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The Secret of the Ghost Rig is the third episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

Premise[]

The gang have to connect the dots between a ghost truck haunting a highway and the town's recently missing crystal doorknobs. During the investigation, the gang also have to contend with helping Mayor Jones get reelected, and Daphne tries to keep her date with Rung Ladderton a secret from Fred, who couldn't be happier for her when he does find out.

Synopsis[]

In the night, a speeding teen driver is warned by a policeman not to drive over the speed limit. Suddenly, a large truck rushes by, prompting the policeman to get on his bike and follow the truck along the cliff road. He manages to drive right up to the cab and order the driver to pull over, only to realize that no one is driving the vehicle. Running off the road, the policeman barely managed to grab onto a tree branch and hang off the cliffside while his bike tumbled into the ocean waters below.

Meanwhile, Fred and the gang are assisting Mayor Jones in his bit to win re-election against George Avocados. Velma said that Daphne would've loved to help, but had a prior engagement; At Daphne's, her parents are keen for her to meet up with Rung Ladderton, who is a rich boy and heir to his father's ladder company. While printing out pamphlets for Fred's father, Scooby accidentally overloads the copying machine, resulting in the ink exploding over George Avocados. Mayor Jones explains that George's father, Theodore Avocados, used to be mayor until he stole a diamond from the bank, leading to a prison sentence. However, the diamond was never found, and George has continued to insist on his father's innocence.

While driving home, the gang in the Mystery Machine are met by the Ghost Truck that has suddenly appeared behind them and is trying to push them off the cliff. It succeeds, but the gang are lucky to find that they land on the lower road. The truck comes again and they are forced to enter a tunnel with the truck gaining on them. Fred manages to steer the wheel so that they reach the edge of the road and away from the truck.

Sheriff Bronson Stone arrives to take down details. He claims that the Ghost truck will be a good tourist attraction. Daphne receives a call from Rung Ladderton about having dinner at the Bloody Stake. To Daphne's astonishment and dismay, Fred seems all right with it.

Returning to Mayor Jones' office, the gang discover that door knobs are missing around the city. Velma points out that George Avocados could use this as a turning point for people to turn to him as a better leader. They head to the Clam Cabin and realize that the door knobs are gone there as well, and that Skipper Shelton is still inside.

Daphne awaits Rung in The Bloody Stake, who arrives very late and rudely says that Daphne should pay because he'd forgotten his wallet. Fred compliments him on his ascot and they swap. Daphne can't believe this. Then Scooby finds a note from Mr. E, containing a disk. It contains a valuable clue; "Crystal can't open doors like a diamond". Fred has now set up a trap in the town hall for the Ghost Truck and they go looking for it on the cliffs by following George Avocados, whom they suspect. Avocados' car disappears and they land straight in front of the Ghost Truck, but it hasn't been turned on. They decide to look closer, but it then turns on and they are forced to be chased again. This time, Fred turns behind a large rock and turns his headlights off. The Ghost Truck just goes straight by.

The gang now investigate the cliffs as this seems the perfect place for the Ghost Truck to hide. They find a secret cabin and piled high inside are the door knobs of Crystal Cove. They also found a journal belonging to Theodore Avocados, George's father who stole and hid the diamond. The Ghost Truck appears down the cave and the gang rush back to the Mystery Machine. This time they head into the city, with Fred's mind on the trap he'd set. After a bumpy ride on top of one of the house's roofs, they enter the town hall and Scooby starts the trap. The Ghost Truck is thrown to the ground by a large spatula.

Mayor Jones appears after hearing a lot of noise. Rung Ladderton falls from out of the truck. He performed as the Ghost Trucker so that he was able to secretly transport the door knobs to his cavern in the cliffs. He was desperate to find the crystal door knob that Avocados' father had replaced with a door knob. He admits he did it because his family's company was broke.

Mayor Jones apologizes for losing a very popular tourist attraction, but makes up for it by announcing that he is staying as the mayor. He receives a large cheer.

Characters[]

Main characters:

Supporting characters:

Villains:

Other characters:

Locations[]

Objects[]

Vehicles[]

  • Speeding teen's car
  • Cop's motorcycle
  • Rung Ladderton's truck
  • The Mystery Machine
  • Sheriff Stone's police car
  • George Avocados's car
  • Pick-up truck

Suspects[]

Suspect Motive/Reason
George Avocados To win the election for mayor.

Culprits[]

Culprit Motive/Reason
Rung Ladderton, driver of the Ghost Truck To find a stolen diamond hidden as a doorknob.

Cast[]

Frank Welker Scooby-Doo
Fred Jones, Jr.
Barty Blake
Matthew Lillard Shaggy Rogers
Grey DeLisle Daphne Blake
Mindy Cohn Velma Dinkley
Gary Cole Mayor Fred Jones, Sr.
Motorcycle cop
Vivica A. Fox Angel Dynamite
Patrick Warburton Sheriff Bronson Stone
Kath Soucie Nan Blake
Lewis Black Mr. E
John O'Hurley Skipper Shelton
James Arnold Taylor Rung Ladderton
George Avocados
Teen driver

Notes/Trivia[]

  • A "rig" is another word for "truck" in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
  • When Daphne sews Freddy's new ascot, she hums the The New Scooby-Doo Movies theme song.
  • This is the first time we see Fred take off his ascot.

Miscellaneous[]

Cultural references[]

  • A road battle between a truck and a smaller car is the theme of the 1971 TV movie, Duel.
  • The jumping gimmick on the Mystery Machine is like Speed Racer's Mach Five.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches[]

  • During the final chase scene, the color of the ascot Fred is wearing switches from Rung Ladderton's purple to Fred's usual orange, and back again several times.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]

  • The next episode reveals that the Clam Cabin serves from the outside. Then again, they were probably picking up a pizza there.
  • At the press conference following the unmasking, Mayor Jones tells the crowd that the kids have recovered the missing diamond that was stolen by Theodore Avocados. However, in the season 2 episode, Theater of Doom, it is revealed that the diamond was at the Burlington Library the whole time, and is only recovered then.
  • Just how wide are the doors to City Hall? Surely the Ghost Rig could cause some form of damage when it storms into the building during the chase.
    • Similarly, just how heavy is the Ghost Rig? It is hard to see Fred's net remaining intact with the entire vehicle trapped on it.
  • It's impossible for Fred and Rung Ladderton to have the same neck size as Rung's neck is noticeably thinner than Fred's.

In other languages[]

Language Name Meaning
Spanish (Latin America) El Fantasma de la Carretera The Ghost of the Road
Spanish (Spain) El Secreto del Fantasma sobre Ruedas The Secret of the Ghost on Wheels
Italian II Segreto Del Camion Fantasma The Secret of the Ghost Truck
French Le Mystère du camion fantôme The Mystery of the Ghost Truck
Portuguese O Segredo do Caminhão Fantasma The Secret of the Ghost Truck
Hungarian A Száguldó szellem titka The Secret of the Speedy Ghost
Greek Το Μυστικό της Νταλίκας Φάντασμα The Secret of the Ghost Truck
Polish Tajemnica tira widmo The Secret of the Ghost Truck
Romanian Secretul tirului fantomă The Secret of the Ghost Truck

Home media[]

Quotes[]

Major Jones: Ah, Fred my boy. Today is a very exciting day for you. Because today you learn the family business. Politics!
Fred: Politics? That's adult stuff. You know, kids my age are into traps and solving mysteries.
Mayor Jones: No they're not son. You're going to learn all the vital things I do for this community, like create pamphlets and strategise about new places to put parking meters.
Velma: (aside to Shaggy) I know a place he can put another parking meter.


Daphne: But I don't even like meat. I like vegetables. Like Fred.


Rung Ladderton: And I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling... peers.

External links[]

  • Buy from Amazon Video (US)


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The Creeping Creatures Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
(Season 1)
Revenge of the Man Crab
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