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Post by scoob16 on Jul 19, 2014 9:49:23 GMT -5
Decent episode, and surprisingly, the guest star didn't join the gang for the mystery-solving part... He was the mystery...
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ericb
Black Knight
Posts: 5
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Post by ericb on Sept 10, 2015 20:18:09 GMT -5
It was a potentially great episode with all the secret passage action, and them tgoing from room to room thinking he's on the other side of a wall, but it's just a vent to somewhere else.
What I didn't like was when Jerry was found, he was then always with Fred and the girls, and Scooby and especially Shaggy were deemed only good to be sent out to do all the dirty work. This was actually a foreshadowing of things to come, as in the later shows, the tendency was more and more to always send Shaggy and Scooby out alone, and they became strictly comedy relief (and voicing their cowardice nonstop; it wasn't so much about that before), while Fred and the girls stuck together and found most of the clues. (This was especially pronounced by the 1978 season, which made the much hated new changes to the show afterward, a welcome relief, IMO!)
I think what made the original series great was the dynamic between the members, and the more equal splitups with Velma paired with Shaggy and Scooby maintained that. If they had at least done it that way when they were looking for Jerry, or had Jerry go with Shaggy and Scooby later, then it would have been better.
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Post by somebody-doo on Apr 3, 2016 9:24:14 GMT -5
I love this one.
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Post by doobert on Apr 15, 2016 3:15:16 GMT -5
It's pretty good, and I like the concept of the gang having to the solve the mystery of the guest star this time around, but I'll admit I was a bit disappointed by Reed's screentime and appearance.
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Post by barneynedward on May 26, 2017 15:43:55 GMT -5
Jerry Reed was kind of a boring guest.
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Post by moonscar on Nov 17, 2018 5:35:25 GMT -5
I really like this one a lot. It felt more like a WAY episode rather than TNSDM because it was mostly just the gang hunting around for clues and the guest star. Jerry Reed was seriously under utilised but it gives a different swing on things, as he is the main focus of the gang instead of simply accompanying them around for the ride.
The whole phantom sideplot is pretty week and the 'mystery' is stretched a bit thin due to the 40 minute run-time but it's still a fun romp has has that real vintage feel to it, unlike many of the other episodes in this series.
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Post by Dyland on Jun 12, 2019 16:17:30 GMT -5
It's so nice to be able to see all of these episodes again after the new "The Lost Episodes"/"Almost Complete Collection" releases. This episode was one of the very first Scooby episodes I ever saw - and may have just been my introduction to the series!
In retrospect, I think the villains could have been better utilized... While the costumed figures are certainly spooky, they mostly appear only after cutting off the lights, utilizing those first few seconds of little visibility, and aren't even really seen directly by the gang until the final few minutes. I feel like they could have just as easily got along with no need to put on disguises! I really did like the disguises, though - especially that of the Viking. For the audience, it's certainly a frightful delight.
Other than that, though, I thought the episode was great. Another one of my all-time favorites. I love Jerry Reed, and he made for an excellent guest star. Coincidentally, "Pretty Mary Sunlight" had always been my favorite chase song, and it was nice to see him adapt it in the episode. Genius having him sing it through the vents for them to find him. Having the guest star be captive - and rescued by the gang was a cool plot I though.
While watching the episode through VLC player, I accidentally switched to the French language version during the final performance - and realized that it is actually an instrumental! Check it out for yourself if you've got the DVD or Blu Ray!
Now I wonder if any other episodes have oddities like that in the foreign dubs. However, The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall (Scooby meets Davey Jones) keeps the original with vocals. So maybe it's just a quirk of this particular episode...
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Post by Chorake on Jun 12, 2019 21:06:09 GMT -5
While watching the episode through VLC player, I accidentally switched to the French language version during the final performance - and realized that it is actually an instrumental! Check it out for yourself if you've got the DVD or Blu Ray! Now I wonder if any other episodes have oddities like that in the foreign dubs. However, The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall (Scooby meets Davey Jones) keeps the original with vocals. So maybe it's just a quirk of this particular episode... I'm tempted to finally cave and buy the DVD release, but can you answer me this?: Are the episodes pillarboxed? i.e. with wasted image area on hard coded black pillars on each side of the 4:3 frame? Warner Home Video's authoring has been getting worse and worse over the years and I wouldn't be surprised if they crept to a new low. Better yet, do you think you could post some screenshots from the set?
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Post by Dyland on Jun 12, 2019 21:54:28 GMT -5
Unfortunately, the set is pillarboxed. Mildly angering since you essentially lose 81,600 pixels (or 21% of the image size). However, with direct comparison, I found it not that bad. VLC can easily be adapted to correct the ratio change (especially when ripped to mkv's). Plus, when watching NSDM back to back (at least for me) the quality change wasn't noticeable on my 1920x1080 display. Here's some screenshots and a comparison: Title Card: i.imgur.com/rgD5QnE.pngVelma: i.imgur.com/s8xk6jF.pngConcert: i.imgur.com/GAAzaC1.pngFrame Size Comparison: i.imgur.com/wcKt6SJ.pngAgain, unfortunate... although there are certainly worse releases. *cough Star Wars GOUT DVD's *cough
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Post by Chorake on Jun 12, 2019 22:04:59 GMT -5
Unfortunately, the set is pillarboxed. Mildly angering since you essentially lose 81,600 pixels (or 21% of the image size). Ouch. I'll be sticking to the BDs/the digital HD stuff, then. Too bad Warner Archive isn't handling any Scooby properties. They'd give it the treatment it deserves.
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Post by matt on Dec 12, 2020 22:24:14 GMT -5
Top 5 of the show for me. Love how the mystery revolved around Jerry Reed. Not to mention that it takes place in my favorite city! I love Nashville so much and this episode is fantasic
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Post by Doo on Dec 13, 2020 12:33:40 GMT -5
I've always found this episode a bit boring, personally. The culprit is obvious to the viewer almost right away and I found the villain to be lame.
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Post by matt on Dec 13, 2020 15:47:39 GMT -5
I've always found this episode a bit boring, personally. The culprit is obvious to the viewer almost right away and I found the villain to be lame. Similarly to the Lochness Mess I didn't necessarily mind the obvious culprit in this one. I know this isn't one of the most popular of the series but I guess I have a bit of attachment to it. To each their own I guess haha.
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Post by Doo on Dec 13, 2020 15:50:25 GMT -5
I've always found this episode a bit boring, personally. The culprit is obvious to the viewer almost right away and I found the villain to be lame. Similarly to the Lochness Mess I didn't necessarily mind the obvious culprit in this one. I know this isn't one of the most popular of the series but I guess I have a bit of attachment to it. To each their own I guess haha. That's a great point, because "The Lochness Mess" is my favorite of the entire franchise haha. I'm not sure why it bothered me in this one. Possibly because I felt the villain was pretty lame, so the fact that we knew who it was instantly made it even less enjoyable.
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Post by moonscar on Dec 24, 2020 10:01:15 GMT -5
No denying the mystery element and villain in this one was particularly barebones but I still find it a brilliant episode, all the same. The gang are firing on all cylinders here and it feels more like a late Where Are You episode, at times, because the guest star isn't front and centre for the whole first half.
Kinda like Scoobys Night with a Frozen Fright - I can happily admit that it's certainly not one of the finest Scooby episodes, but man is it one of my personal favourites!
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