Scooby-Doo Where Are You – Volume 4: Spooked Bayou – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

What’s the secret of Scooby-Doo’s staying power? Why is Scooby-Doo Where Are You! a big hit with today’s kids while Goober and the Ghost Chasers and the Clue Club are nearly forgotten? Did Scooby-Doo put together the right team? What kid doesn’t aspire to cruising around the country in a windowless van? Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy had no visible means of support. They weren’t even forced to be a band on tour like Josie and the Pussycats. How did they even pay to put gas in the Mystery Machine? They weren’t burdened by any parental units. Scooby and the gang were able to unmask monsters without the burdens of adult life. Scooby-Doo Where Are You – Volume 4: Spooked Bayou contains four episodes from the first season of the show.

“Which Witch Is Which” diverts the kids and Scooby-Doo into the swampland. Daphne gets kidnapped by a witch and her zombie that haunt a wrecked riverboat. Can they rescue their friend before she’s turned into a zombie? Is there enough Scooby Snacks to last the night? “Go Away Ghost Ship” gets all the gang kidnapped by a ghost this time. The ships owned by C.L. Magnus are being haunted by Redbeard – a dead pirate. When the kids show up to expose the spook, things don’t go too well. The pirate captures them on his ghostship. Will they be forced to walk the plank? Or will the ghost once more turn out to be a creepy old guy in a rubber mask? “The Space Kook Creature” haunts an abandoned airfield. It’s a glowing alien who isn’t ready to be taken to our leader. The Mystery Machine runs out of gas nearby which is how the kids get involved. How are they going to afford to put gas in the van? That’s a mystery. “A Night of Fright Is No Delight” finally brings money into the picture. Scooby-Doo can inherit the fortune of Colonel Beaureguard Sanders. The stipulation in the will is that he only has to spend a night in the Col. Sander’s mansion. While it sounds like easy money, two green phantoms want to scare the dog away. Has anyone ever had to spend a night in a mansion to receive an inheritance?

Scooby-Doo Where Are You – Volume 4: Spooked Bayou keeps up the mystery of why people in the late ‘60s put on rubber masks to impersonate ghosts. Why didn’t all these people team up to take out Scooby-Doo and his pals? Wouldn’t word gotten out about them ruining perfectly good scare scams? It’s not like they weren’t that invisible cruising around in their hippie van. Why weren’t they more skeptical about ghosts since it always turned out to be an adult in a rubber mask? So many questions seep out of these original episodes.

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers look good with little specks of dust that might have been trapped within the animation cells. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The mix is keeps the spooky sounds up front. It should give chills to little kids. There’s dub tracks in French and Spanish. Shaggy is called Sammy in French and has an annoying accent. The episodes have French and English subtitles.


Lightning Strikes Twice (22:04) is an episode from Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get a Clue. It looks like a Venture Brothers episode. Dr. Phineas Phibes wants to get rid of boy and his dog.

Scooby-Doo Where Are You – Volume 4: Spooked Bayou contains four episodes from the first season of the show. The shows present enough mystery and slight scares to keep a little kid entertained and guessing. Just remember that all gets explained in the course of each episode. This is fine for parents who want to share the joys of Scooby-Doo without exposing their child to dozens of toy and junk food ads.


Warner Home Video presents Scooby-Doo Where Are You – Volume 4 – Spooked Bayou. Starring: Fred, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Scooby-Doo. Boxset Contents: 4 episodes on 1 DVD. Released on DVD: October 19, 2010.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.