Dana's apartment (Ghostbusters II)

Dana's apartment (Ghostbusters II)
Use:	Apartment Home
Appeared In:	Ghostbusters II Ghostbusters Vol. 2 Issue #1
Address:	325 East 77th Street New York, NY 10075
Entities Encountered:	Slime in Bathtub Attack Jail Jaw Ghost

Dana's apartment in Ghostbusters II is different due to the events in the end of the first film and Dana Barrett had since moved to a building located on the Upper East Side.

History

Ghostbusters II

After the Gozer incident, Dana moved to unit 448 at a new apartment complex on 325 East 77th Street near First Avenue. In late 1989, Dana walked back to her apartment after going grocery shopping with Oscar. Frank the Superintendent gave some orders to a repairman. Frank was clearly agitated with the repairman's progress or lack of. Frank went step by step and told the repairman to go downstairs to the cellar, check the water lines to the boiler, and check the pump. He wanted it down that day and asked him if he could do that. The repairman nodded and went inside after bumping into a dog being walked. Dana asked Frank for help. Frank quipped he was not the doorman, he was the building's superintendent. Dana handed him her two full D'Agostino grocery paper bags to carry. She noted he was also a human being. He decided to do her the favor. She asked him when he was going to get around to fixing the radiator in her baby's room. The baby carriage began to roll away from them. Frank thought he already did that. Dana told him it was getting really cold in there then she noticed carriage was on the move and stuttered. Frank told her it was no problem. The carriage continued to roll away. Dana went to it. It rolled away even faster. The infant cooed. She ran after it and yelled out for someone to stop the carriage. It rolled onto First Avenue and narrowly avoided a collision with a bus.

Dana Barrett played her cello in her apartment. She was about two to three minutes into performing Joseph Haydn's "Cello Concerto No. 1" in C Major the first movement (Moderato). Maria, Dana's nanny, fed Oscar in the kitchen. There was a knock on the door. Dana shouted to Maria that she would get the door. She placed her cello on her stand, walked over, and opened her door to Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler. Ray greeted her first. She hugged him and thanked him for coming. Ray played it off as no problem and was always happy to help and hug. Egon stepped in next. Dana shook Egon's hand. Ray complimented the apartment. Egon tried to tell Dana about Peter Venkman coming along but Dana pushed the door to close it. Peter slipped in through the door and stopped it. He quipped about giving them one more chance. Ray rubbed his palms. Egon glared at Peter's back. Ray told Dana he tortured him by pulling his ears. Dana greeted Peter. Peter turned to them, modulated his voice to sound deep and sexy.

Instead of responding, Dana turned to Egon and asked him what he would like to do first. Egon wanted to start with examining Oscar first. Maria handed the baby to Dana then went back into the kitchen. They walked over to a round table. Ray added they should check out anything associated with the baby, especially stuffed toys and things with fabrics in them. Egon wanted to check out the buggy after that. Dana agreed to their requests then asked if she could put Oscar on the table. Ray wanted to also see where he slept. Egon told her the table would be fine. Ray laid a blue pad over the table. Egon placed his briefcase on a chair at the table. Ray took off his jacket. Ray informed Dana they would have to lay him down flat. Peter took his jacket off and tossed it. He looked around at the book shelves. Dana reassured Oscar. Egon called it a little precursory medical examination. Ray proposed the Gammill and Pross Infant Acuity Test. Egon agreed and suggested they finish off with an Apgar score. Dana asked if any of that would hurt Oscar. They both replied it wouldn't. Egon assured her he would be fine. Ray handed Egon calipers. Dana became concerned from the look of them. Peter played Dana's cello like a guitar. Egon looked away. Ray also held back. She walked over to him. Ray asked Egon if ever examined a baby before. Egon replied he did it once on a chimp.

Peter inquired what happened to Dana's husband. He claimed he heard he ditched Dana and ran off to Europe. Dana clarified he did not ditch her, they had some problems and he got a very good job offer from an orchestra in London, and he took it. Dana placed her cello back on its stand. Peter held a mini-snow globe upside down. Peter summed that up as being ditched. Ray spoke into a Panasonic RN-185 Microcassette Recorder as he and Egon checked out Oscar. Ray recorded the subject was a male Caucasian. Egon measured Oscar and stated he was 24 inches. Ray stated he weighed approximately 18 pounds and was about eight months old. He moved on to ocular tests. Egon shined a small flashlight at Oscar. He confirmed the pupillary response was normal. He placed his flashlight back into his pocket protector. Ray asked about auditory. They snapped their fingers. Oscar moved his head around in reaction to them. Egon confirmed his responses were normal. Ray asked about papillary reflex. They tickled Oscar. Egon noted he appeared to be ticklish. Ray agreed.

Peter mused Dana would have been better off marrying him. He held the miniature snow globe upright. Dana recalled he never asked me and whenever she brought it up, he got drowsy and fell asleep. Peter placed the globe back on the shelf and walked away. He declared she never got it. He explained he was a man, he was sensitive, he needed to feel loved and he needed to be desired. Dana placed her left hand on his shoulder. She reminded him she broke up with him when he started introducing her as the old ball and chain. Peter grimaced. Peter admitted he may have a lot of personal problems but he was a total professional when it came to his job. He walked over to Egon and Ray before Dana could get there. Egon was using a Grafco fetal stethoscope on Oscar as he lay on his back. Ray scanned him with a P.K.E. Meter. Peter got Egon's attention. He looked up at Peter, who spoke up close right into the stethoscope asking what they were doing. He recoiled then told Dana that Oscar seemed to be fine. Dana noted he was very healthy. Peter thought it he looked okay. Ray asked where he slept. Dana led Ray right around the corner to Oscar's bedroom. Egon turned to Peter and handed him a specimen jar and walked away with a new device, the Giga meter. He asked Peter to acquire a stool specimen. Peter quipped, "Business or personal?"

Dana picked up a ring stacking toy in Oscar's bedroom. Ray picked up a small yellow Stegosaurus stuffed animal and swept it the P.K.E. Meter. Dana told them the room was a little messy. Ray assured he they did not plan on playing with anything, they just wanted to sweep for valances. Egon thought the room was very cheerful and revealed his parents didn't believe in toys. He picked up a rattle. Peter smiled down at Oscar and asked him if he wanted to play with a big kid. He told him he should have been his father. He clarified he could have been. Oscar held out a hand. Peter shook it and replied he understood. He picked Oscar up and started singing "Dixie." Oscar bit him softly on the nose. Peter playfully shouted for help because he had gone completely berserk. Ray, Egon, and Dana heard Peter. Ray and Egon exchanged concern. Dana left the room. Egon shook the rattle. Ray walked over to Egon. Ray asked him if he never even had a Slinky. Egon confirmed they had part of a Slinky, but he straightened it.

Peter's voice returned to normal once he saw Dana. He claimed Oscar had some sort of a clear liquid coming out of his mouth, too. Dana was amused and asked what he thought. Peter thought he was ugly but not Elephant Man ugly. He asked if his father was ugly. She implored Oscar not to listen. Peter joked he stunk, too, and spoke in a Mexican accent. Oscar giggled. Peter played along and asked him if his father was a smelly. He asked him what his name was. Dana told her it was Oscar. Peter lamented how he was named after a hot dog and sympathized. Dana asked him if he seriously found anything unusual. Peter admitted he did not have a lot of experience with babies. He then told Oscar his mama was going get a stool sample. Dana was confused. They laid Oscar down on the table. Ray was lying down his back and swept the underside of Oscar's crib with his P.K.E. Meter when Peter entered. Ray announced he got nothing. Peter asked Egon what was next. Egon wanted to perform some gynecological tests on Dana. Peter joked, "Who wouldn't?" Egon proposed they check out the street next.

Dana's apartment building was one of many to lose power after Ray accidentally caused a city-wide blackout under First Avenue. Dana checked on Oscar in his bedroom. She had a lit candle and softly told him to go back to sleep. She heard a knock on her front door. She asked who it was. Janosz Poha answered. Dana griped silently. She greeted Janosz and slightly opened her door. She noted his visit was a surprise. Janosz revealed he happened to be in the neighborhood, and I decided to stop by her apartment to check on her after the blackout happened. Dana stated they were fine and thanked him. Janosz asked how Oscar was. She replied he was okay. Janosz peeked in and vocalized. Dana informed him he was sleeping. Janosz covered his mouth with a hand in embarrassment. She told him it was okay. He asked her if she needed anything or wanted him to come in. She politely declined. Janosz reiterated he was just checking and quoted the "don't let the bedbugs bite" part of the old nursery rhyme. She wished him good night then closed the door and applied the various locks. Light beams projected out of Janosz's eyes and he walked down the hall.

Some time after the Ghostbusters' trial was dismissed, Dana caught the Ghostbusters' new commercial while she fed Oscar. After the "LIMIT ONE PER FAMILY" caption flashed on screen, Dana grinned and shook her head. One night, Dana carried Oscar into the bathroom. She placed a board into the tub. Dana noted he got more food on his shirt than they did in his mouth. She turned the water on in the bathtub then tried to get Oscar excited for bath time, his favorite, because he got to splash her. She undressed Oscar while tickling him and making stomach-sucking sounds. The water suddenly stopped running and Psychomagnotheric ectoplasm poured in. Her back was to the tub and she had not noticed the ectoplasm. Dana unbuttoned and took off her shirt then picked Oscar up. She turned around and was horrified by the mass of Psychomagnotheric ectoplasm. It tried to move towards Oscar but the tub winced. She screamed and ran out the bathroom. It tried to follow them but could not. The tub winced. Egon and Ray investigated her apartment but they only found some ectoplasmic residue. After the Slime in Bathtub Attack, Dana and Oscar stayed at Peter's apartment for the rest of the Vigo incident of 1989.

IDW Comics

After three months of searching for the missing Ghostbusters, Janine Melnitz's team took on a case on behalf of a valued repeat customer named Mr. Parker. They cornered the Jail Jaw Ghost as it feasted on the contents of a refrigerator. However, Special Agent Melanie Ortiz missed the first time and got slimed. She got it the second time and Janine trapped it. Much to Ortiz's dismay, the room was wrecked.

Behind the Scenes

The blackout scene was shot on a set. First, Peter MacNicol was filmed walking down a dimly lit walkway. As he walked, MacNicol moved his head side to side. To create the look of real light being illuminated, another pass was filmed. In it, Michael Chapman held a 2K at MacNicol's height then walked down the hall, panning the light from side to side. After a few takes done fast and slow, the scenes were edited together and both Chapman and the light were matted out. Pat Meyers helped defined the light beams by placing shards and particulate matter so it looked like real beams. Meyers lined up the beams so they tracked from MacNicol's eyebrows to the puddles of light on the walls.

A bath tub was made out of white silicone to look like it was porcelain and so it could bend. The tub creature was made out of dielectric gel - a Dow Corning breast implant material - reinforced with china silk and spandex. The slime creature would be operated like a hand puppet. Tom Floutz put his arm up through the bottom of the tub and operate the creature. The slime was dumped on the creature. Floutz had to endure and let the slime pour down on him, too. A maw-shaped piece of fiberglass was placed inside the puppet and attached to a vacuum tub in order to simulate a mouth. The tub and slime creature were filmed against a bluescreen. There wasn't enough of a pay off so John Van Vliet of Available Light did a cel animation of an animated tongue for the last shot for about 25 frames.

Trivia

• In the August 5, 1988 draft, Lane Walker's apartment is stated to be an old brownstone in Greenwich Village. This location persists for the next couple of drafts.
  • On page 58, Egon and Ray arrive at Lane's apartment to take Peter underground to investigate the surge in insects. Peter's 'All you can eat' line appears.
• In the September 29, 1988 draft:
  • On page 19, Ray reveals he spoke to the superintendent and the building has no history of anything paranormal.
  • On page 29, Lane Walker lights candles in her apartment after the blackout and listens to news on a transistor radio. She gets a phone call from Jason Locke. He asks her if she needs anything and wants him to come in. She tells him 'No, everything's fine' than after she is staring into candlelight, alone and afraid.
  • On page 58, Lane brings Mikey, the precursor to Oscar, to the bathroom. She is wearing a robe. She turns on the tap water and doesn't notice it switch to slime.
  • On page 59, Lane takes off her robe. The slime coalesces into a large frog-like creature. She starts to step into the tub and sees the creature. She plugs in a hairdryer, turns it on, and drops it in the tub, electrocuting the creature then she flees. Rudy lets Peter into the museum early next morning to talk to Lane. Mikey is near her in an infant seat.
    • In the movie, Dana runs away with Oscar. Peter's visit to the Manhattan Museum of Art takes place earlier in the day, before the bathtub attack.
• In the November 27, 1988 draft and February 27, 1989 draft:
  • On page 37, after Dana locks her door during the blackout, Dana stands there staring into candlelight, alone and afraid then Jansoz walks off with lights projected from his eyes.
  • On page 68, Dana brings Oscar to the bathroom. She is wearing a robe over her nightgown. She turns on the tap water and doesn't notice it switch to slime. She turns off the faucet without looking in the tub and squirts in bubble bath. As she lowers Oscar, the tub starts to close around him like a big mouth.
  • On page 69, the tub convulses and vomits buckets of slime.
• The baby carriage chase at the start of the movie is geographically accurate. It starts at Dana's apartment building at 325 East 77th Street and heads south to the intersection of East 77th Street and First Avenue where it stopped. After the carriage is nearly hit by the bus, the green awning of Cho-Sen Food Shoppe Ltd. is visible, further proving the intersection is E. 77th and First.
• The radiator in Oscar's room needed fixing. After a week of no progress, she tells Frank the Superintendent about it again because the room was getting cold.
• Dana's apartment interiors, including the bathroom scene, were filmed on a sound stage in Burbank Studios in Los Angeles.
• The actual slime in the tub was filmed at Industrial Light and Magic.
• When Ray, Egon and Peter first visit, the 1989 calendar is on November.
• There is a frame of Johannes Brahms near the book shelf when Peter picks up the snow globe.
• A hardcover copy of the book "Breathing Lessons" by Anne Tyler sits on top of Dana's TV. It can be seen near the end of the first montage.
• In the deleted scene This Is Hard for Me, Ray mentions Frank the Superintendent told him the apartment building had no history of paranormal activity.

Appearances

Primary Canon Appearances

• Ghostbusters II
  • Chapter 01: Start
  • Chapter 05: Investigating Oscar
  • Chapter 09: Great Blackout of 1989
  • Chapter 12: Two in the Box
  • Chapter 14: A Tub Full of Slime
  • Chapter 15: Peter's Place
    • Mentioned by Peter Venkman.
  • Chapter 16: Vigo 101
    • Mentioned by Peter Venkman and Dana Barrett.
  • Chapter 28: World is Safe Again

Expanded Universe

• Ghostbusters II
  • Deleted Scenes
    • This Is Hard for Me
    • He's Asleep

Secondary Canon Appearances

• IDW Comics
  • Ongoing Series
    • Volume 2
      • Issue #1

Gallery

Primary Canon Images

Exterior

Complex address on canopy

Neighboring building of complex

Hallway outside Dana's

Dana's front door

Dana's front door

Dana's living room

Dana's living room

Dana's living room

Dana's kitchen from front door

Dana's kitchen

Dana's dining area

Oscar's room

Oscar's room

Dana's bathroom

Secondary Canon Images

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1

Entrance

Interior of a unit

Behind the Scenes Images

ILM concept of Janosz in hall scene (Credit: Heritage Auctions)

Storyboard (Credit: William Forsche and Spook Central)

Storyboard (Credit: William Forsche and Spook Central)

Storyboard (Credit: William Forsche and Spook Central)

Storyboard (Credit: William Forsche and Spook Central)

Storyboard (Credit: William Forsche and Spook Central)

Storyboard (Credit: William Forsche and Spook Central)

Storyboard (Credit: William Forsche and Spook Central)

Michael Gross and friend Louisa Grassi Kaestle behind the scenes on the Upper East Side during filming of apartment exterior scene (Credit: Michael Gross)