SEASON 7 SUMMARY

The shortest season of the series, Season 7 consists of only four episodes.  I am not sure why this is the case.  The four episodes weren’t anything special I would say slightly under average.  One episode “Not now, Slimer” was outright terrible.  I would have thought such a short season would mean the writers would try to go out with a bang, they didn’t.  The episodes are inconsistent and not of great quality.  Only the trip to Japan was any good.  It was quite a shame.   

THE END OF AN ERA

20,000 Leagues Under the Street

Original Air date October 5, 1991

Writers: Jules Dennis and Richard Mueller

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 3 of 5)

Summary:  Peter has a nasty dream about bugs.  He hates bugs with a passion.  Unfortunately for him he is fighting an Egyptian God of Insects, Apshia, today.  Janine is shown escorting Winston to a display on ancient Egypt.  Janine is quite the Egyptologist shown to be so obsessed that she thinks she was an Egyptian Princess in your last life. 

Reign of the Bugs

                The ancient insect god comes back and starts making insects big.  The real hard part is the bugphobe Peter finds himself kidnapped by the giant insects.  Janine however remembers that the glass tip of the pyramid is the source of the god’s power and she informs the Ghostbusters and they destroy it.

Janine's unknown passion.

                Egon in the end has to explain to Peter the importance of bugs.

My Take: For the last episode of series it didn’t feel like anything special.  It makes one wonder what the point of the entire final season was.  The 7th season is the smallest of all of them yet it doesn’t seem to serve any purpose. Did they know this was their last episode or was it unexpectedly canceled? 

                Now for my stray observations:

• Since when does Janine have this much interest in academic stuff?
• Why was Janine with Winston and not her boyfriend?  To be fair she does go places with other Ghostbusters, she went to Ghostworld with Ray.  Also there wasn’t any jealousy here.
• Peter, as a scientist, should know of the importance of most insects.

 Out with a whimper.   

THE GHOSTBUSTERS IN JAPAN

Attack of the B-Movie Monsters

Original Air date September 21, 1991

Writers: Jules Dennis and Richard Mueller

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 have been summoned to Japan deal with monsters that have been attacking.  The Japanese Government goes all out even giving the Ghostbusters the Ecto-Ichi, a super advanced Ecto-1, to use in Japan.  The Ghostbusters defeat one of the monsters and then run into a young kid who knows of their origins.

Monster

                It turns out Ectoplasm has been leaking in the old studios that produced the monster movies.  This is causing a number of movie monsters to emerge in real life forcing the Ghostbusters to fight them.  The Ghostbusters need extra power to boost their packs so they can destroy the main monster, who looks a lot like Godzilla. So they go to the Japanese electrical tower that looks a lot like the Eiffel Tower.  They lose their new car in the battle but defeat the monsters.

Top Monster

My Take:  It’s a bit ironic that the Ghostbusters original animation team was in Japan.  Yet this episode was made after they were replaced, kind of sad.

                Now for my stray observations:

•       I knew when we saw that kid being picked on in the beginning, he was going to be the hero, sort of obvious.
•       Back in the 1980s there was a fear that Japan was flying miles of head of us technology wise.  Their really nice Ecto car, that was like the Back to the Future Part II DeLorean, was a symbol of that fear.
•       So mix ectoplasm with film and the characters come to life.

A fun little episode.   

MISSING THE MARK

Not Now, Slimer!

Original Air date September 14, 1991

Writers: Len Janson and Chuck Menville

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 2 of 5)

Summary:  The episode begins with Slimer interrupting all the Ghostbusters and destroying one of Egon’s experiments.  Slimer gets yelled at and goes off to pout.  The Ghostbusters get called to a job.  When the Ghostbusters get there they end up fighting a powerful ghost that they have chase around the entire city. It turns out that this ghost is the very incarnation of the anger of all the ghosts captured in the Containment Unit.

Slimer made a mess!

                Slimer spends the episode being chased by Dweeb until the big ghost shows up and drives him away.  Slimer and the Ghostbusters unite to defeat the main super ghost.  

Super Ghost

My Take:  In an earlier episode the Ghostbusters encounter the ghost of Sherlock Holmes, who was a fictional character, this was explained by the concept of beliefs made manifest.  In the same nature the Ghostbusters in this episode encounter a powerful ghost who was brought to life from the anger of the ghosts captured in the Containment Unit.  Unfortunately instead of focusing on this very interesting concept the episode wastes half its run time with another encounter with villain Dweeb.  Yes, it was that bad. 

                Now for my stray observations:

·         When the ghost first attacks the old folks home Peter states how he hates it when ghosts take advantage of old people.  But considering ghosts were once people how do they know a haunting at an old folks home isn’t a welcoming committee?

·         I am assuming that the left over ghost matter is what made the Ghostbusters not die when they fell from such a height.

This episode was very disappointing. 

PETER’S DAD IS BACK AND RAY IS FOOLISH ENOUGH TO TRUST HIM

The Treasure of Sierra Tamale

Original Air date September 7, 1991

Writers: Jules Dennis and Richard Mueller

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 3 of 5)

Summary:  Peter’s father, Charles, shows up with a money making scheme like always.  None of the Ghostbusters are buying it save Ray; he agrees to go off to an adventure in Mexico hoping to find lost treasure.  When they get there they find a tour guide and head out to the pyramid.

The other Ghostbusters show up when Ray needs them.

                When they get to the pyramid they are attacked by Quoatles.  Ray uses a special pack that Egon gave him.  It’s a trap and proton pack in one, but can only be used a few times.  Ray uses it to trap one Quoatle while being chased by the another one.  Charles and Ray are trapped.  Their guide flees and calls in the Ghostbusters.

All together now!

                The other three Ghostbusters show up free Ray and Charles.  They find the treasure find that they came for and discover that they can’t take it because it belongs to the god Quetzalcoatl.  When they leave the guide was revealed to have been one of the Quoatles that they fought in human form.

My Take: When Peter’s Dad shows up you always know sleazy stuff is going to happen.  This time it is about finding treasure.  It ends about the same.

                Now for my stray observations:

·         Why did Ray fall for Charles’s plans?  Ray is not that dumb.

·         Okay so Ray uses this new special packless particle thrower and trap all in one, gets trapped, and when they freed him he had a traditional proton pack on!

·         Also when the big revel happens at the end why isn’t the Quoatle concerned about his captured fellow?

This was an okay episode but it wasn’t a favorite.