My Top Ten Episodes of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (#5 - 1) · 5:32am May 24th, 2021
As I promised, Part Two of this countdown. 
Number 5: "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts"
This episode in many ways might be an unofficial sequel to the Universal Studios "monster mash" films of the 1940s. Mystery Inc. is on their way to visit the old "Franken Castle," but stop to have their fortunes told when they spot a gypsy wagon nearby. The fortune-teller warns them to stay away from the castle, but (surprise-surprise) Fred and the girls ignore her.
From the moment the gang set foot on the castle drawbridge, it's off to the races: a Count Dracula lookalike threatens them, before turning into a bat to chase them away. Daphne gets caught inside the castle when the drawbridge goes up, and finds herself menaced by the Frankenstein Monster. Shaggy and Scooby swing across the moat to try and lower the bridge, but are then met by a snarling werewolf. All of this inside of five minutes!
This nearly frantic pace of action continues throughout the episode - Velma loses her glasses when dodging the vampire bat and falls through a trapdoor into a torture chamber; Shaggy and Scooby venture into the kitchen (stocked with such treats as "fried moonbeams" and "pickled vampire wings" - something even Scooby-Doo won't touch!) before running into the Monster again; another near-miss with Dracula ensues in the torture chamber... in many ways the episode could almost be described as a collection of skits with the characters running into the monsters loose in the castle. But this works to the episode's benefit, at least in my opinion: many of the bits are so entertaining (Shaggy and Scooby goofing around in the mad scientist laboratory offers some great hilarity in particular 
) that the thinness of plot can be forgiven. Plus, this episode also gives Scooby another standout moment, when he ties up Dracula (who was about to push Shaggy and Velma down a hole) and drags him over to a dungeon cell himself. Go, Scoob! 
The finale of the episode is also quite a show for the Great Dane too, this being another moment where Scooby screws up his bravery and chases down the ultimate culprit of the story. While some might possibly consider the identity of the bad guy (identified by the arresting police officer in the denouement, rather than by Velma or the gang's own detective network) as a "cheat" on the part of the writers, I can only applaud the effort that "the Actor" must have put into their performances. Playing not one, not two, but *four* different roles, and consequently giving us one of the classic show's busiest episodes... and providing the normally cowardly Scooby-Doo with several opportunities to be a hero.
Best Funny Moment: Quite possibly the moment where Shaggy and Scooby, while playing around in the castle laboratory, were able to drive away the Werewolf by accident, without ever knowing the monster was there, due to Shaggy throwing a rejected vial of chemicals over his shoulder.
Best Scary Moment: This is an episode that's fairly light on truly "scary" material, truthfully, but I do think that - prior to Scooby restraining him - the notion of Dracula trapping Shaggy and Velma in that dungeon is a creepy one. Who knows if the culprit ever intended to let them out?
Number 4: "Hassle in the Castle"
While out boating one day, the gang wind up shipwrecked when the weather turns foggy and their boat runs aground on Haunted Isle. ("I'm sorry I asked," Shaggy snarks when Velma informs them of just where they are.) Although Scooby finds a message warning them to leave right away, Fred is undaunted and the gang continue to explore, coming across a castle that once belonged to an infamous pirate... and now seems haunted by a cackling phantom...
The third episode of the show, this is another interesting one in quite a few ways. First of all is that, like in the Captain Cutler episode, the gang aren't even looking for a mystery or trying to help solve some pre-existing strangeness. They're just on Haunted Isle by bad luck. Also of interest is that the monster takes a good while to show up. Before the ghost appears in all his bedsheet-wrapped glory, we have seen Daphne fall down a trapdoor (and nearly get grabbed by a ghostly green hand - that, strangely, is never explained by episode's end) and also Shaggy and Scooby have an inexplicable but hilarious run-in with a talking skull. Many subsequent episodes would rapidly introduce the monster or the circumstances of the haunting that Mystery Inc. would be investigating. Not this one, though. Talk about being in the wrong place at the right time, I suppose.
The Phantom of Vasquez Castle is one of the show's most entertaining one-off villains in many ways. While the "bedsheet ghost" look was already hackneyed by the time of the episode's airdate, he manages to make it work, by floating above the ground at points and even walking through walls. (Notably, when the gang first encounter him, Fred and Shaggy try to bum-rush the sheeted specter; it is only when they fall right through him and the ghost vanishes through the nearby wall that everyone truly panics.) The Phantom is clearly having fun with Scooby and the gang too. His cackling is positively giddy to listen to. When ultimately caught and unmasked as former magician Bluestone the Great, he still proves a very atypical character by being a most gracious loser: he cheerfully explains how he pulled off walking through walls, and doesn't seem at all fussed at having been caught by four teenagers and their dog. Rarely has a Scooby antagonist been so affable, especially in the denouement.
I picked this episode in large part for the number four spot because it's a pretty atypical episode in more than a few ways - the gang winding up involved in solving a mystery by accident more than anything else; the monster taking a while to show up, to say nothing of the gang actually trying to subdue him right out the gate (one wonders if naysayers of the show, those types who say "Why don't they just tackle the monster? It's always a fake!" have ever watched this particular episode 
); and also the mystery being less elaborate than others. This particular episode, Mystery Inc. is practically fumbling in the dark for answers, and that makes for an interesting contrast to later episodes in the franchise. Add to that a villain with a real vivid personality in the kooky cackling Phantom, and you have an episode that's a winner in my book. :)
Best Funny Moment: The entire sequence where Shaggy encounters a floating ham sandwich, in all its brilliant, non-sequitur glory.
Best Scary Moment: Daphne, after finding herself in a strange room after falling down a trapdoor, chooses a direction to go in and takes it - narrowly missing a ghoulish green hand at the very last second. Another one of Bluestone's tricks, or something else altogether? We never get a concrete explanation...
Number 3: "Spooky Space Kook"
This episode begins in fine form. We open right away with the familiar sinister music that tells Scooby-watchers that something scary is about to happen. A glowing spacecraft hovers across the sky with an eerie rattling noise, before landing behind some trees. And then, our monster of the week appears in full - a ghost in a glowing blue spacesuit, with a skull for a face. And one awesomely creepy laugh too!
Mystery Inc. run out of gas as they travel through the country. When they try to ask a farmer for help, he nearly runs them out at first, accusing them of being reporters. Once the matter is sorted out peacefully, the gang learns that spooky goings-on have been happening at the former airfield nearby. So naturally, with another mystery on hand, Fred leads the gang to investigate, and soon enough Scooby and friends are face-to-skull-face with a spectral spaceman...
"Spooky Space Kook" is an episode where Shaggy and Scooby actually do a lot of the work towards unravelling the case. (In fact, poor Fred spends a chunk of the episode trapped, hanging by the belt from a crane. "I feel like a side of beef," the team leader grumbles in a funny punchline to that moment.) Besides a sequence where the gang find a running generator in the ostensibly abandoned airfield, Scooby's appetite leads him to uncover a food stash that, as Shaggy points out, couldn't belong to an *actual* ghost. Not to mention, in running from an apparent army of space ghosts, Shag and Scoob manage to find - and figure out - the significance of a tape recorder and movie projector inside the air tower. Shaggy displays some pretty rapid thinking in putting together how their "ghost" is operating a big part of his hoax.
As for said outer space ghost... while his ultimate identity is pretty anticlimactic, in that he is just a greedy farmer, not previously met until after the fact, with his scheme amounting to a real estate scam, his disguise as the "Space Kook" still makes for one of the show's most vivid monsters. Almost everything about the outer-space ghost's appearance grabs you: from the subtle bluish glow of his spacesuit, to the way his helmet flashes red and blue when he lets rip with that demented cackle, as well as the subtle electronic hum that accompanies his footsteps... this is a triumph of character design for the artists and animators at Hanna-Barbera. His scheme is also pretty well-prepared, given some of the measures he sets up to try and scare away the Scooby gang too. And in fairness to the episode, the capture and unmasking of this villain is also very memorable too, thanks in part to Fred's quick thinking and the use of a conveniently-placed wind tunnel.
There are some other pretty memorable bits in this episode. Choice gags include Shaggy and Scooby causing a ruckus in the mess hall, as well as their effort to *quietly* close some metal trash cans they'd been hiding in. Shaggy gets one of his most memorable freak-outs too at one point, when he and Scooby refuse to go any further in the investigation. Fred and the girls leave them be, and then the skinny man and Great Dane hear that cackling laugh draw near... Shaggy's hair standing on end has been a fixture of the character's panicky nature time and time again, but this episode really takes the cake for best use of that. You really can feel Shaggy's mounting terror, even as you laugh at his freaking out.
Great gags, a most memorable monster, and a striking setting in the form of the old airfield come together to make this one of the best of the classic Scooby episodes.
Best Funny Moment: The sequence where Shaggy and Scooby try to barricade themselves in a room to evade the Space Kook... only to discover that the one door opens the other way, and that Scooby threw the key to the other door out the window. It honestly feels a bit like a scene from an Abbott and Costello movie!
Best Scary Moment: For my money, the moment when Shaggy and Scooby - running from the Space Kook - try to hide in the cockpit of a disused plane. The Space Kook approaches from behind, grabs Scooby's chair, tilts it back, and cackles right in his face. Whew! 
Number 2: "Nowhere to Hyde"
We open in a surprisingly urban locale for a Scooby episode, as a high-rise is burgled by none other than the ghost of Mr. Hyde himself. The green-colored ghoul (who has one nasty laugh) makes a clean getaway from the police, and hides out in the back of the Mystery Machine while Scooby and the gang are in the malt shop. Later on, out on the road, Scooby discovers the monstrous stowaway and the gang promptly flee the van in panic. Hyde flees into the marsh, and when Velma and Daphne recognize him as the culprit who's been stealing jewels around town, the gang (much to Shaggy and Scooby's regret) investigate.
Hyde goes into a spooky old mansion ("They always do," Shaggy laments). The gang's search for clues leads them to some strange places inside the creepy old estate, from a mad scientist's laboratory - underneath a trapdoor, no less! - to a laundry room and more. There is more than one suspect who could be the Ghost of Hyde, but the culprit is a wily foe for the gang, and someone more than willing to cover his tracks through any means necessary...
The Ghost of Hyde is another of the gang's memorable foes. Besides his grotesque laugh, he is one of the smartest monsters in the classic run of the show: it's well worth noting that, up until the very moment the gang unmask him, they had bought into the fake clues he had planted to frame an innocent person. And when Shaggy accidentally found a *real* clue, Hyde swiftly abducts him, and seems well-prepared to do something very nasty to the skinny beatnik in order to silence him... this bad guy plays for keeps. Thank goodness Scooby was able to rescue his pal!
(As a humorous aside, the ensuing musical chase sequence, wherein Scooby, Shaggy and Hyde speed through the house on a gurney, seems to be the first ever version of the classic "hall of doors" gag in the franchise. The joke used in this episode is simple compared to its successors, but oh so very funny all the same. )
Usually, in a Scooby-Doo episode, Fred and Daphne don't play much of a role in the actual mystery-solving. Velma tends to handle most of the deductive work, and Shaggy and Scooby provide most of the requisite clowning. Fred does devise plans for trapping the monster, but they almost never work according to plan. "Nowhere to Hyde" is the rare exception to this in that not only do all the members of the gang play a hand in trapping the bad guy but, even rarer still, that Fred's plan to catch the monster actually goes off without a hitch! The circumstances of Hyde's downfall (hehe) are a joy to watch, as we get to watch the episode's crafty villain get played like a fiddle and wind up running scared.
All in all, this is a pretty first-rate Scooby episode in my opinion. A cunning monster, some great gags, and a delightfully zany latter half all come together to make one of the original show's best!
Best Funny Moment: Pretty much everything that happens during the chase sequence (set to the song "Recipe for My Love"), but perhaps the crowning moment is when Shaggy and Scooby flee into the marsh to escape Hyde, only to discover that the "log" they were rowing away on is actually the back of a *very* unhappy alligator. 
Best Scary Moment: While Hyde grabbing Shaggy with clearly evil intent is a choice pick for a very good reason, part of me feels like the real crowner would be when Scooby finds out that Hyde is in the back of the Mystery Machine. Yes, Scooby's frantic gibbering as he tries to alert the gang is hilarious, but at the same time... imagine if YOU were on the road and then realized that there was a malicious stranger in the vehicle with you...
*shudders*
Now, before I wrap things up with the conclusion, here's a few honorable mentions:
"A Night of Fright is No Delight" - In this episode, which feels something like a throwback to the "old dark house" genre of horror movies, Mystery Inc. are to spend a night in a haunted house as part of Scooby's claim to a million-dollar inheritance. Unfortunately, a pair of ghoulish phantoms, collectively named the Phantom Shadow, are bent on getting rid of the mansion's guests... This is another episode that has a surprising edge to it, especially during one moment when the gang find what appear to be a set of coffins with the bodies of the other heirs inside! (Naturally, this turns out to be part of the bad guys' hoax, but still!) Besides the darker atmosphere, you also have some pretty inspired set pieces, in particular a room with sliding walls and a trapdoor, and one of the kookiest final chases in the whole show: Shaggy, Scooby, and a washing machine are just the *start* of this one! And you have a pretty solid episode in my opinion, and a very close contender for the top ten list itself.
"What the Hex Going On?" - Mystery Inc's visit to a friend, Shannon, is complicated when a sinister ghost appears to be targeting her family in the name of claiming their fortune. The ghost of this episode (named to be the specter of one Elias Kingston) is in some ways a bit of a lowkey foe compared to some of the more ruthless foes the gang has faced, but he has personality, and uses the atmosphere of the haunted house and nearby mausoleum to great effect. This is also a good episode for the gang to do some actual detective work in following clues, also. There's some choice gags in this one too, particularly a repeated gag of poor Shaggy getting sent crashing into a shower; leading to one of the character's best lines ever: "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's taking a bath in a haunted house." Casey Kasem's delivery is a perfect mix of understatement and resignation. Add to that a delightful finale where the gang flawlessly turn the ghost's own tricks against him and you have another winner of classic Scooby-Doo.
"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf?" - While camping, the gang overhear a truly unsettling howl, and when they find bizarre tracks, an empty grave, and an apparent werewolf ghost on the prowl, Velma and the others (must to Shaggy and Scooby's woe) can't help but investigate further. The title monster of this episode is a legitimately spooky foe. As odd or silly as the idea of a ghost werewolf might sound to some, this snarling beast's green skin and red eyes - plus some fine snarls and howls - make him a pretty striking opponent. (Even after Shaggy and Scooby shave his head. ) It's a true shame when this culprit is unmasked and turns out to be a lowly sheep rustler. But even despite the letdown of this culprit's identity, the episode still has some great set-pieces, including a really delightful chase sequence set to the song "Tell Me, Tell Me".
"Haunted House Hang-Up" - When the Mystery Machine breaks down on a country back road, the gang find themselves warned to steer clear of an old mansion along the way, due to it (what else but?) being haunted. Naturally, despite Shaggy and Scooby's wishes to the contrary, the others wind up investigating after some scares. This episode is an interesting one in large part because, this time, in a first for the show, the "headless specter" turns out to be a decent guy: a descendant of the estate's original owner, trying to scare away looters while he searched for a hidden treasure. The gang end up helping him out, making for one of the few times a monster in the pre-modern era of the show *doesn't* wind up arrested and jailed. Atypical plot aside, there's still some choice moments of humor (the chase sequence with Shaggy, Velma and Scooby) as well as some good lowkey scares (a choice one being when the aforementioned trio hold hands in a darkened passageway and then, coming into the light, find the Specter right there with them). Both familiar and yet nice with a nice variation on formula, this is a pretty solid episode of the classic show for sure. :)
And finally, my number one pick for best episode of Scooby-Doo, Where are You?
Number 1: "Jeepers, It's the Creeper"
We open on a bank guard, driving home from work, being halted by a fallen tree across the road. As he gets out of his car and tries to move the obstruction, a hunchbacked green ghoul emerges from a hiding place and moves to ambush him...
Cut to Mystery Inc, on their way to a barn dance, and looking forward to a good old time. Fred stops the Mystery Machine when they come across the bank guard, beaten badly, and his car torn up. The battered man revives long enough to give them a blank piece of paper, and the words "The flame will tell... the Creeper," before passing out again. Unsure what else to do, the gang take the nearby house of the bank president, who informs them that "The Creeper" is some kind of phantom that's been seen robbing the bank. He promises to take care of the guard and sends them on their way.
Of course, that night at the dance, the Creeper turns up; the ghoulish figure shuts off the lights, and when the partygoers leave to relocate to the malt shop, the Creeper confronts the Scooby gang, demanding the paper that the guard had given them. A memorable chase ensues, in which the gang gets separated, and Shaggy and Scooby wind up with an unwanted hitchhiker in the form of a baby chick while trying to evade the Creeper. While Fred and the girls look for clues, Shaggy and Scooby repeatedly run afoul of the hunchbacked phantom, until finally the case all comes together in a madcap chase through a barnyard, and an unforgettable climax involving a hay baler machine.
There's a few reasons that I picked *this* particular episode for the top spot. One of which is the title monster. The Creeper is easily one of the most iconic of the Scooby-Doo villains, and it's easy to see why. With his hunchbacked gait, mismatched eyes (one being large than the other at any rate), and sinister, furious growling, this is a pretty memorable original monster for the show, and one who also poses a clear and present threat to Scooby and the gang. We've seen the aftermath of his ambush of the poor bank guard after all; it's hard to doubt that he has little compunction about doing similar to four teenagers and their dog.
As a whole, "Jeepers, It's the Creeper" is an episode of Scooby-Doo, Where are You! with some surprising edge to it. The Creeper beats up the bank guard at the start; Shaggy and Scooby come in for some real comedic abuse during portions of the big musical chase in the middle of the episode; and at one point Fred, Daphne and Velma decide to jump what they think is the Creeper (really an unfortunate Shaggy and Scooby, of course ) and deliver a smackdown. To say nothing of the apparent scrap that results when the majority of the gang go tumbling into a haystack at the climax, along with the Creeper himself. For a show that by and large avoids outright violence (indeed, if I recall Hanna-Barbera *made* the show after a ruling against violent content in cartoons) there's quite a lot to infer from this particular episode.
The Creeper's identity is reasonably easy to figure out, despite the episode throwing a big red herring at us in the form of a kooky hermit, but that's by the by in my opinion. This episode gives us the Scooby-Doo tradition in fine form: the gang are good Samaritans who get swept up in a mystery; Shaggy and Scooby provide the laughs (and take some lumps) while Fred, Daphne and Velma find the clues and puzzle out most of the case. The culprit is someone we'd met previously in the episode, so one could say the mystery more-or-less plays fair with the audience. Shoot, even the presence of the baby chick that Shag and Scoob have to deal with almost could be a forerunner of the "guest star" days of later incarnations of the series too.
Best Funny Moment: The chase sequence set to "Daydreamin'" is a good contender, but for me the real crowner comes during the final chase back at the barn, wherein Scooby, Shaggy and even Fred get some sidesplitting moments of running in and out of the barn while pursued by the Creeper. Ranging from Shaggy getting a barrel over his head to Scooby hopping along on a pitchfork, or (my favorite) Fred tripping up and sending the Creeper flying ("Sorry about that," Fred even says in apology :lol: ), there's a lot hilarious moments in rapid succession here. 
Best Scary Moment: Honestly, probably the opening ambush by the Creeper on the unsuspecting bank guard. What really sells it for me, specifically, is the lack of noise made by the attacker as he advances on his soon-to-be victim. No snarl or growl, no moan of "Paper!" nothing. It's basically a mugging / assault dressed up in the form of a Saturday-morning mystery cartoon.
All told, there's a fine assortment of laughs and (family-friendly) scares to be had in "Jeepers, It's the Creeper," and for that I'd have to give it the top spot in this countdown. It combines both the best of the classic formula with a bit more of a darker edge, and in doing so makes for an excellent episode of Scooby-Doo, Where are You!
Anyway, there you have it then. My top ten episodes of the original Scooby-Doo show. Hope you all enjoyed it, and please feel free to share any thoughts or comments that you might have!
Thanks for reading, everyone. 
Scooby may (understandably) be afraid of a lot of things, but he's not so much of a coward that he won't save Shaggy. You threaten Shaggy's life around him, and yours is forfeit. Well, as forfeit as can be, considering the rating.
I think I saw number 4 at one point. Fun episode.
Yeah, I adore the Space Kook barricade sequence. That's pure genius. Honestly, it really DOES feel like an Abbott and Costello routine.
Nowhere to Hyde. Pretty sure I vaguely remember that one too.
The best part? That line implies this has happened before.
Never noticed but, the original show has a lot of 'ghosts'. Not complaining or anything, just observing.
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Yep, you said it. I came very close to putting this one episode with the gang solving the mystery of the Ape Man in the honorable mentions, just for the scene where Scooby drives the monster back by snarling and barking at him. It's a surprising reminder that Scooby is, well, a Great Dane, and that when he screws up his courage a dog the size of a small horse can be intimidating. XD
Yeah, the Castle episode is a fun one. Not sure what my favorite part of it is, but I do love the whole finale - everything from Scoob psyching himself up by thinking of John Wayne, to Fred's trap going wrong, and the unmasking of Bluestone. There's one classic foe I wouldn't mind seeing return in the future... honestly he *feels* like the kind of foe who'd match wits with Mystery Inc just for fun.
Glad that you can see it in regard to the Space Kook episode too.
Haha, true, very true!
One can only wonder just how that happened... but it's really funnier to just leave to the imagination as well. XD
Yeah, the classic era of the franchise really used ghosts a lot in the stories. Not sure why that is, though part of me suspects that it was a little easier to get the stories past Standards and Practices if it were about *ghost* creatures rather than "actual" monsters and whatnot. (If I had to guess, at any rate.)
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You said it. I'd flinch if a Labrador was barreling towards me and they're one of the friendliest species of dogs. If a Great Dane, a dog that can reach almost a meter tall, was snarling at me to back off, I'd back off speedyquick.
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You said it. I... I get tense around most types of dogs, even the smallest of them, mainly because of an incident where I got my leg bitten good by a Labrador-sized dog back in 2018.
If a dog the size of Scooby even *started* to growl at me, I'd be off like The Flash, or scrambling to climb the nearest tree, put a wall between myself and the animal in question.
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That's fair.