Am a big fan of Scooby Doo and have always liked but not loved 'The New Scooby Doo Mysteries'. Some episodes are better than others, and it is very common for when two episodes are doubled that there is a difference in quality, in some cases a big difference. Have always loved the premise for "Scooby's Peephole Pandemonium", which is not at all out of place in Scooby Doo. "Hand of Horror's" was less appealing but wasn't completely devoid of potential.
Like most of the episode couplings, there is a difference in quality between the two. Not a massive one, but it is a difference. Despite seeing "Hand of Horror" long before "Scooby's Peephole Pandemonium" when a child, the latter has always been the superior episode (the former is pretty good, the latter is great). More consistent and more of a Scooby Doo feel while also with a nice spookiness, whereas it is the humour that saves "Hand of Horror".
"Scooby's Peephole Pandemonium" (9/10)- My only issue, and it is a minor one rather than major, is that Scrappy doesn't add very much and his contribution to the episode is not as memorable as the rest of the gang. It is nicely animated though, while the intro is still fun. The music fits well, did like the haunting "Toccata and Fugue"-esque organ music briefly heard at one point. The voice acting for Nora is perfect.
Particularly good are the creepy atmosphere thanks to the cool horror monsters, the character of Nora who is wonderfully mysterious and that despite being undercover that there manages to be a mystery. One that is on the thin side but is also very atmospheric and very compelling, with two neatly done twists (one reasonably suspectable early on but not obvious and the other a complete surprise, at least from personal opinion). There are still funny moments too, the highlight being the game show spoof which is classic Shaggy and Scooby goofiness.
"Hand of Horror" (7/10)- Nicely animated and scored once again and the regulars are all well voiced, Don Messick and Casey Kasem were never better or equalled as Scooby and Shaggy. There is a creepy atmosphere, but it's the humour that saves it. Scrappy has the best line in the climax, where he sums up perfectly what is on everybody's lips, but it is the Pizza Louie running gag that fares most memorably. Can be iffy about running gags, because they can get tired and repetitive, but this running gag was hilarious each time and had enough variety to avoid fatigue.
The story is not much of one though and is very obvious at the end, the gang should have realised straightaway that something was up for one character to have such a drastic character change just like that. The supporting voice acting is not too great, Pizza Louie is fine but Ratfield's is too hammy for my tastes.
Concluding, one great episode and one pretty good one. 8/10.
Like most of the episode couplings, there is a difference in quality between the two. Not a massive one, but it is a difference. Despite seeing "Hand of Horror" long before "Scooby's Peephole Pandemonium" when a child, the latter has always been the superior episode (the former is pretty good, the latter is great). More consistent and more of a Scooby Doo feel while also with a nice spookiness, whereas it is the humour that saves "Hand of Horror".
"Scooby's Peephole Pandemonium" (9/10)- My only issue, and it is a minor one rather than major, is that Scrappy doesn't add very much and his contribution to the episode is not as memorable as the rest of the gang. It is nicely animated though, while the intro is still fun. The music fits well, did like the haunting "Toccata and Fugue"-esque organ music briefly heard at one point. The voice acting for Nora is perfect.
Particularly good are the creepy atmosphere thanks to the cool horror monsters, the character of Nora who is wonderfully mysterious and that despite being undercover that there manages to be a mystery. One that is on the thin side but is also very atmospheric and very compelling, with two neatly done twists (one reasonably suspectable early on but not obvious and the other a complete surprise, at least from personal opinion). There are still funny moments too, the highlight being the game show spoof which is classic Shaggy and Scooby goofiness.
"Hand of Horror" (7/10)- Nicely animated and scored once again and the regulars are all well voiced, Don Messick and Casey Kasem were never better or equalled as Scooby and Shaggy. There is a creepy atmosphere, but it's the humour that saves it. Scrappy has the best line in the climax, where he sums up perfectly what is on everybody's lips, but it is the Pizza Louie running gag that fares most memorably. Can be iffy about running gags, because they can get tired and repetitive, but this running gag was hilarious each time and had enough variety to avoid fatigue.
The story is not much of one though and is very obvious at the end, the gang should have realised straightaway that something was up for one character to have such a drastic character change just like that. The supporting voice acting is not too great, Pizza Louie is fine but Ratfield's is too hammy for my tastes.
Concluding, one great episode and one pretty good one. 8/10.
