Gooey Gus

Gooey Gus is the villain of the Casey's Story in the four-episode arch "Attack of the Slime Monster" from the show PBS tv show Ghostwriter. Gooey Gus is a doll that comes to life and wreaks havoc for the Ghostwriter Team in Casey's story "Attack of the Slime Monster" for a Slime Monster story contest.

Description
Gooey Gus is a scary toy doll. The doll is about 12 to 14 inches tall. It has purple droopy, rippley skin that's wearing a red sweater under a black leather trench coat. The doll's face features uneven bulging, bloodshot eyes and a menacing grin. The doll is operated with batteries located on it's back and has the ability to say at least three phrases; "You Laughing at Me? You LAUGHING AT ME?!!, "I'm burning mad, I'm steaming mad!", and "Slime, Anyone?". The doll also has the ability to squirt and ooze liquid bubblegum from it's grinning mouth. Gooey Gus's slime is a self expanding grape bubblegum. When it touches a person's skin, it keeps growing until it encases the entirety of the victim. Then it proceeds to harden in which it is very difficult to remove from the encased victim. The slime has three stages; 1st: a lavender- color liquid slime, 2: a hardened elastic dark bright grape color slime and 3: a solidified barely elastic form until it hardens completely.

Background
Lenni is discussing on the phone to a friend about their middle school graduation, when all of a sudden a she turns around and screams. The creature staring back at her has a warped purple face with bulging eyes and oozing a lavender-colored liquid from it's mouth. "Gotcha!" says Casey as she lowers the purple doll down laughing. Casey tells Lenni about the toy called Gooey Gus, The Slime Monster. Casey says "One day a Reliable Bubblegum Factory Worker in charge of mixing the gum, fell asleep at the controls. The bubblegum got too hot and too much sugar got poured in and then...BOOM!, The Slime Monster was born." Casey explains to Lenni that there is a scary story contest for the Slime Monster but she is having trouble coming up with scary part for her story. Lenni and the Ghostwriter Team throughout the four episodes help Casey with various parts of her story. Here is what they come up with:

Part 1
On Casey's Birthday, Jamal gets Casey a gift and as she opens the lid, she screams. Rubber snakes are dangling from under the lid, to Casey's relief there is a Slime Monster doll in the box. The last one Jamal could find. Casey decides then and there to get Jamal back for the prank. She chases Jamal through the living room around the couch and when she thinks she's cornered him, he ducks and Casey squirts purple slime in Grandma CeCe face. Grandma CeCe tells her to hand the doll over and is mad at Jamal. Pranks after pranks ensue for throughout the day with Jamal bring in his friend Alex in on a particularly scary nighttime joke.

In the morning Jama and Alex are walking home from school and walk into a "dark and deserted alley". They feel that someone or something is following them. The turn around to see nothing. The walk again and see the purple-headed doll. Thinking that its a prank by Casey and Alex's sister, Gaby, they call out to them to come out, but no one does. They leave the doll in the alleyway and we follow Alex back to the Bodega.

At the Bodega Alex barges into Gaby's room to demand why they were trying to scare Jamal and him in the alleyway. Gaby and Casey have no idea what he's talking about, Casey says that she couldn't find her slime monster this morning and asks if he brought it back. Alex says no still not believing they had nothing to do with the alleyway prank. As Alex and Casey argue, Gaby interrupts and says "Guys! I smell something burning" They rush into the store part of the small Bodega and see that the Arroz Con Pollo pot is jumping back and forth. Gaby tries to take the lid off before Alex tells her to grab a glove so she doesn't get burned. Gaby grabs the glove and takes the lid off followed by a screeching "NOOO!" from Casey as a purple head rises up and down in the pot filled with rice. Casey sternly tells Alex that your "Not suppose to overheat a Slime Monster!" Alex barks back "I didn't over heat it! and I'm sick and tired of you two blaming me!" as the eyes of the Slime Monster slowly pop open in a green mist as he heats up. Gooey Gus is Alive.

Part 2
The story continues with Casey, Gaby and Alex & Gaby's Father frustrated with what they believe is a prank conceived by Alex. Alex ignores them and "plays it cool". His father says he has to throw away the rice and make a new batch, but when Alex opens the pot, the Slime Monster is not in it. He shows this to Casey and Gaby to their shock. Casey explains that the Slime Monster is overheated and alive. Casey says that its "Slime Time" where "He will go everywhere sliming people to death". They look around to find a sign when they see wet purple footprints going out the door, they procced to follow as Gaby accidently steps in the slime. They go to the first heat source to find he was just there. Alex proclaims that "He, the great Alexandro, Laughs in the face of Danger!" as Gaby scoffs at him. They go find another slime puddle and next to it Alex finds a basketball and tells the girls he's gonna shoot some hoops. Gaby angrily remarks "Boys!". Gaby and Casey spot another slime puddle, Gaby saying "I'm getting warm I can feel it" as Casey tries to touch the bubblegum slime Gaby snatches her hand saying "I wouldn't touch it if I were you". As they are walking away Gooey Gus follows right behind them.

As Alex is shooting hoops Gaby and Casey are walk on the side walk when all of a sudden Casey screams, "GABY LOOK OUT!". A thick stream of bubblegum slime runs on top of Gaby's white Nike's. Gaby screams in horror as she reaches down to remove the slime with her bare hands but is just getting entangled in the liquid bubblegum. Alex hears his sister's cry for help and he stops playing with the basketball to run to her rescue. When Alex reaches up to Casey, Gaby is nowhere in site, he asks Casey where is she and Casey silently points to the direction of his sister. Gaby is being carted away in a red wagon with her hands and feet are bound in a stretchy wad of purple bubblegum. Alex stands there in horror as she scream for him to rescue her from her "Slimy Kidnapper" as he says " I'm burning mad, I'm steaming mad".

Alex chases the Slime Monster to Prospect Park with Gaby in tow screaming for dear life. Alex goes through the bushes only to find that the Slime Monster got Gaby on a green paddle boat as to get away from Alex. Gaby is covered up to her elbows in the purple bubblegum, she tries to set herself free as it grows "higher and higher, inch by inch". The Gooey Gus spins his head around and cause Gaby to scream. Alex tries to think of a way to reach his baby sister, he thinks of swimming, a vine to swing across and other ways but all are futile in their usefulness. Then Ghostwriter shows up and reveals to Alex another green paddle boat to cross the pond with and save Gaby. Gaby has the bubblegum growing up to her neck as she pulls of a piece of the bubblegum hoping to chew it away while still screaming for Alex's help. When Alex gets over to the other side, Gaby is nowhere in site. Ghostwriter shows up again and leads Alex to where she is. Alex hears his sister screaming for him. Gaby, back in the red wagon with the bubblegum completely wrapped around her body only leaving the head exposed, is dragged into a dimly lit tunnel by the slime monster still in doll form. Alex calls for Gaby when he enters the tunnel and find to his horror that Gaby is completely cover from head to toe in the grape purple bubblegum as she blows out bubbles in a exhausted mood. Alex see's that Gooey Gus has written on the walls of the tunnel "Slime, Anyone?" as he urges Gaby to keep chewing.

Part 3
Alex goes over to Gaby to take off the bubblegum, but Gaby tells him to "Don't Touch!". She explains "Once the bubblegum touches your skin, it keeps growing until it covers your whole body and once it hardens, it never comes off". Alex thinks of using paint thinner, but Gaby quickly protests the dangerous idea. Alex goes to Jamal's house to get him to help with Gaby. The bring Gaby back to the house using a large blanket to carry her bubblegum encased body. They set her down in the living room while they discuss how to get the gum off of her. Jamal comes up with the idea of freezing the gum with ice, to which Alex says "We got a bunch of that stuff at the Bodega". They go to grab the ice leaving Gaby encased her bubblegum prison while she blows bubbles for air. They come back and freeze harden the gum. Jamal tries to chisel and hammer the frozen Gaby out but to no avail, until he judo chops the gum breaking it into pieces freeing Gaby from her bubble gum cocoon. She hugs Jamal and gives him the credit for saving her, despite Alex's "efforts".

They discuss what to do with the Slime Monster still on the loose. Jamal wants to collect sample of the frozen bubble gum to find a way to destroy Gooey Gus. All of a sudden something grabs Alex's leg, Its the Slime Monster. Alex violently shakes his foot to get the purple doll off of him in which he is successful but the Slime Monster is blocking every exit in the house when they try to escape. So Gaby writes on her hand, a Rally G so Ghostwriter can call the other members to gather at Gaby's room. The trapped trio run off in different exits to avoid the Slime monster. In Gaby's room, Hector comes up with a strategy to locate where Gooey Gus is and how to defeat him. They all go out looking for hot spots and heat sources to see where he might be growing stronger.

Back at Jamal's house, Grandma CeCe sees Gooey Gus in her oven while she's cooking and runs out in terror, Jamal goes in to fight him, but the Slime Monster slimes Jamal's forehead. Jamal is in pain as he says "It's burning my skin off!" as he pulls the piping hot gooey purple slime sticking to his forehead. Gaby puts ice on it and they are able to get it off. Later Gaby and Casey, decked out in protective gear, corner Gooey Gus sun bathing on the roof. Gaby thinks its a good idea to cool him down so he gets weaker. They find a bucket of water and Gaby throws it on him. They believe they defeated the Slime Monster when all of a sudden he grows to be 7ft tall due to the water being super hot. Gooey Gus has the door shut on the girls trapping them on the roof with him as he moves closer and closer.

Part 4
On the roof, Gaby and Casey are screaming for their lives as Gooey Gus inches closer to them. Gaby tells Casey that they are strong Women and find the strength to open the door and make it in the nick of time. They run into Gaby's room with the Slime Monster behind them. They lock the door but Gooey Gus oozes through the bottom crack of the door. The two girls escape out the window by a hair. With the Slime Monster still chasing them, they warn the other member of the Ghostwriter team to run as the Slime Monster chases them down the street. They all make it back to the Bodega and barricade the front door only for the Slime Monster to appear behind them. They get terrified and start throwing frozen foods at him until he leaves in temporary defeat.

Upstairs Lenni is singing her graduating song she's writing. As she's singing, lavender-colored slime oozes at through the bottom of the door unnoticed. It reconnects itself into the 7ft Slime Monster and terrifies Leni as she turns around. Jamal goes to find a way to defeat the Slime Monster once and for all, while the team still in the Bodega, hear Leni's screams from upstairs. They rush up the stairs to find the loft ruined with liquid grape bubblegum everywhere. They all go through the door and starts to hear muffled cries for help. The door slams shut revealing Leni encased in a giant purple cocoon of grape bubblegum stuck behind the door. Totally encased and muffled, she warns the team that the Slime Monster is still in the room. They lock the door to keep him from getting out and go to the freezer to prepare for the final showdown. Unaware to them, Gooey Gus has been watch their every move and comes out at the right time to surprise attack the team. Jamal finds out that vegetable oil softens the gum so it cant stick together. Ghostwriter tells Jamal to hurry that their is slime everywhere Jamal leaves and arrives at the Bodega. He grabs as many bottle of vegetable oil rushes upstairs.

Upstairs, Jamal finds Lenni in a more solidified bubblegum cocoon attached to the door as for a big bubblegum cocoon on the floor with everyone else in it. Jamal the hears a whisper. It's Tina, she somehow escapes and doesn't know where the Slime Monster is in the room. She gets confused when Jamal shows her the vegetable oil sarcastically stating "Are we gonna make a salad?". Jamal assures her this is gonna work and he's gonna be the distraction to lure Gooey Gus out. Jamal proceeds to do so with a baking pan for protection. Jamal successfully lures out Gooey Gus for Tina, on Jamal's que, to run behind Gooey Gus and dump the oil on him. Gooey Gus dissolves and and can't come back together again. Gooey Gus is defeated and Jamal & Tina free their friends from their gooey purple cocoons.

Gallery
Gooey Gus=

Trivia

 * Byron Utley portrayed Gooey Gus