1. Ghastly Ghost Town
Aired: September 9, 1972
Plot: Guest Stars: The Three Stooges. Forced to seek help on foot in the desert after their van is forced into
a sand pit by a low-flying, king-sized bat, the members of Mystery, Inc. come across the Three Stooges, who are really the
ones in need of help.
My Two Cents: The New Scooby Doo Movies aren't up to par with the 1969 or 1976 versions of the show, but this was one
of the better episodes. The Gunslinger and the Indian have some memorable moments and this episode (Scooby's showdown with the Gunslinger).
My Rating 6.2 (Villian: 3.1; Story 3.1)
2. The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair
Aired: September 16, 1972
Plot: Guest Stars: Batman and Robin. The members of Mystery, Inc. team up with Batman and Robin for a cliff-hanging tale
about a counterfeit ring operated by those two arch-criminals, The Joker and The Penguin.
My Two Cents: A pretty good second episode, this one has a few particularly funny parts, like Scooby's dreaming about being
Batman and driving the batmobile, and the Joker and Penguin escorting the police out instead of the other way around. One of the more watchable of
the New Scooby Doo Movies.
My Rating 6.5 (Villian 3.0; Story 3.5)
3. Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family
Aired: September 23, 1972
Plot: Guest Stars: the Addams Family. Scooby and his teenage friends consent to spend the weekend as housekeepers in
the haunted home of The Addams Family so that Morticia and Gomez can take a much needed vacation in the Okefenokee Swamp.
My Two Cents: Maybe it's my general disinterest in the Addams Family, but this is an episode I generally avoid. The characters
are too strange, and the villian is downright terrible.
My Rating 3.8 (Villian 1.5; Story 2.3)
4. The Frickert Fracas
Aired: September 30, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Jonathan Winters. Thinking they will have a vacation from haunted houses and spooky characters, Winters invites
them to stay at Maude Frickert's farm. Scooby and the kids soon learn differently when the place becomes overrun with vandalizing
scoundrels and animated scarecrows..
My Two Cents: Winters is a pretty entertaining guest, but the villian and the episode are still fairly pedestrian.
My Rating 4.9 (Villian 2.3; Story 2.6)
5. Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner?
Aired: October 7, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Don Knotts. When the members of Mystery, Inc. enter Moody Manor to ask someone for directions, they are mistakenly
taken for the relatives of the estate's wealthy owner by Don Knotts who, as the world's greatest detective, suspects that one of them has
done away with Captain Moody.
My Two Cents: Knotts different characters are hilarious, a favorite among my kids, and the villian looks kind of cool (albeit confusing
at times), so it's a decent, probably better than average episode for this series.
My Rating 5.5 (Villian 2.4; Story 3.1)
6. A Good Medium is Rare
Aired: October 14, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Phyllis Diller. Scooby Doo and his young companions are locked into a mystery that is out of this world when
they accompany Phyllis Diller to Magic Mansion for a seance under the leadership of madam Zokar.
My Two Cents: A blah episode. Diller is moderately amusing, and the villains are ok, though hardly memorable (feeling slightly ripped
off from the 1970 ghost of hyde).
My Rating 4.3 (Villian 2.0; Story 2.3)
7. Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde
Aired: October 21, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Sandy Duncan. Movie-Making becomes a more risky business than usual when the shooting of Sandy Duncan's
latest film, a remake of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" on a movie lot that is about to be closed down, is disrupted by a creature that keeps the
horror going after the cameras stop rolling.
My Two Cents: Sandy Duncan is a likeable guest, and you can never have too many Daphne look-a-likes, plus Scooby's crush on Duncan
is entertaining (especially when he tells Shaggy that he is jealous). One of the better New Scooby Doo Movies.
My Rating 6.0 (Villian 2.7; Story 3.3)
8. The Secret of Shark Island
Aired: October 28, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Sonny & Cher. Scooby Doo and his friends give Sonny & Cher a lift when their car breaks down in a howling
storm. They take them to the Hideaway Hotel, an off-season beach retreat where they have planned a delayed honeymoon away from the crowds.
My Two Cents: Though not as annoying as the Addams Family, Sonny & Cher are tiring guests as well in my opinion. The Shark God is a decent
villian, that will be ripped off nicely in 1976 as the Demon Shark. A decent episode.
My Rating 5.0 (Villian 2.5; Story 2.5)
9. The Spooky Fog
Aired: November 4, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Don Knotts. A unique form of small-town hospitality is in store for Scooby and his young companions when officer
Don Knotts invites them to spend the night at the best hotel in Juneberry...the local jail.
My Two Cents: Knotts' second appearance is decent, but not as fun as the first episode. The skeleton men are mediocre villians
at best, and the storyline lacks.
My Rating 4.3 (Villian 2.0; Story 2.3)
10. Scooby Doo Meets Laurel and Hardy
Aired: November 11, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Laurel & Hardy. The Mystery, Inc. gang teams up with Laurel and Hardy, newly appointed bellhops at Vermont
ski lodge, to track down an abominable snowman by the name of Bigfoot.
My Two Cents: One of the better villians for the New Scooby Doo Movies, and Laurel and Hardy make good guests. One of a select
few of these episodes that feels much like the classic episdoes.
My Rating 6.3 (Villian 3.3; Story 3.0)
11. The Ghost of the Red Baron
Aired: November 18, 1972
Plot: Guest Stars: The Three Stooges. The members of Mystery, Inc. team up with The Three Stooges to ground the ghost of
the Red baron, an evildoer of daring who has scared off all of Mr. Sawyer's crop dusting pilots in an effort to pressure the farmer into leaving
his land.
My Two Cents: Mediocrity at it's best. The Stooges' second appearance is also a letdown after the first, and the Red Baron comes off
as one of the cheesier (wimpier?) villians in the New Scooby Doo Movies.
My Rating 4.2 (Villian 2.0; Story 2.2)
12. The Ghostly Creep from the Deep
Aired: November 25, 1972
Plot: Guest Stars: Harlem Globetrotters. The members of Mystery, Inc. join forces with the Harlem Globetrotters on the eerie banks of a haunted
swamp so that their boosted team spirit might protect them from the supernatural spirits being unleashedby the ghost of Redbeard the Pirate.
My Two Cents: The re-use of Redbeard is unacceptable. Other villians are ripoffs or very close to originals, but this one makes no attempt to differentiate
from the 1969 classic. The episode is lacking as well in substance and humor, except the creepy man who ends up being rather helpful.
My Rating 3.8 (Villian 1.5; Story 2.3)
13. The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall
Aired: December 2, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Davy Jones. The Scooby Doo gang must prove that the ghostly horseman who haunts Hagglethorn Castle is a phony
so that Davy Jones' uncle will not have to forfeit the Scottish fortress, once a thriving tourist spot, to the greedy Duke of Strathmore.
My Two Cents: Maybe it's that I didn't grow up in this time period, but I find Jones fairly annoying (or at least un-interesting). This is
another pedestrian episode lacking in creativity for storyline and villians.
My Rating 4.2 (Villian 2.0; Story 2.2)
14. The Phantom of the Country Music Hall
Aired: December 9, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Jerry Reed. A night at the Opry turns out to be a haunting experience for the members of Mystery, inc. when
they search for their friend, Jerry Reed, in the Grand Old Country Music Hall in Nashville.
My Two Cents: A very average episode with run of the mill villians who make few appearances. The catchy "Pretty Mary Sunlight" song
is bound to be stuck in your head for days however.
My Rating 4.7 (Villian 2.2; Story 2.5)
15. The Caped Crusader Caper
Aired: December 16, 1972
Plot: Guest Star: Batman and Robin. Scooby and Mystery Inc. meet up with the terrible twosome - the Penguin and the Joker - on a forest
camping trip and enlist the aid of those crusaders against crime - Batman and Robin. Penguin and the Joker are out to steal the newest invention of
Professor Flakey, a "flying suit", but are foiled in their attempts by Scooby and Shaggy's backfiring plans.
My Two Cents: Overall not as fun as the first episode with Batman and Robin, but the disguises from Penguin and Joker are kind of unique
and the episode is still no worse than average.
My Rating 5.1 (Villian 2.6; Story 2.5)
16. The Lochness Mess
Aired: December 30, 1972
Plot: Guest Stars: The Harlem Globetrotters. Scooby-Doo and the kids from Mystery, Inc. travel to a small
New England town to visit Shaggy's Uncle Nathaniel but walk into the middle of a mystery complete with the ghost of Paul Revere and
a spooky sea serpent. With the aid of the Harlem Globetrotters, who were vacationing nearby, Mystery, Inc. uncovers a plot whereby
Morgan, a local crook, is trying to scare the townspeople into moving away in order to hide his discovery of a sunken treasure ship.
My Two Cents: The best episode of the New Scooby Doo Movies, and by a fair margin. The villains are creepy and have
some memorable scenes, while the dialogue and adventure is one of the better ones. This is probably a top twenty, maybe top ten Scooby
episode.
My Rating 7.7 (Villian 4.0; Story 3.7)
