SEASON 1 SUMMARY

The first season of The Real Ghostbusters is very enjoyable indeed.  It starts off a little weak it takes a few episodes for the writers and the artists to get their feet wet, but once they did they would continue to produce episodes of very high quality.  When I first started reviewing these episodes I think I may have ranked the first two episodes a grade higher than I should have, I was going through some serious nostalgia.  However I was suffering from nostalgia for a reason for many of these episodes were absolute masterpieces.  Episodes such as “Mrs.Rogers’s Neighborhood,”  “Slimer, ComeHome,” “The Boogieman Cometh,” “ Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream,” “WhenHalloween Was Forever,” and “X-mas Marks the Spot” were some of the best Ghostbusters adventures of all.

(Best TV intro ever! As a kid on weekday mornings before school you knew the day was going to be awesome!)

                To the writing all the writers are very talented.   J. Michael Straczynski emerges as a strong favorite when I see his name on the title card I know I’m about to watch something good.  Despite the fact that Straczynski became a clear favorite it was actually Michael Reaves who wrote my favorite episode, “The Boogieman Cometh.” Len Janson and Chuck Menville can write some good stories but often when they write too many cartoony elements make their way in.  And yes, I realize that is a cartoon but I still find it a tad bit irritating.

                 (I always felt that the intro on the cartoon was based on this scene from the film.)

                As to the Ghostbusters themselves it is interesting the way the show chose to portray them.  They don’t physically resemble the actors who played the characters in the film.  According to the interviews in the DVD bonus features this was done for three reasons.  The first was they didn’t want to get involved with legal entanglements of actor’s likenesses despite the support they were getting from Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis.  The second was they selling toys and wanted each toy to be unique not three toys of white guys with brown hair in beige outfits.  The third was with cartoons its better if each of the characters were easily recognizable.  Yet, even with the physical differences the characters translate very well, I have an easy time seeing the ones from the movie and the ones from the cartoon as being the same people.

                                              (A favorite scene from a favorite episode)

                Despite what I just said in the previous paragraph there are some things the cartoon does to the characters that is noticeable besides their looks.  Cartoons in the 1980s were aimed at rather specific target audiences.  In the case of The Real Ghostbusters the audience was young boys between the ages of 6-12.  Because of this the Ghostbusters would often act like with the maturity of a boy in that age group.  The Ghostbusters have no adult responsibilities: they don’t pay rent; they hang out only with their friends etc.  The whole thing is one adolescent fantasy.  As an adult it is kind or strange to watch four adult men live and sleep in a bunk house together.  I am serious, all four Ghostbusters each have a bed all the same room.  Like their life is one big little kid sleep over.  In movie makes more sense: in order to create the Ghostbusters Ray, Egon, and Peter spend all their money on their new operation.  They didn’t have anywhere else to sleep.  After a while, especially once their movie was made, and they must have collected licensing fees, you would think they would get their own apartments.  Sure one would occasionally have to pull a night shift to make sure nothing happens to the Containment Unit, but that should be it.  Then there is the character of Janine, the only girl in their group.  Janine plays multiple roles depending on the episode.  She can be the group’s younger or older sister, she also often acts as their den mother.  In addition, she dresses rather attractively in wearing primarily a short skirt, tank top, and glasses.  This directly appeals to the budding sexuality of the majority of their older audience.   The Ghostbusters all really like Janine and are often doing things to try to please her.  This ranges from giving her gifts, letting her tag along when she gets bored at the station, or being over protective of her (such as when she is attacked by Pumkinhead’s goons and they all come running after the goons in such a hurry they  forget to take the Ecto-1).  Even her attraction to Egon and his inability to express affection plays into the 12-year-old mindset, such as not knowing how to react to one’s feelings or positive attention from another person.

                Lastly I also like the use of Slimer.  I mentioned in several reviews I think it was a smart idea to make the Ghostbusters have a pet ghost who allows them to study him up close.  After all not all ghosts are evil and deserve to be put in a Containment Unit.          

   

AND WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Xmas Marks the Spot

Original Air date: December 13, 1986

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

Director: Richard Raynis

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 working on Christmas Eve get lost in a snow storm.  Everyone was already annoyed for having to work on Christmas Eve, except Peter who couldn’t care less.  The Ecto-1 breaks down and the Ghostbusters are forced to walk in the snow.  While walking Ray tells Winston that Peter doesn’t like Christmas because of the fact his father was never there for him. They come across an odd energy field and then they run into a town that Egon instantly recognizes as early Victorian England.

Lost in a blizzard, maybe more dangerous than Gozer!

                In another scene Bob Cratchit, with Tiny Tim on his shoulders, buys his family a small bird for Christmas diner. Following Egon’s PKE meter, the Ghostbusters come to a large house that is giving off strong signals.  They see a ghost (Jacob Marley) leave and a man screaming.  The Ghostbusters run in to find Ebenezer Scrooge harassed by three ghosts.  They promptly do the Ghostbuster thing and those three ghosts are in the trap.  Mr. Scrooge tries to get out of paying the Ghostbusters but ultimately gives them some money, which the Ghostbusters at first think isn’t enough until they realize what type of currency it is and decide to go with it.  They then leave and find their way back to Ecto-1 that is now running perfectly.

Jacob Marley might not mind a trip to the Containment Unit

                When the Ghostbusters get back they find that things have changed.  Their Christmas tree is no longer up in the firehouse and Janine and Slimer couldn’t care less.  Ray, Peter and Winston hit the town and find that everything has changed.  No one is celebrating Christmas.  To make matters worse people are fighting and making life miserable for each far more than normal.  They come across a book called “the Christmas Humbug.”  A local describes the book as the classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge single-handily defeating the three Ghosts of Christmas and ever since people no longer cared for that holiday.

Scrooge is not happy facing the Spirits of Christmas

                Realizing their mistake three Ghostbusters head back to the station fast hoping they can find Egon before he places the three Spirits of Christmas in the Containment Unit.  They figure the only way they can fix this is to go back to the time portal to put the ghosts back where they belong.  Unfortunately, when they reach the firehouse they find that Egon has already placed them in the Containment Unit.  After explaining the situation to Egon the other three Ghostbusters quickly get a response back.  Egon explains the time is passing on both sides of the portal they have to get the ghosts back to Victorian England before the close of Christmas Eve.  However there is no way for them to do that now that those ghosts are in the Containment Unit.  Egon declares that he will have to go inside the Containment Unit himself and once inside bring the three Christmas ghosts back.  Ray says they’re going with him but Egon tells him that they can’t, for they need a backup plan in case it doesn’t work.  Egon says that the other three will have to go back and try to be The Spirits of Christmas.

No ghost is a match for the Ghostbusters!

                Ray, Peter, and Winston had back to the portal with props and each tries to play a Christmas ghost.  Peter has to dress in drag to be the Ghost of Christmas Past.  He tries to use a View – Master to convince Scrooge that he is looking at his past while running him around blindfolded in a wheelchair.  Winston, impersonating the Ghost of Christmas Present, wears a fake beard and tries to use rope to convince Scrooge that they are “flying“ over the town. Worst is Ray who tries to convince Scrooge that he is of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come by wearing a robe and playing a game of charades.

Peter doing a bad imitation of the Ghost of Christmas Past

                Back in the firehouse, Egon has built himself a special suit and a device that will alter his molecular structure and allow him to enter the Containment Unit as if he were a ghost.  Janine watches in horror over the viewer hoping Egon won't get trapped.  Slimer, actually being a little more useful, provided maintenance to Egon’s machine while trying not to get sucked in the Containment Unit himself.  Egon finds the Christmas ghosts and tells them of the have to hurry but unfortunately for them every ghost that was captured in the first season has also seen Egon and they want to get out too.  It’s a race but is one Egon and the Christmas ghost win.  When they get out Egon has them hop into the trap again and he heads to the portal.

Going to space, shrinking small, no just going into my Containment Unit.

    Just as Scrooge is starting to expect somethings up Egon arrives, releases the ghosts, and does his own ghost of Jacob Marley imitation letting Scrooge know he’s having three more ghosts to come visit him.  As the Ghost of Christmas Past does her work, the Ghostbusters are on the roof of the other two apologizing for everything that happened.  The Ghost of Christmas Present thinks the Ghostbusters were supposed to be here that one of them needed the lesson, and when Ghostbusters said it was time for them to go home the bearded ghost did them a favor by having them touch his robe and they’re all magically home.  As they gather around Winston and states that since he always thought “the Christmas Carol” was only a story he wonders what is also real that he thought was only a story.  They then hear laughter that sounds like traditional Santa Claus laughter.

My Take: I absolutely love this episode!  “The Christmas Carol” is one of my favorite all-time stories and every Christmas I have to watch it, particularly I always insist on watching the George C Scott version. (Ironically, that was made about same time this episode was.) This was one of those special episodes that I saw as a kid and remembered decades later, although I had forgotten about the part of the three Ghostbusters pretending to be the Christmas ghosts. That was hilarious. 

Although I have a great respect for Straczynski as a writer I actually have a bit of a strong disagreement with some of his interpretation of the character of Ebenezer Scrooge.  Primarily the way he has overly offended when the Ghostbusters charged him for their services.  I don’t mind him trying to haggle because that is very in character of him; he is a miser who is always looking to get the best deal. But Scrooge is, as I always understood him, simply a ruthless businessman and in the course of his business he did come across costs that were legitimate and he paid.  Scrooge also recognized the necessity of taxes realizing he needed them to pay for the prisons, poor houses, and workshops. (It’s an interesting note to make that Ebenezer Scrooge at his worst was still ahead of some modern neo-libertarians, who act as if taxes are crime against them.)  He also allows Cratchit to take Christmas off with pay, although reluctantly.  In other words Ebenezer Scrooge insists on being paid his due and gives no thought to charity. Scrooge has many faults but hypocrisy isn't one of them and I highly suspect that he would not request the Ghostbusters work for free.  Legitimate service gets legitimate compensation.

Now for so my stray observations:

·         No mainstream cell phones the 1980s.  Getting your car lost in a snowstorm is dangerous now and very dangerous back then.  The Ghostbusters were in real danger of freezing to death.

·         Egon takes one look and instantly recognizes the town as belonging to Victorian England.

·         Don’t like the artistic interpretation of Bob Cratchit and his bird.  His Christmas bird was small but it wasn’t hand size.

·         Sorry, but watching the Christmas ghosts get busted was kind of funny.

·         Is it just me or was Scrooge wearing his nightgown on his book cover?

Scrooge on the cover with his night gown

·         The Christmas Humbug

·         I remember the View – Master, my mother had a whole collection of them.

I remember these!

·         Slimer was useful stopping Egon’s machine from catching fire, why not send him into the Containment Unit?  He seems more fit for it.

·         Great continuity moment having Egon, while in the Containment Unit, encountering ghosts that he put away all throughout season one including the likes of Killerwatt, Pumpkinhead (Sorry, I mean Samhain) , Sleeping Ghost, Ghash, and the Sandman.

That feeling you get when you think you may have put too many ghosts in your Containment Unit.

·         “In the trap it will be quicker.” I think now would have been a good time for the Ghost of Christmas Present to remind us of his magical transportation robe.

MAKE ME A WISH

Janine's Genie

Original Air date: December 6, 1986

Writers: Len Janson and Chuck Menville

Director: Richard Raynis

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 4 of 5)

Summary: On a routine call Janine decides she has had enough and wants the Ghostbusters to take her with them on a job.   Although surprised, the Ghostbusters agree and after a few missteps Janine even bags her first ghost.  Janine expressed a desire to be a full-time Ghostbuster, and the others tell her they will think about it.

Janine gets what she wanted!

                It turns out that the owner of the shop they were rescuing thought to call the Ghostbusters but didn’t think about how to pay them.  The poor broke owner offers the Ghostbusters to take anything from the shop, only Janine is excited about this and she picks out a lamp that is so ridiculous looking that the rest of the Ghostbusters chuckle at her at all the way home.

And this is why some businesses have you pay up front. If you don't pay learn to live with ghosts.

                Later when Janine is alone she is cleaning her lamp and a genie pops out.  Janine doesn’t believe this at first and unfortunately for her she doesn’t stick with her initial skepticism.  The genie is actually an evil ghost in in disguise who wants to bring his friends through a portal to ravage New York.  He is somewhat powerful though and he tells Janine he will grant her three wishes.  She tells him that her wish is that she were the boss of the Ghostbusters.  As a call comes in, the Ghostbusters are interrupted from spanking Slimer for stealing a watermelon, the four men come down all line up in front of Janine’s desk.  When Janine asked why they responded this way they reply by saying “well you’re the boss.”

Guys aren't impressed with Janine's payment choice.

                Janine decides to lead them on their mission to the airport but before she goes she makes a second wish to the genie, and this wish is for Egon to be crazy about her.  As they get to the airport they notice a two things that are very obvious.  The first is the airport is overrun with ghosts far more than normal.  The second is Egon has lost the ability to rationally function as a Ghostbuster when he is continuously distracted by how beautiful he thinks Janine is.

Okay maybe she wished too hard.

                The Ghostbusters chase ghosts onto a plane that takes off while the Ghostbusters are still hunting them.  The whole thing turns out to be a big misadventure that ends with a destroyed airplane but everybody survived miraculously.

Janine and her genie.

                New York City is now being over run with ghosts, the Ghostbusters track the problem to its source that happens to be their own firehouse.  Ray wonders if something is happened to the Containment Unit they quickly discover however that’s not the case.  The issues weren’t the Containment Unit, but rather in Janine’s lamp. Janine tries to get the genie to put the ghosts back, however the genie at this point reveals himself to be the villain of the story.  He gloats about his victory and disappears.  Ray finds a way they can use the combined power of their traps to reverse the flow the portal coming from the lamp, and Janine volunteers herself to make the connection.  She gets in there and the evil genie almost stops her but the Ghostbusters have her back and they send all the ghost back where they came from.

Janine might have cause the problem but she will solve it, unlike Peter.

                In the end they offer to make Janine a full-time Ghostbuster, but she decides to keep her current job.

My Take: I really enjoyed this episode Janine is a great character and it’s nice to see her take center stage for once.  It wouldn't be bad to see an entire episode from her point of view and not just as a wish fulfillment episode.  Although I really like the story I ranked it a four as opposed to a five because the writers’ tendency to forget that they're writing the Ghostbusters and not the Looney Tunes.  Yes it is a cartoon and yes it’s a comedy, but it’s important for writers to understand the difference between a cartoon like Batman and a cartoon like Duck Tales.

Now for my stray observations:

·         So Janine can whistle so hard she break glass including Egon’s glasses.  Does Egon carry a lot of glasses around with him?  Multiple pairs in his pocket?  I asked because his glasses are fine later.

·         Janine put her foot down and said she wants to go.  Do the Ghostbusters now have an answering machine?  They didn’t bring her to California with them because they need somebody answer their phone.  This is no longer a problem?  Who’s doing her job when she’s off hanging out with the Ghostbusters? Slimer?  He can't be trusted with a watermelon.

·         I love that Janine has her own colored style jumpsuit even though her joining the Ghostbusters on this mission was spontaneous.

·         Also when and where she does she change into the jumpsuit?

·         When she and Winston fought the Sandman she used the proton gun on him even before he put her to sleep and her dream self took over.  So why was she having such a hard time using one now?

·         How powerful was the genie?  We didn’t see him do too many reality altering stuff so I don’t think he was that great.  The seemingly only extent of his power was the ability to minorly alter the minds of humans with false memories or ideas.  He convinced of the Ghostbusters that Janine’s their boss and he convinces Egon that he’s in love with Janine.  I don’t think the latter one was that much of an alteration he just changed Egon’s potential to react to something.

·         The scene where Slimer nearly get spanked is hilarious.

·         The plane scene is what I’m talking about when I said we need less Looney Tunes stuff.

This.  Less of this.

·         Okay, if Janine did allow them to make her to a full-time Ghostbuster, who would take her job?  Janine works around the clock.  There really should be more than one of her anyway, so who else can they possibly sucker into a job where they seemingly had to work 18 out of 24 hours a day.

It’s funny a few years back, before Harold Ramis died, I heard Dan Ackroyd talking about a third Ghostbusters movie where there was a new younger generation of Ghostbusters and their leader was a woman.  I wonder if this episode planted any seeds about that idea.

SO THIS IS HOW THEY GOT SLIMER!

Citizen Ghost

Original Air date: November 22, 1986

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

Director: Richard Raynis

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: Cynthia Crawford a reporter that was seen in the episode “When Halloween was Forever” arrives at the Firehouse to interview Peter Venkman.  After a few misadventures she finally gets to sit down with Peter and asks the question that is on everyone’s mind since this show began.  “Why do the Ghostbusters live with a pet ghost?”

The "professional" Peter

                Peter begins by telling the story of how the Ghostbusters, after defeating Gozer, came home to a wreaked firehouse and lot of work ahead of them.  Their uniforms were covered the remains of the original Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, according to Egon the ectoplasm on them made the old uniforms dangerous.  He says they must be destroyed and asks Peter to take care of it.  A good thing for them Janine remembers that their new uniforms, the ones they wear for most of this series, arrived just before the Gozer adventure.

They look beat but Stay Puft got it worse!

                After they repaired the firehouse and rebuilt the Containment Unit, they started to notice a little green ghost stealing food.  It was their first capture, the one that slimed Peter at the Sedgewick Hotel.  At first they try to recapture him but he escapes.  Later both Egon and Ray try to talk to him, Egon tries to get the ghost to be voluntarily examined while Ray wants to train him and gives him the name Slimer.

Peter has one job to do!

                Instead of burning the old uniforms like he was told Peter puts them in a box next to the new Containment Unit and one night they come to life assume the form of the Ghostbusters complete with their own proton packs.  These newly created doppelgangers decide that they are now the Ghostbusters and try to destroy the old ones.  They jump the originals in their room but the Ghostbusters fight back.  The spectral Ghostbusters run away, and Egon, seeing that they were wearing their old uniforms, is able to figure out not only how and why they were but just about anything else about them.  That means Peter has some explaining to do.    

Nothing wakes you up faster than your own duplicate trying to kill you!

                While on another assignment the Ghostbusters are attacked on the job by their duplicates and are forced to retreat.  This puts them and their counterparts at battle tie of 1-1.  At the firehouse, when trying to figure out how to best battle them their counterparts take the Ecto-1, with all their packs in inside.  The Ghostbusters are now near defenseless, the one extra proton pack they have is at half power.  Egon notices how the more their counterparts use their proton guns they drain their own energy.  The way they win is to draw their fire.  Whoever does it might not survive, but that is where Slimer comes in to save the day.  Slimer flies out to also become the first ghosts these guys try to bust, but they fail as Slimer draws their fire draining their energy.  Slimer exhausts them to the point where they are now helpless. The Ghostbusters grab their gear from Ecto-1 and catch them without a problem.

Team attacked on the road.

                Back in the present the Ghostbusters are expecting to get the news report on them and Ms. Crawford reports on the heroics of Slimer.

Final battle

My Take: Well this episode gives the answer to why Slimer is the Ghostbusters' pet.  It is interesting to point out that originally they did not intend this and you can see that in the pilot.  However they needed as mascot, as a general rule with 1980s cartoons, so Slimer was chosen.  This is the second episode in a row that addresses the original film.  This is a tale that was necessity, when I was little and I saw the first movie I did wonder at what point did Slimer become a good guy.  Yet to this day I like the idea of Slimer, it makes sense for a team that makes it its mission to catch ghosts would try to domesticate one for study purposes at least, and given human nature might become emotionally attached.  I thought the Phantom Ghostbusters were cool villains of the week. 

Slimer, having earned his spot, lets the Ghostbusters do their job.

Now for my stray observations:

·         I don’t get the Meryl Streep joke.

·         Why didn’t the TV reporter bring a cameraman?

·          Just like in the Ghostbusters movie Peter is the sole cause their problems.

·         Ghostbuster sawhorses.

·         Don’t they have more than one jumpsuit at time? We have our beige jumpsuits get messy then we get our new ones.  They should have multiple jumpsuits.

·         Why did the Ghostbusters have only one spare pack?  It made sense in the Sandman episode but not here.  It was kind of like them having more than one jumpsuit.

·         With the imitation Ghostbusters I wonder what would happen if the Real Ghostbusters just surrendered and left the firehouse and Ecto-1 to the imitators.  Would they try to be the Ghostbusters and try to catch ghosts?  I don’t know it would have been interesting to see. 

This was an all-around fun episode, and great explanation to one of the big questions in the series.       

THE MAKING OF THE GHOSTBUSTERS!

Take Two

Original Air date: November 15, 1986

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

Director: Richard Raynis

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: A reporter and a group of fans are lined up for the Ghostbusters before they leave New York for California.  Yet the Ghostbusters don’t show up.  Realizing their private jet won’t leave without them they decide to spend their time fighting ghosts.  After driving by the firehouse to say good bye to Janine, Slimer joins them without their knowledge.  The Ghostbusters arrive at the airport to discover an angry reporter and no crowd, seeing as they all went home.  The Ghostbusters then board their plane and leave for Los Angeles.

Got a plane to catch? Hell no, we got ghosts to catch!

                When they get to Los Angeles they given a tour of the studio, talk about the movie (that is made very apparent to the reader the movie they are making is the original Ghostbusters film from 1984), and they accidentally blast an electronic movie monster that was the main villain in another movie that was being made.  This causes the Ghostbusters to get in a fight with a load mouth director.

Going over the script? Who is this Aykroyd fellow?

                After Peter puts the director in his place the Ghostbusters decided to put their proton packs away before they can blast anything else on the various sets.  Unknown to them a Sleeper ghost wakes up and is mad about the noise.  It possesses the movie monster and begins to attack everything.  The Ghostbusters get their packs only to discover that they were swapped with the props from the Ghostbusters movie. 

Don't wake a sleeping ghost.

                Having to run away they use their PKE meters to search for their proton packs.  They split into two groups Egon and Peter find their packs while Ray and Winton found the ghost.  Good news is the find each other and unite against the movie monster.  Egon figures out it’s a sleeper ghost and reasons he can negotiate for the ghost to surrender by speaking to it in sign language.  The ghost is about to surrender but the load mouth director shows up and makes a lot of noise.  This forces the Ghostbusters to catch him the old fashioned way.  Karma wins when the director’s movie monster falls apart killing his project.

Egon talks it out before the stupid director ruined it for them.

                The Ghostbusters finish up the episode going to watch the 1984 film Ghostbusters.  Peter notes that Bill Murray doesn’t look like him. 

Slimer, be quiet we're watching a movie about us! Oh, you don't come out too good.

My Take:  There is a lot of fun in this episode.  I remember seeing this episode a few times as a kid.  The first time was before I saw the movie and the other times were after.  It’s definitely better to see this with having seen the film because there is so much to appreciate.  The story concept makes a lot of sense.  You have the world famous Ghostbusters and Hollywood is going to make a movie about their lives.  Basically they are making a film about how the Ghostbusters came to be, so in other words their making classic 1984 movie Ghostbusters!

Now for my stray observations:

·         Didn’t they have answering machines in the 1980s? Poor Janine she deserves to go to California too!

·          What did Peter say to make that stewardess so mad?  I hope the cows like the clothes.

·         “What are these guys a law firm?”

·          Okay, who is this director?  I am assuming Straczynski’s basing him on a jerk he knows.

·         Shouldn’t the prop proton backs resemble the ones from the movie?

·         Egon, who already knows the ghost is a sleeper somehow, says they'll do the ghost a favor by putting it in their Containment Unit because it's the most quiet place in the world.  Who is he kidding?  We saw in the peep hole last episode there are a lot of ghosts in there and they aren’t the quiet type.

·         Egon knows sign language as well as troll.

·         I wish they showed a few more scenes from the movie while watching it on the show.  It was quite fun watching their reactions.  

An all-around great episode, wonderful characterization, brilliant movie tie in, and a fun ghost to fight.

HARD TIME FOR RAY TODAY

Look Homeward, Ray

Original Air date: November 1, 1986

Writer: Marc Scott Zicree

Director: Richard Raynis

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 4 of 5)

Summary: Ray bids his fellow Ghostbusters farewell as he heads towards his hometown whose residents have asked him to be the Grand Marshall in this year’s parade.  He brings with him photo albums from his time with the Ghostbusters and his gear to show the townspeople.  When he arrives in town he is treated as the hometown hero for his celebrity status with the Ghostbusters.  There he meets Elaine Phermon (yes, that is her name) who he used to have a crush on, and Alan Favish his old bully who now owns the shoe store.   

Ray needs his Stay Puft doll!

                There it is mentioned to Ray that Elaine has inherited an old mansion that she can’t live in or sell because it is haunted.  Ray decides this is a good opportunity to show off his Ghostbusting abilities.  Little does Ray know, Alan, long holding a grudge that Ray is a famous Ghostbuster while he is only a shoe salesman, has a magic book and empowers the rather lowly spirits that Ray plans to fight.  The newly empowered ghosts easily defeat Ray and make a fool of him in the entire town.  Then they go off and wreak the festivities in the town square.  The Mayor blames Ray for provoking the ghosts that had only stayed in that mansion before.  Alan promised to pay for all the repairs the ghosts caused and the Mayor makes him the new Grand Marshall for the reorganized parade. 

Our most famous son!

                Ray returns to the Ghostbusters humiliated by what happened.  Peter and Winston make a bet to see Ray will go back, which Peter wins when Ray sneaks off.  At the old mansion Ray runs into Elaine who actually startled him so bad he ran up a tree.  They head to the mansion together and when they enter Ray gets his butt kicked again.  The other Ghostbusters show up and as they enter Alan, who also had followed them, removes the spell reducing the ghosts back to what they were before.  The other three have no problem defeating the ghosts.  Ray now feels himself unworthy of being Ghostbuster and resigns.   The other three try to talk him out of it but they can’t.

Okay, now you're in trouble.

                Alan gives Ray a job where he has to wear a bunny suit and hope around as he tries to sell shoes.  The other Ghostbusters try to stage an event where Ray can play the hero and it would have worked it Slimer hadn’t got distracted by the ice cream truck.

Ray finds the magic book and discovers he is not a loser.

                As Alan leads the parade, Ray discovers his magic book and realizes the ghosts were empowered with negative energy where his pack operates with positive as a default.  Because Alan used the black magic he accidentally summons a fire-breathing demon.  As the demon attacks the parade Alan tried to stop it but fails and his magic book is destroyed in the process.  The Ghostbusters find their weapons are useless and Ray shows up to explain why. 

                The Ghostbusters adjust their proton packs and hunt the demon using floats from the parade.  They capture the demon and Ray is once more hero of the town.

My Take: This was a fun little episode.  There were some great character moments for Ray, who not only is a fallen hero but he is one who gets redeemed in the eyes of his hometown.

Now for my stray observations:

·         If Elaine Phermon is the love of Ray’s life it’s funny I don’t recall seeing her again. 

·         The bet between Peter and Winston was funny.

·         Even through Ray was set up anyone who has seen Casper knows that Ray isn’t very effective if he is only by himself.  It’s the reason the Ghostbusters are team.

·         Notice we don’t see any of Ray’s family.  This is the editors and writers paying attention, we know from the movie Ray’s parents are dead.

·         When Ray decides to quit the Ghostbusters they follow him behind begging him to stay. At one point Egon begs Ray to think of his pension.  The Ghostbusters only have five people in the organization how do they have a pension system?  Isn’t Ray actually the co-owner and that is the reason he shouldn’t leave?  In fact in the Ghostbusters movie a great deal of it is financed through the mortgage of Ray’s inherited house, so he probably owns more of it than Peter and Egon do. (Winston and Janine are hired help.)  So Egon should really be saying, “Don’t leave Ray you are the majority shareholder with controlling interest.”

·         I’m afraid of heights so I’ll I could think towards the end was, “Winston get in the giant shoe balloon with your co-workers don’t hang on the front of it you’ll fall.”

In the end this was a rather feel good episode.