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In The Boogieman Cometh, two children turn up at the Firehouse claiming that the Boogieman is living in their closet, leading the skeptical Ghostbusters on a mission to bedroom closets throughout New York, and finally into the twisted world of the Boogieman himself![2]

Cast[]

Louie the Gangster

Egon Spengler

Peter Venkman

Winston Zeddemore

Ray Stantz

Janine Melnitz

Slimer

The Carter Kids

Boogieman

Mr. and Mrs. Carter

Equipment[]

Ecto-1

Proton Pack

Particle Thrower

Trap

P.K.E. Meter

Ghost Bomb

Tobin's Spirit Guide

Locations[]

Firehouse

Boogieman's Domain

Hollywood

Plot[]

The Ghostbusters chased after Louie, a ghost of a gangster. Louie failed to scare them off and they trapped him easily. Back at the Firehouse, Peter was annoyed by Slimer and threatened him with a prototype device called the Ghost Bomb. It had the power to disintegrate all spirits in a 50 yard radius. It was unfinished because Egon couldn't find a sufficient way to provide it power.

The Ghostbusters found themselves with two walk-in clients named Megan and Kenny Carter. The brother and sister wanted to hire them. They were at a loss when it was revealed the standard fee was $1500. Egon became oddly interested when the Boogieman was mentioned and took the case for free. In the Carter's bedroom, Egon picked up high paranormal activity in their closet. At midnight, the Boogieman emerged from the closet! The Ghostbusters were forced to go full stream and forced it back in. Mr. and Mrs. Carter checked what is going on and didn't seem to believe the Ghostbusters' claim of a Class 7 Repeating Corporeal Entity in the closet.

The Ghostbusters regrouped at the Firehouse and did some research into the Boogieman. While it would be simple to readjust the P.K.E. Meter for the Boogieman's vibrations, not every closet was an open portal and the entity chose its victims. Ultimately, it's decided the Ghostbusters would lure the Boogieman into a trap. After renting a rather expensive apartment room, the team quickly converted it into a child's bedroom. Ray was chosen as the bait since he's voted the most childlike among the four. Sure enough the Boogieman arrived but he escaped the team again. They blasted the portal to keep it open and pursued the Boogieman, briefly in Hollywood. They chased the Boogieman through different children's closets. At first, the children were scared when they saw the Boogieman but became happy when they saw that the Ghostbusters were chasing after him. The children cheered the Ghostbusters on.

The Ghostbusters eventually arrived in the Boogieman's personal domain and found themselves in a dangerous situation. A hyper-spatial implosion could seal the Boogieman in his own domain but the Ghost Bomb was still lacking a power source. Egon hooked up the four Proton Packs to the Bomb and set them on overload. The Carter children stood up to the Boogieman and helped the Ghostbusters escape. The Ghost Bomb went off and imprisoned the Boogieman once and for all. Egon tucked the Carter children in and bid them good night. The next morning, the Ghostbusters thought that the Boogieman returned when something in the closet grabbed Peter's jumpsuit, but it was just Slimer pulling a prank. Peter wanted to blast Slimer only to be restrained by Egon, Ray, and Winston.

Quotes[]

Ray: "Ah, good evening. I'm Ray Stantz of the Ghostbusters. I'm sorry to have to tell you that you've got what seems to be a Class 7 repeating corporeal entity residing here. Or, in layman's terms, the Boogieman lives in your closet."
The Boogieman: "I'll be back."

Trivia[]

  • The episode was recorded on June 24, 1986.[3]
  • Just like the rest of the episodes of season 1, it uses a track from The Real Ghostbusters Soundtrack. This episode features the song "The Boogieman" in part of the episode.
  • There is a sequel to this episode "The Bogeyman Is Back" which features the return of the Boogieman.
  • This episode is one of seven episodes from the early seasons to be re-dubbed with Dave Coulier and Kath Soucie. It was rebroadcast as part of season four. The second version was not included on the DVD. Multimedia samples can be found on Spook Central's Alternate Episodes page.
  • Louie is based on characters played by the actor James Cagney.
  • Peter mentions their usual fee for standard capture and containment is $1500, much less than their $5000 charge for catching Slimer in the first movie.[4]
  • Egon revealed the Boogieman was the reason he started investigating the supernatural, in order to find a way to stop him.[5]
  • When sarcastically lamenting his move to New York, Peter refers to it by its nickname of "Fun City."[6]
  • When thinking of how to beat the Boogieman, Peter mentions the "Mountain to Mohammed" story, "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain."[7][8]
    • Mohammed once sought proof of his teachings by ordering a mountain to come to him. When it did not move, he maintained that God had been merciful, for if it had indeed moved they all would have been crushed by it.
  • The Dopey Dog stuffed animal is used in the episode as noted by Ray.[9]
    • However, it looks nothing like the character in "Who're You Calling Two-Dimensional?." It's possible Dopey Dog went through design revisions like animated characters such as Mickey Mouse.
  • As Peter jumps into the Boogieman's portal, he tells Egon, "See you on the other side, Egon." [10]
    • This is a quote from the first movie when the Ghostbusters cross the streams to defeat Gozer.
  • While in the Boogieman's realm, Ray mentions using the Proton Streams may be more dangerous than crossing the streams.[11]
  • While in the Boogieman's realm, the Ghostbusters run in a trail that forms the infinity symbol.
  • Towards the end of the episode Peter says "You and what Starfleet?" which is in reference to the Star Trek Franchise.[12]
  • The door was left open for the Boogieman's eventual return. Egon said the Ghost Bomb "might just seal the Boogieman forever."[13]
  • On page 7 of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #12, on the tack board, the Post-It Note on the right has the air date #, DVD episode # and production # from "The Boogieman Cometh" written on it.

References[]

  1. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986).
  2. Eatock, James & Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 4. CPT Holdings, Inc.
  3. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986).
  4. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 05:23-05:26). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Well, our usual fee for a standard capture and containment is $1500."
  5. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 09:34-09:42). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "When I was a child, the Boogieman would come out of my closet. He...he's the reason I started investigating the supernatural. I wanted to find a way to stop him."
  6. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 12:08-12:15). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "I don't know about you guys but spending all night looking in closets for the Boogieman is not why I moved to Fun City."
  7. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 12:25-12:27). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Remember what they said about the Mountain in Mohammed?"
  8. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 12:30-12:35). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "If you can't get the Boogieman, then why not bring the Boogieman to us?"
  9. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 13:31-13:36). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "It's Dopey Dog! I used to have one of these."
  10. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 15:37-15:38). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "See you on the other side, Egon."
  11. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 18:12-18:17). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "The laws of physics are different here. It could be even worse than crossing the streams!"
  12. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 20:05-20:07). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Yeah? You and what Starfleet?"
  13. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Boogieman Cometh" (1986) (DVD ts. 19:32-19:37). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "The resulting hyperspatial implosion might just seal off the Boogieman's realm forever."

Gallery[]

Collages and Edits[]

Episode Screen Caps[]

RGB DVD Boxset Features[]

 
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