Hound of the Scoobyvilles is the first part of the third episode of the New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show and it originally aired on September 17th, 1983. Written by Gene Ayres, this episode takes us all the way to Scotland where they are visiting Barkerville Hall – the place where Barkerville sweaters are made to deal with a sheep rustling case.
Some trivia, Scrappy wears a Sherlock hat and goes around with a magnifying glass. We also get a monster so terrifying in the episode, that Scrappy runs away from it!
Hound of the Scoobyvilles – Episode Review
The episode begins with the gang singing in the Mystery Machine as they drive through the Scottish highlands. They reach Barkerville Hall, which looks more like a castle to me. We see dozens of sheep outside, and this is why the gang are here, to investigate the missing sheep.
They are told to leave at once by Bentley, the caretaker, who says there is a curse on the place (called the Curse of the Barkervilles) for all who live there and all who enter. Daphne explains Lord Barkerville is excepting them and Bentley changes his tune, and lets them in.
We meet Lord Barkerville who wears a kilt and has a strong Scottish accent who explains the place was terrorized by the Hound of the Barkerville who was killing and eating all the sheep. In the distance we hear a howl and we understand the hound has returned.
The gang retreat to their rooms only for Scooby to be hypnotized while everyone sleeps. Scooby sleepwalks outside and Bentley declares that Scooby is the Hound of the Barkerville and is terrorizing the Moors.
The local shepherds take to their torches and protest at Barkerville Hall as they want Scooby held for justice.
Running through the castle to escape, Daphne finds an old will written by Great Grandfather Cedric Barkerville and declares they have to catch the real hound.
Daphne, Shaggy and Scrappy use a grave to set a real trap while Scooby is once again hypnotized. Shaggy runs into the real hound and Scrappy runs off to beat him up. The wolf is a little too much for Scrappy and even he runs away.
Meanwhile the Shepherds continue to take after Scooby, waking him up from his trance. Lord Barkerville catches Scooby, but off in the distance we see and hear the real hound. The hound falls in the trap set by Daphne and we discover that it is Bentley the caretaker.
The will reads that if the House of Barkerville should ever fall, the entire estate will go to Bentley the caretaker. All of the missing sheep were hidden in the shed the entire time, and everything is returned to normal.
My Score
I give this episode a 6.5 out of 10. I liked this episode a lot, and I felt the Hound looked pretty cool. I also liked the scene where we having Scrappy wear a housecoat, as he looked pretty cute in that with his tail sticking out of hole in the back.
This one had quite a bit of atmosphere, and I’d certainly raise the score if it had a bit more time to breath and didn’t feel so rushed. We could have spent more time exploring Barkerville Hall
