Loose Screws

Loose Screws is an episode of The Real Ghostbusters, the animated series that ran from 1986 to 1991. It first aired on December 16, 1989 as part of the show's fifth season. The story follows Slimer after he accidentally breaks one of the team's traps and, rather than admit the mistake, lets the Ghostbusters take the damaged trap out on a job.¹

The episode was written by Pat Allee and Ben Hurst. It runs about fifteen minutes rather than a full half hour, and on home video it is presented as the second half of disc 112 (112B). It later appeared on the Complete Collection box set in Volume 4, Disc 3.

While the team is off duty, Slimer plays with a makeshift proton pack and even morphs his own appearance to imitate Peter Venkman, down to the hair. He finds a ghost trap and knocks it down the stairs, where it breaks into pieces. Panicking, Slimer reassembles the trap but is left with one extra screw, which he hides inside himself just as the alarm rings.

The Ghostbusters board Ecto-1 and ask Slimer to bring the trap along, not knowing it is faulty. At a supermarket they corner a cat-like grocery specter that is throwing food around. Slimer flies in and eats the food, and the team confines the entity using the broken trap. The trap captures the ghost, but spectral essence leaks out of it.

As Ecto-1 heads home, the loose essence infects inanimate objects along the way. An elephant kiddie ride comes to life when a boy named Chucky tries to use it, a parking meter swipes and swallows a woman's purse, and a vending machine sprays a customer. Back at the firehouse, Egon Spengler tells Slimer to take the trap to the basement so it can be emptied later, but the essence spreads and animates nearly everything in the building. A broom Slimer grabs to sweep up the essence turns on him, Janine Melnitz's desk and office supplies wake up, and two staplers pin Ray Stantz to a wall. Peter and Winston Zeddemore grab proton packs to deal with the animated objects, while a wave of chemicals comes down the stairs and an electrical outlet fires a bolt at Egon and Peter in the lab.

The alarm for the Containment Unit goes off. The unit itself has come to life and is spitting out the ghosts stored inside it. Egon finds the faulty trap, and Slimer tearfully confesses. While the others fight off the objects and ghosts, including the elephant ride, parking meter, vending machine, and construction equipment that have followed the team back to the firehouse, Egon modifies his particle thrower so he can reseal the Containment Unit without destroying it. The modified blast works.

Egon explains that the elements of the captured ghost leaked from the broken trap, spread through the essence, and the possessed objects followed the Ghostbusters home in an attempt to reassemble into a single ghost. The team makes Slimer promise never to play with the equipment again, then forgives him and gets to work cleaning up.

The regular voice cast for the episode included Dave Coulier, Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, Buster Jones, and Kath Soucie. Ron Green provided the voice of the parking meter.¹ The episode was recorded on July 26 and 31, 1989, with Dave Coulier recording alone on July 31.²

When Peter calls out "Nice shootin', Tex!" to Winston, he is echoing a line from the original 1984 film, used during the team's first attempt to capture Slimer. The premise of a ghost scattering into pieces and trying to reassemble itself is similar to the earlier episode Lost and Foundry.

In broadcast order, Loose Screws follows Revenge of the Ghostmaster and precedes Slimer Streak. On the home video release it is paired so that Venk-Man! comes next.

Eatock, James and Mangels, Andy (2009). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 35. CPT Holdings, Inc. ↩ ↩²

Marsha Goodman (1989). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report, "Loose Screws" (1989). ↩

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Loose Screws

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Plot

Cast

Notes

References

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Plot

Cast

Notes

References

Footnotes