THE GHOSTBUSTERS GET A PAID VACATION TO PARIS

The Ghostbusters in Paris

Original Air date October 23, 1987^[1]

Writer: Randy Lofficier

Directors: Dale Schott and Bernard Deyries

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: Some workers at the Eiffel Tower are tired and decide to rest in the forbidden room that was the workshop of Gustave Eiffel.  In the workshop there are old machines that are still working.  The stupid worker damages the main controller.  This cause ghosts to start coming out of the Tower terrorizing natives and tourists alike.

Dumb worker, now look what you have done.

                The French Ambassador to the United States shows up to request the Ghostbusters’ service.  The Ghostbusters are hesitant to go all the way to France for both personal and professional reasons.  However the Ghostbusters are lured with a great payday and a free trip to Paris.

                When the Ghostbusters get there they decide to do “research” that takes the form of going touristing at all the sites in Paris.  To the relief for the French State Department the Ghostbusters eventually head to the Eiffel Tower to work.

Poor tourists are going to get a face full of  ghosts.

                The power is off at the Tower so they use the stairs.  After battling their first round of ghosts they ask for the power turned back on so they can use the elevator.   While riding the elevator the ghosts try to sabotage it, but Winston climes to the outside of the elevator and blasts the ghost away.

You would never see me do this.

                When they get to the higher floor they are outnumbered but Egon figures out that if the blast the Tower itself it will suck the ghosts back into it as temporary fix.  They find Eiffel’s office and see the damaged equipment.  With the original tower notes Egon was able to figure out that Gustave Eiffel was an original 19^th century ghostbuster who built the Eiffel Tower as a Containment Unit.  With the control panel damaged Egon needs all the notes to fix it.  And they have limited time to do it before the ghosts escape permanently.

                They leave the Tower and explain this to the French authorities.  It turns out Eiffel’s papers were spread out but they escort Ray to the Louver and Winton to Notre Dame in order to retrieve them.  Both Ray and Winston are attacked and have to fight to get the papers but they do get them.

Ghosts at the Louver

                Egon was able to rebuild the control panel but the escaped ghosts create a guillotine and destroy it.  At the last minute Ray plays with some tower controls MacGyver’s  the Towers antennae to suck up all the ghosts that are still bound to and those trapped in  the Tower and broadcast them across the ocean to the Ghostbusters own antenna and into the Containment Unit.

                The Ghostbusters were victorious but not well paid because the cable company sued and collected all the money to make up for their messed up broadcasts.  At least the Ghostbusters got a free trip to Paris.

My Take:  This was an interesting episode.  I am surprised this doesn’t happen more often.  They are they only ghost removal service in the world.  The people of New York City don’t know how lucky they are, average citizens can call in the Ghostbusters.  Where if you are in Europe, if your government doesn’t get involved, there is no way you can afford it.  I always have wondered why the Ghostbusters don’t franchise and license their labels and equipment to teams in other cities. Then people everywhere can have ghostbusting service as long as they don’t mind property damage.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         Shouldn’t French characters speak French when talking to themselves?  Sesame Street taught my generation how to read we could have handled subtitles.

·         Lot of arm wrestling for a free trip to Paris, doesn’t Peter like government contracts?

·         I love the Ghostbusters acting as tourists as their theme song played and the French officials kept looking annoyed.

·         Winston has no fear of heights like I do.  This wasn’t the craziest thing I had seen him do.

·         The Eiffel Tower as a Containment Unit?  To be honest I don’t what the Eiffel Tower is actually for, so why not contain ghosts?

·         Since the title is Ghostbusters in Paris it was good for them to see the other sites as well.

·         The writer clearly doesn’t understand the difference between satellite and cable.  Cable uses satellites as well but they don’t set them up at your house.  So it should be the Dish or EchoStar, as they were known at the time, suing the Ghostbusters.

Great and entertaining episode all around.     

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