Ghostbusters Omnibus Timeline

When I first started this project on my hard drive in 1998, it was a lot more straightforward. There were two movies, and two animated series (The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters), with two runs of comics published by Now. Things happened in a sort of loose "real time"...it had been over a decade (at that point) since the first movie, so it had been over a decade for the characters as well.

This was when Ghostbusters 3 was only a rumor. And long before 88MPH, iBooks, and Sierra came along and introduced all of their retcons and/or reboots of the property.

My original position was to include as much as I can from official, Columbia/Sony-licensed product. That's still my intent, though as they start to contradict each other, that's become more difficult.

The most accurate way to parse the continuity is thusly: there are four or five timelines that may, or may not, intersect in spaces, sharing only one common canon element: the first movie.

1. Movie Timeline: Canon: GB1, GB2. This Timeline, by definition, will remain closed unless a third movie is made. Nothing else is canon to it. Ghostbusters begin business in 1984, return in 1989, fate beyond that is unknown. If a third movie is made, it will presumably continue this timeline

2. Animation Timeline Canon: RGB, XGB; the Now Comics can be included in this Timeline. The events of the movies occur, but there is some reason to believe not exactly as depicted. For one thing, it might be that Dana Barrett doesn't exist in a "pure" animation universe (she's never even referred to) and a lot of the ideas of GB2 are not reflected in the animation. Ghostbusters form between 1983-1985, battle ghosts nonstop until 1991/1992, go out of business until 1997 when Egon forms new team. Fate beyond that is unknown.

3. 88MPH Timeline Canon: GB1, the Legion comic series. Ghostbusters began business a sort of nebulous "six months ago". Seperate from either the RGB continuity or the movies (otherwise, in the latter case, they'd have gone out of business right after Gozer)

4. iBooks Timeline Canon: GB1, GB2, The Return novel. Set a nebulous "two years after the second movie"--meaning the Ghostbusters have been around seven years in this version. Seperate from either RGB or XGB continuity.

5. Video Game Timeline Canon: GB1, GB2, the 2008 video games by Sierra. As Aykroyd and Ramis are writing this, some will feel it should be considered part of the Movie Timeline; they are certainly free to do so. In 1991, two years or so after GB2, the Ghostbusters hire a fifth member and a psychiatrist, and Walter Peck is hassling them again--information is sketchy and subject to change this far from the release. It will not be reflected in the Omnibus Timeline until it's release.

This archive is written in the format pioneered by Micheal and Denise Okuda in their Star Trek Chronology, treating the movies, shows, comics, ect. as though they are part of one, consistant unfolding saga. If you must, think of it as a sixth, distinct reality mish-mashed from all the others. Or, as I spell out in one of my fan fics, see everything else as incomplete/imperfect interpretations of what "really" happened.

One season of animated episodes is approximately equal to one year of real time; the sixty-five syndicated episodes are spread over two different years, placed between the first and second seasons of the ABC episodes; they actually aired concurrant to the second season, but I place them before it because of the changes to the characters--most notable Venkman and Janine--that began with the 1987 ABC episodes were not reflected in the syndication package. In the "peak" years of 1984-85, an average of forty stories "happened" an average of one incident every nine days. The sequence follows the original airdate order as close as possible, though when certain episodes have to be moved by dating details ("X-Mas Marks The Spot", "The Revenge of Murray The Mantis") or internal consistancy ("Venkman's Ghost Repellers", "The Spirit of Aunt Lois", "Cold Cash and Hot Water") I try to note them.

My goal was to be as inclusive as possible. Not to say that there weren't problems...but for the most part I wiegh most problems by these standards:

1. The Core Continuity is defined by GB1 and RGB Season One, the latter with preference to the works of series developer and story editor J. Micheal Straczynski. These offer the purest visions of the concept, and most would agree they were the creative peak of the property.

2. If a character or charactorization from a later season of RGB, XGB, or even GB2 conflicts with the Core Continuity, it is eligible to be ruled Invalid. Examples would include: the "Duh, Gee Slimer Little Buddy" version of Venkman, Professor Dweeb, the Junior Ghostbusters, Janine as Desperate Slut, or Janine and Louis Tully as a genuine "item". If a conflict is resolved or explained within the stories themselves, it will usually be allowed to stand (ie Janine as Mommy Figure, explained by "Janine, You've Changed"--and admittedly, being written by JMS gives it extra weight; Now's RGB#16 canonically downgrades Janine and Louis to "just a fling")

3. Conflicting elements of Core Continuity are judged with as much care to both as possible. It is the judgement of this writer, for example, that due to the examples of "Citizen Ghost" and "Take Two", that the Ghostbusters wear the same proton packs in the movies and the cartoons, even though they look different--it's just an interpretive matter. It is also assumed that the nametags are present at all times, just not "noticed" (they are not seen in "Citizen Ghost" on the grey uniforms, and we know they're really there. A Season Four episode, "Elementary. My Dear Winston" offers confirmation of this theorem). Obviously, when a conflict is explained, the explaination stands ("Citizen Ghost" explains the difference in uniform colors and the Containment Unit, for example)

But what about the 88MPH Studios Comics and the iBooks novels? Where do they fit in?

The 88MPH series is essentially a complete "reboot" of the property, restarting after the first movie. The iBooks series is set in a "nebulous time" approximately two years after the second movie. Neither take the continuity formed by the animation into account (though 88MPH is making at least some minor nods to it by having an RGB-styled Ecto Containment Unit). I've already built in a bit of a dodge in the idea that they exist in the Ghostbusters world much like they do here: a licensed product (though overseen by Venkman instead of Sony). I tried to use as much from them as possible, however, taking the 88MPH stories as "untold stories of Year Two" (1984) and using some bits and pieces of the novel, which was a harder fit due to various subplots and events.

What about Ghostbusters 3/The new video game? Won't it pretty much f*** everything up?

Maybe. Maybe not. It's not something the Timeline can worry about until it actually happens. It will be my intention to use everything I can, just like I integrated most of Legion and at least some bits and pieces of the The Return.

The main elements of the canon are these.

Ghostbusters(GB1)(1984, Columbia Pictures) Directed by Ivan Reitman. The 1999 DVD release includes a commentary track by Reitman, Harold Ramis, and producer Bernie Brillstein, as well as deleted scenes. Some of this made it into the Timeline.

Ghostbusters 2(GB2)(1989, Columbia Pictures) Directed by Ivan Reitman.

The Real Ghostbusters(RGB)(1986-1991,Columbia Pictures Television and DiC Productions; ABC 1986-1991; Syndicated 1987) Story Edited by J. Micheal Straczynski (1986-87,1990) and Len Jansen and Chuck Menville (1987-1991) Retitled Slimer!and The Real Ghostbusters in Season Three.

Extreme Ghostbusters(XGB)(Columbia Pictures Television and Adelaide Productions, 1997)Story edited by Dean Stephan. Some fans choose not to regard it as canon, but as it was released with Columbia's approval and is, at the moment, the "last word" in official stories following pseudo-real time, it is included.

The following are "secondary" sources. They were officially licensed by Columbia Pictures, but not televised. If I followed Roddenberry's Law ("It only counts if it's on screen") I wouldn't use these.

The Real Ghostbusters(RGB#)(Now Comics, 1988-1993) Now published two volumes of this series, the first volume featuring stories by sci-fi writer James Van Hise and art by John Tobias, who went on to be the character designer for the early Mortal Kombat games. Paul Rudoff, of the currently inactive Spook Central website, had a letter printed in one issue, and Yours Truly had some in three (#22,#24, and Vol.2#1)I have not included the Slimer! comic nor any of the Marvel UK reprints in the continuity at present.

Ghostbusters: Legion (GBL#1-4) and The Zeddemore Factor (GB#0) (88MPH Studios, 2004-2005)
While not created to fit into the RGB continuity, they're not overly contradictory to it either if allowances are made for Slimer's role and (should the reader so choose) the appearances of the Ghostbusters. Plus it was so kick-ass I just plain want to include it.

Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Role Playing Game and Ghostbusters International (GBI)(West End Games, 1986/1989) The GBI edition includes character profiles that give the ages of the characters, from which I derived some conjectural years of birth. I later changed the concepts of my timeline, but kept the old dates because XGB gives Egon's age in one episode, and it fit perfectly with the first estimate, derived from the assumption that the ages given were the 1990 ages. Some "facts" I mention as conjectural were derived from material that OgreBBQ and I "established" during two campaigns run on this game system.

Ghostbusters.net, now archived, webmastered by Chad Paulson, was an experience. You could spend hours just prowling through the message boards and fan fictions. Its episode reviews included plot synapsis that were invaluable in preparing this document, and the insight and support of several members proved invaluable in the fine tuning of this document.

The Real Ghostbusters Fan Page! Webmastered by Shiela Paulson, possibly the most prolific creator of Ghostbuster fan fiction. Many of the names for Ghostbuster relatives not originating in the canon come from her works.

Labidolemur's Ghostbusters Fan Fiction Review features a wonderful Ghostbuster Canon List (slightly out of date, but it reminded me of things even I'd forgotten!) and some insightful insights into the characters, including some speculations about the Ghostbusters' religions and whether Egon has Marfan Syndrome.

Spook Central is run by Paul Rudoff, like Fritz a contributor to the Now comics' letter pages. Spook Central is one of the best GB sites of all, and the scripts to the movies found there proved invaluable to fact checking the spellings of some words and names

Proton Charging is a great Ghostbusters news site run by Chris "castewar" Stewart.

Epguides.com provided air dates for RGB and XGB, although my personal TV logs conflicted with their listing of Season Four of RGB; this document uses the order my personal notes say they aired in.

Then there were some non-Ghostbuster related works that were nevertheless very helpful

Randy McCall and Kevin Simbieda, Beyond the Supernatural (First Edition) (Palladium Books, 1988) While a part of a fictional role-playing universe, it has a wealth of real background detail and how the supernatural might work in a "real" world; a bit grimmer in tone than Ghostbusters, it is nevertheless worth a look if you can find it. The Parapsycholgist PCC just has "Ghostbuster" written all over it.

Timothy and Kevin Burke, Saturday Morning Fever (St. Martin's Griffin, 1999) This half-scholarly half-uproariously subversive book includes some praise for The Real Ghostbusters and even interviews J. Micheal Stracyznski. Especially interesting are the comments about "Russian About"'s use of Lovecraft and how ABC executives pressured him to "'clarify' the role of a black character [Winston] by making him the driver--i.e. chauffer--for the white characters"

Don Rosa, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (Egmont Publication, 1991-1993; printed in the United States by Gladstone Publishing , 1994-1996, and Gemstone Publishing, 2005) This brilliant work by the seldom-disputed heir to the legacy of the late Carl Barks took the disparate elements of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge continuity, not necessarily meant to work together (never mind be still studied sixty years later) and created a coherent timeline of events and a springboard he still uses to create some of the best stories being published today. Not a direct source, more an example of how it can be done.

Compiled by Fritz Baugh

Before the Movies

Period One

Period Two

Period Three

Ghostbusters International