Evil Screwdrivers and Chainsaws

Killerwatt

Original Air date: September 20, 1986

Writers: Len Janson and Chuck Menville

Director: Richard Raynis

Main Cast:

•     Lorenzo Music as Peter Venkman
•          Frank Welker as Raymond Stantz
•          Maurice LaMarche as Egon Spengler
•          Arsenio Hall as Winston Zeddemore
•          Laura Summer as Janine Melnitz
•          Frank Welker as Slimer

(Rating 4 of 5)

Summary: An electrician is nearly scared to death when a ghost animates the power pole that he has climbed.  While at the firehouse Ray is making his fellow Ghostbusters and old family recipe.  The food looks nasty and the other Ghostbusters are relived when Slimer eats it before they get a chance to.   

Hate it when ghosts possess tools.

                A call comes from the Mayor’s office that there is a haunting at a local mall. The Ghostbusters show up and enter the appliance store to find the appliances coming to life and attacking them.  The appliance ghosts seem to have the upper hand until the Ghostbusters find they can get the them out by blasting the appliances.  After they get catch all the ghosts Ray accidentally blasts Slimer, and he feels really bad about it.

Doesn't that one on the vacuum look a little like Slimer. 

                When placing the ghosts in the Containment Unit the power goes out.  This is a big deal because the ghosts may escape when the Containment Unit has shut down.  Never fear Egon added a generator for this very type of occurrence.   However another ghost, of the same kind they have been fighting, possess the generator and it runs away.  This means they’re about to have another meltdown.  The Ghostbusters then take the generator from the Ecto-1 and buy a bike off a random kid to make a pedal generator that Janine would peddle to they get the power back.

The moment Ray realizes they didn't put the car in park.

                The Ghostbusters then drive to the power plant but right before they get there they run out of power for their car.  The Ghostbusters get out and are about to walk the rest of the way on foot, but they parked on a hill and they didn’t put the car in "park."  The car rolls at them and they all jump on the hood as it continues to roll down the hill towards a cliff.  Peter manages to climb up and pull the emergency break to stop the car.  Then Killerwatt the leader of the poltergeists they had fought the whole time emerges.  (Killerwatt is played by the late great James Avery mostly known for Uncle Phil in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Shedder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.)

Ecto-1 turned to evil.

                Killerwatt recharges and possesses the Ecto-1 using it to chase the Ghostbusters into the power plant.  In the plant they battle Killerwatt who has seemed to have utterly defeated them having built up armor that was powered by the power plants generators that proved immune to their weapons.  Winston concludes that they have to shut of the power but as they head to the switch, the ground splits in front of them denying them access.  Slimer then unplugs the generators shutting down Killerwatt’s armor, leaving the ghost exposed and easy for the Ghostbusters to capture. 

Killerwatt at his most powerful.

                Later as the Ghostbusters are off celebrating their victory they suddenly remember that they forgot to tell Janine she didn’t have to peddle anymore.  The scene then cuts to Janine on the bike and very upset.

And another prisoner for the Ghostbusters. 

My Take: I like this episode a lot. It is interesting that this is the second episode in the series but they made this one first.  James Avery was such an awesome choice for the villain as well.

So here are my main observations:

·         Ghostbusters using the “give your unwanted food to your dog trick” with Slimer being the dog.

·         When the Ghostbusters were fighting the appliance ghosts the first one caught looks an awful lot like Slimer and for second I thought this was Slimer but it wasn’t.  Nevertheless he got blasted anyway.

·         After they defeated the ghosts, Peter invites the shoppers back into the mall to shop.  Is this a good idea?  Those ghosts ripped some holes in the floor the last thing I would want would be a crowd of people running around.  It sounds like a good way for people to get hurt.  And frankly I wouldn’t want an appliance that was blasted by a proton gun. (Yes, I am using that term now it’s easier.)

·         When the Containment Unit started to shut down I was glad to see Egon had a plan to deal with a black out.  I wasn’t sure whether or not the ghost that took over the generator was sent by Killerwatt or was one that escaped when the power started to go down.

·         I really did like that the Ghostbusters solved their meltdown problem instead of just running away.  You live and learn.

·         Ray refuses to fire at the possessed Ecto-1 because that car is like “part of the family.” If only Ecto-2 got such love.

·         Leaving poor Janine on the bike.  So they fought Killerwatt at night and their victory parade is in the day.  So the Ghostbusters went home left Killerwatt in the trap without depositing him in the Containment Unit, went to bed, got up, went to their parade with Killerwatt still in the trap, and poor Janine never realizes the lights came back on!  Well she had a great 12 or 16-hour work-out. And how did Ecto-1 do the parade without its generator?

Janine the lights are on! You don't have to bike anymore.