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In Short Stuff, the Ghostmaster General, tired of the Ghostbusters' constant interference, sends three ghostly bounty hunters to eliminate the heroes at the Firehouse. In the ensuing battle, the Ghostbusters are reduced to six inches in height![2]

Cast[]

Three Legged Hopper

Winston Zeddemore

Peter Venkman

Ray Stantz

Egon Spengler

Slimer

Ghostmaster

Ghostmaster's minions

Dark

Animax

Mist Crawler

Janine Melnitz

Jecky

Jecky's Mom

Environmental[]

Magic Bubbles

Equipment[]

Proton Pack

Particle Thrower

Ecto-1

Trap

Book of Annoying Beings

Punk Cinema

Firehouse Security System

Radio

Big Red Book of Ancient Spells

Items[]

Yuppie Water

Locations[]

Netherworld

Firehouse

Yuppie Water Plant

Plot[]

In a run down part of the city, Winston chased after a ghost. It hopped out a window only to get blasted by Peter. Ray fired another stream at the ghost. Slimer handed a Ghost Trap to Egon and he trapped the ghost. Peter cheered this latest capture but Ray wasn't as enthusiastic. On the way back to headquarters, the guys asked Ray why he was so bummed out. Ray declared he wanted it to be like the good old days when they faced off of major manifestations like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and the Sandman. Somewhere in the Netherworld, the Ghostmaster became aggravated. He ordered his minions to get him the "Book of Annoying Beings." He noticed there were only two ghosts serving him and asked where the rest of them were. Ghostmaster realized the Ghostbusters captured them all. He vowed to take care of them once and for all and summoned his three best bounty hunters to bring them in alive. Ghostmaster promised a reward for whoever brought him the Ghostbusters and severe punishment for the other two then sent them through a portal.

At the Firehouse, Ray is still bummed while everyone ate. Egon tried to console Ray but down below, a portal opened and Animax came through, demolishing Janine's desk. The guys raced down and inspected the remains of the desk. Animax attacked and started spraying webbing on Ray then Peter. Slimer flew into action and slimed all of Animax's eyes. Winston grabbed a Ghost Trap from a locker and threw it in the ghost's direction. Just as Animax got his eyesight back, he swallowed the trap. Winston opened the trap and captured it. As Peter peeled the webbing off, Egon noted this was an ambush.

Soon after, as the guys drove in the city, Mist Crawler morphed into a brick wall and caught them offguard. Mist Crawler then started launching P.K.E. blasts at them. The Ghostbusters tried to return fire but the Proton Streams deflected off of the ghost. It vanished into the sewers then resurfaced behind the Ghostbusters. Mist Crawler stripped the packs off them! They quickly ran into Ecto-1 but Mist Crawler flew under the hood and immobilized the car. The guys ran into a nearby building and settled in a room. As Mist Crawler entered through the mail slot, Egon opened the trap he managed to take along with him and captured the ghost. As a city worker looked at a jacket, the third ghost Dark came through a portal. It looked at a stack of Punk Cinema magazines and took the form of the figure on the cover. At the Firehouse, the Ghostbusters finished setting up an ad hoc security system.

Dark walked up to the Firehouse entrance and looked up at the camera. It remotely hypnotized Janine and had her turn off the security system. Dark entered and made Janine fall asleep. Nurgot cast shrinking spells at the Ghostbusters while being protected by a magic bubble floating around him. Dark eventually shrank the guys and trapped them in the bubble. After Slimer woke up Janine and updated her on what was going on, he flew after Dark. At the last minute, Slimer bumped Dark into the portal which knocked the bubble out of its hand. The bubble shattered and the guys were safe. The Ghostmaster was angered by Dark's incompetence and sent it back to finish the job. Slimer flew the guys to a roof where Egon instructed him to tell Janine to find a counter spell in the Big Red Book of Ancient Spells.

The Ghostbusters, meanwhile, had to distract Dark long enough for Janine to find a spell. They walked across a clothesline but a crow went after them. The guys narrowly dodged the bird and entered a ventilation system. Dark followed them into a building that turned out to be a bottling plant. He turned up the ventilation and the guys were blown onto the conveyor belt where they ended up in a bottle of Yuppie Water. At the Firehouse, Janine was unable to find a spell and elected to try them all out. The guys were loaded up on a delivery truck and were in danger of drowning. Egon instructed them to shake around then shoot at the cap. The pressure from the carbonation helped free them and they were launched onto a car. The driver assumed they were bugs and activated her windshield wipers. They ended up in a car and asked a boy for his help. The boy agreed and lent them a balloon. They floated out of his bedroom just as Dark caught up to them. Janine's spells began turning Slimer various colors and patterns - maroon, blue, purple, rainbow, striped, and split into three Slimer's.

Ray shot the balloon and the Ghostbusters drifted down to the Firehouse. Janine spotted them in the window sill and they tried to find the spell. Instead, the Firehouse changed colors and patterns, Peter turned rat-like, and Ray cast a light show. Dark noticed and headed for the Firehouse. Ray cast a restoration spell that bound Slimer into one and turned Peter back. Luckily, the spell also made Slimer grow progressively bigger. He smothered Dark and broke its concentration. Ray and Egon found the right spell and the guys returned back to normal. They confined Dark and trapped it. As they relaxed in the rec room, the Ghostmaster appeared on their television and swore revenge. Ghostmaster vanished and the television melted. Only Ray was utterly excited.

Trivia[]

  • The episode was recorded on July 18, 1988.[3]
  • Ray refers to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Sandman when telling the other Ghostbusters how bored he is that they haven't encountered a major manifestation for some time.[4]
  • There is a production tape (Production #175006, 10/18/1988) version of this episode which contains the animation and voice track, but no music or sound effects[5] Multimedia samples can be found on Spook Central's Alternate Episodes page.
  • The ghost captured in the beginning of the episode appears in the end credits of Extreme Ghostbusters.
  • While there is a standard title screen in this episode, there is an additional "story by" credit at the beginning of the episode itself.
  • This marks the first (of three) appearances of the Ghostmaster. He will later make a cameo appearance in "Jailbusters" and make his final appearance in "Revenge of the Ghostmaster."
  • The Ghostmaster was originally created to be the series' main villain, [citation needed] as he vowed revenge to the Ghostbuster at the end of the episode, however this episode, his cameo in "Jailbusters", and "Revenge of the Ghostmaster" would be the only three appearances of him.

Animation Errors[]

  • At the 03:24 mark, the page in the Book of Annoying Beings misspells Winston's last name as "Zedmore" instead of "Zeddemore."

References[]

  1. Marsha Goodman (1988). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Short Stuff" (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 - "Short Stuff" (1988).
  4. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Short Stuff" (1988) (DVD ts. 02:20-02:24). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Remember the good old days? Stay Puft. The Sandman."
  5. Spook Central - Short Stuff

Gallery[]

Episode Screen Caps[]

Collages and Edits[]

RGB DVD Boxset Features[]

 
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