'The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show' was one of the Scooby Doo shows that was actually better than remembered through young adult eyes. Never disliked the show, but it was never among my favourites of the Scooby Doo franchise. It still isn't and some episodes are better than others, which is true actually of all the shows in the franchise but more so the 80s incarnations. But there were a few things not picked up upon before that came off really well, and what bothered me when younger actually was one of the best things.
"Scooby the Barbarian"/"No Sharking Zone" is the first double bill episode (have always watched all the episodes in pairs and that's how they were aired when younger) of 'The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show'. And it's among the more consistent ones, like 'The New Scooby Doo Mysteries' the double bills varied in quality and were sometimes consistent or one episode was considerably better or weaker than the other. Here, the quality between "Scooby the Barbarian" and "No Sharking Zone" is pretty similar, with the latter though getting the slightly better edge.
"Scooby the Barbarian" (7/10)- So much to like here. The animation isn't mind-blowing, but it is vibrant enough and has liveliness. Did like the atmospheric visuals in the intro. The music fits with the action and isn't at odds with the lively but sometimes creepy atmosphere and the theme tune despite being too brief is not too hard to remember. The voice acting for the regulars is very good, can't praise Don Messick and Casey Kasem enough. Shaggy and Scooby are very amusing in an endearingly goofy way and their chemistry is charming and one of the hearts of the franchise.
Furthermore, the episode's opening creeped me out as a kid and the viking's roar still gives the shivers in my mind. The viking is creepy and this is one of the few episodes of the show where the reveal was a surprise, the mystery is nice without being predictable. Really liked daphnes resourcefulness and authority, she really evolved as a character in the 80s. As a kid, she came over to me as out of character (due to not being used to the change in her compared to before), but as a young adult her progression as a character is one of the franchise's biggest over-time improvements.
It isn't perfect though. It is on occasion a little too reminiscent of 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "The Curse of Viking's Lake", for example the motive is similar. Like that episode, it would have been better too with just one villain as the others are given very little to do and add little. The implausibly fast costume change and how the perpetrator managed to be in two places at once are never explained, not the first or last time the franchise had these issues.
Personally don't hate Scrappy as much as most do, though he was annoying in 'Scooby and Scrappy Doo' and can see why he is so hated actually, but this is one of his worst appearances of the show. Here he comes over as mean spirited and out of character, here being pretty wimpy instead of being the strongest of the gang.
"No Sharking Zone" (8/10)- The marginally better episode. It isn't perfect, with the solution (both perpetrator and motive, the latter a common one for the franchise) being easy to figure out early on with the most incriminating clue being given away too early.
Despite that, it is vibrantly animated with a beautiful setting, Scooby Doo and beach settings always gelled so well with each other. The music again fits well, with a sense of lively adventure but also foreboding without being too obvious. The voice acting is very good, while Scooby and Shaggy are funny and Daphne has come on so much. Scrappy is much better written here, truer to character and treated with respect this time.
Furthermore, the mystery is one of the strongest of 'The Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show', with a great fun adventure element in the second half when things start coming together. There are funny moments with Scooby and Shaggy as expected, Shaggy has some endearingly goofy lines. The seaweed monster and the shark are very creepy.
Overall, good start to the show. 7/10.
"Scooby the Barbarian"/"No Sharking Zone" is the first double bill episode (have always watched all the episodes in pairs and that's how they were aired when younger) of 'The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show'. And it's among the more consistent ones, like 'The New Scooby Doo Mysteries' the double bills varied in quality and were sometimes consistent or one episode was considerably better or weaker than the other. Here, the quality between "Scooby the Barbarian" and "No Sharking Zone" is pretty similar, with the latter though getting the slightly better edge.
"Scooby the Barbarian" (7/10)- So much to like here. The animation isn't mind-blowing, but it is vibrant enough and has liveliness. Did like the atmospheric visuals in the intro. The music fits with the action and isn't at odds with the lively but sometimes creepy atmosphere and the theme tune despite being too brief is not too hard to remember. The voice acting for the regulars is very good, can't praise Don Messick and Casey Kasem enough. Shaggy and Scooby are very amusing in an endearingly goofy way and their chemistry is charming and one of the hearts of the franchise.
Furthermore, the episode's opening creeped me out as a kid and the viking's roar still gives the shivers in my mind. The viking is creepy and this is one of the few episodes of the show where the reveal was a surprise, the mystery is nice without being predictable. Really liked daphnes resourcefulness and authority, she really evolved as a character in the 80s. As a kid, she came over to me as out of character (due to not being used to the change in her compared to before), but as a young adult her progression as a character is one of the franchise's biggest over-time improvements.
It isn't perfect though. It is on occasion a little too reminiscent of 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "The Curse of Viking's Lake", for example the motive is similar. Like that episode, it would have been better too with just one villain as the others are given very little to do and add little. The implausibly fast costume change and how the perpetrator managed to be in two places at once are never explained, not the first or last time the franchise had these issues.
Personally don't hate Scrappy as much as most do, though he was annoying in 'Scooby and Scrappy Doo' and can see why he is so hated actually, but this is one of his worst appearances of the show. Here he comes over as mean spirited and out of character, here being pretty wimpy instead of being the strongest of the gang.
"No Sharking Zone" (8/10)- The marginally better episode. It isn't perfect, with the solution (both perpetrator and motive, the latter a common one for the franchise) being easy to figure out early on with the most incriminating clue being given away too early.
Despite that, it is vibrantly animated with a beautiful setting, Scooby Doo and beach settings always gelled so well with each other. The music again fits well, with a sense of lively adventure but also foreboding without being too obvious. The voice acting is very good, while Scooby and Shaggy are funny and Daphne has come on so much. Scrappy is much better written here, truer to character and treated with respect this time.
Furthermore, the mystery is one of the strongest of 'The Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show', with a great fun adventure element in the second half when things start coming together. There are funny moments with Scooby and Shaggy as expected, Shaggy has some endearingly goofy lines. The seaweed monster and the shark are very creepy.
Overall, good start to the show. 7/10.
