1983--YEAR ONE
GHOSTBUSTERS (GB1) (First part of the film)
Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, and Ray Stantz
investigate a haunting at the New York Public Library; though they have...little
success in dealing with the problem, Egon manages to get reading that confirm
the ionization properties of ectoplasmic entities--it could be possible to
capture a ghost, and contain it indefinitely. Their triumph appears short lived
as they return to discover that the Board of Regents has terminated their grant
and Dean Yaeger is throwing them off campus with great glee. Venkman decides
that it's fate--they must go into business for themselves. He cons Ray into
getting three mortgages on his parents' house to start up the world's first
paranormal investigation and elimination agency: Ghostbusters.
The new
company purchases an abandoned firehouse to be their headquarters--it's in a
run-down neighborhood, but Ray loves the fire pole. Using their new discoveries,
Ray and Egon create the proton packs and the first Containment Unit. A plucky
Brooklyn girl, Janine Melnitz, is hired as their secretary and immediately sets
her sights on Egon. Ray purchases a 1959 Miller Meteor Cadillac Hearse/Ambulance
which is modified to become their vehicle, the ECTO-1.
The Ghostbusters'
first client is celloist Dana Barrett, who encounters a terror dog in her
refrigerator shouting the word "Zuul" at her. Venkman goes to her apartment and
checks it, but there is no sign of the creature. By now it's obvious Venkman
wants to bag Dana, too.
The Ghostbusters' first case involves a call to the
Sedgewick Hotel, where they successfully bust a gluttonous, green, potato-shaped
Class Five Full Roaming Vapor. After this, there seems to be a virtual explosion
of paranormal activity in the New York area, so much that the team advertises
for a fourth member: vet Winston Zeddemore is hired for the job. The
Ghostbusters also draw the attention of the government, particullarly an EPA
hatchet man named Walter Peck. Peck and Venkman don't get off on the right foot,
and Peck promises revenge...
"The Zeddemore Factor" (GB#0)
A few hours after hiring Winston, the Ghostbusters get a call to the Museum to battle dinosaur ghosts. Despite a slow start (he forgets to turn on his proton pack), Winston proves himself as a Ghostbuster by being instrumental in catching the entities.
This was 88MPH Studio's "Convention Exclusive" released between the first and second issues of the Legion mini-series. While most of the "Revival" stories (88MPH comics and iBooks novel alike) have trouble fitting into the RGB-based GBOT timeline, this one takes place during the first film and besides the contemporary references (Tyra Banks wasn't famous in 1983) I otherwise regard it as now the "canonical" story of Winston's first case
GHOSTBUSTERS (GB1) (Second part of the film)
Dana and her neighbor, CPA Louis Tully, are
posessed by Zuul ("The Gatekeeper") and Vinz Clortho ("The Keymaster")
respectively, and when Peck opens the Ghostbuster's containment unit, they draw
on the psychic turbulence to release thier master, Gozer the Gozarian, a
powerful Sumarian diety. Gozer adopts the form of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man
and begins destroying midtown Manhattan before a risky plan by the Ghostbusters
thwarts him, sending his intelligence back to his home dimension, along with
Zuul and Vinz Clortho.
Date is derived from the date Ghostbusters was filmed, to allow
time for it to "happen" before being "fictionalized" in the 1984 film, seen
being produced in "Take Two"
Walter Peck is fired by the EPA. He later continues his vendetta against
Venkman with Bureau of Unidentified Flying Organisms (BUFO).
"Big Trouble with Little Slimer"
Louis Tully parlays media attention after the Gozer case into a deal as spokesman of "Keymaster Cologne"; he's rich and famous for about fifteen minutes. At some point between 1984 and 1988, Louis Tully augments his CPA with a law
degree, though he mostly concentrates on tax law
Ghostbusters; Legion and Ghostbusters 2 Louis is seen as rich and famous in the mini-series, but in a universe where GB2 occurs he would have to essentially lose it all at some point between 1984 and 1988
Despite saving the city, possibly the world, lawsuits are filed against the
team for thier activities in levelling Central Park West
Ghostbusters 2. The movie insinuates that the team disbanded
immediately after Ghostbusters, but in the continuity of The Real
Ghostbusters it is assumed the cases meandered in court for some three years
before action is taken against the Ghostbusters.
The Ghostbusters rebuild the firehouse, and build a bigger containment unit.
The Ghostbusters switch from uniform grey/tan flight suits to color-coded ones.
Egon orders their old ecto-marshmallow-covered grey uniforms destroyed, but
Venkman neglects to do this. A leakage from the containment unit causes the
uniforms to come to life as spectral doppelgangers of the Ghostbusters. The
Sedgewick Class Five, having escaped the containment when Peck blew it up,
starts hanging around the firehouse.
"Citizen Ghost"
Comedian Dan Aykroyd, a veteran of Saturday Night Live and a paranormal
enthusiast, convinces Columbia Pictures to turn his proposed ghost-hunter movie
into an account of the Ghostbusters battle with Gozer. They option the rights to
the story, and the money they wave in Venkman's face to do so comes in quite
useful for the rebuilding of the firehouse and the new Containment Unit. Aykroyd
and Harold Ramis write a script, and are tapped to play Ray and Egon in the
finished movie. Bill Murray, whom Aykroyd and Ramis had both worked with, is
hired to play Venkman. Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver, and Rick
Moranis finish out the main cast as Winston, Janine, Dana Barrett, and Louis
Tully.
Conjecture, a spin of the Contemporary Account of the filming of
Ghostbusters with story of the movie's creation seen in "Take Two"
The marshmallow substance of the Destructor is collected and placed in the
new containment unit. It recongeals into the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, but
without Gozer's mind it is at first mindless, then develops a simple, almost
benevolent personality.
Conjecture. The Marshmallow Man clearly is Gozer in the movie, but appears
in the cartoon without having the power and evil of the Gozarian. The mindless
Stay-Puft is seen in "Cry Uncle", but by "Deadcon I" and "Sticky Business" the
somewhat Slimer-like personality is formed.
Ray names the Sedgewick ghost Slimer, and the team adopts him as pet and
mascot over Venkman's objections. The Ghostbusters defeat the spectral
dopplelgangers formed from thier old uniforms.
"Citizen Ghost"
1984--YEAR TWO
(The first season of
The Real Ghostbusters, as established by "Take
Two", which places the first season as concurrent with the release of
Ghostbusters. Some of the episodes of the syndicated package are included
in this year.)
The Real Ghostbusters Begins
"Knock,
Knock"(RGB-240)
Digging a new subway tunnel, the transit authority disobeys
the door telling them "do not open until doomsday". The Ghostbusters must close
the gateway before, well, all Hell breaks loose.
Despite it's late airing, this is actually the pilot episode of The
Real Ghostbusters, and it shows in the higher animation quality and the use
of an original song in the soundtrack (something that went away after the 1986
ABC season). I wonder if the writers of Extreme Ghostbusters were
referencing this episode when in "Darkness At Noon" everything starts by, once
again, the transit authority digging a tunnel in the wrong spot...
"Ghosts R
Us"(RGB-101)
A family of ghosts attempts to put the Ghostbusters out of
buisness by posing as paranormal investigators and "catching" thier friends.
Slug, Zonk, and their unnamed female conspirator hope to wake up their powerful
pal Turloq, but end up with something nastier instead...
The ECTO-2 is first used.
"Killerwatt"(RGB-102)
A primal electric spirit is feeding off
of the electricity of New York. The Ghostbusters rig up a bicycle that Janine
has to pedal to keep the containment unit running while the four go out and stop
Killerwatt.
"Mrs.
Roger's Neigborhood"(RGB-103)
Watt poses as a sweet old lady, posesses
Venkman, and tries to open the containment unit
Episode 104 is "Slimer Come Home", which takes place on Winston's brithday, conjecturally May 2, 1984. Thus it is moved later into the year.
"Troll
Bridge"(RGB-105)
Trolls invade New York, attempting to rescue a "party"
animal renegade. The Ghostbusters stop the trolls from burning down the city with a stone statue--Venkman sends the little troll to a college friend who loves practical jokes.
"The
Boogeyman Cometh"(RGB-106)
A shadowy figure haunts young children. The fight
becomes very personal when Egon reveals that the Boogeyman haunted him as a
child, leading to his interest in the supernatural. Spengler's experimental
"ecto-bomb" traps the Boogeyman in his home dimension
"Mr.
Sandman Dream Me A Dream"(RGB-107)
A rogue sandman, keeper of dreams, tries
to bring peace to the world by putting everyone to sleep. Ray gets zapped first
looking at the ECTO-1's engine. Then Venkman gets picked off, and
dreams of fame and glory. Egon's next, but his dream conjures Albert
Einstein, who gives Winston an idea: when the Sandman attacks the firehouse and
puts Janine to sleep, she dreams of being a Ghostbuster and catches the Sandman
off guard.
In Janine's "Dream Ghostbuster" outfit, she wears white with red trim and
high heeled boots. Comparisons will be made in later episodes, so pay attention.
"Legion, Part One" (GBL#1)
Venkman is interviewed by "Allmusic TV". Shortly after, a couple of strange cases occur where the ghosts involved have essentially been "lobotomized" somehow.
Micheal Draverhaven establishes mental domination over Slimer, and uses him to secure his release from the Albany Psychological Corrections Center
Six months after the battle with Gozer; while of course the Legion mini-series was not meant to fit into the RGB timeline, for our purposes there really isn't a lot to contradict it either (with small modifications for Slimer's role, and should the reader so choose, the appearances of the Ghostbusters)
"Legion, Part Two" (GBL#2)
Another "brain dead" ghost is caught at a Krazy's restaurant. The Ghostbusters are called about Draverhaven's escape, and Egon and Winston go to Albany to investigate.
"Legion, Part Three" (GBL#3)
Ray finds Draverhaven and Slimer, and Micheal tells him why he went insane--he'd developed the power to talk to and command ghosts. Ray tries to reason with him, but Draverhaven tells him it's too late--an entire legion of entities is about to attack New York.
"Legion, Part Four" (GBL#4)
The city is overrun with entities, and Egon, Venkman, and Winston fight to free Ray and Slimer from Draverhaven. Ray manages to break free, and knocks Draverhaven out, breaking his control over the entities. They disperse peacefully, and Slimer returns home. Draverhaven, now catatonic, is sent back to the Hospital. Egon agrees to go on a date with Janine.
Dana Barrett breaks off her relationship with Venkman because he won't commit
to her. She marries violinist Andre Wallance (a fellow member of the orchestra) and gives birth in 1988
to a son, Oscar, before divorcing him.
Ghostbusters 2 Sigourney Weaver once conjectured, during an appearance on Arsenio
Hall's talk show (promoting GB2) that Oscar's father was a character seen briefly in the first movie, a violinist from Dana's orchestra referred to as "The Stiff" in the movie (she called him "Mr. Nose Spray")--an idea Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis later confirm in the commentary track of the Ghostbusters DVD. Having the
breakup happen so early is derived from Dana's non-presence in the cartoon. Venkman and Dana are seen fighting and breaking up in GBLegion#3; it is presumed in "this" universe, their reconciliation in GBLegion#4 does not happen. Andre has only been given a name in once place: the novelization of the first movie (so thanks to Miss Janine for supplying the answer to that nagging question!).
Episode 108 is "When Halloween Was Forever"; as it clearly takes place at the
end of October, I moved it later into the conjectural year.
"Look
Homeward, Ray"(RGB-109)
Ray Stantz's homecoming in Morrisville is spoiled by
his childhood rival Alan Favish, who awakens the puma-spirit sleeping
under the town. Ray redeems himself and saves the day, earning a kiss from
childhood sweetheart Elaine Furman
It's interesting that in all Ghostbusters canon, Elaine is the only
potential love interest introduced for Ray, and even she's never heard from
again after this episode. We see Winston with a girlfriend in the NOW comics
(RGB#19,23), and mentioned in "The Devil to Pay", though never named. Venkman
and Egon's love lives are, of course, explored extensively in the movies and the
animation.
"Take
Two"(RGB-110)
Hollywood wants to make a movie out of the Ghostbuster's
adventure with Gozer. Venkman is convinced Robert Redford wants to play him, but
the parts go to Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd, and Harold Ramis. Things are
complicated by a sleepy ghost and a very loud director and his clanking megazord
Trivia Note: We learn Ray and Egon are proficient in sign language. From Kingpin: "Dr. Crowley is a reference to Lovecraft. Referenced to writer Aliester (sp?) Crowley. The RGB writers weren't exactly original when it came to names, we have Ray's childhood nemesis Charles Favish, then the elderly Mrs Faversham, then we had the horror film character Dr. Crowley, then the villian who tried to destroy Halloween Dr. Crowley, and then we have Ray's nautical hero Max Philopolous, and then we had the monks of Saint Theopolus."
"Citizen
Ghost"(RGB-111)
Venkman relates to UBN reporter Cynthia Crawford the tale of
the team's rebuilding after the fight with Gozer, thier adoption of Slimer, and
the fight with thier spectral dopplegangers
"Janine's
Genie"(RGB-112)
A genie grants Janine's wishes--leadership of the
Ghostbusters, the affection of Egon--to keep them busy while the genie plots a
supernatural invasion.
In this episode, Janine's Ghostbuster outfit is a medium brown in between
Ray and Venkman's, with light blue trim
Episode 113 is "X-Mas Marks The Spot". I moved it to the end of 1984 for
obvious reasons, I'd think.
"Janine's
Day Off"(RGB-201)
Egon's dinner with Janine's family is rudely interrupted
by a...little problem with imps.
We get one really good shot of Janine's family in this episode, which
seems to be comprised of her parents, her sister and nephew Victor (both
mentioned in other episodes) a grandmother, and a brother (he seems to resemble
the father). Except for Victor, they're never officially named.
"Adventures in Slime and Space"(RGB-202)
A bad experiment with
a plasmic strainer leaves the city coated in green slime and the team ready to
relocate to Pittsburg.
It's interesting that one of Egon's ideas in building the plasmic strainer
was "disintigrating ghosts...on the spot", the exact same idea he berates Paul
Smart for in "Robo-Buster". One can assume that his incident is one of the
things that proved the idea impossible. The idea of a molecular destabilizer,
mostly to render physical entities suceptible to proton beams, resurfaces in
"Egon's Ghost" and "The Boogeyman is Back"
"Ragnarok
and Roll"(RGB-203)
Jeremy Whittington tries to unleash ragnarok to take
revenge on the world for his break-up with his girlfriend. It is only the
example of his deformed servant DiTillio that causes him to reconsider before
the Ghostbusters blow themselves up to stop him.
This episode provides what some (including me) consider a subtle but important development of Egon's character: when they Ghostbusters are overloading their proton packs, and convinced they're about to die, Ray, Venkman, and Winston exchange banter while Egon whispers only one single word: "Janine". This is the first time he gives any sign that her oft-expressed feelings might be returned.
Whittington's manservant DiTillio is named for RGB writer Larry DiTillio,
who would follow Stracynski to Babylon 5. Larry would repay Joe's
compliment in "You Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks" with "The Great
Strazinski".
One of the beings trying to instigate Ragnarok is the demon Surt; he is
caught and contained by the Ghostbusters.
Conjecture from "Slimer's Sacrifice"; there is no time frame given for the
orginal Ghostbusters' battle with Surt, so I somewhat arbitrarily connected the
battle with the "other" Ragnarok episode.
"Slimer Come Home"(RGB-104)
May 2. Slimer runs away after Venkman's latest tantrum ("He helps himself to everything that isn't nailed down or on fire!"), and a ghostly artful dodger tries to turn him against the Ghostbusters.
This episode begins with Winston's birthday party, conjecturally May 2, 1984, and is thus moved further "back" in the chronology from it's air date
"Captain
Steel Saves the Day"(RGB-204)
Ray's favorite comic book character comes to
life. Unfortunately, so does his arch-nemesis Doctor Destructo. Destructo
kidnaps Janine and barricades himself inside Ghostbusters Central, so the
Ghostbusters and Captain Steel go to Steel's creator--Len Wolfman--to create a
device to stop the deranged scientist.
"They
Call Me MISTER Slimer"(RGB-205)
Venkman bitches at Slimer for costing them
so much money, so Slimer hires himself out as a ghost bodyguard for a little
boy. Unfortunately, the bullies retaliate by summonning up some barrow wights...
"Buster
the Ghost"(RGB-206)
A disaffected ghost moves into Ghostbusters Headquarters
and invites zombies with lousy teeth in to party down. In the end, Buster lives
his real dream: becoming a dentist.
This episode was co-written by comic book writer Kieth Giffen, of
Legion of Super Heroes fame.
"Night
Game"(RGB-207)
Winston is drafted in a spectral contest for which the prize
is one human soul (as it turns out, the soul of Peter Venkman)
"Roller
Ghoster"(RGB-208)
Egon and Janine run afoul of Ray Cougar, running an
unauthorized Ghostbuster-themed roller coaster at his tacky carnival. The
coaster ends up posessed by the combined spectral force of animals from a circus
that burned down in the spot years before.
June 8. Ghostbusters, featuring Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd, and Harold
Ramis as Venkman, Ray, and Egon, is released by Columbia Pictures. The real
Ghostbusters attend the New York debut of the picture. A fictionalized account
of the team's formation and battle with Gozer, it becomes one of the
top-grossing comedies of all time, despite the fact that Venkman constantly
grouses that Murray "Looks nothing like (him)"
Ghostbusters was released June 8, 1984 (Contemperary Accounts), so
the release is set about halfway through the 1984 adventures. The ending of
"Take Two", then, takes place months after the bulk of the story, allowing time
for the film to be finished
"Who're
You Calling Two-Dimensional?"(RGB-209)
Investigating mysterious noises at
the Walt Fleishman Studio, the Ghostbusters are drawn into a cartoon universe
and discover Fleishman alive, but being tortured by his creation Winchester
Wolf. With the help of Dopey Dog, Ray's childhood hero, they free Fleishman and
return to "reality"
Interestingly enough, Dopey Dog looks nothing like the Dopey Dog doll seen
in "The Boogeyman Cometh"
"Dairy
Farm"(RGB-210)
The Ghostbusters visit Ray's cousin Samantha, owner of a
dairy farm in upstate New York, and cleanse the farm of a pack of zombies.
"Egon's
Ghost"(RGB-211)
An accident with the molecular de-stabilizer during the
containment of Arzun draws Egon into the dimension ruled by Arzun and his
brother Tolay. With the help of the court wizard Hieronymous, Egon is freed and
returned home
This would not be the last time that dimensional transit technology is
used by the team. The molecular restabilizer would re-surface in "The Boogeyman
is Back"
"Janine
Melnitz: Ghostbuster"(RGB-212)
Janine's apartment is haunted, but the
Ghostbusters can't help her: they've been kidnapped by a shape-changer claiming
to be the ancient Greek titan Proteus.
This episode, by the way, features Janine's one and only shower scene. It
is, regrettably, tasteful.
As far as Ghostbusting togs, this time she just
borrows one of Venkman's jumpsuits.
"The
Cabinet of Calimari"(RGB-213)
The Great Calimari sucks Venkman into
a pocket dimension, where the spirit of Harry Houdini helps him escape and the Ghostbusters to
defeat Calimari.
"Ghostbuster of the Year"(RGB-214)
The Ghostbusters are hired
by Barbara Mente, agent of Charles Foster Hearse III. If they can figure out who
is haunting Hearse's house, they'll get to be on the cover of Spooks
Illustrated. The ghost is Hearse's ancestor, Charles Foster I, and would it
surprise you to discover the answer is "Rosebud"?
"Egon's
Dragon"(RGB-215)
Egon accidentally releases a small dragon summoned and
bound by his ancestor, Zediciah Spengler. The thing is causing major trouble
trying to impress it's "Daddy" (bringing things like cars and a ferry) before
Egon successfully returns it to slumber.
"Noone
Comes to Lupusville"(RGB-216)
Gregor hires the Ghostbusters to help them in
Lupusville. Turns out Gregor is a vampire, and the captured citizens are
werewolves. The Ghostbusters wisely flee rather than be caught in the middle of
this no-win situation.
"The Bird
of Kildarby"(RGB-217)
Lord Liam Kildarby is less than thrilled that his
family's castle is being turned into a New York tourist trap. He unleashes his
wee pet canary on the city.
"The Long
Long Long Etc. Goodbye"(RGB-218)
Ghostly detective Phillip Spade resolves
old business with his old nemesis Blackie, turned into a monster by a mummy's
curse.
"Venkman's Ghost Repellers"(RGB-227)
The Ghostbusters meet
Venkman's con-man father, Charlie Venkman, selling bogus "ghost repellers" to an
expedition to survey the mysterious New Jersey Parallelogram.
This is one case where I broke the airdate order: RGB-219 is "Cold Cash and
Hot Water", which also features Charlie. The team is clearly meeting him for the
first time in "Ghost Repellers", and already know him in "Cold Cash"
"Who's
Afraid of the Big Bad Ghost?"(RGB-220)
The Ghostbusters are hired to clear
out a mansion of the ghost of the owner's deceased Uncle Horace. But Uncle
Horace has hired them too, because he needs to find something before his soul
can rest...
"The Man
Who Never Reached Home"(RGB-221)
The Ghostbusters encounter Simon Quaig, who
has been cursed to ride a demonic carriage for the last hundred years. Quaig is
freed and allowed to pass on, but not before Ray nearly takes his place...
"Doctor,
Doctor"(RGB-222)
A chemical accident at Harcourt Chemical has Ghostbusters
end up the unwilling host bodies of ectoplasmic parasites, and the equally
unwilling subjects of the embarassing medical experiments of Dr. Gould.
"You
Can't Take it With You"(RGB-223)
An arrogant industrialist, Mr. Tummell,
tries to disprove the old maxim, funding research into sending his money to the
"ghost world"
Presumably, the unnamed scientist seen in this story was familiar with Ray
and Egon's work, and Tummell's money more than made up for the difference in
inspiration.
"When
Halloween Was Forever"(RGB-108)
October 31. Samhaine, the ancient Celtic
diety who's legend is at the heart of the Halloween celebration, attempts invoke
perpetual Halloween. He is defeated and locked in the Ghostbusters' containment
unit.
"Victor
the Happy Ghost"(RGB-224)
A cute little ghost turns out to be a hideous
monster, only slightly more destructive than his namesake, Janine's nephew.
"Lost and
Foundry"(RGB-225)
Either it's an ordinary refrigerator gone bad, or a ghost
has infected an entire iron shipment!
"The
Revenge of Murray the Mantis"(RGB-236)
Thanksgiving. The spirits of the dead
posess the balloon of Murray the Mantis at the Macy's parade. The Ghostbusters
utilize the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man to stop it (since the Death Star was
unavailable...) Venkman romances Ann Lawson.
"Chicken
He Clucked"(RGB-226)
Cubby, driven mad by living atop a fried chicken
franchise, makes a deal with the demon Morgannon to get rid of all the chickens
in the world. Morgannon enlists the help of the Ghostbusters to break the
contract and restore his wounded demonic prestige
I admit, this is possibly my favorite episode of the show, with the
principles of horror and wackiness perfectly melded in the form of Cubby,
willing to go to frightening lengths to do an insanely asinine and petty
thing
"The
Spirit of Aunt Lois"(RGB-241)
The Ghostbusters must save Ray's aunt Lois
from the Russian domovyen spirits released by fraud spiritualist Dr. Bassingham
As with "Venkman's Ghost Repellers", this episode clearly takes place
before the events of "Cold Cash and Hot Water", where Mr. Venkman and Dr.
Bassingham (pronounced "bass-en-game") team up. Ray specifically mentions the events of "Aunt Lois" in "Cold
Cash"
"X-Mas
Marks the Spot"(RGB-113)
Christmas. The Ghostbusters go back in time and
meet Ebeneezer Scrooge, star of Dicken's A Christmas Carol. They
accidentally interfere with events, and Ray, Venkman, and Winston must return to
1842 while Egon enters the containment unit to free the three spirits and close
off an unproductive, anti-Christmas timeline.
I moved this episode to the end of 1984 for very obvious reasons, I think.
The idea of de-stabilizing the molecular structure of a corporeal entity (Egon
in this case) to allow access to the containment unit "follows" from "Egon's
Ghost" and forshadows "The Boogeyman is Back"
1985--YEAR THREE
(The remainder of the syndicated episodes, as well as the second network
season of The Real Ghostbusters)
"The Hole
In the Wall Gang"(RGB-228)
The house of cheese magnate Charles Von Limburger
is haunted--and the bigger the hole, the bigger the ghost.
"Ghost
Busted"(RGB-229)
The Ghostbusters deal with a drought in supernatural
activity by becoming the Crimebusters, running afoul of a mob boss known only as
"Crime Lord", who kidnaps Janine in an effort to neutralize the team.
One bit I found interesting was the team using a PKE meter to find the
kidnapped Janine Melnitz. It's interesting that in "Janine, You've Changed" they
try to find her by zeroing in on the lotsabuck's essence...probably a stronger
PK trace?
"Ghostbusters In Paris"(RGB-230)
Asked to visit by the French
government, the team makes a horrifying discovery: that Eiffel was a
ghost-hunter, his tower a containment unit--and it's about to explode!
"Fright
at the Opera"(RGB-231)
Valkyries try to carry Venkman to Valhalla
"Collect
Call of Cthulhu"(RGB-232)
Cultists steal a copy of the Necronomicon on display at the New York Public Library. To find it, the Ghostbusters enist the help of Dr. Alice
Derleth of Miskatonic University. The cult is attempting to summon the demon
Cthulhu, and for a few terrible moments the great being walks the Earth before a
risky gambit using an old H.P. Lovecraft story sends the monster back to his
ocean floor dwelling. The cult leader, Clarke Ashton, is taken into custody, and
Venkman tries to romance Dr. Derleth.
This story, of course, is a tribute to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Alice
Derleth is presumably the descendant of Lovecraft collaborator August Derleth. Clarke Ashton is a reference to Clarke Ashton Smith, another Cthulhu mythos writer. Another tie to the Lovecraft mythos is made in "Russian About", but vastly understated due to ABC "experts"
"Banshee
Bake A Cherry Pie?"(RGB-233)
Shannon, Venkman's Irish pop-star squeeze,
turns out to be a banshee
"Drool
the Dog-Faced Goblin"(RGB-234)
The Ghostbusters go upstate to investigate
Madam LaFarge's Sideshow and it's shapeshifting goblin. After some early
suspicions, the team is convinced of Drool's good nature when he helps them
defeat an evil metamorph. Unfortunately, Drool has to sacrifice himself to
capture in the process.
"Scaring
of the Green"(RGB-243)
March 17. A bog hound tries to eat the Chief O'Malley
as part of a family curse. Inspector Frump, who hates the Ghostbusters, is along
for the ride.
I shuffled the order a little bit again: as this episode takes place on
March 17, I positioned iit working under the assumption that with some forty
stories this year, approximately three take place a month.
"Boo-Dunit"(RGB-235)
Winston helps Agatha Grisley finish her
final novel.
"The
Headless Motorcyclist"(RGB-237)
The descendant of Ichabod Crane is being
terrorized by the Headless Horseman, albeit with a modern twist to his M.O.
Inspector Frump, of course, thinks Venkman is behind it.
"The
Thing In Mrs. Favesham's Attic"(RGB-238)
A sweet old lady has something
nasty upstairs, a monster summoned and bound decades ago by her father, Charles
Faversham.
This was a great Venkman spotlight episode, but one little thing bugged
me: if Charles Faversham is Agatha's father, why is she Mrs. Faversham??? Did she
just happen to marry a man with the same last name as her? Odd.
"Moaning
Stones"(RGB-239)
An exibit showcases the three Moaning Stones of Tangalla,
supposedly the prison of a demon called "The Undying One", bound by the great
Ibandi leader Shima-Buku thousands of years ago. The museum imprudently puts the
three stones together, and sure enough the Undying One returns with an army of
skeleton warriors.
A voodoo follower named Dalia tells the Ghostbusters the
true means of victory: Winston is the reincarnation of Shima-Buku, and it falls
to him to re-bind the demon.
Venkman's ahead of his time in this episode. If he'd waited until the
Nineties, his toneless, disharmonic "music" would've made him a ton of money,
especially if he'd added a track of rhyming cuss words on top of it.
"Cold
Cash and Hot Water"(RGB-219)
Venkman gets a call from his father,
Charlie--he's uncovered a block of black ice, the prison of Hob Anagarak, Inuit
god of fire. The Ghostbusters go to Alaska and, to Charlie's consternation,
destroy the block of ice--it's too dangerous.
Except...
A few weeks
later, Charlie and fraud spiritualist Dr. Bassingham are shilling the mighty Hob
in Madison Square Garden. Peter is apoplectic ("He conned me!!! Me!!! His own
son!!!") Hob predictably goes nuts and starts destroying everything in sight,
but Egon finds a spell to rebind Hob. It requires Bassingham (the conjurer who
first freed Hob), Janine ("a...minion"), and "The Trickster". Meaning Charlie
Venkman. (Egon doesn't know Peter sold him out to get Janine's cooperation...)
This finishes the "trilogy" of swapped episodes: the airing order was
"Cold Cash" "Ghost Repellers", then "Aunt Lois"; changing it to "Ghost
Repellers", "Aunt Lois", then "Cold Cash" works better with the internal nature
of the episodes
"Sea
Fright"(RGB-242)
Max Pilopolous dredges up the treasure from the pirate
ship, the Stag, and causes Captain Jack Higgins and his decaying, taste-impaired
crew to come back from the dead to get it back.
I HAD to make the "taste-impaired" crack!!! At one point, Higgins' crew
runs across a faux cowboy in an obnoxious rhinestone outfit, AND THEY STEAL IT
FROM HIM!!!
"Ghost
Fight at the OK Corral"(RGB-243)
Venkman gets to live the western stories of
Dewey LaMort when Wyatt Earp comes back, and wants the Ghostbusters to be the
Clanton boys.
Is it just me, or did Random Choice photographer Boris Meely look exactly
like a fifty-pounds lighter Ray Stantz?
"Cry
Uncle"(RGB-244)
Egon's uncle Cyrus shames his nephew into quitting the
Ghostbusters; but when the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man is accidentally released he
sees the scientific value of Egon's work.
Andrew MacMillon, Duke of Dunkeld in Scotland, dies. As per the terms of his
will, his title it to be inherited by his nephew, American Ray Stantz.
Shortly before "Bustman's Holiday"
"Bustman's Holiday"(RGB-245)
Ray inherits the Scottish estate
of his uncle, Andrew McMillon. Laird of Dunkeld--and a major supernatural
problem: ghosts ready to repeat the clan wars and massacre of the nearby
village.
"Aint'
Nasa-Sarrily So"(RGB-247)
Captain Kirok's "five year mission" is being
threatened by a ghost.
"Apocalypse--What, NOW?"(RGB-248)
Janine accidentally unleashes
the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on her lunch hour. They had been sealed in
the Codex of St. Theophilus, which Venkman had accidentally bought at a
Northeby's auction. With the help of Father Janosz and the order of St.
Theophilus, the Ghostbusters defeat the Dark Riders and seal them away again.
"The
Devil To Pay"(RGB-249)
Ray and Winston's souls are on the line in "You Bet
Your Afterlife", hosted by Dyb Devlin, the game show host from Hell!
This is, as far as I know, the first mention of Winston's offscreen
girlfriend. It also features an appearance by an illusion of Samhaine. And
doesn't Egon get awful indignant at the idea that Venkman was peeking at Janine
in the shower?
"A Ghost
Grows In Brooklyn"(RGB-250)
The guys bust a ghost at a plant shop, but just
as the trap closes it hides in a geranium. Egon gives the plant to Janine as a
gift, but then it starts growing and begins to destroy the city, drawing the
attention of plant enthusiast Phil Dendron. Egon destroys it by overwatering it,
but Janine is still so mad she bitches him out. ("Never give a woman
flowers"...Venkman offers)
"I Am The
City"(RGB-251)
The Ghostbusters are on hand for the latest round in the
battle between Marduk, Babylonian God of the City, and his eternal nemesis
Tiamat
"Last
Train to Oblivion"(RGB-252)
Venkman is hijacked by the spirit of Casey
Jones, a vigilante with a hockey mask and...er, by Casey Jones, the infamous
train engineer; Jones wants to recreate the train wreck that killed him, but
with a twist--Casey gets to prevent it this time!
"Beneath
these Streets"(RGB-253)
Earthquakes? In New York? The Ghostbusters go
underground and discover the "Pillar of New York", a giant gear that keeps Manhattan from sinking. A bunch of ghosts are trying to disrupt by closing off the flow of lubricating ectoplasm. The Ghostbusters have to find a way to restore the flow before the whole city goes bye-bye
"Play
them Ragtime Boos"(RGB-254)
Malachai, spectral jazz musician, tries to turn
back time.
This episode is livened by a sequence depicting the Ghostbusters as bands
throughout the ages. (Fifties, Beatles, ect.) The Eighties punk band is probably
the funniest: Ray with a mohawk and Egon with even wierder hair than usual.
"The Old
College Spirit"(RGB-255)
Venkman's old frat, Tri Kuppa Bru, is haunted by
the ghosts of college drop-outs. The Ghostbusters and dean Fitzroy bribe their
leader, Elwin Spaulding, with make up courses and fake diplomas.
"Hard
Knight's Day"(RGB-256)
Venkman's latest girlfriend, Dr. Doris Tibbs, is
kidnapped by the evil Sir Bruce Sans Pite', the first undead tyrant from a
picture the team will face, who is convinced that she is the reincarnation of
his lost love Lady Genevieve
I couldn't help but be reminded of this story the first time I saw
Ghostbusters 2: undead guy in a picture has plans for Venkman's
girlfriend. Sir Bruce, by the way, is an actual figure from Arthurian myth,
albeit a very minor one.
"Masquerade"(RGB-257)
Kenny Fenderman wants to be a
Ghostbuster. So Venkman gives him a highly dangerous piece of experimental
equipment...
At least Kenny didn't suck as much ass as the "Junior Ghostbusters"
"Deadcon
I"(RGB-258)
Which is scarier? The ghost convention, or the dentist's
convention across the hall? The owners of Plump Towers aren't so sure...
The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man appears in this episode.
"Don't
Forget the Motor City"(RGB-259)
Ray and Egon build the world's ugliest car
to foil gremlins in a Generous Motors factory.
Trivia: Pea soup green is Egon's favorite color, and Ray has a suit in
that color. Which is why Ray is such a lonely man, Venkman says...
"Devil in
the Deep"(RGB-260)
Venkman tries to impress Ann Johnson of Celebrity
magazine; meanwhile, Nexa is leading an invasion of Undyne water spirits. When
Ray, Egon, and Winston are swallowed by Nexa, Venkman displays his little-seen
inventive side and creates a micro-wave gun that frees his comrades and defeats
Nexa, indeed seeming to impress Miz Johnson...
And Janine is impressing some of us with that skimpy bikini
"Lights,
Camera, Haunting"(RGB-261)
Slimy MJN producer Artie Grendel hires ghosts to
work in his movies. They don't want any money, either--just a chance to film
their revenge on four certain Ghostbusters...
"Egon on
the Rampage"(RGB-262)
Helen Schreck and Sandy Van Sanders of 20/40/60 shows up just as Egon is posessed by a demon from another dimension
"Station
Identification"(RGB-263)
WBOO opens shop, trying to beam ghosts into living
rooms across the country "It'll be even worse that what they're getting now!"
Ray observes, as they're attacked by such creatures as "Gumbo, America's Clay
Hero" ("Yo, 'm lookin' f' 'n orange horse"), "Star Patrol"("We're dead, Jim"),
and "Power Guy: Prince, Hero, and Snazzy Dresser"
"Hanging
by a Thread"(RGB-264)
A demon tries to steal the shears of the Three Muses
of Fate.
This is arguably the worst episode in terms of animation quality; several
late syndicated episodes were shaky, and this one is really bad. It seems like
everybody was stretched out at this point, with even the voice cast getting into
it--the Muses are especially limp and lifeless. This episode's one redeeming
scene is the Ghostbusters trying to cross the River Styx and having to haggle
with Charon the Ferryman. He finally accepts Ray's ham sandwich but bitches
about it the whole time.
"Slimer,
Is that You?"(RGB-303)
A freak experiment switches Egon and Slimer's minds
just as Egon is being challenged by the Master of Shadows, an intellectual snob.
This episode takes place before "Transylvania Homesick Blues", as Janine
and Venkman both have thier original voices. It's an excellant episode (JMS
wrote it) but falls prey to the common error of having the character's voices
magically switch along with the brains. Having Welker and LaMarche try to
imitate each other would've been more interesting and more accurate to boot.
Janine Melnitz falls under the influence of makeoverus lotsabucks, a spirit
that feeds on a person's vanity. Frustrated in the glacial pace of her
relationship with Egon, she relents in letting the creature "improve" her. The
creature poses as a "fairy godmother", first changing her voice, then her
hairstyle, then over time altering her actual physical appearance.
"Janine, You've Changed" In "Transylvania Homesick Blues", Janine still
has her original appearance with her new voice (Laura Summer to Kath Soucie),
but changes to her appearance wait until "Baby Spookums" Venkman's new voice is
never explained.
The real expaination, of course, is interference by ABC
executives who felt the original Janine was too harsh and unlikeable. Thusly,
only the network episodes reflect a changed Janine: it produces a bit of a
paradox, as in other material--such as the NOW Comics' series--Janine's face and
personality remain unchanged. Personally, I much prefer the gutsy, abrasive
"original" Janine to the shallow, ditsy cheerleader she became. In fact, if not
for the sheer strength of "Janine, You've Changed" I would've written off all of
the "improvements" as apocryphal.
On the other hand, I quite frankly DO
consider apocryphal Venkman's changes in personality, especially his acting all
buddy-buddy with Slimer, undoubtedly the result of similar network meddling.
"Transylvania Homesick Blues"(RGB-265)
The Ghostbusters travel
to Boldavia, and meet the benevolent vampire Count Vostok, being hounded by
Nicholas Van Helden, a crazed anti-vampire fanatic.
According to Vostok, his feud with the Van Helden family was fictionalized
by Bram Stoker in his classic novel Dracula. This episode was released in
first-run syndication, but features Dave Coulier as Venkman--the only syndicated
episode to do so. I presume that this episode was originally prepared for ABC
with the Second Season voice cast, but shuffled to syndication when ABC asked
DIC to redesign Janine.
"Baby
Spookums"(RGB-301)
A baby ghost is reunited with it's parents
What?!?!?!?!?!?!? was what I said the first time I saw this one. Leaving
aside the issue of spectral procreation (gee, I thought dead souls were what
created ghosts...), I was flabbergasted by questions like "Why did Venkman sound
like a bad Bill Murray impression? And what in Grife's name did they do to
Janine?!" Why mess with success, basically--this show wasn't broken but got
"fixed" anyway...
"It's a
Jungle Out There"(RGB-302)
Raal gives sentience to all of the animals of the
world, and tries to enslave humanity
"Camping
It Up"(RGB-313)
The Ghostbusters go on a relaxing camping trip...until an
extra-dimesional Sasquatch shows up
I moved this one a litle earlier into the year, as it doesn't seem to be
very cold. This episode provides a little interesting tid bit in the Janine/lotsabucks idea: we see her without glasses and with mussed hair in one brief scene, and she still clearly looked like the same person as Season One.
"The
Boogeyman is Back"(RGB-304)
Egon survives a fall off the World Trade Center
during a bust, but contains his emotion (as usual...); problem is, the Boogeyman
is able to feed on the internalized fear of this former victim of his, and break
free from his pocket dimension. The Boogeyman kidnaps the rest of the
Ghostbusters, and taunts Egon into facing him alone. Egon triumphs over his
fear, and using the destablizer gun renders the Boogeyman vulnerable to the
Ghostbusters' proton packs, and he's placed in the containment unit
"Once
Upon a Slime"(RGB-305)
Stuff in Slimer's fairy tale book comes to life
"The Two
Faces of Slimer"(RGB-306)
An accident causes Slimer to metamorph into an
evil, bigger version of himself
"Sticky
Buisness"(RGB-307)
Marty Tillis, President of Stay-Puft Marshmallows, hires
the Ghostbusters to walk a controlled Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man through the Park
as a fund-raising and promotional event; a nasty sting ray-like phantom nearly
causes disaster.
"Halloween II1/2"(RGB-308)
Halloween. Samhaine escapes the
containment unit, once again trying to instigate eternal Halloween. Once again,
he is foiled and contained
Deomcrat Lenny Clotch is reelected mayor of New York City
Conjecture. There was an election in the Real World in 1985, when Ed Koch was reelected to what would end up being his final term as Mayor of New York City. Lenny's full name and party affiliation are from the Ghostbusters novelization
"Loathe
Thy Neighbor"(RGB-309)
The Ghostbusters meet the Munster/Adams-esque Macabre
family: father Bella, mother Lucretia, daughter Lydia, son Thaddeus (who invents
a Frankenstien dog, Patchwork), and even wierd butler Creelo.
"The
Grundle"(RGB-310)
The Grundle tries to corrupt Alec Meredith, intent on
turning him into another Grundle, before being stopped by the Ghostbusters.
All of the Grundle's previous victims return to normal when the creature is
contained except Jack, a friend of six-year old Kylie Griffin. Realizing that
the Ghostbusters were about to catch him, the Grundle had this victim go into
suspended animation, emerging twelve years later fully transformed into a
duplicate grundle
During and after the events of "The Grundle" as detailed in
"Grundlesque"
"Big
Trouble With Little Slimer"(RGB-311)
The Ghostbuster's old "pal" Walter Peck, ex-EPA hatchet man, shows up to cause more trouble. Except now he's a hatchet man for the Bureau of Unidentified Flying Organisms, and he tries to have Slimer destroyed. It doesn't work and he's fired once more.
"The
Copycat"(RGB-312)
An annoying shape-shifting monster causes havoc in
Ghostbusters' HQ
1986--YEAR FOUR
(The third season of the cartoon, retitled
Slimer and the Real
Ghostbusters)
"The
Joke's On Ray"(RGB-401)
Ray inherits his Uncle Gaylord's joke shop, which is
haunted by two trouble-making imps. The ECTO-3 is first used.
This is pure conjecture, but I wonder if Ray converts the joke shop to the
occult bookstore he owns in Ghostbusters 2
Quack scientist Dr. Norman Dweeb starts to chase Slimer, intent on studying
him and finding out what he "really" is.
Conjectured from "The Slob" and "Deja Boo" Dweeb was a regular in the
Slimer solo cartoons that ran during the third season, though I consider
them, on the whole, apocryphal and thus not part of the main chronology (though
one episode, "Don't Tease the Sleaze", featured a character that also reappeared
in "The Slob")
"Flipside"(RGB-402)
A weird tornado throws Ray, Egon, and
Venkman into "Boo York, the Big Pumpkin", a parallel dimension where they are
chased by the "Peoplebusters", ghostly counterparts of themselves.
The weirdest thing about this episode is that none of the Ghostbusters or
Peoplebusters seem to notice that they resemble each other. Why is there no
Peoplebuster Zeddemore? How did Egon--the "real" Egon--become so known and
reviled as to be used as the Peoplebuster insignia and to frighten ugly parlor
customers? Does this give the Peoplebuster Egon any problems? Was NOW comics
going to address any of this in their aborted Peoplebusters/ Professor
Epimetheus storyline? I guess we'll never know...
"Poultrygeist"(RGB-403)
The Ghostbusters are called by panicked
Farmer Jess, who's wife Maude has been "eaten" by a giant chicken. Turns out she
has been infected with a wierd form of lycanthropy that turned her into a
werechicken. Egon is also turned into a werechicken before his latest invention
stops the giant werechicken monster and Ray's chickenbane soup cures Maude and
Egon's curses.
The co-writers on this lackluster episode were Duane Capizzi and Steve
Roberts, who would go on to provide more inspired work in Extreme
Ghostbusters
"Standing
Room Only"(RGB-404)
Venkman builds a phony-baloney ghost-catching machine,
that mystifies everybody when it seems to draw hordes of ghosts eager to be
slapped into the containment unit! But, alas for Venkman's vanity, the real
reason is the arrival of the destructive Mee-Krah: the ghosts think the
containment unit is the only place safe from the creature!
"Robo-Buster"(RGB-405)
The Ghostbusters catch Janine returning
from a date with Paul Smart, President of Grossjuck Industries (much to Egon's
obvious disdain). After sneaking into the firehouse, stealing a ghost trap, and
secretly copying confidential Ghostbuster files, he disappears. None of them
hear from him until weeks later, when he announces his "New advance in spectral
elimination":Robo-Buster X-1, a robot that blasts ghosts to nothing instead of
containing them. Over the next few weeks the thing steals their buisness, and
when Janine confronts Smart over the way he used her he orders the robot to blow
away Slimer. But Egon has guessed the truth: the ghosts have not been destroyed,
just vaporized, and reappear as an angry amalgamated maelstrom--headed straight
for Grossjuck Plaza. Slimer is freed, the maelstrom contained, Smart
embarrassed, and Robo-Buster destroyed--albiet after being re-programmed and
helping the Ghostbusters
In joke: "Grossjuck Industries" named for Ghostbusters movie
producers Micheal C. Gross and Joe Medjuck
This episode features the
Ghostbuster outfit Janine would use several times throughout the rest of the TV
series: it's pink with light blue trim. About the only redeeming value of this
sexist, hideous thing is the realization that it's also Egon's colors
reversed...
Comment: This was a real disappointment. The first half was
electrifying, making the most use of the Egon/Janine tension until "Janine
You've Changed"--the sight of Egon clearly in the throes of jealousy, sneering
sarcastic cracks at Paul Smart, was a sight to behold. But they drop the ball
big time second half--I wonder if it was Francis Moss's fault, or a rewrite?
"Short
Stuff"(RGB-406)
The Ghostmaster hires a shape-changing spectral bounty
hunter to eliminate the Ghostbusters. Taking his appearance from a character in
Punk Cinema magazine, the hunter shrinks the Ghostbusters and tries to
contain them in shimmering globes. Janine finds the right counterspell, and the
team is restored to full size and defeat the hunter.
"Follow
That Hearse"(RGB-407)
Winston's desire to enter the ECTO-1 in a car show is
derailed when a ghost posesses it.
"The
Brooklyn Triangle"(RGB-408)
Construction worker Edward Zeddemore uncovers a
dimensional rift in Brooklyn, and when the Ghostbusters are called in he and his
son Winston continue thier old arguments. They are both sucked into the Land of
Lost Objects, ruled by the Collector. Venkman and Ray follow quickly behind, and
Egon and Janine arrive when the firehouse is sucked into the growing maw. The
Ghostbusters confront the Collector and learn the truth: At one time a
ghost-hunter himself, he has spent ten thousand years scrounging lost objects in
hopes of finding two in particular: the twin keys that will open his realm an
allow him to move on. As it turns out, the twin keys are Zeddemore family
heirlooms, in Edward and Winston's care. The Collector uses the power of the
keys to pass on, and the Ghostbusters are returned to Earth and about buried in
five lifetimes worth of lost crap.
It is never stated in the episode, but I assume that the Collector was
originally Ibandi, and the demon who imprisoned him was the Undying One,
defeated by Winston and Edward's ancestor Shima-Buku, as detailed in "Moaning
Stones"
In the wake of the disasterous events of the last few months, several
protracted lawsuits against the Ghostbusters (some dating back to the Gozer
incident of 1983) are brought to court. Rather than go to trial, the team is
forced to accept a plea agreement wherein they accept an injunction against
acting as paranormal investigators.
Conjectured from Ghostbusters 2 The second movie takes place five
years after the first, and the team is clearly down on their luck. The problem
is, in the context of the Real Ghostbusters canon, the movie is released
during the hiatus between seasons three and four, and while the comic was being
released. My answer is to "move" the two year interval between the first movie
and the first season, placing it between season's three and four . There's no real dramatic break there, but by season
four references are made to events of Ghostbusters 2, and
the movie needed some "dead time" (pardon the phrase) away from Ghostbusting to
work right. In GB2 Venkman does say "It's been a couple of years since we used this stuff"--"a couple" and not "five", so this conjecture does have a smidgen of support. There is a reference in the Season Four episode "Something's Going
Around", which clearly takes place after GB2 (it's Louis Tully's animated
debut!) in which Janine makes it sound like they've only been busting ghosts for
"two years"--I just simply have to treat that as apocrphal.
Having had to give up thier lives as Ghostbusters, the team finds new ways to
get by. Egon Spengler returns to research, specializing in new theories on
psychomagnetheric resonance in human emotional states. Peter Venkman becomes
host of a cheezy, low budget TV program called World of the Psychic. Ray
Stantz keeps busy as the proprietor of an occult bookstore, and appearing with
Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbuster costume at children's parties.
Ghostbusters 2. What Janine Melnitz is up to during these two years
was never noted, though I assume she didn't let Egon get TOO far away yet. I
conjecture that maybe she worked as his personal secretary at the research
facility.
1987--YEAR FIVE
Nogad, a member of the community of Toad Island, assumes control and starts a
program of returning to the "old ways"--meaning the occassional abductions of
guests to the island and forcing them to mate with the "Deep Ones" to create
stronger strains of Deep One/human hybrids.
Real Ghostbusters#8, though the timing is conjectural. This is some
two years before the events of that story, and gives Nogad time to carry out his
program for a time before Kenneth and some of the others get to the point of
doing something about it.
