Goober and the Ghost Chasers

I never saw this show when it originally ran--my review is based on the run of the show as taped from Boomerang Network. After the massive success of SCOOBY-DOO, Hanna Barbera was asked to come up with a Scooby-like show--in effect, to rip off their own creation! This is their result. Three characters--Gilly, a photographer, and two of his friends (neither of whom have many distinguishing characteristics, other than looking like the human characters in Scooby-Doo from a distance)--work for a magazine that does exposes into supernatural phenomena. They are assisted by a quirky dog, Goober (voiced by Paul Winchell, as are many of the minor characters on the show also), who becomes invisible when trouble arises. He also makes asides to himself as the action unrolls. In these mysteries, about half the time, they are aided by the four YOUNGER members of the Partridge Family (in other words, NOT Shirley or David). Three of the four of them are not developed in any way or given many lines. The only Partridge heavily involved in the plots and given a lot of lines is Danny Bonaduce, which is good since his sarcastic and witty remarks are like having a member of the Little Rascals along for the ride. The plots are somewhat similar, although they work as mysteries aimed at the seven-year-old intelligence. This series SOUNDS more interesting than it is, when one reads a description of it on a history of animation website. It's not really worth finding a copy unless you are a serious Scooby fan or a student of early 70's Hanna-Barbera animation. I showed an episode or two of this to my teen-aged children, both big fans of the original Scooby-Doo, and they thought even less of it than I did. The usual professional H-B product, but just uninspired.

I barely remembered this Hanna/Barbera "assembly-line" clone of "Scooby Doo" from my childhood. Then I saw its first episode on the cable channel "Boomerang", and it all came flooding back.

Not only was the cast an almost copy of SD, but the incidental music was the exact same score! I mean, at least spend a few thousand for some unique music! I'm surprised that cartoon voice master Casey Kasem didn't have a role in this series.

Of all the Scooby Doo clones to emerge; Josie and the Pussycats, Speed Buggy, Jabber Jaw, Clue Club, etc., none were as obvious as Goober and the Ghostchasers. Voiced by Paul Winchell (Jerry Mahoney, Tigger, Dick Dastradly, Gargamel) and with Ronnie Schell (from Gomer Pyle) as the Shaggy voice, Goober was a green dog who would turn invisible when he was scared, leaving only his floating red hat and dog collar suspended in mid-air.

The 'gang' were reporters with no outstanding qualities, trying to get pictures of ghosts. Winchell is imitating Daws Butler's Snaggle Puss/ Funky Phantom voice as well with interesting results, and the first episode guested the Partridge 'children'; Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Brian Foster and Suzanne Crough.

Still the show couldn't break the Scooby shadow and was banished to the Sunday morning graveyard of cartoons. And it was no better than Scooby either, as many of the clones weren't.

Goober and the Ghost-Chasers is another in the long line of formula cartoons that came out during the 1970's from Hanna-Barbera. The only difference was that the main human characters were young adults and that Goober could turn invisible and didn't have the ability to speak like Scooby Doo (Goober did speak, but it was in more like an aside where he revealed what he was thinking to the audience). The human characters also lacked the memorable qualities that made Shaggy, Velma, Fred and Daphne the great supporting characters they were. Also, you know the producers lack confidence in a show when they feel they have to pile it up with guest stars (Danny Bonaduce and Susan Dey as Danny and Laurie Partridge, Michael Gray and Wilt Chamberlain).