Chicken, He Clucked Air Date Number: 039 Episode Number Dvd: 031 Production Number: [1] 76018 Written By: J. Michael Straczynski Date First Aired: 10/19/1987 Regular Voice Actor(s): Lorenzo Music

Frank Welker

Maurice LaMarche

Arsenio Hall Guest Voice Actor(s): Susan Silo

Robert Towers Season Aired: Season 2 On Boxset: Vol. 2, Disc 1





In Chicken, He Clucked, a man driven mad by the constant smell of chicken in his life from a nearby chicken restaurant makes a deal with a demon to rid the world of all the chickens.[2]

Cast

Cubby

Egon Spengler

Ray Stantz

Winston Zeddemore

Peter Venkman

Janine Melnitz

Slimer

Morganon

Imp

Clerk Demon

Equipment

Spirit Summonings and Conjurations

Lochmore's Guide to the Lower Regions

Who's Who and What's That

P.K.E. Meter

Dimensional Inverter

Ecto-1

Proton Pack

Particle Thrower

Trap

Locations

New York City Public Library

Firehouse

The Nether Regions/Underworld

Plot

Cubby, a disheveled man who lives above several chicken stands and restaurants was tired of smelling and seeing chicken all the time. In the evening, he wandered to a park and tried to hold onto his sanity. After a woman told him he smelled like a chicken, Cubby lost it for good. So, he went to the New York Public Library and checked out Spirit Summonings and Conjurations, Lochmore's Guide to the Lower Regions, and the latest volume of Who's Who and What's That. While there he was approached by Egon, who was looking for the same books. Egon took one look at and confirmed Cubby was a human with his P.K.E. Meter. He ignored Egon's warning that the books were extremely dangerous and ran out screaming about chickens.

At the Firehouse, Ray worked on Ecto-1. Slimer flew up to Egon's laboratory and helped him solve an equation. Meanwhile, Cubby used the books he borrowed to recite an incantation. In the Nether Regions, the demon Morganon was instructed by the Clerk Demon to respond to the Class 5 Summoning with granting the client's wish in exchange for his soul. He took his disliked Imp with him and appeared before Cubby. When he found out that Cubby wanted to get rid of all chickens, he was quite dismayed at the waste of his power. He suggested that a better wish would be to rule France. Cubby would not be dissuaded, so Morganon compromised and gave him the power to make anything disappear or reappear at his command. Morganon left exacting an unnamed price. His Imp followed laughing hysterically about the ridiculous cause Morganon was summoned to.

At dawn, Cubby tested his new power on a rooftop then removed all chickens. As vortexes teleported the chickens away, Cubby also teleported away the two ton plaster chicken statue from P.J.'s Chicken. When all the chickens on Earth disappeared, it didn't take long for Egon to remember the man he met in the library. The librarian agreed to help and gave Egon Cubby's address. She also gave him hers. The Ghostbusters tracked him down and confronted him. Cubby then sent them to the same dimension that he sent the chickens to. The guys ended up miles above the ground in this new dimension. They fell through the cloud of chickens and one second before they hit the rocky ground they were transported to the Nether Regions. Morganon asked the Ghostbusters to help him reverse the bargain he struck with Cubby because it had caused him to become the laughing-stock of the Underworld. The Ghostbusters agreed and were returned home.

Egon made some animatronic chickens and approached Cubby again. They convinced him that they had returned and brought all the chickens back with them. Cubby got very angry and told the chickens to "go back where you came from." This statement actually caused the real chickens to return to their home on Earth. With this reversal, Morganon was able to break the contract and take back his power. Morganon thanked the Ghostbusters and hinted he'd see one of them again. Ray, Egon, and Winston immediately stared at Peter. The Ghostbusters took Cubby to a psychiatric hospital where he could get the help he needed... for the next 5–10 years. A nurse brought Cubby dinner. However, it was Morganon and he brought chicken.

Quotes

Morganon: "So we made a deal, and I gave him the power to make anything vanish, and he used it on... chickens! I could've given him wealth, power, fame! But he wastes it! Wastes ME on chickens! CHICKENS! (catches Ray making the crazy gesture about him) I need you, but don't push it."

Peter: "What I can't figure is what do you need us for? I mean, you've fulfilled your half of the deal, why the concern?"

Fat demon: (appears at the door) "Hey Morganon! Seen any chickens lately? Eh hahahahaha! Oh! Hey! The boss was looking for someone to handle a new deal, but he couldn't use you! The King of Rowdania doesn't have feathers! But I just want to say! Ah hahahahahaha!" (leaves)

Morganon: "Does THAT answer your question? For a demon of my status to strike a bargain over... chickens... is embarrassing. It's ruining my reputation!"

Ray: "How did they find out?"

Morganon: (glares at his imprisoned imp) "I have a pretty good idea."

Trivia

The episode was recorded on October 15, 1986. [3]

"Chicken, He Clucked" is one of the weirder and sometimes disliked episodes due to the odd story. So weird that writer J. Michael Straczynski co-workers and superiors questioned his mental health after he submitted the script.

"Poultrygeist," another chicken themed episode, is often confused with this one.

Although often depicted as stupid, in this episode, Slimer helps Egon complete a complex equation, showing that he may have an advanced understanding of math and physics. Although Egon corrects him by saying that he misplaced a decimal.

After looking at Slimer's work, Egon mentions Carl Sagan, a famous astrophysicist.

The incantation Cubby uses to summon Morganon is, "Zinga zinga rastaphari; walla walla wackamore. zim zam hows it goin? havin' a good time, Vishnu was here. Right in your fine work! Hooboy! Hooboy! Hooboy!" Although mostly nonsensical, there may be references to the Rastiphari movement and the enjoyably named, Walla Walla, Washington. The choice of words seems to be based solely on their unusual or humorous pronunciations. There was also a pun concerning the Hindu god, Vishnu and the phrase, "wish you were here."

Although mostly nonsensical, there may be references to the Rastiphari movement and the enjoyably named, Walla Walla, Washington. The choice of words seems to be based solely on their unusual or humorous pronunciations. There was also a pun concerning the Hindu god, Vishnu and the phrase, "wish you were here." Morganon offers Cubby France.

The librarian was wearing Essence of Fungus which got Egon's brief attention.

As the Ghostbusters were 47 seconds away from falling, Egon revealed it takes one minute and ten seconds to rewire the Proton Pack for alternate thrust.

Janine appears in the episode, but with no lines of dialog.

On page 4 of Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #3, in panel 1, Slimer eats from a Chick in the Box bucket. Chick in the Box appeared when Cubby started hallucinating every building was chicken-related.

Animation Errors

References





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