THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS - WHEN HALLOWEEN WAS FOREVER (1986)

 "HEY SLIMER!  PIZZA!"  

Here's another cartoon I never saw before now.  I guess I had stopped watching Saturday morning cartoons by the time I was 21.  But after watching The Story Weaver's video about great cartoons to binge for Halloween (I have another of his videos posted below about Halloween TV Specials but you really should go look at his channel), I thought I should give THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS a try; particularly this Halloween episode. 

Broadcast on November 1st, 1986, this 8th episode of Season 1 was only the first of 3 Halloween episodes.  A 7th century Irish ruin is brought to America and with itcomes Samhain:  the spirit of Halloween.  They pronounce his name "Sam Hayne" but we'll let them slide because this was an 80's kids cartoon. 

Samhain unleashes his 'army of the night' consisting of all the Halloween spooks he can lay his claws on.  His goal is to make Halloween last forever and for night to never end.  Our 4 Ghostbusters (and their pal ghost Slimer) intend to thwart that wart's progress.  After the sugary Smurf Halloween special, this episode is more like it.  Kinda a little dark for a Saturday morning kids cartoon and I approve.  The design of Samhain is really just what he SHOULD look like; a tattered brown robe and a Jack O'Lantern noggin. 

And wow, in the voice cast of the Real Ghostbusters appear legendary Frank Welker (Freddy & Scooby-Doo), Lorenzo Music (Garfield) and Arsenio Hall.  Wow, Lorenzo Music plays Venkman in THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS and Bill Murray would go on to voice GARFIELD in that terrible movie.  There's a really awesome clock which develops a demonic face when Samhain is released.  Ray Parker Jr.'s GHOSTBUSTERS song is, of course, all over the episode; instrumentally and vocally.  There's another similar-sounding song "Frankenstein's groovy . . . Midnight Action" or something which gets a lot of play as well.  Since this is the first and only episode of THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS I've seen so far, I don't know if that second song appears all throughout or only in this episode.  But yes, this was a whole lotta fun.