Reuters is
reporting this morning that BCI Eclipse, the folks who brought
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to DVD (and the
Afterschool Specials as well!) has obtained new rights to shows from the Filmation Library. Among those are
The Ghost Busters, the show with "Tracey the Gorilla" as one of the spook-nabbing trio that is NOT based on the film with Bill Murray.
Filmation's library is currently held by a U.K. company named Entertainment Rights ("ER"). Reuters reports that ER has sold rights to
The Ghost Busters and other Filmation properties to BCI, thanks to their successful handling of
He-Man. According to Reurters, ER CEO Mike Heap said in a statement, "This agreement is further evidence of the timeless quality and appeal of the Filmation library and further demonstrates ER's ability to deliver on its strategy of expanding its business in the key U.S. market." BCI Eclipse, owned by Navarre, is no doubt pleased to be ER's partner in terms of delivering on that strategy in the North American (Region 1) market. No comments from BCI were available in the Reuters article, however.
The 1986 animated series
The Ghost Busters (which had Peter "Optimus Prime" Cullen among its voice cast) was based on the 1975 live-action series of the same name, starring Larry Storch. When the Bill Murray film of the same name became popular, the old live-action show was revived as an animated series around the same time the film was spun off into an animated series. To keep matters clear, the Filmation show with the ape became known as
The Original Ghost Busters, while the cartoon based on the Bill Murray film became known as
The Real Ghostbusters (
which is also coming to DVD soon). Stay tuned and we'll have more word for you about a DVD release of
The Original Ghost Busters (could be the live-action show, could be the cartoon) when info becomes available.
Our thanks to the readers who e-mailed us to tell us about the story, beginning with Mark Vasquez who beat everyone else to the punch!
