Plot
A father flipping channels for his children stops on a "20/40/60" report, a news magazine show. Anchor Eldon Bromo introduces a segment on the Ghostbusters, and reporters Sandy Van Sanders and Helen Shreck check in from outside the Firehouse, set on proving the team are con artists. With business slow, Ray Stantz has gone for a run and Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore have gone shopping. Janine Melnitz answers the door and tells the crew to come back during office hours, but they force their way inside.
After Slimer slimes the camera, Janine takes him out for a walk. Egon decides to make his experiment public, since on-site containment is expensive and hazardous. He and Ray have built the Dimensionometer, a device meant to banish entities to other dimensions permanently. Peter opens a Ghost Trap to release the test subject, and Ray and Winston force the ghost through a portal opened by the new device. Helen is convinced by the demonstration; Sandy remains skeptical and overloads the high-voltage switch, transforming Egon into a demon.
Reviewing the video tape, Winston realizes Egon's soul has been sucked into the other dimension while a demon now inhabits his body. Egon's contingency notes give the team fifteen minutes to reverse the process. Unable to use their Proton Packs, Peter knocks the demon out with sleeping gas, but it crashes through a wall and the news crew's camera truck carries it off. Helen plans to interview the demon at ABS Studios.
Peter goes into the other dimension to recover Egon's soul while Ray and Winston pursue the demon. Janine stays on standby to monitor Peter and pull him back. In the netherworld, Peter and Sandy's crew are attacked by a swarm of Flying Hands and L.P. Bats. Peter finds the test-subject ghost, who is terrified of the place and begs to be trapped again; in exchange the ghost tells Peter where to find the human soul. Peter discovers a one-legged monster using Egon's soul as a trampoline, grabs the soul, and signals Janine to haul him back, with the monster in pursuit.
Back at the Firehouse, Ecto-1 crashes through the wrecked wall and Slimer tickles the monster. The demon runs straight into Egon's soul, restoring Egon to his body. The demon slimes the reporters, then collides with the monster and both fall back into the other dimension. Egon confirms with his P.K.E. Meter that the room is clean. Eldon Bromo wishes everyone good night and faints.
Episode characters
Several characters appear only in this episode and are covered here rather than as separate pages.
Sandy Van Sanders is an ace field reporter for ABS Studios' 20/40/60, voiced by Charlie Adler. He is based on Geraldo Rivera. Unlike his colleague Helen, Sandy remained convinced the Ghostbusters were frauds even after they demonstrated the Dimensionometer. His interference with the high-voltage switch triggered the crisis. Sandy followed Peter into the netherworld without permission and helped hold Peter's equipment while Peter retrieved Egon's soul. He returned to the character in IDW's ongoing comics series, reporting on the Megaspook crisis from the ABS Studios anchor desk as part of the New York News Network.
Helen Shreck is a mobile reporter for 20/40/60, voiced by Jennifer Darling. She is based on Barbara Walters. Unlike Sandy, Helen was persuaded by the Dimensionometer demonstration. After the demon took over Egon's body and stumbled away, Helen brought it back to the studio for an interview, only to be grabbed and carried around the set by the demon. Ray and Winston rescued her, though she was angry they interrupted the interview. She climbed into Ecto-1 to continue following the story. IDW's Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #15 includes a non-canon cameo of the character.
Eldon Bromo is the 20/40/60 news anchor, based on Walter Cronkite and voiced accordingly by Maurice LaMarche. He anchored the broadcast through its chaotic escalation; when the Possessor Demon rampaged through ABS Studios and destroyed his desk, it was revealed he was wearing only his boxer shorts below the camera frame. He closed the broadcast in his customary manner and fainted. Bromo appears again in IDW's 35th Anniversary: The Real Ghostbusters, where he interviews Saul Pendleton during a Slimer-related scandal.
Roon Ancient is the weekly 20/40/60 commentator, a parody of "60 Minutes" contributor Andy Rooney. Papers on his desk are covered in cuneiform.
Dr. Ruth is a brief cameo during the channel-surfing cold open, voiced by Jennifer Darling. Based on sex and relationships therapist Ruth Westheimer, she is shown giving on-air advice to guests in a broccoli costume and a roasted turkey costume. She and the turkey-costumed patient later appear in a background panel in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #8.
The Scaredy-Cat Ghost is the Dimensionometer test subject. Trapped in the netherworld after the experiment went wrong, it is utterly terrified of the place and begs Peter to trap it again. It agrees to tell Peter where to find a human soul in exchange, then jumps willingly into the open Ghost Trap.
The Possessor Demon is the entity that inhabits Egon's body after the high-voltage surge displaces his soul. It declares itself "free to destroy" and causes havoc through the Firehouse and ABS Studios before being restored to its own dimension when Egon's soul collides with it.
Flying Hands are interdimensional entities in the netherworld, shaped like conglomerations of hands that take a bat-like form in flight. They attack Peter's group during the search for Egon's soul. Episode writer Marc Scott Zicree confirmed in the visual commentary on The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection that the Flying Hands were specifically inspired by the paintings of Salvador Dali.
L.P. Bats are winged creatures with claws that also inhabit the netherworld. They are distinct from the Flying Hands, and their swarming attack is a riff on the Harpies attacking Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology.
The One-Legged Monster is a netherworld entity found using Egon's captured soul as a trampoline. It pursues Peter and Janine back through the portal and returns to the other dimension after colliding with the Possessor Demon. The character is an homage to the Merrie Melodies short "Duck Amuck."
Production and references
Zicree described the episode as a commentary on the excesses of journalism, with "60 Minutes," Geraldo Rivera, and Barbara Walters among the targets referenced. The fictional "20/40/60" report is a parody of "20/20," and the show's "Eye of Truth" logo is based on the CBS eye trademark. Sandy Van Sanders is a direct parody of Geraldo Rivera, while Helen Shreck is modeled on Barbara Walters. Roon Ancient parodies "60 Minutes" contributor Andy Rooney.
Eldon Bromo was modeled on Walter Cronkite and voiced accordingly by Maurice LaMarche. The point-of-view camera work was influenced by the film "Aliens." The demon's roar was based on Ted Cassidy's narration for "The Incredible Hulk." The netherworld dimension drew on the Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost" and the paintings of Salvador Dali; Zicree confirmed in the DVD visual commentary that the Flying Hands creature specifically derives from Dali's imagery. The L.P. Bats swarming Peter's group riffs on the Harpies attacking Jason and the Argonauts, and the one-legged monster was an homage to the Merrie Melodies short "Duck Amuck."
The episode is studded with film and TV references from its characters. While trapped in the netherworld, Sandy mentions the Emmy and Pulitzer awards, a line itself riffing on the Twilight Zone episode "The Bard." When Peter throws sleeping gas at the demon he references King Kong, and Janine, told to yank Peter back on his cue, mentions having seen the 1982 horror film "Poltergeist." Winston compares Helen Shreck to Lois Lane; Helen in turn mocks Lois Lane's wardrobe, a nod to the character's early appearances in comics and television. Earlier in the broadcast Sandy references trolls and goblins, and later the ozone layer, while trying to catch the team in a lie.
The episode was recorded on January 7 and 9, 1987, with Arsenio Hall and Maurice LaMarche recording on January 9.2 The Ghostbusters' office hours are given as 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
