I'm currently on Season 6 of The Real Ghostbusters. So far, what I've learned watching Seasons 1 through 6 for the first time in chronological order is that this was a smart and funny show that could have grown to be so much more, and then it all went downhill. With all the ranting I've done so far, saying Season 3 and onward has been painful is an understatement. To give you an idea of the pain I'm feeling and why, I'll use my current favorite and ongoing episodic series on Cartoon Network as an example: Adventure Time
So let's pretend that, say after Season 3 or 4, the network executives that be decide they want to make the show "better" and even more "kid friendly." To do this, they decide to make everyone very nice to one another. Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, etc., don't yell or make each other upset as much. Whatever chemistry and growth they had between each other is now down to a minimum. There are a lot more hugs and kisses through out the show. Everyone proclaims "good job" and congratulates each other whenever they can because we want to teach kids to be nicer. Any cheesiness that's already in the show is amplified times 10 and hardly any of the dialogue is funny anymore. Each story line is broken down to just fighting the bad guy of the week without all that deep character growth and story progression that it normally had. Why? Because all that deep stuff may be too dark for kids. Like Marceline, our Vampire Queen with sharp teeth who makes monster faces when she's pissed or hungry. She's too dark and scary and little kids are afraid of sharp things. So they decide to get rid of her scary faces and sharp teeth and make her more sweet, girly, and "motherly," and replace her voice actress with someone who can sound like a 10 year old. The turmoil and struggle that Marceline feels because Simon/Ice King doesn't remember her and all their history together? Forget all that. They're best friends again and happy. Ice King's backstory? All that stuff about him being brainwashed by his magical crown a thousand years ago which is why he can't remember who he and Marceline are and why he's so damaged? All too dark,! So now it's all water under the continuity bridge. He's happy now! Instead of kidnapping the princess' of Ooo, he just pulls little pranks on them, because HE IS SUCH A KIDDER! In the end of each episode, everyone has a good time. They're happy. Everyone is just SO HAPPY! And to make it target kids even MORE, the executives decide Gunter would be the perfect mascot for the show, because the kids love Gunter. So now he actually talks, goes on every adventure with Finn and Jake and is featured in EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE. The show is now renamed "Adventure Time WITH GUNTER!" The merchandise for the show goes haywire with toys and fruit juice for kids called "Penguin-Cooler" being sold everywhere. And last but not least, because some big time actor associated with the show's creation made a comment about Jake sounding too much like Bender from Futurama, they lighten up his character to be all nice and friendly and decide to replace his voice actor with Dan Mintz. So now Jake sounds like an annoying version of Tina Belcher.
I'm pretty sure fans of Adventure Time would be boycotting Cartoon Network if this were to happen. Adventure Time is an extremely trippy show that feels like it doesn't make much sense half the time. But even within all the random silliness, there is still so much to explore in the Land of Ooo and how it came to be. As absurd as these characters are, you still get to see them grow and their relationships with each other evolve, and the histories behind some of them can make you cry. The stories in this show are incredible. My point is, this is how Ghostbusters could have been had executive meddling not messed it up after Season 2. We were already getting some backstory into Peter Venkman's family life. Had the show been able to grow from where it originally started, we could have learned more about Ray, Winston, Egon, and Janine. We could have connected better with these characters like so many are doing with Adventure Time. I could have loved the show more than I did then and even now.
And the thing is, I loved the later Ghostbusters episodes. My most vivid memories of the show were from ages 4 to 6, which was when Season 3 and onward aired. It didn't really phase me as much even when I saw reruns of the old episodes. I took everything as it was and enjoyed it. You could even say that the later seasons as it's own show were not that bad. If you're earliest memories were of Season 3 and after, it was still a really fun show for kids. If little kids were to grow up mostly remembering the bizarro version of Adventure Time with Gunter that I describe above, I'm sure they would just take that all in as well.
But knowing the benefits of good story telling with shows like Adventure Time, 5 year old me would have been better off with a more fulfilling show where I could connect with the characters more. All of us who grew up on Ghostbusters would have been better off. Story lines that would invoke complex emotions to help us think about ourselves and what goes on in life. Honestly, I feel cheated. I'm disappointed because I feel my childhood was deprived of a really good show. After watching Seasons 1 and 2 for the first time in 25 years, I still want to learn more about them. I still want see these characters grow, to see how they react to mistakes, triumphs, trauma, and how their relationships with each other evolve. I think the show could have gone in that direction in the 7 years it aired had it been allowed to grow.
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