PETER’S DAD IS BACK AND HE IS NOT ALONE

Cold Cash and Hot Water

Original Air date October 8, 1987^[1]

Writer: Richard Mueller

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: Peter is once again yelling at Slimer but is interrupted when Janine tells him he has a call from his father.  His father tells him he needs Peter to come up to Alaska with his fellow Ghostbusters and their equipment.  Peter isn’t buying it and that is when Charles tells him to ask Egon about Hob Anagarak.  Egon now wants to go.

Father and Son

                Along the plane ride Egon explains that the Hob was an ancient fire demon that was captured by the ancestors of the Eskimos thousands of years ago.  It was placed in a block of magic black ice, which Charles now claims to have found.   When they get there the find out that Charles wants them to release the demon and trap it so he can take it on tour.  The Ghostbusters refuse and that night they experience a strange haunting that convinces them the Hob and its magic black ice need to be destroyed.  The next morning the do just that with their proton packs, they then bid Charles farewell and head home.  Little did they know that Charles already thought they would do that and had swapped the real one for an impostor. 

Egon explaining everything as usually but Ray is not enjoying the plane ride.

                Later when the Ghostbusters are out on a regular job, Janine shows up in a cab with news that couldn’t wait for them to get back to the station.  Charles Venkman had the real magic black ice that held the Hob and he was going to release the it for show at the Madison Square Garden.  His ally, Peter read, was none other the Dr. Bassingame. That causes Ray great irritation for what the fraud had done at his aunt’s house.

Egon inspecting the magic ice.

                When the Ghostbusters arrive at Madison Square Garden they are too late.  Dr. Bassingame managed to release the Hob but can’t control it as promised because he is a fraud.  The Ghostbusters try to battle the Hob but are unsuccessful.  Egon concludes that the Hob will go for their Containment Unit because it will then have an army.

Bad news from Janine

                Only a binding ritual will be able to defeat it.  The ritual requires six men and one woman.  It also requires the wizards that released it to be part.  So the Ghostbusters, Janine, Charles, and Dr. Bassingame perform the ritual and recapture the Hob. 

Two Cons

Peter paid his father’s fines and tried to send him to Iowa, but as soon as everyone left Charles boarded a train for Hollywood. 

Now we're in trouble!

My Take: This was a fun an exciting episode.  It was good to see two notorious individuals, Charles Venkman and Dr. Bassingame, from the episodes “The Spirt of Aunt Lois” and “Venkman’s Ghost Repellers.”   I like being rewarded for watching a series and follow ups to earlier episodes always do that.

You're not going anywhere Fraud man. 

                Now for my stray observations:

·         Since the Hob was trapped in the magic ice what was causing the haunting in Alaska?

·         Magic ice doesn’t float.  Of course, duh!

·         We need six men and a woman, well that’s convenient!  That happens to be exactly what we have.  It would have been more amusing if also required a ghost. Slimer likes playing the hero.

·         I have written in another review about Egon and Janine’s relationship.  Primarily how Egon does actually like Janine but because he is on the spectrum he doesn’t know how process and express these feelings.  I base this on both my on knowledge of the spectrum and what we as the omniscient audience viewer get to observe.  I get see Egon do and say things that show his true feelings for her.  But what do the other Ghostbusters think?  Beautiful Janine is always throwing herself at him and he doesn’t know what to do.  The only logical conclusion is they must think that Egon is gay.  The world can still dangerous for LGBT people to be themselves but the world was very different place the late 1980s. After all there was an AIDS epidemic that the government completely ignored.  Do all the other Ghostbusters think Egon is gay and trying to cover him?  They clearly don’t care themselves they bunk with him and treat him as their brother, but the way Peter kept looking at Janine as she tried to make moves on Egon I have to wonder.  

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