I've had a lot of fun taking a walk down memory lane and revisiting old Hanna-Barbera episodes during the Halloween season. I wanted to do one last article on Goober and the Ghost Chasers, another spooky Scooby clone that centers around chasing ghosts. This series has such a neat vibe to it, and is a bit different than Funky Phantom and Scooby-Doo. The series features main characters Gilly, Tina and Ted, as well as their dog, Goober. Goober is able to turn himself invisible, but this ability is not necessarily voluntary. Gilly, Ted, Tina and Goober all work for Ghost Chaser Magazine, which is an editorial magazine focused on writing stories about real ghosts. The group has a special "Specter Detector" that allows them to detect if a ghost is real or not. It varies from episode to episode whether the ghosts are real or not, but often times, they are people dressed in costumes. Similarly to The New Scooby-Doo Movies, ten out of the 16 episodes include Goober and the gang solving mysteries with a guest star. Interestingly, eight out of the sixteen episodes feature The Partridge Kids solving the ghostly mysteries with Goober's group. The Partridge Kids show up so frequently that they feel like main characters in the show, especially considering seven out of the first nine episodes of the show feature them. Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Gray also appeared in one episode each. I will be ranking and reviewing all sixteen episodes of Goober and the Ghost Chasers in this article. One cool thing I found in my research about this series is that Warner Archive has posted official clips of each episode on their YouTube. I'll include the YouTube videos for each episode, in case anyone thinks any episodes sound interesting enough from my review to watch a preview of. 16. Aloha Ghost This is easily the weakest episode of the series for me. The plot features the group traveling to Hawaii with actor Michael Gray, but their vacation is quickly ruined when they run into a ghost. The ghost does not ghostly or spooky at all, and a lot of the episode is chasing around without much substance to the plot. Some of the episode also feels sloppily pieced together, such as one scene where act 1 ends with the ghost appearing to chase the group, then act 2 beginning with Goober dangling his hat from a tree to fool the ghost. I suppose they didn't necessarily need a transition between the ghost chasing them and that scene, but it did feel a little jarring and like there should have been a scene in between. I don't think any scene is actually missing, as there's another episode later where a similarly jarring introduction of a villain happens right after the commercial break between acts. Another piece of this episode that I felt was odd was that when unmasked, the culprit immediately says "I'm sorry, what I did was wrong." It was kind of weird for the culprit to instantly realize that, when they had been actively chasing the group just seconds ago lol. It illustrates my issue with this episode well, though; overall it just felt kinda rushed in places, which caused some scenes to come off kinda awkward and half-baked. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a bad episode, but it's very mediocre for the standards of this series. It's probably the one episode here I wouldn't recommend wasting your time with. 15. Venice Anyone? This is a decent-sized step up from "Aloha Ghost." The episode features the group visiting Italy, where a ghost is trying to stop a wedding between Carlo and Julia, whose families' ancestors were rivals. I would say this is amongst the weaker ghosts of the series, but it's still pretty good. We haven't gotten to any Partridge Family episodes yet, but despite being the tenth episode of the series, this is the first episode without any guest star. With this episode, we see them try to keep the format of having a recurring character be part of the group for the episode. In this case, the recurring character is Carlo, who helps the group solve the mystery so that he can marry Julia. There are two episodes coming later where this doesn't happen, but I liked how this episode established the trend of having a recurring character take on a major role in the episode. Having Goober's group team up with somebody else to capture the ghost felt like it was part of the show's core formula, which I liked. Anyway, this episode is somewhere between mid to good for me, but I'd say it leans more towards the good end. 14. A Hard Day's Knight For some reason, the clip to this episode is the last three minutes (thus showing the ending) so I'm not sure if people want to avoid it. Anyway, this was a good episode! The episode features the group heading to a space center which is haunted by the ghost of Don Miguel, who is trying to stop the first space launch to Mars. I mentioned in the above review of "Venice Anyone?" that there were two episodes that did not feature the group solving the mystery with any other characters, and this is one of those episodes. Even though Goober and the gang are the main characters of the show, there does kind of feel like there's an odd absence here. It feels odd not to have a guest star or another character taking on a major role here, since the show's formula had been so heavily built around that formula previously. I thought Don's ghost was a good villain and I liked the episode overall, although having a knight as the villain at a space station was definitely quite unique. 13. Brush Up Your Shakespeare This episode features the Partridge Kids performing at a theater, but their show is disrupted by the ghost of Macbeth. I enjoyed this episode quite a bit and I thought the ghost of Macbeth was great villain! This being the lowest ranked Partridge Kids episode definitely speaks to the quality of those episodes. Personally, I thought the episodes featuring the Partridge Kids were amongst the strongest the series had to offer. The kids brought quite a bit to the group dynamic, and at least for me, they always felt like honorary main characters because they fit so well. 12. Inca Dinka Doo Gilly's aunt is the character to take on the main role of helping the group in this episode, and I really liked her. I wish there were a way to see who the voice actress was, as I thought the woman voicing Gilly's aunt did a really great job. The episode features the group camping and exploring an Ancient Incan City searching for a ghost. I really liked the ghost in this episode, although there is an unfortunate representation of indigenous people similar to "Jeepers It's the Jaguaro." There's a recurring joke throughout this episode that I also find to be really amusing. Goober hears weird noises at night and tries to rationalize it, and one of these noises is an unearthly beeping noise. Goober rationalizes it as being "just a Bleep Bleep Bird," which he made up. Later in the episode, we meet an explorer who is actually looking for a creature called the Bleep Bleep Bird. We later see this bird in the episode, and discover it is a real bird who can only speak through saying the word "bleep." The lore for this bird is so authentically random that the Bleep Bleep Bird gets the honor of being added to my official stan list lol. Speaking of which, this post inspired me to create a list of goofy characters in the Scooby franchise (plus this one from Goober) that I stan for. You can check out that list here. 11. Old MacDonald Had a Ghost, EE II EEYOW While the series didn't end as strong as The Funky Phantom did, it is still a great episode. The episode features the gang being called to investigate by their friend Tom MacDonald, whose farm is being haunted by the spirit of his ancestor. They soon realize that there is more than one ghost when a living scarecrow also appears. Tom MacDonald is the supporting character that takes on a main role in the episode. I kind of liked Tom, but his shtick of telling corny jokes fell flat quickly (and I love dad jokes, so that's saying something IMO lol). This is also the episode I was mentioning above in the review for "Aloha Ghost." While I liked both villains, I thought the introduction of the scarecrow was a tad jarring. He hadn't appeared at all in the first act, but the first scene of the second act is Gilly in-progress of taking pictures of the scarecrow and saying that it's alive. It wasn't quite as jarring as the instance in "Aloha Ghost," but I still feel the scarecrow could have been introduced better. It was a good episode but I wouldn't say anything about it felt special as a finale. 10. Is Sherlock Holme? Just a quick warning that again, the clip reveals the culprit in the last few seconds. This episode features the group going to the Blimey Mansion, and are assisted by a detective in solving the mystery of the ghosts haunting the place. The episode has a really interesting structure, where there is no main villain. Rather, similar to The New Scooby-Doo Movies, there's a different ghost in pretty much every scene, as well as a culprit at the end who is not a ghost. The well-executed different plot structure ultimately boosted this quite a bit and makes this a really good episode. It is easily one of the best episodes without a guest star. 9. The Singing Ghost This episode's plot features the gang being called to a creepy castle to check out a ghost sighting. Upon arriving at the castle, the group realizes that the person who called them was the ghost of Frankenstein's Monster the Third. The ghost reveals he wants Danny Partridge's singing voice, because he has a passion for music, but had the misfortune of being cursed with a terrible singing voice. At first, the gang believes he wants Danny to give him singing lessons, but he quickly informs them he actually wants to steal Danny's voice from his body in a mad science experiment. The ending is a tad corny, but the plot was still decently entertaining. 8. The Haunted Wax Museum A bit of a warning with the clip for this one: again, it reveals the culprit of the episode and for some reason also includes the end credits, which is weird. In this episode, the magazine crew and the Partridge Kids explore a wax museum. As they walk around the museum, statues of historical figures suddenly come alive and attack them. I feel they included a great diversity of villains here as wax statues, including Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Jack the Ripper, and Blackbeard. Even Montezuma from The Funky Phantom shows up, and has the same design as he did in "Spirit Spooked" from that show. Some of the statues have admittedly odd mannerisms, such as Marie Antoinette having the catchphrase "oui oui oui, you forgot to call Marie!" (which is most certainly historically accurate lol). For some reason, Montezuma is also portrayed as speaking with a thick Scottish accent, which is a bit odd haha. It wasn't a big issue though and I find it more amusing than anything. I found a ten-second clip of Montezuma's Scottish accent, which you can check out here if you want a laugh. Shortly into the episode, it's revealed that there is a wax master, and the group has to try to escape him. This episode would have honestly worked well as a Scooby episode and I really like the way they executed the plot here. The episode's tone and use of multiple monsters feels very New Scooby-Doo Movies-ish. 7. Go West Young Ghost, Go West This is the final episode to feature the Partridge Kids, and it was a good one to go out on! The episode centers around the Partridge Kids calling Goober's group to an amusement park, because the park's haunted house is haunted by the real ghost of Ichabod Ipswitch. However, the ghost is behaving inconsistently with the legend. The legend of this ghost says his unfinished business was that he chickened out of a duel with his enemy, but the ghost is behaving very hostile. The group investigates the haunted house and splits in two. Gilly, Goober and Danny's group meets this hostile ghost, but the other group meets a very cowardly, meek ghost. Halfway through the episode, the group realizes that a fake ghost is pretending to be Ichabod, and they end up enlisting the help of Ichabod's real ghost at the end to catch the phony. Although other episodes certainly have done a similar plot where there's a real and fake ghost, I liked the way they approached this one, where the group was confused about which one was real and which one was fake. 6. Mummy Knows Best This one has grown on me since childhood for its unique villains. The plot features the gang traveling to Kahrobi with the Partridge Kids, and going to a palace. They encounter a prince who tells them he wants to modernize the palace. However, he also shares that the ghost of King Osiris, ancestor of the current king, has returned with his army of mummies to stop this modernization. This episode is surprisingly a much better executed version of "Mystery in Persia" with an engaging plot and very strong villains. For some reason, I remember not liking this episode as much as the others in childhood, but upon rewatching it, I felt it was super strong and would highly recommend checking this one out. 5. That Snow Ghost Not to be confused with the classic Where Are You episode "That's Snow Ghost." This is easily the strongest non-guest star episode. This is the other episode I mentioned earlier that didn't have any supporting character that took on a main role in the episode. The wintery atmosphere at the inn is excellent, and I also thought the ghost was especially menacing in this episode. In pretty much every episode of the show towards the end, there's a fake ghost, but a real ghost appears at the end. I won't ruin anything, but I will just say that I think this episode did a good job of still using that trope while not making it feel too formulaic like other episodes had. I also really like the scene in the clip above where Goober's worried to go to sleep and Gilly's listing off things Goober's probably imagining, which to Goober's horror, are actually happening in the room. It's a really fun tongue-in-cheek moment that is both sort of funny and spooky at the same time. Great episode! 4. The Ghost Ship This episode had one of the most unique plots of the show. The episode has Goober and the gang going aboard a ghost ship with the Partridge Kids to write a story. The kids meet a nice pirate ghost named Dink, who is more than happy to give the group pictures for their magazine. However, they soon discover that Dink has an evil twin named Dunk, who is trying to throw the kids overboard. I think the plot is super unique and I like that they came up with such an original plot. The plot gets slightly bogged down in antics-based events, as the recurring joke in this episode is that the gang keeps getting confused which twin is which, but I don't feel it detracted from the episode in any significant way. This is a really fun, unique plot and I still have a soft spot for this episode from childhood. 3. The Wicked Witch Dog A strength of this series is coming up with very unique types of ghosts and plots, and this episode is no exception. The villain of this episode is a ghost dog who is also a witch. Goober's group and the Partridge Kids bump into this wicked witch dog, as well as his ghostly owner, while traveling to Scotland. I really liked both the dog and his ghostly owner here, and I thought the atmosphere of the lighthouse setting was super strong. The part where they try to trap the witch dog by having Goober seduce her was admittedly odd, but in an absurdly funny sort of way. You can actually watch the scene in the above clip starting at 2:06. I already loved this episode as a kid, but it only grew on me more with this rewatch. 2. Assignment: The Ahab Apparition This first episode of Goober and the Ghost Chasers is such a classic to me. I have a ton of nostalgia over this episode from childhood. The episode features the group going to investigate Peaceful Cove for their magazine, where the Partridge Kids are on vacation. The cove has a house on a cliff that's haunted by the ghost of Captain Ahab and spirit of Moby Dick. The group and Partridge Kids investigate the house in hopes of interviewing Ahab's ghost for their magazine, but they quickly discover he hates visitors when he attempts to frighten them away. Ahab's mansion is a classic-feeling haunted house setting that could easily be in a Scooby episode. Without ruining anything, there's also a twist at the end that was really well-executed. This was such a strong way to start off the series and I highly recommend that any fans of Scooby check this one out. 1. The Galloping Ghost
Although I love so many of these episodes, this one has been my favorite since childhood, and remains in that #1 spot with this rewatch. The episode features the group visiting Wilt Chamberlain's ranch, which is haunted by a headless ghost riding a horse. The ghost is not said to be the Headless Horseman, although it is clear from the design that the writers were heavily basing the ghost on the classic tale of Sleepy Hollow. The atmosphere of the ranch here is really strong. The ranch has a warm vibe to it, but also feels ever-so-slightly unsettling and creepy, which I felt was a perfect atmosphere for this episode to have. I also really liked Wilt Chamberlain as a guest star. Similarly to the Globetrotters in Scooby, Wilt fit in super well with Goober's group and feels like a honorary member of the gang. This episode stands out the most to me from the show, and is the best episode of the series in my opinion. Goober and the Ghost Chasers has such an interesting vibe, and I had a lot of fun rewatching it again. I remember thinking the episodes with The Partridge Kids were the strongest as a kid as well, and my opinion hasn't changed. Generally speaking, I feel the episodes that did not have a guest star were not quite as high-quality as the ones those did. The exception to that would be "That Snow Ghost," where I felt both the villain, the atmosphere and the episode overall was very strong. For me, The Partridge Kids just brought a fun dynamic to the group that no guest star or supporting character was really able to, other than Wilt Chamberlain. I have always found it really unique that the series relied so heavily on The Partridge Kids that they almost felt like they should have been main characters. I really enjoyed revisiting these couple of Hanna-Barbera series for Halloween! It had been many years since I'd last seen them, and it was very nostalgic watching all these again. As mentioned above, this will be the last series I revisit (at least for a while), so I hope you've enjoyed these reviews even though it was a bit of a detour from the typical Scooby content you'd see on this blog. If anybody's seen the series or any of these episodes, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them below in the comments!
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I've joked quite a few times on this site about having a list of characters I stan for. Upon recently discovering another character who I believe deserves to be stanned in the Goober and the Ghost Chasers article, I decided to finally create an official stan list. The following list represents underappreciated characters within the Scooby-Doo franchise (and one from another Hanna-Barbera show) that I feel deserved to be stanned for. Note that this post is intended to be humorous and is not meant to be taken too seriously, although I do greatly appreciate all of the characters on this list lol. Considering Sassy Fred is the character I feel deserves to be stanned for the most, he gets the honor of representing this stan list on the graphic haha. I will keep this as a running list and make additions whenever there is a new character I feel deserves to be stanned haha. Sassy Fred While Fred is typically the courageous leader of Mystery Inc, he certainly has his moments where he can be a bit sassy, particularly in The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Perhaps some of the best examples come from "The Phantom of the Country Music Hall," such as when Shaggy gets scared by a statue, prompting Fred to yell "You oughta be ashamed of yourself!" Another excellent example from this episode is when Jerry Reed says "Boy am I glad to see you!" when he's rescued, and Fred merely replies "you're welcome!" A true sass master indeed. Arm-Crossing Gators From: Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo! These sassy gators are too cool to care whether you stan them or not, but should absolutely be stanned anyway for their delightful sass. Gentlemanly Batman From: The New Scooby-Doo Movies - "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair" and "The Caped Crusader Caper" While Batman is commonly portrayed as dark and gritty in most adaptions, few people appreciate how kind and gentlemanly Batman behaves in The New Scooby-Doo Movies. We love a polite gentleman here at ScoobySnax, and Gentlemanly Batman is perhaps the one of the most admirable gentleman you'll ever meet. Don Knotts From: The New Scooby-Doo Movies - "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner?" and "The Spooky Fog," and Night of 100 Frights Because how could you Knott stan this man? I also stan for the person who wrote this comment, because honestly, same. Frugal Redbeard From: The New Scooby-Doo Movies - "The Ghostly Creep from the Deep" Perhaps we could all take a lesson from this wise man. Rather than frivolously wasting money on a brand new costume to scare teens, he merely painted he and his henchmen's costumes white, and voila, a brand new costume! This man's radical money-saving tactics would give even the most skilled money-saving gurus a run for their money. Literal Pirates From: The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour - "Up a Crazy River" These pirates in the Yabba-Doo short "Up a Crazy River" are so obsessed with stealing that they will steal anything. At one point, they steal Deputy Dusty's pants, and when Scrappy makes an off-handed comment that Deputy Dusty is worth more than gold as a friend to them, the pirates take the remark literally and steal Dusty. This delightful quirk of stealing anything in sight should be more than enough reason to stan them. However, there's also the added amusement that one of the pirates casually strolls out of a store carrying a TV, with no weapon or anything. Clearly Tumbleweed has a serious crime problem if criminals are feeling that bold lol. Bernie Gumsher From: The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo - "It's a Wonderful Scoob" Bernie was briefly Scooby-Doo's replacement when he became too frightened to stay in the gang. Bernie is very chill and lazy. Although he didn't work out as Scooby's replacement, the world would surely be a better place if everybody was as chill as Bernie Gumsher. Billy Bob Joe Bob Harris From: A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - "Dawn of the Spooky Shuttle Scare" Billy Bob is a farmer who lives near the Coolsville space station, owns many cows, and is annoyed that the space station spooks his many cows. His lovely name, as well as his simple backstory, should be reason enough to stan him. Fantzee Pants From: Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated - "In Fear of the Phantom" Fantzee Pants is a recording artist and dancer who had one hit song, titled "Dance in My Pants." He was managed by Gus Boggs, but was ultimately cut from the label in favor of The Hex Girls. Despite that the Hex Girls are one of the most incredible bands of all time, cutting Fantzee Pants was a huge mistake, as he deserves to be stanned for the excellent quality of his song. Pirahna-Goat From: Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated - "Dead Justice" 50% pirahna + 50% goat = 100% stan-worthy. The Clown Police From: Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! - "Into the Mouth of Madcap" The Clown Police are special police unit made up only of clowns. They commonly juggling bowling pins before arresting criminals, as seen in the picture above. I, for one, am proud that this special unit of police didn't leave behind their identities as clowns when they became policemen. A true inspiration to us all. The Vampire Werewolf Mummy Ghost from Outer Space From: Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! - "Some Fred Time" This villain is not only a very interesting species, but perhaps it is also a reminder to all of us that that you don't need to confine who you are into one box. The Vampire Werewolf Mummy Ghost from Outer Space certainly didn't. The Bleep Bleep Bird
From: Goober and the Ghost Chasers - "Inca Dinka Doo" The Bleep Bleep Bird was originally a creature Goober made up to ease his mind when he heard strange bleeping noises at night. Shrugging off the noises by joking it was "just a Bleep Bleep Bird," Goober finds out the next morning that a bird watcher actually is searching for a species of bird called "The Bleep Bleep Bird." Goober and the group later run across this bird in an ancient Incan civilization, and discover the creature's name is derived from the fact it can only communicate through saying "bleep bleep." The absurdly random lore of this bird should be more than enough evidence that it deserves to be stanned. After writing up the post on The Flintstones recently, I was inspired by a conversation in the comment thread of that post to also revisit another classic "spooky" Hanna-Barbera show. The Funky Phantom is a very interesting little show that was sort of all over the place formula-wise. Many of the Scooby clones like Speed Buggy and Jabberjaw featured the protagonists fighting criminals not in costume. The Funky Phantom sometimes has the main characters, Skip, Augie, April, Mudsy, Boo and Elmo chase after people in ghost costumes, but there's also a healthy mix of episodes where they only chase criminals not in costume. There's also a few episodes that are kind of in-between, where they chase B-List villains. Some of the villains are quite amusing, such as Chickenman and Houndman, both of which are quite literally just guys in chicken or dog costumes. The Houndman is particularly funny to me, because for some reason he communicates with the mannerisms of a dog, such as howling, woofing and saying things like "that is grrr-eat!" lol. Here are pictures of both of them, for your reference and/or amusement. There are nine episodes where The Funky Phantom Crew solves mysteries with people in ghost costumes, and I thought it might be fun to rank and review these episodes. I won't be including any of the episodes that featured criminals or other villains in these rankings. All of them would rank below these episodes if they were included, as I feel these are the absolute best of the bunch. 9. The Forest's Prime Evil These episodes greatly vary in quality, and while there is quite a bit to like about this episode, I would say it's the weakest of the bunch. The episode has The Funky Phantom Gang camping in the woods, but they run into Bigfoot. The group quickly realizes that Bigfoot is actually a criminal in a costume, running an illegal scheme with his partner in a logging mill. I like Bigfoot's design quite a bit here, and I think the atmosphere is quite strong. There's a scene towards the beginning of the episode that has Bigfoot watching the gang from the midst, which starts the episode off really strong. However, I can't help but feel the episode would have been stronger if Bigfoot wasn't revealed to be fake so early on in the episode. I felt it caused the atmosphere to dwindle a bit to have the mystery revealed so soon, and didn't really allow any time for the audience to figure it out. I did think it was a cool touch that the real Bigfoot shows up at the end, although oddly, he runs off when the police show up. The takeaway here is clearly that Bigfoot has a messy past with the law lol. 8. Haunt in Inn This episode features the group staying in a small inn after the hotel they'd planned on staying in was full. Upon arriving, they discover that the inn is haunted by a ghost. Like "The Forest's Prime Evil," the first half of the episode starts off super strong. The frame shakes a bit to create a distortion effect when the ghost appears, which gives it a very surreal, nightmarish affect. However, the atmosphere quickly dwindles in the second half of the episode, and the rest of the episode takes place during the day on a beach. The spooky feeling of the episode disappears, as does the ghost's distortion effect, and the ghost just looks like a guy wearing a bedsheet over his head. I would rank this one just a hair above "The Forest's Prime Evil," because I felt the atmosphere at the beginning was stronger, but it had a similar problem of the second half of the episode being a steep dropoff in quality compared to the first half. At the end of the episode, the inn's owner realizes it was profitable to have her inn haunted, so she hires Mudsy to haunt the inn for her on the weekends. There's an amusing scene to end the episode, where an old woman stays in the inn. Mudsy jumps out of the closet to scare the old woman, who has no visible reaction at all and just says "oh, isn't it exciting? It's a haunted closet!" I admire how simple that old woman is, just being mildly curious about the ghost rather than terrified as one would expect lol. 7. We Saw a Sea Serpent This episode reminds me quite a bit of "The Loch Ness Mess," even though it's not nearly as good of quality. The episode has a very similar premise - the gang rents boats out on Black Lake, and runs into a huge sea serpent. There is also a mansion on Black Lake, which is haunted by a living gargoyle. The episode does feel a tad chaotic in places and not necessarily as well organized as it could be, but the strongest aspect of this episode is the atmosphere. Even though the gargoyle doesn't show up until near the end, and we don't see the sea serpent that much, the setting feels very dark and brooding. There is something about it that feels quite unsettling, which really strengthens the episode. I like the sea serpent from "The Loch Ness Mess" much better, although this sea serpent is pretty decent. I also really like the gargoyle's design. Oddly, he makes the same sound effect as the sea serpent, but it didn't particularly bother me. Although this episode could have been organized a bit better so that the gargoyle didn't feel like an afterthought at the end, the atmosphere of the episode makes it memorable to me. 6. Spirit Spooked This episode features the group entering in a race in Mexico, but they are stopped along the way at a pyramid by the Ghost of Montezuma. I thought the ghost had a great design here, and I also really liked the setting of the pyramid. The setting switching between the gang racing and the pyramid felt really flawless, despite that the settings have two very different vibes. This was a strong Funky Phantom episode and I don't have really anything I'd change about this one, this was solid. 5. The Headless Horseman This top 5 is really strong! "The Headless Horseman" is a parody of the classic Halloween tale, and I think it does nearly as good of job as "The Headless Horseman of Halloween" did in The Scooby-Doo Show. The group runs into the great-great-great grandson of Ichabod Crane, who says he's being chased by the Headless Horseman. He is wanting to protect his love interest, Lori, from The Headless Horseman, as well as Richard Travers, who wants to make Lori his girlfriend. I didn't really love Lori as a character here, I feel they made her a bit overly vein (she at one point says that the boys only stay in Sleepy Hollow because she's there in a very haughty way, which I didn't love, but it didn't bother me significantly either). I really liked the design of the Headless Horseman here. There's a scene in particular I loved, where the Headless Horseman is trying to reach out of the wall to capture the group. I felt that scene was really creepy and very well-done. I thought this was overall an excellent modern adaption of the classic Legend of Sleepy Hollow story. 4. Mudsy and Muddlemore Manor I really debated whether to put this one third or fourth, as this one and the next one are really close in quality. The episode features Mudsy returning to his old home when he was alive, Muddlemore Manor. However, the mayor (whose ancestors had a feud with the Muddlemores) wants to tear the house down, and the gang has to try to fight City Hall. Meanwhile, a creepy ghost named the Spirit of '76 is punching holes in the wall to look for a fabled treasure in Muddlemore Manor. Much of the episode is focused on the group trying to stop the mayor, so the ghost is kind of an afterthought that only appears a couple times. Despite this, I have a huge soft spot for this episode and remember it being one of my favorites from childhood. Mudsy returning to his old home gave this episode a very warm feeling, and it's really sweet to see flashbacks of Mudsy's old memories. At the same time, the atmosphere is slightly unsettling, because of the ghost and the fact that Mudsy is worried about losing his childhood home. Even though the episode is a hodgepodge of multiple things plot-wise, I feel like the plot as a whole works really well for what it is, and I still have a lot of nostalgia towards this episode. Also, as an aside, I learned recently that apparently there was an encoding error with this episode on the complete series DVD set. The outro of the episode begins as normal, but suddenly, the audio for the outro begins playing 5 seconds out of sync, on top of the normal audio. I had always thought it was just a manufacturing error with my disc specifically, but apparently, the mistake occurred on all the DVD sets that were produced. 3. Ghost Grabbers Although this episode reveals who the culprit is right away, I feel like this is an example of how to do it well. The episode centers around Mudsy telling a story of why he hid in the old clock that the group found him inside, revealing that he was hiding from Redcoats who were burying their treasure. Mudsy and the group decide to stay in a hotel and look for the 200-year-old treasure that the Redcoats buried. One of the hotel clerks overhears their plan, and wants to nab the treasure with a criminal named Slippery Stark. The crooks dress up as ghosts of Redcoats and use a device to force Mudsy to tell them where the treasure is located. Even though the audience knows they're not real ghosts from the beginning, it was a really clever idea of the criminals to dress up as Mudsy's worst fear to trick him into revealing the treasure location. I feel the ghost's designs were really good and both criminals were very convincing in the costumes. Although I would say I am more nostalgic about "Mudsy and Muddlemore Manor," this is a slightly better perspective from a writing standpoint. 2. I'll Haunt You Later It was super tough to pick the #1 option, but ultimately, I think I like the last remaining episode just a tad better than this one. This episode has the gang finding an old abandoned truck laying in the swamp, and they go searching in a nearby castle for the driver. They quickly discover the Ghost of Jean Lafitte, a French pirate, who chases them around the castle. The ghost's design is super creepy here and arguably the best villain design of the series. The spooky atmosphere of the castle is also amazing, and is definitely a step up compared to some of the other episodes here. I would argue this feels as much of a classic as some of the 1960s/1970s era Scooby-Doo content. 1. Heir Scare
We have arrived at my favorite episode of The Funky Phantom. The group's car, The Looney Duney, gets stuck in the bog, prompting the group to go inside an old mansion where the reading of a will is happening. The kids quickly discover that a marsh monster is haunting the mansion and threatening one of the heirs. Both this episode and the last one have a dark and creepy atmosphere established, but I feel this one's atmosphere is slightly darker and creepier. The Marsh Monster is a very strong villain, but ultimately the atmosphere is what pushed this one to #1. I consider this episode a classic and would highly recommend checking this one out if you ever have a chance. I really enjoyed writing up these reviews and revisiting these episodes for the Halloween season! It had been a while since I've seen them, but it was very nostalgic to check these out again. I would recommend all of these episodes to any fan of Scooby, especially the top 6. I hope you enjoyed reading these reviews! To celebrate Halloween, Krispy Kreme has added Scooby-Doo themed donuts to their menu! A "Scooby-Doo Halloween Dozen" box of donuts has been added to Krispy Kreme's menu as of today, featuring four different kinds of Scooby-themed donuts:
Scooby-Doo donuts will be available for a limited time only through Halloween. A Scooby-Doo Shake will also be available at select locations. The shake is decorated with Scooby Doo™ purple and orange icings, blended with extra pumps of chocolate syrup and chocolate cookie pieces topped with whipped cream and Halloween sprinkles. More info can be found about the donuts and shake on Krispy Kreme's website. Scooby-Doo! Unmasked has a special feature of concept art for the game, which is unlocked from the beginning of the game. One of the pieces of concept art reveals the culprit, which means it is possible to accidentally stumble on the game's major twist before even playing the game. Thanks to Ed for coming up with this fun fact!
It's our last regular week of the "ghosts by the decades" poll series! Next week, all the winners from the past six weeks will be put up against one another to determine the best overall ghost episode in the franchise. Thus far, "A Night of Fright Is No Delight," Boo Brothers, Witch's Ghost and Cyber Chase have made it to the Winner's Circle round. It was a close race for the winning option this week, but Camp Scare edged out Scoobynatural by just a couple votes!
Camp Scare - 14 Scoobynatural - 12 Doo Not Disturb - 5 Grim Judgement - 3 Shaggy's Showdown - 3 Legend of the Phantosaur - 2 WrestleMania Mystery - 2 The Legend of Alice May - 1 In Fear of the Phantom - 1 The Midnight Zone - 1 Mystery 101 - 1 Party Like It's 1899 - 1 Where There's a Will, There's a Wraith - 1 I Scooby Dooby Do - 1 El Bandito - 1 The Norse Case Scenario - 1 Silver Scream - 1 Ghost in the Mystery Machine - 1 Protein Titans 2 - 1 The Curse of Half-Beard's Booty - 1 A Mystery Solving Gang Divided - 1 Abracadabra Doo - 1 Scooby-Doo Adventures: The Mystery Map - 1 Stage Fright - 1 Brave and the Bold - 1 Gourmet Ghost - 1 Curse of the 13th Ghost - 1 0 votes: Secret of the Ghost Rig, Dead Justice, A Haunting in Crystal Cove, Game of Chicken, Grand Scam, Screama Donna, If You Can't Scooby-Doo the Time Don't Scooby-Doo the Crime, Renn Scare, Vote Velma, Scroogey Doo, The Cursed Cabinet of Professor Madds Markson!, When Urkel-Bots Go Bad!, Now You Sia Now You Don't!, Quit Clowning!, Curse of the Lake Monster, Frankencreepy, Haunted Hollywood, and Blowout Beach Bash After almost eight months of no news following the season 1 finale of Velma, we have a small tidbit of what's to come for the series. Storyboard artist Kelsey Norden listed on her LinkedIn page that she recently returned to the crew to help storyboard a "special episode" of Velma. It is unclear whether this is an episode that is a part of season 2, or if there will be a stand-alone special episode that isn't a part of the next season. She also listed that production for this episode began in August 2023 and is ongoing. There is not a way to directly link to the section on LinkedIn, but this information can be found by scrolling down to the "Experience" section of Kelsey's LinkedIn page.
I've already talked about the list of Scooby-Doo Halloween episodes on here in a number of different ways, including sharing my marathon schedule one year, and doing a ranking of them all. Besides Scooby, I also watch some Halloween episodes from other Hanna-Barbera shows every year. I know there are a number of Hanna-Barbera fans on here, so I thought it might be interesting to do a completely different type of article this year in celebration of the Halloween season. As some of you may know, in addition to being a huge Scooby-Doo fan, I'm also a big fan of The Flintstones. Although I don't watch nearly as many Flintstones episodes for Halloween as I do Scooby episodes, there are a few supernatural-themed Flintstones episodes that I always watch because they feel very Scooby-ish in nature. Besides my usual list this year, I've also been watching some of the more obscure Halloween-ish episodes after recently resubscribing to Boomerang. I've done a couple other Hanna-Barbera and Flintstones articles on here, so I thought it would be fun to go through and review the Scooby-ish feeling episodes of The Flintstones, both for any Hanna-Barbera fans there might be on here, as well as to potentially introduce some of these episodes with Scooby-Doo-like elements to any Scooby fans who might be interested in checking them out. These will be spoiler-free reviews. A Haunted House Is Not a Home This is perhaps one of the most classic episodes of the entire Flintstones franchise, and it has a very similar premise to "A Night of Fright Is No Delight." The episode aired in October 1964 and was part of a stretch of three episodes that aired leading up to Halloween that year, which is something The Flintstones had never done before (there were no other "spooky" themed episodes that aired around Halloween in any other season). The plot revolves around Fred inheriting his Uncle Giggles' estate, but he is only able to inherit the estate if he stays a night in the estate. Fred quickly realizes the house is haunted, and Wilma and Betty both return home after seeing how creepy the house is, leaving Fred and Barney to stay the night together. The setting is an excellent haunted house, and easily as iconic as any of the ones in the Scooby franchise. My favorite thing about the atmosphere is that there is never any tangible ghost that shows up, yet the episode manages to create an extremely unsettling feeling that feels like Fred and Barney are constantly being watched. Towards the middle of the episode, we also find out the butler, gardener and chef are all up to no good and want them out of the house, which adds to the terrifying atmosphere. It's an incredible haunted house mystery that I feel is just as good as "A Night of Fright Is No Delight," and I'd highly recommend checking this one out. I also have a special appreciation for one of the "spooky" aspects of the house, that being a gigantic, somber-looking bird named Horrors. He only shows up for a single scene, and we find out that his hobby is reading the inscriptions on tombstones at the cemetery. The bird then walks away and we never see it again. It's such a random detail for the writers to include that I can't help but appreciate it lol. Dr. Sinister This isn't necessarily a Halloween episode and is probably the least Scooby-ish of any of the ones I'm reviewing, but I still watch it every year. It aired around Halloween, as the second in that three episode stretch of "spooky" episodes mentioned above, and I always thought of it as a Halloween episode when I was a kid, so I've kept up the tradition of viewing this every Halloween. The episode is a James Bond parody, but it is sort of a spooky twist on that. The episode opens with Fred and Barney watching James Bondrock, and remarking that they never have any exciting adventures like in those films. They then depart to the store, and as foreshadowing would have it, they get mixed up in a spy thriller mystery when an undercover agent named Madame Yes (a parody of Dr. No), gives them a top secret package. Fred and Barney are quickly captured, and are taken to a creepy island of an evil ghoul named Dr. Sinister. It's not super Halloweenish outside of Dr. Sinister being a ghoul, but the episode does a great job creating a really dark atmosphere, especially considering most Flintstones episodes are pretty bright and cheery. Another fun little detail is that Dr. Sinister's "World Destruction Machine" makes a sound effect that was later reused as the beeping noises Charlie the Robot makes in "Foul Play in Funland"! The Gruesomes This is not only my favorite Flintstones episode that I'm reviewing here, but it's my favorite of the entire franchise. It's a direct parody of The Addams Family, but it's so much fun and is really well-written. The episode features a spooky family named The Gruesomes moving next to The Flintstones, and Fred is reluctant to accept them due to their weird ways. Fred and Barney are asked to babysit The Gruesomes' kid, Gobby (short for Goblin), and discover that they are living next to a house of horrors. Perhaps what I love most about the episode is that it feels very similar to those episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies with multiple villains, as Fred and Barney continue to run into all sorts of different monsters in The Gruesomes' house (my favorite of those monsters being Gobby's Uncle, of which the only part you see of him is a gigantic hand). There is the glaring continuity error that there's suddenly a house next to The Flintstones that we've never seen in any of the 122 episodes before, but honestly the plot works well enough that I don't mind at all. The dynamic of this episode is so fun and I would highly recommend checking it out. While you'd think these would be one off parody characters, they actually were not, and continued to be used all throughout the franchise. They would appear again 10 episodes later in "The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes," which is a fine episode, but the focus is not on them very much, so I don't make a point to watch it. They'd also appear in spin-offs, including The Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Show, although for some reason the wife, Creepella, has her design and personality completely changed from a nasally-voiced, green-skinned woman, to a regular-looking socialite with a snobby voice. The Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Show episode was pretty decent, but The Gruesomes are sort of just supporting characters to advance the plot and it doesn't have that same spooky feel as the original, so I don't make a point to rewatch it at Halloween. Monster Fred This episode and the previous three episodes I reviewed are all from season 5 of the original show, which I have to say is the strongest season in the franchise. This episode is certainly no exception to the strong overall quality of this season. The storyline has Barney taking Fred to various doctors around town, after he accidentally gets hit on the head with a bowling ball. This leads to some fun antics, including them going to a doctor who has no idea what he's doing (a recurring joke in the franchise, but this instance is the funniest to me because it's so over-the-top ridiculous). After having no luck, Barney finds another doctor, Dr. Frankenstone, not realizing that he is a mad doctor. When he takes Fred there, Fred becomes involved in one of his spooky body-switch people. After the plot is resolved, there's even a fun little aside where Fred briefly runs into Dracula, followed by a lovely dad joke about how people running from him drives Dracula "bats" (get it? lol). Sand-Witch The New Fred and Barney Show, which aired in 1979, seems almost like a direct response to the decade of love of Scooby-Doo. Although there's not a full format shift, about 1/3 of the episodes in the show involve Fred and Barney running into some sort of supernatural being, with Fred being the brave, logical one, and Barney being overly scared. I don't usually watch any of the episodes from this series every year, but I decided to revisit them this year after resubscribing to Boomerang. The New Fred and Barney Show is a very interesting specimen of a series. The writing varies significantly from episode to episode, and I wouldn't call of any of it "great." The writing ranges from terribly uninspired, to weirdly hilarious for how odd it is. "Sand-Witch" is one of those "spooky" episodes that falls into the humorously odd category. The episodes centers around Fred and Barney's car breaking down in the middle of nowhere, so they go seek help at the only house nearby. The house is owned by a kindly old woman, but the audience quickly discovers she's a witch. I am not sure why they call this episode "Sand-Witch," other than I guess to make a pun on "sandwich," since the name doesn't really have anything to do with what's going on in the episode. Barney is turned into a frog by the witch, but Fred remains oblivious to the supernatural threat, which is common for this series. Although the episode isn't anywhere near the quality of the original show, I find it fun for the quirky and eclectic writing. There's one moment in particular that stands out to me, where Fred is lamenting that Barney is always imagining things. Fred continues to complain about how Barney's not around, and exclaims "in fact, I oughta be helping out around here!", as he begins sweeping the house. I can tell that the writers' intention was to find a way to get from point A to point B, where Fred picks up the witch's broom and realizes it's magical. However, in the context of the episode, the only reason Fred and Barney came to this woman's house is to ask for help with their car. I find it hilariously absurd that Fred randomly picks up a broom and begins doing chores in some random woman's house whom he doesn't even know lol. There are a number of absurd moments like that in this series, where it seems the writers didn't fully think things through, and quite a few of them are amusing. I mentioned earlier there are five episodes in The New Fred and Barney Show that have a spooky, Scoobyish kind of feeling to them. However, there are two of them I don't really ever care to watch. One of these episodes is actually the Return to Zombie Island of the Flintstones franchise, to a lesser extent. The episode I'm referring to is "Haunted Inheritance," which is a 15th anniversary remake of "A Haunted House Is Not a Home." I don't know if it was promoted as such when it aired, but it is very clearly a remake. The episode centers around basically the same plot - Fred inherits a fortune from a coworker who suddenly passed away, but must spend the night in a haunted house. What's unfortunate is that "Haunted Inheritance" completely destroys all the magic of the original, by using an uninspired plotline that feels like a pale imitation of the original. The audience finds out right away that the maid and butler are out to steal the inheritance from Fred. In the original episode, we did know that Fred's uncle's butler, chef and gardener were trying to get rid of them. In that episode, I mentioned there's a very ominous, unsettling atmosphere, where it feels like the ghost is always watching them, and you have no idea what the butler, chef and gardener might do to Fred and Barney. However, in the remake, the maid and butler just stand outside Fred and Barney's window pressing various buttons on a remote control device, saying "let's see if this scares them!" followed by a bunch of cheesy noises that aren't the slightest bit frightening. That's not to mention their "ghost" is just a projected image that somehow manages to be even less scary than the ghost of Redbeard's "spirit crew" in "The Ghostly Creep from the Deep." You can actually see the light from the projector, not to mention they literally stand right next to the projector the whole time for some reason lol. I have no idea what they were thinking here ("they" in this case referring to both the maid/butler and whoever wrote this catastrophe of an episode lol). Worst of all, the maid and butler literally tell you their whole plan almost at the beginning of the episode, which ruins any potential ominous atmosphere that the episode could have had. I will say the episode could have fallen in the "so bad it's funny" category, but the fact that it was a remake of one of the classic episodes of the franchise ruined it for me. The other "spooky" episode I skip is "Blood Brothers." The premise is fine, I guess, and involves Fred and Barney accidentally saving Rockula (a parody of Dracula) from a car accident, prompting him to want to be "blood brothers" with them (which, considering the plot, I guess it's just a spooky-sounding word for besties lol). The plot is kinda cheesy, but it's fine at first. Weirdly, Rockula is never confirmed to be a vampire, it's just sort of hinted where Fred and Barney think he might be, but nobody ever says it despite it being obvious. Mid-way through the episode, Rockula's wife shares that Rockula is crazy about eating vegetables and tomatoes, and if he doesn't have them, he does unspeakable things. Naturally, Fred and Barney assume this means drinking blood. As you'd expect, Rockula runs out of vegetables and the guys fear what he'll do. This next bit is a spoiler, but I guarantee that you won't care because it's such a terrible ending. It's revealed at the end of the episode that the "unspeakable thing" Rockula does without vegetables is break out into song and dance, which he proceeds to do with a werewolf for the remainder of the episode. It's literally one of the worst endings I have ever seen in any piece of media. I've never returned to the episode, because the ending makes it feel like you've just wasted 22 minutes of your life that could have been better spent doing literally anything else. Anyway, rant over, I highly recommend you never waste your time on that atrocious episode lol. Stoneage Werewolf This episode has pretty much the same plot as "Sand-Witch," but I really like the premise of it. Fred and Barney go out fishing, but end up being caught in a pouring rainstorm and seek refuge on a spooky-looking island. They go to the only house on the island, owned by a sweet old man named Mr. Nicely. Because the storm is too strong for them to leave, they spend the night in the house. Barney runs into a werewolf, who is Mr. Nicely, although Fred and Barney aren't aware of it. The atmosphere of the island and the house is much stronger to me than the witch's house in "Sand-Witch," so I enjoy this one a bit more. This is my favorite episode of The New Fred and Barney Show. Fred and Barney Meet the Frankenstones When comparing the Scrappy shorts to some of the other Hanna-Barbera content at the time, I'm convinced there was some sort of Hanna-Barbera studio mandate in the late 70s/early 80s for more antics-driven content. The New Fred and Barney Show is so much more antics-driven than the original series. Most of the plots revolve around Fred and Barney getting into weird situations with various antics ensuing, and this episode is an excellent example of that. The plot has Fred and Barney wanting to move into a "condor-stonium" (condominium) after they decide their chore around the house are too overwhelming. The storyline isn't particularly logical because apartments still require cleaning, but it doesn't detract from the episode in any way, so it's fine lol. At the "condor-stonium," they meet a creepy family named The Frankenstones, comprised of Frankenstone, his son Stubby, his wife Hidea, and daughter Atrocia. Fred and Barney become frightened discover it's a community of monsters. The storyline isn't particularly deep and it's heavily antics-based, but I still find this episode to be weird in a fun way. We also get to see the Gruesomes for their final appearance of the franchise (although they're called The Ghoulstones here for some reason). After this episode, the Gruesomes were phased out and replaced by the Frankenstones. Like the Gruesomes, the Frankenstones also go through a variety of iterations. As a bit of historical context, The Frankenstones' next appearance would be a remake of "The Gruesomes," in a special titled The Flintstones' New Neighbors. As the title implies, this special retains no continuity from the prior episode, and features the Frankenstones moving right next door to the Flintstones. Fred and Wilma go over to welcome them, but Fred takes a disliking to them for how weird they are. I enjoyed the special as a kid, but as I've gotten older, I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of it anymore. The special hits a lot of the same touchpoints as the plot of "The Gruesomes" did, but there is an element of mean-spiritedness not present in the original that makes me not want to return to this special. Fred was certainly hesitant to trust The Gruesomes in the original, but in the special, he is downright bigoted. Much of the episode is spent focusing on how much Fred hates the Frankenstones. At one point, Fred even puts a sign outside the Frankenstones house, and paints "this way to the freak show!" on the sign. It feels comparable to "A Mystery Solving Gang Divided," in the sense that Fred is so over-the-top angry that it overtakes the entire special. Considering how nice the Frankenstones are to him, Fred being such a Grade A a-hole to them all throughout this episode is really unenjoyable to watch. The Frankenstones would later become a larger part of the franchise, and became regulars in The Flintstone Comedy Hour shorts. Unfortunately, they honed in on the Fred and Frank Frankenstone drama and made a whole series of shorts around it, and they also made Frank mean like Fred had been to them in the special. In addition, Stubby was completely removed and was replaced with a normal teenage boy, similar to Marilyn in The Munsters. Another segment of The Flintstone Comedy Hour featured Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm solving monster mysteries, which I posted an article about back in 2020. As highlighted in that article, these were also heavily antics-based with little-to-no actual mystery to speak of, so I didn't really have any desire to return to it. The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone is my favorite Flintstones special, and is far better written than any of the aforementioned The New Fred and Barney Show episodes. The 50-minute special centers around Fred and Barney going on Let's Make a Deal, featuring Casey Kasem as the game show host. Fred and Barney win tickets to visit Rockula's castle in Rocksylvania (this show sure did love its rock puns lol), and travel there with Wilma and Betty. When they arrive at the castle, a freak bolt of lightning causes Rockula and Frankenstone awaken from a 500-year sleep. Rockula mistakenly believes Wilma is his long-lost bride and chases Fred around the castle, trying to kill Fred so he can be with Wilma. As opposed to their silly-feeling appearances in the rest of the franchise (which aren't referenced), Rockula and Frankenstone both feel extremely menacing here, and the castle has a really creepy atmosphere. This is by far Rockula and Frankenstone's best appearance in the franchise. It's a really fun, interesting plotline that definitely feels very Scooby-like in a lot of ways, and I definitely recommend checking this one out.
Of all these episodes, I typically just watch those from the classic series (the first four I reviewed) and the Rockula and Frankenstone movie. With the others, they are not ones I typically watch, but it was fun to revisit them this year. This was a bit of a different article for this blog considering it wasn't about Scooby, but I hope you enjoyed reading! Note: I had inadvertently forgotten this fun fact was already posted as #412 back on August 1, 2022. I am leaving this post here for archive's sake, but for the actual Fun Fact of the Week #473, check out the re-do post.
Both Velma and Madelyn's voice actresses were huge child TV stars back in the 1980s. Mindy Cohn played Natalie on The Facts of Life and Danica McKellar, who voiced Madelyn, played Winnie, the love interest of the main character on The Wonder Years. We're back to a much bigger poll again this week! It was a surprisingly close race last week between Cyber Chase and Monsters Unleashed, but the former won by just a couple votes! Here are the full results for our 2000s ghost poll:
Cyber Chase - 13 Monsters Unleashed - 10 Big Scare in the Big Easy - 7 It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine - 7 The Unnatural - 5 Fright House of a Lighthouse - 4 A Scooby-Doo Halloween - 3 The San Franpsycho - 3 3-D Struction - 2 Roller Ghoster Ride - 2 Samurai Sword - 2 Mystery Begins - 2 Riva Ras Regas - 1 Lights, Camera, Mayhem - 0 Wrestle Maniacs - 0 Diamonds Are a Ghoul's Best Friend - 0 |
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