Egon and Ray are attaching an airlock to the containment unit, because Egon wants to talk to spirits and be their "ambassador", which Ray thinks is crazy. Slimer flies out, having been assisting Egon and Ray, but he's a bit grumpy about it, so Ray rewards him with jellybeans. Meanwhile, Peter and Winston are washing the Ecto-1, with Peter only agreeing to help because he wants to impress the women at the Thanksgiving Parade the next day. Winston counters that the only women there would already have kids, since the parade is advertised to families. That evening, some workers are inflating one of the parade floats (a cartoon mantis), and one woman complains about the warehouse being creepy, to be told it used to be a morgue. Then, something flies into the float, making its eyes glow.
The next day, the Ghostbusters, Janine, and Slimer are in the parade, when Egon and Ray recognise the float from before as "Murray the Mantis", a character from a cartoon they both watch. Then, the Murray float pulls some people up into the sky, so Peter tries to shoot it down, but when it bursts, a giant, mantis-like creature comes out and goes on a rampage.
The Ghostbusters drive off with the woman from the warehouse, who explains that it was once a morgue. Ray realises that the mantis entity was created by an "ecto surge" due to "death energy". Peter introduces himself to the woman, whose name is Ann Lawson. Egon does a calculation and finds out that "Murray" is very powerful, so they decide to use "the Big Guy" to defeat him.
At the firehouse, Peter bribes Slimer into entering the containment unit by offering him a mini fridge, donuts, and a Diner's Club card. However, the police (including Lt. Frump) then show up and drag Egon outside, where everyone sees the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man show up. The police aren't sure about this, but Peter assures him that Stay Puft is (probably) "better" now.
Slimer leads Stay Puft into Central Park, with the Ghostbusters, Ann, and Frump following. "Murray" confronts Stay Puft and the two fight. Slimer lures Stay Puft and "Murray" into an alley, where the Ghostbusters blow "Murray" up. Frump then restarts the parade, and Stay Puft pretends to be a float to make up for the destruction of the Murray float.
This episode provides examples of
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Murray the Mantis wears a bowtie.
- Age-Stereotypical Food: Upon learning there'll be kids at the parade, Peter decides to give them his jellybeans (before realising Slimer ate them).
- And Your Reward Is Edible: Ray offers Slimer Peter's jellybeans to reward him for helping him (Ray) and Egon with the airlock.
- Anthropomorphic Food: The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man features.
- Aside Glance: Stay Puft winks at the viewers at the end.
- Balloonacy: Played for Horror when the haunted float lifts some humans into the sky.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: The entity resembles a huge praying mantis.
- Brick Joke: After Slimer tests the airlock, Ray tells him where Peter was hiding jellybeans. Later, at the parade, a frustrated Peter says he was saving those jellybeans for this moment.
- Buffy Speak: Frump calls proton packs "proton thingies".
- Chekhov's Gun: The Containment Unit airlock that Egon and Ray were working on. Egon had hoped to use it simply for diplomatic purposes, but after "Murray" begins wreaking havoc, it's used to send Slimer in and get the help of Stay-Puft.
- Creepy Cockroach: Conversed when the villains of Murray's show are the Roach Brothers.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The Ghostbusters manage to blow up "Murray" despite him being as powerful as Gozer.
- Everyone Has Standards: Ray may be a Cloud Cuckoolander, but even he finds the idea of Egon being an "ambassador" to ghosts bizarre.
- Flight: Lampshaded when Egon realises that even though praying mantises can't jump, they can fly.
- Food as Bribe: Peter bribes Slimer into retrieving Stay Puft by offering him donuts, along with a Diner's Club membership (so he could easily get food) and a fridge (where he could put his new food).
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: As Ecto-1 heads back to the firehouse, a shrieking "Murray" suddenly pops up and lunges towards the viewers.
- Friend to Bugs: Posey from Murray's show is best friends with a praying mantis.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: When "Murray" possesses the float, its eyes glow.
- Godzilla Threshold: Peter concedes to Frump that they're not entirely sure if Stay-Puft has calmed down since last time, but they just don't have any other options.
- Green and Mean: "Murray" is a dark green, powerful, evil entity.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Stay Puft's tendency to be either a good guy or bad guy depending on the episode is lampshaded by Peter who says, "He's better now... we think."
- Hero with Bad Publicity: As the chaos happens after Peter blasted the balloon, the authorities hold the Ghostbusters responsible and want them arrested.
- "I Can't Look!" Gesture: Janine covers her eyes when "Murray" shows up.
- I Don't Think That's Such a Good Idea: Ray isn't too sure about Egon's plan to be the "ambassador" to spirits.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: When Egon says that "Murray's" energy reading is 41 megawatts, Ray says that isn't so bad, but then Egon adds, "Times ten to the fourteenth power".
- Interspecies Friendship: Conversed — Murray is a fictional mantis who's friends with a human girl named Posey.
- Jerkass Has a Point: After the day is saved, Peter and Ann are about to share a moment. Frump suddenly interrupts, saying to save it for dinner and to instead focus on getting the parade back on track. Peter admits the man has a point.
- Jumping-to-Conclusions Diagnosis: Ray wonders if Egon has a fever just because he had a crazy idea, and crazy ideas are pretty standard for Egon.
- Lost Food Grievance: Zigzagged — Peter is angry that Slimer ate his jellybeans, but Peter wanted to give them to the children at the parade, not eat them himself.
- Manchild: Unsurprisingly, Ray watches The Murray the Mantis Show and knows the names of the various characters.
- Meaningful Name: In the show where Murray the Mantis comes from, the gardener's daughter is named Posey.
- Miranda Rights: Frump was in the process of reading the Ghostbusters theirs when the Containment Unit started shaking.
- Mythology Gag: Egon mentions Gozer, the antagonist of the first movie, and Winston complains that it's "another big Twinkie", referencing Egon using a Twinkie as an analogy in the movie.
- Never Trust a Title: "Murray" doesn't seem to be getting revenge on anyone.
- Not So Above It All: Egon regularly watches The Murray the Mantis Show with Ray. When questioned about it by Peter, Egon tries to claim it's more complex than you'd think.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Subverted — Winston is shocked that Peter is working hard despite being a Lazy Bum, but it turns out his only reason is to impress the women at the parade.
- Platonic Kissing: Slimer kisses Peter after being bribed by him.
- Pun: Peter calls the situation an "unnatural disaster".
- Show Within a Show: Murray the Mantis comes from a cartoon that Egon and Ray watch. According to Ray, Murray is essentially the sheriff in a little girl's garden.
- Shout-Out: Peter mentions that the only way they'd even have a chance to destroy "Murray" themselves would be if Darth Vader loaned them the Death Star.
- Thanksgiving Episode: This episode focuses on a Thanksgiving parade.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: At the end, Egon says he 'feels good'.
- This Is Gonna Suck:
- Egon matter-of-factly explains that "Murray" is as powerful as Gozer.
- While over the park in a police helicopter, Egon suddenly remembers something resembling a giant mantis should be able to reach them.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: The entity can turn from a blob of light to a mantis.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We never find out what becomes of Egon's plans to try to talk to ghosts.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Frump over the Ghostbusters letting Stay-Puft out of the Containment Unit.Frump: DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT HE DID TO THIS CITY THE LAST TIME?!
- Would Rather Suffer: Peter says he'd rather go to New Jersey (which he mentions not liking in several episodes) than watch Murray's show.
- You're Insane!:
- Ray in response to Egon wanting to open diplomatic relations with the spirit world.
- Frump over the Ghostbusters letting Stay-Puft out into the world.
