ikrani Seriously, compared to his role as Egghead in the Adam West Batman series and what he would later describe as his favorite role as Ratigan in the Great Mouse Detective, Vincent Price doesn't sound like he's trying.This show has an equal amount of good and bad. On one hand, we have an all-new premise that involves Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, and a really downplayed Scrappy Doo teaming up with an insufferably street con name Film Flam and Vincent van Ghoul, who is a parody of every single role Vincent Price had played to date. Said premise is that Scooby accidentally releases "13 of the world's most horrifying ghosts" upon humanity and, since he was the one who let them out, only he can put them back in their demonic-looking chest.On the other hand, we have Film Flam. I didn't find him annoying as a kid, but in rewatching a few episodes I found his arrogant attitude to be insufferable. Scrappy Doo didn't help matters, but thankfully the creators realized how annoying he was and toned it down a bit.This series also suffers from plot holes, especially in the episode involving a time-traveling ghost. Not only that, but Vincent Price really sounds like he's having regrets about signing on to this show. I'd cite his age as a factor (the man WAS 74 when he worked on this), but he did so well in The Great Mouse Detective, which came out a year later. Seriously, if you're a fan of Vincent Price's slightly over-the-top performances as creepy types who murder people, you might find this show to be unsettling.It's not the most enjoyable of the Scooby-Doo franchise, but I've seen far worse.

Growlyted I've just discovered this on Virgin. (TV on Demand, Boomerang) It has my favourite pup, Scrappy, who still worships his Uncle Scoob, but has learned the art of running away. And he has a new friend called Film Flam - a street urchin. He doesn't bother me either. I didn't like the costume change for Shaggy, but he's just as goofy & lovable. Daphne also remains. However the stand out character is Vincent Van Ghoul, a warlock (played by Vincent Price) who lends magical aid to the gang. The annoying characters in the show are Weird & Bogle, who act as henchmen to the evil ghost of the episode - very cartoony, & as in the other Scrappy cartoons - real. (Sorry, I'm not that keen on the older fake ghost episodes.) And Scooby is Scooby. It's not the standard formula, but it's entertaining enough. Whether or not you like the younger characters, it's worth a look. 7/10

waiching liu The Hanna Barbera, Scooby Doo franchise underwent a drastic decline in the late seventies to early eighties when little Scrappy Doo- or as others would rename him as 'Crappy Poo'- arrived out of nowhere to join the gang of Scooby, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne. The so-called diminutive nephew of Scooby was, in many Scooby fans eyes, an annoyance and who'd embarrass the hell out of the gang, not to mention the fans themselves.Thankfully however, a new animated show based on the characters, arrived towards the mid-eighties titled: 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' and HB decided to shift their focus away from Scrappy (and rightly so), for once and onto the likes of Daphne, Shaggy, Scoob, as well as the new additions to the franchise; a pint- sized kid going by the name of Film Flam (who looked like he was of Mixed race/Asian origin) and Vincent Van Ghoul- voiced by none other than the famous Vincent Price, whose often scary voice-overs once scared the pants off me, as a kid. For those of you, who need reminding, he did the soliloquy or spoken word bit towards the end of Michael Jackson's 80s hit, 'Thriller'.I assumed the arrivals of Price and Film Flam, meant that Fred and Velma had to make way for those two, but this in itself didn't hinder the quality of the cartoon or the story itself. I actually thought that Film Flam was not that bad- I could do with Film Flam in the cartoon and get rid of Scrappy. You also had two ghosts, Boogel and Weerd, who were the main villains and of whom tried to outwit the gang, but in the end they always fail.The Scooby gang have to retrieve the 13 Ghosts, of which they have released from a chest, after Scooby and Shaggy were duped by Boogel and Weerd.Arguably, the best aspect of this show was that whereas all the other Scooby shows had the same formula, plot-wise that is; i.e, haunted house, Scoob, Fred, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne (and later on Scrappy) try to solve the mysteries and unmask the villain, dressed as a monster and ghost, 'The 13 Ghosts' had a completely different narrative angle, which was refreshing to see. For once, it wasn't just about capturing and unmasking the villains, but also, there was an element of mystery, suspense and of the chest-, which acted as a prop device to further propel the gang forward, in their attempts to recapture the ghosts. It was also good to have the late Vincent Price aka Vincent Van Ghoul and his contribution in the show, was very effective I have to say.Whilst it wasn't in the same league as say 'Scooby Doo, Where are you?' for example, 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' was much better than The Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show and A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which I prefer over the Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show. It is completely different and the show's plot brought an extra dimension to one of the most famous cartoon franchises in history.This was one Scooby show that didn't get the exposure it deserved, which was a shame but nevertheless, it was a good cartoon, -but for the inclusion of Scrappy-, and like many other toons, 'The 13 ghosts of Scooby Doo' deserved a longer run.

TelevisionJunkie Scooby Doo had become a dismal show during my early childhood. Shifting the focus away from Freddy, Velma, and Daphne, that wretched Scrappy Doo took over star billing. Which was why it was so refreshing when this series came along. Although Scrappy was still part of the cast for this series, he was no longer the star, so he got pushed into the background as the new characters took stage. And Daphne, who was gradually worked back into the cast a year or two prior, finally returned full time with a new hairdo and outfit. Even Shaggy got new threads, turning in his patented green T-shirt for a red one.The inspired casting of Vincent Price as Vincent Van Ghoul was enough to get me back on the bandwagon for new episodes. I had already become a fan of Price's films and the albums that he appeared on with Alice Cooper and Michael Jackson. In animated form, Vincent was as dignified as ever, and he added some charisma that had been missing from the previous series of the last few years. Among other new characters was Flim-Flam, the conniving kid with the Lots-of-Luck-Joy-Juice ("a lucky charm in a bottle"). Flim-Flam added the comic relief that Scrappy was supposed to have brought to the previous series. Which makes one wonder why Scrappy was still there. And the other new characters, ghosts Bogel and Weerd, were just hammy enough to blend with this great cast of characters.Throughout the first few series, the ghosts and monsters were always a bad guy in a rubber mask. When they had exhausted those storylines, the ghosts became real, but many of us had tuned out (or stuck to reruns) by that time because of the annoying Scrappy Doo. This time around they were still real and Scooby and Shaggy, who were tricked into opening The Chest of Demons in the pilot, had to return all 13 ghosts back to the chest. Though more cartoonish than the monsters (masks) had been in the original series, all of the ghosts were well-designed and the storylines were more inventive than they had been in years. Episodes had the gang thrust into comic strips and mirrors; Vincent was under the spell of a beautiful demon in one episode and nearly turned to stone in another -- and in one episode Scooby even quit the show (and was replaced by another puppy) but was urged to come back by then-President Ronald Reagan in a spoof of "It's a Wonderful Life."Out of all the incarnations of Scooby Doo, this one remains my favorite, which is probably why only 13 episodes were produced and they rarely get played. Hopefully they'll get a video release someday. If only they had dropped Scrappy and brought back Fred and Velma, it would have been perfect.. .