WHAT'S NEW, SCOOBY-DOO?

WHAT’S NEW, SCOOBY-DOO?

(The WB, Cartoon Network, September 14, 2002-July 21, 2006)

Warner Bros. Animation

MAIN CAST:

Frank Welker – Scooby-Doo, Fred Jones, various

Casey Kasem – Norville “Shaggy” Rogers

Grey DeLisle – Daphne Blake, various

Mindy Cohn – Velma Dinkley

For more information on the history of Scooby-Doo, check out the post here.

             The early 1990s were a quiet time for the Scooby-Doo franchise, and a period of some sweeping changes.

Shaggy's love of meat drove off Casey Kasem.

Scooby’s ratings had suffered a serious decline. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo came to a conclusion with no new incarnation to follow for the first time in two decades. The Scooby made-for-TV film series that had been running concurrently since 1987 also ended with 1994’s Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights; again, with no plan for a follow-up. Casey Kasem, who had voiced Shaggy since the beginning, had left the role in 1995 over a dispute with the producers of having Shaggy appear in a Burger King commercial (Kasem was a vegan and wanted Shaggy to at least be portrayed as a vegetarian). Don Messick, the original voice of Scooby, decided to retire from the role as his quitting smoking made him unable to achieve the rasp needed to do the voice properly. He ultimately retired from acting altogether after a stroke in 1996, and died from a second one in 1997. 

Behind the scenes, Turner Broadcasting System had purchased Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991 in order to gain access to their library and begin their own network: Cartoon Network. The studio was renamed Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and began producing new content exclusively for Turner networks while the back catalog filled up the majority of Cartoon Network’s—later sister station Boomerang’—air time. In 1996, Turner merged with Time Warner and Hanna-Barbera became part of Warner Bros. Animation, before being absorbed entirely in 2001 following William Hanna’s death.

Johnny Bravo meets the Scooby gang.

Conspicuously absent at this time was any new Scooby content. However, the various Scooby shows were shown regularly in reruns on the Turner networks and saw a significant surge in ratings. This was capped off by the warm reception to the 1997 Johnny Bravo episode segment “Bravo Dooby-Doo”, which featured a crossover with the Mystery, Inc. gang. This would be Heather North’s last outing as the regular voice for Daphne Blake, briefly retiring from acting until 2003 when she would return, along with original Velma Nicole Jaffe, for two direct-to-video movies.

Warner executives wanted some new projects based on Hanna-Barbera’s existing properties and decided to give Scooby a shot with a one-off direct-to-video film. Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island was released to home video on September 22, 1998. It was written by Glenn Leopold, who had worked on the franchise since 1979’s Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, based off of his unused SWAT Kats script. Jim Stenstrum served as director, and the driving force behind making the monsters encountered in the film real; a fact that was heavily promoted in the film’s marketing (and ignored the prior television series where this occurred). With very little oversight from Warners, the film’s crew was allowed full creative freedom and made it significantly darker in tone than the previous TV entries, as well as gave the characters a design update. 

Fred discovers that's not a mask.

            Frank Welker was the only original cast member to return, voicing Fred once again. Initially, voice director Kris Zimmerman felt that Welker’s voice had gone down an octave and Welker could no longer do the same voice, which Welker disputed as Fred’s voice was practically his natural speaking voice. Upon review, it was determined that the production crew was misled by the fact that Scooby reruns were time-compressed and sped up slightly, altering the vocal performances. Kasem was offered a chance to return, but as there were scenes already made of Shaggy eating crawfish he declined and was replaced by Billy West. Scott Innes was hired as the voice of Scooby, and Mary-Kay Bergman took over the role of Daphne. B.J. Ward reprised Velma from Johnny Bravo.

            Zombie Island proved a hit in sales and earned two award nominations in 1999. Warner Bros. commissioned additional direct-to-video movies in what would become an ongoing series; although only the first three follow-ups would maintain the same continuity as Zombie Island. Because Scooby was now a viable property, Warner Bros. became increasingly involved in micromanaging the films’ productions, driving out the production crew. WB would slowly bring the series back to the status quo of the original programs while toning down the things that made Zombie Island so successful. Innes would take over Shaggy from West with the second film, assuming double-duty with voicing Scooby, and following Bergman’s death her favorite student, Grey DeLisle, would take over as Daphne for the fourth. Around this time, the first live-action film was also in production and set to hit theaters the following year.

The gang is back with a new look and modern technology.

            With all this new love for Scooby, it was time to look into creating the ninth incarnation of the franchise. Originally announced as a joint venture between Kids’ WB and Cartoon Network called All-New Scooby-Doo!: The Animated Series, What’s New, Scooby-Doo? was the first series not produced by Hanna-Barbera, but instead by Warner Bros. Animation, as well as the first time the entire Mystery, Inc. gang had been together regularly in their teenage forms since 1980. It also completely abandoned the Hanna-Barbera sound library in favor of newer, more realistic sound effects. The ironically named What’s New was a return to the classic mystery-solving format of the franchise, with the Mystery, Inc. gang travelling around to various locations and encountering criminals in disguises trying to frighten people away from their crimes (although, occasionally, a villain would slip through with a sympathetic motive). 

A real dead-head behind the wheel.

            What’s New, Scooby-Doo? debuted on The WB as part of the Kids’ WB programming block on September 14, 2002. Welker was given the additional duties of voicing Scooby after the producers’ first choice, Marty Grabstein, was too busy recording for Courage the Cowardly Dog. Kasem returned after the producers made Shaggy a vegetarian, and would be the final series in which he’d voice the character even though he’d continue to do so in the subsequent animated films. Mindy Cohn also succeeded Ward as the permanent voice for Velma. While the character designs took inspiration from the original Hanna-Barbera models, they were refined by Scott Awley and Scott Jeralds to make them look less two-dimensional. Fred and Daphne also received slight changes to their attire; with Fred losing his ascot and given a blue stripe across his torso and arms, and Daphne no longer wearing her green scarf and her dress having a new design. The characters’ personalities received some tweaking, as Velma’s intelligence was elevated greatly, Fred was dumbed-down slightly in an attempt to give him more of a personality, and Daphne was no longer danger-prone or the damsel in distress and became a woman of action who could take care of herself. Shaggy and Scooby, who became the prominent faces of the franchise for a time, had the focus taken off of them and put onto their friends for a majority of episodes (although they do have a starring role without the others in the episode “Camp Comeoniwannascareya”).

The Hex Girls: Dusk, Thorn and Luna.

            In a first for the teen incarnation of the franchise, there were recurring characters and locations seen in multiple episodes. Amongst them was Elliot Blender (Kimberly Brooks), a spoiled genius that often lost to Velma in contests; Melbourne O’Reilly (Steve Blum), an Australian adventurer and explorer and one of Fred’s heroes; Gibby Norton (voiced by and modeled after Eddie Deezen), a nerd who had an unrequited crush on Velma and often tried to impress her by being the mystery’s villain; Mr. B (Jeff Bennet), who owned a group of mischievous puppies known as the Secret Six: Maize, Knox (both Jennifer Hale), Jingle (Colleen O’Shaugnessey), Flax (Dee Bradley Baker), Bling-Bling (DeLisle) and 14-Karat (Welker); and Professor Laslow Ostwald (Dave Foley & James Arnold Taylor), an inventor. Crossing over from the 2^nd and 5^th animated films were the Hex Girls: an all-female eco-goth rock band comprised of lead singer and guitarist Thorn (Hale), drummer Dusk (Jane Wiedlin) and keyboardist Luna (Brooks). Additional character designs were handled by Strenstrum, Susan Crossley, Dexter Smith, Tim Maltby, Phil Bourassa, Hyunsook Cho, Joe Sichta and Kathi Castillo.

Flashing back to A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.

            The series was written by Jordana Arkin, Chris Brown, Bill Canterbury, Jonathan Collier, Bill Culverius, Nahnatcka Khan, Dwayne McDuffie, Tom Minton, Tom Sheppard, Mark Turosz, Matt Wayne, story editors George Doty IV, James Krieg and Ed Scharlach, and Hanna-Barbera co-founder Joseph Barbera, who also served as a producer for the series. A lot of wink and nods were made towards the past entries in the Scooby franchise, such as having the characters appear in their A Pup character models in the episode “A Terrifying Round with a Menacing Metallic Clown” and the use of a laugh-track and Scooby’s werewolf form from Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf in “A Scooby-Doo Halloween”, as well as some fourth wall-breaking jokes poked at the long-established formula that What’s New revived. 

Simple Plan as they appeared on the show.

The series’ theme was performed by the band Simple Plan, who also appeared as themselves in the episode “Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman”, and had three of their songs, “I’d Do Anything” and “You Don’t Mean Anything” and “The Worst Day Ever”, featured on the show. The theme was written by Rich Dickerson and Gigi Meroni, who composed the rest of the series’ music. Each episode’s chase sequence featured either an original or a licensed song by typically an indie, punk or alternative band (increasingly so following the first season). Along with Lotto Animation, who also handled the opening titles, the series was animated by Wang Film Productions and Dong Woo Animation Co., Ltd.

What’s New spent most of its run on the Saturday morning Kids’ WB line-up, airing several episodes during the weekday version of the block, across three seasons. It went on indefinite hiatus in 2005, and what would be the final episode aired on Cartoon Network in 2006. Between 2003 and 2006, Warner Bros. Home Video released 10 DVD volumes containing for episodes each—usually fitting in with a specific theme indicated on the DVD title. From 2007-08, they released all three complete seasons in individual volumes, then as a single volume in 2019.  Several episodes were adapted into book form by Scholastic, and Phoenix International Publications would publish a look and find book. What’s New designs would be incorporated into the then-ongoing Scooby-Doo comic series by DC Comics as well as the direct-to-video movies until 2009’s Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword. 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“There’s No Creature Like Snow Creature” (9/14/02) – Rumors of a snow creature reach the gang on their skiing holiday, but Velma and Fred end up out of commission for the mystery.

Song: “It’s a Rad, Rad World” – Sebastian Robertson

 

“3-D Struction” (9/21/02) – A trip to a museum in Costa Rica leads the gang to investigate a dinosaur that emerges from the film shown there.

Song: “Gue-Gue-Guepa” – Chicos de Barrio

 

“Space Ape at the Cape” (9/28/02) – An alien egg hatches at NASA and threatens the current shuttle mission.

Song: “Music of America” – Poster Children

 

“Big Scare in the Big Easy” (10/5/02) – While the gang stays in New Orleans, two ghosts re-enact their Civil War battle and drive off the other guests of the housing estate.

Song: “Man with the Hex” – The Atomic Fireballs

 

“It’s Mean, It’s Green, It’s the Mystery Machine” (10/26/02) – Investigating why the Mystery Machine has seemingly come to life leads the gang to its original owners.

Song: “I’d Do Anything” – Simple Plan

 

“Riva Ras Regas” (11/2/02) – The gang wins a contest to meet Lindsay Pagano in Vegas, but end up having to investigate the ghost of a magician that haunts the venue.

Song: “Here I Come Vegas” – Lindsay Pagano

 

“Roller Ghoster Ride” (11/9/02) – Scooby and Shaggy win a contest to design a new roller coaster for a theme park, but a ghost is intent on sabotaging all the rides there.

Song: “Saying Goodbye” – The Muffs

 

“Safari, So Goodi!” (11/23/02) – The gang goes on an African safari where they discover the animals all turning yellow and acting strangely.

Song: “Hatari Safari” – Rich Dickerson

 

“She Sees Sea Monsters by the Sea Shore” (11/30/02) – The gang’s island vacation is interrupted by a sea serpent.

Song: “Rockaway Beach” – The Ramones

 

“A Scooby-Doo! Christmas” (12/13/02) – The gang ends up in a town that doesn’t celebrate Christmas due to a headless snowman terrorizing them.

Song: “Santa Claus, Santa Claus” – Heavy Trevy

 

“Toy Scary Boo” (2/1/03) – The gang investigates a toy store where the toys take over.

Song: “Scooby, Scooby-Doo” – Rich Dickerson

 

“Lights! Camera! Mayhem!” (2/15/03) – The gang gets VIP passes to a Hollywood studio where a production comes under siege by the Faceless Phantom.

Song: “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You” – The Ramones

 

“Pompeii and Circumstance” (2/22/03) – The gang encounters a zombie gladiator in Pompeii who seems to be connected to illegal waste dumping in Mt. Vesuvius.

Song: “Hal Capito” – Luciano Palermi, Raffaella Camera & Rich Dickerson

 

“The Unnatural” (3/22/03) – The ghost of the homerun record holder tries to stop Luis Santiago from breaking it.

Song: “Play My Game” – The Donnas

 

Season 2:

“Big Appetite in Little Tokyo” (9/13/03) – While in Tokyo, Shaggy eats a mystically-zapped pizza that causes him to turn into an ever-hungry giant.

Song: “Urei” – Puffy AmiYumi

 

“Mummy Scares Best” (9/20/03) – On an archaeological dig in Egypt, the gang encounters a mummy that can turn people into zombies.

Song: “Time Running” – Tegan and Sara

 

“The Fast and the Wormious” (9/27/03) – Fred enters a cross-country race which ends up pitting the gang against a giant worm.

Song: “Punk Rock Y Subversion” – Los Miserables

 

“High-Tech House of Horrors” (10/4/03) – The gang investigates a house of the future attraction at a future fair where a teenager disappeared.

Song: “Another Way” – Paul van Dyk

 

“The Vampire Strikes Back” (10/18/03) – The gag heads to the recording of The Hex Girls’ latest music video in Transylvania where a vampire is on the loose.

Song: “Petrified Bride” – The Hex Girls

 

“A Scooby-Doo Halloween” (10/24/03) – The gang goes to spend Halloween with Velma’s relatives but some scarecrows are eager to spoil the fun.

Song: “Shout it Out Loud” – KISS

 

“Homeward Hound” (10/25/03) – The gang heads to a dog show which comes under attack by a cat creature that steals the puppies of the former winner.

Song: “Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy” – The Ramones

 

“The San Franpsycho” (3/20/04) – The gang visits Ryan Sheckler at the Grind Games in San Francsisco, but the games end up terrorized by the ghost of a former Alcatraz inmate.

Song: “Doing Time” – MxPx

 

“Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman” (3/22/04) – When the gang’s and Simple Plans’ vans are wrecked, they’re forced to stay in a ghost town where something invisible stalks the band.

Songs: “You Don’t Mean Anything” & “The Worst Day Ever” – Simple Plan

 

“Recipe for Disaster” (3/23/04) – The gang heads to the Scooby Snack Factory which is besieged by spies and a monster.

Song: “Sabre Dance” – Love Sculpture

 

“Large Dragon at Large” (3/24/04) – A dragon terrorizes a Renaissance fair in Scotland.

Song: “The Ghosts of Me and You” – Less Than Jake

 

“Uncle Scooby and Antarctica” (3/25/04) – The gang encounters a fish-like creature while trying to return a penguin to Antarctica.

Song: “Southbound” – MxPx

 

“New Mexico, Old Monster” (3/26/04) – An ancient bird terrorizes the Native American reservation that the gang visits.

Song: “No Control” – Blackfire

 

“It’s All Greek to Scooby” (3/27/04) – Shaggy buys a mysterious amulet that causes a centaur to chase him.

Song: “Sahara” – Mikro

 

Season 3:

“Fright House at the Lighthouse” (1/29/05) – While visiting Fred’s uncle the gag tries to stop a ghost from messing with local ships.

Song: “High Five” – Calibretto 13

 

“Go West, Young Scoob” (2/5/05) – The gang visits a western town where the robot inhabitants have gone berserk.

Song: “Haven’t Been Myself in a While” – CIV

 

“A Scooby-Doo Valentine” (2/11/05) – It looks like the gang may be responsible for disappearances on Lovers Lane.

Song: “Walk on the Wire” – Sahara Hotnights

 

“Wrestle Maniacs” (2/12/05) – Fred enters a wrestling competition haunted by the twisted ghost of a former wrestler.

Song: “All Twisted” – CIV

 

“Ready to Scare” (2/19/05) – The gang visits Daphne’s cousin in Paris only to learn she’s been abducted by a gargoyle from the Notre Dame cathedral.

Songs: “Nonchalant” – Chapeaumelon & “Ca Plane Pour Moi” – Plastic Bertrand

 

“Farmed and Dangerous” (2/26/05) – Visiting Mr. B and the Secret Six puppies leads the gang to learn it was built over an ancient graveyard.

Song: “Something’s Going On” – A

 

“Diamonds Are a Ghoul’s Best Friend” (3/5/05) – At the Emperor Cup game between the US and Russian ice hockey teams, a former Russian hockey player makes off with the trophy.

Song: “I’ll Search Forever” – Rich Dickerson

 

“A Terrifying Round with a Menacing Metallic Clown” (3/12/05) – Shaggy’s mini-golf tournament is terrorized by a giant metallic clown.

Song: “Something Special” – CIV

 

“Camp Comeoniwannascareya” (3/19/05) – Scooby and Shaggy volunteer at a summer camp that’s haunted by a slimy creature.

Song: “Stronger” – Taxiride

 

“Block-Long Hong Kong Horror” (3/26/05) – The gang joins Shaggy in Hong Kong to get his rubber duck repaired at the same time the city is terrorized by a dragon.

Song: “Hong Kong Holiday” – E.G. Daily

 

“Gentlemen, Start Your Monsters!” (4/2/05) – Fred competes in a car race that ends up hosting a skeleton driver in a monster truck.

Song: “Hot” – Smash Mouth

 

“Gold Paw” (4/9/05) – The gang visits the Secret Six at Fort Knox, which is haunted by a creature made of gold that turns whatever it touches into gold.

Song: “Pressing On” – Relient K

 

“Reef Grief!” (4/16/05) – A coral monster interrupts Shaggy and Scooby’s Australian sandcastle building contest.

Song: “New Planet” – Smash Mouth

 

“E-Scream” (7/21/06) – Velma tries to relax while the others enjoy a video game convention, but she stumbles upon a virtual-reality game that has come to life.

Song: “Holiday” – Otherstarpeople

Originally posted in 2019. Updated in 2020.

THE NEW SCOOBY AND SCRAPPY-DOO SHOW / THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES

THE NEW SCOOBY AND SCRAPPY-DOO SHOW / THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES

(ABC, September 10, 1983-December 1, 1984)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Don Messick – Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo, Dada-Doo

Casey Kasem – Norville “Shaggy” Rogers

Heather North – Daphne Blake

For background information on Scooby-Doo, check out the post here.

            The sixth incarnation of the franchise decided to combine a little bit of what the series was currently doing with some of the classic elements it was known for.

Daphne's back and in charge!

The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show saw a return to the mystery-solving format of the original incarnations; once again blending criminals in costumes with the genuine supernatural entities the previous show had embraced. Additionally, it was decided to bring Daphne Blake (Heather North) back to partner up with Shaggy (Casey Kasem), Scooby and Scrappy (both Don Messick). However, rather than being just mystery-solvers, they were given jobs as reporters for a teen magazine that led them to the locations of strange activity (a premise previously used in Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby clone, Goober and the Ghost Chasers). Daphne took on the leadership and deductive roles of the team, while Scrappy’s personality was altered to be a lot more balanced and exhibiting some common sense when it came to his desire to challenge a foe. This freed up Shaggy and Scooby to be the pure comic relief for the series.

Scooby does anything to catch a culprit.

The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show debuted on ABC on September 10, 1983. The show was broken up into two story segments per episode; with the occasional episode where both segments were combined to form a single half-hour story. As this was the period when a lot of new talent was to be found at Hanna-Barbera, a lot of fresh humor was injected into the old format. There was especially an infusion of pop culture references as a number of stories and episode titles took inspiration from film and television shows such as Poltergeist, Tootsie, The Fall Guy and ABC’s own The Hound of the Baskervilles. The season was written by Peter Anderegg, Gene Ayres, Alan Burnett, Cynthia Friedlob, Robert Goldblatt, Charles M. Howell IV, Robert Lees, Glenn Leopold, Richard Merwin, Tom Reugger, Jeff Segal, John Semper, Mark Shiney and Marty Warner, with Reugger serving as story editor. While most of the episodes contained two story segments, several had one story broken up over two parts.

The show was renewed for a second season. The production took that opportunity to reintroduce original characters Fred Jones (Frank Welker) and Velma Dinkley (Marla Frumkin, in her final portrayal of the character) after a 3-year absence. They became recurring characters appearing in various episodes together or individually; with Fred having gained the occupation of a mystery writer and Velma becoming a NASA intern. The show was also renamed The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, complete with a new funky, upbeat theme that replaced the original pastiche of prior Scooby themes. New writers for the season included George Atkins, Doug Booth, Paul Dini, Ray Parker and Jim Ryan. Hoyt Curtin served as the music supervisor. The series would be the last one for supervising producer Margaret Loesch, who would go on to head up Marvel Productions when the second season was hitting the airwaves. The rest of the crew would continue to try and revitalize Scooby and his format with the next incarnations. 

Don't you hate when unexpected relatives drop by?

“Wizards and Warlocks” was released onto the 1988 VHS Hanna-Barbera Personal Favorites: Scooby-Doo by Hanna-Barbera Home Video. Three of the half-hour episodes were released to VHS between 1996 and 1997 by Warner Home Video and Turner Home Entertainment: A Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle, A Nutcracker Scoob, and Wedding Bell Boos. Beginning in 2012, episode segments were included in various compilation DVD sets, initially as part of the 13 Spooky Tales series with Ruh Roh Robot having the most at six segments. “Scoob-Be or Not Scoob-Be” was included on Favorite Frights; “The Creepy Carnival Caper” on And the Creepy Carnival; “Happy Birthday, Scooby-Doo!” on Happy Spook-Day, Scooby-Doo! and Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Scooby-Doo! (the international version of the latter got two additional episodes); and “Who’s Minding the Monster / Scooby a la Mode” on And the Skeletons.  “The Scooby Coup” was included as a bonus feature in the direct-to-video movie Mask of the Blue Falcon. The entire first season had been made available for purchase on the iTunes Store under the title Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Season 5. After airing in reruns on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, the series would return to television in 2024 on retro animation channel MeTV Toons.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Scooby the Barbarian / No Sharking Zone” (9/10/83) – A group of Viking ghosts appears at the same time an archaeologist goes missing. / A great white shark and a seaweed monster disrupt a surface competition in their rumored duties of guarding an ancient treasure.

“Scoobygeist / The Quagmire Quake Caper” (9/10/83) – The gang spends the night in a haunted mansion. / The gang investigates a series of Mexican earthquakes that seems to have unleashed a mud monster.

“Hound of the Scoobyvilles / The Dinosaur Deception” (9/17/83) – Scooby is mistaken for a hound haunting Bakerville Hall in Scotland. / The gang tries to find an archaeologist that was kidnapped by a dinosaur.

“The Creature Came from Chem Lab / No Thanks, Masked Manx” (9/17/83) – Daphne’s cousin’s high school is haunted by a slimy chemical monster. / A costume party at Daphne’s parents’ house is targeted by a cat burglar.

“Scooby of the Jungle / Scooby-Doo and Cyclops, Too” (9/24/83) – The gang investigates missing animals from a game reserve. / The gang’s vacation is ruined when it’s revealed that people nearby are being turned into zombies.

“Scooby Roo / Scooby’s Gold Medal Gambit” (10/1/83) – The gang investigates a Neanderthal stealing sheep in Australia. / A criminal master of disguise escapes from prison and sets his sights on the medals of a sporting event.

“Wizards and Warlocks / Scoobsie” (10/8/83) – Scrappy leads the gang to find missing Wizards and Warlocks players. / Scooby is used as bait to lure out a phantom that kidnapped a soap opera star.

“The Mark of Scooby / The Crazy Carnival Caper” (10/15/83) – A play about a masked hero inspires Scooby to daydream about saving the others from tax collectors. / Shaggy and Daphne return to their old school to investigate the disappearance of a teacher.

“Scooby and the Minotaur / Scooby Pinch Hits” (10/29/83) – A group of treasure hunters looking for the Golden Fleece are scared away by a minotaur. / The gang investigates the ghost of a baseball player haunting his old stadium.

“The Fall Dog / The Scooby Couple” (11/5/83) – The gang ends up doing stunts for a movie being haunted by a gremlin. / The gang interviews a car maker at a car show about his new sports car, which ends up being haunted.

“Who’s Minding the Monster? / Scooby a la Mode” (11/26/83) – The gang replaces a short-circuiting Frankenstein as Dracula’s babysitters. / The ghost of a Paris catering school’s founder haunts the school.

“Where’s Scooby Doo?” (12/3/83) – The same time that a mummy appears on a train, Scooby disappears.

“Wedding Bell Boos!” (12/10/83) – The ghost of Shaggy’s ancestor objects to his sister’s wedding.

Season 2:

“Happy Birthday, Scooby-Doo!” (9/8/84) – The gang goes to a television studio for a special about Scooby’s birthday.

“Scooby’s Peep-Hole Pandemonium / The Hand of Horror” (9/15/84) – The gang is hired to interview a recluse that lives with monstrous servants. / The gang ends up at a mansion being plagued by a disembodied hand.

“Scoo-Be or Not Scoo-Be? / The Stoney Glare Stare” (9/22/84) – If sea demons weren’t enough, the ghost of Hamlet appears at the gang’s hotel. / The gang joins forces with a secret agent to stop a villain from turning the world’s leaders into stone.

“Mission Un-Doo-Able / The Bee Team” (9/29/84) – The gang has to stop an evil mastermind from taking over the world. / The gang investigates giant bees haunting a honey farm.

“Doom Service / A Code in the Nose” (10/6/84) – The gang has to find out why a ghost is running guests out of a hotel. / The military hires the gang to find a decoding device stolen by a supervillain.

“Ghost of the Ancient Astronauts” (10/13/84) – The gang reunites with old friends to investigate ancient aliens.

“The Night of the Living Toys / South Pole Vault” (10/20/84) – The gang encounters a toy store where the toys really come to life. / The gang investigates a mad sea lion terrorizing the South Pole.

“A Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle” (10/27/84) – The gang has to help a group of monsters fend off an evil magician and a ghost.

“A Night Louse at the White House” (11/3/84) – Ghosts of former Presidents crash the NASA banquet Velma attends at the White House.

“The ‘Dooby Dooby Doo’ Ado / Showboat Scooby” (11/10/84) – Scooby visits Dooby Doo in Las Vegas. / The gang tries to help keep a ghost away from Dixie Doo’s emerald necklace.

“Sherlock Doo” (11/17/84) – The gang heads to London to participate in a mystery-solvers’ contest.

“A Scary Duel with a Cartoon Ghoul / E*I*E*I*O” (11/24/84) – Mister Mutt emerges from the television to cause chaos in the real world. / A genetically modified field mouse becomes a 30-foot tall monster.

“The Nutcracker Scoob” (12/1/84) – A ghost haunts a children’s home that a scrooge wants for himself.

Originally posted in 2019. Updated in 2025.

GOOBER AND THE GHOST CHASERS

GOOBER AND THE GHOST CHASERS

(ABC, September 8-December 22, 1973)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Jerry Dexter – Ted

Jo Ann Harris – Tina

Ronnie Schell – Gillie

Paul Winchell - Goober

            The success of the Scooby-Doo franchise led to the creation of many imitators looking to cash in; both from Hanna-Barbera and other studios. Some of these attempts to clone the series were more overt than others. At the behest of ABC for another Scooby, Hanna-Barbera gave them Goober and the Ghost Chasers.

Goober with Ted, Tina and Gillie.

            The series followed the titular dog, Goober (Paul Winchell), and his teenaged humans, Ted (Jerry Dexter), Tina (Jo Ann Harris) and Gillie (Ronnie Schell), as they traveled around the world seeking out the supernatural for their Ghost Chasers magazine. Key differences in the shows were that the Ghost Chasers would actively go looking for the entities they encountered, and sometimes those entities were actually real rather than just someone in an elaborate costume (something the Scooby franchise itself wouldn’t encounter until Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo). They often employed ghost-tracking devices, such as the Specter Detector, to determine if an entity was real or not. Goober, while as cowardly as Scooby, had the ability to turn himself invisible whenever he was frightened--save for his cap and collar. He also spoke clear English unlike Scooby, although he seemed to be talking more to the audience than any of his co-stars.

The Partridge kids get in on the action.

            Since selling an all-new property, no matter its influence, was becoming increasingly difficult, it was decided to try and increase Goober’s profile by adopting the format of featuring real-life guest-stars used by The New Scooby-Doo Movies. As a result, half of the episodes had most of the kids from ABC’s hit series The Partridge Family appear, including Laurie (Susan Dey), Danny (Danny Bonaduce), Chris (Brian Forster) and Tracy (Suzanne Crough). Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain and actor Michael Gray also made appearances on the show.

I guess that's a "wrap".

            Goober and the Ghost Chasers debuted on September 8, 1973 on ABC. The series was written by Barry E. Blitzer, Tom Dagenais, Jack Kaplan, Warren S. Murray, Dick Robbins, Martin Roth, Dick Wesson and Steve White, with Hoyt Curtin composing the music. Despite the familiar formula and guest-stars, Goober failed to catch on with audiences and only lasted a single season; although its reruns aired for an additional year. The series did serve to create a renewed interest in the Partridges, resulting in Hanna-Barbera producing Patridge Family 2200 A.D. the following year for CBS. In 1977, Goober reruns became one of the features of the weekly syndicated series Fred Flintstone and Friends. Later reruns on Cartoon Network and Boomerang removed the studio laugh track present in the original airings.

Goober on DVD.

Not much was produced in the way of merchandise beyond a lunchbox by King-Seeley that was shared with Inch High. Private Eye, a series of puzzles by Hope, and a magic trading card set offered by Wonder Bread. In 1986, Worldvision Home Video released a VHS sharing the show’s title containing the first two episodes. Two years later, Hanna-Barbera Home Video released four of the episodes featuring the Partridge kids to a VHS called The Chase is On! In 2009, the first episode was included on the compilation DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 1 and the 2018 full-collection compilation from Warner Home Video. The following year, Warner Archive released the complete series on DVD as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. It was also made available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Assignment: The Ahab Apparition” (9/8/73) – The Partridge kids are vacationing near a haunted mansion where the Ghost Chasers must get an interview with Captain Ahab and Moby Dick.

“Brush Up Your Shakespeare” (9/15/73) – Macbeth’s ghost prevents the Partridge kids from performing their concert.

“The Galloping Ghost” (9/22/73) – The Ghost Chasers investigate Wilt Chamberlain’s ranch to get the scoop on a galloping ghost.

“The Singing Ghost” (9/29/73) – Frankenstein’s Monster the Third invites the Partridge kids to his castle to discuss a gig in an attempt to steal Danny’s voice for his own.

“The Ghost Ship” (10/6/73) – The Ghost Chasers are set adrift on an old pirate ship by ghosts led by Captain Dunk.

“Mummy Knows Best” (10/13/73) – The Ghost Chasers and Partridge kids spend their vacation in Kahrobi where they learn the ghost of King Osiris and his mummies are haunting the city.

“The Haunted Wax Museum” (10/20/73) – The Partridge kids visit an old wax museum where ghosts possess the wax mannequins.

“Aloha Ghost” (10/27/73) – The Ghost Chasers head to Hawaii to investigate a ghost sighting at the plantation where Michael Gray works.

“The Wicked Witch Dog” (11/3/73) – The Ghost Chasers investigate the lighthouse of MacBurn’s Point in Scotland where a Wicked Witch Dog reportedly haunts.

“Venice Anyone?” (11/10/73) – The ghost of Don Giovanni wants to prevent Carlo from marrying Julia from a rival family in Venice.

“Go West Young Ghost” (11/17/73) – The Ghost Chasers and Partridge kids discover the amusement park’s haunted house is really haunted by the ghost of Ichabod Ipswich.

“A Hard Day’s Knight” (11/24/73) – The first manned flight to Mars is interrupted by the ghost of Spanish knight Don Miguel.

“Is Sherlock Holme?” (12/1/73) – A relative of Sherlock Holmes assists the Ghost Chaser on their latest mystery in London.

“The Snow Ghost” (12/8/73) – A ski resort hires the Ghost Chasers to investigate a snow ghost.

“Inca Dinka Doo” (12/15/73) – The Ghost Chasers investigate the ghost of an ancient Incan chief who haunts the nearby town and forest.

“Old McDonald Had a Ghost – EI EI EEYOW” (12/22/73) – George McDonald has the Ghost Chasers investigate a farm haunted by the ghost of Old McDonald and a scarecrow.

Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2020.

THE FUNKY PHANTOM

THE FUNKY PHANTOM

(ABC, September 11, 1971-January 1, 1972)

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Air Programs International

MAIN CAST:

Daws Butler – Jonathan Wellington “Mudsy” Muddlemore, Fingers

Tommy Cook – “Augie” Anderson

Micky Dolenz – Skip Gilroy

Kristina Holland – April Stewart

Jerry Dexter – Elmo

Don Messick – Boo, Farmer Higgins, Raven/Otis Carter, Chickenman/Mr. Angus, Ichabod Crane, Mayor, Packy, Bill Sands, Lifeguard, Spirit of ‘76/Hank Miller

The Funky Phantom was part of Hanna-Barbera’s continued attempts to try and emulate the success of their Scooby-Doo franchise. Like Scooby, the series centered on teens Augie Anderson (Tommy Cook), Skip Gilroy (Micky Dolenz) and April Stewart (Kristina Holland), who travelled around the country with their dog, Elmo (Jerry Dexter), in their dune buggy, The Looney Duney. They entered races and solved the mysteries they happened to come across in the process. The twist was they were accompanied by an actual ghost.

Augie, April, Skip and Elmo meet Mudsy and Boo.

As outlined in the theme by series composer John Sangster, the kids had stumbled upon a mansion where cowardly American Revolutionary War soldier Jonathan Wellington “Mudsy” Muddlemore (Daws Butler, using his Snagglepuss voice) locked himself and his cat, Boo (Don Messick), in a grandfather clock trying to duck two Redcoats (British soldiers) burying treasure nearby. There they remained until the kids freed their ghosts from the clock. To make up for their cowardice, Mudsy and Boo accompanied the kids and lent a supernatural helping hand whenever needed—once they summoned up the courage to do so. Mudsy would also frequently regale the kids with stories of the Revolutionary era, complete with historical name-droppings.

These kids just love finding people in stuff, don't they?

The Funky Phantom debuted on September 11, 1971 on ABC. The series was written by Larz Bourne, Tom Dagenais, David Ketchum, Bill Lutz, Jack Mendelsohn, Joe Ruby, Bruce Shelly and Michael Maltese. Sangster composed some new incidental music for the series, but it also made use of much of Ted Nichols’ underscore composed earlier. Because of Hanna-Barbera’s massive workload at the time, animation duties for the series were farmed out to Air Programs International in Australia; their first out of that country. Like Scooby-Doo, the kids constantly encountered supernatural entities that ended up being criminals using elaborate ruses to accomplish their goals. Mudsy and Boo were the only true spirits ever featured. Unfortunately, the show failed to drum up the same success as Scooby and ended production after its single season. It did continue to air on ABC until the fall of 1972, and reruns of the series were included in the 1980 rerun package show The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour with Funky Phantom.

Mudsy and Boo meet Scooby-Doo.

Mudsy would later appear in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode “High Speed Buggy Chase” voiced by Chris Edgerly. Later, he and Boo appeared in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode “Mystery Solver Club State Finals” in a dream sequence with other characters from Hanna-Barbera’s mystery shows. They were voiced by Tom Kenny and Rick D. Wasserman, respectively. Kenny reprised the role in the 2021 episode of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, “A Mystery Solving Gang Divided” (Boo had no lines). Mudsy would also appear with other fictional ghosts in the season 3 episode of MAD, “ParaMorgan”, and in the HBO Max original series Jellystone!, voiced by Paul F. Thompkins.

The Funky Phantom comics, now with more ghosts!

A 13-issue Funky Phantom comic series was published by Western Publishing and Gold Key Comics. The comics were both original stories as well as adaptations of episodes. The original stories moved away from the series’ format and allowed some of the villains featured to actually be the ghosts they appeared to be; typically, from the colonial era. One issue also had the gang travel back in time, restoring Mudsy to his flesh and blood body while the kids were reduced to spirits (since they didn’t actually exist yet). A new character not featured on the show was introduced named Priscilla Atwater. She was a ghost from Mudsy’s time who was romantically interested in him and pursued him relentlessly—at least until another ghost came along and caught her fancy. Western would also produce a tray puzzle, jigsaw puzzle and coloring book. Additionally, Brown Watson published The Funky Phantom Featuring Motormouse and Autocat Annual in 1975. Mudsy made a return to comics in 2001’s Scooby-Doo! #50 with a cameo appearance. In 2018, he appeared in Black Lightning/Hong Kong Phooey Special #1, which was part of DC Comics’ second wave of reimagined Hanna-Barbera properties. That same year, Funko released a glow-in-the-dark POP! figure of Mudsy as a New York Comic Con exclusive. 

The DVD.

Milton Bradley released a board game based on the show in 1971. In 1972, Peter Pan Records released a record containing four original audio adventures; however, the characters were voiced by Peter Fernandez, Corrine Orr and Lionel Wilson instead of the show’s cast. In 2010, Warner Archive released The Funky Phantom: The Complete Series to DVD as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. It was also made available for digital download in the iTunes Store.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Don’t Fool With a Phantom” (9/11/71) – The group enters a race to win mortgage money for Farmer Higgins, but the mysterious Raven wants his property badly.

“Heir Scare” (9/18/71) – When the group gets lost they end up having to help Michael Conway who is stalked by a marsh monster after his fortune.

“I’ll Haunt You Later” (9/25/71) – Looking for the driver of an abandoned truck, the group finds themselves in a haunted castle.

“Who’s Chicken” (10/2/71) – The group has to help April’s Uncle Henry when Chickeman steals his chicken shipment.

“The Headless Horseman” (10/9/71) – Getting a flat tire outside of Sleepy Hollow brings the gang face-to-face with the Headless Horseman.

“Spirit Spooked” (10/16/71) – A Mexican race is put on hold when the gang is stopped by the Ghost of Montezuma.

“Ghost Town Ghost” (10/23/71) – Two criminals crash a western town’s celebration disguised as legendary outlaws.

“We Saw a Sea Serpent” (10/30/71) – The group investigates stories of a creature living in Black Lake.

“Haunt in Inn” (11/6/71) – The gang ends up staying in an inn where a ghost has been scaring away the visitors.

“Mudsy Joins the Circus” (11/13/71) – A trip to the circus leads to witnessing a gorilla robbing it.

“Pigskin Predicament” (11/20/71) – Thieves hide a stolen necklace in a football that ends up being used in the big playoff game.

“The Liberty Bell Caper” (11/27/71) – The Parafiend steals the original US flag and leaves a riddle leading to his next theft: the Liberty Bell.

“April’s Foolish Day” (12/4/71) – April ends up as navigator for racer Winfield Wheely, whose boss has his own plans on how Winfield will win the race.

“The Forest’s Prime-Evil” (12/11/71) – A camping trip leads to the discovery of Bigfoot tracks…and an illegal logging operation.

“The Hairy Scary Houndman” (12/18/71) – Elmo is entered into a dog show and ends up abducted due to his resemblance to a wealthy entrant.

“Mudsy and Muddlemore Manor” (12/25/71) – Muddlemore manor is haunted by a ghost called the Spirit of ’76, while a descendant of Mudsy’s nemesis plans to tear the mansion down.

“Ghost Grabbers” (1/1/72) – Two criminals disguise themselves as the Redcoats Mudsy hid from in order to capture him and find the treasure the real Redcoats buried.


Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2026.