TV on DVD: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! -- Season 1, Volume 3: Hello Mummy (1969)

The Classic Series Continues
Where It Left Off
As A Fun Feature Length
4-Episode DVD

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I tell you, the only thing scarier than clowns are ghost clowns. As Mr. Barnstorm tells the veterans of the Mystery Machine in the second episode of the most recent Scooby Snack sized serving of the vintage Saturday Morning Cartoon's debut '69 season, "when the ghost clown appears at your circus, you might as well quit."

Yet par for the course for her brainy bespectacled character, Velma remains skeptical about myths just as she does in cases involving Scooby-Doo vs. a werewolf, an ominous curse of a three thousand year old entombed Egyptian mummy out for vengeance, and a crazy puppet counterfeiter. However, soon enough, events take a more sinister and unexplainable turn in this colorful collection which leads to hypnotized trapeze acts, violin cases filled with brand new bills, fake "girl dogs" used as bait, and much more in this fast-paced eighty-eight minute DVD.

A solid quartet of episodes-- the third volume features the show's famous denouement confession word-for-word that the villain "would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for you crazy kids," as brainy Velma, dashing Fred, gorgeous Daphne (every young boy's animated crush) manage to sleuth out the truth in roughly twenty-two minutes.

While I never quite understood the unusual group dynamic that includes the dimwitted slacker Shaggy and the TV show's namesake as embodied by his trusty canine sidekick Scooby-Doo, in the disc's opener "The Backstage Rage" it became much more evident as an adult that the duo's overactive appetite usually leads them into cases and clues.

And sure enough, you'll be glad it's on DVD and not network TV filled with fast food ads as you may find yourselves crazing some "blockbuster pizzas" with Shaggy and Scooby-Doo as they stumble their way into danger... while typically the higher functioning members of the ensemble ultimately piece together the satisfying mysteries.

Despite the fact that admittedly it suffers slightly from the dated look of the show and animation that doesn't feel overly crisp, the standard sized aspect ratio and original mono sound bring you right back to feeling like you're witnessing it when it aired forty years ago. Containing a pointless bonus episode of the new animated series which loses the flavor, feel and soul of the show, you'll want to ignore that completely and focus exclusively on the other original episodes "The Backstage Rage," "Bedlam in the Bigtop," "Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts," and "Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too," wherein the first two episodes rank among the season's best.

Although you must be warned that the show's theme song has the tendency to stay in your head for days, even if the plots are bit too easy to predict, there's still no replacing the enjoyment of a great mini-marathon of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You provided you steer clear of Mr. Barnstorm's circus.

"The Backstage Rage" Video Clip

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Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.

TV on DVD: The Jetsons -- Season 2, Volume 1 (1985)

Now Available To Own On DVD

Meet the Jetsons

View Clips from the New DVD Set

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Long before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Styx released "Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto," and technology offered us convenient devices such as smart phones, roombas, the segway scooter, and professional home theatre installations-- Flintstones masterminds Hanna-Barbera made one giant leap for animated-kind.

Taking the same central idea of their hit prehistoric animated sitcom, they partnered The Flinstones with the new John F. Kennedy inspired space race era of the early 1960s with the debut of The Jetsons.

Essentially presenting viewers with a different spin on the classic family comedy set-up a la an animated and hipper version of Leave it to Beaver or The Dick Van Dyke Show, the premiere season of The Jetsons-- which kicked off in 1962-- offered twenty-one episodes geared towards adult viewers.

And by cleverly setting the action in a twenty-first century environment, Hanna-Barbera dealt far less with the "science-fiction" aspects of the show, instead viewing their work as another variation of a traditional sitcom by keeping the main audience-friendly dynamic of an All-American roughly middle class Caucasian husband and wife who have two children and a loyal dog at the forefront of the action.

Despite the fact that it only lasted one season on ABC in primetime, the first season was so beloved that the episodes aired continuously for more than twenty years as a staple of Saturday morning (and especially Hanna-Barbera) cartoons until it was finally re-imagined and resuscitated in 1985.

In another bold giant leap for animated kind to honor just how significant the show was to those working on it in the '80s-- the producers and casting directors decided to bring back all of the main cast-mates whose voice-work as the characters had become ingrained in the minds of viewers.

Thus, in addition to staying true to the original color palette and overall look of the show so that one can view the episodes in syndication in any order and be unable to tell-- at least initially-- which decade we were watching, the producers ensured it would be a very subtle and seamless change.

While, of course-- aside from some obvious tonal changes as the actors had all aged over two decades and sadly George O'Hanlon (George Jetson himself) had lost a portion of his vision due to illness that he recorded his performance separately repeating the dialogue back in character as he was unable to read-- it was a largely successful transition that kept in spirit with the original conception of the series.

However, luckily those in charge realized that-- given its success of two decades drawing in youthful audiences as a Saturday morning classic-- the same approach to skewer towards the middle aged demographic of the '62 primetime intended work would be inappropriate.

Thus, the show's second season adjusted the more domestic based humor of the first twenty-one episodes by finally acknowledging that it was always more successful as a show for children to watch on lazy weekends.

And similarly, the characters of boy crazy teenager Judy Jetson, child prodigy Elroy, Astro the dog (which may have been a precursor to voice actor Don Messick's most famous late '60s Hanna-Barbera canine Scooby Doo), and Rosie the unintentionally hilarious robotic maid were brought to the forefront with storylines centering largely on their misadventures.

Systematically, while aiming for a younger crowd, they upped the cute factor considerably as well as replaced some of the now outdated space ideas with a greater involvement of computerized gadgets (since this was, of course, the era of the personal computer and Apple vs. Microsoft in a new version of the "space race").

Both of these decisions can be evidenced in the opening episode of season 2 which aired more than twenty years after the previous season had ended as the writers introduced a new addition to the family when Elroy brings home an adorable alien named Orbity which hatches out of an egg discovered on a school field trip.

Including the first twenty-one season two episodes that play over the course of three DVDs in this Warner Brothers collectible Hanna-Barbera release-- that boasts a mini-documentary (just eight and a half minutes long) about the "Evolution of the Series" and switch from the '60s to the '80s when this season picked up the thread of the first one-- it's a fun trip down memory lane.

Unfortunately despite the beautiful design of the slim-packaged set, the animation on display in the episodes mostly appear grainy, muddied, and visually soft even on an upconvert Blu-ray player, which made me wish that in order to have truly made it a must-own collectible, the Saturday morning cartoon classic would've been-- if not restored-- then at least touched up.

While of course, it's still entertaining and will delight '70s and '80s babies who remember the episodes very well-- the show itself hasn't exactly aged successfully. For, overall the humor fails to hold our interest the way that other '90s and more recent animated series have accomplished with stronger writing or more complex plots than Rosie worrying that she's such an ancient robot she's going to be replaced with a newer, sleeker, and younger robot (so in essence making her-- instead of Debra Messing's Starter Wife, "The Starter Maid").

And to this end, I'm not sure how The Jetsons will compete with even faster attention spans in the next generation as children are much more accustomed to breathlessly-paced CGI in Pixar and DreamWorks features or even just the more simplistically drawn yet incredibly sharp wit served up on Nickelodeon.

As ultimately-- by comparison-- this show feels more like a time capsule than one of the cool time machines or new gadgets dreamed up by the writing staff. So aside from my reverence for it as a cartoon classic from my youth, when I think about similar works for guidance, admittedly, I have to confess that I'd still rather sit down hunt for clues with Scooby Doo than go shopping with Jane Jetson any day of the week.

TV on DVD: Scooby-Doo Where Are You! -- Volume 2: Bump In the Night (1969)

The Classic Series Continues
Where It Left Off
As A Fun Feature Length
4-Episode DVD

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While admittedly I'd forgotten about what I'm assuming was-- most likely-- a canned laugh-track, only moments into this delightful second volume of episodes 5-8 in the order aired from the debut season of Scooby-Doo Where Are You?, when that instantly recognizable theme song began I felt completely transported back to my childhood.

Granted, I wasn't around for their initial airing as a Saturday morning staple on CBS in 1969 but through the ultra-successful syndication of this and other Hanna-Barbera properties, I developed an affection for the always-spirited (literally speaking) shenanigans of the original Scooby Gang or Mystery Inc. who traveled around in that groovy fan solving cases involving haunted houses, endless red herrings, and a parade of eccentrics who were frequently unmasked in the finale as the one(s) causing all the ruckus.



The group is headed up by Fred-- the blonde, All-American Saturday morning poster boy for a fraternity or a poor man's (a.k.a. school age kid's) version of Robert Redford. And the unlikely band of sleuths also consisted of the gorgeous, red-headed Daphne, the Nancy Drew by way of a librarian stereotype pal Velma, and the scatterbrained Shaggy whose main asset to the group was the ownership of his trusty canine sidekick, the eponymous and irreplaceable Scooby-Doo.



Kicking off this fun DVD with “Decoy for a Dognapper,” the fifth episode of season one in a story that has a particular significance for Scooby as both a dog and one who's attracted to a high-class show dog that's joined the ranks of other missing pets-- the group takes a cue from the popular cop shows of the era and sends Scooby in as an undercover decoy, setting a trap to ensnare the villains.



Of course, there's a few hitches in their plans literally as a railroad and ghosts are involved in some pretty impressive action sequences that still hold up today and the mysterious merriment continues throughout with the following two inclusions “What the Hex Going On?” and “Never Ape an Ape Man,” which uses the show's routine set-up of a friend or relative who is somehow connected or at the very least in the vicinity of a deceptive plot.



While “Hex” is amusing but average, “Ape” stands out as particular fun in its homage to monster movies as Daphne's film director uncle lets the Scoobies work as extras on his new horror film where they quickly realize that an authentic “Ape Man” arrives and he's less than happy that a movie about a fictitious one is being made-- taking it out on those involved.



The capper of the collection is the exciting “Foul Play in Funland,” which uses a terrific premise to draw both the audience as well as the Mystery gang in when they arrive at an amusement park to find that-- well ahead of its scheduled opening-- the seemingly haunted park is operating at full capacity with rides, coasters, games, and snack stands operating nonstop. Of course, this is instantly appealing to all as it seems to be a dream come true but when the group realizes that nobody is on the park from customer to crew member, they realize there's no such thing as a free ride.

All in all it's an excellent feature length (88 minutes to be exact) helping of four more episodes for those who don't own the seasons in their entirety or are trying to introduce the show to kids in small increments. And although the cartoon series itself doesn't appear as though it's been restored at all with some soft color presentation in the animation-- it's still pretty timeless (canned laughter aside)-- with thrilling scenes of tension mixed in with the humor supplied by Shaggy and Scooby.

Brightly packaged in an attractive box that pulls its image from the final episode-- while the disc also offers a bonus, high-tech, modern episode of “Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!” as a DVD extra with sharper animation and a furiously fast rock track-- I found it grating on the nerves as a vintage Scooby fan.



To this end, I am pretty confident in saying that even twenty-first century kids who are presented with the classic cartoon in its original format will still find so much to love about it that there's no need to even move to something “re-imagined” that doesn't come close to the original vision of the series developed by Hanna-Barbera. In other words, skip "Get a Clue" and stick with "Where Are You."