SO THE GHOSTBUSTERS DECIDE TO TAKE IN A SECOND PET GHOST, AGAIN

Victor the Happy Ghost

Original Air date October 15, 1987^[1]

Writer: Michael Reaves

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:  The Ghostbusters are on an ordinary job at a museum chasing down a ghost who is more cute than threatening.   After they captured it they all felt bad and Winston said he felt like a bully.  When the Ghostbusters get back to the firehouse the trap is dropped and the ghost escaped.  Janine was amazed at how cute he was, and they all decided to keep him as a second pet ghost.  Janine names him Victor after her nephew.

Janine loves the new little guy!

As does everyone else.

                 Over the next few days Victor puts on one act in front of the Ghostbusters and another in front of Slimer.  Victor starts playing horrible pranks and frames Slimer, getting Slimer chewed out on a number of occasions.  The final straw came when Slimer saw Victor near the equipment, Slimer went to confront him. Victor then changed into large ghost grabbed Slimer and threw him into a ghost trap.

Wreaking equipment. 

Hurting Ray.

                The Ghostbusters get called out on a job that turns out to be a false alarm.  While they are out Janine almost puts Slimer in the Containment Unit only to drop the trap at the last minute.  Slimer escapes from the trap and tells Janine about Victor.  Ray answers the call from Janine in their car phone and that is when Victor escapes from Ecto-1.  When the Ghostbusters go after Victor they see he has changed into his true form.  He leaps over the Ghostbusters heads and gets to the Ecto-1 before they do smashing their four proton packs.  The Ghostbuster are now helpless and on the run from Victor.

Slimer is on to him.

Victor has the upper hand.

                Janine and Slimer however are prepared and they head out in the Ecto-2 and save the Ghostbusters with Ecto-2’s cannon blasts.  Janine then parachutes down some proton packs and the guys blast Victor as Slimer drops the trap for some payback.

Hanging with their new pet ghost, so they think!

                At the end of the episode they are all waiting or Slimer hand and foot because they are sorry. 

My Take:  Since the Ghostbusters already have a pet ghost I don’t think it is unusually in the least for them to consider adding another.  For the very least it would allow them to run tests to compare and contrast to the ones they run on Slimer.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         At first I was wondering why the museum would call the Ghostbusters in for such a little ghost. He seemed harmless why let the Ghostbusters destroy a few displays in order to catch it.  By the end of the episode it made sense.

·         What didn’t make sense was the use of the PKE meter.  Couldn’t they have just used it to tell them how dangerous Victor was?  I mean they use it to tell them all sorts of other things. Sorry we forgot, kind of like the time we didn’t check the trap.

·         Speaking of traps they should all learn to hang on to them.

·         It wasn’t very fair for Slimer to get blamed for Victor’s misdeeds with exception to him being blamed for eating all the food.   He has done that enough times for real to no longer get the benefit of the doubt.

·         This is one of the best Janine episodes as well right up there with “Janine’s Day Off.”  I love the way she and Slimer took Ecto-2 out to rescue the guys when the Victor attacked.

·         The only thing Janine did that really bothered me was name the new pet after her nephew.  If I bought a pet I wouldn’t name her Ellie Rose.

·         How long before Peter forgets that they owe Slimer?

Next time check the PKE meter more closely.

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