Dr. Frankenstein (The Ghost Busters)

Dr. Frankenstein is an antagonist in the episode 'Dr. Whathisname' of the Filmation live-action Saturday morning kids show, The Ghost Busters.

The ghosts of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein and his monster emerge in the modern day in a cemetery outside the unnamed town the show is set in, with the Doctor determined to find his mentally-challenged goofball monster a brain - the brain of the most gullible fool in all the world. In the meantime, The Ghost Busters are in the midst of a very minor crisis. Tracy The Gorilla tries to hypnotize the hapless Eddie Spencer into forgetting his distressing hangnail--which Jake Kong interrupts and calls out as foolish, urging the two dimwits (well, dimmer than him, anyway) to go and get their assignment from unseen employer Zero. Tracy and Spencer get the message in the form of a cream pie whose topper berry Tracy twists to start the recording playing. Unfortunately, the recording is broken up in several spots, leaving our heroes with the location of their latest threat, but even less of a clue than normal as to who it is and what they're up to.

At least able to reason out that the villain is a doctor of some sort in the old castle on Batwing Lane (the same castle is used in every single episode of the low-budget series), the heroes make for the cemetery, hoping to find the name of a Doctor buried there (in this world, Dr. Frankenstein's final resting place is apparently in this town). Dr. Frankenstein and his monster emerge before they arrive, since they need to use the cemetery as a gateway between worlds to bring over the equipment needed for the brain transference from the afterlife. Dr. Frankenstein increasingly despairs of finding the proper brain for his addle-headed monster, till he sees Jake Kong and then Tracy The Gorilla successively trick the nervous Spencer into entering the cemetery. Jake Kong's sudden return prevents the evil duo from grabbing Spencer, leaving the villains without a brain and the heroes still without a clue.

When the Ghost Busters finally decide to head to the castle itself, the Doctor rejoices, since his ideal brain has now come to him. Using Eddie's hangnail as a lame excuse, he gets in and the Doctor begins to prepare for the operation. Jake Kong begins to worry, and rushes the castle door, only to have Tracy simply open it and the two search for their teammate. Finding him in the operating room, they uncover the other patient, The Monster, and finally realize their opponent is Dr. Frankenstein. The heroes, chased by the Doctor and the Monster, do their usual incompetent job hiding and are quickly found out, rescued only by the Doctor's inability to make the monster perform any task intelligently. While creator and creation quarrel, the Ghost Busters ready their Ghost De-Materializer, struggling to get the settings just right for the banishment. Aided by a thrown cream pie upsetting the Doctor into a rant that upsets the crybaby monster, the Ghost Busters at last nail the pair, ending their quest for at least several centuries.

Trivia

 * The Doctor was played by sitcom veteran Bernie Kopell, better known for his roles as Doc on The Love Boat and villain-wise, as Siegfried on the original TV version of Get Smart. The monster was played by William Engesser, who, according to Wikipedia and IMDB, often played costumed creatures or toughs.
 * The Ghost Busters mention a time limit, albeit one of centuries, on the banishment caused by their Ghost De-Materializer. This would be a regular theme in the later animated Ghostbusters by Filmation, which used this show as its premise.
 * Dr. Frankenstein was, until his banishment at the end, able to transit back from the afterlife at will, as well as vanish to hide while still in this world. However, bringing the Monster and his equipment back with him was taxing.