind a phenomenon to forget the imminent danger it poses.
- Collector of the Strange: Still maintains his collection of molds, spores, and fungus mentioned in the film.
- The Comically Serious: A number of the show's early gags involve juxtaposing his general unemotive nature next to his teammates, particularly Peter, Ray, and Slimer.
- Conforming OOC Moment: A lot of his Not So Stoic moments involve him reacting alongside the other Ghostbusters as part of a group reaction.
- Crazy Enough to Work: The majority of his plans, at least in Peter's eyes.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "The Bogeyman is Back" focuses on him dealing with fear after a fall from a building.
- "Poultrygeist" focuses on him turning into a were-chicken.
- "Three Men and an Egon" is about him getting younger and younger.
- "Egon's Ghost" is about him becoming noncorporeal and the others trying to fix it.
- "Egon on the Rampage" is about him being possessed and his soul being taken.
- "If I Were a Witch Man" is about him meeting a town where one of his ancestors is revered and eventually becoming possessed by a witch.
- "Egon's Dragon" involves a dragon mistaking him for his ancestor who summoned him.
- "'Til Death Do Us Part" focuses on a hillbilly ghost named Dixie wanting to kill him so she can marry him.
- Endearingly Dorky: His complete lack of social skills doesn't stop Janine from swooning over him.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Blushes when revealing his mother used to call him "Spookums" in "Baby Spookums".
- Entertainment Below Their Age: Downplayed, but in "Revenge of Murray the Mantis", he admits to watching a kids' cartoon.
- For Science!: Enjoys the ghostbusting business because of the opportunities for observation and discovery each case offers him. Also his motive behind keeping Slimer around (he's the only ghost that Egon can safely study).
- Freudian Excuse: His interest in the supernatural stemmed from the Bogeyman scaring him as a child.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Whenever the Monster of the Week calls for a new invention, he'll have it made and running before the episode's over.
- Good with Numbers: He's often shown doing equations and calculating things.
- Hidden Depths: He cares a great deal about his friends and particularly Janine; he's just not good at expressing it.
- Hypocrite: In a humorous way — he consistently rebuffs all of Janine's advances, but when she shows up at the firehouse with her boyfriend? *Death Glare*
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Sometimes puts on a lab coat if he wants to analyse or build something.
- The Leader: He trades off with Peter in this role. While Peter generally decides if they will take a job, once there the group usually defers to Egon's expertise. Being the one who tends to make the plans, he also tends to be the one to take charge during battle.
- Million to One Chance: "Just one chance" is practically his Catchphrase.
- Mr. Exposition: He's often the one explaining things.
- No Social Skills: Especially when it comes to women (sorry, Janine). Not that it really discourages her (or others).
- Not So Above It All:
- He has many of these moments. In "Doctor, Doctor," he chastises Peter for taking "trivial pleasure" in putting a scare into an irate client… but really because it was his turn to do that.
- He predicts and hijacks Peter's plan to swing from a chandelier as a distraction just because he also wanted to swing from a chandelier.Egon: Well, for once, what you want to do is exactly what I've always wanted to do.
Peter: Okay, be my guest, Egon, if it means that much to ya. - When he happens to visit a carnival using their faces and trademarked symbols, he complains to the manager and threatens to sue, getting himself and Janine evicted from the premises. Peter comments that getting thrown out of an entertainment venue sounds more like something he would do, and the other three have to talk Egon out of embroiling them in a court case that's unlikely to be worth the effort.
- Not So Stoic: Has trouble dealing with moments where he finds he's actually vulnerable to human emotions like fear, pain, and love.
- Oblivious to Love: Just like in the movie, sometimes Janine will flirt with him and he won't notice.
- Omniglot: Speaks Russian, Japanese, Sumerian, American Sign Language, and Troll.
- Papa Wolf: Does not take it well when a ghost threatens kids, as the Bogeyman learned the hard way.
- Pastimes Prove Personality: He follows the "smart people love opera" stereotype in "A Fright at the Opera" and "Slimer's Silly Symphony".
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He favors big words, to the point where Peter often asks him to repeat in "English".
- The Smart Guy: Definitely the brains of the outfit.
- The Spock: So much so that he reminds a space station of Star Fleet Expies of an old science officer…
- The Stoic: While he has his moments of emotion, he's generally the least likely of the team to show emotion.
- The Strategist: Peter has grown so used to this that, whenever the going gets rough on a job, he'll turn to Egon without missing a beat and ask if he has a plan yet.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: Continuing right up from the film, Egon has a tendency to remain stoic and deadpan on the outside, while he sometimes spells out how he is feeling without that tone changing one bit.Winston: Egon, you're enjoying yourself?
Egon: I just want you to know that I'm having a wonderful time. - Theme Music Power-Up: Most of these occur either while Egon is formulating strategy or when he does something that helps the rest of the group succeed.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Implied and zigzagged in "Three Men and an Egon", in which he becomes snappy when he turns into a teenager, friendly as a preteen, whiny as a younger child, but then friendly again as a toddler and a baby, which implies he went through two phases in his youth where he was ruder than he is now.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The guy can punch out Cthulhu (literally!) without blinking, but he is terrified when he encounters the Bogeyman, owing to the latter having traumatized him as a child. Bogey takes full advantage of this, but doesn't count on Egon being able to overcome his fear to protect other children.
Ray Stantz
Ray Stantz
Voiced by: Frank Welker; Pedro D'Aguillon Jr., José Luis Orozco and Jorge Roig Sr. (Latin American Spanish dub); Shigeru Ushiyama (Japanese dub)
"The Heart" of the group, he's a scientist and inventor like Egon but also easily the most fun-loving, most enthusiastic member of the team who likes nothing more than uncovering and battling new ghosts.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: Had brown hair in the movies but is a redhead in the cartoon.
- Admiring the Abomination: The more likely something is to kill them, the more excited he gets.
- Berserk Button: Damaging Ecto-1. This will catch his attention even in the middle of the Apocalypse (by which we mean, it has).
- Beware the Nice Ones: Think anyone so sweet can't be much of a fighter? Threaten his friends or the innocent, and think again.
- Big Fun: Chubbier than his friends and the most fun-loving.
- Bookworm: Sometimes shown sitting on the couch reading, or reading to Slimer. Still not as much of a bookworm as Egon though.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Ghosthunting is just so much fun, how could he be otherwise?
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Look Homeward, Ray" focuses on him almost resigning.
- "The Joke's on Ray" involves him inheriting his dead uncle's joke shop and pulling pranks on the other Ghostbusters and Janine.
- "Bustman's Holiday" focuses on him temporarily becoming a Duke.
- The Engineer: Designed the proton packs, ghost traps, Ecto-1, and countless other gear.
- Entertainment Below Their Age: Shown to watch kids' cartoons in episodes like "Who are You Calling Two-Dimensional?" and "Revenge of Murray the Mantis".
- Foil: To Peter when it comes to their work — Peter's the one arguing they shouldn't go after a ghost without getting paid, and Ray's the one who can't resist the fun and excitement, money or no money.
- Fiery Redhead: The hair color his Adaptation Dye-Job gave him goes nicely with his passionate, energetic personality.
- Jumped at the Call: Even gets depressed whenever they're forced to go a long time without a challenging case.
- Manchild: Sleeps with a stuffed Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man doll, for starters. It's no wonder the team once chose him to stand in for a child as bait for the Bogeyman.
- Married to the Job: Ray is the most enthusiastic about being a Ghostbuster.Ray: Wow, all the ghosts have gone underground! Maybe it's the heat... or maybe... maybe there's a new demon down there! Oh wouldn't that be great?Peter: We're professionals! Not vigilantes! People pay us to do this! We can't go chasing after every ghost in the universe just because they're there!Ray: Yeah I know Peter, but wouldn't it be fun to try?
- The McCoy: Passionate and emotional.
- Nice Guy: Wants to help everyone, even ghosts if they appear in distress, with little to no concern for what's in it for him.
- Skewed Priorities: Sometimes focuses more on the ghosts than the negative effects they bring about.
- Spell My Name With An S: His last name is spelled "Stantz" in the movies, video game and toy line but "Stanz" in the cartoon, which fans mostly accept as a misspelling.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Can be far more enthusiastic about paranormal phenomena than the situation would seem to warrant.
Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore
Voiced by: Arsenio Hall (Seasons 1–3), Buster Jones (Season 4 onward); Luis Alfonso Mendoza (Latin American Spanish dub); Shinya Otaki (Japanese dub)
The newest member and "The Hands" of the group, Winston's the only one of the four who's not a doctor, but a former Marine who answered the original trio's ad looking for more members after business started to take off. Because of this, he's the most practical, down-to-earth of the group, skilled in combat, a loyal friend, and comforting source of sanity when everything around them descends into chaos.
- Audience Surrogate: The writers were quite upfront about using him to speak for the audience whenever something unusual happened.
- Badass Bookworm:
- He loves mystery stories, which helps the Ghostbusters "bust" the ghost of an Agatha Christie Expy by completing her Unfinished Business. When the Ghostbusters bust the the Jabberwock, he quotes from the Lewis Carroll poem named after the creature.
- He occasionally mentions having heard of certain ghosts and the like, such as recognising Cathulu's name and recalling that he's bad news.
- Badass Driver: Usually the one driving the team's Cool Car — not an easy task in their line of work.
- The Big Guy: The most hands-on of the group, geared more towards action than strategy or engineering.
- Birthday Episode: Downplayed in "Slimer, Come Home", whose plot is instigated by Slimer eating Winston's birthday cake.
- Closer to Earth: Often plays the voice of reason, such as in "Ghostbuster of the Year" when he doesn't let fame go to his head, and is the only black character.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- In "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream", he's the one who does most of the work after the other Ghostbusters are put into a Forced Sleep.
- In "Elementary, My Dear Winston", he assists a Sherlock Holmes apparition.
- "Moaning Stones" focuses on him and his ancestors.
- Deadpan Snarker: Will sometimes comment wryly on situations, albeit less scathingly than Peter.
- "Eureka!" Moment: After being the only Ghostbuster still awake when the Sandman put the others to sleep. Egon had figured out how to beat the Sandman, but got put to sleep before he could say what, but he did mention it had something to do with what Ray said earlier. Winston then thought back to what Ray said about how he handled nightmares when he was a kid, making Winston figure out the way to beat Sandman is through lucid dreaming.
- The Generic Guy: But, from one point of view, given what he's surrounded by, his lack of eccentricities like his teammates' actually makes him stand out the most.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: He's recognized as by far the best shot of the team, which is really saying something as the Proton Pack is in no way at all a precision firearm.
- The Kirk: Provides the balance between the extremely intellectual Egon and the extremely emotional Ray (Peter never cared enough to take a side).
- Not So Above It All:
- Berates his teammates for fighting over a title for fame... only to look offendedly at a newspaper displaying the results of the contest after Peter mentions they misspelled his name.
- Was fully against the idea of staying at Heck House... but immediately changed his mind once the reward was revealed.
- Only Sane Man: Relatively speaking — the voice of common sense in a group composed otherwise entirely of quirky scientists.
- Rail Enthusiast: Depicted as loving toy trains in "Slimer Streak".
- Sassy Black Women: Gender-Inverted, and with a healthy dose of sarcasm in the mix as well.
- Skepticism Failure: Didn't believe ghosts were real until after he joined the team.
- Spell My Name With An S: His last name is spelled "Zeddemore" in the films, video game and toy line but "Zeddmore" in the cartoon. Earns a Mythology Gag in "Ghostbuster of the Year" when Peter tells him the magazine spelled his name wrong.
- Team Spirit: The only one who doesn't get bitten by the proverbial competitive bug in "Ghostbuster of the Year" and tries to remind the others that they're supposed to be a team, not rivals.
- The Watson: Gets to literally play this role in "Elementary, My Dear Winston".
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: His relationship with his father is tense because he became a Ghostbuster instead of joining him in the construction business. They patch things up in "The Brooklyn Triangle."
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: He's the last Ghostbuster standing in "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me A Dream" and feels like he's in over his head in since he's not a scientist. Egon's dream (Albert Einstein) reminds him that he doesn't have to be a scientist to win; he just has to try his best.
Supporting cast
Janine Melnitz
Janine Melnitz
Voiced by: Laura Summer (Seasons 1 & 2), Kath Soucie (Season 3 onward); Rocío Garcel and Patricia Acevedo (Latin American Spanish dub); Shinobu Adachi (Japanese dub)
The Ghostbusters' secretary and occasional reserve member, Janine is the one who mans the fort, taking calls, meeting clients, dispatching the guys, collecting payments, and trying to get the love of her life, Egon Spengler, to notice her.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Janine, while quite pretty as portrayed by Annie Potts in the films, became a tall, curvy bombshell with a taste for short skirts, big jewelry, and brightly colored clothing. This becomes a Plot Point.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Brown hair in the movie, a redhead in the cartoon. Amusingly, the second movie ended up following the cartoon's lead, so Annie Potts had to wear a wig.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the first film, Janine seemed like a bored office temp, reacting to the insanity around her with deadpan humor. In the cartoon, she's much friendlier and more enthusiastic about running the business with the Ghostbusters.
- Ambiguously Jewish: Her name implies a Jewish background.
- Ascended Extra: She had several episodes centered around her.
- Beleaguered Assistant: You can't really blame the girl for how she copes with the stress of the madness she faces on a daily basis.
- Damsel in Distress: To her credit, she only got kidnapped three times in all seven seasons — impressive, compared to her contemporaries in other action shows.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster" involves her having to save the day after the Ghostbusters are captured.
- "Janine's Genie" involves her getting two wishes granted by a Jackass Genie who rules over a swarm of ghosts.
- "Janine, You've Changed" focuses on a demon feeding off her insecurities to turn her into another one of her.
- Deadpan Snarker: She could give Peter a run for his money in this department as she'll often be making dry quips.
- The Face: As the receptionist.
- Fiery Redhead: Like Ray, another irresistible Adaptation Dye-Job, and she's just as sassy as she was in the movies.
- First-Name Basis: Usually calls everyone except "Dr. Venkman" or "Dr. V" by their first name.
- Girliness Upgrade: Due to Executive Meddling from ABC, she got a dramatic makeover in Season 3: longer and fluffier hair, a less-staccato (i.e softer and sweeter) voice, rounder glasses, and milder manners. She also started going out in the field as a Ghostbuster. In the last episode he wrote, "Janine, You've Changed", J. Michael Straczynski aptly explained the redesign In-Universe as the work of an evil spirit who granted Janine's wish to be more beautiful while slowly draining her humanity away.
- Hidden Depths: She's not a scientist like the boys, but working for the Ghostbusters has given her a working knowledge of all the tech in the firehouse, so she's able to run all the machines in a pinch.
- Only Sane Man: She runs the business side of the company for a reason."C'mon, I'll show you where the boys find new ways to do stupid things."
- Oral Fixation: She often blows bubblegum while working.
- Plucky Girl: She's no professional, but she's still "pretty handy with a particle thrower."
- Sarcastic Devotee: As sarcastic as she is devoted to her four employers.
- Sassy Secretary/Servile Snarker: Can snark to her heart's content, safe in the knowledge that her employers can't get along without her and could never find someone to replace her (the two times they've needed to, disaster struck).
- Sexy Secretary: Regularly comes to work in tank tops and mini-skirts, and even once in a bikini... (Though the last one was because of a heat wave).
- The Smurfette Principle: Not just the only woman associated with the team but the only recurring female character on the show.
- Unfazed Everyman: Works for a bunch of Mad Scientists who keep a green Blob Monster for a pet and takes it all in stride.
- The Woman Behind the Man: Janine pretty much handles all of the business aspects of the operation. Her not being around in "Janine's Day Off" is part of the reason things get so crazy.
- Xenafication: Got her own pink jumpsuit in Season 3, which she donned in a few episodes.
Slimer
Slimer
Voiced by: Frank Welker; Carlos Magaña (Latin American Spanish dub); Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese dub)
The first ghost the team ever busted, after the Containment Unit exploded before their confrontation with Gozer, this green glob of an eating machine returned to haunt the firehouse and form a strained friendship with the occupants. Janine theorized he was lonely, and the guys were the first people to pay attention to him.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: While neither his film nor animated form is exactly what one would call traditionally cute, he's drawn a fair bit softer and more puppy-dog-like than his original incarnation, and it helps that he can make more expressive faces than his film self.
- Adaptational Heroism: From the first ghost the Ghostbusters captured in the film to being their friend and mascot in the series.
- Affectionate Nickname: Peter calls him "Spud" in later episodes.
- And Your Reward Is Edible: Being a Big Eater, and usually not having his own money due to lacking a job, he's commonly rewarded with food.
- Animal Lover: At the very least, he is friends with a dog named Fred (short for Ferdinand) in his self-titled shorts and befriended a lab mouse in the episode "Spacebusters".
- Ascended Extra: From the movie's Starter Villain to a Team Pet to the show's Breakout Character.
- Big Eater: Slimer is well known for his gigantic appetite.
- Blob Monster: He's pretty much made of green slime.
- Breakout Character: Got his own series and his name added to the series' title. Serves as one of the franchise's Series Mascots, alongside the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and the "No-Ghost" logo.
- Cuddle Bug: He'll often hug people, most often the Ghostbusters and Janine, usually to their annoyance since that usually leaves them Covered in Gunge.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Slimer, Come Home" focuses on him running away after offending Peter.
- "Adventures in Slime and Space" centres on him splitting into many Slimers and then growing into a huge, evil version of himself.
- "The Two Faces of Slimer" is about him developing an evil alternate personality.
- "Big Trouble with Little Slimer" involves him being kidnapped by Walter Peck and studied by scientists.
- "They Call Me MISTER Slimer!" is about him being a boy's bodyguard.
- "Slimer's Curse" focuses on him winning haunted money in the lottery.
- Disney Death: He's had at least two fake-out deaths.
- In "Big Trouble with Little Slimer", Walter Peck appears to succeed in blowing him to pieces, but he reassembles himself soon after.
- He is one of the ghosts who is apparently vaporized by the titular ghost-hunting robot in "Robo-Buster", but, like the other ghosts blasted by Robo-Buster, returns as part of a giant ectoplasmic gestalt and is separated from it while the other ghosts are trapped.
- Ectoplasm: He tends to leave green gunk on people or things he touches.
- Entertainment Below Their Age: "Once Upon a Slime", "Little Green Sliming Hood", and "Slimer and the Beanstalk" show that he likes fairy tales, and while his age is unknown, he probably isn't a child.
- Everyone's Baby Sister: In "Big Trouble with Little Slimer", Walter Peck decides kidnapping Slimer is the best way to anger all the Ghostbusters.
- Extreme Omnivore: While most of what he eats is food, he sometimes eats things which aren't food, such as Peter's toy train in "The Last Train to Oblivion".
- Flight: Being a ghost, he can fly.
- Forgot About His Powers: Sometimes shown bumping into things or getting hit despite having the ability to be intangible.
- Heel–Face Turn: Went from harassing guests at a hotel to helping humans catch other ghosts.
- Hidden Depths: When Ray hooks him up with a text-to-speech computer he's quite eloquent. He also solves a math problem Egon's been stuck on for awhile (although he misplaces the decimal point).
- I Just Want to Be Badass: "The Two Faces of Slimer" shows he dreams of being a Ghostbuster and saving the others from danger.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: In the flashbacks to "Citizen Ghost," Egon wonders why Slimer opted to hang around the firehouse instead of just flee with the other ghosts. Janine suggests that Slimer is lonely and the guys were the first people to ever pay any attention to him. The guys dismiss this theory, but Slimer's actions throughout the episode depict someone nervously trying to befriend others.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Undergoes this in "The Two Faces of Slimer", where he starts transforming into a large, ugly, vicious ghost dubbed "Big Green" by the Ghostbusters because of ectoplasmic energy from a leak in the Containment Unit infecting him.
- Lab Pet: The Ghostbusters, most often Egon, tend to test things on him or study him to find out how ghosts work.
- Manchild: He'll often behave childishly, like demanding a bedtime story, but he's probably not a child.
- Meaningful Name: Three guesses what he does. Ray gave him the name "Slimer" just to annoy Peter.
- Mr. Imagination: Sometimes shown to play make-believe, and a few of the "Slimer" cartoons have him having Fantasy Sequences.
- No Name Given: Was just a random nameless ghost. Since hanging around the firehouse, Ray gives him the name of Slimer.
- Non-Human Sidekick: A ghost ally to the human Ghostbusters.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: If he says he's not hungry or straight up refuses food, it usually means there's something wrong.
- Platonic Kissing: He's often seen kissing the Ghostbusters and Janine.
- Plot Allergy: Is revealed to have hay fever in "Standing Room Only".
- The Quisling: How he's seen by other ghosts. He doesn't just live with the Ghostbusters; he actively helps them. Samhain in particular denounced Slimer as a traitor.
- Rail Enthusiast: "Slimer Streak" shows him happily playing with a toy train.
- Ridiculously Alive Undead: He's a ghost, but he can eat without going through him, seems to need to sleep, mentions being thirsty in "Three Men and an Egon" and "The Bogeyman is Back", cries actual tears and later mentions that he needs to go to the bathroom in "Something's Going Around", mentions needing to go to the bathroom again in "Camping it Up" and "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?", and catches a cold in "Ghostworld".
- Sweet Tooth: He'll commonly be seen eating desserts and candy.
- Team Pet: A pet ghost.
- Third-Person Person: He occasionally speaks in third person, especially in the "Slimer" cartoons.
- Troublesome Pet: He's the Ghostbusters' Team Pet, and is often a handful — he leaves Ectoplasm everywhere, eats a lot, and likes to randomly hug and kiss people.
- Undying Loyalty: To the Ghostbusters. Sometimes, other ghosts and demons have tried to persuade him to betray the Ghostbusters, but he never does.
- The Unintelligible: Most of the time in the show's first two seasons. From season 3, however, he started talking more clearly. Averted in the Hispanic dub, as they gave him a very deep voice and was always intelligible in Spanish.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Many of the Ghostbusters' clients should react with shock or horror to Slimer, even if they'd previously heard of him, but they rarely do. Even Janine's temp replacement in "Janine's Day Off," who seems terrified of everything around her, takes Slimer completely in stride in no time.
- Vague Age: He often acts like a child, but given that absolutely no information is given on his life before he died (assuming he was originally human), this doesn't really do anything in verifying how old he is. Although in "Take Two", he implies he's been "flying for three years".
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: He sometimes demonstrates an ability to alter his shape and form, usually to make it easier for the Ghostbusters to understand his ramblings, but he'll also use it to disguise himself sometimes.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Peter has no problem chewing him out in "Slimer, Come Home" on the grounds that ghosts don't have feelings. Ray is doubtful of that and the episode proves him right.
- Wild Card: In the earlier seasons. He'd never do anything deliberately to harm the others, but his excitable nature and massive appetite could lead him to cause problems or just annoy others.
Louis Tully
Louis Tully
Voiced by: Rodger Bumpass
A neighbor to Dana Barrett, and an accountant from the first film who, like Barrett, was turned into a Terror Dog. He was added to the cartoon around the third season.
- Does Not Like Spam: In "Kitty-Cornered", he mentions that he doesn't like beets.
- Hidden Depths: He had a couple occasions to strap on a proton pack. He's clearly a newbie, but he does much better than his meek persona would suggest.
- Nerd Glasses: He was the second main character to have a pair of glasses to show he's a nerd.
- Out of Focus: He appeared somewhat infrequently and usually without explanation.
- Papa Wolf: In "Busters in Toyland", he becomes understandably irate upon realizing that Lothgar has tricked his nephew Lawrence into agreeing to trade places with him and also tackles Lothgar to try and prevent him from getting away when he and the Ghostbusters come to Lawrence's rescue.
- Sixth Ranger: Doesn't show up until "Something's Going Around".
Walter Peck
Walter Peck
Voiced by: Robert Towers
An Obstructive Bureaucrat encountered in the first film. He's antagonized The Ghostbusters from day one, purely for the sake of his own ego. While he ostensibly had cause to investigate the firehouse where the Ghostbusters operate, he's really just a petty bully that likes to throw his weight around. In addition to his tropes in Ghostbusters, he gets these in the animated series:
- Accidental Truth: Hoping to frame the Ghostbusters for committing several federal crimes, he calls in a "false" report that a ghost is harassing a military base. Although Peck was not aware of it, said base actually had a ghost problem, and a big one.
- Adaptational Ugliness: While his actor gives the character an appearance that isn't much to write about in the film and video-game, he's considerably much less attractive in the cartoon. Offenses listed in Gonk below.
- The Corrupter: His accomplice in "Big Trouble for Little Slimer" seemed to be a genuinely good and loyal soldier in the armed forces, until Peck filled his head with stories of how The Ghostbusters wronged him. Only after The Ghostbusters saved the military base he was working on, and were touted as true heroes by the general running said base, did he learn differently, but by then, it was too late to save his career.
- A Day in the Limelight: "Big Trouble for Little Slimer" spends almost the entire episode from Peck's POV. He's just as odious as in the original film, blaming the Ghostbusters for all his misfortune that he brought on himself.
- Did Not Think This Through: In his zeal to spite the Ghostbusters for the outcome of the first film, (i.e., he loses his EPA job, gets covered in molten marshmallow, and is forced to chauffeur the military brass), he lures the Ghostbusters onto a military base with a false ghost sighting, and has an accomplice check them in. Even if there actually wasn't a ghost, things would still have turned out poorly for Peck, and the Ghostbusters would only have been mildly inconvenienced, at worst.
- Evil Redhead: As shown in the page image, he's got red hair and his malevolence can rival some of the worst ghosts, supernatural, and para-natural horrors showcased in the show. The only reason he doesn't get locked up in the Containment Unit is that he's a living human.
- Gonk: If he didn't identify himself by name, fans would have had a hard time identifying him in the animated series. He's bug-eyed. His face is very angular, and ragged. He's so thin (aside from his extra chin), that his skin looks like it's painted onto his skeleton. He's also almost buck-toothed.
- It's Personal: He's obsessed with getting revenge against the Ghostbusters for the damage done to his career.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In a bit of Continuity Snarl, Peck's whining suggests that Peter did follow through on his threat to counter-sue for wrongful prosecution due to Peck's actions in the first movie, and Peck was found liable. In addition, Peck's poorly thought out frame job got him and his accomplice "fired permanently" and served to make the Ghostbusters more popular instead.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Due to his poorly thought out attempt to frame the Ghostbusters, lives were saved when the Ghostbusters investigated the military base they were lured to and found a ghost hiding in an accelerator, feeding, and biding its time to strike.
- Revenge Before Reason: His new job is actually much better than his old one, but instead of just enjoying that, he obsessively tries to get revenge and ends up getting himself fired.
- Revenge by Proxy: After his attempts to get revenge directly on the Ghostbusters themselves fail, he decides to hurt them by going after Slimer.
Lt. Frump
Lt. Frump
Voiced by: Maurice LaMarche
A member of the NYPD who has run afoul of the Ghostbusters, who he has little respect for, a few times.
- Badass Boast: In "The Headless Motorcyclist" Peter frantically tries to hide a newspaper clipping of Frump that he's been using as a Dartboard of Hate. Frump assures him that he can just leave it up, before pointedly observing that, "You'll notice you can hit me as much as you want, but I'll just keep on smiling."
- By-the-Book Cop: He's a jerk, but he absolutely follows the rules and regulations.
- Fat Bastard: The "bastard" part is downplayed, but he's overweight and he's very mean to the Ghostbusters.
- Inspector Javert: He takes the "to serve and protect" part of his oath very seriously, and he genuinely seems to think the Ghostbusters are more trouble than they're worth. He'll often play the role of a Hero Antagonist early in an episode until convinced the Ghostbusters are actually the best bet to handle whatever problem has cropped up.
- Large and in Charge: He's got more than a little weight, and he's a high-ranking police officer.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Despite his disregard for their antics, he never takes the opportunity to put the Ghostbusters away through underhanded means.
- He also makes it a point to not take action unless he's actually sure of wrongdoing. For example, in "The Headless Motorcyclist" he actually pursues the titular Motorcyclist as he pursues Peter (as part of a trap the Ghostbusters were setting up), and instead of blundering in and accidentally making things worse (as you'd expect of an antagonistic police officer in an 80s cartoon) he opts to observe what's happening. After the guys successfully trap the Motorcyclist, he reluctantly admits the guys are innocent and leaves without confronting them.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He really doesn't like the Ghostbusters (and the feeling on their part ranges from mutual dislike to apathy), but if necessary he'll work with them. He just makes it clear he's not happy about it.
Junior Ghostbusters
Junior Ghostbusters
Voiced by: Lennard Camarillo (Donald, "The Bogeyman is Back" and "Halloween 11 1/2"), Danny McMurphy (Donald, Slimer! shorts), Katie Leigh (Jason), April Hong (Catherine)
Three children who admire the Ghostbusters and occasionally try to help them in their missions.
- Intergenerational Friendship: They are on good terms with the Ghostbusters and Janine.
- Kid Hero: They helped catch the Boogeyman in "The Bogeyman is Back" and the Sleaze in "Don't Tease the Sleaze".
- Remember the New Guy?: They made their debut in "The Boogieman Is Back", which depicted them as already being established allies of the Ghostbusters.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Jason wears glasses and is depicted as the smartest of the three.
- Tagalong Kid: They often attempt to join in the fight against the supernatural, even when told to stay out of danger by the Ghostbusters.
- Two Guys and a Girl: The group consists of two boys and one girl.
Fred
Fred
Voiced by: Frank Welker
A dog that Slimer is friends with in the Slimer! shorts. His owner is Mrs. Van Huego, a customer at the Sedgewick Hotel.
- Fur Is Clothing: "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'" shows that he wears boxer shorts underneath his fur.
- Interspecies Friendship: His best friend is Slimer, who's a ghost and probably not a ghost dog.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: While he's frequently called "Fred", his real name is Ferdinand.
- Partially Civilised Animal: He walks on two legs about half the time and makes humanlike gestures, but is still very much a dog.
Mrs. Van Huego
Mrs. Van Huego
Voiced by: Fay DeWitt
Fred's owner who lives at the Sedgewick Hotel.
- Flat Character: There isn't much to know about her other than being Fred's owner and living at the Sedgewick Hotel.
- No Full Name Given: Her first name is unstated.
Manx
Manx
Voiced by: Frank Welker
A cat that often antagonizes Slimer in the Slimer! shorts.
- Big Eater: He's commonly seen stealing food, and sometimes he'll start antagonising Slimer due to jealousy from Slimer getting food but not him.
- Cats Are Mean: He's always trying to cause trouble for Slimer.
- A Dog Named "Cat": Downplayed. He has a tail, something that actual Manx cats lack.
- Funny Animal: He's pretty much fully anthropomorphic except for the fact that he meows instead of speaking and chases birds and mice.
- Hostile Show Takeover: One of the intros for the Slimer! segments has him attempt this by presenting a sign reading "The Manx Show", only for Slimer to knock it over to reveal a sign reading "Slimer!"
- Predators Are Mean: Is the villain of "A Mouse in the House" and "Pigeon-Cooped" for trying to eat a small animal.
- Stock Animal Diet: Will be shown eating fish, drinking milk, and trying to eat mice.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: "Tea but not Sympathy" has him pretend to be injured to trick Janine into caring for him and so that he can sneak food behind her back, in addition to getting Slimer in trouble by falsely accusing Slimer of hurting him.
Bruiser
Bruiser
Voiced by: Danny Mann
A guard dog that often causes trouble for Slimer and Fred in the Slimer! shorts.
- Angry Guard Dog: He's very intimidating and his usual role is to try and keep Slimer away from whatever he's guarding.
- Civilised Animal: Walks on two legs a lot of the time, has thumbs, and sometimes speaks a little, but he still behaves mostly like a dog.
- Meaningful Name: True to his name, he's very aggressive and mean.
Morris P. Grout
Morris P. Grout
Voiced by: Alan Oppenheimer
The head of the Sedgewick Hotel in the Slimer! segments. He remains adamant that ghosts do not exist.
- Better the Devil You Know: "Out With Grout" centers around Slimer, Bud, and Fred getting Grout to leave the hotel so they can have fun, only to start wanting him back when Slimer's nemesis Professor Dweeb ends up replacing him as head of the hotel.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: He's so certain that ghosts don't exist that he tends to brush off actually seeing them as hallucinations.
- The Killjoy: Often yells at Bud to stop enjoying himself (though to be fair, Bud often slacks off to have fun).
- Mean Boss: He's within his rights to reprimand Bud for slacking off, but that doesn't excuse how he tends to be very curt about it.
- Mysterious Middle Initial: It is never explained what the P stands for.
Bud
Bud
Voiced by: Danny Mann
A bellhop at the Sedgewick Hotel and another of Slimer's friends in the Slimer! shorts.
- The Ditz: He isn't very bright.
- Lazy Bum: He'll often be seen listening to music, eating, or reading instead of doing his job.
- No Full Name Given: We don't know his last name.
- Surfer Dude: He talks like a Californian surfer and the series bible even confirms that he's from California. He's only shown actually surfing in one episode though.
- Ultimate Job Security: He never gets fired in spite of the number of times he's slacked off.
Rudy
Rudy
Voiced by: Jeff Marder
Another of Slimer's friends in the Slimer! shorts. He tends to rope the spud into get-rich-quick schemes.
- Greed: His primary focus is making money.
- Mr. Vice Guy: He's not a bad person for the most part, but he's often attempting get-rich-quick schemes and when doing so seems more concerned about getting lots of money than anything else.
- No Full Name Given: We don't know his surname.
- The Slacker: Given the opportunity, he'll just laze around and let Slimer do all the work.
- Token Evil Teammate: He's not completely bad, but he's definitely much more self-centered than the rest of Slimer's pals.
Luigi
Luigi
Voiced by: Danny Mann
An Italian chef who is on good terms with Slimer in the Slimer! shorts.
- Alliterative Name: The series bible gives him the surname Linguini, making his full name Luigi Linguini.
- Chubby Chef: He's quite round and a chef.
- Edible Theme Naming: His last name, Linguini, is a type of pasta.
- Stock Foreign Name: Luigi is a very common name for Italian characters.
Rafael
Rafael
Voiced by: Charlie Adler
Luigi's boss.
- Mean Boss: Every time he talks to Luigi, he's yelling at him for not getting things done fast enough.
- The Napoleon: He's very short and not a very pleasant person.
- No Full Name Given: His last name is unstated.
Chilly Cooper
Chilly Cooper
Voiced by: Cree Summer
A friend of Slimer's in the Slimer! shorts who drives an ice cream truck.
- Alliterative Name: Her first and last name both begin with C.
- Birthday Episode: "Cash or Slime" is about Slimer trying to buy her a birthday present.
- Glass-Shattering Sound: When demonstrating her singing voice to Slimer in "Slimer's Silly Symphony", her singing causes several glass objects in the background to shatter.
- Meaningful Name: She sells ice cream, which is cold.
- Noodle People: She's very skinny and has long, thin limbs.
- Token Minority: She's the only notable character exclusive to the Slimer! shorts who is black.
Mrs. Stone
Mrs. Stone
Voiced by: Cree Summer
A burly woman Slimer occasionally runs afoul of in the Slimer! shorts.
- Depending on the Writer: She's usually an antagonist, but some episodes at least depict her as neutral.
- The Killjoy: She'll often be shown trying to prevent characters like Slimer and Fred from having fun.
- Meaningful Name: Her name fits how stonefaced she is.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: Her job changes in every episode. She's a nurse in her debut episode, the rest of the series having her become a lifeguard, a school guard, the owner of an obedience school, and a judge at a dog show.
- No Full Name Given: Her first name is unrevealed.
- Top-Heavy Guy: Her small, thin legs are the only parts of her body that aren't big and bulky.
- When She Smiles: "Class Clown" establishes that she smiles so infrequently that whenever she does smile, it's a big deal.
Mrs. Nakami
Mrs. Nakami
Voiced by: Katie Leigh
She is the teacher of the Junior Ghostbusters in the Slimer! short "Class Clown"
- No Full Name Given: Her first name is unstated.
- Stern Teacher: Even though she does feel bad that the Junior Ghostbusters lost their scripts for the talent show at school, she was forced to disqualify them from the show for not being prepared, as dictated by the rules. That is, until Slimer found the scripts and brought them back.
Professor Norman Dweeb
Professor Norman Dweeb
Voiced by: Jeff Altman
A scientist obsessed with capturing Slimer, primarily out of a desire to prove he's smarter than and superior to the Ghostbusters.
- Arch-Enemy: He is the most prominent foe of Slimer in the Slimer! shorts and even faces him within the main series in the episodes "The Slob", "Deja Boo", and "Not Now, Slimer".
- Amusing Injuries: He's commonly shown bumping into things, having his inventions backfire on him, being bitten by Elizabeth, etc.
- Basement-Dweller: He still lives with his mother.
- Ditzy Genius: He's smart enough to invent lots of technology, but dumb enough to be a comedic screw-up.
- Fat Bastard: He's a bit on the chunky side and he wants to catch Slimer.
- Four-Fingered Hands: To go with the more simplified art style of the Slimer! shorts, he has four fingers on each hand, which is a trait he keeps even when appearing in the main series.
- Gag Nose: He has a big bulbous nose.
- Insufferable Genius: Often boasts about being a genius/scientist.
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: A scientist and often wearing a labcoat.
- Mad Scientist: He creates gadgets that he uses to try and capture Slimer.
- Meaningful Name: A "dweeb" is someone who's socially awkward or intellectual and he's both.
- Non-Human Sidekick: His associate is a pink poodle named Elizabeth, who does not think highly of her master.
- Non-Standard Character Design: When he appears in the main Real Ghostbusters series, he's rendered in the exact same style as he is in the Slimer! shorts, despite the Ghostbusters and Slimer himself having alternate designs for the latter.
- Opaque Lenses: His glasses cover his eyes completely and do not have transparent lenses.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He thinks he's better in the field of paranormal studies than the Ghostbusters, but his constant failures in catching Slimer prove that he's an incompetent clown who's in way over his head.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Is a scientist and always wears glasses.
- Unknown Rival: The Ghostbusters aren't even aware he exists until "The Slob", and they consider him more of a nuisance than a serious threat.
- Vocal Evolution: His voice is stuffier and more nasal during his debut in the Slimer! short "Slimer for Hire".
Mrs. Dweeb
Mrs. Dweeb
The cranky mother of Professor Dweeb.
- Grumpy Old Man: Or in this case, woman — she's old enough to be the mother of an adult man, and she yells all the time.
- No Full Name Given: Her first name is never revealed.
- No Indoor Voice: She's most often heard yelling.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Dweeb's sidekick; a pink poodle.
- Dog Stereotype: Sometimes shows signs of the "fancy poodle" stereotype — she wears a bow and she's shown primping in "Show Dog Showdown".
- Partially Civilised Animal: Can walk and make gestures just like a human but usually walks on all fours and can't talk.
- Silent Snarker: Often shown giving Dweeb unamused looks.
Mrs. Spengler
Mrs. Spengler
The mother of Egon, who was shown in "Janine's Day Off" and "Ghostworld".
- Ambiguously Jewish: Like her son, she has a last name that's common among the Jewish. She's also overly-nurturing, which is associated with Jewish mothers.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She often berates Egon for not doing what she wants, but she wants what's best for her son and helps him save his possessed friends.
- Mad Libs Catchphrase: Refers to Egon as "my son, the [noun]".
- My Beloved Smother: Comes over to nursemaid Egon against his will when he catches a cold in "Ghostworld".
- Never Mess with Granny: She's elderly, but she's shown wielding a proton pack in "Ghostworld".
- No Full Name Given: We don't know her first name.
Jim Venkman
Jim Venkman
The father of Peter; a sleazy conman with a rarely-seen good side.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Peter is often embarrassed when Jim's scams end up on the news, since he fears it will damage his reputation due to them being related.
- Con Man: He's always running scams, most often selling things and pretending they do things that they don't.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As pointed out by Peter in "Cold Cash and Hot Water", he may be a conman, but he's not bad.
- Shared Family Quirks: Both he and his son have played fast-and-loose with the law, though Peter does it a lot less often than Jim.
Dr. Bassingame
Dr. Bassingame
Another conman, who was an antagonist in "The Spirit of Aunt Lois" and "Cold Cash and Hot Water".
- Con Man: He lies that he's psychic to make money.
- Foil: What sets him apart from Jim Venkman is that Bassingame refuses to take responsibility for whatever damages his scams cause.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: An evil scammer with the title of "doctor".
- No Full Name Given: His first name is never revealed.
Ghosts and other supernatural entities
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Voiced by: Frank Welker (most appearances), Maurice LaMarche ("Sticky Business")
A giant marshmallow man who's the mascot for Stay Puft Marshmallows brought to life. He usually hangs around in the Containment Unit, only being let out when the Ghostbusters need him.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the movie the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was the form Gozer took per the Ghostbusters' choice for its vessel and thus is entirely villainous, but in here it's a relatively neutral character who aids the Ghostbusters from time to time.
- Anthropomorphic Food: He's made out of marshmallow.
- Decomposite Character: In the movie, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is a form chosen by Gozer to destroy the Earth. Here, it appears he is a separate entity from Gozer and has his own personality.
- Gentle Giant: He's enormous and is usually portrayed as good-natured and childlike.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: He alternates between being good and being an antagonist depending on the episode.
- Hulk Speak: "Sticky Business" portrays him as inconsistently speaking in incomplete sentences, as some of his dialogue in the episode is more articulate.
- In-Series Nickname: He is frequently addressed as "the big guy".
- Interspecies Friendship: It's unknown what he is (possibly a ghost or some sort of interdimensional creature) but he's not human, yet he describes the Ghostbusters as his friends in "Sticky Business".
- Unexplained Recovery: It isn't explained how he ended up in the Containment Unit when the movie clearly showed him blasted into marshmallow goo. Though given his Decomposite Character status and affability it's entirely possible he's a completely unrelated ghost to Gozer's destructor form.
The Boogieman
The Boogieman
"I love fear! It makes me stronger!"
Voiced by: Frank Welker
A monstrous being who hides in closets and scares children.
- Arch-Enemy: He and Egon Spengler are technically nemeses, since the Boogieman especially enjoys scaring Egon and it was being scared by the Boogieman as a child that got Egon interested in studying the supernatural.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: A downright scary aversion. In spite of having scared countless children over the years, he still recognizes the fully-grown Egon Spengler as one of his victims.Boogieman: [to Egon] I remember you!
- Children Are Special: Subverted. In "The Boogieman Cometh", it seemed as though he only fed on the fear of children, but "The Bogeyman is Back" reveals that he can actually feed on adults' fears too; he just zeroes in on children because they're easier to scare.
- Cool Gate: When not scaring children, he resides in a different realm with different physics and filled with doors. Each one leads into a child's bedroom, allowing him to simply pop in practically anywhere he chooses. The Ghostbusters briefly found themselves on the other side of the country when chasing him through portals. The use of the Ghost Bomb was meant to close these various portals; his next appearance shows all the doors slimed shut, and he is incapable of opening them until sensing Egon's fear.
- Create Your Own Hero: He’s the reason why Egon became interested in the study of the supernatural, which in turn led to him becoming a Ghostbuster.
- Didn't See That Coming: The Ghostbusters learn the hard way that he's not a ghost.Ray: It's not a ghost! How are we gonna get it in the trap?!
Winston: Good question. Why didn't you think of that before? - Emotion Eater: He feeds on fear. The more scared his victim is, the stronger he becomes. And kids are easier to scare, so he focuses on them. That said, he can still feed on fear from adults. In his second appearance, Egon was so terrified of nearly falling to his death and his attempts to hide it not working gave the Boogieman enough strength to break free.
- The Empath: Downplayed. He can sense fear, but it's unknown if he senses other emotions.
- Evil Is Petty: The Carter children went to the Ghostbusters to get rid of him. Though unable to trap him, they were able to drive him off before the kids' unaware parents kicked them out. Shortly afterwards, he comes back solely to torment the children as revenge for this annoyance.
- Gale-Force Sound: When cornered, he can roar load enough to knock the Ghostbusters away so that he can run off.
- Harmful to Minors: He was going to make the Carter children watch, as he killed the Ghostbusters.
- Hate Sink: The Boogieman is a cruel, sadistic monster who has no qualms about terrorizing children.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: He has a large mouth full of sharp teeth.
- No-Sell: Downplayed. Since he's not a ghost, the Boogieman isn't paralyzed by the Ghostbusters' proton guns the way actual spirits are. That said, they do cause him discomfort and force him to retreat. When he returns to try and kill the kids who asked the Ghosbusters for help, Winston is there to drive him away again. In his second appearance, the Ghostbuster manage to find a way to make him vulnerable to their Ghost Traps, allowing them to trap him for good.
- Outside-Context Problem: The Boogieman is not a ghost. It's a fully corporeal being similar to them and as such, all of the tactics the Ghostbusters have meant to capture incorporeal beings won't work.
- Sadist: The Boogieman gets sadistic pleasure from scaring people.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: His debut episode ended with the Ghostbusters sealing him within his own dimension with a Ghost Bomb. He eventually breaks free in "The Bogeyman Is Back" by drawing strength from Egon's fear when he was shaken from almost falling to his death during a mission. However, Egon is able to build a device that temporarily turns him into a ghost long enough to make him vulnerable to the ghost trap. Now that can he's sealed in is the containment unit.
- Slasher Smile: He constantly has a large, unnerving grin.
- Spell My Name With An S: His different episodes spell his name differently: "Boogieman" and "Bogeyman."
- Story-Breaker Power: Him not being a ghost means the Ghostbusters have to do more than simply use their proton packs.
- Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: As expected from the Boogieman, he scares children by springing out of their closets.
- Would Hurt a Child: The Boogieman’s main method for getting fear is terrifying little kids. In "The Bogeyman Is Back", he tried to attack the Junior Ghostbusters.
- Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: His eyes are yellow and he likes hiding in closets and sneaking around at night.
Samhain
Samhain
Voiced by: William E. Martin
The pumpkin-headed personification of Halloween, who fought the Ghostbusters twice.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: In his second episode, he takes over the firehouse and transforms it into a misshapen fortress.
- Black Eyes of Evil: His design was later tweaked to remove the pupils and give him these.
- Evil Wears Black: An evil Halloween spirit who wears a black cloak.
- A Father to His Men: He considers all ghosts his little ones and looks out for them.
- I Am the Noun: "I 'am' Halloween."
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: He demanded that Slimer join his legion or suffer. When Slimer refused, he let his minions torture him.
- Papa Wolf: In his first episode, he attacks the Ghostbusters for trying to bust one of his little ones.
- Pumpkin Person: He has a jack-o-lantern head.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: He was imprisoned in some ancient Irish ruins until a pair of goblins freed him on Halloween. Those same goblins later free him from the Containment Unit in "Halloween II 1/2".
- Villainous Breakdown: He doesn't take either of his defeats well. He pleads that he won't go back as the Ghostbusters bust him in "When Halloween Was Forever", while "Halloween II 1/2" has him repeatedly yell "Not again" as he gets sucked back into the Containment Unit after his fortress falls apart.
- Weakened by the Light: He is vulnerable to light, which came in handy when the Ghostbusters first trapped him.
- You Fool!:Samhain: You didn't actually think you could keep Samhain, the spirit of Halloween, locked up forever, did you, Ghostbusters?
Peter: Well, yeah, actually we did.
Samhain: Then you are fools! And fools deserve a swift demise!
The Grundel
The Grundel
Voiced by: Rodger Bumpass
A creepy, green-skinned ghost who manipulates children into being bad.
- Allegorical Character: He generally runs on parents' fears of their children getting involved with the wrong crowd and going rotten.
- Children Are Innocent: He goes after children that might not be perfect but would still be considered innocent and pure. Corrupting that is what he lives for.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: He wears a trench coat and a hat to make him look all the more shifty and sinister.
- The Corrupter: His entire deal is that he makes children bad.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: His actions are very easy to compare to child molesters and gang leaders who manipulate children into helping with their crimes.
- Evil Sounds Raspy: He has a very raspy voice.
- Faux Affably Evil: For much of the episode, the Grundel talks in a seemingly pleasant tone while advocating all sorts of nasty behavior.The Grundel: You want to be friends, yes?
- Green and Mean: He is green and is a very unsavory character.
- If I Can't Have You…: When his grip on Alec is permanently broken, he not only is content to let both the boy and his brother fall to their deaths, but he also actively tries to to stop Peter from saving them.
- Living Shadow: He adopts this form whenever needing to move around quickly or to talk to Alec covertly.
- Must Be Invited: He beckons Alec from the brothers' bedroom window and talks about all the fun they can have, but he can't actually do anything more until the boy invites him in. Alec doing so allows the Grundel to become his constant companion, influence his behavior, and slowly transform him.
- Synchronization: What keeps the Ghostbusters from frying him outright. Alec inviting them in caused them to become linked and, with the transformation nearly complete, blasting the Grundel would hurt him, as well. Peter has to do some pretty fast talking to convince Alec to snap out of it and break the link.
- Villainous Breakdown: He puts on a good show of being Faux Affably Evil when getting his hooks in Alec and preying on Lee, but once Peter breaks his hold over Alec, he loses all composure and becomes a snarling mess. He gets even worse right before he's trapped.
The Ghostmaster
The Ghostmaster
Voiced by: Gregory Martin
A powerful ghost who has a grudge against the Ghostbusters.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He's very overweight and quite hammy, but he's a Class-11 spirit and thus far more powerful than most of the Ghostbusters' other opponents.
- Big Bad: He was created to give the show a main antagonist, but he ended up trapped and beaten for good in "Revenge of the Ghostmaster".
- Cruel Mercy: He forbids his bounty hunters from killing the Ghostbusters outright and later makes a point of using non-lethal measures himself. He wants them captured alive, so that he can make them his slaves.
- Fat Bastard: He's very overweight and is the evil leader of the undead.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: As a Class-11 spirit, he's actually too powerful for the Ghostbusters to trap under normal circumstances, but his spell in "Revenge of the Ghostmaster" drains a good bit of his own power. He assumed he had nothing to worry about because the spell prevented the guys from using their equipment in conventional ways, but Egon and Ray figured out a Rube Goldberg-esque workaround.
- Orcus on His Throne: In his first appearance, he dispatches bounty hunters to deal with the Ghostbusters.
- Villain Ball: His spell in "Revenge of the Ghostmaster" causes all technology to shut down should the Ghostbusters get within 40 feet of the given device. He could've quite easily subdued them immediately, but he chose to announce his intentions and make a show of hunting them just to further torment them. It gives Egon and Ray enough time to figure out a solution.
- We Will Meet Again: He promises the Ghostbusters that he'll get even with them at the end of his debut in "Short Stuff".Ghostmaster: You win this time, but you haven't seen the last of me! I'll be back! I'll be back!
- You Have Failed Me: After telling his three best bounty hunters he wants the Ghostbusters captured, he promises to greatly reward whoever succeeds and to severely punish whoever fails. The trio may very well prefer the Containment Unit to whatever punishment was waiting for them back home.
Goolem and Zugg
Goolem and Zugg
Voiced by: Alan Oppenheimer (Goolem), Danny Mann (Zugg)
A pair of ghosts who menace Slimer a few times in the Slimer! shorts.
- Bumbling Henchmen Duo: Goolem is slightly smarter, but they're both essentially ineffectual subordinates to Scareface.
- Eye Beams: Goolem has laser vision.
- Number Two for Brains: Zugg is always shown to be the dumber of the pair.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Literally. Zugg's uncle Scareface has them banished to Antarctica after Goolem attacks Scareface for assuming he's Slimer in disguise.
Hob Anagarak
Hob Anagarak
An ancient and terrible fire demon sealed in a block of black ice. A demon that Peter's father hoped to unveil to make a fortune.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Or rather 30 feet but whatever.
- Breath Weapon: He breathes fire.
- The Dreaded: Like so many other villains in Ghostbusters, Hob is feared by many and aims to take over the world.
- Panthera Awesome: Looks like a giant, mutant, humanoid, saber-tooth tiger.
- Playing with Fire: He's a fire demon so it goes with the territory. Not only can he breathe fire, Hob's very touch can burn anything.
Cathulhu/Cthulhu
Cathulu/Cthulhu
The Trope Namer and Codifier for any trope involving Cthulhu. Inordinately powerful, Egon says he makes Gozer look like "Little Mary Sunshine".
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Averted. They use one of Cthulhu's legitimate weaknesses, electricity, to banish him. But he's still out there, waiting.
- Darkest Hour: His entry into the world is considered an even bigger threat than Gozer.
- Death Glare: The second time the Ghostbusters try blasting him, he turns around and looks down at them. Oh, Crap! ensues.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Yes, the Ghostbusters succeed in besting him.
- Healing Factor: Any damage the Ghostbusters do to him is temporary and more a minor irritant than a threat.
- No-Sell: The Ghostbusters start by shooting him in the head with their proton guns. It seems to tear a chunk out of him, but then it immediately regrows. And now he's mad.
Ghash
Ghash
The main villain of "Slimer, Come Home", who has made several background appearances in other episodes — a poltergeist who eats other ghosts.
- Belly Mouth: He has a huge mouth appear on his stomach.
- Evil Wears Black: He dresses in a black trench coat and top hat and he's a danger to both humans and ghosts.
- Ghastly Ghost: In addition to him being a hazard to other ghosts, he's also very ugly — he has a long, orange tongue and green bags around his eyes.
- Monstrous Cannibalism: Eats ghosts despite seemingly being a ghost himself.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: He's an evil ghost with red eyes.
Wat
Wat
The main antagonist of "Mrs. Rogers' Neighbourhood" and made a background appearance in "Xmas Marks the Spot" — a very powerful demon.
- Batman Gambit: Watt wants to open up the Containment Unit and conscript the ghosts inside into an army capable of conquering the living world. To that end, the demon sets up a Haunted House to keep the guys busy and leave the Containment Unit undefended. Things hit a snag when it turns out only the four Ghostbusters can actually open the thing up.
- Demonic Possession: He possessed Peter to access the containment unit.
- Evil Laugh: Watt does a shrill laugh after possessing Peter, as does Precious after the possessed Peter touches the hand scanner.
- Evil Sounds Deep: His voice is very deep and menacing.
- Faux Affably Evil: Mrs. Rogers is seemingly a pleasant woman capable of turning on the charm, but she's really a horrific demon out to conquer the living world and clearly delights at the chance to torment humans.
- Flight: "Xmas Marks the Spot" reveals that he can fly.
- Laughably Evil: Downplayed — he's a serious threat, and he's mainly portrayed as very scary, but there is a Running Gag of people confusing his name for the word "what".
- Sex Shifter: He appears to be male yet he took the form of a woman.
- Super-Strength: He is able to lift up Peter Venkman.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: He can change form, as shown when he pretends to be an old woman.
Precious
Precious
Wat's pet; a demonic bird, who appears in "Mrs. Rogers' Neighbourhood" and makes a background appearance in "Sticky Business".
- Breath Weapon: He breathes fire.
- Fluffy the Terrible: His name may be Precious, but he's a demon bird who breathes fire.
- Uncatty Resemblance: He and his owner Wat are both shapeshifters.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: He can take the form of a canary.
Mean, Green Teen Machine
Mean, Green Teen Machine
Three lizard-like, teenage, pizza-obsessed ghosts that were the main villains of "Mean, Green Teen Machine" and made an appearance in "Guess What's Coming to Dinner".
- Card-Carrying Villain: They have "mean" in their group name.
- Edible Ammunition: They throw pizza.
- For the Evulz: They initially did evil for no apparent reason other than because they were mean.
- Green and Mean: They're green and like to cause chaos to everyone in the city.
- Intentional Mess Making: They like throwing furniture and pizza around.
- Lean and Mean: One of them is tall and lanky.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Two of them have read eyes.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Evil, lizard-like ghosts.
- Sex Shifter: Two of them morph into women for Peter's nightmare.
- Take That!: Their love for pizza and being teenage reptiles references Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Known for loving pizza.
The Sleaze
The Sleaze
A slovenly ghost, who was the antagonist of "Don't Tease the Sleaze" and "The Slob".
- Evil Is Petty: Likes to play Keep Away with sandwiches.
- Fusion Dance: Fuses with his brother Glob to make the eponymous ghost from "The Slob".
- Green and Mean: He's a brownish-green colour and a main antagonist.
- Keep Away: He likes teasing people by holding sandwiches out of reach.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: He's just as untrustworthy as his name suggests.
- The Pig-Pen: Loves hanging out where there's garbage.
- Spell My Name with a "The": The Sleaze.
- Thin-Skinned Bully: He likes to tease people with sandwiches, but doesn't react well to being teased back.
