A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Vol. 2

Coolsville canine detective Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang go back to their adolescent days in this four-episode compilation from the 1988-91 animated spin-off series, featuring the voices of Casey Kasem and Kellie Martin. Although the main characters are miniature versions of their original selves (and the customary slapstick is more Saturday-morning-cartoonish over-the-top), much of the charmingly campy Scooby-Doo formula remains the same: Scooby and best pal Shaggy share food and get scared quickest; Daphne and Freddy always separate off and collide with the rest of the crew during a music-backed chase montage; Velma puts all the pieces together to reveal the least suspected culprit; and so on. The lead-off episode “For Letter or Worse” follows the gang on the titular game show produced at--you guessed it!--a haunted TV station. The kids have a sneaking suspicion that a pinstripe-suited spectral figure is the ghost (or, as Scooby would whimper, “Grrrhost!”) of former gangster Al Cabone (get it?), but after a couple of fake leads and secret passage jaunts the real perpetrator is brought to light. Other episodes include “Babysitter from Beyond” (Shaggy's lil' sister Shuggy gets a bride-of-Frankenstein-like babysitter), the ski vacation-themed “Snow Place Like Home,” and “Now Museum, Now You Don't.” Corny, simple, and popular, this is recommended for larger pop collections, but optional elsewhere. [Note: What's New Scooby-Doo, Vol. 6: Monster Matinee is also newly available at $19.98.] Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)