Ghosts of the Ancient Astronauts is the sixth episode of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries and it originally aired on October 13, 1984. Written by Ray Parker, this episode sees the gang in South America with Fred, Velma and her uncle.

Ghosts of the Ancient Astronauts – Episode Review

The Expedition Begins

The episode begins during a turbulent ocean storm as the gang head off on an expedition. Trying to salvage the rainy day, Velma, Fred and Daphne sit out on the boat deck in their swimsuits. As Scooby and Shaggy play shuffleboard, a man in a white suit explains to his henchmen (Abdul and Punjab) that he is there to steal some treasure.

We then cut to Velma’s uncle explaining that they will be searching the South American Jungle for a Ruby called the Celestial Orb. It’s apparently as big as a baseball which gets Scooby excited. The Celestial Orb contains a map to a temple, which will lead them to a lost treasure in the temple of Sirius which is located in the cave of death in the valley of the Zombies. Oh and it’s haunted by the ghosts of the alien astronauts.

Upon arriving at the island, the group steps ashore to search for the Valley of the Zombies. Unbeknownst to them, Harriet Mullins and her parrot, Jocko, are spying on their jungle trek through a pair of binoculars. Harriet is out for sweet revenge once Professor Cosmo finds the Celestial Orb.

The Cave of Death

To soothe a frantic Scooby and Shaggy, Daphne hands them each a box of Scooby Snacks. The peace is short-lived, however, when a mischievous monkey swipes Scooby’s box (that Scooby has pretty much already devoured). The duo gives chase, only to tumble headfirst into a concealed pit. Uncle Cosmo enthusiastically congratulates them, revealing they’ve discovered the entrance to the Cave of Death. He drops a rope down for the rest of the group, but a terrified Scooby and Shaggy scramble back up it before anyone else can descend. Unfazed, Scrappy grabs them both and marches them right back down toward the cave.

As the expedition navigates the cavern—its walls lined with eerie skull-and-crossbones carvings—they reach a fork in the path. Unsure of which route leads to the orb, Uncle Cosmo suggests dividing their forces. Fred assigns Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy to investigate one of the tunnels, though Shaggy nervously insists he’d rather make a run for pizza.

The gang split up, with Fred, Daphne, Velma and Uncle Cosmo going one way, and Scrappy, Shaggy and Scooby going another. While wandering through a cave tunnel, Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy are quickly trapped due to a cave in. The rest of the gang hears the collapse and hurries over to dig them out. In the meantime, Scrappy presses forward and discovers a hidden doorway leading into a massive, temple-like cavern. Scooby and Shaggy follow, hoping it’s an exit. Instead, they find a gigantic, astronaut-like figure seated on a throne, grasping the coveted Celestial Orb.

Because Scrappy is too short to reach the prize, Scooby gathers his courage to grab it, completely ignoring Shaggy’s warnings about booby traps. Sure enough, snatching the Orb activates a series of deadly mechanisms: a catapult fires, a heavy stone block falls, a boulder is tossed by a catapult, and the walls begin closing in. The trio sprints back toward the tunnel, sliding out just before a heavy jail like door drops—though the very tip of Scooby’s tail gets temporarily pinned underneath it.

Zombie Ambush!

Scooby manages to pull his tail free just as the rest of the gang finally breaks through the cave-in rubble. Uncle Cosmo confirms they successfully retrieved the Orb and the map it contains. The reunited group climbs a ladder to exit the pit, only to be ambushed by Harriet Mullins, (a renegade archeologist who used to work for the professor, until he caught her stealing priceless relics), and her horde of mind-controlled zombies. Harriet demands the Orb, and a terrified Shaggy immediately hands it over. However, Uncle Cosmo points out that he is the only person capable of actually reading the map. Realizing she needs him, Harriet forces Cosmo to accompany her onto a riverboat, leaving her zombies to take the rest of the gang (minus Cosmo) hostage and lock them inside a room swarming with dozens of cobras.

Part 2

As the deadly snakes slither closer, Scooby pulls out a trumpet and begins to playa a traditional snake charmer’s tune that quickly transitions into a lively rendition of “Little Brown Jug.” Suddenly, Scrappy joins in on the fiddle in full Western gear, while Fred, Velma, and Daphne appear decked out in hoedown attire.

Following Scrappy’s square-dance calls, the charmed snakes pair up, dance, and eventually conga right back into their hole. Seizing the opportunity, the gang disguises themselves as zombies using some mud (while the Psycho theme plays) and sneaks out.

River Escape

The real zombies discover the ruse and chase them to the river. The gang piles into two canoes and paddles frantically as the zombies hurl rocks from the shore. Once safely out of rock-throwing range, a new threat emerges: a swarm of piranhas attacks the canoe carrying Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy. The fish begin rapidly devouring the stern. Scrappy tries fighting them off with a coxswain’s megaphone until a piranha snatches it away. With the canoe eaten all the way down to the bow, Scooby dangles his tail into the water, spinning it like an outboard propeller to speed them to safety.

Meanwhile, at Harriet Mullins’s castle hideout, a captive Uncle Cosmo adamantly refuses to reveal the location of the Temple of Sirius. His defiance falters when Harriet’s mysterious associate (the man in the white suit and his henchmen) arrives and threatens Velma’s life, promising she will be spared only if Cosmo cooperates. Believing the lie, Cosmo caves and reveals the temple is located at the base of Pichu Mountain, right where two jungle streams meet. The villains lock Cosmo in his room and depart, with Harriet smugly declaring that Velma has already perished in the snake pit anyway.

The villains speed off in the associate’s jeep, planning to reach the temple by sunset. Shortly after, the gang arrives at the castle, only to find two zombie guards blocking the way. Scrappy cheekily steals their keys and baits them into a chase, leading them directly into a net trap set by Fred. With the guards incapacitated, the gang frees Uncle Cosmo and commandeers Harriet’s truck to race toward the temple.

The Temple of Sirius

At the temple, the villains’ henchmen, Punjab and Abdul, are terrified by what appear to be the ghosts of ancient astronauts, though Harriet quickly points out they are just empty space suits. The gang arrives moments later and spot the same suits. Uncle Cosmo warns them that the villains are already inside. Before heading in, Scooby pauses to enjoy a fresh box of Scooby Snacks, only for the same pesky monkey from earlier to swipe it! Scooby chases the primate but crashes blindly into one of the space suits, causing it to fall on top of him before the gang can help him up.

Deep inside the temple, the villains uncover the treasure: a massive, egg-shaped artifact encrusted with hundreds of diamonds and precious stones. Suddenly, two lumbering space suits approach. Terrified, Punjab, Abdul, and the rest of the villains flee in a panic. The “aliens” then remove their helmets, revealing themselves to be Scooby and Shaggy in disguise.

As Uncle Cosmo theorizes that the jeweled artifact might contain a profound message for all mankind, Daphne quips that, given its egg-like shape, and Velma responds that she’d hate to meet the chicken that laid it. Scrappy then spots a device Shaggy describes as a million-year-old computer. Scooby clumsily drops it, inadvertently turning it on. A massive door in the roof slides open, and the jeweled egg illuminates. Two glowing extraterrestrials—the true Ancient Astronauts—materialize and thank Scooby for accidentally repairing their ship, a task they hadn’t been able to figure out for 6,000 years.

The glowing aliens board their ship (the giant egg) and leave behind a parting gift for the gang in gratitude: Harriet and her associates, all neatly tied up. As the spaceship blasts off into the sky, Uncle Cosmo watches in dismay, lamenting the loss of “the most important archaeological discovery in all history.”

My Thoughts

Wow! This one is epic! We have the return of real aliens, lots of costume changes, an adventure in South America, and we get to meet Velma’s uncle. There’s also Zombies, Cobras, Piranha, and booby traps galore.

This episode is very memorable and a lot of fun. I have no complaints other than with it having Fred and Velma, I wish it felt more like a classic Scooby-Doo episode. Overall though, this one is very good. It makes me wish we had Velma and Fred show up more often.