The Real Ghostbusters: "The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis"

                  

Premiered November 2, 1987.  

It's the day before Thanksgiving in New York City.  At their headquarters, the Ghostbusters are cleaning their Ecto-1 car so it'll look good when they drive it in in New York's Thanksgiving Day parade.  Peter Venkman (Lorenzo Music) is looking forward to the parade, since he thinks it'll be a great place for him to meet women.  

Later that evening, a work crew at a warehouse is rushing to finish a balloon in time for the parade.  They're being supervised by Anne Lawson (Amy Hill), one of the organizers of the parade.  It's a balloon of Murray The Mantis, star of a cartoon series where he protected a garden from bad guy bugs.  Anne is glad the balloon will be ready, but she gets a bit unnerved when she learns the warehouse used to be a morgue.  

At the parade, Egon (Maurice LaMarche) and Ray (Frank Welker) are excited to see the Murray balloon, since they're big fans of the cartoon.  Venkman, on the hand, has never heard of Murray or his show.  

The parade is going well until suddenly, the Murray balloon turns into an actual giant Praying Mantis!

It wrecks the parade and sends spectators fleeing in terror.  The Ghostbusters snap into action and attack the big bug.  Ann informs them the Murray balloon was made in a building that was once a morgue.  Ray figures that the balloon must have picked up "death force energy" from the old morgue, which made it come to life.  

After chasing the mantis to Central Park, the Ghostbusters realize they won't be able to defeat Murray by themselves.  Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall) says if they want to take down Murray, they'll need help from "the Big Guy "- The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!  The Ghostbusters stopped Stay Puft from destroying New York (as seen in the Ghostbusters movie) and he's been held captive in their containment unit ever since.  

If they release Stay Puft, he might be able to help them beat Murray.  However, there's also a possibility that he could destroy the city.  Is it worth the risk?  

Will Murray The Mantis ruin Thanksgiving?

J.A. Morris says:

This is a solid Thanksgiving episode of a good 1980s cartoon.  In earlier reviews, we/ve talked about how the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is just a big as part of Thanksgiving Day as turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberries.  "The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis" puts its entire focus on the parade and we don't get the usual Thanksgiving tropes like culinary disasters or annoying relatives.  

The story here is pretty basic Ghostbusters stuff.  A parade balloon comes to life, animated by "death energy" and the Ghostbusters jump into action to stop it.  The addition of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man makes the episode feel more connected with the original theatrical film, something you can't say about every episode.  Slimer, another ghost who appeared in the movie also helps them control Stay Puft.  

When I was a kid, there always seemed to be balloons that featured characters who had fallen into obscurity and my only point of reference for them was the Macy's parade.  Linus The Lion Hearted is a good example.  I believe Murray is meant to represent cartoon characters who have faded from public memory, since Peter Venkman has never heard of Murray or his old cartoon.  

The Real Ghostbusters featured a great voice cast and they all do fine work here, even if they don't sound much like their movie counterparts.  Frank Welker does double-duty as Ray Stantz and Slimer. 

If I had any problems with "The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis," it's that the series' low budget undermines the story, especially its action scenes.  The episode features a fight between Murray and Stay Puft, two giant monstrous characters.  However, we don't really ever see both characters in the same shot.   The closest we get to seeing Murray and Stay Puft onscreen simultaneously is when Ray watches them through his binoculars.  I understand it's a cheap cartoon from more than 30 years ago, but it's still disappointing.   

"The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis" is an enjoyable tribute to the Macy's parade that features likeable characters, fun action scenes and great voice-acting.  It's recommended to all fans of the parade and especially recommended to Ghostbusters fans.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 pumpkin pies.

RigbyMel says:

I remember watching a fair bit of The Real Ghostbusters back in the mists of the 1980s, partly because my youngest brother was really into the show, but I have no memory at all of seeing this Thanksgiving themed episode until checking it out in recent years.  

The action essentially boils down to the Thanksgiving day parade being interrupted by a kaiju battle between the possessed Murray The Mantis balloon and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  High concept!

I like the balloon/kaiju mayhem idea very much but, as J.A. Morris points out above, I do feel that the low-rent animation makes the overall impact a bit...underwhelming.  

Still, "The Revenge of Murray The Mantis" is enjoyable enough to appeal to Thanksgiving day parade and Ghostbusters fans alike, even if it's not a "classic."

RigbyMel's rating:

2 and a half pumpkin pies.

Batman:The Long Halloween, Parts One and Two

Part 1 premiered June 22, 2021.

Part 2 premiered July 27, 2021. 

A note from your trusted holiday bloggers:

This animated special contains multiple murders, bloody corpses and curse words.  It's intended for an adult audience and is NOT recommended for young children.

It's Halloween in Gotham City.  At Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne (Jensen Ackles), aka The Batman, is spending a quiet evening at home.  His butler Alfred (Alastair Duncan) has candy to hand out, but Bruce points out that no children have trick or treated at the mansion for years.

Elsewhere, Gotham's police commissioner Jim Gordon (Billy Burke) is preparing to take his children Barbara and James trick or treating.  Their plans change quickly when Gordon is called into work.

District Attorney Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel) arrives home to find his wife Gilda (Julie Nathanson) sitting alone in the back yard.  She wants them to spend Halloween together at home, but unfortunately, his job doesn't allow Dent to take off for Halloween.  

A mob informant named Johnny Vitti has been murdered, shot to death.  Dent is furious, because the next day, Vitti was supposed to turn state's evidence against his uncle Carmine Falcone (Titus Welliver), better known as "The Roman." 

Falcone is the head of a major organized crime family.  Gordon believes that all hope isn't lost.  If he, Batman and Dent work together, they can still take down Falcone.  He says Dent will work "in the light" while the Batman works "the other side," and instructs them to "bend the rules, never break them."  Batman has a long history with Falcone, since his father Thomas Wayne conducted business with the Roman.  

During his search for the killer, Batman is aided by his sometimes-villain/sometimes-girlfriend Catwoman (Naya Rivera).

At Falcone's headquarters, the Roman fumes over his nephew's death and believes Dent is to blame.  When it's time to discuss business, Falcone dismisses his bookish son Alberto (Jack Quaid), who the Roman describes as is "32, going on 13."  

Later that night, when Dent returns home, he's seriously wounded when his home is firebombed. 

The next month, Mickey Chen (Greg Chun) and his gang are gunned down during their Thanksgiving dinner.  The Chen gang had been employed by Falcone.  

This makes Batman and Gordon believe they have a serial killer on their hands.  They nickname the murderer "Holiday," since the killer only strikes on holidays.

Gordon and Batman question imprisoned villain Calendar Man (David Dastmalchian) in Arkham Asylum

The carnage continues on Christmas.  This time, Batman's greatest enemy, the Joker (Troy Baker) shows up and joins the list of suspects.  

Can Batman bring Holiday to justice before they commit another holiday murder?

J.A. Morris says:

It's worth noting that the first part of this movie premiered this past June, while the second part debut in July.  We're treating it as one film presented in two parts. 

I'm a big fan of superheroes and Halloween, and I've read the comic book miniseries that was the basis for Batman:The Long Halloween, so I went into this expecting to enjoy it.  And I did, especially Part One.  It features scenes that take place on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve.  This movie is tailor-made for this blog!

In addition to Batman, it features the Joker, the Caped Crusader's greatest nemesis, and Catwoman, who assists Batman in his quest to unmask Holiday.  We get plenty of fight scenes that feature Batman taking on various antagonists.  There's a great scene involving the Joker attacking Gotham City with a plane.  

The mystery behind Holiday's identity is a good mystery that I didn't immediately solve.  

Fans of "Mafia" movies will appreciate visual and dialogue references to movies like The Godfather which feature prominently in the Falcone family scenes.  The scenes that feature Falcone berating his son Alberto are also well done.  I found myself feeling sorry for Alberto.

The voice actors all did a good job in Batman:The Long Halloween.  Jensen Ackles (best known for his role on Supernatural) voices Batman and provides solid work.  Naya Rivera plays Catwoman.  This was Rivera's final role before her tragic death and the film is dedicated to her.  In a small role, Fred Tatasciore is great as the zombie Solomon Grundy.  

Part One of this two-part film is very good.  The second part is much weaker.  Holidays in the New Year are barely mentioned in Part Two.  Granted, Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day pale in comparison to Halloween and Christmas, but I think the filmmakers could've done something more interesting with those occasions.  It makes for a disappointing finish to the story.

Batman:The Long Halloween, Parts One and Two is a movie that will be enjoyed by all fans of Batman and Holiday programming.  Since it features multiple holidays, it's something that can be enjoyed year-round.  However, the lackluster Part Two prevents me from giving it a higher rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

2 and a half jack o'lanterns.

RigbyMel says:

Batman: The Long Halloween is a good animated adaptation of the comic miniseries of the same title by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.   The animated version suggests the art style used in the comic without straight up copying it and the story is a lot of fun.   

By virtue of the extended nature of the year-long string of murders,  we get multiple visits to Arkham Asylum and encounters with an assortment of villains from  Batman's extensive rogue's gallery. 

Poison Ivy (Katee Sackhoff) really makes an impression in Part 2 and Troy Baker's channeling of a Mark Hamill-esque Joker in Part 1 is fantastic.   

As J.A. Morris mentions above, there are fun meta references to other movies.  For instance, the scenes where Batman and Commissioner Gordon go to try and glean information from Calendar Man have strong Silence of the Lambs vibes.  

The notion of the serial killer who only operates on holidays is an interesting and creepy conceit and the mystery has enough surprises for Bat-afficionados and neophytes alike. 

Thanksgiving dinner a la gangster

My only real complaint is that it feels like the filmmakers got bored with the holiday murder concept by the time they got around to Part 2 and give it short shrift in that installment.   Still,  The Long Halloween makes for entertaining superhero/holiday viewing.   

RigbyMel's rating:

2 and a half jack o'lanterns

The West Wing: "Shibboleth"

Premiered November 22, 2000.

It’s almost Turkey Day and in the West Wing of the White House, Communications Director Toby Zeigler (Richard Schiff) and his deputy Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) are working on the President’s annual Thanksgiving address to the nation.  Toby isn’t impressed with Sam’s early drafts.  

White House spokesperson C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) is surprised when she discovers two live turkeys in her office.  They’ve been brought for the President's annual “turkey pardoning” ceremony.

President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet (Martin Sheen) wants a new knife for carving the Thanksgiving turkey, so he sends his personal aide Charlie Young (Dule Hill) out shopping for one.  Charlie struggles to find a carving knife that meets the President's exacting standards. 

On a more serious note, a container ship carrying 100 Chinese refugees has been detained off the California Coast.  The refugees claim to be evangelical Christians who have fled to America seeking religious asylum.  When Pres. Barlet is told of this, he’s reminded of the Pilgrims’ journey to the New World where they sought to worship according to their beliefs.  

Bartlet is sympathetic to the refugees, but the complex nature of U.S.-China relations and immigration laws prevent the President from welcoming them to America.   There are also questions about the veracity of their claims of religious asylum.  Bartlet interviews one of the refugees, a professor named Jhin-Wei (Henry O), in order to determine if they are truly fleeing religious persecution.  

C.J. starts to grow attached to the turkeys, who are named Eric and Troy.  She learns that the President will pardon the turkey that is more photogenic and send it to a petting zoo.  C.J. decides Eric is the more attractive turkey and he will receive the pardon.  

Unfortunately, C.J. soon learns that Troy has been purchased and will be served as Thanksgiving Dinner!  This prompts C.J. to seek a Presidential Pardon for both turkeys.

Will the Chinese refugees be allowed to stay in America?  Will Troy be pardoned?  Will Bartlet finally settle on a carving knife?

J.A. Morris says: 

“Shibboleth” is an enjoyable episode of a now-classic series.  Immigration is still a serious issue and this episode handles it in a respectful and realistic manner.  The parallels between the Chinese refugees and the Pilgrims’ voyage in 1620 are obvious, but never come off as heavy-handed. 

Bartlet's inability to immediately grant asylum to the refugees is a reminder that Presidents are not gods or kings (though some Presidents act like they are) and their powers are limited by Constitutional and international law.

The plot involving the turkeys provides a nice contrast to the serious parts of “Shibboleth.”  Allison Janney is my MVP for this episode, since she has the difficult task of acting beside a duo of turkeys.

One thing that’s refreshing about “Shibboleth” is that it avoids the usual Thanksgiving TV tropes.  We don’t get any scenes of food preparation disasters, annoying relatives or even the traditional shot of a family seated at a table covered with food.  

I don't want to spoil too much of this episode, but Bartlet and Charlie's interactions are touching.  Charlie was dating the President's daughter Zoe and Jed uses Thanksgiving as a time to welcome formally welcome Charlie into his family.  

Like other episodes of The West Wing, “Shibboleth” reminds viewers that White House employees don’t have a lot of free time.  Toby, Sam and Josh (Bradley Whitford)   are spending Thanksgiving together watching football, presumably because their demanding jobs don’t allow them time to visit family. 

Toby chases down C.J. in one of The West Wing's patented "Walk-And-Talk" scenes!

A note about this episode's title:
Webster's dictionary defines the word shibboleth as "a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning."  In the Old Testament Book of Judges, it was used as a password for those who wanted to cross the river Jordan.

“Shibboleth” is a memorable episode of a great series that’s full of drama, comedy and holiday sentiment and it’s highly recommended.

J.A. Morris’ rating:

4 pumpkin pies!

RigbyMel says: 

This episode from season two of The West Wing is a great holiday episode.  

We get to see everyone's preparations for Thanksgiving amid the usual high pressure of working in the White House.  C.J. has to wrestle with the moral conundrum of which turkey to pardon and which to send off for dinner.   

There's some great absurdist comedy here, like when C.J. is very seriously trying to determine which turkey is the most photogenic or arguing the legality of a second turkey pardon.  (I also quite like the solution to the conundrum that makes use of Presidential Powers, but I won't spoil it.)   C.J.'s  utter horror at having to lead the children in song (with lute accompaniment!) at the turkey pardoning ceremony is also pretty funny. 

Poor Charlie is being run ragged in aid of Bartlet's obsessive search for the "perfect" carving knife, which has quite a sweet (but not cloying) payoff.  

I like Sam's riffing on his trouble writing the Thanksgiving proclamation as well: 

"A small band of pilgrims sought out a place in the New World where they could worship according to their own beliefs ... and solve crimes."   To be honest, I think I'd quite like to see that developed! 

Josh, Toby, and Sam plan to watch football together -- and don't want anyone to let Bartlet know they have no big Thanksgiving plans lest the President lecture them on "the history of the yam in Latin." (For the record, the Latin word for yam is "dioscorea" -- Bartlet knows all!) 

There's some great thematic parallelism going on in this episode.   Thanksgiving commemorates the Pilgrims coming to the New World in order to worship as they wish, so the Chinese refugees seeking religious asylum fits right in.   There's an additional subplot where Toby is trying to get Leo's sister a recess appointment to a minor federal education position where we get into the notion of the complexities inherent in the notion of "freedom of religion," which provides an interesting contrast. 

There's a nice balance of the serious and the comedic in "Shibboleth" and as J.A. Morris says, it manages to skip most of the typical turkey-day TV tropes, while still managing to preserve the sense of tradition and family (in this case, a work family) associated with the holiday.  

   

This is a most enjoyable holiday episode of a fantastic series and is well worth seeing. 

RigbyMel's rating: 

4 pumpkin pies.