The Stoney Glare Stare is the second half of the third episode of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, and it originally aired on September 22, 1984. With a story by Douglas Booth, this episode features the gang in Greece, hitting up Cyclops island.

The Stoney Glare Stare – Episode Review

The episode begins with the gang on a ferry, where they are investigating the Greek Islands for a story about the legendary Mask of Medusa. The mask is believed to have the same powers as Medusa in that it can turn people into stone.

On their boat ride to Cyclops, they pass Blimp Island, home of the International Arch Fiend Thaddeus Blimp. As they pass by, we hear from Wilmer, who is Thaddeus’ assistant, that Scooby-Doo is sailing by, and it’s time for Thaddeus to launch into action and claim the Mask of Medusa as one of his stolen treasures, so he can turn all of the world leaders into stone! On top of that he also wants to turn the Scooby-Doo gang into stone!!

Daphne and the gang then meet up with Professor Mikos as they prepare to be the first people to enter the Fortress of the Cyclops for several centuries. The statue of the Cyclops is guarding the Mask of Medusa, so the mask must be inside.

The Scooby gang follow Professor Mikos inside the Fortress of the Cyclops but get separated from him not long after entering. While wandering, the gang find a statue of the Cyclops, only to discover that it is alive. While trying to escape the monster, everyone stumbles into a room filled with lifelike statues of people. One of the statues looks exactly like Professor Mikos.

Scrappy takes some pictures for evidence, and as he snaps a picture of a tablet with Greek on it, the wall shakes and a secret passage is revealed. Scrappy uses his watch translator to translate the image of the tablet which reads “The Mask of Medusa is Beneath the Fountain in the cave of the Cyclops on Cyclops Mountain.”

The real Cyclops then shouts out that they should never go there. After the Cyclops takes chase, the gang smash through a recently bricked up wall, using Professor Milos’ statue, and end up in a Taverna Banquet Hall. Here they speak to Anna who owns the Taverna.

Anna tells the gang that Professor Mikos knows how to make statues, except most of the time they are junk. Anna calls on their waiters for refreshments and we discover Thaddeus Blimp and Wilmer are disguised as the waiters. We are also treated to male Greek dancers. Scooby spots Thaddeus Blimp, so the gang, after a dance number, head off to the cave of the Cyclops.

On Cyclops Island, it’s a race between the Scooby gang and Thaddeus Blimp to find the Mask of Medusa. Daphne pulls the fountain apart, however the Cyclops shows up and scares everyone off. We soon learn that the Cyclops is under control of Thaddeus Blimp. During the fight chase (as Scrappy does lunge at Thaddeus), Thaddeus Blimp gets his hands on the Mask of Medusa, which looks very cool!

Thaddeus puts on the mask and realizes it’s a fake, so he tosses it aside. Scooby, picks up the mask and inspects it with a flashlight turning EVERYONE into stone (except himself of course). Fortunately, Anna shows up and reverses the curse by shining a flashlight through the opposite side of the mask. Everyone turns back to normal, except Professor Mikos, who Daphne figures out is dressed as the Cyclops.

The Professor was forced by Thaddeus to help him find the Mask of Medusa. We also learn Anna is an agent working for the Secret Greek Intelligence agency. For years they have been trying to capture Thaddeus Blimp. Thaddeus tries to make one more escape, but a disguised Scooby and Scrappy as the Cyclops thwarts their attempts to get away with the mask.

My Thoughts

I give this episode a 7.5 out of 10.  This episode is strange. Good but strange. There is a lot going on with dance numbers, super spies, Greek mythology and archeology expeditions. Maybe it doesn’t exactly work as they are shoving a lot into 12 minutes, but I admire that they went for it and did something a little bit different. Plus, this one moves at a whiplash pace, so there is no time to think. And we get a lot of great scenery.

We also get a scene where Scrappy bashes down a wall with a statue, and a scene were Scrappy does a flying kick at Thaddeus. And Scooby turns EVERYONE into stone. Off the rails madness here and I love it!

Part of me wishes they kept on with this series, and team of writers as the creativity shown here is a lot of fun and so far I am quite enjoying this series.