(Originally posted on DeviantArt, reposted here.)

(This list is not meant to be a definitive statement of fact. This is just my own opinion and nothing else.)

In October of 2019, the classic cartoon series Scooby-Doo, Where are You! celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. It's a heck of a milestone in many ways, and seeing as the original show was a major part of my childhood (my parents having taped a marathon of classic Scooby episodes running on Cartoon Network in the late '90s) I thought I'd pay tribute to the show that started the whole franchise, and run through my personal list of best/favorite episodes featuring that lovable cowardly Great Dane and his friends.

So, without further ado, let us begin!

Number 10: "That's Snow Ghost"

While on a skiing vacation at the Wolf's End Lodge, Scooby and friends have an encounter with a yeti-like monster. Said monster is known as the Snow Ghost, and is said to turn his victims into ghosts as well. Naturally, Fred and Velma can't resist investigating further. The gang's search for answers leads them to some pretty surprising places, ranging from the cave of a Tibetan hermit (who believes that the Snow Ghost is after him) to an old lumber mill... and by the time it all comes to a close, there's been a LOT of mayhem in the wintery setting, right down to the old "snowball of doom" gag.

I chose this episode in particular for a few reasons. One of which is the setting, as the snowy mountainside backdrop makes for a pretty unique shakeup from the typical Scooby-Doo locations of haunted houses and the like. The wintertime location adds some extra sparkle to the episode, be it in Mystery Inc's attire, the use of snowmobiles to get around... or in providing some choice gags, in particular in one wild sequence where Shaggy and Scooby wind up partially encased in ice trying to slide away from the monster! Another is the fact that the episode's ultimate culprits, ski lodge owner Mr. Greenway and his associate Mr. Leech, are references to the classic actors Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre; making for a fun bonus for classic Hollywood fans in the audience. (Scooby's reaction to Mr. Leech giving him a "friendly" pat on the head is priceless. )

This is also an episode that has a surprising edge to it, beneath the usual comedy typical to a Scooby-Doo episode. The Snow Ghost proves to be a rather vicious foe for the gang, one who's quite willing to outright KILL at some points; given that he tries to saw Velma in half (and when that fails, sends dynamite after her and Scooby!) and you have, beneath the jokes and laugh track, a pretty ruthless villain for a typical episode of classic Scooby-Doo.

The mystery of the episode is admittedly really basic, but all the same, the unique setting, a fierce villain and some pretty inspired gag sequences make this a good contender for a great episode in my humble opinion.

Best Funny Moment: In terms of sheer zaniness, it's hard to top some of the cartoony antics that Shaggy and Scooby get up to in trying to escape from the Snow Ghost. My favorite being when they get partially frozen in ice and end up flying into the sky. In desperation the duo try flapping their arms in the futile effort to stay aloft. (Scooby squawking like a bird doesn't help at all either. )

Best Scary Moment: The Tibetan hermit Fu Lan Chi's story of his encounter with a Yeti is honestly a little unsettling, mainly for the fact that this is never answered or addressed after the fact... leaving one to question, "did he *actually* encounter a monster?" That's a good contender for a creepy implication, though in terms of immediate scare factor, I also think that the most effective comes from the Snow Ghost trying to straight-up throw Scooby off a cliff at the climax of the episode. Compared to the more roundabout dangers that the gang usually face, this time the bad guy is going for the most direct solution.

Number 9: "The Backstage Rage"

While walking home with a pizza, Shaggy and Scooby witness a mysterious driver swiftly speed away, dropping a violin case by accident. Discovering that said case is stuffed full of money, Shaggy leaves Scooby to watch over the case while he goes to phone the rest of the gang. Unfortunately, the Great Dane winds up distracted by an attractive poodle in distress, and the case (and then the poodle too) swiftly vanish on him. Mystery Inc's investigation of the situation leads them to an old theater and more and more strange goings-on...

"The Backstage Rage" is not exactly a favorite episode of mine, but it is a unique one in that this is one episode where the gang really does do a fair bit of detective work in trying to investigate the goings-on, which is a nice touch. Also, the theater setting and the motif of puppets that run throughout the episode add a good, sinister touch to the proceedings. (This is doubly impressive when the villain of the episode is just an old man in a black cape with an evil laugh; while not some chain-rattling phantom or snarling monster, the Puppet Master manages to be plenty creepy!)

The finale of this episode has a real nice touch in that Scooby-Doo himself plays a decisive role in chasing down and catching the bad guy. Considering how the usual formula of this show, or its many follow-ups, often involve elaborate booby-traps (which more often than not go hilariously awry) it's also pretty fun to see the cowardly Great Dane suddenly take charge as he does in apprehending the villain.

Best Funny Moment: A certain kind of dark humor, perhaps, but I get a kick out of a moment when the Puppet Master tries to off Shaggy by pushing over a stage set on him. However the beatnik is skinny enough that the falling set misses him - the open window falling right around him. It's a moment right out of Buster Keaton.

Best Scary Moment: There's a surprising number to choose from, given the whole "creepy puppets" motif in this episode. A surprisingly understated little moment is when the gang sneak back into the puppet shop, past the sleeping doorman and his puppet "Johnny"... and while the old man doesn't stir, Johnny opens an eye. Brr! But for my money, the *best* scare is when the gang - well and truly creeped-out by some spooky experiences - run back to try and wake the doorman, and find him replaced by a life-sized puppet. One does not blame Shaggy for throwing in the towel and running for the door, let me tell you!

Number 8: "A Clue for Scooby-Doo"

The second episode of the series is where one of its most iconic monsters comes from - the glowing, seaweed-covered ghost of the deep-sea diver Captain Cutler. When this eerie phantasm surfaces briefly and frightens the gang during their beach party, Scooby and the gang are initially willing to leave well enough alone; at least until later when they read in the paper about a rash of yacht disappearances, with a local skipper blaming the ghost of Captain Cutler. Mystery Inc. pays the skipper, one Ebenezer Sharp, a visit to talk to him about this, and he directs them to Cutler's widow if they want further information.

Mrs. Cutler is one spooky old lady. She lives in a lighthouse that is full of witchcraft paraphernalia and other weird stuff, and when asked cheerfully claims to have raised her husband's ghost from the dead. Thoroughly creeped out, Shaggy, Scooby and Velma excuse themselves, only to find a clue when they come across an eerie batch of glowing seaweed nearby. Velma analyzes the specimen and discovers it is found only in "The Graveyard of Ships," where Captain Cutler was believed to have died. So, the gang don their diving suits and head off on an undersea investigation...

"A Clue for Scooby-Doo" is an episode that devotes a fair bit of time to setting up the mystery and the gang's involvement in it, but the setup works quite well at establishing the background of the case and some of the clues (or false leads) that play a role in the rest of the story. The monster is appropriately spooky (in particular thanks to a wonderfully creepy groaning roar that he makes, oof!), and the underwater setting adds some nice flavor to the situation, as well as setting a good precedent for the Scooby gang going to some pretty wild places in the name of solving a mystery! As for how the gang ultimately catches the monster, well... the best way to describe it is perhaps by the words "comedy of errors". Fred's traps rarely go according to their design, but in all honesty that's just part of the fun of the show.

And, on a final note, believe it or not, Shaggy is the one to figure out the identity of the culprit! That alone is almost enough to qualify this episode for a "top ten" in some regards.

Best Funny Moment: While underwater, Shaggy and Scooby run afoul of the Ghost Diver, and try to fend him off with an old ship's cannon... Shaggy tries to light the fuse with a book of matches, forgetting completely that they're, well, underwater.

Best Scary Moment: Most any moment to do with the Ghost Diver's unearthly groaning. It's a sound to raise the short hairs on the back of your neck!

Number 7: "Don't Fool With a Phantom"

While attending a local game show to watch Shaggy and Scooby perform, the gang winds up getting an eyeful of a monstrous phantasm, whose appearance plunges the set into panic, and appears to kidnap the station manager! At first thinking the whole crazy occurrence a screwy publicity stunt, Mystery Inc. finds out there's more than meets the eye when they discover the theft of a safe full of money, as well as threats made by a former station employee who promised revenge for the cancelation of his show...

Velma, Shaggy and Scooby pay this former employee, Mr. Grisby, a visit to see if he knows anything. Mister Grisby is a character whose home makes Mrs. Cutler's lighthouse witch-haunt seem almost suburban in comparison. He cheerfully admits to practicing black magic, claims to have seen the mayhem at the TV station courtesy of his crystal ball, and believes that his magic summoned the monster ("The Wax Phantom"). This part of the episode is pretty memorable for both Grisby himself - he looks like he could very well be a ghoul himself! - and some of the phenomena in his home, which notably never gets explained in the actual episode itself. (My favorite example? At the end of the scene Scooby waves goodbye to a chained-up skeleton, which suddenly pulls its arm out of its shackle to wave back. How the hell did THAT happen?)

After the encounter with Grisby, it's off to the wax museum to try and reunite with Fred and Daphne, who nearly run afoul of the Phantom in the meantime. From there, it's a memorable parade of chases, clues, and a few very close calls as well; most chiefly in a sequence where the Wax Phantom captures Shaggy and Scooby and comes within a whisker of boiling them in hot wax. Though this does give Shaggy one of his greatest lines in the episode, if not the entire series: "Not the old 'ride the conveyor belt into the wax' routine, oh no! Like, that one went out with the silent movies, phantom old pal!"

This is an episode that might be familiar to those who know the formula of the show as a whole, but I feel that it still works quite well as an excellent example of a classic Scooby-Doo story. The monster in the episode is legitimately nasty (see again with the hot wax threat) but he also has a few funny moments as well, especially in one moment where he joins Shaggy and Scooby at a dinner table. Grisby is such an obvious culprit that it's little to no surprise he's actually innocent, but I feel that this works because: a) he's still such a creepy presence in the scene he has, and b) the bad guy's plan counted on him being such a blatant suspect to begin with.

Helping things along also are some inspired gags, especially in the episode's signature chase sequence, wherein Shaggy and Scooby run from the Phantom while the song "Pretty Mary Sunlight" plays. The final gag to that whole bit could come right out of a classic Looney Tunes short.

Best Funny Moment: Fred devises a plan to catch the Wax Phantom by luring him under a wax-spray device and trapping him with a big dose of the stuff. It works... with the unfortunate side effect of also catching Shaggy and Scooby too. The kicker comes when Fred chisels the two of them out - "All right, Scoob?" the blond leader asks the Great Dane. "You gotta be kooky!" the Great Dane answers indignantly. (And small blame to him, honestly! )

Best Scary Moment: Again, that the monster of the week is perfectly willing to commit murder to try and cover up his scheme. Cliched as the idea "conveyor belt of doom" trope might be, the fact remains that the culprit was willing to condemn Shaggy and Scooby to a horrific death by boiling wax... and laugh about it too. Yikes!

Number 6: "What a Night for a Knight"

Every show has got to start somewhere, and the very first episode of "Scooby-Doo, Where are You?" is a choice offering in more than a few ways. (Funnily enough, this doesn't seem to be the gang's first *official* mystery - given that Fred says they've got "another mystery" on their hands, it almost feels like Hanna-Barbera predicted the eternal recurrence of Mystery Inc. solving cases.)

When coming home from a movie, Shaggy and Scooby come across a stranded truck with a medieval suit of armor inside. They alert the rest of the gang to the find, and discover that the armor is supposed to go to the county museum. The curator tells them that the armor, having belonged to the mysterious "Black Knight," is rumored to be cursed - coming to life when the moonlight touches it. Later, upon reading about the disappearance of the archaeologist who was transporting the armor, Mystery Inc. sneak back into the museum to look for clues... and of course, the Black Knight turns out to be on the prowl...

For an introduction to the show, this does work pretty well. Shaggy and Scooby are goofy and easily scared, but when confronted with a spooky, abandoned car, they go and get help, so they're good people. Velma is smart and usually no-nonsense, but blind without her glasses (as seen when she memorably mistakes a trapped Black Knight for Shaggy with a bad cough ). Fred is the one in charge of the gang. Daphne is, admittedly, a bit of a non-entity at this point, but she does spot an important clue in the form of a trail of paint on the floor, so she still serves a role in the mystery. But essentially, all the major roles of the main characters are established here.

The mystery has a few twists along the way, but is fairly straightforward; the atmosphere of the dark museum is ominous, but allows for some good gags too (Scooby-Doo trying to take a dinosaur bone is a comic highlight), and the climactic chase inside a hall of war relics is delightfully insane. One can even say that the mystery "plays fair" with the audience, because the culprit is someone the gang had met earlier and isn't just some stranger. And of course, there's one last bit of silliness at the very end - the first time the gag of Scooby dressing as the episode's monster to prank Shaggy and the others, as a matter of fact. It's telling how many elements of a solid episode are right here in the debut of the show; to say nothing of the fact that the series was able to create so many variations on the usual plot through the years.

Best Funny Moment: The Black Knight confronts the gang in a hidden room of art forgeries. Scooby suddenly rushes off, comes back in a smock and hat, and makes a show of preparing a portrait of the monster. The Black Knight roars to try and scare the Great Dane... and then gets squirted in the visor with a tube of red paint.

Best Scary Moment: A surprisingly low-key and ominous touch is the moving eyes of a Native American display that the gang passes by multiple times during their investigation. The reason for the moving eyes is ultimately explained at the conclusion of the episode, but until that point, the slow zoom-in on those eyes following the gang (and the music to go with) add a nice touch of creepiness to an otherwise reasonably scare-free episode.

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 denoument, 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, "Why don't they just tackle the monster? It's always a fake!" have ever watched this particular one); 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 response.

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), 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.

My love of hypnotism stories is sad that “Bedlam in the Bigtop” didn’t make the cut and I’d have had a hard time deciding between that and the Mr. Hyde episode for 1st and 2nd

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I came really, really close to putting the Ghost Clown episode into the Honorable Mentions, actually. The only reason I *didn't* was because I felt like I might be overstuffing the write-up.