Plot
While Slimer fools around with the Firehouse photocopier, Louis Tully arrives with a stack of tax forms he needs copied and mailed by 5 p.m. Frustrated, Louis heads for a copy store and leaves Slimer alone. Three ghosts named Grub, Larvy, and Mopes slip in through the alley and descend to the basement, where a captive at the Containment Unit's porthole points them toward their boss, Spiderlegs. Their attempt to release her trips an alarm and nearly sends the unit critical, but Slimer remembers to hit the reset button. The trio grab Slimer and order him to open the unit. He refuses, and they carry him off to their hideout, where he discovers the walls are ghost-proof.
Back at the Firehouse, Louis finds a ransom note as the Ghostbusters return from a case: they have until midnight to release Spiderlegs, after which they are to signal the kidnappers by requesting "The Twist" on the Moon Man's show at WWOW Radio. With the lead ghost gone to listen for the broadcast, Slimer manipulates his two remaining guards into feeding him the entire contents of the refrigerator, then talks them into a game of tag.
At the Firehouse, the team pulls Spiderlegs' file (where her name is misspelled "Spiderless," with Ray Stantz actually reading it aloud that way) and Egon Spengler reasons that they can locate Slimer by finding the frequency at which his ectoplasm resonates and tracking it with sound waves, comparing the setup to a lava lamp. Louis recalls the slime Slimer left on the copier, which gives them a sample to test. They isolate the frequency, record it to tape, and travel to WWOW Radio to have Moon Man broadcast it hidden inside the playing of "The Twist."
The frequency hits Slimer in the ultrasonic range and sends him resonating out of control, wrecking the hideout. Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore, aboard Ecto-2, spot the only building shaking in the Washington Square area and radio Egon and Ray, who drive over in Ecto-1. The panicking henchmen, desperate to hide, are talked by Slimer into climbing into the hideout's hot tub. The Ghostbusters set it to "Puree," launching the stunned ghosts into the air and crashing them to the floor. Peter hands Slimer a trap and lets him do the honors: Slimer captures Grub, Larvy, and Mopes himself. Back home, the three are deposited into the Containment Unit, where an unhappy Spiderlegs chases after her henchmen.
Ghosts and characters
Spiderlegs is the episode's primary antagonist, a Class 8 Full Torso Demonic Specter voiced by Frank Welker. She is already in the Ghostbusters' custody when the story begins, captured in an unseen prior encounter. Her database file spells her name "Spiderless" and Ray reads it aloud that way without catching the error. She can fire energy bolts from her eyes and was personally responsible for ghost-proofing the walls of her warehouse. Winston describes her as "one mean gooper."
Grub, Larvy, and Mopes are Spiderlegs' three henchghosts, whose bumbling dynamic is modeled on the Three Stooges. Maurice LaMarche voices Grub, Frank Welker voices Larvy, and Dave Coulier voices Mopes. They call the Containment Unit "The Cooler," using prison slang. At one point they recite the "Who you gonna call?" catchphrase, with Slimer joining in. Their overconfidence and susceptibility to Slimer's manipulation drive most of the episode's comedy.
Moon Man is the DJ of WWOW Radio, known for classic rock, and is voiced by Rodger Bumpass. The kidnappers pick him as their signal medium because of his show's reach. The Ghostbusters visit him in person and persuade him to play both "The Twist" and their hidden ultrasonic recording simultaneously.
The Nine Eared Ghost is a minor captive already inside the Containment Unit when the henchmen arrive, notable for the nine ears covering its head. Grub approaches it at the porthole and demands it fetch Spiderlegs, which it does.
Spiderlegs' Pad is a former fur storage warehouse near Washington Square that Spiderlegs converted into a multi-level ghost-proof stronghold. The Ghostbusters take it from two directions at once: Peter and Winston land on the roof aboard Ecto-2 while Egon and Ray pull up to the front door in Ecto-1.
Production
The episode carries the production number 201016.2 Recording took place over two days in July 1989: Dave Coulier and Rodger Bumpass recorded on July 17, and Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, and Buster Jones recorded on July 19.2
The Containment Unit porthole seen here first appeared in the Slimer! episode "Don't Tease the Sleaze," making this the first regular The Real Ghostbusters episode to use it. It marked an early case of an element introduced in the Slimer! segments being folded back into the main series. Janine Melnitz does not appear in this episode.
The Three Stooges influence on the henchghosts extends beyond their names: their slapstick behavior, bickering, and susceptibility to Slimer's manipulation all reflect that template. The episode also notably has the catchphrase "Who you gonna call?" spoken by the villains themselves rather than the heroes.
Release
In broadcast and DVD running order, "The Ransom of Greenspud" follows "It's About Time" and precedes "Revenge of the Ghostmaster." It was collected on Volume 4, Disc 3 of the complete-series DVD box set.
References
-
Eatock, James and Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 35. CPT Holdings, Inc.
-
Marsha Goodman (1989). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report, "The Ransom of Greenspud" (1989).
