A different approach - that mostly works

This was the series where 'Scooby-Doo' grew-up. Not that it needed to, but it does put a very different spin on things. There's plenty of typical Scooby-humour, but also more in the way of serious, high stakes storytelling than in any other Scooby show or movie to date. That shift in tone made the show divisive even amongst hardcore fans, and it's true, not every episode knocks it out of the park - but plenty do.

Season one; Beware the Beast from Below ~ 8/10; The Creeping Creatures ~ 9/10; Secret of the Ghost Rig ~ 7/10; Revenge of the Man Crab ~ 8/10; The Song of Mystery ~ 7/10; The Legend of Alice May ~ 9/10; In Fear of the Phantom ~ 9/10; The Grasp of the Gnome ~ 7/10; Battle of the Humungonauts ~ 7/10; Howl of the Fright Hound ~ 7/10; The Secret Serum ~ 8/10; The Shrieking Madness ~ 8/10; When the Cicada Calls ~ 7/10; Mystery Solvers Club State Finals ~ 9/10; The Wild Brood ~ 7/10; Where Walks Aphrodite ~ 8/10; Escape from Mystery Manor ~ 8/10; Dragon's Secret ~ 7/10; Nightfright ~ 9/10; The Siren's Song ~ 9/10; Menace of the Manticore ~ 8/10; Attack of the Headless Horror ~ 7/10; A Haunting in Crystal Cove ~ 8/10; Dead Justice ~ 8/10; Pawn of Shadows ~ 8/10; All Fear the Freak ~ 8/10.

Season two; The Night the Clown Cried ~ 7/10; The House of the Nightmare Witch ~ 8/10; The Night the Clown Cried II: Tears of Doom! ~ 8/10; Web of the Dreamweaver! ~ 7/10; The Hodag of Horror ~ 7/10; Art of Darkness! ~ 7/10; The Gathering Gloom ~ 10/10; Night on Haunted Mountain ~ 8/10; Grim Judgment ~ 9/10; Night Terrors ~ 9/10; The Midnight Zone ~ 7/10; Scarebear ~ 8/10; Wrath of the Krampus ~ 7/10; Heart of Evil ~ 8; Theater of Doom ~ 7/10; Aliens Among Us ~ 7/10; The Horrible Herd ~ 7/10; Dance of the Undead ~ 8/10; The Devouring - 7/10; Stand and Deliver ~ 8/10; The Man in the Mirror ~ 9/10; Nightmare in Red ~ 8/10; Dark Night of the Hunters ~ 7/10; Gates of Gloom ~ 7/10; Through the Curtain ~ 8/10; Come Undone ~ 8/10.

Season one is the stronger overall - although season two's fantastic The Gathering Gloom does get the show its single 10/10. This is only the second Scooby series to have an overarching story running through all the episodes (the other was 1985's 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'). Unfortunately, it falls foul of 'the X-Files problem'; the monster-of-the-week stuff is generally more interesting than the 'big' story. It's an interesting approach though, providing some surprising events and character moments - and the ending is a doozy. All credit to the creators for running with it.

The artwork and character designs are faultless. Voice talent is rock solid as always, especially Frank Welker, Grey DeLisle, Matthew Lillard, and Mindy Cohn. Special mention to Linda Cardellini (the big screen, live-action Velma Dinkley), who gets to return to the franchise as a recurring character!

Overall, 8/10.