Scott's Stories, Reviews & Blog: Cry Uncle

Episode 19

Egon’s uncle comes to cash in on a promise Egon made to him in the past. The result is the Ghostbusters minus one. Peter, Ray and Winston lack the brain power to capture some ghosts on a call and set out to bring Egon back. Egon’s uncle allows him to aid his fellow Ghostbusters one last time but that still doesn’t change his mind about Egon staying. When the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man gets released we’ll see if Egon staying around is the best course of action after all. This writer comes through again and makes a decent episode worthy of praise in the series. It’s cool to get some relatives of the Ghostbusters thrown into the series too.

The Ghostbusters are out in the streets chasing after random ghosts. The first capture sequence is classic as three of the Ghostbusters form a triangular shape around the ghost to blast it. They lower it down as Ray throws the ghost trap to secure it. It’s been a busy day thus far as they’ve caught seven ghosts already. Usually when ghost activity is this high it means something big is on the way but is it this time? Egon, while still on the call, is calculating when his uncle Cyrus will be arriving to New York City soon. They have to pick him up apparently. Ray tries to assure him they will, “We only have, uh, a couple more ghosts to go.” Egon says, “Math was always Ray’s weakest subject.” Unless that’s a bad joke I don’t see how that’s possible he’s a scientist and one of the smart Ghostbusters, book wise. The ghosts they’re chasing are the same exacts ones they will encounter later in the episode so it may be safe to say that they didn’t catch them here.

You're lucky she doesn't have a proton pack Slimer

Back at the firehouse Janine is relaxing with lunch and a book until Slimer eats it all. You have to love it when Slimer eats an inanimate object! Janine is obviously pissed but what can you do at this point? Slimer cowers away after his scolding and goes into the water cooler. “For your sake I hope you haven’t done that before!” Janine says. Uncle Cyrus arrives and introduces himself to Janine. Janine informs him what type of business this is. “Ghost busting, nonsense, don’t insult my intelligence.” Uncle Cyrus answers. I think it’s safe to say he doesn’t believe in ghosts. He was cleaning off his glasses, which he is practically blind without, and Janine takes them to get Slimer out of the water cooler. If he doesn’t believe in ghosts why not let him see Slimer with his own eyes? Uncle Cyrus leans down to pet Slimer, “You’ve been playing in the mud again haven’t you?” He really is blind if he thinks Slimer is a cat.

The Ghostbusters return but they walk through the big doors. Where is ecto-1? Did they park it outside or leave it at the job site? Uncle Cyrus refuses to believe Egon caught any ghosts or it’s possible he just wants Egon to meet his own ends. I’m thinking the ladder to be honest. He knows if Egon was so intelligent he wouldn’t chase around things that don’t exist right? Peter quickly introduces everyone to Uncle Cyrus including Winston as a doctor! Winston tries to decline while Peter hushes him. It’s my favorite line of the episode. Another call comes in as Janine tells them where to go. Winston let’s Uncle Cyrus know that ‘seeing is believing’ in this line of work and he should come along.

A tad off the mark Dr. Venkman

On the call Ray’s gloves are discolored the entire episode which drives me crazy! They’re colored to match his skin which looks weird. Winston and Peter found some disturbance in a store but the PKE meter shows nothing. It turns out to be a bunch of women fighting to the death over 50% off clothing items. Uncle Cyrus isn’t impressed and questions defiantly if these are the ghosts. Peter has an answer as usual, “Well no Dr. Spengler but they could be dangerous. Maybe we outta zap them anyway.” A ghost then shows up and scares the crap out of Ray forcing him to bump into Uncle Cyrus, knocking off his glasses. You guessed it, Ray then steps on the glasses causing Uncle Cyrus to be blind while the Ghostbusters handle the ghosts. Uncle Cyrus apparently doesn’t see a thing so his mind set of not believing in ghosts can remain intact. These are different random ghosts than before and the black ooze with a million eyeballs is an awesome one.

Without Egon their collective IQ is suffering

Later on Uncle Cyrus pulls the old ‘You never broke a promise to me before’ line to coax Egon into helping him at his research lab some great distance away. Egon and Uncle Cyrus escape in the night, apparently, as Janine finds the note of abandonment in the morning. They don’t know, other than where he went, what entirely is going to happen now. The scene ends and when it returns the firehouse is the setting. I only note this because Janine is giving some very suggestive moans that seem to be echoing into the streets. I’ll stop now as I’m sure it was meant as cries that Egon is gone but it’s still funny in a way. A call comes in and they must go without Egon. Here they run into the same ghosts from the beginning of the episode. Ray informs the guys these particular ghosts only reveal themselves seldom so that poses a problem now. I guess the ghosts felt like showing themselves earlier as they spooked the citizens of New York City. The Ghostbusters minus Egon fail miserably and retreat.

Peter’s plan is to go to the research lab and get Egon back. Well that’s a bit obvious but they trick Uncle Cyrus into thinking it’s their final case. They want him to see Egon in action for real this time so as to let Egon stay. I suppose a promise is unbreakable in the Spengler family but trickery flourishes! It’s really great to try to get Uncle Cyrus on the case of the unseen ghosts too. When they get to New York City Uncle Cyrus decides to be a turd and not go on the call. Now what? The master plan has failed before they even go on the call again.

Alien-tech courtesy of Dr. Egon Spengler

Upon arriving back at Central Park Egon has prepared some special specs for them to wear so as to see the ghosts. He polarized the lenses to accept the ghost’s frequencies. I always like the lingo that makes it sound so truthful. They do refer to these ghosts as poltergeists throughout the show but that is contrary to what has been stated in episodes past at this point. I think the writers just liked using the word poltergeist because it sounds supernatural. They bust the ghosts with ease in a short but very much, cool scene. Winston yells in excitement, “What a team!” After realizing their team is about to be minus a member they sulk back to the firehouse. Meanwhile Uncle Cyrus is up to no good as he messes around with the containment unit. He just had to push a couple of buttons that happened to be code for ‘Let the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man out’. Janine hits the emergency button that connects to ecto-1 to let them know that there is a problem at the firehouse.

He did what?!

The destruct-or is back!

It’s awesome to see the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man out and pissed off! He looks mad and ready to exact some revenge on the Ghostbusters. I take it he’s a fragment of the ectoplasm from the specter ghosts in a previous episode ‘Citizen Ghost’. It’s all I can think of to explain his ghost form as he shifts through the firehouse. Ray asks, “Has he gotten bigger since the last time?” Peter replies, “I told you not to put veggies in the containment unit.” How would vegetables make him bigger? Don’t people eat more of those when they’re on a diet to lose weight? He should have said something like stop putting bacon and eggs in the containment unit even though that would still sound stupid. Luckily in this surprising and unexpected situation Winston has kept cool and come up with a plan. They lose the big guy and set up a trap. They use a cable to give him a trip while spreading out four ghost traps where he should fall. To get his attention Egon yells, “Hey, umm, FATBOY!” Stay Puft takes exception and comes for him even though the animation puts Peter in Egon’s place!

Your time is cut short I'm afraid Mr. Stay Puft

I’m sure Ray was relieved that he wasn’t responsible for Stay Puft’s release this time and the Ghostbusters trap the big marshmallow in four traps. It’s funny that he sounds like a pig at times but they had to come up with some sound for him! Back at the firehouse Egon states he is ready to head back but Uncle Cyrus says he has very important scientific work to do here. I believe that is his way of saying ‘Sorry I screwed around with the equipment and let a giant marshmallow ghost out’. He owed it to Egon to release that promise but will we ever see Uncle Cyrus again? Will he be too embarrassed to show his face in this series again? Slimer almost scares that manly mustache off of Uncle Cyrus by popping out of his water cup as Ray yells, “I take it back Peter, fry him!” AWESOME! Ray has finally understood that Slimer needs to be blasted! Why does it end on that note? Let’s see the little green turd get his true desserts.

Uncle Cyrus startled!

The release of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man saves the episode ‘big’ time. I loved this episode as a kid due to his appearance but then again anytime he was on the show I practically went in my pants in excitement. I enjoyed the introduction but sadly the only appearance of Uncle Cyrus. It’s a solid episode and should be loved by any fan of the series even without the theme music this time.

Rating: 7 of 10