More Scooby…more mysteries!
Jinkies! Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, and Freddy are out to solve more mysteries. The criminals better run and hide when the Mystery Mobile pulls up. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Creeper, the Wax Phantom, and Mano Tiki Tia are just some of the monsters that Scooby and the gang are faced with, but a couple of Scooby Snacks will get Scooby-Doo through…Scooby-Doo, where are you?!?!?!
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 2 aired from September 12, 1970 to October 31, 1970. The Hanna-Barbera animated series follows the production pattern of most Saturday morning cartoons with a shortened second season of only eight episodes and both Season 1 and Season 2 are generally packaged together.
Scooby-Doo was already a classic when I was kid. The reruns and multiple versions of the Scooby-Doo “brand” meant that these episodes played along with other iterations of the show (including the irritating Scrappy seasons). It is a fun trip down memory lane to revisit the early episodes of the influential show.
Maybe they should have invested in swimsuits…
The series is pretty basic and the mysteries are too. Generally there is a red herring character (which was even mocked in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo with an actual character named Red Herring) and then there is the “real” villain. The problem with Scooby-Doo’s format is that they generally only introduce one or two characters…so it is pretty easy to guess the ghost’s identity. It is easy to forget that the show is actually aimed at kids due to how engrained it is in popular culture.
The vocal casting is solid. Don Messick and Casey Kasem get the bulk of the work as Scooby and Shaggy with Nicole Jaffe also generally added to the mix as “my glasses!!!” Velma. The writers allegedly weren’t fans of writing for the Freddy and Daphne characters (the real reason they often went off together) so Frank Welker and Heather North don’t seem to be as much of the focus (Heather North replaced Stefanianna Christopherson who voiced Daphne in the first season).
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy’s relationship is….complex…
The fun of Scooby-Doo (besides all of the clichés that you now see while watching it) is that it always has creative “villains of the week”. This season continues the trend and it does add some variety to the reused animation that often accompanies Hanna-Barbera shows. This season also dips into the trend of using a musical number in most episodes a la the Monkees, Partridge Family, etc. (this trend was also adopted by other series that took Scooby-Doo’s format).
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 2 is a short but sweet season. The series essentially was cancelled after this season but the show was reworked into The New Scooby-Doo Movies in 1972 which featured hour long shows with celebrity guest stars. The series often is credited with a Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 3, but the packaging is misleading because it is actually The Scooby-Doo Show—Season 3 which aired in the fall of 1978. Zoinks…cartoons were complicated in the ’70s and ’80s.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 2 Complete Episode Guide:
“Nowhere to Hyde”
2.1 Nowhere to Hyde Airdate: 09/12/70
Scooby, Velma, Shaggy, Daphne, and Freddy pursue the ghostly Mr. Hyde into the swamp and encounter Dr. Jekyll who reveals he might have inherited his ancestor’s curse.
“Mystery Mask Mix-Up”
2.2 Mystery Mask Mix-Up Airdate: 09/19/70
Daphne buys a mask at an antique shop and finds herself the target of an ancient Chinese warlord named Zen Tuo.
“Jeepers, It’s the Creeper”
2.3 Jeepers, It’s the Creeper Airdate: 09/26/70
A ghoul called the Creeper is robbing a local bank, but when the Creeper crashes the gang’s school dance, Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred must uncover the truth.
“Scooby’s Night with a Frozen Fright”
2.4 Scooby’s Night with a Frozen Fright Airdate: 10/03/70
The gang’s day at the beach has them discovering a missing frozen caveman specimen. When the caveman thaws out, the gang must determine if the caveman has returned to life.
“Haunted House Hang-Up”
2.5 Haunted House Hang-Up Airdate: 10/10/70
The Mystery Mobile overheats on the way to a concert, and the gang finds themselves stuck at a haunted mansion.
“A Tiki Scare Is No Fair”
2.6 A Tiki Scare Is No Fair Airdate: 10/17/70
The gang heads to Hawaii and finds their tour guide John Simm has disappeared…as the curse of witch doctor and the statue of Mano Tiki Tia has come alive.
“Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf?”
2.7 Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf? Airdate: 10/24/70
A camping trip has Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Freddy, and Daphne investigating an abandoned mill and a werewolf.
“Don’t Fool with a Phantom”
2.8 Don’t Fool with a Phantom Airdate: 10/31/70
A TV station is menaced by the Wax Phantom…who a disgruntled, fired employee claims has been summoned by black magic!
Related Links:
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The New Scooby-Doo Movies—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The New Scooby-Doo Movies—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
