RAY HAS ANOTHER DEAD UNCLE LEAVING HIM STUFF

The Joke's on Ray

Original Air date September 10, 1988

Writers: Len Janson and Chuck Menville

Director: Charles Grosvenor

Main Cast:

• Dave Coulier as Peter Venkman
• Frank Welker as Raymond Stantz
• Maurice LaMarche as Egon Spengler
• Buster Jones as Winston Zeddemore
• Kath Soucie as Janine Melnitz
• Frank Welker as Slimer

(Rating 4 of 5)

Summary: The show begins with Egon demonstrating why they don’t have him cook their meals.  Then Ray gets a notice that his uncle had passed away.  Uncle Gaylord had left him his Joke Shop so Ray went to check it out with Slimer.  At his uncle’s shop he finds a lot of great pranks he could pull from the classical whoopee cushion to a camera that shoots pies. Unknown to him he also accidently releases some magical imps who plan to wreak havoc on the city. 

Don't have Egon cook!

                Over the next day Ray and Slimer pull a bunch of gags on his fellow Ghostbusters and Janine earning the two not a lot of love from their colleagues.  Later the escaped imps are playing their own pranks at a factory.  When the Ghostbusters are called in the creature they blast is actually a balloon. When Egon investigates it turns out to be a balloon from Ray’s new shop.  Ray’s team now things he has taken pranks to an absurd level, even though Ray proclaims his innocence.

The Joke Shop

                Ashamed Ray went to return his gags to the Joke Shop only to discover the magic box that contained the imps.  Ray calls the firehouse only to have Janine tell him that the guys responded to call at the World Trade Center where construction crews were putting up WTC 7.  When Ray gets there he explains what is going on as the imps toss girders down at the Ghostbusters.  They manage to chase the imps away but realize that they are going to need more equipment since they can’t see them.

Attack from above!

                They all get Ecto-goggles and go to confront the imps at the waterfront.  While battling the imps the Ghostbusters realize that the traditional methods aren’t going to work.  Ray takes Ecto-3 and attempts to get the imps to chase him back to the Joke Shop, there Ray gets the magic box and when the other Ghostbusters join him they use a combination of the magic box and the trap to contain the imps for good.  Afterward, Ray decides to sell his uncle’s shop.

"Okay now we can see them."

My Take:  A fairly decent episode but not one I found overly special.  So Arsenio Hall moves on to bigger and better things and is replaced by Buster Jones.  So how was the new Winston?  I found the change to be minor and not distracting at all.  This is a good start to Season 4.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         How many uncles does Ray have?  Are these his father’s brothers or his mother’s.  It’s odd that he has these relatives that we never see yet are really important.  One was a duke and the other a shop owner who was secretly the jailer of powerful magical imps.  Last I checked Aunt Lois was pretty rich too.

·         I would never eat anything Egon gave me.  Artificial human sweet?  Maybe his time as Slimer affected him more than he realized. 

·         Actually I don’t think the imps are immune to your particle throwers guys.  You are clearly just missing.  If I shoot a person and miss they are not bulletproof.

·         How did Ray’s uncle beat these things?

·         I thought they went down rather easy.

·         Seeing them put up WTC 7 gave me another flashback.

Overall, a good episode.