SCOOBYNATURAL

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY SCOOBY-DOO!  This year's Countdown to Halloween is also a celebration (and rightly so) of the 50th anniversary of The Haunted Mansion.  However, let's not forget that it's also the 50th anniversary of the debut of a certain gang of mystery-solving meddling kids; SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? debuted in 1969 and those classic first two seasons are the pinnacle of cartoon goodness!  And while watching a bunch of Scooby episodes might seem the obvious thing to do, I thought instead I would watch the critically acclaimed and much-loved "Scoobynatural" episode of SUPERNATURAL from last year.

After Sam and Dean Winchester defeat a giant plush dinosaur that's come to life in a pawn shop, the owner rewards them by giving them a large screen TV.  When Dean sets the new TV up in his newly-outfitted "Dean Cave", a blizzard of purple sparks sucks them into the TV and suddenly they're cartoon characters.  When the drive to the nearest malt shop, they notice the Mystery Machine parked outside.  Inside at a table sit the entire Scooby gang and the Winchester brothers realize they're in a Scooby-Doo cartoon.  The genius of the episode is that they're in an actual existing Scooby-Doo episode:  "A Night of Fright is No Delight".   Which is this one:

with HIM . . . 

which finds the Scooby gang heading to the reading of Colonel Sanders' will.  As soon as Dean hears this, he realizes immediately exactly which episode of Scooby-Doo they're in -- he even names it!  Dean then points out to the Scooby gang that, since they are mystery-solvers just like them, they should come along with them to help solve the mystery.  Which of course they do.  However, because this is a Supernatural episode (animated or not), the ghost in this case is real.  And so are the gruesome murders which throw the Scooby gang for a loop since they still assume it'll turn out to be just some corrupt real estate developer as usual.  But nope, not this time!

Sam!  SAM!  Look how big my mouth is!!!

"SCOOBYNATURAL" is so highly thought-of because it works so well combining the two shows.  There is also a genuine love of Scooby-Doo on display which make this such a lovely experience.  The boyish glee Dean shows when he realizes he's face to face with the characters from his favourite TV show is just wonderful.  Plus, they somehow manage to stay true to the tropes of BOTH shows at the same time in the deft manner in which the episode is handled.  The writing as well as the direction of the episode are absolutely perfect in which the two TV shows are melded together like a fine Swiss watch!   Rewatching "SCOOBYNATURAL" is definitely going to be a yearly Halloween tradition for me!  I just LOVE this episode so much!