The Ghostbusters are on a job at a steel mill, and the ghost vaporises in a vat of molten steel. They note that it's odd for a ghost to just vanish, but decide the job must be done because Egon didn't get a PKE reading. However, as they leave, the molten steel glows ominously. At the firehouse, Winston finds Slimer trying on his spare uniform, then Peter and Slimer tease one another with the weaponry, but Slimer accidentally fires the proton pack he was teasing Peter with and vaporises the firepole, so Peter orders a new one from the steel mill.
Then, the guys get called to a department store, where a fridge has come alive, but oddly, there is again no PKE reading. The Ghostbusters don't know what to do, so they leave, and find a TV cable has also come alive and is attacking some cable workers. The Ghostbusters fire at a cable, but it escapes down a manhole, which Peter refuses to follow it down.
In the car, the Ghostbusters see a crowd of people running out of a hardware store, chased by flying nails, and in the supermarket next door, there are flying cans. Meanwhile, at a museum, a sculpture comes to life and runs away, and in a construction site, girders come to life and nearly kill the workers, yet still there are no PKE readings.
At the firehouse, the new pole is installed, and Peter goes to loaf on his bed. When they get another call about a fridge, he tries to slide down the new pole, but he gets stuck and then the pole spins him. Egon, noticing that all the things that came to life were made of steel, surmises that the ghost they tried to catch fused with the steel and is thus inhabiting all of the items, and that the lack of PKE readings is due to the steel molecules interfering with the ghost. Ray then adds that perhaps the different "parts" of the ghost are trying to combine.
The pole takes off, and the Ghostbusters chase it to a salvage yard in New Jersey. There, a bunch of metal objects combine to make a robot, of sorts, that attacks. The guys shoot at it, but it just rebuilds itself, so they run away. They try destroying it with a compactor and a crane, but that doesn't work either, however, Peter accidentally grabs the haunted robot with the crane's magnet. With the haunted robot in tow, the Ghostbusters take it to the steel mill and melt down the metal, which separates the ghost, which they then trap.
This episode provides examples of
- Animate Inanimate Object: The ghost in the steel brings various steel objects to life.
- Artsy Beret: The artist who built the sculpture wears a beret.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: Winston says, "Have you seen—?", and then when he sees Slimer wearing his spare uniform, he yells, "SLIMER!".
- Bubblegum Popping: At one point, Janine is seen chewing bubblegum, which pops all over her face.
- Comically Missing the Point: When the pole spins Peter, Egon initially thinks he's fooling around.
- Conforming OOC Moment: All the Ghostbusters, even Egon, exclaim in fear when the girders fly at them.
- Death Glare: Peter glares at Slimer for trying on Winston's clothes.
- Ectoplasm: Played for Laughs when Winston complains about Slimer getting ectoplasm on his clean uniform when he tried it on.
- Fear Is the Appropriate Response: When the robot rebuilds itself after being shot, all the Ghostbusters can do is run away.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: Peter declares he's not afraid of anything, seconds before seeing the haunted junk robot and declaring, "Well, almost anything!".
- Lightmare Fuel: The firepole is haunted by a ghost that has no issue with trying to kill humans if it means putting itself together... which causes Peter to spin around like a goof.
- No-Sell: The ghost can't be trapped while inhabiting the steel (though it can be when it's not).
- Not So Stoic: Egon looks visibly nervous when the girders attack, and when he realises the ghost is probably in the steel.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Slimer says nervously, "Uh-oh!" when he sees Peter glaring at him.
- Egon gets a nervous expression when he realises that the ghost might be in the steel.
- Pun-Based Title: The title puns on "lost and found".
- Say My Name:
- Winston yells Slimer's name upon seeing him in his uniform.
- He then says angrily, "Peter!" when Peter threatens Slimer with a trap.
- Slapstick: While the steel ghost is a real threat, the scene of the possessed firepole spinning Peter was still largely played for laughs.
