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In Follow That Hearse, at an Eastside wrecking yard a pit of toxic liquid waste has an evil effect on a long dormant Indian earth spirit. When polluted, the once benign spirit rises from its sacred resting grounds and takes possession of Ecto-1, causing the hearse to come alive![2]

Cast[]

Mr. Dunbar

Indian Earth Spirit

Winston Zeddemore

Slimer

Egon Spengler

Peter Venkman

Ray Stantz

Janine Melnitz

Equipment[]

Ecto-1

Proton Pack

Particle Thrower

P.K.E. Meter

Trap

Tobin's Spirit Guide

Janine's Car

Radio

Locations[]

Eastside Auto Salvage Yard

Firehouse

Plot[]

During a late night lightning storm, a worker driving a fork lift readied the last load of barrels. The boss, Mr. Dunbar, approved and instructed the worker he wanted to close up before the raining started. The worker dumped the barrels' contents, toxic waste, into a pit. Overcome by the smell, the worker is utterly terrified when something emerged from the pit. At the Firehouse, Winston readied Ecto-1 for a classic car show. Slimer played with the steering wheel with a lollipop in hand. After Winston warned Slimer not to have any food in Ecto, Slimer accidentally stuck the lollipop onto the driver's seat. As Winston finished waxing the hood, Slimer frantically tried to pull the lollipop away but bounced around, got Winston all wet, and splattered on the front driver's door. Luckily, the alarm rang. The Ghostbusters were called to a dump to stop a very angry ghost.

Just as the guys were about to enter Ecto-1, Winston noted he just cleaned the carpets and asked everyone to check their boots. The others teased Winston by confirming their boots were definitely on their feet. Winston then warned them not to get any fingerprints on the windows. At the Eastside Auto Salvage Yard, the Ghostbusters listened to the worker's story. As the Ghostbusters performed a sweep of the yard, Ray remembered the Manhattan Indians used to live in the area. Egon got an unusually high reading off some ectoslime and traced the ghost to a pile of cars. Slimer was given the P.K.E. Meter to take to the top of the pile and confirm the readings. Slimer was naturally nervous and freaked out when the ghost made itself known.

The Ghostbusters opened fire on the ghost while Slimer hid in one of Peter's boots. They chased it across the yard but it got away. The guys narrowly dodged falling cars. While they were distracted, the ghost flew up Ecto-1's exhaust pipe. Suddenly, lightning struck Ecto-1 and the ghost vanished. Egon decided to call off the search because the air was too ionized to get a reading. After Winston started up Ecto, it was a bit rough. At the Firehouse, Winston finished cleaning up and working on Ecto-1 and was confident it would win first place at the show the next day. Slimer was eager to play some catch and went looking for Winston. He saw his reflection in Ecto-1 and saw the ghost. Slimer flipped out and grabbed Winston. However, Winston didn't see the ghost. But he was alarmed when Ecto-1 was turned around somehow. The others denied playing a prank on Winston, the garage bay was too narrow anyway. When Winston turned around, Ecto-1 was back in the same way he left it. The alarm rang again and the guys departed.

Ecto-1 was driving rough again then stopped by itself in the middle of the street. It took off and the brakes stopped working! Ecto-1 came alive and tossed everyone out. Egon noted it was some sort of possession and the guys prepared to open fire. Winston stopped them and tried to talk down Ecto. However, the hood grabbed Winston and Ecto took off with him. The others followed a trail of Winston's clothes and equipment into an alley. They observed Ecto "eating" and thought Winston was a goner. Winston peeked up from a sewer manhole with only his boxers on. Ray and Egon resigned to the fact they couldn't let Ecto-1 roam around and they would have to neutralize it. They opened fire but Ecto-1 protected itself with an electrical force field. The guys retreated into a narrow alley but Ecto-1 forced its way through.

Back at the Firehouse, Ray ran a search on Janine's computer. He showed everyone a file on an earth spirit connected to the Manhattan Indians he mentioned at the salvage yard. Egon realized the toxic waste mutated the spirit. Prepared to head out again, the Ghostbusters borrowed Janine's car. Naturally, Janine was worried about her car. Winston announced they needed to lure Ecto-1 back to the yard near a giant crane. Soon enough, Ecto-1 chased after them. Winston shot down the yard's fence as the cars arrived. Winston climbed up to the crane and turned it on. Peter was dropped off and went into position on a pile of cars. Ray, Egon, and Slimer then lured Ecto-1 back to the crane. Winston switched on the crane's magnet and immobilized Ecto-1. The magnet disrupted Ecto's electrical field and rendered the ghost vulnerable. Everyone opened fire and wrangled the ghost out. As Egon got a Ghost Trap out, Winston realized the ghost returned to its original form. Winston called off the trap and had everyone release the ghost from the streams. The ghost thanked them and vanished. The next day, the Ghostbusters and Slimer drove back to headquarters with a first place trophy. Winston revealed there was another car show in New Jersey next month and planned on winning that one, too, much to everyone's dismay.

Trivia[]

  • The episode was recorded on August 3 and 9, 1988.[3]
  • Dave Coulier recorded alone on August 9, 1988.[4]
  • The Ghostbusters end up using Janine's car once again in this episode.
  • This marks the second time the Ecto-1 is possessed by a ghost. The first time was in the episode "Killerwatt".
  • Winston's lines in the conclusion of the bust with the earth spirit is a veiled public service announcement about pollution. The whole episode can be seen as such because it is said earlier in the episode that the earth spirit was mutated by toxic waste dumpings.
  • In Extreme Ghostbusters, "Darkness at Noon, Part 1", during the Paranormal Phenomena 101 class, Roland Jackson mentions seeing Ecto-1 at a car show when he was younger. This might reference the events of this episode.

References[]

  1. Marsha Goodman (1988). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Follow That Hearse" (1988).
  2. Eatock, James & Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 31. CPT Holdings, Inc.
  3. Marsha Goodman (1988). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Follow That Hearse" (1988).
  4. Marsha Goodman (1988). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Follow That Hearse" (1988).

Gallery[]

Episode Screen Caps[]

Collages and Edits[]

RGB DVD Boxset Features[]

Behind the Scenes Images[]

 
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