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Ghostbusters is a supernatural comedy franchise about a team of professional ghost hunters.
The franchise began with Ghostbusters in 1984, which was directed by Ivan Reitman and starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson as the titular Ghostbusters, with Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, William Atherton and Annie Potts in supporting roles. The movie was a box-office hit and a cultural phenomenon. Catchphrases from the movie, such as "Who you gonna call?" quickly made their way into the pop culture lexicon. The movie's theme song, written and performed by Ray Parker Jr., was also a hit and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
A sequel, Ghostbusters II, followed in 1989 and did well at the box office, but wasn't as successful as the first movie. The 1990s and 2000s saw several abortive attempts at a second sequel, but they paused in 2014 when Harold Ramis passed away. In 2016, a remake film (subtitled Answer the Call in its home video release) which featured women in the Ghostbusters roles appeared, but did not do well. In 2021 a second sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, appeared, with the storyline focusing on the daughter and grandchildren of one of the original Ghostbusters.
The Ghostbusters franchise has also given rise to video games, comic books, and two animated television series: The Real Ghostbusters, which aired from 1986 to 1991; and Extreme Ghostbusters, which aired in 1997. Following the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, an animated film and a live-action prequel television series were in development.
Ghostbusters has been referred to several times in the Simpsons universe.
References to Ghostbusters in The Simpsons
Episodes
| Picture
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Season
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Episode number
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Episode name
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Reference
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13
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276
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"Brawl in the Family"
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When the Simpsons first meet Gabriel the social worker, Homer thinks he's an angel, like "Denzel Washington in The Preacher's Wife, or Will Smith in Bagger Vance, or Slimer in Ghostbusters."
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283
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"Tales from the Public Domain"
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Homer tells Bart that Hamlet was made into a great movie called Ghostbusters. The family then dance to the theme music.
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21
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453
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"Boy Meets Curl"
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At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Ivan Reitman organizes the opening ceremony. Television commentator Bob Costas introduces Reitman as "Canada's most famous director" and "the man who brought us Ghostbusters".
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During the Parade of Nations, the Ghostbusters theme music plays, and the stadium announcer says "Who you gonna call?" followed by each nation's name as its delegation enters. By the time the competing nations finish entering and the observing nations come in, the announcer's voice is exhausted and reduced to a croak.
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26
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559
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"Blazed and Confused"
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One of the Blazing Guy participants is dressed like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.
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27
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578
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"Halloween of Horror"
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When the kids get off the school bus wearing their costumes and go into the school building, Üter is dressed as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
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35
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755
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"Treehouse of Horror XXXIV"
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Matt Selman's credit "Stay Puft Mattselman Man" is a reference to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
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759
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"Murder, She Boat"
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Richard and Richard's father dress as Ghostbusters.
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Comics
| Picture
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Comic issue
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Story name
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Reference
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| Simpsons Comics
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Simpsons Comics #111
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Know It All in the Family
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Marge takes a science class from Professor Frink and learns how to rebuild a microwave oven into a portable ray gun. The gun resembles a proton pack from Ghostbusters. When Marge uses it at the dinner table to heat up food, Homer is disappointed, as he thought that she had become a Ghostbuster.
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Simpsons Comics #207
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Snooze Alarm!
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Chief Wiggum has a dream where he is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, fights the Ghostbusters and eats Ernie Hudson's character.
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| The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror
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Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #13
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Prop, Prop, Whiz, Whiz!
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Comic Book Guy's shop is shown to have a collection of cursed movie props and DVDs in the back room. Whoever touches an item is transported into the world of that movie. Among the victims were Carl, Lenny, Moe, and Barney, who touched a Ghostbusters DVD and ended up fighting the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
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The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #22
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Ghøst Bashers
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The franchise is parodied throughout the story.
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The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Hoodoo Voodoo Brouhaha
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Comic Book Guy's Best Costumes Ever - Part 2
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Comic Book Guy dressed up as Ray Stantz for Aykroyd Con in 1996.
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| Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book
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Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #1
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The Death of Comic Book Guy! (Part One)
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When Comic Book Guy and Graphic Novel Kid make it through the "maze of glaze", Comic Book Guy says "how Ghostbusters!" and Graphic Novel Kid says "more like Ghostbusters 2!"
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Books
Common cast and crew
Cast
Crew
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Name
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Role in the Ghostbusters franchise
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Role on The Simpsons
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Derek Casari
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Dubbing engineer for Ghostbusters II.
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Dialogue engineer on The Simpsons Movie.
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Jim Fitzpatrick
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Sound re-recording mixer for Ghostbusters II.
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Sound re-recording mixer for 23 episodes in seasons 2 and 3.
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Greg Orloff
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Foley mixer for Ghostbusters II.
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Sound re-recording mixer in seasons 3 through 9.
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Bill Recinos
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Visual effects animator for Ghostbusters.
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Character layout artist for 13 episodes in seasons 30 and 31.
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External links
