In today’s not-exactly-Ghostbusters news, but still very much on-brand, the latest episode of CBS’ Ghosts goes heavy on supernatural elimination tech with some equipment that’ll feel familiar to fans of the franchise.
The episode, Smooching and Smushing, centers around that very gear, with the synopsis reading, “Jay, Sam, and the ghosts attempt to fix the ghost trap in hopes of getting Sasappis across the ghost boundary to visit his longtime crush, Shiki.”
Longtime viewers may recall that this isn’t the trap’s first appearance in the series. It originally debuted in Season 2’s aptly titled Ghost Hunter episode, where it was said to be “ordered from a Latvian company that specializes in ghost hunting equipment.” Naturally.
Visually, the trap has more in common with something from Fallout than Ghostbusters, with its overall functionality also being different. There’s no need for a foot pedal, just a direct touch from a ghost. It even comes with an “evisceration” setting, which is precisely as unsettling as it sounds.
Also, in Smooching and Smushing, a repairman named Janis is called to the haunted mansion to fix the now-busted trap. While he can’t see the mansion’s spectral residents, he clearly senses something is off and whips out his own ghost-hunting gadget. We half expected something Neutrona Wand-adjacent, but what Janis pulls out appears more like the Ghost Gummer from Filmation’s Ghostbusters.
It’s not the first time Ghosts has leaned into Ghostbusters territory. Back in the Season 1 episode Halloween, a young trick-or-treater shows up to the haunted mansion dressed in full Ghostbusters gear, complete with a jumpsuit and a fabric Proton Pack. This leads to the ghostly character of Sasappis, visibly concerned, asking, “Are you not going to tell us what a Ghostbuster is?”
