- This article is about the episode. For the character, see Hodag of Horror.
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The Hodag of Horror is the fifth episode of the second season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and the thirty-first overall.
Premise[]
A wild creature called the Hodag of Horror steals precious jewellery from the people of Crystal Cove. At the same time, Fred's real parents have suddenly appeared, along with a dog whom Scooby has taken a fancy to.
Synopsis[]
Shaggy and Scooby are sharing an ice cream cone when The Travelling Cabinet of Curiosities arrives in town and sets up in the main street. The owner, Gene Shepherd, invites the curious townspeople to enter and be amazed. They go in to view the exhibits, including one straight from the primitive wilds of Wisconsin, that exotic land of kaftans and cheese: The Hodag of Horror. Shaggy dismisses it as a fake and they leave. That night, Daisy Blake is attacked in her room.
Fred's real parents, Brad and Judy, invite him to ask them any questions he might have. When Fred asks why they stayed away, they tell him Mayor Jones threatened to do him harm, bodily harm, if they came back. Velma and Shaggy remark on Fred's trap making skills and his parents reveal that they are Sturnum and Sturnum, the husband and wife team of mystery solvers who invented the Flotenhauer 8000.
Brad and Judy's dog, Nova, appears and jumps on Brad's lap. Scooby is smitten and fantasizes about walking through a meadow with her. Daphne gets a call from Daisy, who tells her about the attack.
The creature didn't harm Daisy, it just stole an expensive ruby necklace, given to her by her wealthy neurosurgeon fiancee, and a cheap bell necklace Daphne gave her for her birthday. Velma asks Daisy for a description of the creature. Scooby asks Fred for advice on love and Fred laughs at the idea of asking him. He asks Velma and she's dismissive of the idea.
At Something Cheesy this way Comes, Daphne is finalising the details for her mother's party with Mr. Fussbuster. His assistant chops cheese with a knife held in his foot. Velma sketches the creature that attacked Daisy on her tablet and Scooby recognises it as the Hodag from the curio wagon.
The gang visit the exhibit and are told by Shephard that he only opens the high security box beneath the Hodag once a year, because the contents needs to breathe. When he leaves, the lights go out, a bell rings and the Hodag comes to life. It attempts to grab the key to the box, but Fred dazzles it with a flashbulb and it leaves.
Sheriff Stone arrives and says as no law has been broken he can do nothing. Shepherd goes back into the curio wagon and opens the box to ensure the contents are still safe.
At the Blake mansion the party to welcome Brad and Judy home is in full swing when Ned Fussbuster realises one of the cheese plates is empty. He tells Roberto to refill it. Daphne gives Fred's real mom the locket she found. Scooby and Nova eat cheese together. Shaggy is bummed because his best chowing buddy is more interested in some female. Velma remarks that this is payback. Hot Dog Water arrives and waves at Velma, who waves back.
Outside Sheriff Stone is looking longingly at the cheese through the window when he hears a bell and sees something in the bushes. The Hodag jumps through a window into the mansion and attacks the guests. When Nova tries to run away, the bell on her collar rings and attracts the creature, which seizes her and leaves. The guests discover they have been robbed of their jewellery.
The gang drive to the curio wagon and discover the loot. Gene Shepherd is there; he is arrested. Mayor Nettles rewards Mystery Incorporated with their own office in City Hall basement, aka the Junk Room. Scooby wonders why they didn't find Nova, Daphne thinks there is something wrong and Velma suspects it has something to do with the bells. She looks into the history of using bells to train animals.
Sheriff Stone and the gang leave the key to the box where the Hodag can steal it. The creature returns to the curio wagon, unlocks the box, extracts the contents and leaves. Fred diverts the creature with a bell and traps it in a cage. The mysterious object is revealed to be a wheel of cheese and the Hodag is revealed as Roberto, who is really a monkey. Ned Fussbuster appears atop Something Cheesy this way Comes holding Nova. He tells how, as a sailor working the trade boats in Indonesia, he learned to train a monkey to steal using bells, though the monkey would steal bells, too, which began to drive him crazy. They were trying to steal a 500-year-old cheese made in Crystal Cove by a master Spanish cheese maker and retire to the Netherlands. He ends his confession by saying that the Hodag costume was the only way to get it due to Shephard's security.
Scooby throws the cheese at Fussbuster, who drops Nova and Scooby catches her. Fussbuster is arrested with his monkey. Shepherd tells the gang they can keep the cheese because it is cracked and worthless. He leaves, but not before mysteriously telling them that the cheese told him to come to Crystal Cove. A glow from the crack in the cheese reveals that another piece of the Planispheric Disk is inside.
Cassidy Williams, Brad Chiles, Judy Reeves and Mr.E meet up in the wilderness. They all deny they arranged it, but Professor Pericles appears and says he has a proposition for them.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Gene Shepherd (only appearance)
- Daisy Blake (first full appearance)
- Brad Chiles
- Judy Reeves
- Sheriff Bronson Stone
Villains:
- Hodag of Horror (only appearance)(no lines)(Roberto's disguise)
- Roberto (only appearance)(no lines)(main story and flashback)
- Ned Fussbuster (only appearance)(main story and flashback)
- Mr. E
- Professor Pericles
Other characters:
- Mr. Baywosenthal (no lines)
- Mrs. Baywosenthal (no lines)
- Tween girl's mom (no lines)
- Elderly checkers player
- Nova (first appearance)(no lines)
- Crystal Cove Community Center auctioneer (no lines)
- George Avocados (cameo)
- Randy's mom
- Violin player (only appearance)(no lines)
- Winslow Fleach (no lines)(cameo)
- Marcie Fleach (no lines)(cameo)
- Barty Blake (no lines)
- Nan Blake (no lines)
- Trini Lee
- Disembodied creepy voice (only time heard)
- Mayor Janet Nettles (mentioned)
- Black cat (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)
- Cow (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)
- Hunchbacked man (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)
- Santa Claus (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)(cameo)
- Master Spanish cheesemaker (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)
- Master Spanish cheesemaker's assistant (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)
- Cassidy Williams
Locations[]
- Crystal Cove (main story and flashback)
- Ice cream parlor
- Traveling Cabinet of Curiosities
- Jones mansion
- Daisy Blake's home
- Something Cheesy this way Comes
- Blake Mansion
- Crystal Cove Police Department
- Crystal Cove City Hall
- Mystery Incorporated's basement office
- Indonesia (flashback only)
- Netherlands (fantasy)
Objects[]
- Gene Shepherd's cane
- Stuffed Hodag
- Daphne's cellphone
- Velma's backpack
- Ned Fussbuster's bell
- Flash-bulb camera
- Broom
- Velma's laptop
- Judy Reeves's locket
- Puzzle box
- 500-year-old cheese
- Handcuffs
- Piece of the Planispheric Disk
Vehicles[]
- Fire truck
- The Mystery Machine
- Sheriff Stone's police car
Suspects[]
Suspect | Motive/reason |
---|---|
Gene Shepherd | The Hodag was one of his curiosities. The stolen jewelry was found in his cabinet. |
Cuplrits[]
Culprit | Motive/reason |
---|---|
Roberto as the Hodag of Horror Ned Fussbuster |
To steal the 500 year old cheese. |
Cast[]
Continuity[]
- Shaggy's hair finally returns to its regular length and style in this episode, after having been cut between All Fear the Freak and The Night the Clown Cried, for his attendance at Barnstow Military Academy.
- This is the first episode in which Mystery Inc. uses their new office, an old junk room located in the basement of the town hall.
- The original Mystery Incorporated reunite for the first time since being broken up by Crystal Cove's disgraced former mayor, Fred Jones, Sr.
Notes/trivia[]
- Jennifer Hale, who voices Daisy, also voiced Delilah in The Legend of Alice May.
- Fred, Daphne, and Velma are given the codenames: "Scarf Boy", "Smoking Hottie", and "Smart Chick", respectively.
- This is Professor Pericles first appearance since All Fear the Freak.
Miscellaneous[]
- Traps: Cage with cheese as bait.
- "Zoinks" count: 0.
- "Ruh-roh" count: 0.
- "Jeepers" count: 0.
- "Jinkies" count: 0.
- "Hold the phone" count: 1.
Cultural references[]
- The Hodag is a monster of Wisconsin legend, first discovered by Eugene Simeon Shepard over a hundred years ago;[1] Gene Shepherd is a parody of Eugene Simeon Shepard.
- A girl among the crowd, who Gene Shepherd talks to when he first arrives in town, resembles the teenage Sari Sumdac from the TV series Transformers Animated, which lead character designer Derrick J. Wyatt, also worked on.
- The strange puzzle box and disembodied voice that accompany it in Sheriff Stone's office are a tribute to the Lemant configuration and Pinhead from the Hellraiser series.
- Nova is named after the mute human in the original Planet of the Apes film in 1968 (and its sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes).
- The spaghetti scene in the Disney film Lady and the Tramp is parodied with cheese string between Scooby and Nova.
- Jason Voorhees' hockey mask can be seen in the Cabinet of Curiosities.
- The name of the cheese shop "Something Cheesy This Way Comes" is a play on the Shakespeare quote "Something Wicked This Way Comes" which also serves as the title of Ray Bradbury's novella about a nightmarish carnival visiting a small town.
- The Cabinet of Curiosities references the 1920 silent German expressionist cult horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches[]
- When Velma asks Mr. Shepherd why he came to Crystal Cove, the tint in her glasses are skin-colored instead of light blue.
- After Sheriff Stone gazes through the window at Daphne's party and the bell rings, the Hodag appears out of thin air in the background behind him, while he is looking around.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs[]
- Everyone calls Roberto a monkey when he's clearly a chimpanzee.
- It is implied that the Traveling Cabinet of Curiosities enters Crystal Cove by driving under the "Most Hauntedest Place on Earth" sign, but the shot of the truck's approach to city shows that it is far too tall to fit under it.
In other languages[]
Language | Name | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Italian | Il Mostro Delle Campane | The Monster of the Bells |
Spanish (Latin America) | El Hodag del Terror | The Hodag of Terror |
Greek | Ο Χόνταγκ του Τρόμου | The Hodag of Horror |
Home media[]
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Season Two, Part 1 - Danger in the Deep DVD set released by Warner Home Video on November 13, 2012.
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Season Two, Volume 1 DVD released by Warner Home Video on September 18, 2013.
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The Complete Season 2 DVD set released by Warner Home Video on October 7, 2014.
- Scooby-Doo! Mystères associés: L'intégrale de la saison 2 (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The entirety of season 2) DVD set released by Warner Home Video on September 10, 2013.
- A Scooby-Doo! Valentine Bouquet Digital DVD released by Warner Home Video on January 12, 2021.
Quotes[]
Shaggy: This place is a rip-off. |
Gene Shepherd: I only open that box once a year. |
Scooby: Velma, what would you do if you thought, well er, you might be in love? |
Ned Fussbuster: And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those bells. |
References[]
External links[]
- TBA
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Web of the Dreamweaver! | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Season 2 |
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