Scooby & Company are back…with friends!
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang is back. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby are travelling the countryside in the mystery mobile and finding monsters and mysteries around every turn. The gang finds themselves teamed up with the Three Stooge, helping Batman and Robin battle the Penguin and Joker, working for the Addams Family, visiting Jonathan Winter’s friend Maude Frickert, solving mysteries with Don Knotts, helping Phyllis Diller speak to her deceased husbands, visiting Sandy Duncan on the set of her movie, going on vacation with Sonny and Cher, visiting a ski lodge with Laurel and Hardy, helping Davy Jones reclaim his ancestral estate, cleaning out a haunted concert hall with Jerry Reed, and battling pirates with the Harlem Globetrotters…wherever there is a mystery Scooby and his gang is there!
This is the crossover I want…
The New Scooby-Doo Movies—Season 1 is a Hanna-Barbera classic cartoon series. The show aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 9, 1972 to December 23, 1972. The hour long series followed Scooby Doo, Where Are You! and has been collected multiple times in multiple formats, but some episodes faced copyright protection. The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection includes all episodes except season 1’s third episode “Wednesday Is Missing” featuring the Addams Family.
While Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was one of my favorite cartoons and I ate up all the reruns, I did have a soft spot for The New Scooby-Doo Movies. The show always featured odd and different guest stars that even as a kid I had to question why they were hanging out with Scooby-Doo and his friends. As a sign of the times, The New Scooby-Doo Movies is a fun trip back in the TV of yesteryear.
Seriously…are the Harlem Globetrotters stalking them? They ran into them like three times…
The series is like most Scooby-Doo shows. The Mystery Inc. gang shows up, a monster appears, and they show that it is one of the three or four supporting characters shown in the episode. With an hour format, the show is generally too long and could easily have been a half-hour entry (which could have potentially led to more episodes with more guests which would have been nice).
The guests range from no-brainers to outright odd. You get characters that were being featured in other cartoons around the time like Batman, Robin, Penguin, and Joker in Super Friends! and the Addams Family also had an animated series the following year. They did a lot with comedians at the time like Jonathan Winters and Phyllis Diller, and episodes like this might really have younger viewers wondering who some of these comedians even are. Older viewers will have fun revisiting some of the comic standards that populated TV at the time.
I actually liked the Joker and Penguin’s disguises better than the Joker and Penguin.
With all the guest stars, it feels like the “creature of the week” is a bit lacking in all the episodes. The first run of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! had a ton of fun and memorable monsters…here, that isn’t necessarily the case. Even the mysteries in the episodes aren’t as strongly constructed (and that is saying a lot since Scooby-Doo mysteries generally involve a red herring and the obviously guilty party).
The New Scooby-Doo Movies are a step down from the original Scooby-Doo series, but they still are fun. The younger audiences might just want to skip this outing because of a disconnect to the subjects who guest-star (though episodes like Batman and Robin would still be fun for them…they might wonder why Batman is so happy). As an older viewer this feels like a time capsule and kind of like watching Hollywood Squares reruns or episodes of The Love Boat. The New Scooby-Doo Movies is as close as you can get to a variety show cartoon for the time.
The New Scooby-Doo Movies—Season 1 Complete Episode Guide:
“Ghastly Ghost Town”
1.1 Ghastly Ghost Town Airdate: 09/09/72
The Mystery Mobile becomes lost in the desert, and Scooby, Daphne, Freddy, Shaggy, and Velma run into the Three Stooges at their theme park. The Three Stooges have a mystery on their hands involving a dinosaur model, but the bigger mystery might be lurking beneath the amusement park.
“The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair”
1.2 The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair Airdate: 09/16/72
When Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma witness smugglers, they find themselves teamed with Batman and Robin to try to track down the counterfeiters. Batman and Robin discover their villains the Joker and Penguin might be behind the robbery, but looks can be deceiving.
“Wednesday Is Missing”
1.3 Wednesday Is Missing Airdate: 09/23/72
Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma find themselves hired by the Addams Family as housekeepers when their previous housekeepers quit. When Wednesday disappears, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo must find out who kidnapped her.
“The Frickert Fracas”
1.4 The Frickert Fracas Airdate: 09/30/72
The Mystery Inc. gang finds Jonathan Winters’ car has broken down on his way to visit his good friend Maude Frickert. Jonathan and the gang discover that Maude has a missing chicken recipe that could make her a fortune.
“Guess Who’s Knott Coming to Dinner”
1.5 Guess Who’s Knott Coming to Dinner? Airdate: 10/07/72
When the Mystery Mobile gets lost, Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred stop at the Moody Manor for directions, but find themselves enveloped in a mystery involving the missing manor owner Captain Moody and Don Knotts.
“A Good Medium Is Rare”
1.6 A Good Medium Is Rare Airdate: 10/14/72
When the gang returns Phyllis Diller’s dog to her, they find themselves involved in a quest to expose the truth about the ghosts haunting Ms. Diller by speaking to the spirits of Phyllis Diller’s deceased husbands.
“Sandy Duncan’s Jekyll and Hyde”
1.7 Sandy Duncan’s Jekyll and Hyde Airdate: 10/21/72
Sandy Duncan is shooting a version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the gang learns that someone or something seems to be haunting the set. When Sandy’s stunt double quits, Daphne finds herself hired as a stand-in.
“The Secret of Shark Island”
1.8 The Secret of Shark Island Airdate: 10/28/72
When the gang encounters Sonny and Cher with a broken down car, they join them for a weekend at a resort, Sonny, Cher, and Mystery, Inc. encounter the shark monster called the Pescado Diabolico which seems to haunt the hotel.
“The Spooky Fog of Juneberry”
1.9 The Spooky Fog of Juneberry Airdate: 11/04/72
The town of Juneberry finds itself covered in a strange fog. When Mystery Inc. arrives, they find themselves teamed with Don Knotts in an attempt to uncover a mystery and what the fog could be hiding.
“The Ghost of Bigfoot”
1.10 The Ghost of Bigfoot Airdate: 11/11/72
A trip to the MacKinac Ski Lodge has the gang meeting up with Laurel and Hardy who are seeking work. Unfortunately, the Ghost of Bigfoot is haunting the Mackinaw Lodge and the Lodge is virtually shut down…but why is a Ghost Bigfoot interested in cars?
“The Ghost of the Red Baron”
1.11 The Ghost of the Red Baron Airdate: 11/18/72
The gang learns a farming town is suffering from dead crops and the haunting of the Red Baron. When the Three Stooges arrive to have Curly Joe take up a crop-dusting job, Mystery, Inc. and the Three Stooges face off against the ghost pilot.
“The Ghost Creep from the Deep”
1.12 The Ghost Creep from the Deep Airdate: 11/25/72
The Mystery Mobile crashes in the swamp and the Harlem Globetrotters follow suit. Went ghost pirates are revealed to roam the swamp, the Globetrotters and Mystery, Inc. must solve the mystery of why.
“The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall”
1.13 The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall Airdate: 12/02/72
Davy Jones discovers his family castle is being haunted by a horseman who has vowed to drive Jones off the land. Fortunately for Jones, Scooby, Daphne, Fred, Velma, and Shaggy are there to help solve the mystery.
“The Phantom of the Country Music Hall”
1.14 The Phantom of the Country Music Hall Airdate: 12/09/72
Fred, Daphne, Scooby, Velma, and Shaggy travel to the Grand Old Country Music Hall to find their friend Jerry Reed. When they discover Jerry Reed is missing, they realize that the Grand Old Country Music Hall could close without his concert.
“The Caped Crusader Caper”
1.15 The Caped Crusader Caper Airdate: 12/16/72
The Penguin and the Joker are up committing a crime again and Batman and Robin are on their trail. When Batman and Robin find themselves teamed with Shaggy, Scooby, Daphne, Velma, and Fred, the Joker and Penguin won’t know what hit them.
“The Loch Ness Mess”
1.16 The Loch Ness Mess Airdate: 12/23/72
A trip to visit Shaggy’s Uncle Nathaniel has Mystery, Inc. teaming up with the Harlem Globetrotters to solve a case involving a ghostly pirates and a sea serpent.
Related Links:
The New Scooby-Doo Movies—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
