Plot
The Ghostbusters were fighting Arzun, a Netherworld demon, atop a partially destroyed building. Ray deployed a Ghost Trap while Egon moved in with his Destabilizer rifle. A powerful energy blast from Arzun overpowered the beam and sent it back, vaporizing Egon where he stood. The others trapped Arzun and rushed to Egon's position, finding only his discarded equipment.
Back at the Firehouse, Egon's voice was heard before he became visible on the far side of the garage bay. Janine ran to embrace him and passed straight through. The energy backlash had caused a complete proto-ectoplasmic conversion: Egon was, in every measurable sense, a ghost, although alive. He determined that the destabilization was progressive and he had roughly 24 hours before he discorporated completely.
Ray calculated that a Molecular Phase Amplifier could reverse the process, at a projected cost of $78,632. With their cash flow in poor shape, the team set out on an intensive series of busts to raise the money quickly. Their cases included a Glutton Ghost disrupting the production line at Granny's Yum Yum Candy factory (where Egon turned the tables by sneaking up on the ghost and startling it), a Little Dinosaur Ghost, a purple ghost haunting a ballroom, a trio of ghosts on a subway train, a Conjoined Ghost, a Haunted Blimp, and a disco full of dancing specters. Throughout the montage, Egon grew visibly weaker as time ran out.
Ray completed the Amplifier and fired it at the fully discorporating Egon, but it failed to work and Egon vanished entirely. PKE readings confirmed Egon was still alive: the Amplifier had reversed the polarity of the neutron flow in his disintegrating wave structure, shifting him into the Netherworld. Peter and Winston described it as a dimension packed with powerful demons and lost souls. Ray pointed out a critical constraint: only ghosts can enter the Netherworld, and only very powerful demons can get out. Janine pressed Ray to solve it anyway.
Ray reworked the Amplifier as a Dimensional Inverter to send the three of them into the Netherworld as temporary spirits, but with a hard time limit. His Displacement Wristwatch was set to pull four spirits back to the physical plane after one hour. The four had to be themselves plus Egon, no more, no less: if they came back with anyone other than Egon in the fourth slot, one Ghostbuster would stay behind forever.
Once in the Netherworld, Ray led the search using a PKE Meter tuned to Egon's ethereal vibrations, with Peter warned not to fire his Particle Thrower for risk of rupturing the interdimensional structure of the space-time continuum. They were briefly chased by a Terror Dog before Peter blasted it from behind. The PKE Meter was destroyed in the scramble.
A man approached and introduced himself as Heronymus. He had been trapped in the Netherworld since 1690 after attempting to summon the demons Arzun and Thole to serve him, only to be dragged into their realm instead. In exchange for passage back to Earth, Heronymus agreed to lead the Ghostbusters to Egon. He brought them through a hidden passage into Thole's Keep, where they found and freed Egon from the prison. Along the way, Heronymus received a compressed summary of 336 years of human history, including flying machines, moon landings, and computer dating services, none of which he found easy to process.
Thole and his army of Thon rock demons discovered the escape and gave chase. The group was cornered at a cliff with the clock running out. Each Ghostbuster volunteered to stay behind so Heronymus could take the fourth return slot. Touched by their willingness to sacrifice, Heronymus turned them down: the world had changed too much, and the Netherworld had become his home. Winston gave Heronymus his Proton Pack and a quick operating tutorial before the Ghostbusters teleported back to the Firehouse.
Egon arrived solid and restored. Janine confirmed it with a kiss. Back in the Netherworld, Heronymus appeared to have already put the Proton Pack to good use, having tamed the Terror Dog.
Characters
Peter Venkman (Lorenzo Music)
Egon Spengler (Maurice LaMarche)
Ray Stantz (Frank Welker)
Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall)
Janine Melnitz (Laura Summer)
Slimer (Frank Welker)
Episode Characters
Thole (voiced by Brad Garrett) is the episode's primary antagonist. A powerful demon ruling a section of the Netherworld, he is the brother of Arzun and commands an army of rock demons called Thons. He holds Egon captive in Thole's Keep after the Ghostbusters inadvertently send Egon to his realm. He later appears in the IDW comic series Ghostbusters: Get Real (Issue #4) and makes a cameo appearance in the audience during "What in Samhain Just Happened?!"
Arzun is the Netherworld demon the Ghostbusters are fighting in the episode's opening sequence. His energy blast causes the Destabilizer feedback that sets the whole story in motion. He is Thole's brother. In 1690, Heronymus attempted to summon both brothers to do his bidding and was pulled into their realm as a result.
Heronymus is a human sorcerer who has been stranded in the Netherworld since 1690 after his attempt to summon Arzun and Thole backfired. He helps the Ghostbusters locate Egon in Thole's Keep and ultimately chooses to remain in the Netherworld rather than return to a world that has changed beyond recognition. Winston gifts him a Proton Pack so he is not defenseless.
Granny Candy (voiced by Karen Hartman) is the owner of Granny's Yum Yum Candy factory, the site of the episode's first paid bust. Her production line was being disrupted by the Glutton Ghost.
Ghost montage: The bust sequence includes the Glutton Ghost, a Little Dinosaur Ghost, a purple Ballroom Ghost, a Subway Ghost Trio, a Conjoined Ghost, a Haunted Blimp, and a group of Dancing Specters, all captured in the money-raising push to fund the Molecular Phase Amplifier.
Terror Dog: A Terror Dog appears in the Netherworld, closely resembling the creatures from the first Ghostbusters film. Winston remarks that he has not seen one in a long time.
Equipment
- Destabilizer: Egon's experimental rifle, the feedback from which triggers his conversion into a ghost state.
- Molecular Phase Amplifier: Built by Ray at a cost of $78,632 to reverse Egon's proto-ectoplasmic conversion. Its first use misfires and shifts Egon to the Netherworld instead.
- Dimensional Inverter / Displacement Wristwatch: Ray's reworked version of the Amplifier, used to send the three Ghostbusters into the Netherworld as temporary spirits and return exactly four spirits after one hour.
- Proton Pack / Particle Thrower
- Ghost Trap
- PKE Meter
- Ecto Goggles: used by Ray and Winston during the bust montage.
- Ray's Pocket Computer, Electrical Gloves, Ecto-1, Ecto-2
