Seriously, I've been reading some interesting “This is canon” and “This isn't canon” and the sometimes popular “If its Ghostbusters, then its canon even if not licensed”. Ok theres been in the last month a ton of topics opening that this is becoming a issue.

Lets begin off with Fritz Ghostbusters Omnibus Timeline(S): http://www.ectozone.com/gbtimeline/
There is 3 of them on that site. Read them. (make sure your ready for a long read!)

Here is the two timeline approach that has formed at wikia:

http://ghostbusters.wikia.com/wiki/Ghostbusters_Movie_Timeline_Canon

http://ghostbusters.wikia.com/wiki/Ghostbusters_Animated_Timeline_Canon

Anyways, to the newbies and recently returning crowd that starts it.

Please post more links debating this here in the thread.

Personally, I think there should be 2 Canon Timelines.

You have the Timeline of GB1 and GB2 as well as the Game/s

Then you have RGB and XGB which are canon in there own right…but not to the movies really.

As far as Fritz's Omnibus Timeline, I am sure he would say something along the lines of “They are reference points and not meant to be definative” or something like that

JamesCGamora;151163
Personally, I think there should be 2 Canon Timelines.

You have the Timeline of GB1 and GB2 as well as the Game/s

Then you have RGB and XGB which are canon in there own right…but not to the movies really.

If you haven't visited the Timeline page lately, I've moved a step in that direction. The original Timeline still includes the movies–after all, due to “Take Two”, “Citizen Ghost”, and “Partners In Slime”, we know they did happen in the animated continuity–but there's also a “new” Timeline that starts with only the movies, then adds the Video Game and other more recent product (ie Ghost Busted, The Other Side)

I don't really think Legion can be integrated into a continuity that takes the movies more strictly, because like RGB it breaks the “They went out of business right after Gozer” idea in GB2. If you stretch it for Legion, then suddenly you're right back at the issue of why events from the cartoon can't be canon but Legion can. (For what it's worth, I actually put a slightly modified version of Legion in the classic Timeline)

Those Wiki posts pretty much sum up my position that I articulated on another thread yesterday… There is 2 cannon: movie canon and cartoon canon.

GB1/GB2 are it's own little world…

RGB/SRGB/XGB are it's own little world too. I would even argue that XGB is a continuance of the RGB canon so there isn't like a seperate RGB/XGB canon…

I just say “Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey” and move on to other, more important matters.

Two or Three.

#1 Ghostbusters / Ghostbusters 2 / Ghostbusters the Video Game.
#2 Real Ghostbusters / NOW Comics / Slimer! / Extreme Ghostbusters.

Optional:

#3 Various Comic & Books (Legion, Other Side, Return).

I personally just stick to the first two.

I have to say atleast something (the first post was to get the ball rolling). I love Fritz timeline(Original Classic one) , and to me was what made the movies and the cartoons fit together. Saddly truth be told the RGB as well built and organized was ignored when the second movie was made, and now the video avoided the RGB's as well. I'd love to say its all one happy universe of great stories and such, but its not.

But I'm getting annoyed, and so are some fans with the RGB and EGB being called non-canon. Its pretty silly to ignore 180 cartoons, a ton of toy figures, and comics and such. I hear all the time how its bad animation (What cartoons you watching?!), bad writing(JMS wrote stuff near movie value), and Harold Ramis said so (and he isn't a big fan of the Video Game either).

I conclude that there are two major canons which are animated canon and movie canon. The RGB's is animated canon not non-canon.

Don't think of them as non-canon, think of them as canon to each other but alternate universe to the movies…

::edit::
Just because those were some interesting comics back in the day…think of them as “What If”

JamesCGamora;151363
Don't think of them as non-canon, think of them as canon to each other but alternate universe to the movies…

::edit::
Just because those were some interesting comics back in the day…think of them as “What If”

Yeah same feeling on the comics, tho I do think many of them truly do work well and add to the whole RGB thing.

Anyways, I really interested in what Ghostbusters III will bring to this mix. There are some hints by Harold Ramis that the video game may actually not be really canon, which if true is really going to make a mess of things. I hope they avoid spliting the ghostbusters universe anymore.

JamesCGamora;151363
Don't think of them as non-canon, think of them as canon to each other but alternate universe to the movies…

The only way I split them is by appearance alone…I am from the school of thought that what happened in one iteration, happened in the other, just with a different cosmetic slant…Like how the two new video games play on the same premise/story, but look different asthetically to each other…

The only thing I “divorced” from my personal view of the timeline are the “Slimer!” shorts, a handfull of the Marvel UK issues of the RGB comic, some of the more asinine later season episodes of the animated series, and quite possibly the “Other Side” mini-series, as it was TOO FAR out of left field…Interesting concept though…Not saying that I don't enjoy a good deal of what was mentioned as “entertainment” mind-you…Just not a part of the major storyline at large…

And as far as “Legion” goes - I do add this to my view of the timeline, just with retconned dates …

My further views on this subject can be found here:
http://forums.ghostbusters.net/showpost.php?p=134368&postcount=8
http://forums.ghostbusters.net/showpost.php?p=134381&postcount=14

And Fritz's view of all this from awhile back:
http://forums.ghostbusters.net/showpost.php?p=134398&postcount=20

In the end it's up to the fan/audience to decide, as honestly - Nothing in this franchise HORRIBLY contradicts the other…

Cheers.