The Ghost Busters

Lore & Background

The Ghost Busters centered on Jake Kong (Forrest Tucker), Eddie Spencer (Larry Storch), and Tracy (a gorilla played by Bob Burns). Kong was the leader, Spencer his partner, and Tracy their assistant who drove a barely-functional jalopy. Their dilapidated office featured peeling wallpaper and a pay phone as their only means of client contact. Spencer's name on the door was misspelled 'Spenser,' and his first name was given as Eddie in the second episode. Kong's first name was never mentioned in the original series.

Each episode followed a formula: a ghost or monster would vow havoc in a pre-credits teaser. After the credits, Kong sent Tracy and Spencer to a general store to receive a recorded assignment from the unseen 'Zero' (voiced by Lou Scheimer). The message, hidden in everyday objects, would self-destruct after five seconds, often exploding in Tracy's face. The assignments always led to a spooky castle with an adjoining graveyard, where the Ghost Busters would corner the ghouls and dispatch them with a 'Ghost De-Materializer' as Kong shouted 'Zap!'

The show featured guest stars including Ted Knight, Kathy Garver, and Howard Morris, and villains such as Dr. Frankenstein, Count Dracula, Billy the Kid, and the Red Baron. All 15 episodes were taped in nine weeks, every other day. The show ranked second in its time slot behind The Shazam!/ISIS Hour, but Filmation canceled it after one season to invest more in its top program.

Reader's Guide

The Ghost Busters holds significance as a precursor to the massively popular 1984 film Ghostbusters, though the two are unrelated. Columbia Pictures paid to license the Filmation series name for the film, and Filmation later revived its series with an animated sequel in 1986. The show is notable for reuniting Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch in comedic roles reminiscent of their work on F Troop, and for its use of classic cinema references in character names: 'Spencer' and 'Tracy' alluded to actor Spencer Tracy, while 'Kong' paid homage to King Kong.

Despite its short run, the series developed a cult following. Home media releases include VHS tapes from the 1980s (billed as The Original Ghostbusters) and a complete DVD set from BCI Eclipse in 2007, sourced from original broadcast videotapes. The show's legacy is intertwined with the later Ghostbusters franchise, but it stands as a distinct, low-budget children's sitcom that employed a formulaic structure of ghost-of-the-week episodes and slapstick humor.

Did You Know?

• The show's character names 'Spencer' and 'Tracy' referenced actor Spencer Tracy, while 'Kong' was a homage to King Kong.
• All 15 episodes were taped in nine weeks, every other day.
• The show ranked second in its time slot behind The Shazam!/ISIS Hour but was canceled after one season.
• Columbia Pictures paid to license the Filmation series name for the 1984 film Ghostbusters.

Premise & Episodic Formula

The Ghost Busters was a fifteen-episode live-action children's sitcom that aired on CBS in 1975, following a trio of perpetually clumsy paranormal investigators. Jake Kong (Forrest Tucker) led the group, with Eddie Spencer (Larry Storch) as his partner and Tracy—a gorilla in a suit operated by Bob Burns—serving as assistant and driver of their barely functional vehicle. Their headquarters was a run-down office in an unnamed city, featuring peeling wallpaper, a pay phone as their sole client contact, and an armoire where Tracy kept his hat collection, including a beanie with a propeller. Spencer's name appeared misspelled as "Spenser" on the office door, while Kong's first name was never spoken in the series. Each episode followed a rigid template: a pre-credits teaser introduced a ghost or monster vowing destruction, then the main segment saw Kong sending his partners to a general store to retrieve a taped assignment from the unseen "Zero." The recording, hidden inside a bicycle, typewriter, or toy, ended with a self-destruct countdown that invariably exploded in Tracy's face. The trio then headed to the city's only spooky castle and graveyard, where after farcical chases, Kong activated a "Ghost De-Materializer" and bellowed "Zap!" to banish the ghouls.

Production & Cancellation

According to a 2007 interview with Bob Burns III, all fifteen episodes of The Ghost Busters were filmed over a compressed nine-week period, with taping sessions occurring every other day. Despite this grueling schedule, the series found a solid audience, finishing at number two in its ratings slot behind The Shazam!/ISIS Hour. However, Filmation made the business decision to channel additional resources into its top-rated program rather than greenlight a second season, effectively ending the show after its single run. The cancellation was thus a matter of corporate prioritization rather than audience rejection. Even after the series concluded its original broadcast, reruns continued to air for a period, keeping the bumbling trio in front of viewers. The show's quick production pace and limited episode count meant the entire body of work was completed in a matter of months. The series was recorded on tape rather than shot on film, a detail that would later matter for preservation and home video transfers in the decades that followed.

Cast & Character World

The Ghost Busters brought together a distinctive ensemble rooted in the slapstick tradition. Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, who had previously shared screen time in the military comedy F Troop, reunited here in similarly bumbling roles as Kong and Spencer respectively. The third member of the team, Tracy the gorilla, was performed by Bob Burns, who was credited not as the character but as the gorilla's "trainer"—a humorous nod to the reality of the suit. Lou Scheimer provided the voice of Zero, the unseen dispatcher whose taped messages guided the team's assignments. The character naming drew on classic Hollywood: both "Spencer" and "Tracy" echoed the legendary actor Spencer Tracy, while "Kong" paid tribute to King Kong, though that name was never actually given to the gorilla character. The show's guest and villain roster was extensive, featuring figures drawn from literature, history, and popular culture—Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, Count Dracula, the Red Baron, Billy the Kid, Belle Starr, the Canterville Ghost, and the crew of the Flying Dutchman all made appearances across the fifteen episodes.

Legacy & Afterlife

The Ghost Busters' name would outlive the original series in an unexpected way. When Columbia Pictures produced its 1984 Ghostbusters film, it paid Filmation to license the series name for that unrelated project. In a twist of corporate reciprocity, Filmation then revived its own property in 1986 with an animated sequel series, in which Kong and Spencer's sons—Jake and Eddie Jr.—inherited their fathers' paranormal detective business along with Tracy the gorilla. On the home video front, the show first appeared on VHS through Continental Video in the 1980s, where it was marketed as "The Original Ghostbusters" to distinguish it from the Columbia film. A more substantial release came on April 17, 2007, when BCI Eclipse LLC, under its Ink & Paint label, issued a two-DVD set containing all fifteen episodes uncut and re-mastered from the original NTSC broadcast videotapes, presented in their original production order alongside interviews, photo galleries, and rare footage. Australia received its own two-disc DVD set on July 11, 2016, and Mill Creek Entertainment has since announced a further rerelease, ensuring the series continues to find new audiences.