Ghostbusters Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Ghostbusters Wiki


In The Magnificent Five, Black Bart, a villainous cowboy-ghost from the Spirit World, takes over a Texas town, planning to drain its underground spectral energy well of a power source that will turn him into a full-fledged demon![2]

Cast[]

Black Bart

Black Bart's Gang

Red

Mayor of Spittoon

Duane and Wendal

Egon Spengler

Ray Stantz

Peter Venkman

Winston Zeddemore

Slimer

Airport Roamer

Black Bart's Train

Wild West Tours Driver

Equipment[]

Ecto-1

Proton Pack

Particle Thrower

P.K.E. Meter

Washtub Focuser

Ecto Goggles

Modified Hard Hats

Spectral Glove

Trap

Items[]

Spectral Well

Locations[]

Spittoon

Firehouse

Plot[]

A storm rapidly approached Spittoon, a Texan town that looked like it came right out of a Wild West movie. Several ghosts mounted on monsters manifested. The townspeople fled indoors and hid from Black Bart. Bart conjured P.K.E. in the form of fireballs and threw them around. He declared Spittoon was his and he would return on Saturday at noon. By then the townspeople will have cleared out or else. Bart and his gang rode away and vanished. At a town meeting, a barber named Red tried to convince everyone they had to resist because they worked so hard on the gold mine but no one wanted to stand up to Black Bart. The Mayor hurried in and offered a reward to anyone who would get rid of Bart. A pair of volunteers finally came forth and boasted a full proof plan. The Mayor wasn't too pleased it was Duane and Wendal, a pair of goofs. Outside, Duane presented his plan to Wendal: hire the Ghostbusters.

Ecto-1 pulled up to an airport and the guys ran in. A ghost was at baggage claim terrorizing patrons. The ghost wheeled a baggage cart at them and Egon was carried off. They opened fire but the ghost dodged the streams and possessed a model airplane. It crashed the plane and taunted the guys. Just as Peter was about to fire on it, Duane and Wendal stepped right in front of him. The ghost flew outside and vacated the airport. Aced out of another paycheck, the guys glumly filed back into Ecto-1. Duane and Wendal approached the car. Peter wanted to leave but Ray wanted to hear them out. They pitched a big job but Peter wasn't interested... until Duane mentioned gold.

Back at the Firehouse, the guys and their new clients spoke over pizza. Duane and Wendal explained a ghost named Black Bart was after their town's gold mine. Peter heard enough and was ready to leave for Spittoon. In Spittoon, the ghosts arrived and Black Bart attempted to drain energy from the Spectral Well. However, the well went inert. Around the corner, Ecto-1 approached. Black Bart wasted no time and nailed Ecto-1. The Ghostbusters opened fire but the force of the spectral well deflected the Proton Streams. The guys retreated into a bar. Egon improvised and raised up a washtub. After Black Bart blasted it, Egon instructed everyone to aim their throwers through the tub. They scored a direct hit on the ghosts but the streams were too weak to confine. The ghosts escaped and Black Bart vowed he would return for a final showdown.

The townspeople came out of hiding and berated Duane and Wendal for bringing in outsiders. Wendal iterated they busted ghosts and worked for cheap. Egon brought out a pair of Ecto Goggles and added on new fiber optic force field lens to help figure out what Bart was interested in. Egon pointed out something was under the town. The townspeople became uneasy since the mine ran right through the street. Egon became insulted and declared the Ghostbusters weren't after the gold. Neither was Bart. He was after something that could make him invulnerable. The Ghostbusters and Slimer headed into the gold mine with special equipment designed to get a spectra-source reading. Slimer played around with a pick axe but woke up several bats. Slimer was knocked onto the rail cart and was taken further down the track. He came upon the spectral well and its power surge made Slimer feel strong before the guys caught up. It turned out humans weakened the spectral surge. While Ray, Egon, and Winston worked on Ecto-1, Peter and Slimer trained the townspeople in the art of ghostbusting. It was going to take some effort. Eventually, they overcame their fear of ghosts and earned the right to be deputy Ghostbusters.

A train track and Ghost Train rode up onto Spittoon. Black Bart and his gang emerged from the train. The townspeople backed up the Ghostbusters and stood up to Black Bart. Bart sent out a volley and summoned more of his gang. Bart absorbed the energy of the Spectral Well and transformed into a demon. Luckily, a Wild West Tours bus stopped over at Spittoon for directions. The tourists assumed it was a stunt show and gathered around. Bart lost his power. Peter manned Ecto-1's Proton Cannon and blasted Black Bart. Egon and Ray lassoed out some Ghost Traps and captured the ghosts. The townspeople cheered and the Mayor thanked the Ghostbusters. Going on Egon's earlier statement, the Mayor awarded the guys with genuine cowboy hats instead of gold. On the way out of town, Ray enjoyed his new hat while Peter sadly thought about things that were gold.

Quotes[]

Egon: And this community is of inadequate size for our combined factions, I plumb recon.

Ray: What he means is, this town isn't big enough for the both of us.

Peter: [imitating John Wayne] Well, what are we waiting for, pilgrims? Let's saddle up, and head 'em out.

Trivia[]

  • The episode was recorded on May 31 and June 6, 1990.[3]
  • The title of this episode is a reference to "The Magnificent Seven" (Ray even mentions this western film near the end of the episode).[4]
  • Duane points out the Ghostbusters in an article from Rolling Rock magazine. The title font alludes to the magazine being a stand-in of Rolling Stone.
  • The photograph of the Ghostbusters and Slimer utilizes their model sheet poses.
  • Duane refers to New York City by one of its nicknames, Fun City.[5]
  • Peter references John Wayne through his use of 'pilgrim' in his lines at the Firehouse.[6]
  • Ray references Gary Cooper and a movie he acted in a 1952 movie, "High Noon."[7]
  • Peter hates bats.[8]
  • Marshal Peter and Deputy Slimer's training regime, 'Simulation Fright Training,' is a play on Simulation Flight Training.[9]
  • Ray quotes a classic cowboy cliche, "This town ain't big enough for the both of us" from "The Western Code."[10]
  • Black Bart tells his gang to send the Ghostbusters to Boot Hill, a common name for graveyards of cowboys or others who died violently in the Wild West era.[11] Boot Hill Cemetery made an appearance earlier in the series in "Ghost Fight at the O.K. Corral"
  • The design of Black Bart's demon form is recycled from the design of the airport ghost seen earlier in the episode.
  • Janine doesn't appear in this episode.
  • On page 9 of Ghostbusters Annual 2018, in panel 5, by the Hohman's Black Low-Rise is the washtub used in "The Magnificent Five".
  • On page 18 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4, in panel 1, on the far top left monitor screen is the P.K.E. Meter screen during the Spectral Well discovery.

Animation Errors[]

References[]

  1. Marsha Goodman (1990). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "The Magnificent Five" (1990).
  2. Eatock, James & Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 40. CPT Holdings, Inc.
  3. Marsha Goodman (1990). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "The Magnificent Five" (1990).
  4. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 17:19-17:21). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Just like in "The Magnificent Seven"!"
  5. Duane and Wendal (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 05:01-05:05). Time Life Entertainment. Duane says: "Here we be, Wendal, Fun City."
  6. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 07:25-07:31). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Well, what are we waiting for, Pilgrims? Let's saddle up and head 'em out!"
  7. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 13:07-13:11). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "This time we'll be ready for him like Gary Cooper in "High Noon"!"
  8. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 14:37-14:38). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "I hate bats!"
  9. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 16:00-16:03). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Slimer, take them through Simulation Fright Training."
  10. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 18:32-18:36). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "What he means is this town ain't big enough for the both of us just like in --"
  11. Black Bart (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- "The Magnificent Five" (1990) (DVD ts. 19:31-19:33). Time Life Entertainment. Black Bart says: "Send them to Boot Hill, boys."

Gallery[]

Episode Screen Caps[]

Collages and Edits[]


RGB DVD Boxset Features[]

Secondary Canon[]

 
Previous Episode Based on Next Episode
Busters in Toyland Air Date The Treasure of Sierra Tamale
Stay Tooned DVD Order Deja Boo
Advertisement