Being a cartoon on ABC was a terrible place to be in 1987. Having placed third in Saturday Morning ratings, they needed to do what they could to get ahead of the competition. For this, they contacted consultant firm Q5 and produced content based on their suggestions. If you want an idea on what that was like, check out MrEnter's review on Little Clowns of Happy Town, because he was the only one to do a review of it as far as I know.
But that wasn't enough, as every show airing on ABC at that point also got eviscerated (and given what we got, that's the best term to refer to it). Pound Puppies and The Real Ghostbusters had got it the worst at this point, the latter being a good example of just how bad network interference could be. If you want full disclosure on that, check out Phelous' discussion on the show, I'd get no reward for copying his points verbatim.
Well, nothing beyond pointing out J. Michael Straczynski actually left because of how bad things got with the show and only came back because the network were borderline desperate as what they could come up with just wasn't up to par.
I picked The Grundel, just to see how well Michael could write an episode on a season that was already folding to the whim of a network with a misguided consultant, and because apparently this is considered one of the more disturbing episodes of the show. It was mentioned briefly by Phelous, so it's slim pickings at this point.
So start
I won't go into detail on Dave Coulier yet, I picked an episode in another season which would help reinforce how far the character would fall.
We start off with a tone appropriate for this episode's legacy, then spoiled with a chase sequence, and you know who with you know what who's now able to talk full sentences. Also Winston's a poet for a good minute or so.
I feel the network reared its head or Michael made a mistake, as Slimer is within a close radius of the trap when it is thrown.
Our story comes into play when a boy, somehow, manages to swipe a bulk of the Ecto-1. What seems like a typical delinquent may hold a grander kernel.
Apparently, this episode is notable for its creepy villain, and... I'd say it's creepy for the time, take that with a grain of salt, I've been desensitized to horror, but I'd still respect it. The Grundel manipulates edgy youths into furthering their angst and causing more trouble. I'd make an analogy related to fandoms, but I'd be out of my league.
For the lack of anything else to say at the moment, I at least like how Michael tried to make Peter work with the lesser delivery, this was back when it was a matter of keeping with the spirit the character had, and I'm aware of where it would go down.
Anyhow, a sudden rally at the school a cursed boy, Alec, puts the Ghostbusters in like with The Grundel. The Grundel uses Alec to make a fool of the Ghostbusters, and to do that, Alec messes with the proton packs. On getting them into the plot, it feels just a little forced, like a rally is a little too obvious.
I can see Michael trying to preserve the charm the show once had, the effort is shown with Peter Venkman who tries to keep the sarcastic charm he previously had, we even have a little Laura Summer charm with Janine played by Kath Soucie at this point.
I love how nonchalant Alec's brother is over the former jumping out a two story window, as well as how nonchalant he is about Alec now taking on a look similar to The Grundel.
Toward the climax, I just wanna say, for a Coulier-era Venkman, this is one of his high-points. He manages to sway Alec away from The Grundel, and once you know how dumbed down he'd become later on, this hits a different way.
Things end happily, though I have an idea for a more tragic one to really drive the impact home, I'll leave it as is.
Overall
I made the right choice for my introduction to this season. With only two prior episodes under my belt I didn't feel quite ready to go into foreign territory just yet, but next time, I will.
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