Plot
The forlorn Jeremy and his companion DyTyllio reach a mountain shrine, where Jeremy summons a magic flute that holds the power to end the world. He plays the opening of the Symphony of Destruction, which calls forth the Dark Entity, an evil face in the sky. As Jeremy's resolve hardens, his appearance grows darker to match. Attacks by creatures called Half-Bats spread across New York, and natural disasters break out worldwide. Proton streams have no effect on the creatures, and P.K.E. readings spike everywhere at a frightening rate.
Working from twelve assignments that arose over four days, Egon Spengler recognizes a pattern centered on a single house, at 427 South 15th Street in Manhattan. There the team meets Cindy, Jeremy's ex-girlfriend. Jeremy had wanted to marry her, but she wanted to focus on her career; after they broke up, he went to pieces and vanished. Cindy hands Egon a letter from Jeremy that predicted all of the phenomena, along with an old scroll bearing a single word: "Ragnarok." When Egon scans the parchment with his P.K.E. Meter, it overloads and he throws it out the window before it explodes in the street.
Jeremy begins the second movement of the Symphony of Destruction, and Janine Melnitz radios Winston Zeddemore with fresh reports of volcanoes, tidal waves, earthquakes, and twisters tearing through cities. The Ghostbusters find Jeremy atop a building as more Half-Bats attack, one of them smashing part of the Ecto-1's roof, which sends Ray Stantz into a fury. With the city in ruins, Jeremy starts the final stanza. The team's blasters have no effect on him, so while Cindy tries to reason with him, the Ghostbusters set their proton packs to overload simultaneously, ready to sacrifice themselves to stop the apocalypse.
When DyTyllio is knocked from the building while saving Cindy, Jeremy moves to rescue him. DyTyllio refuses to be saved, telling Jeremy that destroying the world over his own pain is wrong. Jeremy promises to stop, pulls DyTyllio back to the roof, and plays the Song of Life. The team shuts down their self-destruct sequence as the Half-Bats melt away and the world begins to right itself. The Dark Entity, unwilling to let Ragnarok end, strikes Jeremy with lightning. The Ghostbusters fire on the weakened entity, and Jeremy, alive but drained, borrows everyone's strength to repair the flute and play the world back to normal. The flute vanishes and Jeremy returns to himself.
Production
The episode carried the production number 76019 and was recorded on October 29, 1986.2 In the episode's call sheet, the Dark Entity is listed as "Thing in Clouds."2
The character DyTyllio was named for Larry DiTillio, a story editor on The Real Ghostbusters. DiTillio later worked a nod back to J. Michael Straczynski into the episode "You Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks." When Jeremy summons the flute, he can be heard reciting Tolkien's Ring inscription and then saying "Khazad-dum."
The episode includes several in-jokes referencing the show's own production. An ABC theater marquee advertises a showing of Ghostbusters, tying back to the film premiere depicted in Take Two; ABC was the network that aired The Real Ghostbusters. A news reporter's microphone carries a "DIC" logo, for DIC, the studio that produced the series.
Notes
The word "Ragnarok" refers to the apocalyptic event in Norse mythology in which gods such as Thor and Odin die and the world is submerged in water, leaving two human survivors to repopulate it.
There is no South 15th Street in Manhattan, where most numbered streets are divided into "East" and "West" variants. The location Egon highlights, however, sits roughly along the line where 15th Street would run.
Jeremy's speech mannerisms are styled after Elvis Presley.
As the Ghostbusters set their packs to overload and each said what might be their last words, Egon spoke only one: "Janine," a nod to his attachment to Janine Melnitz.
Release
"Ragnarok and Roll" was released on home video as part of The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection (Volume 2, Disc 1), where it carries the DVD number 032. In broadcast order it followed "Adventures in Slime and Space" and preceded "Captain Steel Saves the Day"; in DVD order it followed "Chicken, He Clucked" and preceded "Don't Forget the Motor City."
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Eatock, James & Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 12. CPT Holdings, Inc.
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Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report, "Ragnarok and Roll" (1986).
