EITHER CHANGE CABINETS OR STOP USING THE WORD

You Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks

Original Air date September 8, 1990

Writer: Larry DiTillio

Director: Raymond Jafelice

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
• Rodger Bumpass as Louis Tully

(Rating 4 of 5)

Summary:  The Ghostbusters get hired by the magician named the Great Straczynski to investigate why his assistants keep disappearing for real in his magic cabinet.  The Ghostbusters investigate but while they are all standing in the cabinet Straczynski, explaining what happens to his assistants, says the magic word sending the Ghostbusters to another dimension.  

Not really magical, but something bothering him is.

                When they get there it starts to literally raining snakes.  They manage to escape and in doing so find a castle with all the missing assistants and a terrible magician named Gorgar.  Turns out this guy is a demon who loves human magic.  However he can’t do magic tricks and that upsets him.  He tries to get the Ghostbusters to teach him.  When they say no he chases them around until they agree to show him in exchange for a way home. 

"This thing has been eating my assistants!" "Have you tried not feeding it!"

                Turns out the door that travels to our dimension also tries to combine the two dimensions when its used.  The only way to stop it is to lock the door back up, but Gorgar refuses to do this.  Ray agrees to go back with Gorgar through the cabinet so he won't have to be alone.  Well it also turns out that if you go through the cabinet and separate the dimensions that automatically returns all to wear they came. 

My Take: A decent episode, I caught the tribute to fellow Ghostbuster author, Straczynski, with the first magician.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         If people disappear in this cabinet then maybe you should stop using it.

·         Or at least don’t say the magic work that came with the owner’s manual. 

·         All those assistants and not one knew a single magic trick?

·         If I was with the Ghostbusters I would have just offered up Straczynski if he let them go.

·         You think those assistants would be happy to be home after all those years, maybe they were put off by the prison dimension seemingly following them. 

·         Not the first time they had to deal with a want-a-be magician and his cabinet.

·         Well they destroyed the magic studio while getting rid of their ghost problem. Damn destructive Ghostbusters. 

A smart fun little episode.