The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: The Ghouliest Show on Earth (1985)

 

A wonderfully creepy episode. 

In this episode the gang heads to Dooville to visit Scooby's parents. When they get there no one is there to meet them. Instead they are all at a traveling circus where everything is free. The gang is having the time of their lives there, but Scooby and Shaggy discover there is something much more sinister going on and Flim Flam may be in extreme danger. 

There is something about a circus setting that always brings out the creepiest side to the Scooby franchise and this episode is no exception. While most Scooby adventures have villains that look and outwardly act creepy, this episode does the exact opposite. The main villain looks like a normal person and pretends to be a good guy. This is honestly quite a bit creepier, because it gives one the feeling that no one can be trusted and makes us realize that if this as real, we could easily fall into the same trap. There is something creepy about something sinister hiding underneath something that seems so pleasant and innocent as a free circus. This episode understands that and does a wonderful job of building up the suspense and creating an uncomfortable feeling in its audience. Even with the darker edge, this episode still has some really good humor, I especially love the bizarre reoccurring joke involving the man married to a cow. Even for this series that is an incredibly surreal and off-beat joke, and that just makes it all the funnier.  

The only complaint, I have aout this episode is that when the true nature of the circus is reveled the designs aren't as creepy as they should be. However this is a small complaint for such a good episode. 

 

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: Coast-to-Ghost (1985)

 

A delightfully spooky episode. 

In thi episode, the gang faces off against Rankor, one of the 13 Ghosts. Rankor tricks Vincent Van Ghoul to look into the eye of a jewel that begins turning him to tone. Our heroes team up with Weerd and Bogel (who are using the gang to get to the chest of demons) to save the day. 

This is a truly delightful episode. Rankor is a great villain he is incredibly powerful and a huge threat to our heroes. He also a wonderfully creepy design. Yet at the same time there is a fun childish side to his personality (as is evidenced by his less than creepy voice). His goal is simply to impress an elite group of spooks, so he can be a member of this gang. This gives us a wonderful combination of the creepy and the silly, which is just what I love about Scooby-Doo! Adding to the fun is the delightfully creepy designs of the group of ghosts our main villain wants to join. These characters are pretty darn creepy but never too much so to take away from the silliness of much of this episode. Speaking of silliness, Weerd and Bogel are shown to great advantage in this episode and get some truly great gags. This episode also has a great atomspheric feel to it that is simply a lot of fun. 

If I were to make any complaints about this episode, it would be about the cops that are here for comedy relief but are never that funny. 

All in all this episode is a lot of fun.   

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: It's A Wonderful Scoob (1985)

 

One of my favorite Scooby-Doo! episodes ever. 

In this episode, the gang faces off against Time Slime, one of the 13 Ghosts who has gotten the power to control time. Time Slime gets ahold of Scooby-Doo personally and scares him further than even he has been scared before. This causes Scooby to actually quit the gang. Without Scooby's help the gang hires a new dog to take his place. Unfortunately this dog proves to be completely useless to the gang and quite boring for the viewers at home. Kids everywhere not only stop watching the show, but they won't eat, go to school or anything until Scooby comes back on his show. This gets so dire, even President Ronald Reagan gets involved. However this isn't the worst of it. Without the help of Scooby, the gang loses and Time Slime takes over the world. Vincent Van Ghoul then takes Scooby to the future where he can see what happens to the world with Time Slime in charge. 

This is a perfect episode and I love everything about it. While there is a lot of humor, seeing what happens to the gang without Scooby has some very dark undertones that help make this one of the best written stories of the series. In fact this whole episode does an amazing job of balancing the humor, the creepiness and the story. It is also great to see how much more Scooby means to the gang than being a comedy relief cowardly dog. Time Slime is a wonderful villain and definitely one of the greatest threats the gang has been up against thus far. Yet the humor here is some of the best Scooby humor ever. The fourth wall breaking humor here is fantastic and cracks me up every time, especially the scene with Ronald Reagan. 

I can not praise this episode enough. 

 

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: When You Witch Upon a Star (1985)

 

A delightful Scooby episode.

In this episode Marcella, one of the 13 Ghosts gives three inept witches a powerful book of spells, so thet can release her from the Zone of Eternal Evil, where she has been trapped. The gang goes to get the book of spells away from the three witches, while Vincent Van Ghoul, goes to the Zone of Eternal Evil to stop Marcella in person. 

This is a very fun episode. The humor works especially well here. The three witches are based on The Three Stooges. While as a huge Three Stooges fan, I know nothing can top the actual Stooges, these are really fun takes on the classic funny men of the movies. After seeing the gang take on some of the most powerful ghosts in the world, it is a nice change of pace to see them face off against three silly and fun characters as these. Yet we still get the spookiness and major threat with Marcella, who is delightfully creepy and whose magic is even a major threat to the great Vincent Van Ghoul. The story itself moves at a fast pace and is never dull for a moment. Yet despite this fast pace, it also never feels rushed. All the members of the gang get time to shine here and none of them are ever pushed to the background. This episode also benefits from the wonderful background art that so many of us Scooby fans love. 

I love a little in-joke here, where Scooby changes the channel on Vincent's crystal ball and finds a re-run of Scooby-Doo! Where Are You?

All in all this is a very fun episode.  

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: Ship of Ghouls (1985)

 

One of the best episodes of this series.

After so many encounters with real ghosts Scooby is left traumatized. The gang decides that Scooby could use a vacation to calm his nerves. So the gang goes on a cruise. Unfortunately for Scooby the two ghosts, Weerd and Bogel follow them and scare Scooby at every turn. This makes Scooby's nerves even more shot. Flim-Flam decides to hypnotize Scooby to laugh at danger instead being scared. However when the gang turns out to be in real danger, this turns out not to have been the best idea. 

I love everything about this episode. Though it is heavily played for laughs, the idea of Scooby being pushed too far after too many ghost encounters is a great one. The fact that this series would explore such an idea shows why I love it so much. I also have how creepy this episode is. There is a real eeriness here that works fantastically. Some of the twists and villain designs are delightfully creepy. Speaking of twists and turns, this episode has some great ones and each one makes the episode more creepy, suspenseful and exciting. What makes this all the more impressive is that the episode accomplishes all this so well, while still being a very comedy heavy episode. The comedy itself is quite funny and at the same time never distracts from the great storyline. 

This to me is a near perfect episode.  

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: Reflections in a Ghoulish Eye (1985)

 

A really fun Scooby adventure.

In this episode the gang travels to Morrocco after receiving a telegram supposedly from Vincent Van Ghoul telling them to go to a paranormal convention there. Unfortunately that telegram was not actually sent by Vincent but rather one of the 13 ghosts, a mirror demon called the Reflector Specter. He hopes to suck them into a mirror dimension where he can control everything. 

The Reflector Spector is a wonderful Scooby villain. His design and his voice are wonderfully creepy and his power to suck our heroes into another dimension makes him a major threat to our heroes. The first scene where he appears is fantastic, as we seem him sucking in a completely innocent victim, who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This scene already sets him up as quite creepy and a real threat to our heroes. 

The episode also benefits from the Moroccan setting. This gives the episode a unique atmosphere and feel that sets it apart from other episodes in the series. The background art is also as wonderful as ever and the detail and effort put into it really shows. The mirror dimension is also wonderfully designed.

Unfortantly the humor here is not as good as in the previous episodes. There are no real laugh out loud moments here, though there are a few jokes that do raise a smile. Too much of this humor revolves around the one time character Sandy. Sandy is a takeoff of Martin Short's Ed Grimley character, a character I always found more annoying than funny. This takeoff of him to me is just as annoying and unfunny and I feel this episode would have been quite a bit better if it didn't have him.

While Sandy brings this episode down a little, this is still a delightful Scooby adventure.  

 

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: Me And My Shadow Demon (1985)

 

A really fun Scooby adventure.

As this episode begins a shadow demon breaks Vincent Van Ghoul's crystal ball and steals the Chest of Demons. The gang follows the demon to Befuddle Manor, where they run into one of the 13 ghosts, Queen Morbidia and an army of real monsters she has gathered. 

This episode is a lot of fun. Once again the humor hits wonderfully. There is another delightful sing-along that is even funnier than the last one. There is also a wonderful bit of self parody, where Flim-Flam leads the others through a maze, resubliming the in and out of doors scenes in Scooby-Doo! Where Are You. The scene where Shaggy and Scooby sing Me and My Shadow is probably one of my favorite distracting the villain gags in this whole franchise. This episode also has the gang interact quite a bit with Vincent Van Ghoul and these interactions are wonderful, especially the ones involving Flim Flam. The Shadow Demon is also a wonderful character, with a wonderfully creepy and fun design. There is also a great twist involving this character that is very well thought out and executed.

Unfortunately Queen Morbidia is a rather weak villain, who never feels as creepy or memorable as she should be. 

This may not be my favorite episode of the series but it is still a lot of fun. 

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo: To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before (1985)

 

Note: The review will contain spoilers as this episode sets up the entire premise of the series. 

A delightful beginning to one of my favorite Scooby series. 

As this episode begins, we see two ghosts, these two ghosts wish to open a chest full of the 13 most powerful and evil ghosts to ever exist. They feel that if they open it, the ghost will consider them heroes and reward them greatly. However the chest can only be opened by the living. When they sense that some mortals who they could trick into opening the chest are coming, they decide that this is just what they need. When then see Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Scrappy aboard their plane, The Mystery Flying Machine. The ghosts cause the plane to crash in a nearby town in the Himalayas. We then see a young con-man kid named Flim-Flam (subtle name isn't it). The townspeople have had enough of this little con artist and try to run him out of town. When the plane runs by Flim Flam grabs ahold of it and gets away. A police officer comes by and arrests our heroes. When they see the judge, he demands they leave town before sunset. Flim-Flam suggests that the gang visits his friend the mystic Vincent Van Ghoul (based off of and voiced by the one and only Vincent Price). Vincent warns the gang that this town has a terrible secret, after moon fall, the townsfolk become werewolves. The townsfolk learning that the gang knows their secret decides they can't leave and tries to keep them there. They even turn Daphne into a werewolf. Luckily the gang escapes and Flim-Flam's Lottsa Luck Joy Juice actually works and turn Daphne back into herself. The gang runs to an old, abandoned temple where the ghosts are keeping their plane. The townsfolk follow them there. Flim Flam turns them back to normal with his tonic and they tell Daphne, Scrappy and Flim-Flam how they trapped the 13 ghosts in the chest but before it was locked the 13 ghosts put a curse on the town. However Daphne realizes that Scooby and Shaggy aren't with them. They try to catch them before the duo is tricked into opening the chest, but they are too late. Scooby has opened the chest and the ghosts are now free. Vincent tells the gang that only the ones who opened the chest can put the ghosts back in it. So the gang (with the help of Flim-Flam) have to search for and capture the ghosts themselves.

This episode may in many ways be just set-up (for the first Scooby series with an overarching storyline), but it is excellent set-up. This episode perfectly establishes what will be the overarching story. Though we don't get to see any of the individual ghosts, this episode sets up that these are huge threats to our heroes and something much more serious than the bad guys in costumes they had gone after in previous series. Though some may not like the idea of the gang going after real ghosts, I think it is important for a franchise to always try out new things and this series is a delightful change of pace. This episode also a wonderful creepy atmosphere and a sense of real dread. The franchise has not been this effectively creepy since the best episodes of Scooby-Doo! Where Are You! The design of Daphne as a werewolf is especially delightfully creepy. This episode also has a lot of story and characters. Yet the story never feels rushed, even in a half hour episode, and the main characters each get their chance to shine. 

I will admit the humor in this episode is not as great as it will be in future episodes. Because of the amount of story that needs to be told, there are not that many good laughs here. Though the jokes that are here aren't bad, they pale in comparison to the great humor that will be in future episodes of this show.  

This is one of my favorite Scooby shows and I am so excited to re-watch and review it. This episode is certainly a great start. 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: The Ransom of Scooby Chief (1980)

 

The first Scooby adventure of the 1980's is a delightfully unique Scooby cartoon.

In this episode the gang goes to New York and Scrappy's old neighborhood. When Scrappy introduces Shaggy and Scooby to his friends, a duo of kidnapers kidnap Scooby and Shaggy. Scrappy and his friends set out to save Scooby and Shaggy.

This marks the final episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo! and the last in the original half hour format. Despite this the episode is a strong deviation from the previous episodes. There is no spooky theme to be found here and no mystery for the audience to solve. On top of this Velma, Fred and Daphne barely appear here. Perhaps it is appropriate that this episode was the first Scooby episode of the 1980's, a decade which would be all about breaking the traditional Scooby formula.  

While I love the traditional Scooby formula, sometimes it nice to have a little change of pace and this episode is certainly an example of that. This episode moves at a fast pace and never once feels dull. The idea of our main characters being kidnapped and having to be saved by the side character is a delightful one. Though many dislike Scrappy, I actually like the little guy. He gets his time to shine here and he does a great job carrying an episode. He is very likable here and gets in a few good gags. While his friends have very simple personalities they are also quite likable and get a few good gags. I love Annie trying to work her feminine charms on the bad guys and Duke's Jimmy Cagney type voice. Scooby and Shaggy are also in good form here and get some good moments to shine. Like one should except from a Scooby episode of this time, the background art is wonderful, even if there is nothing spooky about it. However I will admit the villains are kind of bland here. 

Your opinion on this episode will probably depend on your opinion of Scrappy. Since I like the little guy, I enjoyed this a lot. However those who hate Scrappy will probably hate this episode. 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: The Ghoul, the Bat and the Ugly (1979)

 

An excellent Scooby mystery.

In this episode the gang goes to see the Batty Awards, an awards show dedicated to horror films. However the Batty Awards are interrupted when a monster from a movie that is going to be screened there appears and scares everybody away. 

This episode is excellent on all levels. The villain is fantastic. He has a wonderfully creepy design and voice. He is the type of monster who would have felt at home in Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? The mystery element is handled wonderfully. There are quite a few suspects and all of them seem very likely to have done it. However all the clues lead perfectly to the real culprit and when the monster is unmasked, this makes perfect sense. This mystery is so good because you can solve it with the gang learning each clue when they do and figuring out what each clue means. If you really think about each clue you can solve the mystery too and that is the sign of a well written mystery. I also love that this episode gives ample time to each of the member of the gang. Unlike many of the early Scrappy episodes, this episode doesn't push Fred, Velma (voiced by Marla Frumkin for the first time) and Daphne to the side. They get their time to shine, yet we still get time for the antics of Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy. Speaking of these antics, the trio really gets to shine here. The idea of them meeting various actors in monster costumes throughout the episode as long as the main monster is a very good one and this episode takes delightful advantage of it. 

All in all this is a wonderful Scooby mystery and a delight for all Scooby fans. 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: When You Wish Upon a Star Creature (1979)

 

A typically fun Scooby mystery. 

When an astrologist discovers a new star, he and other scientists are attacked by a star creature.  

This episode benefits from a strong villain. The design is quite cool looking and memorable. I love how the character he lights on and off as he moves. That gives him a really unique feel. He also has a delightfully creepy voice. Like all episode of this show, the episode also benefits from some wonderfully looking background art (even if the setting is not all that unique). The mystery isn't too hard to solve, but the story moves by quickly and is a lot of fun. The humor may not be laugh out loud funny, but it definitely put a smile on my face multiple times.  

This episode has some historical significance. It marks the last time Pat Stevens voices Velma. She had begun voicing the character with the first episode of The Scooby-Doo! Show (which debuted September 11, 1976). Starting with the next episode Velma would be voiced by Marla Frumkin, who would continue to voice the character through 1984. This also marked the 100th Scooby-Doo! episode (all TV shows included). 

All in all not one of the best Scooby mysteries but still a lot of fun. 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: I Left My Neck in San Francisco (1979)

 

A wonderfully fun and atmospheric Scooby Mystery.

In this episode the Mystery Inc. Gang takes a trip to Alcatraz Prison. There an old lady warns them of a lady vampire that haunts the area. Naturally Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy run into this vampire. The vampire looks suspiciously like Daphne, who never seems to be around at the same time as the vampire. 

This is one of the best episodes of Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo! One of the main reasons for this is the villain. This is a villain that is so good, she would have felt right at home in Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? Her design and voice are delightfully creepy, yet never too scary to take away from the show's lighthearted feel. Having Daphne as a suspect also gives this villain a really interesting edge that sets her apart from any similar monsters the gang has faced. This also makes this a more complicated and well thought out mystery than usual. This episode also typically has wonderfully detailed and atmospheric background art that is simply lovely to look at. There is also a pure mastery of lighting that gives the episode the similar type of eerie feel as the old Universal monster movies. While the episode is not laugh out loud funny, there are definitely a few comedic moments that made me smile. 

All in all for Scooby fans, this is a wonderful episode. It is also an episode that could hold its own with any episode of Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: Twenty Thousand Screams Under the Sea (1979)

 

A typically fun Scooby mystery. 

When the gang visits Acapulco, the find that a sea beast is scaring off many of the divers.

This episode benefits from a really good villain and a great sense of atmosphere. The sea beast has a wonderful design that looks creepy and threatening but never too much to take away from the lighthearted fun. While Scooby has had quite a few mysteries at sea, but this one is an especially good-looking adventure. The use of lighting and the stormy weather as the gang travels in a boat add a real classic monster movie feel to this episode. Meanwhile, while the background art is always wonderful to look at, it is especially well done here. This is a beautiful looking episode and one of the most atmospheric mysteries from the first season of Sccoby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!

The mystery itself is fun and cleverly written but it does have the problem of being too easy to solve due to a lack of suspects. This doesn't change that the character's motive is quite well handled and that the story moves by at a very quick pace. 

This is not one of the show's funniest episodes and there aren't as many funny gags as usual. However I do admit that the closing gag made me smile.

All in all, not one of the best Scooby adventures but fun.      

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: The Hairy Scare of the Devil Bear (1979)

 

A typically fun Scooby mystery. 

In this episode, the Mystery Inc. Gang goes to the Grand Canyon on vacation. There they meet find an archelogist and his assistant who have found a cave that seems to be haunted by a devil bear.

This is not one of Scooby's best mysteries but it is quite fun. While the mystery is very easy to solve, it is well thought out and provides the gang with a nice adventure. The use of a haunted cave as a location for a Scooby mystery is a very inspired one that lends itself to some great background artwork that looks fantastic. As always I love the detail that goes into the backgrounds of these cartoons and this one is no exception. I love the cave paintings we see on the wall. They are just a nice touch that shows a little extra effort going into these cartoons. This episode also has some good gags along the way. Scrappy is in fine form here and the reoccurring joke of him not understanding that his uncle is cowardly is handled quite well and made me smile. The fishing scene with him, Shaggy and Scooby, is especially delightful and has some nice gags. I also really like the gag of Shaggy checking his Cowards Handbook and I wish this joke could have been used more. 

What keeps this episode for being one of Scooby's best adventures is the Devil Bear himself. This is simply put, not a very interesting villain. The design work looks nice but is not especially memorable as it doesn't differentiate much from many vicious cartoon bears. There is little to nothing about him that makes him look creepy or supernatural. The character also is not given anything much to do outside of being a typical bad guy cartoon bear. The best Scooby mysteries have villains that will stick in your mind, but there is nothing about this character that will. 

All in all, a fun but not especially memorable episode.     

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: Demon of the Dugout (1979)

 

An excellent Scooby mystery. 

Cartoon and comic book writer (as well as historian) Mark Evanier (who had previously wrote the first episode of this series and some Gold Key comics starring Scooby), turns in an above average script for this episode that helps make this a standout of this series. The Mystery Inc. Gang travels to Tokyo to see a major baseball game between an American and a Japanese team. However the game may not take place due to a dragon demon supposedly haunting the baseball field. Before you can say "Jinkies", the gang has another mystery on their hands.  

While many Scooby mysteries of the 1960's and 70's have too few suspects to make the mystery need any thinking to solve, that flaw is not seen in this episode. While there are not many suspects, you could truly buy if one of the other suspects did it. When we find out who done it, the reasoning behind why this person tried to scare everybody is very well thought out. As is the way the gang deduces who the culprit is. The humor in this episode is also quite good. This episode has one of my favorite dialogue exchanges from this series. Shaggy asks, "You mean we traveled all the way to Japan just to chase down another ghost?" Velma bluntly responds, "Let me put it this way... yes." This is perfect and in character for both of them. This episode has some other well-done gags, including Scooby's way of stealing Shaggy's food and the payoff afterwards, Scrappy trying to get the gang's luggage and the ending gag, which is a great cartoony moment. The background work here is excellent as always, with great uses of lighting and shadows, that really bring an atmosphere to this mystery. The actual character animation is above average here and makes the characters come to life. 

This episode is a great example of everything I love about Scooby-Doo!  

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: Strange Encounters of a Scooby Kind (1979)

 

A fun if flawed Scooby mystery. 

The gang takes a trip out to some canyons for a hiking expedition. The campsite they are staying at is said to be a visiting place for unfriendly aliens. Naturally Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy run into an unfriendly alien rather quickly and before you can say "jinkies" they have another mystery on their hands.

The mystery element works quite well here. There are multiple suspects and they each have a believable reason to suspect them. The reasoning behind why the villain committed the crimes is well thought out. The story also moves at a fast pace and never loses momentum. The setting for this episode is perfect and allows for some beautiful looking and atmospheric artwork. The use of lighting and shadows are prefect. This episode also has quite a few gags that really work and the Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy antics are very entertaining.

However I will state that I am not a fan of the alien design. This design is simply not creepy or threatening enough to work. The big eyes and the cute mouth make the character look to adorable to work as a Scooby villain. While I personally like Scrappy, here he often times takes too much of the spotlight away from Daphne, Velma and Fred, who don't get to do too much do here. Scrappy sets the traps that Fred would usually set and finds the clues Velma would usually find. Luckily in many other episodes this would not be as much of a problem as it is here.

This is not one of my favorite Scooby mysteries, but despite its flaws it is still a fun watch. 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld (1979)

 

A delightful Scooby-Doo! mystery. 

With being only the second episode of Scooby-Doo! and Srcappy-Doo!, it is clear that the show had already found its footing. Though in later Scrappy cartoons, the mystery elements and the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang would fade away, here both of those are pretty much the focus. In fact you could say that Velma is in fact the main character here and the gang works with the greatest detective of all time (or a robot version of him). 

This episode is a light parody of both the movie Westworld (1973) and the TV show Fantasy Island (1977-1984). The gang travels to a place called Wonderworld, this is a place where with the help of robots, people can go to live out their greatest fantasies. Velma's fantasy is to solve a mystery with the great Sherlock Holmes. So here she teams up with a Sherlock Holmes robot to solve a mystery that a computer has created for her. However when a robot of the evil Night Ghoul seems to malfunction, the gang may have a real mystery on their hands. 

This is a fast paced and very fun episode. Wonderworld is an excellent Scooby-Doo! setting. It is both creepy and a lot of fun. The Night Ghoul, while not one of Scooby's most original villains is scary and threatening enough to feel like a real threat to our heroes. His design is especially appealing and will remind Scooby fans of the best villains of Scooby-Doo! Where Are You. The humor is quite good and while this may not be laugh out loud funny, it does keep a smile firmly planted on your face. Though many people hate Scrappy, he is very well utilized here. He gets to play on his strengths as a character, mainly the truly funny running joke of him believing his uncle Scooby is not afraid of anything. Yet he never attempts to steal the spotlight, which instead remains firmly on the Mystery Inc. gang. I never hated Scrappy the way so many people do and this episode shows why. When he is used well he really can work as a character. However I think even those who hate the little guy will find he doesn't get much in the way here. The basic story and mystery are also a lot of fun.

The only real problem with this episode is the lack of suspects. It is very easy to figure out who done it, because there are not that many characters besides the Mystery Inc. gang. 

This is a fun episode 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: The Scarab Lives (1979)

 

A delightful start to this underrated Scooby-Doo! show. 

In this episode Jerry Sloan, a comic book writer, is being haunted by The Blue Scarab, a fiction superhero that he created. The Mystery Inc. Gang (including The Blue Scarab's biggest fans Shaggy and Scooby) set out to solve the mystery. This episode was adapted from a Scooby-Doo! comic book story entitled Mark of the Scarab and published for Gold Key Comics' Scooby Doo... Where Are You! #24. That comic book story was written by Mark Evanier, who also wrote this episode. 

This is simply a really fun episode. This episode is a change of pace by not being spooky, like a typical Scooby mystery, but the superhero as a villain is a really fun plot and one that works great for this franchise. The mystery works especially well here as there are multiple suspects and which one has a very good reason to have done it. When the real villain is reveled it perfectly makes sense and all the clues add up. The design of the villain is also wonderful and memorable even if it differs from the average Scooby bad guy. Scooby and Shaggy's love of comic books is wonderfully fun here and would be used later in the Tv show, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo! and the direct to video movie Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon  (2013). The humor here is quite good and Scrappy even gets a few good gags in this his first appearance. Speaking of Scrappy, I love how no time is spent on an origin story for Scrappy or the story of how he joined the gang. When he calls Scooby, "Uncle Scooby" that is all we need to know. Anything else would have been unnecessary and would have taken time way from the mystery and gags. Mark Evanier is a wonderful writer and delivers a tightly constructed and fun script here.  

All in all this is a wonderfully fun episode

If you want to read an in-depth account of Scrappy's origins, I recommend Mark Evanier's blog posts on the subject, here, here, here and here. 

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: From Bad to Curse (1982)

 

A very good Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo! cartoon.

Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy visit a Gypsy camp. However when they get there an evil man steals a magical amulet that has unlimited power and sets to use it to rule over all the gypsies. Our heroes must stop him before it is too late. 

Many of the Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy cartoons abandoned the spooky themes of the franchise was known for. However this cartoon feels like a return to those spooky themes, while still differing heavily from the typical Scooby formula. For instance the supernatural moments are completely genuine and there is no mystery as we know who the villain is from the get go. This creates a cartoon that has just what we all love about Scooby-Doo! while still being a departure from the formula, creating a delightful cartoon. Like many of Scooby's best adventures, the atmosphere really stands out here. The atmosphere of the gypsy camp is delightfully spooky and adds much to the action. The humor while not laugh out loud funny is really charming and will put a smile on many cartoon fans' faces. The villain, while not having much personality, feels like a genuine and real threat to our heroes and we do really wonder how they will end up defeating him. 

All in all this is a delightful little cartoon.  

Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: Misfortune Teller (1982)

 

A fun if unexceptional Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo! cartoon. 

Shaggy gets a job as a fortune teller at a carnival with Scooby and Scrappy helping out. When a bully named RB and his girlfriend come to have their fortune told, Shaggy tells them that RB will win every prize at the carnival. RB says that this fortune better come true or he will beat up Shaggy. Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy do everything they can to make the fortune come true. 

This is a fast moving episode that never loses its sense of energy or fun. The humor is not laugh out loud funny but it works pretty well and definitely puts a smile on my face. The ways our heroes try to make RB win are delightfully clever. The gang is at their most likable here. As I have said before one thing I love about these cartoons is that is nice to see what these characters we love do when they are not solving mysteries. I also really like the ending gag, as it is another one of those delightful impossible gags involving Scooby and food. These gags have been around since the original series and they are always delightful and charming. 

On the downside RB is a rather bland villain and his girlfriend is equally bland. 

While not the best Scrappy-Doo! cartoon, this short is certainly fun and isn't that just what you want from a cartoon.