Scareface

Scareface episode

"Scareface" is the 3rd episode of Slimer! (Season 1), first aired on Saturday, April 1, 1989 on ABC. It carries production number 166001C, is episode 31 in air order, and appears as episode 13a on the DVD release (Vol. 5, Disc 4). The episode was written by Charles Kaufman and recorded on June 15, 1988. It was originally developed as a 30-minute pilot for the series before being shortened to its 14-minute broadcast form.

Written By: Charles Kaufman

Air Date: April 1, 1989

Production Number: 166001C

DVD: Vol. 5, Disc 4 (Episode 13a)

Ghosts are partying on the 13th floor of the Sedgewick Hotel. The festivities stall when two gangster-like ghosts, working for the feared Scareface, arrive and assert control. Slimer tries impersonating Scareface to defuse the situation, until the real Scareface shows up.

Plot

Slimer has made himself at home at the Sedgewick Hotel, where a community of friendly ghosts quietly occupies the 13th floor, a floor that hotel manager Morris P. Grout officially insists does not exist. Grout dismisses every supernatural incident as his imagination. Elevator operator Bud turns a blind eye, sharing leftover food with Slimer while the ghosts party upstairs.

The situation changes when Goolem and Zugg, a pair of mob-enforcer ghosts on a New York vacation, consult their copy of the Ghost Travel Guide and check into the Sedgewick, which earns only a three-shriek rating. Goolem invokes the authority of Scareface, "Public Entity Number One," and forces the resident ghosts to escalate their hauntings. When Slimer objects, Goolem blasts him out of the hotel. The intensified haunting quickly drives every human guest out of the building.

Slimer disguises himself as Scareface and returns, convincing Goolem and Zugg that they have been promoted and reassigned to haunt the South Pole, a job estimated to take 200 years. Zugg grows suspicious because Slimer slimes people, and Scareface never does. His doubts are confirmed when the genuine Scareface arrives from the etheric plane, emerging from a sidewalk in the city. Scareface's barber finishes a trim roadside before Scareface reduces him to ash for asking for a tip. The barber reconstitutes himself and departs.

Bud escorts the real Scareface to the 13th floor. Goolem, still convinced the real Scareface is actually Slimer in disguise, attacks him. When both Scareface and Slimer are standing in the same room, Goolem finally understands his error and flees. Scareface blasts him out the window, then turns to Slimer. Rather than punish him, Scareface compliments Slimer's fashion sense, congratulates him on keeping order, and confirms the South Pole reassignment for Goolem and Zugg before departing, pulling Zugg along with him. The Sedgewick's ghosts cheer Slimer for saving the hotel.

Characters

Scareface

Scareface is the head of a ghost mob family and is known among ghosts as "Public Entity Number One." He is feared throughout the paranormal community and expects absolute deference. At the time of this episode he had not been to New York in 100 years. Scareface can fire PKE blasts from his hands; these blasts can also carry telekinetic force. He notably never slimes anyone, which becomes the plot's key detail for exposing Slimer's disguise. Scareface is voiced by B.J. Ward and Frank Welker. He appears only in this episode of Slimer!

Goolem

Goolem is a senior enforcer for Scareface's mob operation, and speaks and carries himself in the manner of a classic film gangster. He uses Scareface's name and authority to muscle in on the Sedgewick's resident ghosts, then escalates the hauntings to demonstrate his effectiveness. Alan Oppenheimer provides the voice. Oppenheimer's performance draws on vocal qualities similar to his Prime Evil voice from Filmation's Ghostbusters animated series. Goolem and Zugg both return in "The Dirty Half-Dozen" and "Sweet Revenge," two later Slimer! episodes.

Zugg

Zugg is Goolem's underling and also Scareface's nephew. He is simple-minded and childlike, and it is Zugg who spots the key inconsistency in Slimer's disguise: Scareface never slimes anyone. Despite this moment of clarity, Zugg ends up reassigned to the South Pole alongside Goolem. Danny Mann voices Zugg.

Morris P. Grout and Bud

Morris P. Grout is the Sedgewick's hotel manager. This episode is the first to reveal his full name. His defining characteristic is a reflexive denial of anything paranormal, regardless of what he personally witnesses. Bud is the elevator operator, the only hotel employee who shows no fear of Scareface, which visibly irritates the ghost mob boss.

Voice Cast

Role	Voice Actor
Slimer (lead)	Frank Welker
Goolem	Alan Oppenheimer
Zugg	Danny Mann
Scareface	B.J. Ward, Frank Welker
Guest cast	April Hong, Katie Leigh, Danny McMurphy

Trivia

The episode was recorded on June 15, 1988, roughly nine months before its April 1, 1989 air date.
This episode was originally planned as a 30-minute pilot for Slimer! but was cut to 14 minutes for broadcast.
Alan Oppenheimer's voice for Goolem (also rendered as "Ghoullum" in some sources) shares qualities with his Prime Evil voice from Filmation's Ghostbusters animated series.
This is Goolem's first encounter with Scareface.
Mr. Grout's full name, Morris P. Grout, is revealed here for the first time.
Scareface had not visited New York in 100 years before the events of this episode.
Zugg is Scareface's nephew, a detail he uses to explain his familiarity with the boss's habits, including the fact that Scareface never slimes anyone.
This episode establishes that the Sedgewick's ghost population is friendly and coexists quietly with the hotel. They are markedly more benign than the entities typically encountered in The Real Ghostbusters.
Bud's comic book is a copy of Dumbell Dude, visibly labeled with the DiC Entertainment imprint, a nod to the production company behind The Real Ghostbusters and Slimer!
The Ghost Travel Guide, a prop unique to the Slimer! series, rates the Sedgewick Hotel at three shrieks.

References

Slimer! "Scareface" (Season 1, Episode 3, production #166001C; original air date April 1, 1989; DVD: Vol. 5, Disc 4, episode 13a)

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Plot

Characters

Scareface

Goolem

Zugg

Morris P. Grout and Bud

Voice Cast

Trivia

References