Happy Birthday, Scooby-Doo is the first episode of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries and it originally aired on September 8th, 1984. With a story by Tom Ruegger, this episode features a celebration of Scooby-Doo’s life so far.

Happy Birthday, Scooby-Doo – Episode Review

The episode begins with the gang driving in the Mystery Machine, which just so happens to have three mobile phones in it. Someone on other end screams and we learn the has been a robbery at TV Station. We also learn it’s Scooby’s birthday, which falls on Saturday the 7th. The rest of the gang pretend like they forget it’s Scooby’s birthday and Shaggy teases that today is the day they’ll be taking Scooby for his Rabies Shot.

At the TV Station ZPOP, the gang are treated to a lightening storm as they enter the recently robbed station where we learn the Station’s equipment was stolen by a howling ghoul.

The ghoul shows up and we are treated to some Bernard Herrmann Psycho screeches.

Scooby is pushed on to a dark stage and when the lights are turned on he is treated to a surprise party where the gang and a few other attendees sing a royalty free version of Happy Birthday to Scooby.

We meet an announcer named Mark Winkendale, and he presents Scooby with a book called “Here is your life Scooby Doo”. Scooby is crowned as a studio audience looks on, but soon faints from all of the attention causing the director, Miloš Bender to cut to commercial.

The show continues and we are treated to Scooby’s childhood and we get a clip of Scooby and Shaggy as babies. We also meet their terrorizing Babysitter who is modelled after the Bride of Frankenstein as well as a Sea Monster emerging from a birdbath.

Unfortunately the Ghoul is sabotaging the Television Studio causing Scrappy to run off after the villain.

Velma Dinkley (an apprentice research scientist with NASA) and Freddy Jones (as an aspiring mystery writer)  also make an appearance, making it the first time we’ve learned their last name, except Mark Winkendale introduces Freddy as “Freddy Rogers”

Fred brings up Scooby’s greatest case called the Red Skull Curse Case where Mrs Vandereel’s Last Hope diamond necklace is stollen by the Red Skull. We see a flashback to this case where Fred and Scooby run into the Red Skull in a graveyard who turned out to be Mrs. Vandereel’s Butler named Stuyvesant who vows to get even with the gang.

Mrs. Vandereel then shows up and gives Scooby a big hug before part one of this episode ends with a cliffhanger with the Red Skull emerging from the television.

Part two of this episode picks up with the Pterodactyl noise making Red Skull stealing Mrs. Vandereel’s diamond necklace. Scrappy tries to stop the Red Skull and it nearly leads to Scooby dying, but some quick thinking by Scrappy saves Scooby’s life.

Miloš tries to pin the crime on Fred who explains he was in the bathroom. The gang split up with Scooby and Shaggy heading back stage and Daphne, Scrappy and Velma going in another direction. Daphne, Scrappy and Velma find Fred’s ascot and Velma comments that Fred is rather absent minded.

We have more run ins with the Red Skull and Scrappy finds some red screws in Freddy’s briefcase. Scrappy punches all the clues he found into his watch computer and the device spits out the name Freddie, causing Chief Bundy putting Freddy under arrest. Freddy runs off, evading the police chief.

Scooby and Shaggy hide on the roof as there is a lightening storm occurring and only any one stupid would look for them on the roof due to the danger of getting struck by lightening. But of course that plan does not work and the Red Skull once again tries to murder Scooby and Shaggy.

The police chief catches Freddy but then notices the Station sign says Relp as Scooby and Shaggy hang precariously from the station sign as Red Skull tries his best to have the pair fall to their death.

A lightening bolt causes the Red Skull to fall off the building and he holds to Shaggy to avoid falling to his death.

Daphne unmasks the Red Skull as Miloš Bender the TV Director. Together the gang figure out it was Stuyvesant the Butler (and we are treated to a double unmasking from Daphne)

The episode ends with Scooby finally being able to enjoy his birthday cake as the entire gang sings Happy Birthday.

My Thoughts

I give this one a 7 out of 10. It’s a lot of fun to see Velma and Fred. Also the twist throwing some suspicion on Freddy was fun. The animation quality in the version I watched was not very great, but I feel like the Red Skull made for a very cool villain and was a lot more menacing that the villains we’ve seen in many of the last couple of seasons.

While still silly at times, this one has lots of atmosphere which I also enjoyed.

In the end, this is a fantastic way to kick off the season, and we also get to learn Velma and Fred’s surnames in this one (even though Fred is mistakenly called Fred Rogers at first”)