Les Treize Fantômes de Scooby-Doo

After three horrible shows (Or the Dark Ages as I call it) Hanna-Barbera attempted to rescue the series from ultimate destruction. The first attempt being this show FAILED.

I will agree that the premise for this show is great! It adds a sense of action and adventure that would later save the franchise. This show unlike it's predecessor relies more on adventure and spookiness then on humor. This time the ghosts are real!

The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries (Or the new Scooby and Scappy Show?) reintroduced the character of Daphne. This time Daphne had a new `80s look to her and no longer was danger prone (something else that would later save the series.) The addition of Vincent Price was very effective and added to the new mood Hanna-Barber wanted.

But with some many positive elements how did the show fail? Two names come up to mind: Scrappy-Doo and Flim Flam. If these two characters would not have been on the show it would have survived.

Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, and Vincent alongside this new premise would have made for a terrific comeback. To bad Scrappy and Flim Flam had to ruin everything.

Honestly, the 13 Ghosts is one of the better Scooby Doo shows, and is a high 7. I really love the establishment of an overarching story arc, which allows characters to actually develop and for a grander sense of uncertainty and large scale to unfold. It also set the precedent for Mystery Incorporated to do it, which is just an unbelievably great show. I quite liked the script, with lots of clever wordplay and amusing, absurd segments (especially the episode 2 dragon interview comes to mind, but also things like Bogel and Weerd's miscommunications or Flim-Flam's ability to put on any costume and get demons to go along with it). It was also very different in its clear self-awareness and frequent pop culture references, which I think were an interesting twist and worked given the more modern and comedic vibe of the show. Some of the premises were really good, and in particular: It's a Wonderful Scoob with Time Slime and Scooby retiring and seeing the world fall apart; the circus episode 12 with the music brainwashing people; the finale with a genuine mystery of who stole the demon chest and what people's motives were, coupled by the only actual twist in the show; and to some extent the Nicara episode with her seducing warlocks and draining their power, and the ship episode with Scooby being afraid of monsters, were great and satisfying episodes. Unfortunately, too many of the episodes were never really thought-provoking or exciting because the end result is never really in doubt and there's no mystery to solve, which is the traditional crux of each episode. The monster premises, characters and humor could carry some episodes, but didn't sustainably make the show exciting. Not having Fred and Velma did hurt, as Flim-Flam was occasionally funny due to absurdity and some societal commentary, and Van Ghoul was actually an enjoyable character to have, but Scrappy didn't add anything. I do think this show maybe did the most with Scooby himself of those I've seen, as we really see him wrestle with the trauma of catching monsters and being scared all the time. I hope the Curse of the 13th Ghost movie doesn't drop the ball (as it seems many online believe it did), because this is a solid and fun show.

I actually like this show, it was much better than expected and than I remembered. The animation considering when it was made was not that bad, and the theme tune and incidental music were great too. I don't think it is as good as Scooby Doo Where Are You? but it is not bad at all, and does have a great idea. Yes, the villains weren't quite as memorable as they could have been, Zomba and Maldor excepted, Film Flam is annoying and some of the writing wasn't as inventive as it had potential to have with Film Flam's goofy sayings not always working. Bogal and Weerd I can take and leave. Still the voice acting is fantastic, Casey Kasem and Don Messick never fail to bring a smile to my face as Shaggy and Scooby, and hold no equal as the lovable characters I have come to know and love. But my favourite character is Vincent VanGhoul, magnificently voiced by the wonderful Vincent Price and even looks like him. He had the best lines of the whole show especially the prologues at the start of each episode, and Price's delivery was flawless. And I loved the story lines of Maldor, Zomba(the best one), Vincent falling in love and the Shadow Demon. All in all, not the best our favourite canine has to offer as it did finish on a rather incomplete note, but not at all bad, better than the appalling Shaggy and Scooby Doo:Get a Clue at any rate. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

Scooby Doo had become a dismal show during my early childhood. Shifting the focus away from Freddy, Velma, and Daphne, that wretched Scrappy Doo took over star billing. Which was why it was so refreshing when this series came along. Although Scrappy was still part of the cast for this series, he was no longer the star, so he got pushed into the background as the new characters took stage. And Daphne, who was gradually worked back into the cast a year or two prior, finally returned full time with a new hairdo and outfit. Even Shaggy got new threads, turning in his patented green T-shirt for a red one.

The inspired casting of Vincent Price as Vincent Van Ghoul was enough to get me back on the bandwagon for new episodes. I had already become a fan of Price's films and the albums that he appeared on with Alice Cooper and Michael Jackson. In animated form, Vincent was as dignified as ever, and he added some charisma that had been missing from the previous series of the last few years. Among other new characters was Flim-Flam, the conniving kid with the Lots-of-Luck-Joy-Juice ("a lucky charm in a bottle"). Flim-Flam added the comic relief that Scrappy was supposed to have brought to the previous series. Which makes one wonder why Scrappy was still there. And the other new characters, ghosts Bogel and Weerd, were just hammy enough to blend with this great cast of characters.

Throughout the first few series, the ghosts and monsters were always a bad guy in a rubber mask. When they had exhausted those storylines, the ghosts became real, but many of us had tuned out (or stuck to reruns) by that time because of the annoying Scrappy Doo. This time around they were still real and Scooby and Shaggy, who were tricked into opening The Chest of Demons in the pilot, had to return all 13 ghosts back to the chest. Though more cartoonish than the monsters (masks) had been in the original series, all of the ghosts were well-designed and the storylines were more inventive than they had been in years. Episodes had the gang thrust into comic strips and mirrors; Vincent was under the spell of a beautiful demon in one episode and nearly turned to stone in another -- and in one episode Scooby even quit the show (and was replaced by another puppy) but was urged to come back by then-President Ronald Reagan in a spoof of "It's a Wonderful Life."

Out of all the incarnations of Scooby Doo, this one remains my favorite, which is probably why only 13 episodes were produced and they rarely get played. Hopefully they'll get a video release someday. If only they had dropped Scrappy and brought back Fred and Velma, it would have been perfect.. .

"13 Ghosts" is the ultimate Scooby series--the wildest, the creepiest, the zaniest, the most daring...even the most romantic! (See Daphne and Shaggy's hug in the first episode "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before".) It is a delight to hear the late Vincent Price as Vincent VanGhoul. And Flim Flam is a fun new character in the tradition of Short Round from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". Daphne and Shaggy wore different clothes. Each episode, unlike the old mystery episodes, has a distinct plot, and the episodes are so clever that it's fun to watch them over and over again.