- Title: Scooby Doo, Where Are You! – The Backstage Rage
- wiki: link
Throwback Thursday takes us back to Scooby Doo, Where Are You! for another mystery involving some meddling kids and their talking dog. Scooby (Don Messick) and Shaggy (Casey Kasem) stumble onto a mystery when a violin case full of money falls into their laps, only to disappear thanks to some misdirection involving a dog puppet that leads Mystery, Inc. to the Strand Theater (perhaps a reference to Sherlock Holmes?) in search of answers. The backdrop of an empty theater with false walls, tunnels, and hidden rooms offers an exciting setting for the mystery.
While the puppeteer does have a Phantom of the Opera look, there’s no legend, curse, or history about the character prior to the gang running into him while stumbling on what they believe is a counterfeit money operation. There’s also no elaborate trap in the episode as much of the story centers around the gang putting clues together and the villain appearing later than usual in attempts to scare them away (only to inadvertently lead them to more evidence). The episode is also notable for Daphne (Stefanianna Christopherson) and Velma (Nicole Jaffe) on their own when the gang splits up to search for clues. Possibly because of these distinctions, the episode stands out from several other stories and was voted one of the fan’s favorite episodes.
