This episode was a nice way to end the run of Scooby Doo episodes featuring famous, washed-up, or in some cases deceased celebrities. The gang, looking to have some fun after several episodes of chasing ghosts, stop at a run-down carnival run by Van Dyke. Of course, the carnival is haunted and all workers and potential customers have apparently been scared off. Dick literally has to run the entire place himself, setting up plenty of funny scenes where he pretends to be a ticket-taker, a barker, a strong man, a magician, you name it. Van Dyke was born for this story, and he swaps plenty of funny lines with Scooby and the gang.
Who is haunting the carnival? He's a somewhat intimidating muscle- bound ghost painted white. In actuality, he proves to be the former strong man who was thought to have quit, but now is back to scare everyone off so he can of course buy the carnival on the cheap. He naturally spends time chasing Shaggy and Scooby around the park while Dick mostly clowns around with the other kids. There is definitely a certain degree of menace that this ghost exhibits. Notice the crooked smile he flashes as he bends a barbell in half after threatening Van Dyke and the kids after they learn his identity. Some of these celebrity episodes lacked any menace whatsoever. Scooby Doo, Where Are You had two other creepy carnival episodes, one with the Ghost Clown, and another with an out-of-control robot terrorizing everyone. The episode with Van Dyke goes more for laughs, as you might expect. I guess it would be worth about 8 stars. Certainly better than any episode with the Globetrotters! Glad it was included in the DVD package.
The Hound.
Who is haunting the carnival? He's a somewhat intimidating muscle- bound ghost painted white. In actuality, he proves to be the former strong man who was thought to have quit, but now is back to scare everyone off so he can of course buy the carnival on the cheap. He naturally spends time chasing Shaggy and Scooby around the park while Dick mostly clowns around with the other kids. There is definitely a certain degree of menace that this ghost exhibits. Notice the crooked smile he flashes as he bends a barbell in half after threatening Van Dyke and the kids after they learn his identity. Some of these celebrity episodes lacked any menace whatsoever. Scooby Doo, Where Are You had two other creepy carnival episodes, one with the Ghost Clown, and another with an out-of-control robot terrorizing everyone. The episode with Van Dyke goes more for laughs, as you might expect. I guess it would be worth about 8 stars. Certainly better than any episode with the Globetrotters! Glad it was included in the DVD package.
The Hound.