Halloween Specials : The Real Ghostbusters - When Halloween Was Forever (PLUS A SPECIAL GIVEAWAY!!)

 

As a lover of any and all things Halloween, I always get excited when television shows decide to celebrate the holiday by having Halloween themed episodes in the month of October, which I prefer to call Halloween Specials.  Because, they're more special that way.  I decided recently that throughout October I would profile many of those Halloween TV specials here on Freddy In Space, posting full videos of them when possible and of course, sharing my thoughts.  But ya know what?  I'm excited about the idea of revisiting these specials, so I'm not going to wait until October after all.  It's my blog and I'll extend Halloween through September if I want to.  Hell, I've already begun doing so, so why not just fully commit to it?!

 

So then ...

 

The Freddy In Space Halloween Special feature begins TONIGHT!!

 

We kick things off in fitting fashion with the first of three Halloween specials from The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, the spinoff animated series which was spawned from the film.  Halloween is of course a natural fit with the busters of ghosts, so Halloween themed episodes were rolled out in '86, '87 and '89.  When Halloween Was Forever originally aired on November 1st of 1986, as part of Season 1 of the series, and featured the very first appearance of Samhain, who would go on to become a recurring figure in the Ghostbusters universe.  Voiced by Bill Martin (one of the writers of Harry and the Hendersons!), Samhain (the Gaelic word for Halloween) was the pumpkin headed spirit of Halloween, whose ultimate goal was to make every day Halloween, with the world cloaked in darkness and ridden with paranormal beasts.

Samhain returned for the '87 Halloween special, titled Halloween 2 1/2, and also made a few cameos throughout the series, as well as appeared in several different forms of Ghostbusters lore, including comic books and the Extreme Ghostbusters series (where he pops up during the opening credits sequence).  Samhain has become one of the most iconic and well known Ghostbusters villains of all time, even earning himself a couple action figures, a treatment very few ghostly characters from the franchise have been given.  In fact, Slimer was the only other ghost from Extreme Ghostbusters that received his very own toy.  And that's saying something, given Samhain never actually even appeared in any episodes!

Tonight, we head back to where it all began, with Samhain's first bid to conquer the world in The Real Ghostbusters.  In the episode, Sam's minions release him from his prison in an ancient Irish ruin, and the Ghostbusters are the only thing that stand between him and ultimate Halloween domination.  Enjoy the full episode below!!

 

**FUN FACT : THIS EPISODE WAS THE FIRST IN THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS SERIES THAT SHOWED THE VIEWER THE INSIDE OF THE GHOST CONTAINMENT UNIT!**

I always love to kick things off in style, so I'm not quite done with this post just yet.  Last night, when I decided upon this episode being the first one I'd profile as part of this series, I remembered that my friends over at Monster King Productions recently whipped up an epic mash-up art print, which pit Samhain against another iconic symbol of Halloween, Trick 'r Treat's Sam.  It's a print that is part of their ongoing VS series, which features similar mash-ups of similar characters, and is currently selling on the Monster King site for 10 bucks.

I reached out to artist and Monster King owner Stephen Vincent last night, inquiring if he'd be up for supplying one for a tie-in little giveaway with tonight's post, an offer he generously accepted.  So let's all say a big thank you to Stephen Vincent, and show our support by checking out his baby, Monster King Productions!

If you want to win the 8.5"x11" Sam VS Samhain print, all you've gotta do is leave me a comment below with your e-mail address along with who you think would win in a fight to the death; Sam or Samhain.  Giveaway will run through next Thursday, September 13th.  Good luck to all and thanks once again to Stephen Vincent and Monster King Productions!!