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In Guess What's Coming to Dinner, while the Ghostbusters are on vacation, a grotesque ghost family moves into the Firehouse. The guys return to find their home redecorated, all of their equipment thrown away, and the Containment Unit damaged![2]

Cast[]

Realtor Ghost

Foul Grungie

Pig Grungie

Bug Grungie

Smelly Grungie

Yuck

Egon Spengler

Ray Stantz

Peter Venkman

Winston Zeddemore

Slimer

Containment Unit Escapees

Mean Green Teen Machine

Animax

Destricon and Lucifus

Gorgar

Demon Warriors

Nether Entities

Vampiric Alien Ghost

Equipment[]

Proton Pack

Particle Thrower

Trap

Ecto-1

Containment Unit

P.K.E. Meter

Radio

Dimensional Inverter

Items[]

Bug's Stereo

Locations[]

Firehouse

Larry's Uniform Shop

Plot[]

The phone rang in the Firehouse but no one answered it. An answering machine came on and a recording made by Ray played. It revealed the Ghostbusters were on vacation and wouldn't be back until June 5. A Realtor Ghost entered the Firehouse and showed a ghost family around. The children, Bug and Smelly, ran up to the bedroom and messed around. The family pet, Yuck, ate someone's belongings. The parents, Foul and Pig, continued to look around with the realtor. Foul was hesitant to go through with the deal as the place needed a lot of work. Pig was really excited and the deal was made. Foul already began to regret it. They began clearing the Firehouse of all the junk lying around - inventions, Ghost Traps, and Proton Packs. They mistook the packs for "Leaf Blowers." Foul decided to keep one of the six packs to use to clean up after Yuck. Ecto-1 was bound for the Firehouse and everyone looked ready to be back.

Winston hit the garage door opener but it didn't work. He just changed the batteries. The sign was missing, too. The locks were changed, even! Winston asked Slimer to take a look inside. Just as soon as he went in, Slimer flew back out in a panic. There were ghosts inside. Foul answered the door and the Ghostbusters barged in. They were shocked to see the first floor totally "redecorated." The two sides started to argue about who owned the place. Foul lost his patience and ordered Yuck to take care of them. Yuck came out of a locker and grew in size. The Ghostbusters were thrown out. Ray suggested they go and find their Proton Packs. At the city dump, two packs and three Ghost Traps were found. Slimer emerged from a pile with a collection of what he thought was neat stuff. No one agreed with him.

Back at the Firehouse, Smelly wanted to play some of her music and Bug volunteered to get to work on the player. On the basement, Pig noticed the Containment Unit and thought it was a washing machine. She flew to it but was frightened after she looked in the port hole. Foul didn't understand and looked for himself. He saw ghosts inside and thought they were squatters. Foul opened the trap grid but too much ghosts poured out. As Ecto-1 approached the Firehouse, Egon detected a strong ectoplasmic surge. Foul kicked the trap grid closed and went to go get his Proton Pack. Egon advised the top priority was getting inside and securing the Containment Unit. The P.K.E. leakage made it a time bomb. Winston suggested they get out of their rather recognizable uniforms first. The guys emerged from Larry's Uniform Shop in new duds. Ray and Egon were dressed as utility workers, Winston as a fireman, and Peter as a safari guide. Peter pointed out they still had to breach the energy field. Slimer was elected to do it. Slimer sneaked in and had a growling match with Yuck. Slimer grabbed a mirror and scared Yuck off with his own reflection.

Slimer flew down to the basement and was alarmed by the status of the Containment Unit. He flew back outside and apprised the guys of the bad news. They had one hour, 14 minutes, and 37 seconds to restore power before the unit blew up and took most of New York City with it. Peter suggested they all go back on vacation. Egon and Ray decided to literally walk into the Firehouse. They strode past all the escaped ghosts and knocked on the door, posing as workers from the gas company. Smelly answered and let them in when they revealed the place was going to blow up. She asked if they could make her brother's room blow up first. Egon and Ray sequestered themselves in the basement. Egon worked on the manual system while Ray started on the back up system. Smelly and Bug jammed to music in Egon's lab but it only accelerated the plasma dynamic buildup. Peter, Winston, and Slimer had to find another way in and help out.

Egon and Ray were tied up by Foul and Pig. They didn't believe Egon's warning. All of a sudden, the room experienced zero gravity and everyone floated up. Peter, Winston, and Slimer slugged through the sewers. Egon revealed they only had nine minutes. Peter, Winston, and Slimer stopped at a wall. Peter was positive the basement was on the others side. Alligator ghosts attacked them. Peter instructed Winston to shoot into the water and super heat it. The ghosts retreated. There was six minutes left. One last ghost startled Peter and he shot the ceiling. The hole revealed the basement. They climbed up into the basement and also levitated due to the conditions. Less than two minutes were left. Smelly finally thought things were getting out of hand and wanted the music turned off. Bug went to do it but was caught in a power surge. Smelly ran down to the basement and asked her parents for help. Ray and Winston started the reset sequence while Slimer, Peter, and Egon left to help the Grungie family.

Slimer tackled Foul and stopped him from touching Bug. Egon warned everyone not to do anything while he handled the situation. He pulled out the plug and Bug returned to normal. Downstairs, Ray and Winston managed to successfully reset the Containment Unit. Foul told the Ghostbusters they could keep the Firehouse, there was no peace and quiet anyway. Pig made Foul apologize to them. Foul complied but felt terrible. Pig then made Bug thank them for saving him. Bug complied and felt awful, too. The Grungie family left on their rental and it flew off. Peter again suggested another vacation. The guys looked inside at the mess and all agreed to go back on vacation.

Quotes[]

Ray [answering machine message]: Hello. We're on vacation til June 5th. But we'll be back then to serve all your vera-elemental eliminator needs. Just leave your name and number at the sound of the beep.

Trivia[]

  • The episode was recorded on May 30 and 31, 1990.[3]
  • Frank Welker recorded alone on May 31, 1990.[4]
  • Dave Coulier recorded alone on May 31, 1990.[5]
  • According to their answering machine, the Ghostbusters returned to the Firehouse on June 5.[6]
  • The appearance of the Grungy family are a reference to the Simpson family from "The Simpsons", while their names reference the Bundy family from "Married with Children" - Foul = Al, Pig = Peg, Bug = Bud, Smelly = Kelly, Yuck = Buck (the Bundy's dog).
  • Bug Grungy puts up a poster for The Ungrateful Living. They are a reference to The Grateful Dead, an American rock band.
  • Some the ghosts that are released from the Containment Unit are from previous episodes of season six: the Mean Green Teen Machine from "Mean Green Teen Machine", the alien Class 7 from "Spacebusters" and Count Von Blukenporken's bat minions Destricon and Lucifus from "My Left Fang".
  • When the ghosts are released from the Containment Unit, a recycled scene, of ghosts chasing a child, from "Slimer, Is That You?" is used.
  • Gorgar is seen as one of the ghosts released, when he went back to his own world in "You Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks."
  • At least one ghost escaping the Containment Unit isn't from season 6. Animax, one of the ghostly bounty hunters from the season 4 episode "Short Stuff," can be seen briefly when Foul Grungy attacks the escaped ghosts with a Proton Pack. Oddly, Animax is now colored green.
  • The Grungy family lives in a Boo Haul rental. This is a play on U-Haul, a moving and storage rental company.
  • Janine doesn't appear in this episode.

Animation Errors[]

  • When the Ghostbusters return to the Firehouse, the sign can be seen briefly before Ray points out it is missing.
  • Peter is seen in his uniform by mistake at the 16:48 mark.
  • The No Ghost logo on the front page of Ray's Containment Unit manual has the red and white colors swapped.
  • When Bug is caught in the power surge and Egon says, "Slimer, stop him!", Egon's glasses are sunglasses.

References[]

  1. Marsha Goodman (1990). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" (1990).
  2. Eatock, James & Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 37. CPT Holdings, Inc.
  3. Marsha Goodman (1990). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" (1990).
  4. Marsha Goodman (1990). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" (1990).
  5. Marsha Goodman (1990). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" (1990).
  6. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" (1990) (DVD ts. 01:17-01:20). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Hello. We're on vacation til June 5th."

Gallery[]

Episode Screen Caps[]

Collages and Edits[]


RGB DVD Boxset Features[]


 
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