A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind is part of the 1st episode of the Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and it originally aired on November 8, 1980.
The episode is a take on the Steven Spielberg film ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, thus you know this is going to involve aliens.
Spoiler alert, while I don’t hate Scrappy, I’m not a big fan of this era as it’s played for laughs. All of these episodes were paired up with an episode of Richie Rich, and as a kid I enjoyed the Richie Rich episodes way more as I felt betrayed by the silliness of how they made the Scooby Episodes.
The episode begins with a UFO flying over the gang’s campsite. And by gang, I just mean Scrappy, Shaggy and Scooby. Gone are the glorious days of Freddy, Velma and Daphne! As the gang sleep, the UFO lands and two little aliens emerge.
The aliens abduct Shaggy and carry him into the UFO. Scrappy and Scooby race into the UFO just before it launches off.
Noticing they have intruders, the little aliens, or as Scrappy calls them, Shaggy Nappers, chase Scrappy and Scooby around the UFO.
Shaggy wakes up and is stuck in his sleeping bag, so he has to hop around the UFO.
Scooby takes control of the UFO and takes it for a ride around the Milky Way until finally landing back at their campsite. Together, all three of the gang leave the UFO with the two little Aliens complaining that earthlings sure aren’t that friendly.
With another adventure over, our trio goes back to bed.
My Rating:
I give this episode a 2 out of 10. It’s not that this sucked, or was bad. I just don’t consider it Scooby-Doo. Nothing much happened in this episode, and the aliens were incredibly boring.
I remember watching this one as a kid when it originally aired, and not being all that impressed by it. I was like… Where’s Daphne, Velma and Freddy! This is junk-food for the mind and the commercials they were airing for sugary cereals and star wars toys were way better than this..
If I haven’t turned you off from my Scrappy-Doo reviews, join me next week when I will be covering A Fit Night Out for Bats. Until then, Stay Spooky.
Voice Cast:
Don Messick: Scrappy-Doo, Scooby-Doo
Casey Kasem: Shaggy Rogers
