It's a little known fact but the characters depicted in this series were around long before the movie version was. Back in 1975 there was a short lived TV series called "The Ghost Busters" that featured ghosts being hunted by a trio armed with strange equipment. After the success of the successful film (the title of which had to be paid for by the producers to Filmation who owned the name) they brought the characters back in this series. That's not to say that this show is BETTER than the theatrical Ghost Busters, but it is interesting to note that this isn't the rip off... the theatrical Ghost Busters was the rip off (even if it was a vastly superior rip off!