A GHOSTBUSTER PLAYING BASEBALL

Night Game

Original Air date: September 22, 1987^[1]

Writer: Kathryn M. Drennan

Director: Dale Schott

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: Winston is looking for someone to go to a baseball game with him.  Ray and Peter are eager thinking it’s the Mets or the Yankees but when they find out Winston is Jaguars fan they don’t want to go.  Winston then tries to find Egon who doesn’t do sports.  So Winston bribes Slimer with junk food and takes him. 

Winston Zeddemore, loyal Jaguars fan

                At the game Winston notices a supernatural event take over and alter a major play causing an error.  After the game he researches and finds out of an old Indian legend of a battle between good and evil is fought every five hundred years on the spot of the current Jaguars stadium.  He tells the other Ghostbusters who agree to get a permit from the Mayor’s office to go take a look in the morning but they are skeptical of his claim because the Jaguars suck so bad that one of them failing to catch a ball was not really a supernatural event.

Team Evil

                Winston can’t wait and heads over that night by himself.   While he is there the lights from before return and Winston is caught in the middle.  The stadium calls the Ghostbusters and the other three show up in the Ecto-1.  The whole stadium is covered in a weird energy shell and Egon calculates a way for them to pin point and blast their way in.

Winston, explaining the baseball situation.

                When they get in they discovered the Winston convinced the spirits to have a baseball game for this half-millennia battle. The umpire ghost explained that the forces of good and evil are actually playing for a human soul.  The other Ghostbusters have arrived too late to actually participate but they have to declare a side anyway because you can’t be neutral in the battle of good vs. evil.  They are heading into the ninth inning with the score tied 0-0. The other three can only watch while Winston is playing for the forces of good as shortstop.  The remaining Ghostbusters make an objection when Team Evil uses their ghost powers to cheat allowing them to score a run and go up 1-0.  The umpire explains that evil is allowed to cheat because that is the nature of evil.  This concerns the Ghostbusters because Egon thinks Winston allowed his own soul to be put on the line, and the game isn’t even fair.

"No one can be neutral in the game of good and evil, unless you're me!" 

                At the bottom of the ninth Good have two men on base until Evil’s closing pitcher comes out and takes two down right away.  Peter and Ray decide they need to bust the pitcher to give Winston a better chance, but Egon stops them realizing that if they interfere they would be cheating and, since they declared for Good, Winston would lose his soul.     

     

Good is in trouble!

                Winston hits it out of the park and Good wins anyway.  When it was all over the other three congratulated Winston and Peter asked if he knew his soul was on the line. Winston informs him that it wasn’t his own soul it was Peter’s.  This cause Peter to fall down and declare he is only going to Mets games.

My Take: This was a very fun episode with great character moments throughout.  In the DVD Ms. Drennan apologizes for her error of having Ray call a run a “point.” She pointed out as a baseball fan she knew better and couldn’t explain the error.  I think it’s a little silly for her to have to defend this for isn’t easier to say “my character made the error.” After all if a fictional character gets some terminology wrong I usually don’t judge the author I just think it’s a character trait. (Not to mention the whole run/point is the same difference.)

                Now for my stray observations:

·         There is no Jaguars team in the MLB, however in the time since this episode first aired there is now a professional sports teams with that name, the Jacksonville Jaguars, in the NFL.  The real Jaguars are just as good as their fictional baseball counterparts.

Predicting the future just in the wrong sport!

·         The other Ghostbusters are such dinks to their friend. To think Winston was battling for Peter’s soul who wouldn’t even go see his favorite team with him.  Egon can at least claim he doesn’t do sports.

·         Slimer needs a ticket? Since when do ghosts stand in line?

·         I did think it was funny when they were making fun of Winston for noting a dropped popped fly isn’t really evidence of a supernatural event.

·         “No one can be neutral in the battle of good vs evil” says the umpire who is supposed to be neutral in the battle of good vs. evil.

·         Evil gets to cheat? Maybe we know whose side the umpire is on, he even tried to lure Ray and Peter to cheat.

Enjoy the baseball episode. 

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[1] Listed original air dates for entire syndicated season may not be correct.