The Real Ghostbusters: The Halloween Door (1989)
Season 5, Episode 9
8/10
Pretty Good For An Episode In The Slimer Retool
27 October 2020
Yeah, everyone knows The Real Ghostbuster had a hard fall from fame when it became Slimer And The Real Ghostbuters starting in the show's fourth season. The result of ABC deciding to follow focus group Q5's plans for the show, which resulted in writer J. Michael Straczynski leaving the show in protest, the show fell in ratings due to the many changes. In an attempt to save the show, they managed to get Straczynski to return (and even agree to his terms, except letting him kill off the Junior Ghostbusters, but saying he does not have to write them into his episodes if he does not want to). This episode is one of them, and what makes it special is that it was the show's only primetime special, meaning that a lot of the restrictions on the show were not enforced for this one.

In this special, Halloween is coming, and the Ghostbusters plan to do a show at a high school. However, a man named Dr. Crowley, founder of Citizens United Against Halloween, arrives to ask for the team's help in getting rid of Halloween, which they refuse, as Egon tells him he is wrong. However, his partner manages to steal one of their PKE Meters, which is the last part needed to power a machine that, when activated, will erase anything Halloween-related. However, when he sees a doorway open in the sky, his partner, Fairweather, reveals his true form, and tells Dr. Crowley he only used him so he can open the doorway to the other side and release Boogaloo.

Yeah, the episode would rerun on Saturday Mornings (although with some edits, like removing the special title card, and the scenes of new broadcasts), but it's actually a good special, especially for an episode that would be part of Slimer And The Real Ghostbusters. The special intro used for this episode's first airing that combined clips of the intros with episode clips and even some footage of the pitch pilot. Also, this is the only episode of the show to have musical numbers, both written by Straczynski, which the cast members actually sing. Boogaloo is voiced by Brian O'Neil, who is a member of The Bus Boys (who Ghostbusters fans would know as the band who sang Cleanin' Up The Town for the first film).

The animation is basically better than the rest of the show (possibly because the episode has more of a budget due to it being a primetime special), and even cameos by ghosts who were part of the toyline. The Halloween Door is considered one of the better episodes of the Slimer retool, and it is worth watching.
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