Plot
A gooper ghost terrorizes an electronics store called TV World. Ecto-1 arrives and the Ghostbusters head in with Slimer, but Ray and Slimer get distracted by an episode of "Muffy and the Meatheads" playing in the storefront. During the bust, Winston is drenched in ectoplasm and proton streams punch holes in the ceiling, which is also the floor of a magic supply shop upstairs. The blasts damage a glass case in the magic shop, knocking loose a vase. A tiny seed bounces out, through a hole in the floor, and lands inside a giant television set.
After the ghost is confined and trapped, the store employee offers the Ghostbusters the giant TV in place of payment. Ray and Slimer accept it, to the annoyance of Peter, Egon, and Winston, who point out there is now no money for groceries. Ray had hoped to catch a broadcast of "The Incredible Radioactive Gerbil From Outer Space" on the set. That night, while everyone else sleeps, Ray and Slimer watch the set. At 2:31 A.M. it glows and shows the Ghostbusters at a warehouse engulfed by a wave of water. Ray wakes the others, who pelt him with pillows.
The next morning, Janine takes a call about a repeating phantasm loose at an abandoned warehouse on the East Side. Ray, believing it matches his vision, wears heavy rain gear. Peter's blast rips through the roof and jars a water tower loose, sweeping the team out onto Ecto-1. Egon calls it coincidence, but Slimer hugs Ray and says he believes him.
That night the set shows the Ghostbusters fighting pirate ghosts on a pirate ship. After Janine reports Class 4s at the Maritime Museum, the team boards a ghost ship that sets sail and leaves the harbor. They catch the ghosts while Slimer mans three traps, then steer the rudderless, mastless ship clear of an approaching tanker by firing their throwers into the ocean.
Back at the firehouse, Egon's P.K.E. Meter gets definite readings off the TV. He insists on studying it rather than destroying it, running an X-ray device on it. During the scan, Peter points the device at Slimer and discovers his lost keys. The sonic profile comes back normal, but the EEG readout shows high brain activity, growing like a supernatural fungus. After it is plugged back in, the set shows the Ghostbusters carrying it onto the roof during a lightning storm and seemingly dying. Egon deduces the entity is a Water Elemental, an ancient spirit of a type blamed for floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, and decides it must go into the Containment Unit immediately.
A lightning storm knocks out the power, leaving the containment unit on its emergency generator with too little reserve to risk. Egon orders the team to haul the TV to the tallest antenna so a lightning strike will destroy it, even at their own expense. The elemental tumbles out and reveals its true form, but the plan fails when a nearby lightning rod draws off the charge. Peter shoots the rod, and a surge of energy disperses the elemental. Drying off afterward, Ray decides to read a book instead of watching TV, though after opening with "It was a dark and stormy night..." he quickly switches to a fairy tale.
Production
The episode was recorded on June 12 and 21, 1989, with Dave Coulier recording alone on June 12.3 Its production number was 201006.4 The episode appears on Vol. 4, Disc 2 of The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection DVD set. In broadcast and DVD order, "Future Tense" follows Partners in Slime and precedes Jailbusters.
Notes
The episode is dense with pop-culture references. Ray identifies "Muffy and the Meatheads" as his favorite show. After the gooper bust, he watches a Godzilla movie titled "Godzilla Goes To Hollywood." Peter compares Winston to the Scarecrow and Egon to the Tin Man from "The Wizard of Oz." On the pirate ship, Ray mentions remaking "Captain Blood," a 1935 Warner Bros. film. Winston is shown as the only Ghostbuster who knows nautical terminology, and he remarks that he hates it when Egon says "Uh-oh."
The Water Elemental introduced here is classified as one of a group of ancient spirits representing the four classical elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. According to Egon, fire is the mortal enemy of water, which informs his decision to destroy the entity with a lightning strike rather than attempt containment. The elemental's overconfidence about its proximity to the firehouse lightning rod proves to be its undoing.
During the lightning storm, the containment unit's emergency generator is shown as noticeably larger and more useful than the one seen in Killerwatt. While running on emergency power, the unit's trap lock cannot be used because it drains too much power.
Animation Errors
During the battle on the firehouse roof, one shot shows two Rays and no Winston.
References
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Eatock, James and Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 33. CPT Holdings, Inc.
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Marsha Goodman (1989). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report, "Future Tense" (1989).
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Marsha Goodman (1989). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report, "Future Tense" (1989).
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Marsha Goodman (1989). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report, "Future Tense" (1989).
