The New Scooby-Doo Movies

The second installment in the Scooby-Doo franchise is a bit weaker then it's predecessor but being that this is an hour show with hilarious guest stars like Don Knotts and the Harlem Globetrotters it makes up for a lot of fun.

The only let down this show had was that the hidden jokes were toned down to accommodate for the guest stars.

I wasn't born when this cartoon aired Saturday mornings,but I caught the sydications in the 80s. I enjoy how Scooby teamed up with other Hanna-Barbera toon stars to solve mysteries. Along with Scooby and the gang there were celebrities like Don Knotts,the Addams Family,and the Harlem Globetrotters. These guest made it easier for Scooby and gang to solve mysteries because they're always strength in numbers.

Don't get me wrong, I love "Scooby Doo" as much as the next guy, and I do like this show. I think the concept was good overall, but the problem I have is basically the celebrities that Scooby and the gang met.

For instance, they met Laurel and Hardy both of whom were dead before "Scooby-Doo" even hit the airwaves. Another moment was when they met the "Three Stooges" which was cool, the only thing was that Curly was dead for 20 years prior to the show's airing (It would've made sense if they had Curly Joe who WAS alive at the time appear but nooo. They had Curly!), although Moe, and Larry were OK since they were still alive at that time. Plus, how many times did Scooby and the gang solve mysteries with the Globetrotters? I know I've seen two episodes where they solved mysteries with the Globetrotters, but wasn't there another one (I might be right on just 2)? That right there is "Recycling" since they had ANOTHER episode with the Globetrotters (Don't get me wrong, the Globetrotters episodes are my favorites, as well as the Mama Cass one, but it's best to have a guest on ONCE. It's not a good thing to have one person, or persons on more then once). However, this show also had crossovers too with "Josie and the Pussycats", and "Speed Buggy". This was cool since all of these cartoons had one thing in common: They all involved characters who SOLVED mysteries!! That was a good point right there. I think I've got this down pat.

As I said before, don't get me wrong, I DO like this show, the only thing is that the celebrities that Scooby and the gang met were either dead, or that they solved mysteries with one particular group of celebs once too many. Overall this show is good. 8/10.

This is the second incarnation of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series, where the Great Dane joins sleuths Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy to solve ghostly and out-of-this-world mysteries. Now, along for the ride in each episode are celebrity guest stars like Don Knotts, Sonny & Cher, Batman & Robin, Laurel & Hardy and the Addams Family.

With this series incarnation, you continue to see some good classic detective elements in the episodes, from finding clues to splitting up to investigate, and gags and goofy comedy that the characters serve up, mostly courtesy of Shaggy and Scooby.

It can be a fun show at times, but this incarnation doesn't have as much of that spooky and suspense feel as the original series, as a result from the integration and concentration of the celebrity guest stars (which gave the series a more wacky, whimsical and light-hearted feel). I feel even the Mystery, Inc. gang characters act a little too overzealous and over-excited since they're around the guest stars, especially that of Fred, Daphne and Velma.

Overall, it's a still good childhood show, sure to generate some laughter from the kids.

Grade B

Contains 23 out of the 24 episodes (absent is S1's Wednesday is Missing, featuring the Addams Family, apparently due to licencing issues). For this series (which followed Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!), each episode featured a guest star or stars (some real-life, some Hanna-Barbera fictional characters). I hadn't seen most of these since first broadcast.

Season one; Ghastly Ghost Town (The Three Stooges) ~ 5/10; The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair (Batman and Robin)~ 6/10; The Frickert Fracas (Jonathan Winters) ~ 5/10; Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner? (Don Knotts) ~ 7/10; A Good Medium Is Rare (Phyllis Diller)~ 7/10; Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde (Sandy Duncan) ~ 6/10; The Secret of Shark Island (Sonny and Cher) ~ 8/10; The Spooky Fog of Juneberry (Don Knotts) ~ 7/10; The Ghost of Bigfoot (Laurel and Hardy) ~ 7/10; The Ghost of the Red Baron (The Three Stooges) ~ 5/10; The Ghostly Creep from the Deep (The Harlem Globetrotters) ~ 7/10; The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall (Davy Jones) ~ 7/10; The Phantom of the Country Music Hall (Jerry Reed) ~ 5/10; The Caped Crusader Caper (Batman and Robin) ~ 4/10; The Loch Ness Mess (The Harlem Globetrotters) ~ 8/10

Edit (7 February 2022): Found the 'missing episode' Wednesday is Missing online ~ 8/10

Season two; The Mystery of Haunted Island (The Harlem Globetrotters) ~ 7/10; The Haunted Showboat (Josie and the Pussycats) ~ 8/10; Mystery in Persia (Jeannie) ~ 6/10; The Spirited Spooked Sports Show (Tim Conway) ~ 5/10; The Exterminator (Don Adams) ~ 7/10; The Weird Winds on Winona (Speed Buggy) ~ 7/10; The Haunted Candy Factory ('Mama' Cass Elliot) ~ 7/10; The Haunted Carnival (Dick Van Dyke) ~ 6/10

A few very good episodes, several okay episodes - and far too many poor ones. When this series is bad, it's BAD. Instead of making the most of its longer-than-usual 43 minute format, many of the episodes feel they're just over-extended reworkings of standard 22 minute scripts. The result is they feel drawn-out, repetitive (especially in the chase scenes), and at times boring.

Nevertheless, Frank Welker (Fred), Casey Kasem (Shaggy), Heather North (Daphne), Nicole Jaffe (Velma), and Don Messick (Scooby) all bring their A-game. And despite the stretched-out feel, there is some very funny writing, and some great atmospheric settings.

Overall, 6.5/10.