Ghostbusters II (Chapter 06): Late-Night Excavation

Late-Night Excavation
Type:	Scene
From:	Ghostbusters II
Character(s):	Egon Spengler First Cop Ray Stantz Peter Venkman
Run time:	01:34 (20:59 to 22:33)

Late-Night Excavation is the sixth chapter on the DVD of Ghostbusters II. This chapter shows the Ghostbusters digging a hole on First Avenue to get closer readings.

Cast

• Egon Spengler
• First Cop
• Ray Stantz
• Peter Venkman

Equipment

• Giga meter

Locations

• First Avenue
• Libby's Coffee Shop

Plot

Many hours later, now well into the evening, at the same spot on First Avenue, Egon Spengler was dressed like a road worker and used a jackhammer. A police squad car braked near him. The First Cop yelled "Hey!" from his seat to get Egon's attention then asked him how he was doing. Egon asked the officer if he was talking to him. He was. Egon improvised and told him it was cutting fine. The officer asked him why he was cutting. Peter and Ray exited Libby's Coffee Shop and exchanged looks. Egon repeated his question. The officer was waiting for an answer. Egon called out to the "boss" and gestured at them to come over. They walked back over to Egon. Peter spoke in a thick stereotypical accent of a blue collar man. Peter asked Egon who told him to stop cutting. The officer repeated himself again. Peter turned to the First Cop and played along, asking him if he told Egon to stop cutting. The officer confirmed that and repeated himself. Peter stalled with rhetoricals and pointed out they let the police work. Ray emulated Peter's blue collar impression. Ray explained they were working overtime because "some diaper bag downtown" was being a jerk and making them work on a Friday night. Peter agreed. He asked Egon. Egon shouted, "Yo!" They all giggled. The officer capitulated and told them to take it easy. The squad car drove away. Ray asked Egon what he had been doing. Egon was incensed and pointed out that while they were getting coffee for an hour, he dug a big hole in the middle of the street. Ray looked down the hole in amazement and gathered Egon uncovered an old air shaft that went on and on. Egon took readings with the Giga Meter while Ray aimed his flashlight down the hole. Egon remarked it was very intense and suggested they get a deeper reading. Ray agreed. They stood back up. Egon noted someone had to go down there. Ray agreed. Ray looked up and realized Peter and Egon were staring at him.

Trivia

Ghostbusters II Trivia

• In the August 5, 1988 draft:
  • On page 27, Ray uses a jack hammer to make a big hole. The First Cop appears in similar fashion as in the movie.
  • On page 28, Peter's 'working late on a Friday night' because of a douchebag downtown and Egon's 'Yo!' lines appear.
  • On page 29, Egon comes out of the coffee shop.
  • On page 29 to 30, they lower the Giga meter down the hole then retrieve it to find it half-melted. The police and Con Edison Supervisor arrive. They are all arrested and handcuffed.
• In the September 29, 1988 draft:
  • Most of the August 5 draft is preserved with a minor difference and Ray's exploration underground is added in.
  • On page 24, Peter leaves a coffee shop with drinks.
  • On page 25, Peter quickly nominates Ray to go down the hole. Egon seconds it. Peter and Egon both say "aye."
    • In the movie, Ray is silent after he realizes he was voted.
• In the November 27, 1988 and February 27, 1989 drafts:
  • On page 29, Ray and Peter talk as they leave the coffee shop. They agree they have to keep the investigation low key.
  • On page 30, Egon complains they were suppose to help. Peter jokes he needed the exercise. Ray tells the First Cop it's cutting fine.
    • In the February 27, 1989 Draft, Egon tells the cop it's cutting fine.
    • In the movie, Egon tells the cop it's cutting fine. He doesn't gripe to Peter and Ray until after the cops leave that he was digging a big hole while they were getting coffee for an hour.
  • On page 31, Peter tells the cop they're working late on a Friday night because of some douchebag downtown. Egon hits an ornate iron manhole cover labeled "NYPRR." Peter nominates Ray.
    • In the movie, Ray instead says it is "some diaper back downtown is being a jerk" making them work on a Friday night.
  • On page 32, Egon seconds it. Peter and Ray both say "aye." Ray sarcastically replies, "Thanks, boys."
    • In the movie, Ray is silent after he realizes he was started at by both of them and thus, voted to go down.
• The digging scenes on First Avenue were filmed on a similar street in Los Angeles at the intersection of East 8th Street & South Los Angeles Street.
• Filming the scene did not go well. Generator fuses blew, the crew got cranky, and Ivan Reitman thought the pacing was ruined by the police car driving away too slowly.
• A follow up from the first movie, instead of Peter like in the New York City Public Library, in in Chapter 3: "Get Her!", Ray is silently voted as the volunteer after he asks who will go down the shaft.
• The part where Ray realizes he was voted to go down the hole took at least 8 takes.
• In Chapter 10: Their Day in Court, The Prosecutor and Peter mention First Avenue and the hole dug in Chapter 6.

IDW Comics Trivia

• In Ghostbusters Volume 2 #1:
  • On Page 10, one of the cops from the First Avenue is present.
• In Ghostbusters Volume 2 #10:
  • On Page 9, on the pole by Winston is a No Bozo sticker.
• In Ghostbusters Volume 2 #15:
  • On Page 19, Peter appears to allude to the first time the guys tried to hide the fact they were investigating something for Dana in Ghostbusters II.
• In Ghostbusters Annual 2015:
  • On Page 3, the construction gear exactly worn by the Ghostbusters is part of what Peter, Ray, and Egon wore in Ghostbusters II when they dug up First Avenue. Peter had an orange vest with two white vertical lines and helmet with the No Bozo sticker on the side. Ray had an orange vest and helmet with a mounted search light. Egon had an orange vest with two vertical lines and helmet with a black label on the front.
• In Ghostbusters International #4:
  • On Page 16, in panel 4, the poster on the right is 'No Bozos' from Peter's construction helmet.
• In Ghostbusters Annual 2017:
  • On Page 8, in panel 2, Winston alludes to First Avenue and its appearance in Ghostbusters II.
  • On Page 9, in panel 3, the officer on the right is the first cop who questioned the digging of First Avenue in Ghostbusters II.
• In Ghostbusters Annual 2018:
  • On Page 3, Peter, Ray, and Egon are in their construction outfits.
• In Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary: Ghostbusters:
  • On Page 5, panel 2, the No Bozo sticker from Peter's construction helmet is on the black device right of the slime jar.
• In Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary: Ghostbusters:
  • On Page 8, at the entrance of Penn Station is a Libby's Coffee Shop, seen when the hole in First Avenue is made.

Tertiary Canon Trivia

• On page 10 of Egon's Journal, a supplement of the Hasbro Haslab Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler's Proton Pack, there is a reference to Chapter 6: Late-Night Excavation:
  • Drilling through the street.
• In Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, as of April 20, 2023, the Sewer Explorer Suit's summary in Character Customization references the "somebody's gotta go down there" exchange.
• In Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, one of Ronald Petnick's lines in the San Francisco Wastewater Treatment Facility has mention of when Egon, Peter, and Ray dug up First Avenue.

See Also

• Deleted Scene: We Should Get a Deeper Reading

Gallery

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