Original Air date: December 13, 1986
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
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 5 of 5)
Summary: The
Ghostbusters working on Christmas Eve get lost in a snow storm. Everyone was already annoyed for having to
work on Christmas Eve, except Peter who couldn’t care less. The Ecto-1 breaks down and the Ghostbusters are
forced to walk in the snow. While
walking Ray tells Winston that Peter doesn’t like Christmas because of the fact
his father was never there for him. They come across an odd energy field and
then they run into a town that Egon instantly recognizes as early Victorian
England.
Lost in a blizzard, maybe more dangerous than Gozer! |
Jacob Marley might not mind a trip to the Containment Unit |
Scrooge is not happy facing the Spirits of Christmas |
No ghost is a match for the Ghostbusters! |
Peter doing a bad imitation of the Ghost of Christmas Past |
Going to space, shrinking small, no just going into my Containment Unit. |
My Take: I
absolutely love this episode! “The
Christmas Carol” is one of my favorite all-time stories and every Christmas I
have to watch it, particularly I always insist on watching the George C Scott
version. (Ironically, that was made about same time this episode was.) This was
one of those special episodes that I saw as a kid and remembered decades later,
although I had forgotten about the part of the three Ghostbusters pretending to
be the Christmas ghosts. That was hilarious.
Although I have a great respect for
Straczynski as a writer I actually have a bit of a strong disagreement with
some of his interpretation of the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. Primarily the way he has overly offended when
the Ghostbusters charged him for their services. I don’t mind him trying to haggle because that is
very in character of him; he is a miser who is always looking to get the best
deal. But Scrooge is, as I always understood him, simply a ruthless businessman
and in the course of his business he did come across costs that were legitimate
and he paid. Scrooge also recognized the
necessity of taxes realizing he needed them to pay for the prisons, poor
houses, and workshops. (It’s an interesting note to make that Ebenezer Scrooge
at his worst was still ahead of some modern neo-libertarians, who act as if
taxes are crime against them.) He also
allows Cratchit to take Christmas off with pay, although reluctantly. In other words Ebenezer Scrooge insists on
being paid his due and gives no thought to charity. Scrooge has many faults but
hypocrisy isn't one of them and I highly suspect that he would not request the
Ghostbusters work for free. Legitimate
service gets legitimate compensation.
Now for so my stray observations:
·
No mainstream cell phones the 1980s. Getting your car lost in a snowstorm is
dangerous now and very dangerous back then.
The Ghostbusters were in real danger of freezing to death.
·
Egon takes one look and instantly recognizes the
town as belonging to Victorian England.
·
Don’t like the artistic interpretation of Bob
Cratchit and his bird. His Christmas
bird was small but it wasn’t hand size.
·
Sorry, but watching the Christmas ghosts get
busted was kind of funny.
·
Is it just me or was Scrooge wearing his
nightgown on his book cover?
Scrooge on the cover with his night gown |
·
The Christmas Humbug
·
Slimer was useful stopping Egon’s machine from
catching fire, why not send him into the Containment Unit? He seems more fit for it.
·
Great continuity moment having Egon, while in
the Containment Unit, encountering ghosts that he put away all throughout
season one including the likes of Killerwatt, Pumpkinhead (Sorry, I mean Samhain) , Sleeping Ghost,
Ghash, and the Sandman.
That feeling you get when you think you may have put too many ghosts in your Containment Unit. |
·
“In the trap it will be quicker.” I think
now would have been a good time for the Ghost of Christmas Present to remind us
of his magical transportation robe.
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