Monday, April 29, 2013

Tooniversary: Scooby-Doo meets Dick Van Dyke (1973)

In the series finale of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Mystery Inc. finds Dick Van Dyke running a carnival, and, of course, he needs their help. Van Dyke had returned to CBS some time prior with The New Dick Van Dyke Show, which didn't have the staying power of the original (1960-6), nor was it in the same setting (since Mary Tyler Moore was doing her own Emmy winning series at this point). Van Dyke would return to Hanna-Barbera 20 years later to narrate the Christmas special, The Town That Santa Forgot, but this would be the only time he'd share the stage, if you will, with Scooby.

Edit, 11/16/23: Had to change the video to this short excerpt:



Of course, the gang had some previous experience with evil at the circus after a fashion, but this was treated like it was a new experience for them. Ah, the lack of continuity was a bugger back then.

Rating: B.

6 comments:

magicdog said...

Again, the star helped elevate the material.

You have to admit some of the scenerios the celebs found themselves in were rather out there! Dick owning a circus, Mama Cass owning a candy factory, and Davy Jones and a haunted castle!

Only in the 70s!

hobbyfan said...

Just think of the scenarios that could be used today.

On Mystery Inc., in one of the last eps that I never got to see, MTV original Martha Quinn owned a music store. It sucks that Time Warner Cable doesn't have this ep on demand at present. At least, in this regard, you have to give Mitch Watson credit for calling back to the Movie series, giving hope that maybe, just maybe, that will be next......

magicdog said...

You can catch all the eps of SDMI (plus a lot of other animated shows on watchcartoonsonline.com)

hobbyfan said...

Watchcartoonsonline.com, eh? Thanks for the tip. I think that's going to be favorited real quick.

AH3RD said...

This was the last first-run episode of Scooby Doo on CBS, as well as the last new episode until 1976, which saw Scooby move to ABC on The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour. (CBS reran episodes of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! for the next two years until then.)

Van Dyke is currently among the last surviving celebrity guests of The New Scooby Doo Movies, aside from Sandy Duncan and Tim Conway.

hobbyfan said...

Thanks.