Night of the Living Doo

I was lucky to see this special, as it aired on Cartoon Network in a time when the great dane was the major focus (a focus that lead to the franchise being revived with direct-to-video movies like Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island). Sadly, this special has been lost to time, as it has never been released on home video, or reaired (only put on Adult Swim's website for some time).

Based on The New Scooby-Doo Movies (the show where Mystery Inc. teamed up with celebrities and fictional characters from the time it was airing), the special sees the gang in a new mystery, as on their way to a Halloween film festival, they pick up Gary Coleman, and end up at a creepy castle, which actually is a hotel run by David Cross. However, things get scary when a zombie is on the loose, and Gary disappears.

A neat special, it's a Scooby-Doo special that pokes fun at itself. At times, the special will poke fun at certain gags and plot holes (like Fred and David arguing about who goes with who when splitting up). Also, it manages to keep most of the characters animated in a retro style, and it even has a chase scene with music performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (which could be the reason why it was never released on home video). This is a neat Scooby-Doo special that is not afraid to make fun of its formula, and the ending will surprise you.