"I Left My Neck in San Francisco" was not the first 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' episode (actually the tenth), but it was actually the episode that introduced me to the show twenty years or so ago. With "Demon of the Dugout" being seen at the same time, yes the show was seen out of order. It struck me as a very good and nearly great episode back then and continued to be a standout episode on the couple of pre-teenagehood re-watches.
Have watched "I Left My Neck in San Francisco" a few times since Season 1 of 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' grew on me in recent years. Went through a phase of not caring for most of the season, with a few exceptions (of which this was one), but there are a few "like it a lot more now" episodes and five or so near-great ones. "I Left My Neck in San Francisco" is one of them, in fact it's my personal favourite and one of the few of the season to always be highly thought of. Have always liked it for its humour, its atmosphere, its setting, its clever twist and especially the villain. As far as vampire-themed episodes of the franchise go, this is one of the best. Only consider 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" better.
Will get the not so good things about the episode out of the way first. It could have done more with the whole Daphne being a suspect angle, unique for the franchise back then as no other episode before had the idea of making a member of the gang a suspect. That was interesting but only shown in glimpses and wasn't played up enough. 'The New Scooby Doo Mysteries' to me actually did this angle better with Fred in "Happy Birthday Scooby Doo" (and even more so Shaggy in "Big Appetite in Little Tokyo"), as part of me at one point was convinced that Fred was responsible which was not the case with Daphne here despite attempts to.
Am aware that some may be annoyed with me by now for continuing to mention Scrappy negatively for this show, but the show never addressed the negative character traits being too exaggerated criticism that made him annoying and the episode doesn't. His humour got stale long ago, but luckily Shaggy and Scooby's comedy was strong enough and more frequent to make up for that. Occasionally the drawing could have done with more finesse.
On the other hand, most of the animation is good enough. It does a great job making San Francisco truly eerie at night and the character design and animation on the Lady Vampire is very well done. Some nice vibrant colours too. The music is characterful and atmospheric throughout, doing very well when the Lady Vampire is particularly creepy without telegraphing. The voice acting is very good from all the regulars and Joan Gerber never sounded more terrifying than here voicing the Lady Vampire. The mystery is very entertaining and benefits hugely from the atmospheric setting.
Really enjoyed the humour, one of the best lines being Shaggy's ACA line and the garlic pizza line was quite fun. The clues are fun, and the one with the mirrors was especially clever and the answer to that one didn't even come to my head first time. "I Left My Neck in San Francisco" benefits massively from the Lady Vampire, one of the best and scariest villains of the season. Still vividly remember the nightmares she gave me when younger and she still has a sinister vibe. The reveal is the show's cleverest and one of the most unexpected, it seemed predictable at first but then we are given a genuinely surprising twist that again wasn't even considered by me on first watch. Another Scooby Doo episode to have that kind of reveal was 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "A Frightened Hound Meets Demons Underground."
In conclusion, very good and nearly great. 8/10.
Have watched "I Left My Neck in San Francisco" a few times since Season 1 of 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' grew on me in recent years. Went through a phase of not caring for most of the season, with a few exceptions (of which this was one), but there are a few "like it a lot more now" episodes and five or so near-great ones. "I Left My Neck in San Francisco" is one of them, in fact it's my personal favourite and one of the few of the season to always be highly thought of. Have always liked it for its humour, its atmosphere, its setting, its clever twist and especially the villain. As far as vampire-themed episodes of the franchise go, this is one of the best. Only consider 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" better.
Will get the not so good things about the episode out of the way first. It could have done more with the whole Daphne being a suspect angle, unique for the franchise back then as no other episode before had the idea of making a member of the gang a suspect. That was interesting but only shown in glimpses and wasn't played up enough. 'The New Scooby Doo Mysteries' to me actually did this angle better with Fred in "Happy Birthday Scooby Doo" (and even more so Shaggy in "Big Appetite in Little Tokyo"), as part of me at one point was convinced that Fred was responsible which was not the case with Daphne here despite attempts to.
Am aware that some may be annoyed with me by now for continuing to mention Scrappy negatively for this show, but the show never addressed the negative character traits being too exaggerated criticism that made him annoying and the episode doesn't. His humour got stale long ago, but luckily Shaggy and Scooby's comedy was strong enough and more frequent to make up for that. Occasionally the drawing could have done with more finesse.
On the other hand, most of the animation is good enough. It does a great job making San Francisco truly eerie at night and the character design and animation on the Lady Vampire is very well done. Some nice vibrant colours too. The music is characterful and atmospheric throughout, doing very well when the Lady Vampire is particularly creepy without telegraphing. The voice acting is very good from all the regulars and Joan Gerber never sounded more terrifying than here voicing the Lady Vampire. The mystery is very entertaining and benefits hugely from the atmospheric setting.
Really enjoyed the humour, one of the best lines being Shaggy's ACA line and the garlic pizza line was quite fun. The clues are fun, and the one with the mirrors was especially clever and the answer to that one didn't even come to my head first time. "I Left My Neck in San Francisco" benefits massively from the Lady Vampire, one of the best and scariest villains of the season. Still vividly remember the nightmares she gave me when younger and she still has a sinister vibe. The reveal is the show's cleverest and one of the most unexpected, it seemed predictable at first but then we are given a genuinely surprising twist that again wasn't even considered by me on first watch. Another Scooby Doo episode to have that kind of reveal was 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "A Frightened Hound Meets Demons Underground."
In conclusion, very good and nearly great. 8/10.
