A group of children are hanging out at the park, when a boy named Kenny Fenderman walks up to them. He is wearing Ghostbuster clothes, so the others laugh at him, so he claims he is a Ghostbuster. In the firehouse, Egon reveals he's trying to build a device called the "Ecto-Aroma Eliminator", meant to deodorise ghosts, but it's still a prototype and is thus dangerous. Then, Kenny enters, revealing that he wants to become a Ghostbuster because he told his friends he was one.
Peter gives Kenny a badge and then shows him around the firehouse. Kenny wants a piece of equipment, so Peter gives him the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator (since he wasn't there when Egon explained it was dangerous). The Ghostbusters then get a call and bring Kenny along, and meet the client, a grumpy art gallery owner named Vincent Van Swell, who establishes that anything broken subtracts from the fee.
The Ghostbusters enter the gallery, telling Kenny to stay behind, and end up trapping three ghosts. When a fourth shows up, Kenny then enters wanting to help. Peter shoves Winston so he won't shoot Kenny, but then this leads to several vases breaking. They manage to trap the last ghost, but Peter is mad at Kenny for disobeying him. Thus, Kenny walks off crying. He tries to show his friends the badge, but they laugh at him again because it's from the New York World's Fair. Kenny then shows off the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator, so one of the other kids, Willie, dares him to stay at an old mansion that's rumoured to be haunted.
Egon, meanwhile, can't find the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator, and when Peter reveals he gave it to Kenny, Egon explains that it's in danger of exploding. The Ghostbusters go out to look for Kenny, who by now, is in the mansion and has encountered a mysterious entity.
The Ghostbusters track a signal to the mansion, where they find the entity, along with four ghosts. Egon determines that the entity is controlling the ghosts and is so powerful, it needs to be blown apart upon trapping. They decide to have Kenny throw the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator at the trap, which he does, and it works. The next morning, Willie is shocked to see the Ghostbusters exit with Kenny.
This episode provides examples of
- And I'm the Queen of Sheba: Willie's response to Kenny calling himself a Ghostbuster is "And I'm Inspector Gadget".
- Anger Born of Worry: Part of the reason Peter gets mad at Kenny (the other part being he caused them to break the vases) was because he could have been killed going into the gallery.
- Artistic License Child Labour Laws: Peter makes Kenny part of the "Ghostbusters Auxilliary".
- Audience Surrogate: Kenny is based on the viewers, being a young boy (as this is a kids' show) who thinks the Ghostbusters (the main characters) are cool.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Upon first meeting the ghost-controlling entity, Kenny talks smack to it and claims he's not scared.
- Distressed Dude: Kenny ends up locked in a haunted mansion with an explosive device.
- Dramatic Irony: The audience finds out the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator is dangerous before Peter does, so Peter gives it to Kenny.
- Evil Laugh: One of the ghosts in the art gallery has an evil cackle.
- Evil Smells Bad: The episode reveals that some ghosts have a bad smell about them.
- Evil Sounds Deep: The entity that controls the ghosts has a deep, gravelly voice.
- Evil Wears Black: Two of the art gallery ghosts are wearing black shrouds.
- Fat Bastard: Willie, the meanest of the kids, is a little podgy.
- Haunted House: The mansion is haunted by four ghosts and one powerful creature that controls them.
- I Don't Think That's Such a Good Idea: The non-Peter Ghostbusters think it's unwise of Peter to bring Kenny along.
- Kid Hero: Kenny helps to save the day by throwing the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator to explode, breaking apart the evil entity.
- Last-Name Basis: The other kids call Kenny "Fenderman".
- Leitmotif: An instrumental of "Blow the Man Down" tends to play on scenes focusing on Kenny.
- Less Embarrassing Term: When the kids berate Kenny for being dressed up in a costume, he says it's not a costume but a "uniform".
- Priceless Ming Vase: Exaggerated when at the art gallery, both the Ghostbusters and the ghosts end up breaking many vases. Winston tries to save one but fails.
- Shout-Out: Willie calls himself Inspector Gadget as part of his And I'm the Queen of Sheba quip.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Egon nervously, but level-headedly, explains that Kenny is in danger from the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator possibly exploding.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Peter, not knowing the Ecto-Aroma Eliminator was dangerous, gives it to Kenny.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Kenny calls the other kids his friends, yet they often laugh at him and/or insult him.
