The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld (1979):
“The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld” was the first episode of Scooby Doo that directly included Sherlock Holmes, and was aired in 1979 as part of the Scooby Doo & Scrappy Doo series (Hanna). Wonderworld, the setting for the entire episode, is a fantasy resort comprised of “worlds” which are small replicas of various eras in time (such as “outlaw world” and “Jurassic world”). These eras are outfitted with countless lifelike robots that fill the roles of the people or animals that live in these eras. These robots have safety measures installed that shut the robot down if it comes within an inch or so from a patron, preventing any sort of mishap. The Mystery Gang comes to Wonderworld on a vacation, hoping to fulfill Velma’s fantasy of solving a mystery alongside Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Marino, the owner and primary operator of Wonderworld, greets the gang before pushing some colorful buttons on a mysterious control panel and sends the gang on their way to “Londonworld”. Upon arriving, the gang meets Sherlock Holmes, who informs them that they will be relieving the duties of his typical partner, Watson, who is away on a holiday. Thus far in the episode, this depiction of Holmes is jovial, inviting, and absolutely nothing like Conan-Doyle’s crass protagonist. This amiable Holmes takes the Mystery Gang back to his apartment at 221B Baker Street to discuss the case which they will be investigating: the recent theft of the crown jewels. He suspects the “Night Ghoul of London”, a criminal mastermind who has supposedly been wreaking havoc in the alternate reality of Londonworld. Upon visiting the castle where the crown jewels were hidden, the gang splits up to survey the premises. In typical Scooby Doo fashion, Shaggy and Scooby happen upon the villain, and a chase ensues. Shaggy and Scooby trick the robot into falling into the moat of the castle, causing it to malfunction and become violent. Just as Velma deduces that the jewels are hidden under their display case in plain sight based on the height of the display case in an earlier photograph versus its current height, the Night Ghoul whisks them away and absconds. Although Velma is supposed to be filling Watson’s role in this episode, she pieces together all of the clues while Holmes merely acknowledges her impressive observations. After the incident with the malfunctioning Night Ghoul, Mr. Marino comes to make some “adjustments” to the Sherlock Holmes robot. Unbeknownst to the Mystery Gang, however, Marino has short circuited the Holmes robot, causing it to malfunction. However, the gang is able to solve the case without the help of Holmes; Mr. Marino, it turns out, has stolen the actual crown jewels and hidden them in plain sight in his imitation London.
“The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld” was the first episode of Scooby Doo that directly included Sherlock Holmes, and was aired in 1979 as part of the Scooby Doo & Scrappy Doo series (Hanna). Wonderworld, the setting for the entire episode, is a fantasy resort comprised of “worlds” which are small replicas of various eras in time (such as “outlaw world” and “Jurassic world”). These eras are outfitted with countless lifelike robots that fill the roles of the people or animals that live in these eras. These robots have safety measures installed that shut the robot down if it comes within an inch or so from a patron, preventing any sort of mishap. The Mystery Gang comes to Wonderworld on a vacation, hoping to fulfill Velma’s fantasy of solving a mystery alongside Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Marino, the owner and primary operator of Wonderworld, greets the gang before pushing some colorful buttons on a mysterious control panel and sends the gang on their way to “Londonworld”. Upon arriving, the gang meets Sherlock Holmes, who informs them that they will be relieving the duties of his typical partner, Watson, who is away on a holiday. Thus far in the episode, this depiction of Holmes is jovial, inviting, and absolutely nothing like Conan-Doyle’s crass protagonist. This amiable Holmes takes the Mystery Gang back to his apartment at 221B Baker Street to discuss the case which they will be investigating: the recent theft of the crown jewels. He suspects the “Night Ghoul of London”, a criminal mastermind who has supposedly been wreaking havoc in the alternate reality of Londonworld. Upon visiting the castle where the crown jewels were hidden, the gang splits up to survey the premises. In typical Scooby Doo fashion, Shaggy and Scooby happen upon the villain, and a chase ensues. Shaggy and Scooby trick the robot into falling into the moat of the castle, causing it to malfunction and become violent. Just as Velma deduces that the jewels are hidden under their display case in plain sight based on the height of the display case in an earlier photograph versus its current height, the Night Ghoul whisks them away and absconds. Although Velma is supposed to be filling Watson’s role in this episode, she pieces together all of the clues while Holmes merely acknowledges her impressive observations. After the incident with the malfunctioning Night Ghoul, Mr. Marino comes to make some “adjustments” to the Sherlock Holmes robot. Unbeknownst to the Mystery Gang, however, Marino has short circuited the Holmes robot, causing it to malfunction. However, the gang is able to solve the case without the help of Holmes; Mr. Marino, it turns out, has stolen the actual crown jewels and hidden them in plain sight in his imitation London.
Sherlock Doo (1984):
The second episode directly referencing Sherlock Holmes was entitled “Sherlock Doo” (Friedlob) was aired in 1984 on The New Scooby Doo Mysteries show, and is among the most celebrated episodes throughout the Scooby Doo franchise (Gossett). The premise of the episode is a “Mystery Solver’s Contest” set in London and hosted by “Mystery Solver’s Magazine”, which is attended by the Mystery Gang. The entrants in the contest are assigned Sherlock Holmes’ supposed “last unsolved mystery”, the Mystery of the Blue Carbuncle. This mystery, of course, had already been addressed and solved in Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Conan Doyle 1) within the story The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. The mystery addressed in the show, however, has no parallels to the mystery that was solved in the corresponding short story, other than the blue gem in question; while the original carbuncle was discovered in the crop of a goose, the carbuncle in the episode has merely gone missing from its exhibit in a museum. The ghost of Sherlock Holmes reveals himself to the gang once they’ve separated from the other competitors, and at first seems to be attempting to help the Scooby Doo Detective Agency solve his unresolved mystery. However, when the ghost steals security system blueprints from the museum, Freddy and Daphne are prime suspects. At this point, the ghost begins to openly antagonize the Gang, who has turned their efforts towards thwarting the ghost that has tarnished their reputation. After the iconic chase scene, the ghost is lured into a trap by Freddy, and is unmasked. The real perpetrator, aptly named “Mr. Stapleton” after the antagonist of The Hound of the Baskervilles (Conan Doyle 2), had intially planned to scare away the competitors of the mystery competition because he was guilty of the original crime, and had managed to evade discovery after the death of the great detective. When the competitors arrived, however, he realized that he could frame one of them for his original crime.
The second episode directly referencing Sherlock Holmes was entitled “Sherlock Doo” (Friedlob) was aired in 1984 on The New Scooby Doo Mysteries show, and is among the most celebrated episodes throughout the Scooby Doo franchise (Gossett). The premise of the episode is a “Mystery Solver’s Contest” set in London and hosted by “Mystery Solver’s Magazine”, which is attended by the Mystery Gang. The entrants in the contest are assigned Sherlock Holmes’ supposed “last unsolved mystery”, the Mystery of the Blue Carbuncle. This mystery, of course, had already been addressed and solved in Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Conan Doyle 1) within the story The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. The mystery addressed in the show, however, has no parallels to the mystery that was solved in the corresponding short story, other than the blue gem in question; while the original carbuncle was discovered in the crop of a goose, the carbuncle in the episode has merely gone missing from its exhibit in a museum. The ghost of Sherlock Holmes reveals himself to the gang once they’ve separated from the other competitors, and at first seems to be attempting to help the Scooby Doo Detective Agency solve his unresolved mystery. However, when the ghost steals security system blueprints from the museum, Freddy and Daphne are prime suspects. At this point, the ghost begins to openly antagonize the Gang, who has turned their efforts towards thwarting the ghost that has tarnished their reputation. After the iconic chase scene, the ghost is lured into a trap by Freddy, and is unmasked. The real perpetrator, aptly named “Mr. Stapleton” after the antagonist of The Hound of the Baskervilles (Conan Doyle 2), had intially planned to scare away the competitors of the mystery competition because he was guilty of the original crime, and had managed to evade discovery after the death of the great detective. When the competitors arrived, however, he realized that he could frame one of them for his original crime.
The Hound of the Basket Cases (2000):
Through the Scooby Doo! comic series produced by DC comics (which began in 1997 and went out of print in 2010), another direct parody of the Sherlock Holmes series is established (Abnett). In 2000, edition 34 of the publication was entitled The Hound of the Basket Cases, and portrayed a story parallel to that of Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. In this depiction, the Mystery Gang replaces the Holmes and Watson duo entirely. Most of the other characters from the novel, however, are retained in the comic, although they are combined into conglomerate characters for the sake of brevity. Henry Baskerville, dubbed “Neville Darkmoor” (Dan Abnett, the writer of this particular storyline, is known for his lack of creativity with names) suffers from the same ailment as his twentieth century counterpart; his Uncle has suffered an untimely demise, and had confessed to being plagued by visions of the spectral hound that had been prophesized in their family lore shortly before his undoing. Frightened to live on the moor after the events that supported the validity of the curse had transpired, Neville calls in the Mystery Gang to investigate and hopefully eliminate the phantom hound. While Neville is an accurate representation of the character that he is based on, Stapleton’s complement is startlingly different; in this appropriation, he is named “Edward Darkmoor” and, as the surname suggests, does not attempt to hide his relationship with Neville. Instead, the brother merely encourages Neville to sell the estate and castle to an amusement park developer who is interested in building an attraction on their property (although a moor does not seem to be a particularly desirable location for an amusement park). Frankland’s character, aptly named “Mr. Peeves”, plays a more important role in this version of the novel, serving as a main suspect in the case; he expresses discontent publicly for not being included in the will of the deceased Uncle of the Darkmoors, which arouses suspicion from the gang. The Peeves character also serves as the “man on the moor” figure that is in fact Holmes in the novel; being just as nosy and invasive as the lawyer in the novel, Peeves watches the investigation through his telescope from the moor, incurring the inevitable disbandment of the group that occurs in every depiction of Scooby Doo. While Velma, Freddy, and Daphne are indisposed with Peeves, Shaggy and Scooby encounter hound, inciting the typical climactic chase scene. The dog overcomes them and, in a lighthearted twist from Conan Doyle’s original plot, only wants to play. His entire body is painted with the phosphorus paint that was only applied to his jowls in the novel, giving him a spectral appearance. Through a series of inductions that she made from clues riddled throughout the comic, including phosphorescent paint that rubbed off onto a sleeve and the information that Peeves had gleaned by watching the moor and the Darkmoor residence through his telescope, Velma deduces that Edward Darkmoor is the culprit. Motivated by his interest in selling the family estate to an amusement park director, Edward killed his Uncle and attempted to scare his brother into abandoning the property.
Through the Scooby Doo! comic series produced by DC comics (which began in 1997 and went out of print in 2010), another direct parody of the Sherlock Holmes series is established (Abnett). In 2000, edition 34 of the publication was entitled The Hound of the Basket Cases, and portrayed a story parallel to that of Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. In this depiction, the Mystery Gang replaces the Holmes and Watson duo entirely. Most of the other characters from the novel, however, are retained in the comic, although they are combined into conglomerate characters for the sake of brevity. Henry Baskerville, dubbed “Neville Darkmoor” (Dan Abnett, the writer of this particular storyline, is known for his lack of creativity with names) suffers from the same ailment as his twentieth century counterpart; his Uncle has suffered an untimely demise, and had confessed to being plagued by visions of the spectral hound that had been prophesized in their family lore shortly before his undoing. Frightened to live on the moor after the events that supported the validity of the curse had transpired, Neville calls in the Mystery Gang to investigate and hopefully eliminate the phantom hound. While Neville is an accurate representation of the character that he is based on, Stapleton’s complement is startlingly different; in this appropriation, he is named “Edward Darkmoor” and, as the surname suggests, does not attempt to hide his relationship with Neville. Instead, the brother merely encourages Neville to sell the estate and castle to an amusement park developer who is interested in building an attraction on their property (although a moor does not seem to be a particularly desirable location for an amusement park). Frankland’s character, aptly named “Mr. Peeves”, plays a more important role in this version of the novel, serving as a main suspect in the case; he expresses discontent publicly for not being included in the will of the deceased Uncle of the Darkmoors, which arouses suspicion from the gang. The Peeves character also serves as the “man on the moor” figure that is in fact Holmes in the novel; being just as nosy and invasive as the lawyer in the novel, Peeves watches the investigation through his telescope from the moor, incurring the inevitable disbandment of the group that occurs in every depiction of Scooby Doo. While Velma, Freddy, and Daphne are indisposed with Peeves, Shaggy and Scooby encounter hound, inciting the typical climactic chase scene. The dog overcomes them and, in a lighthearted twist from Conan Doyle’s original plot, only wants to play. His entire body is painted with the phosphorus paint that was only applied to his jowls in the novel, giving him a spectral appearance. Through a series of inductions that she made from clues riddled throughout the comic, including phosphorescent paint that rubbed off onto a sleeve and the information that Peeves had gleaned by watching the moor and the Darkmoor residence through his telescope, Velma deduces that Edward Darkmoor is the culprit. Motivated by his interest in selling the family estate to an amusement park director, Edward killed his Uncle and attempted to scare his brother into abandoning the property.