When Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler opened their little paranormal investigation and elimination business back in 1983, they knew they needed a television commercial in order to let others know of their new operation. Derek Osborn recently was recently given a box of old VHS tapes from his father, who was a video engineer at WKRR12 back in the 1980s. Amazingly, contained on those video relics were copies of the Ghostbusters' original commercials. Let's take a look at what he has found.

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There are not many Ghostbusters filming locations that I have actually visited in person. Basically, I've only been to Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty (the latter I haven't visited since the 1980s). I've certainly never been to any Ghostbusters (2016) locations, but that's because I don't live in or around Boston, Massachusetts. Well, that changed last month when I stumbled across one of that film's few New York City locations.

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Most Ghostbusters references are short bits that can best be encapsulated with a small video clip, as evidenced by Spook Central's collection of Ghostbusters reference videos on Critical Commons. However, sometimes there's a reference for which a small clip won't do it justice. It is for these types of references that I have this reoccurring feature here at Spook Central, the Ghostbusters Reference Review.

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On Saturday February 22, 2020, I attended the Hasbro 2020 Toy Fair in New York City, an offshoot of the larger New York Toy Fair going on elsewhere in the city at the same time. Thanks to the invitation-only event, I was able to be amongst the first to see the new Ghostbusters toys Hasbro will be releasing later this year. Join me as I share with you my experience of the event and provide you with details on all of the products you can look forward to. (UPDATE: Most of the products listed below, and MANY that were not announced at the time, can now be PURCHASED AT AMAZON.)

I should warn you that this article will be very long and image-intensive, but I have broken it up into THREE PAGES to ease the pain. (There will be page links at the bottom of each page.) I will also give some attention to the non-Ghostbusters booths I visited, as I want to fully document my experience. The images seen here are only a fraction of what was taken. Check out the supplemental page elsewhere on Spook Central for the full gallery of 100+ images. The product descriptions in the quote blocks are what has been given to me by Hasbro, and are being presented exactly as written. After each description, I will give my opinions and impressions on the item.

Except for the presentation livestream screenshots (taken by Matthew Jordan), and where otherwise noted, all photos in this article were taken by me, Paul Rudoff, exclusively for Spook Central. Please do not repost them elsewhere without permission. Thanks.

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Most Ghostbusters references are short bits that can best be encapsulated with a small video clip, as evidenced by Spook Central's collection of Ghostbusters reference videos on Critical Commons. However, sometimes there's a reference for which a small clip won't do it justice. It is for these types of references that I have this reoccurring feature here at Spook Central, the Ghostbusters Reference Review.

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It's very rare that Spook Central's Shot On Site series has covered a location that only appears in a deleted scene. Even a place like Truffles Cafe, where the Ectomobile rejected a parking ticket in a deleted scene, technically appeared in the film in the background of a magazine photo. Well, today's Ghostbusters location doesn't appear anywhere in the final film.

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Insight Editions will release six educational PlayPop books in 2020, which introduce kids to beloved characters and films, such as Ghostbusters and E.T., while developing essential skills and concepts including first words, counting, colors, and shapes. The line begins with two titles set for release on February 4, 2020: Ghostbusters: 1 to 10 Slimer's Loose Again and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: E.T.'s First Words. Even though the release date is a month away, the kind folks at Insight Editions sent along copies of both books now, so I might as well do an EARLY REVIEW of them. (The E.T. review can be found on The Corner Penthouse.)

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Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue was a half-hour animated drug prevention special starring many of the popular cartoon characters from American Saturday morning television shows, which was simulcast on April 21, 1990 on all three major American television networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS), most independent stations, as well as cable networks Nickelodeon and USA.

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As an early Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus present, the first trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie came out yesterday, which is now officially known as Ghostbusters: Afterlife most everywhere and Ghostbusters: Legacy in Germany. I'm going to share my thoughts on the trailer in a sort-of running commentary form, though I won't go over every single shot. BE FOREWARNED: THERE ARE SOME MINOR PLOT SPOILERS IF YOU KEEP READING.

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On Friday, November 29, 2019, Netflix premiered their new series The Movies That Made Us. Contrary to the name, the series does NOT chronicle the fans whose lives have been influenced ("made") by these motion pictures. You know, like a guy who has run a Ghostbusters fansite for over 23 years. No, the series is more akin to AMC's Backstory, in which each 50-ish minute episode details the making of a film with new interviews with the people who made it. So, a better name for the series would have been The Movies That We Made, but then that wouldn't match the sister series, The Toys That Made Us. Anyway, the first season consists of four episodes, each devoted to one of these films: Dirty Dancing (episode 1), Home Alone (episode 2), Ghostbusters (episode 3), and Die Hard (episode 4). Obviously, you know the one that I will be reviewing today. Nobody puts Slimer in a ghost trap...

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