I hold in my stubby little fingers one of the Real Ghostbusters DVD sets. I expect I will have more to say as I work through the content, but that’s going to take awhile. This is just an initial look – and I’m impressed. Just to be clear, this is an advanced copy, not part of the initial pre-order shipping – so if you bought one, it’s still a few days off yet. However, we can confirm they exist – and they’re fantastic.
For starters, it’s heavy – slightly bigger than a box of crackers, the set feels solid. In fact, I put it into a GameStop bag on the way to work, and it started to stretch the handles. While easy to fit on your video shelf, you do not doubt there’s a lot packed inside. This is confirmed once you open it, but I took a moment, first, to admire the box, which is plain geometry (hence the easy-to-shelf nature of the set), but the design is excellent. Animated panels show Slimer and the No-Ghost trying to saw himself loose, while windows have a laminated coat to make them shine compared to the rest of the “building.”
Inside are five SteelBook cases, each with a handful of discs inside. Mock-ups of what to expect can be found here, but seeing it first hand is impressive. No wonder the set is so heavy! All that casing, plus 25 discs in one small space.
Along with the cases are a cardboard sleeve Bonus Disc and a perfect bound series guide – the bonus disc, the only disc I’ve looked at so far, has the original four minute promo video (from what looks like a better-than-average VHS master), plus the same video with video commentary. There’s also alternate credit sequences, which is a plus, as the end-credit sequence doesn’t have credits! You can view the whole thing, sans titling. As well, there’s a gallery of title cards – every episode name from every episode, as it appeared at the start of each episode.
I had a quick look at the storyboards and series bibles also included on the disc, and if you haven’t seen them before, you’re in for a treat. The bibles are marked as First and Third, which begs the question, “where’s Two?” But that’s just curiosity talking – the two included are already chockablock of goodness.
OK, that’s for starters – I’m off to watch more. If you haven’t picked it up already, you should really consider
Remember, the code for both Canadian and US buyers – SLIMER – gets you $15 off of the order
and is good until Nov. 26th, so even if you missed out on the pre-order deals, you can still buy at a reduced price. Another handy code is LKFS86 – Free Shipping on orders over $50 (no expiry known.) Orders made before the first week of December should arrive in time for Christmas, in case you’re thinking of picking one up for someone special as a present.
[UPDATE] Someone asked about how it’s packed, concerned that the bonus DVD would be at risk of damage from the steelbooks around it – I’ve added a picture of how the package is put together, and as you can see, the Bonus disc is in no danger. I can’t remember if the sleeve was turned 90 degrees, so the disc couldn’t slip out, but even if it wasn’t, and even if it could slide out of the sleeve, the disc would only encounter the episode guide, not a steelcase.
[ALSO] Each episode listing has a bit of trivia included, as well as episode synopsis and production notes! Neat!
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You bastard.
Mine will be coming tomorrow.
Man, I cannot wait to get mine. That looks amazing.
I live in Gibraltar Is there any way I can get it?
You want to talk to the gentleman that first posted – head over to gbfans.com for more info.
I only have 2 spots left: http://www.gbfans.com/shop/real-ghostbusters-dvd/
Quick question about something that’s been bothering me: Since the bonus disc is in a cardboard case, is it packed properly in the box so it won’t get damaged by its steelbox brothers?
Looks friggin’ awesome though…!
What music should we expect in the special features?
Do they have the whole theme song?
I hope my set arrives tomorrow…
I have a long day ahead of me and this will help it go by even quicker!
I only had a quick look, but I don’t see anything about the music.
ihsanamin, you’ll have to be patient – this is an advanced copy. Regular pre-orders will be shipping shortly, but I don’t think they’ll be there for tomorrow.
How is the audio/video quality? I’m assuming it varies from episode to episode.
Are the original Lorenzo Music voice tracks there for the re-recorded episodes, or are they the Dave Coulier dubs? Or are both available?
I’m definitely NOT a fan of the needing to remove one disc to get to another aspect of the packaging. They went all out and then skimped there? Very disappointing.
Thanks again for another great early look at the set!
Brian, That’s how Steelbook packaging is..
As for the quality.. they are as good as, if not better than regular TV broadcast. They definitely look better than VHS or regular antenna TV broadcasts.. plus they have undergone some remastering!
I still can’t believe they were gonna make Slimer evil.
What’s not to believe about that?
I can’t wait to get this. I’ll have to seclude myself in my house for the weekend just watching ghostbusters.
This has all been sort of surreal. I just haven’t been able to accept that these dvds really existed, despite the fact that I had pre-ordered from timelife awhile ago. Knowing that you have a copy in your possession has sort of brought some reality back to my senses. I feel like a kid staring at his christmas presents under the tree on christmas eve, writhing in agony over not being able to open them yet.
I feel the same as Chris H. I’m still in awe that these DVDs are coming. I never thought there was a lot of interest in this series beyond my own, and if it did come out, we might get the episodes with no extra features. I guess you can go home again.
AJ, I’ve seen numerous steelbook cases where it was not necessary to remove one disc in order to access another.
Obviously I’ll wait until it’s in my hands to make a final judgement on the packaging (which is stellar, for the most part), but placing discs on top of one another always seems to result in scratched discs.
On the plus side, these discs will probably be used only once in my case, as I’ll most likely rip all the episodes directly to my home theatre setup.
I swear to everything holy that after how long we’ve waited for this, and how complete and comprehensive the release is, if any Ghosthead complains about something tiny, I’ll personally drive to their house and give them a swift punch in the teeth… this is fantastic, thanks Time Life, Andy, and Co…
Brian, with these you actually only need to remove one disc to get to the one behind it… and it could easily be done without removing it too.
GBFans has a few extra copies of the Collection from Time Life that we will be giving away!
I received my copy today. I’m in awe.
One of my very early missions as a member of the community was to discover and archive all of the episodes of The Real Ghostbusters for all those looking to re-connect with their past, and to spread it forward to a new generation.
Time-Life did a fantastic job with this collection. I look forward to sharing my thoughts as soon as I digest it all.
# castewar
the bonus disc, the only disc I’ve looked at so far
See, I *KNEW* that we’d all make that the first disc that gets watched! And I’d bet you went straight to the promo, too.
…has the original four minute promo video (from what looks like a better-than-average VHS master)
I can confirm that it indeed came from VHS. It is kinda obvious, but thankfully, it’s an excellent quality copy.
The bibles are marked as First and Third, which begs the question, “where’s Two?”
Two and three are combined. It’s Season two, revised for season three”. It’s the same one I’ve had on my site since August, though that was one of the few scripts from my collection that I didn’t contribute.
# Brian Reilly November 20, 2008 9:03 pm
How is the audio/video quality? I’m assuming it varies from episode to episode.
Video is pretty consistent. I’ve seen nothing where I thought one was worse than the others, though one of the Slimer! eps had some scratches at the very beginning, which although minor, hardly qualifies it as being “restored” or “remastered”.
Audio is a mixed bag, generally because it’s like that way in the series. In some episodes Lorenzo and Maurice sound odd and in others they sound fine. That’s not a fault of the DVD, though.
What I do have an issue with is that something is really screwy with Season 4. Again, the “Partners In Slime” episode is played too slowly, and thus sounds bad and has defects in the audio. It was like this on the GB2 2005 DVD, but NOT in the original ABC broadcast. A few other Season 4 episodes I checked sound slow as well.
When I finally get the chance to watch all of the episodes, I’ll make notes about what doesn;t sound or look right and compare to the original ABC episodes. I have a feeling I may have to keep a few more of my old tapes than I originally planned to.
Are the original Lorenzo Music voice tracks there for the re-recorded episodes, or are they the Dave Coulier dubs? Or are both available?
No redubbed or alternate episodes are on the DVD except for the one-hour version of Deja Boo (and technically the retitled Slimer! “A Mouse In The House” that none of us knew about – or probably cared about).
However, of the four alternate music episodes, two are series music and two are Tahiti music.
The full set breakdown and lots of details (including the list of alternate eps not in the set) can be found on my site.
I’m definitely NOT a fan of the needing to remove one disc to get to another aspect of the packaging. They went all out and then skimped there? Very disappointing.
I totally agree! I hate the disc-over-disc layout. Even more annoying is the disc holding mechanism which has absolutely no give and upon repeated use will cause the inner hub of the disc to crack. I’ve had this happen with my GB1 1999 DVD, and that case’s disc holding mechanism is a bit better than this ones – but not by much.
The steelbooks on the outside are nice, though.
“AJ, I’ve seen numerous steelbook cases where it was not necessary to remove one disc in order to access another.”
Really? I collect SteelBooks – I want to know which 3+ disc SteelBook you’ve seen that doesn’t have packaging where you have to remove one disc to get to the other. Because in the nearly 75 or so I have had or own now, I’ve never seen it any other way.
This is the way it has to be packaged since SteelBooks are not much bigger than your standard amaray case. How else are they going to put 4 or 5 discs in there? These are 200000x better than the packaging used for their Get Smart set, which was essentially just flimsy cardboard.
Anyway, it’s fucking packaging. I’m more concerned about the goods inside the case. As for those “slow” episodes Paul was talking about, I can almost guarantee they were PAL masters slowed down to match the NTSC framerate, which although the framrate is now matching our standard, it just doesn’t look right.
I have a few DVDs that are like that where PAL masters were used and it looks like shit. It’s possible the original masters broadcast on ABC are no longer in existence or whatever.
Are there any Kenner toy commercials?
Matt.. you can slide the DVD out without having to take the top one out. I wouldn’t suggest it.. but it can be done easily.
The ones that hold 5 DVDs have 2 on the front, 2 on a swinging door, and 1 on the back. Obviously one isn’t a problem.. the two that overlap can be accessed without removing the disc if you are careful.
Oh.. nevermind.. I didn’t know that it wasn’t directed at me.
Oh.. nevermind.. I didn’t know that it wasn’t directed at me.
Paul.. What do you mean by this:
“However, of the four alternate music episodes, two are series music and two are Tahiti music.”
I haven’t been through all of those episodes yet.. so I don’t know what you are talking about.
I got my advanced copy yesterday and am really happy with it so far! Any true RGB fan that does not get it is really doing themselves a great disservice! I was especially surprised to find myself in the credits in the booklet along side all the other (more dedicated) GB webmasters! I guess I’ll have to relaunch The GBFF someday!
WOW! I found my package waiting for me after work. I haven’t gotten a chance to do much except rip off the plastic and look at the interior of the box.
Holy Crap guys, sorry to have been away for a while, been trying to get ready for a show and have been stretched really thin. But I had my dvds delivered today, and oh my HOLY Moses this thing is gorgeous. I have only gotten so far as the promo pilot, and hearing the full version of the song, done in the RGB style with all the visuals that I have seen spliced togther online, and heard about in passing….it was breathtaking. Just completely breathtaking. : ) I hope you all have half as much fun as I am having, because I am somewhere between information overload coma, and tears of giddiness lol
FYI, mine was delivered yesterday.
<>
I can guarantee you that they are not, and I don’t know why Paul thinks they are different.
I spent 10 days at Technicolor going through over 600 1″ Master NTSC tapes, finding the most complete and best set of ORIGINAL masters I could.
These are 100% from NTSC masters, and AS ORIGINALLY AIRED, unless the labels were lying. Some of the ABC shows even had the original commercials in place.
Best,
Andy Mangels
http://www.AndyMangels.com
I got mine today!!! woooo!
Is it just my copy or are all the episodes on Volume 4 – Disc 2 kind of slow? All of the voices are really noticeably sluggish. Even the music and effects track is messed up.
A few of the tracks are apparently pulled from PAL sources – PAL (UK/Asia) runs at a different rate than NTSC (North America), hence the slow down.
There’s been no confirmation of this, though the effect is consistent. And there’s no explanation as to why this is.
Matt aka clortho on November 22nd, 2008 at 3:54 pm
As for those “slow” episodes Paul was talking about, I can almost guarantee they were PAL masters slowed down to match the NTSC framerate, which although the framerate is now matching our standard, it just doesn’t look right. I have a few DVDs that are like that where PAL masters were used and it looks like shit. It’s possible the original masters broadcast on ABC are no longer in existence or whatever.
Well that certainly would explain it, though it makes me wonder if they could have done something to correct that. I’m guessing speeding them up a bit would throw them off the NTSC framerate.
God I hate that whole NTSC and PAL format nonsense. Couldn’t they have just stuck with one and used it worldwide?
# AJ Quick on November 22nd, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Paul.. What do you mean by this:
“However, of the four alternate music episodes, two are series music and two are Tahiti music.”
I haven’t been through all of those episodes yet.. so I don’t know what you are talking about.
I thought you knew about the four alternate music episodes, which have been known about for, like, 10 years or more. In short, there are four episodes that have a small portion of alternate music:
* Knock Knock
* Venkman’s Ghost Repellers
* A Fright At The Opera
* The Bird Of Kildarby
In one version the standard series music is used during a specific scene, in the other a Tahiti song is used in that same scene. The DVD contains two of each type, but not both types for all four episodes.
Go to the RGB ep guide on my site and look up those four episodes to see comparison videos of the two versions.
# Zuul on November 25th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Is it just my copy or are all the episodes on Volume 4 – Disc 2 kind of slow? All of the voices are really noticeably sluggish. Even the music and effects track is messed up.
See, that’s exactly what I was talking about. That’s the disc with “Partners In Slime”, and the other episode I briefly checked on that disc (“Live From Al Capone’s Tomb”) sounded slow as well.
When “Parters…” showed up on Sony’s GB2 DVD in 2005, I thought they screwed up in the transfer. But now I’m starting to think the issue is with the master, as I highly doubt that TimeLife simply used the DVD transfer that Sony did three years ago.
Hopefully this week I’ll get a chance to actually check out every disc when I gather the runtimes for everything, and that’ll at least give me some indication of which episodes are screwy. I pray the problems are confined to just that disc, though I know that the 15-minute ep “Venk-Man!” sounded really sped-up. It could be like that on ABC, so I’d have to check before I throw up an alarm
“A few of the tracks are apparently pulled from PAL sources – PAL (UK/Asia) runs at a different rate than NTSC (North America), hence the slow down.”
I’m not sure. I’ve seen a few things converted from PAL, but none of them have been this noticeable. Also, I skimmed through most of volumes 4 and 5. This was the only disc I found to be slowed down.
“Hopefully this week I’ll get a chance to actually check out every disc when I gather the runtimes for everything, and that’ll at least give me some indication of which episodes are screwy. I pray the problems are confined to just that disc, though I know that the 15-minute ep “Venk-Man!” sounded really sped-up. It could be like that on ABC, so I’d have to check before I throw up an alarm
”
I know that the 15 minute Fox Family episodes always appeared to be sped up. But, that could have been Fox Family’s editing.
will the real ghostbusters dvd set be avaliable in stores if so when.
man i put in volume 1 disc 1 and it didnt even play in my portable dvd player. i seems like time life screwed up all around big time with this set. a ton of features is no substitute for quality.
Mine came in the Mail yesterday, but it is a Christmas present so i will be watching it on Christmas Day! I’m just glad it came and was not delayed again so i can breathe a sigh of relief. I Can’t wait!
Now that I’ve looked at Partners In Slime on the GBII DVD, I think that it could be a PAL conversion. That one is kind of slowed down too. Although, it was a bit less noticeable since we didn’t have any other episodes to compare it to.
I think that it just effects this disc, which still seems odd to me.
Oh well, it’s still kind of watchable. It just feels like your brain has been fried while watching it.
I love my set, but as an English instructor, some of the spelling on the bonus disc is driving me crazy! On the Maurice interview, they refer to his acting as Egon as a “roll” instead of a “role.” Also, “Slimer” is spelled “Slimmer” and “Zeddemore” is spelled as “Zeddmore.” Granted, I did read the fine print in the booklet that came with the set pertaining to spelling inconsistencies in characters’ names on the last page, but “Slimmer” was really a valid inconsistency? As I watch I’ll be looking for more spelling errors. However, the set is stellar, the box is stellar, the information in the interviews is stellar, the cases are stellar. The whole set is FANTASTIC! I LOVE it! I can’t wait to sit down and watch all the episodes and commentaries, etc. Thanks to those who put this incredible set together. It shows time, care, and true dedication to the fans. A very humble and personal thanks.
The episodes on Volume 4 Disc 2 are slowed down, and all of the two-story episodes on Volume 4 Disc 3 are sped up, but neither seems to be a conversion from a PAL source. If the episodes were corrected PAL conversions, the audio would be normal, and the picture a bit blurry (though not necessarily). I could probably make sound files and play with them to figure out the percentage difference for the eps, but that would interfere with my watching the last few discs.
What’s odd, though, is that the episodes that have been sped-up and slowed-down are all about 26:15 in length-some 3-4 minutes *longer* than was normal for a network cartoon at that time. (“If I Were A Witch Man” is an exception at 23:32, but it also seems a bit sluggish to my ears.) Since they come from the same season, the slow episodes should be longer, the fast episodes shorter, and the bootlegs from the ABC broadcasts should be right in the middle. So, it’s thoroughly possible ABC fiddled with the episode lengths, especially if Season 4 was when the show got shrunk back down to a half an hour (I was committing self-torture by watching NBC’s Saturday line-up at the time, except when Garfield & Friends was on, sorry.)
I just got my set today and I have found no problem with the slow down episodes. They seem alright to me. The steel dvd cases are also fine. The discs come out easily and go back in without any problem. The cases are the same as my Clone Wars case. Very Happy with this set!