SEASON 4 SUMMARY

"Disappointment" is the word that best describes the fourth season of The Real Ghostbusters.  In an attempt to placate to concerns that show about a team that captures ghost might be a little too scary for younger audiences ABC renamed the show Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters and created Slimer shorts to air with the main Ghostbusters episodes that would be targeted for the younger audience.

                When the show starts the audience is now treated with a new opening segment where Janine barely appears but all of Slimer’s supporting cast from his 15-minute shorts do.  The Slimer series caused the show to alienate the older section of its audience and helped bring down the show's reputation.  When people discuss The Real Ghostbusters series they almost always discuss this change as the downfall.  You can see it here starting around 1:10 and here at around 17:70.

                To add insult to injury the fourth season also was significantly shorter than previous two ABC controlled seasons.  They did this because instead of making new episodes they decided just to re-air some episodes from Seasons 1 and 2 with voices from the new voice actors Dave Coulier and Kath Soucie dubbed over for their respective characters. 

                The real shame is the reputation of the show suffered because of this season but of the eight episodes that were produced continued to be of high quality and some of them such as Flip Side and Poultrygiest were some of my favorite episodes of the series.  I don’t feel that the main portion of the Season 4 deserves the juvenile reputation that it gets.  

  

                In the end we could say that Season 4 is a lesson that teaches you should always try to keep studio executives away from content decisions.  

SLIMER SUBSERIES REACTION

Slimer Subseries

Original Air date: Fall of 1988

Writers: various

Director: various

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 1 of 5)

In the fourth season of The Real Ghostbusters a decision was made by ABC executives in order to ease the younger portion of the audience, for whom the main show might be often scary, to retitle the show: Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters.  It would now be an hour long program that feaure a regular RGB episode along with this sub-series that focused only on Slimer.  This was worst decision made during the franchise's run and did permanent damage to the way the show was perceived by the general audience causing ratings to drop.  There is no getting around it the sub-series is outright terrible. 

Characters are drawn very differently!

                Now I know what you are thinking, “But Jeremy this made for little kids! Of course you as an adult don’t like it.”  I want to make this known I hated this when I was seven. At the time I was really put off by the change in the animation.  It didn’t have same feel as the main show and it bothered me. I should point out at the same age I was not put off by the Ghostbusters looking different from live action to animation, but everything in Slimer series bothered me.   The strange thing is I like Slimer as character and always have.  I thought the idea of the Ghostbusters adopting a pet ghost was great and stated so a numerous occasions on this blog.

                Let me clear about this, I know The Real Ghostbusters is a cartoon.  But not all cartoons are the same.  There is huge difference between the classical Batman: The Animated Series and Loony Toons.  They are both cartoons.  One is an adventure series that takes place in a universe that is close in most respects to the real world and the other is an outrageous comedy where characters can defy gravity, space, time, and their series own per-established rules.  

The odd part is in the second season the episode “Who Are You Calling Two-Dimensional” helps distinguish between the two types of cartoons.  In that episode the Ghostbusters were trapped in a cartoon universe and the episode kept showing common animated troupes that were not part The Real Ghostbusters normally.  Our heroes are based on the logic of a self-contained universe, which was basically a universe mostly like ours but with ghosts, where the other cartoons ignore any and all logic on purpose.  The Slimer sub-series goes ingonres they way the RGB universe works and instead is like a cartoon that features Bugs Bunny.  It has characters who are supposed to be humans but have Mr. Fantastic/Plastic Man type powers, can hide behind regular telephone poles, can fit inside a food container, and regularly survive falls from high distances off the ground.  

In the episode “It’s a Jungle Out There” a talking dog sends Slimer flying in terror to Peter for protection, in his own show Slimer has a friend name Fred who is very human like even wearing boxer shorts under his fur.  We see this when Fred's fur flies off when being yelled at by the giant dog, Bruzer, later the little dog catches up with his fur.  Bruzer walks on his hind legs and uses his front ones like arms as if Rall had returned.  His owner is a super masculine woman who has every security, nurse, and rescue job in New York City.  

Slimer's main rival seemed to be a cat named Manx, who played the Coyote to Slimer’s Road Runner.  Manx would often be dropped from great heights, actually be physically flattened, and be caught in explosions.  Yet he would always be fine.

I can’t stand the main villain, Professor Dweeb and his poodle Elizabeth who behaves and acts like a person in all but speaking ability.  Dweeb is a self-absorbed “scientist” who thinks the Ghostbusters are fakes and Slimer needs to be caught.  Dweeb is well named but that is it.

Dweeb and Elizabeth

The only character emerging from this series that I liked was the singing ice cream truck driver Chilly Copper.  The idea of Slimer befriending an ice cream truck driver is something that would be very consistent with the character.  Her warm personality would bring a nice presence to the show. 

Dog with a job!

So the main question is this.  Is any part of this cartoon salvageable with main series?   The answer is yes but only in a very disturbing way.  All the main Slimer characters that were created for the subseries are ghosts but they are ghosts who aren’t aware they're dead.  This would explain why they can disappear behind small objects and can change their overall shape.  Not to mention survive impossible things. 

So how do you like that kids?            

MEET WINSTON’S DAD

The Brooklyn Triangle

Original Air date November 19, 1988

Writer: Richard Mueller

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: At a local construction site there is a strange hole that has appeared in the ground.  Most of the workers want to call in the Ghostbusters but their chief, Edward Zeddemore wants to the crew to fill it themselves.  At the firehouse it seems that all the Ghostbusters are missing something and as they continue to look for their lost property the more things go missing.  At one point they see Peter’s shoes walking around by themselves.

Edward Zeddemore tries to seal the hole.

                The Ghostbusters get the call and Egon elects to stay behind to monitor the energy build up the city has been getting exposed to.  As they head toward the site parts of Ecto-1 start to fly off.  When they get there Edward rejects his son's team and tries to close the magic hole by himself.  Both he and his son get sucked in so Peter and Ray (with Slimer) drive Ecto-1 in after them. 

The Collector

                Peter and Ray end up in the dimension of all lost things. Their proton packs aren’t working in this dimension but they continue to look for Winston.  Winston and his dad are in a jail cell going over their differences and trying to escape.  Things get easier as most of New York City fills the dimension along with Ghostbusters' firehouse.  Egon and Janine show up with adapters for the proton packs.

Winston learned some tricks from his dad!

                They find the castle where the Collector, ruler of the dimension, is hiding out. Slimer sneaks in and frees Winston and his father.  They all confront the Collector in his throne room and find out that he is looking for a key.  It turns out 10,000 years ago he fought ghosts like they did and one imprisoned him here.  The Collector can't leave but can summon things to him, so he has been gradually swiping things from the world looking for his key. Turns out Winston and his Dad had the key all along so they give it to him.  Now that the Collector has his freedom he returns everything to normal.   The Ghostbusters spend the last moments of the episode looking at their old, but newly found, stuff. 

My Take:  When Winston Zeddemore was hired in the movie he made it clear that he was just in it for the pay check.  He also states in several episodes that he didn’t believe in ghosts before taking the job.  This episode deals with the disappointed relative who thinks their loved one is making a full of themselves.  Like the episode Cry Uncle, I have a hard time dealing with the skeptical family members who don’t believe in ghosts.  In the Ghostbusters’ universe ghosts are real.  They are so real that the Ghostbusters have a fairly profitable business taking care of them.  So profitable they can be the victim of corporate espionage.  I would rather have had Winston’s dad Edward be upset that his son didn’t follow in his footsteps than be upset because of his disbelief.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         Okay so this is where all the lost stuff went?  So where is my lost stuff now?  The Collector left.

·         10,000 really?  What type of ghost hunter could he have been in the caveman years?

·         Slimer and the hot dog stand was a funny scene.

·         Slimer can change color? Really?

·         So what happened with the Containment Unit when the firehouse was relocated?

Halfway decent episode.  

A 1980s Anti-Pollution Episode

Follow That Hearse

Original Air date November 5, 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: At a toxic waste site a strange creature attacks those doing the dumping.  While at the firehouse Winston is preparing Ecto-1 for a classic car show and yells at Slimer for eating in the car. The call from the city dump is taken and the Ghostbusters head for the job, with Winston reminding everyone to check their boots.  When they get there they both look for the ghost and try to guilt the workers for having a toxic waste site at the city dump.  They find and battle the ghost but it escapes by possessing Ecto-1.  With the PKE meter having shorted out the Ghostbusters couldn’t figure where the ghost went.

Car not acting right in the firehouse!

                After a rough ride home Slimer and Winston noticed weird things about Ecto-1 such as it changing direction of where it was parked.  With another call the Ghostbusters once again head out but the care comes to life, throws them out, and kidnaps Winston.  When they find him they find Ecto-1 eating Winston’s proton pack and come to the conclusion the car ate Winston, but then they find him hiding in a manhole.  The possessed Ecto-1 had electromagnetic field that shields it from proton blasts.

Something is wrong.

                When they finally got back to the station they using their computer and found an old legend from the Manhattan Indians about an Earth Spirit.  The computer also concluded that the Earth Spirit had been corrupted by the pollution in the toxic waste dump.   Borrowing Janine’s car they went after Ecto-1 again that had now grown in size and looked scary with the “No” sign losing the bar and showing a free ghost.

Now it wants to kill us!

                They tracked it to the dump and Winston used a magnet to trap it.  With the magnet the car lost its shield and the Ghostbusters were able to get the Spirit out.  The Proton streams actually cleaned the Spirit and it turned to its original form.  Winston told the guys to stop firing because they weren’t going to trap it.  Winston apologized to the Earth Spirit for the pollution and said that people need to do better.   At the end of the episode Winston and his fellow Ghostbusters are holding the car show 1^st place trophy.

Free!

My Take: If you grew up in the 1980s you probably remember a big anti-pollution push that often had Native American themes.  You should especially remember this long running commercial.

                The problem I have with this episode is not that I don’t think it is good to care about the environment, it just like a lot of episodes that try to promote a cause it does a terrible job.  Star Trek is the only series I know that could do both social messages and exciting episodes well.  Most the time I feel the story suffers with a writer's a half-ass attempt to address the issue.  In this case they discuss toxic waste but they never explain what toxic waste actually is.  For example if you are in the department store and someone knocks over a bucket of paint and it spills, guess what that is.  Many everyday household items upon disposal become toxic waste. Winston with his car show obsession is probably responsible for little a bit of toxic waste use himself.  The Ghostbusters act with disgust at the very existence of a toxic waste dump site, but so long as we have toxic waste we are going to need a place to put it.  So what is the Ghostbusters’ suggestion?  How we dispose of toxic waste is a big deal but to bring up the issue with kids without even creating a small understanding of the topic is useless.  One thing is for sure is you can’t clean it with a particle thrower.

                Now for stray observations:

·         Is it just me or a car you bring to a car show should not be your main source of business transportation?

·         Don’t we bring more than one PKE meter to a job?

·         Also maybe PKE scans should be standard when you get back from a job.

·         First time Ecto-1 gets possessed it is Ray who says they can’t blast it now it is Winston.

·         Good thing for Winston evil Ecto-1 doesn’t like the taste of boxer shorts.

·         Not the first time they took an evil ghost down with a magnet.  Magnets are awesome ghostbusting tools.

·         So whatever happened to that other job they took when Ecto-1 went nuts?  Did it get done?

·         Why do they ride in the car with their proton packs on?  Would that be hard to buckle in?

The episode could have been better if they didn’t try to lose themselves in a social message but it was other wise fine.

HONEY I SHRUNK THE GHOSTBUSTERS

Short Stuff

Original Air date October 22, 1988

Writer: Richard Mueller

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 5 of 5)

Summary: The Ghostbusters are finishing a routine job.  On the ride home Ray was sitting in the back of Ecto-1 disappointed.  Ray lives by excitement and he is not getting any.  He is tired mundane ghosts and wants to take on a better challenge.  He misses opponents like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Sandman.

The Ghostmaster General

                As Ray was wallowing in boredom in the Netherworld the Ghostmaster General is outraged at continuous loss of ghosts to the Containment Unit of the Ghostbusters.  He sends three agents to capture the Ghostbusters and bring them to him alive. 

The three hit ghosts!

                The ghost hitman Arborak, spider creature type ghost with webbing and choppers, attacks the Ghostbusters at the firehouse.  Ray and Egon are taking down quickly but Peter and Winston get to their equipment and set the trap catching Arborak.

Nurgot shrinks them down!

                The next day, while out on the job, the Ecto-1 is attacked by Ulyoth.  He sends energy blasts their way and the Ghostbusters return fire.  Ulyoth is powerful enough so the proton beams didn’t affect him too much.  The Ghostbusters retreated into a building and placed a trap that Ulyoth fell right into.

                At this point the Ghostbusters now realized they were being targeted, a fact that made Ray so happy.  As they are setting up a new security system the third hit ghost arrives. Nurgot, an insect like ghost who assumes human form on Earth, with him he had a floating glass ball.  He mind controls Janine to get her to let him in the firehouse.  He then battles the Ghostbusters and shrinks them down to finger-size men.  Nurgot then takes them into the glass ball and proceeds to leave.  As he is about to go back to the Netherworld Slimer knocks the ball out his hand.  The Ghostbusters free themselves from the ball as Slimer flies them away.  

small Ghostbusters

                Egon has Slimer bring them away from the firehouse and has him go back to tell Janine to look at the Big Red Book of Spells to find one that would undo Nurgot’s magic.  In the meantime they would to their best to avoid Nurgot and distract him from going back to the firehouse.

                As Janine tries her best witch imitation the Ghostbusters run like mice through the city.  They walk across a power-line, almost get eaten by a bird, get bottled in seltzer water, end up hanging out with a kid, and finally back to the firehouse where Janine is not having much luck.  She does manage to split Slimer in three and when she gets him back together he grows big.  Egon finds the right spell and they are returned to their normal size and take down Nurgot.  Slimer is also restored to his previous self.

Restored!

                After winning the Ghostbusters are watching TV when their program is interrupted by the Ghostmaster General and his threats.  Ray has never been happier.

My Take:  This was great episode.  Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, staring Ghostbusters’ alumni Rick Moranis is one my favorite movies.  The Ghostbusters did a nice version of it here and did first airing one year before the movie came out.

                The Ghostmaster General is cool villain.  My one question is this: has the Ghostmaster General always been leading the dead or did he come to power as result of the Ghostbusters?  The Netherworld getting sick of losing its citizens turns to leader to combat them is the story I would prefer.  Since ghosts are intelligent it would make sense that they would want to get rid of the Ghostbusters, we saw Wat try this early in the series.  But the Ghostmaster General presents a more organized effort to wipe out the completion. 

                Now for my stray observations:

·         I love Ray throughout the episode.  Being bored out of his mind in the beginning and brought back to life (not literally) with the prospects of new challenges.

·         Why didn’t they just blast the bird with their proton packs? 

·         When stuck in the bottle you have two choices you can start swimming or you can start drowning.

·         I love Winston calling out that they should be dead and Egon’s explanation of it being do to their size.  I also consider that a knock on the Slimer sub-series.

·         I didn’t like the Book of Spells, the Ghostbusters should solve stuff with science not magic, Egon should already have a size machine to deal with this.

A great episode with a great new villain. 

THE GHOSTBUSTERS GET SOME COMPETITION

Robo-Buster

Original Air date October 15, 1988

Writer: Francis Moss

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 5 of 5)

Summary: The Ghostbusters return from a job as Janine returns from a date.  Janine introduces her date as Mr. Paul Smart the President of Grossjuck Industries.  The Ghostbusters ask Janine to dispose of a ghost they just caught as they are called away on another job.  Janine drops the trap at her desk and goes to get Paul a drink.  Paul then takes a camera and gets some pictures of the Ghostbusters' designs and steals the trap putting it in his briefcase.  As Janine returns he pretends to get a call on his cell phone and has to go.

Paul Smart, Janine's new boyfriend

Sucker for a pretty face.

Weeks go by and she gets no call from Paul.  When he does call he invites her and the Ghostbusters to a ghostbusting demonstration that he is doing.  When they get there Paul revels the Robo-Buster X-1, then he pulls out the trap that he stole and opens it up letting the ghost out.  The ghost flies away but the new robot catches up to the ghost and destroys it.  Egon protests that ectoplasm can’t be destroyed only contained.  Yet, Egon is arguing against something that was just done making the Ghostbusters look bad.

The new Robo-buster

Robo-buster TV add.

For the next few weeks the Ghostbusters were losing out to their competition, Robo-Buster was getting their first or performed better.  The Ghostbusters were in danger of going out of business; however there were signs that this was leading to a place no good.  Janine confronted Paul in his office but he ended up calling in Robo-Buster who destroyed Slimer.  Janine reported back to Egon and he stated that Slimer and other ghosts might not be truly gone.

The Spectral Mass

Ghostbusters vs. the Spectral Mass

Egon was right for a dark mass made of energy from the ghosts that have been destroyed showed up.  The Ghostbusters tried to confront it and the Ecto-1 got trashed.  Robo-buster was able to disburse it again but it would be a temporary victory.  It returned as the Ghostbusters confronted Paul.  Attacking Grossjuck headquarters, the Spectral Mass showed Robo-buster it was no match.  One of the old ghosts returned to form and demanded Paul directly.  Egon rewired their packs into Robo-Buster and started to blast the mass.  Altering his particle thrower, Peter was able to get Slimer out of the mass. The Ghostbusters filled their traps with the separated ghosts and Robo-Buster was shut down for good. 

The Ghostbusters should send this loser the bill.

My Take: The Ghostbusters finally get competition.  Now if you lived in a world where ghosts are real would there only be one team of four guys who would be able to stop them?  I always thought they would have to deal with completion eventually.  In the past we saw their completion be fake spiritualists, like Dr. Bassingame, or ghosts themselves trying to ruin them.  Yet you think someone would try to tap into the ghost hunting business.  It was a story to be told even without the corporate espionage angle.  I think if someone were to compete with the Ghostbusters their advertisements should focus on destruction. The Ghostbusters make a lot of it and if you could make less you would win the day.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         Oh Janine, so smitten with Paul you forgot he stole your trap.  When a man falls for a woman who is so obviously using and wrong for him but he can’t get past her looks we men call that “thinking with your little head.” What is the female equivalent to this saying? Do women have one?  Whatever it is we have a prime example in Janine.

·         The scene with Egon jealous in the beginning was great.  As sad as it is, Egon is incapable of letting Janine know he loves her so she is going to move on.  Good thing for Egon is she got burnt bad so this should clear her schedule for a while.

·         You can’t destroy ghosts, yes Egon we know this from experience don’t we. 

·         I thought Robo-Buster was a clear Robo-Cop parody. 

·         The Ghostbusters do really need to get a lawyer.  After all Grossjack still got money for all those jobs they did even though the Ghostbusters had to trap all the ghosts in the end.

A thoughtful episode to say the least.  

THE GHOSTEATER

Standing Room Only

Original Air date October 8, 1988

Writer: Richard Mueller

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 5 of 5)

Summary: The Ghostbusters are out on an ordinary job.  Peter and Slimer are sick with a cold causing them to sneeze once every few mintues.  After the job was over Peter went on a rant about how they shouldn’t have to run out and catch the ghosts, rather they should find a way to make the ghosts come to them.  Peter then went on to argue that if they did that they would be rich.

Peter needs some meds.

                 The other Ghostbusters think his idea is nuts but Peter is inspired and begins building a machine to do just that. When Peter finishes the job, he turns it on and announces victory.  To the Ghostbusters surprise, especially Egon, a number of ghosts started to show up at the station.  After they were captured more ghosts came.  Peter was vindicated and before they knew it they were overwhelmed with ghosts, so many they couldn’t put them in the Containment Unit all at once without endangering the integrity of it.  So Peter shuts down the machine but the ghosts kept coming.

Hide us!

                It turns out there is a very powerful entity called Mee-Krah who actually eats ghosts.  At one point the viewer sees this monster pass over a cemetery and suck up all the ghosts resting there.  The other ghosts tell this to Slimer who tells this to the Ghostbusters.  The ghosts are trying to hide and thought now would be a good time to get caught by the Ghostbusters.  It was a good idea but wrong, Mee-Krah was heading their way. 

Nasty!

They decide to try to get Mee-Krah out over water and try dissipate it.  So they fly Ecto-2 out over the sea with some full traps of ghosts, who were waiting to be put in the Containment Unit, to use as bait.  This fails Mee-Krah took the bait but some of the scared spirits flew into Ecto-2 causing it to malfunction so they had to re-trap the ghosts.  The Ghostbusters then get Ecto-1 to rendezvous with Ecto-2.   With all the Ghostbusters together plus Janine, wearing jumpsuits and proton packs, blasted Mee-Krah with all five particle throwers in hand, and the particle throwers on their vehicles.  This had no effect and the creature kept coming. 

Last stand of Peter's machine.

They retreat to the firehouse.  Egon, after taking reading of Peter’s machine, determines it actually absorbs energy given off by ghosts.  If exposed the machine could destroy Mee-Krah.  They follow that plan and it’s the one that works.  Mee-Krah was destroyed along with Peter’s machine.  Egon said they should try to build another one but Peter being the lazy scientist that he is forgot to make notes. 

  My Take: Okay I have number of responses to this episode.   The first take away is how was Peter’s device was ever going to make them money?  If anything it should threaten to put them out of business.  The Ghostbusters business model is someone has ghost in their house so they call the Ghostbusters who agree to take care of the ghost for a fee.  Peter understands this he explains it in the film, he also clearly explains it when the greedy old man was trying to send his worldly positions into the netherworld and had opened a portal to it.  Peter then argued to why are they closing the portal for free when they could leave it open and wait for these ghosts to bother someone who would call and pay them.  If they are dragging in all the ghosts in the city for free who is paying them?  I rated this episode of five but almost lost a point for this.

Mee-Krah was a great force of nature villain.  That scene where it sucked up the graveyard was freaky.  Poor dead people, imagine you’ve turned to ghost form you are wondering if you are going to “pass over” and you get sucked up by this thing!  Also the ghosts are running to Ghostbusters voluntarily surrendering to be kept safe, and the Ghostbusters chose to use some of them as live bait?  I know Mee-Krah is dangerous and he was heading toward the Containment Unit and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of few or the one, but they should have sought volunteers.  The ghosts were clearly scared and I am glad they were able to resist. 

Now for my stray observations:

·         As allergy suffer who is addicted to Claritin d I feel Peter’s pain.

·         Ghosts get sick with allergies? Poor Slimer!

·         Peter can be a great scientist if only he wasn’t so lazy.

·         I love the cause and effect lesson on this episode.  Peter wrongfully declared confirmation in what turned out to be coincidence.

·         I also almost took off a point for the “too many ghosts in the Containment Unit” line.  We never let ghosts out so when is it going to get too full?  I am sorry just go with the TARDIS effect  and leave it at that.  Ectoplasm can shrink.   I corrected this concept in my summary.

·         So Janine now has her own official jumpsuit.  Looks a lot like her dream one.

Mee-Krah was a great villain for one that didn’t talk. 

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.