Ghostbusters Reboot: 29 Easter Eggs, References & In-Jokes

So there you have it, folks - the new Ghostbusters is not the irredeemable failure some fans really, really hoped it was going to be. Some outlets are awarding it four stars, others are calling it a far more "important" film than it is necessarily good, and most people seem to be happy that it's been a worthwhile episode.

Personally, I actually disagree with all of that: the film is not for me for a lot of reasons (but mostly because the rate of laughs is significantly lower than the rate of attempted jokes, and the fact that it mostly fails to improve on the originals). But then I don't think that means it shouldn't be allowed to fail on its own terms, if it's going to (rather than because some douchebag whose S, J and W keys have probably worn down to nubs says so).

What can be agreed on is the fact that the film knows its place in the franchise. It might be a total reboot rather than the sort-of sequel it was initially suggested as, but there is a lot of Ghostbusters lore in there and a lot of references and homages to the series' past that will delight a lot of fans. And even when it flags, there is some pleasure in spotting the Easter Eggs in there.

So, here are the biggest and best Easter Eggs, references and in-jokes in the new Ghostbusters in all their glory...

As spotted in the first trailers and marketing material for Ghostbusters, the white-board that Kirsten Wiig's Erin Gilbert stand in front of while lecturing to an empty room in her opening scene contains a viral marketing gag and a call back to the original films.

At the top of the scrawled formula, an equation that spells out ParanormalStudiesLab.com, which directs to a viral marketing website with a lot of the tech behind the new Ghostbusters in profile and schematics...

And of course, the name of the site comes from the original headquarters of Venkman, Spengler and Stantz before they're kicked off campus in the original movie.