Scooby-Doo, where WERE you?
Inspector Gadget | On the trail of Doctor Claw | 06/21/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The numbered Seasons of Scooby from 1969 to the late 80s are hard to keep track of. The 3rd Season of Scooby-Doo, Where are you is actually part of what was called Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics which featured several cartoons including "The Scooby-Doo Show" and "The Blue Falcon & Dynomutt" (who you might recognize from Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law) between 1977-1978. Even though this series aired years after the Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, which is apparently considered a different series. Confused yet?
This season features all the usual unlikely villians, utterly ludicrous last-minute plot explanations and borderline xenophobic cultural stereotypes. The Scooby-Doo formula works best in isolated, creepy surroundings, but this season puts the action into too many urban areas, which just don't seem right. Monsters appearing during a Wimbledon tennis match and in a recording studio are the lowest points of the season.
The back of the box promotes the Season as "lost episodes". Well, I'm not sure where they were lost about but judging by the shocking quality of the prints I assume they were stored in someone's garage behind some old paint cans and a bag of cement gone hard. If you thought that the Tom and Jerry shorts from Warner looked bad then you ain't seen nothing yet.
Pick it up cheap if you're a Scooby-Doo completist. Otherwise I'd suggest skipping to The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo: The Complete Series or A Pup Named Scooby-Doo: Complete 1st Season."