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The Two Faces of Slimer

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"The Two Faces of Slimer" is an episode of the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. Written by Michael Reaves, it first aired on October 17, 1987, as part of the show's third season. A leak from the Containment Unit releases a wisp of malevolent ectoplasm that merges with Slimer, periodically transforming him into a huge, ravenous ghost the team dubs Big Green. The Ghostbusters race to separate the two before the change becomes permanent.¹

The episode carries production number 140002 and was recorded on May 20, 1987.² The story's title and premise riff on "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll," one of many film adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

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Plot

Sulking after being left behind on a bust at a haunted dynamite factory, Slimer refuses Peter Venkman's peace offering of a Triple Caramel Crunchie candy bar, then snatches it with his tongue the moment Peter turns away. In the basement, Egon Spengler notes a strange new sound coming from the Containment Unit; Winston Zeddemore admits it has done that a few times that week but is too tired to investigate.

Still pouting, Slimer sleeps in the hallway and dreams of being a Ghostbuster, wearing his own jumpsuit and Proton Pack and saving the team from a giant entity. As he sleeps, a seal on the Containment Unit fails and a small amount of gaseous ectoplasm escapes through the vents and infects him. Slimer wanders out of the Firehouse in a trance.

Calls take the team to a slimed delicatessen and later to Neptune's Floating Restaurant, where Winston deploys a new inflatable raft mounted under Ecto-1 to reach the waterfront diner. At both sites they tangle with the same hulking green ghost and come up empty. Egon's analysis of the seal failure points to a "catalytic paranormal flux" that is harmless to people but can induce malevolent ectoplasmic metamorphosis. The team soon discovers the truth when the monster turns out to be Slimer himself, transforming whenever he falls asleep. Egon warns that if it happens enough times the change will become permanent.

Peter and Winston try to keep Slimer awake with junk food, loud music, and a scare, but he transforms again and flees to a 24 hour City Supermarket. There Egon proposes inducing ectoplasmic fission, instructing everyone to set their Particle Throwers to 50,000 gigahertz. Peter bounces a proton stream off a mirror and lands a direct hit, splitting Slimer from Big Green. With Slimer's help the team locates Big Green in the frozen section and traps it. Slimer, having eaten one too many Popsicles, admits he should not tag along on every bust.

Cast

Dave Coulier, Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, Arsenio Hall, and Kath Soucie provided the regular voices for the season.

Featured characters include Slimer (and his monstrous alter ego, Big Green), Janine Melnitz, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore.

Notes

Winston tries to jolt Slimer awake with the line "I hope Freddy doesn't get you," a likely nod to Freddy Krueger of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" films, who attacks his victims in their sleep.³

Peter mentions his mother twice, once promising Slimer a batch of "Mama Venkman's Chicken Soup" and later citing her warning that making faces will leave your face stuck that way.⁴ After the supermarket bust, Peter claims he used to be a box boy.⁵

Once Slimer is separated from Big Green, the two ghosts are never shown in the same shot together.

Release

In broadcast order the episode follows Once Upon a Slime and precedes Sticky Business. It was later collected on home video in The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection.

Eatock, James and Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 26. CPT Holdings, Inc. ↩

Marsha Goodman (1987). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report, "The Two Faces of Slimer" (1987). ↩

The Real Ghostbusters (2009), "The Two Faces of Slimer." Time Life Entertainment. Winston: "I just hope Freddy doesn't get you." ↩

The Real Ghostbusters (2009), "The Two Faces of Slimer." Time Life Entertainment. Peter: "I'll make you some of Mama Venkman's Chicken Soup, Okey Dokey?" and "You mean like my mom used to say if you keep making faces, your face will stick that way?" ↩

The Real Ghostbusters (2009), "The Two Faces of Slimer." Time Life Entertainment. Peter: "No big deal. I used to be a box boy." ↩

The Two Faces of Slimer

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The Two Faces of Slimer

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Plot

Cast

Notes

Release

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Plot

Cast

Notes

Release

Footnotes