Plot
Slimer is helping Janine hang a painting in the firehouse when Manx cries out from outside, distracting him long enough to hammer his own thumb. Janine soothes Slimer with an ice cream sundae, but then Manx appears at the front door wrapped in bandages and sporting a fake cast. Janine takes pity on him and installs him in the kitchen with a bed and a sandwich, putting Slimer in charge of attending to him.
Slimer's suspicion mounts quickly. While he tries to watch "Kiwi Sherman" in the rec room, Manx cranks a boom box next to his ear. Slimer retaliates by slicking oil under Manx's bed and skating him toward the front door like a hockey puck, only to whack him back into the kitchen a moment before Janine arrives. She warns Slimer to behave and tuck Manx in properly.
Slimer then catches Manx raiding the refrigerator for Janine's fish. He tries to reel Manx away with a fishing pole, but Janine walks in to find Manx clinging to her. She issues a second warning, orders Slimer to apologize, and hands over the fish. Manx slurps up the fish and flicks the skeleton at Slimer's head.
Having had enough, Slimer grabs a camera and photographs Manx in the act of stealing more food from the refrigerator. Manx gives chase, but one of his fake bandages catches in the fridge door. The fridge follows him down the stairs and lands on top of him. When Manx comes to, Janine is standing over him holding Slimer's photographs. Manx tries to maintain the act, but Janine sees through it and throws him outside into a garbage can. She returns to the kitchen and apologizes to Slimer, rewarding him with ice cream while a dejected Manx watches through the window.
Characters
Slimer is the lead character and protagonist of the Slimer! segments. Voiced by Frank Welker throughout the series, he lives in the Ghostbusters' firehouse and is shown here helping Janine with household tasks and trying to expose Manx's deception.
Manx is a recurring antagonist in the Slimer! segments, a scheming house cat who appears throughout Season 1 causing trouble at the firehouse. In this episode he fakes injury to win food and sympathy from Janine. He appears in several other Slimer! segments, including "Pigeon-Cooped" (where Slimer must protect a bird from him) and "Up Close and Too Personal" (where Slimer films his embarrassing moments). Manx serves as an animal foil to Slimer in much the same way that the classic cat-and-mouse formula drives comedy, with Slimer in the unlikely role of the one trying to maintain order.
Janine Melnitz appears here as the only human character, voiced by Kath Soucie. She plays a caretaker role, mediating between Slimer and Manx until photographic evidence settles the matter.
Trivia
- The episode was recorded on July 13, 1988, several months before its February 1989 broadcast date.
- When Slimer pounds his thumb with a hammer and reacts in pain, the episode treats him as capable of physical sensation, which is inconsistent with the premise that he is an incorporeal ghost.
