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tomeandflickcorner · 5 years ago

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Episode Review: The Real Ghostbusters- Play Them Ragtime Boos

Well, this was certainly a departure from the normal formula. Props for that.

The episode starts with a prologue of sorts. We’re in some Louisiana bayou, complete with one of those iconic bayou shacks. This guy is sitting out on the porch, playing some sort of woodwind instrument. As he’s playing, he completely disappears, leaving only his clarinet(?) behind. At first, I thought this was some hapless musician who was abducted by the episode’s Big Bad. But it turns out that he was a ghost from the start. Yeah, we’re actually getting ghosts that resemble people now. Up until now, the closest we got to this was skeletal ghosts.

It then cuts to the Ghostbusters, who are heading down to Tulane University in New Orleans for some Para-Psychological Expo. Yeah, the Ghostbusters are here on vacation. And it’s a bit jarring to see them in normal civilian clothes. This is the first time we’ve really seen them out of uniform. Yeah, they did wear tuxedos at the movie premiere in Take Two, but here, they’re wearing ordinary street clothes. It’s jarring, but in a good way. Anyway, Peter makes it clear that he’s not interested in attending this expo and that he just wants to go join the partiers at Marti Gras (which indicates this episode takes place in mid-February to early March).

Probably a slight nitpick here. The Ghostbusters are driving down to Louisiana in the Ecto-1. If they are here on vacation, why are they using the company car? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to rent a car for this trip? I guess it’s possible that they wanted to show off the Ecto-1 at the expo, but if they were planning on doing that, one would think they’d also bring along the rest of the equipment as well. But they later explicitly state that they left their Ghostbusting gear back in New York. That becomes a plot point later on. I don’t know, maybe the animation team just didn’t want to bother drawing in a different vehicle for the episode.

They eventually pull up at Hotel Boudreaux, a supposedly destination hotel located in the fictional village of Muddy Flat. Right away, they take note of the fact that the place looks really run down, to the point where shutters are hanging off the window panes. Ray is particularly confused by this, as the brochure he’d picked up about the location stated it provided guests with excellent dining, recreational facilities and first class accommodations. However, Peter, upon snatching the brochure from Ray, quickly points out that it was printed back in 1925, so it’s significantly out of date. Of course, Peter perks up again when the hotel manager comes out to greet them, revealing herself to be a beautiful young woman named Marie Cuttie. Marie welcomes them to Hotel Boudreaux and proceeds to show them to their rooms, with nobody noticing they are being watched by a figure lurking in the shadows.

That night, when the clock hits midnight, four ghost musicians instantly materialize in a gazebo out front, playing the familiar tune of ‘When The Saints Come Marching In.’ As they play, the hands on the clock start moving backwards (giving me the urge to sing ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’). Up in their room, the Ghostbusters are sound asleep, until Ray suddenly sits up in bed and proceeds to walk out the door, with the others waking up in time to see him leave. Egon is instantly on the alert, telling Winston and Peter that he believes Ray is possessed. Though he initially explains the situation with as many big words as possible. Because it’s Egon, and he just has to show off how much of a braniac he is. It is a bit strange that Egon immediately came to the conclusion that Ray was possessed when he witnessed him walking out of the room without a word to them, but then again, he’s probably known and lived alongside Ray long enough to know that he’s not normally a sleepwalker. So it probably isn’t that much of a stretch for him to immediately conclude Ray is possessed. And it turns out that Ray’s not the only one, as the streets are filled with other people who are also walking towards the gazebo where the ghost band is playing. It’s pretty clear that it’s the music that’s controlling them, though it does make one wonder why only Ray was affected by the music while Peter, Winston and Egon weren’t.

As Egon, Peter and Winston watch Ray and the other possessed folks gathering around the gazebo and dancing to the ghost musicians’ music, they witness everyone’s clothing change to resemble what I guess is 1940s style clothing. The buildings nearby also start to shift in appearance, as well. Egon surmises that they’re witnessing a time slip phenomenon. Peter, being Peter, doesn’t seem to see what the big deal is, and he announces he just sees a swinging party that he wants to join in on. Though Marie, the hotel manager from earlier, then appears on the scene out of nowhere. She throws some sort of powder at the ghost musicians, and they instantly disappear from sight, with their instruments falling to the ground. Right away, Ray and the other people who were dancing snap out of their trance, with their clothing reverting back into the pajamas they all were wearing moments before. And time returns to normal as well.

Marie proceeds to offer the Ghostbusters an explanation. It turns out that the leader of the ghost band is the ghost of a jazz musician named Malachi, who died back in 1942. Before his death, Malachi was a very popular musician who even helped put Muddy Flat on the map. But now that he’s a ghost, he wants the world to return to the days when his music was popular. So he found a way to place people under his control through music. And the more people he can control, the stronger his ability to control time becomes. Marie proceeds to reveal that she’s not just the manager of Hotel Boudreaux but is also a Mambo, a Voodoo priestess. Which is how she was able to drive away Malachi and his band. But she admits that Malachi is steadily growing stronger, and she fears she soon will be no match for him. Naturally, the Ghostbusters volunteer to assist her in stopping Malachi, though Winston points out that they didn’t bring their gear with them. But Peter insists it’s not a big deal, and they can simply call up Janine and ask her to ship their equipment to them. This leads to a short scene where Egon calls up Janine to make that request, with her agreeing to have their Proton Packs shipped to them through Super Express, a shipping company that guarantees overnight delivery. Janine proceeds to coyly ask Egon if he misses her, but the call is brought to an abrupt end when Slimer steals Janine’s chocolate doughnut, much to Janine’s annoyance.

As they wait for their gear to arrive, the Ghostbusters discuss why stopping Malachi is so important. They explain that if Malachi is allowed to continue altering time, it could result in a world where there was no progression between past, present and future, where everything could happen at once. As if to emphasize this (and possibly fill in the runtime a bit), Malachi then appears once again, this time without his entourage. He proceeds to play his trumpet, which causes the Ghostbusters and Marie to get transported back into the 1860s. Right into the middle of a Civil War battle, with both Union and Confederate soldiers charging toward them. (Although, the flags we see both armies carrying are not historically accurate. Union soldiers are carrying a Betsy Ross flag, which only was utilized until 1795. And the Stars and Bars flag that the Confederate soldiers had was used by the Virginia Army and was never flown in Louisiana.) Thankfully, they’re transported out of there before they’re caught up in the two armies clashing. But they then find themselves back in prehistoric times, when Louisiana was still underwater. Once again, they find themselves in peril when a prehistoric creature begins to charge toward them. Egon identifies the creature as a Megaladon. Though for once, I don’t think he’s correct, as a Megaladon was a prehistoric shark while the creature we’re seeing looks more like Tylosaurus or something similar. Once again, though, the Ghostbusters and Marie all avoid getting killed and are returned to the present day. However, even though they’re out of danger, that whole time warp experience has successfully demonstrated why it’s so important to stop Malachi.

Of course, it soon becomes clear that this will be easier said than done. When Winston and Ray go to retrieve their equipment in New Orleans, they’re met with the unfortunate news that Super Express messed up. Instead of bringing their Ghostbusting gear to Louisiana, it’s somehow ended up in Hawaii. (Seems a bit far-fetched that a shipping company could be that far off the mark in terms of shipping location, but okay.) Trying to improvise, they head over to the expo at Tulane University (with Peter staring wistfully at the Marti Gras parade that they pass on the way) to see if they can utilize some of the machinery on sale there to create a makeshift Proton Pack and trap. Unfortunately when Ray tries to utilize the makeshift Proton Pack, it quickly overloads and they have to quickly discard it before it blows up. So they’re once again up the creek without a paddle.

Fortunately, there’s still one last thing they haven’t tried. In an earlier scene, Egon, though some technobabble, theorized that Malachi was using para-sympathetic sonic vibrations in order to ensnare people, and that it might be possible to counter these vibrations with a correctly tuned counter oscillation. So they decide that, on account of them being out of alternative ideas, to go with that theory. Simply put, Egon manages to make some adjustments to a group of instruments he was able to obtain so they would emit the necessary counter oscillation to disrupt Malachi’s siren-like music. When Peter questions who exactly will play these instruments, Egon states that they will. Briefly, Winston is thrown for a loop, as he can’t even play a kazoo. Egon reassures them that the instruments will be programed, and all they have to do is provide the hot air.

So, with Peter and Egon on the guitar, Ray on the drums and Winston on the saxophone, the Ghostbusters essentially begin a Battle of the Bands against Malachi and his trope, countering theirj jazz music with rock and roll. And throughout the sequence that follows, Malachi’s ability to control time results in the Ghostbusters’ appearance to rapidly alternate through various decade styles. It’s a bit entertaining to say the least, but I’m not going to even try to identify the exact costume styles utilized, since I’m not well versed in fashion history. The best I can do is provide this collage from the Ghostbusters wiki page.

In the end, the Ghostbusters are able to defeat Malachi, who vanishes from sight. And with him vanquished, everything goes back to normal. In the aftermath of the misadventure, Peter announces that, with the crisis averted, he’s going to ditch Muddy Flat and head off to enjoy Marti Gras, the way he’s wanted to do since the beginning of the episode. So much so, he stubbornly refuses to let his friends get a word in edgewise and he boards a bus heading to New Orleans. As the bus drives off, Marie questions Ray, Egon and Winston over why they tried to stop Peter from leaving. They explain that they were trying to tell Peter that he was too late, as the Marti Gras celebration was already over for the year. Not only that, but to compensate the Ghostbusters for the trouble caused by them sending their equipment to the wrong address, the folks at Super Express’ headquarters had offered them an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii. But because Peter left without giving them a chance to tell him this, he’s now going to miss out completely. While a part of me does feel bad for Peter that he missed out on both Marti Gras and the chance to go to Hawaii with the others, it really is his own fault for not giving his friends the chance to tell him about the trip.

I give this episode huge props for being a departure from the normal formula of the Ghostbusters catching the Episode’s Big Bad in the usual way. This time, they don’t have access to the Proton Packs and have to come up with an alternative solution. In the process, they really do demonstrate their intelligence and adaptability. The setting of Louisiana was also an interesting touch. And I did appreciate how they made Malachi a Black man, as the music genre of jazz did indeed originate in African-American communities in New Orleans. That was a nice attention to detail. Though I do find it questionable that they made Marie, the Voodoo priestess, a blonde Caucasian woman, since I believe Louisiana Voodoo was created by decedents of Sub-Saharan Africans. So wouldn’t Marie have had to have been Black, too? Of course, I readily admit I know very little about Louisiana Voodoo and the cultural/spiritual beliefs of those that practice it, so I’m probably not in the position to judge if that was appropriate or not. Maybe there are some legit White Voodoo priestesses in existence. I honestly have no idea. Still, I was left with the nagging feeling that they made this character White just so they could show Peter being attracted to her. Which is a whole other can of worms that I probably shouldn’t go into right now. Regardless, Marie was still a likable enough character. And I appreciated that she didn’t put up with Peter’s so-called charm, even stating that he was ‘full of hot air’ at one point. Plus, it’s pretty cool the episode had her be the manager of the Hotel Boudreaux, a job that is usually thought of as male dominated. It’s almost a shame that she only appears in this one episode.

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#the real ghostbusters #rgb episode review #ghostbusters franchise

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