THE RETURN OF A MAN WHO HAS NO DICK

Big Trouble With Little Slimer

Original Air date November 21, 1987

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
• Arsenio Hall as Winston Zeddemore
• Kath Soucie as Janine Melnitz
• Frank Welker as Slimer

(Rating 4 of 5)

Summary: Walter Peck, the former EPA agent who is the sworn enemy of the Ghostbusters, has returned to bother the Ghostbusters once more.  He begins by tailing the Ecto-1 on a job trying to expose the Ghostbusters as fake.  He fails so he decides to set the Ghostbusters up instead.  Peck calls the firehouse claiming to be an employee at a government research lab and they have an emergency with a powerful ghost.  The Ghostbusters head out and Peck is excited that they are going to get caught trespassing in a secret government faculty.  However it turns out there was a ghost at the lab and they were all grateful for the Ghostbusters showing up and saving them.

Peck and his sidekick!

                Having failed to stop the Ghostbusters, Peck uses his authority as an officer of the Bureau of Unidentified Flying Organisms to seize Slimer from the Ghostbusters.  Slimer was going to escape but to help the Ghostbusters he went voluntarily.     

Peck walks away with Slimer

                Slimer was taken to a lab where it was ghost-proof so he couldn’t escape.  At first he is happy because the scientists there gave him a table full of food.  They kept trying to run tests on him and kept getting negative results and their observers slimed.  At the firehouse the Ghostbusters decide to go on a rescue mission. 

Peck bringing Slimer to be tested on.

                Since the scientists can’t make any true call on whom or what Slimer is.  Peck decides he must be destroyed by throwing him in the cyclotron.  The Ghostbusters show up and try to stop it, however it turned out the switch to shut it off was broken and it was going keep spinning faster and faster until it exploded.   The Ghostbusters used their packs to destroy the engine and shut it down.   At first they thought they were too late as all that remained of Slimer were pieces.  However Slimer was able to reform himself to the delight of the Ghostbusters.

                In the end Slimer and the Ghostbusters all got metals and Peck the pink slip. 

My Take:  It’s funny as an adult when I re-watch the Ghostbusters movie and I am somewhat sympathetic to Peck.  Yes, he does eventually draw absurd conclusions about the Ghostbusters and shuts down the Containment Unit letting out all the ghosts, but his original reason for showing up was valid.  The EPA had every right to ask the Ghostbusters what they are doing and assess any environmental concerns they may have.  It was Peter who unnecessarily told him off and as a result brought the wrath of the EPA down upon them.  In this episode however he is just a complete loser who tries to frame the Ghostbusters and murder Slimer.  As they said in the film this man has no dick.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         Slimer has been taken by the Government so what do we do?  Call a lawyer or try to break into a Federal Government Research Lab?  Yeah the second one.

·         Ecto-1 can jump now not just swim.  Did they go back and get their stuff later?

·         Lead lined walls?  Why would that stop Slimer or any other ghost for that matter?  Lead has never been a barrier if it was a lot more ghosts would get stuck on and in things.

·         These must have the dumbest scientists in the world.  Ghosts have already have been established to exist not only by the world famous Ghostbusters who have their own classification system.  But there is Tobin’s Spirit Guide, Conventions, etc.  But we don’t know what Slimer is?  And since we don’t know he must be dangerous.

·         Peck fired. Yea!

·         Once again the Ghostbusters are heroes even though they broke in.  It is good to be a ghostbuster.

Great episode, I always like the episodes that tie into the movie.