In 1776, a cowardly New Englander named Jonathan Muddlemore grabbed his cat, Boo, and hid from British soldiers inside a grandfather clock in an old, abandoned mansion. Two hundred years later, a vicious storm forced three teenagers to hole up in the mansion, where they proceeded to reset the aforementioned clock to midnight. This action released the ghosts of Muddlemore and Boo, and the pair teamed up with the teens to fight crime. Dubbed “Muddsey” by the teens, the still cowardly Muddlemore turned invisible whenever he got frightened, which was quite often. The gang rode around in the Looney Duney dune buggy, crisscrossing America and stomping out evil. Boo’s ghost had a dustup in every episode with Elmo, the teen’s pet bulldog. Animated in Australia, The Funky Phantom was noted for its unique sound effects, which were unlike those in any other Hanna-Barbera cartoon. The show’s run of original episodes only lasted one season, with repeats being substituted for the second season. After being cancelled in 1973, the show’s episodes were incorporated into The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour with the Funky Phantom, proving once and for all that if you like Revolutionary War-era ghosts, you’ll love them even more if they're joined by a giant fire-breathing dinosaur and a robotic crimefighting dog. This last series only ran two months, after which the Phantom and Boo presumably fled to the veritable sanctity of their grandfather clock, embittered by the phoniness of show business.

This cartoon is completely a la Scooby Doo, everything, from the monsters & ghosts, the Villains in bad Halloween costumes, the clues, the jokes and the background music that you hear when they are trying to solve a mystery. How ever sometimes the fights between Jonathan  & Skip reminds me Archie and his friends. Specially when they are trying to impress April, that seems to love watching them fight for who’s going to set next to her. The other part that could be consider different is that this is the first time that HB shows a phantom that is a coward and that seems to forget that he’s a phantom also. This cartoon is not exactly one of my favorites, but it deserves to be mention as one of the all time HB classics.

CAST:  Jonathan - Muddsey Muddlemore-DawsButler  April Stewart-Tina Holland Skip - Mickey Dolenz Augie - Tommy Cook

EPISODES -  Fiirrst and Second Season  ( 1971 - 1973 )  1.- Don’t Fool with a Phantom  2.- Heir Scare  3.- I’ll Haunt you later  4.- Who’s Chicken  5.- The Headless Horseman  6.- We Saw A Sea Serpent  7.- April's Foolish Day  8.- The Forest's Prime Evil.  9.- Ghost Grabber 10.- The Hairy Scarey Houndman.

Yesterday I was talking with my friend Tony and he give me a very interesting opinion about this cartoon.  Is very similar to Josie and the Pussy Cats, a Rock Band traveling the world with their music and stoping all kinds of Villains. For me this cartoon was never one of the best ones that Hanna Barbera has created and for some reason I actually find it very annoying, but well that’s only my opinion.  Set in the far future, in the year 2076 to be exact, a group of teenagers formed a band. They called themselves the Neptunes, with Biff on guitar, Shelly on tambourine, Bubbles on piano, and Clam-Head on cello. 

Not getting the sound they wanted, the band was faced with
difficult questions: Where are we going to play? Do we need a drummer? and, perhaps most importantly, Why is there a cello in our rock band? Deciding to tackle the drummer issue first, they turned to their good friend Jabberjaw. Jabberjaw brought several things to the table. Aside from the fact that he was a terrific drummer, he was very funny. That would come in handy during those lonely nights on the road. He was also a real shark at the negotiating table. As a matter of fact, he was a real shark everywhere. A great white, to be exact. The band now complete, The Neptunes would ride in the Aqua car to their concert dates, playing bubblegum pop tunes and inexplicably getting mixed up with criminals in nearly every episode.

Jabberjaw constantly whined about getting no respect, a trademark of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, yet his voice and mannerisms were eerily reminiscent of Curly from The Three Stooges.

The show ran for two seasons, the second of which was composed entirely of repeats. The shark himself reappeared later in the decade as a competitor on Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics.

CAST Jabber Jaw - Frank Welker Biff - Tommy Cook Shelly - Pat Paris Bubbles - Julie McWhirter Clam-Head - Barry Gordon

9/8/73 - 8/31/75 ABC  Saturday 10:30 - 11:00 A.M EST.

Ghost Chasers was a magazine that employed Gilly, Ted, and Tina as investigators of the paranormal. Accompanying them on their adventures was Goober, an alarmingly skinny dog who wore a winter hat as a plot contrivance.  You see, whenever Goober got scared, he turned invisible-except for the hat. So even when he was invisible, the young viewers could easily spot him.  The gang would chase all sorts of frightening baddies—spirits, mummies, werewolves, etc. However, most of the villains turned out to be of the human variety, merely disguised as ghosts a la Scooby-Doo. 

The show also featured members of the ABC nighttime sitcom The Partridge Family as guest stars. The characters of Laurie, Danny, Chris, and Tracy were voiced by the actors who portrayed them on the sitcom—Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Brian Foster and Suzanne Crough, respectively.

Goober and the Ghost Chasers aired for two seasons, the second consisting entirely of repeats.

CAST: Goober - Paul Winchell     Laurie Partridge - Susan Dey Gilly - Ronnie Schell         Danny Partridge - Danny Bonaduce Ted - Jerry Dexter             Chris Partridge - Brian Forster Tina - Jo Ann Harris          Tracy Partridge - Suzanne Crough Another awesome Story written by my good friend Sean E Phillips "Tony", Click on Goober to read it.

EPISODES ( First and Second Season ) Assignment: The Ahaab Apparition (first aired: 9/8/73) - With the Partridge Family. Brush Up Your Shakespeare (first aired: 9/15/73) - With the Partridge Family. The Galloping Ghost - Wilt Chamberlain (first aired: 9/22/73) The Singing Ghost (first aired: 9/29/73) - With the Partridge Family. The Ghost Ship (first aired: 10/6/73) - With the Partridge Family. Aloha Ghost (first aired: 10/6/73) Mummy Knows Best (first aired: 10/13/73) - With the Partridge Family. The Haunted Wax Museum (first aired: 10/20/73) - With the Partridge Family. Venice Anyone? (first aired: 10/27/73) The Wicked Witch Dog (first aired: 11/3/73) - With the Partridge Family.   Is Sherlock Holme?(first aired: 11/10/73) Go West Young Ghost, Go West (first aired: 11/17/73) - With the Partridge Family. A Hard Days Knight (first aired: 11/24/73) That Snow Ghost (first aired: 12/1/73) Inca Dinka Doo (first aired: 12/8/73) Old McDonalds Had A Ghost - EE II EEYOW (first aired: 12/15/73)

It was a cartoon show that priemered back in 1978 in the style of the Dukes of Hazard, and lasted one year, during the 78/79 season. It was one of a slew of Scooby-Doo clones that was produced by Hanna-Barbera studios during the seventies. "Buford" resembled "Clue Club" more than it did the others, mostly because both shows featured bloodhounds and a dimwitted sheriff. Also, "flashback" sequences were featured at the end of both shows to explain the mysteries. What made "Buford" different was mostly its regional setting in the depths of Okefenokee swamp on the Florida side. There is no actual "Fenokee county" where the series takes place, so I'm guessing that in the HB cartoon world the county is located in northeastern Florida, where the Okfenokee spills over the Georgia border. Unlike most other HB teen mysteries, "Buford" took place in the same general area, and all the characters knew each other. There was seldom any fake monster or ghost on the loose in this series, though "The Haunting of Swamp Manor" was an exception. The Mysteries usually involved petty robberies, kidnappings, and similar hijinks involving the local yokels. The main characters were Buford, a notoriously lazy lavender bloodhound, whose nose flashes red, and whose ears moved like radar dishes when he was on the trail of the bad guys. He lived at a place called Boggs Landing in Fenokee Swamp with his teenage pals Woody, and Cindy Mae, who was the smartest of the three investigators. The two other most often shown characters were the Boss Hog-like Sheriff Muletrain, and his dimwitted deputy, Goofer. A typical "Buford" episode had the two incompetent law enforcers arresting the crooks after Buford and the kids had done all the work solving the crime. 

CAST

Buford  - Frank Welker 
Nugget Nose  - Frank Welker 
Cindy Mae - Pat Parris 
Rita - Pat Parris 
Deputy Goofer - Roger Peltz 
Fuddy Duddy - Hal Peary 
Sheriff Dupres - Henry Corden 
Wendy - Marilyn Schreffler 
Woody - David Landsberg

THE BUFORD FILES EPISODES

 The Swamp Hermit. This is the premeire episode. Buford and the Boggs twins are visting their friend Jeb Crowley in the swamp, when they discover he's kidnapped. The culprits are billy and Luke Scroggins,  a pair of escaped convicts who have buried loot out in the swamp. They capture the crooks and rescue their friend. Multrain and Goofer, don't really have a large part on this episode, except to warn the kids and apprehend the bad guys.   The Vanishing Stallion . A stallion mysteriously vanishes during the Fenokee annual Steeple chase race, and Buford and the kids find out who's the culprit.   The Swamp Saucer. A mysterious craft that appears to be a flying saucer crashes in Fenokee Swamp. The locals are paniced. Both the two incompetent law enforcers, and the Bogs twins and Buford, set out to solve the mystery. I guess I'll give away the ending here, so stop reeading this description if you don't want to know. The "saucer" turns out to be a Cape Kennedy Space Shuttle gone off course, and the space alien is an experimental chimp who makes friends with Buford.   The Man With the Orange Hair At an ice-skating show at fenokee Sports palace, a pair of prize silver skates are mysteriously stolen, apparently by a mysterious performer with orange hair. After Muletrain and Goofer try to find out who in the show had orange hair, Cindy Mae discovers that the crooks used "black light" to make his hair look orange.   The Demon of Ur  A grotesque, Near-Eastern statue vanishes without a trace while on baord a train bound from Tecusah to Fenokee Community Center. Buford and the kids find out what 's going on.   The Missing Bank   While the Boggs kids and Buford go on a Saturday picnic, Goofer delivers 10 million dollars to from Fenokee bank to a bank in Culpepper. But afterward, the bank president claims he never recieved the money. A mysterious road detour sign lead Buford and the Boggs twins to the money and the crooks.   Scare in the Air At an air show, Buford has a near-fatal accident when he chooses to sleep aboard a remote-control plane. Then one of the plnes is stolen by a crook, and the characters track him into the swamp.   Buford and the Beauty Buford' s dream-girl, Duchess, is introduced. Duchess is a show-dog, who is starring in a movie being filmed in fenokee county. Goofer is left to guard her when she is kidnapped. Buford is able to rescue Duchess, and Cindy Mae fingers the kidnapper.   Peril in the Park  When the Boggs kids visit the local amusement park to look for summer jobs, it seems that the rides have gone mysteriously awry. It turns out they have been sabetoged in an attempt to drive the owern out of business. Clues lead them to who the crook is.   The Magic Whammy The banks in Fenokee are being robbed with no sign of any break-in at about the time that the Great Zambini, a renowned stage magician is in town. It turns out that Zambini has a mysterious amulet which he uses to hynotize his audience after every show so that they will have no memory of what took place during the crucial time when the bank was robbed. (There seems to be a hint of actual paranormal activity here. Is Zambini just a good hypotist, or does the amulet hold some kind of occult power?)  The Haunting of Swamp Manor This episode bears the closest resemblence to classic Scooby-Doo. The ghost of a Confederate general is reputed to be haunting a local antebellum mansion. When Buford and the kids caputre the ghost, the ending is predictable.   The Missing Gator Jeb Crowley's pet gator, Gertrude, has gone missing. Poachers are believed to be involved. Muletrin, dismisses the two suspects, only to learn that they are really diamond smugglers. it turns out Gertrude has only gone off to lay her eggs.   Don't Monkey with Buford When a circus comes to town, Duchess returns. This time her diamond-studded collar vanishes. A chimp trainer is suspected. But the real clues anable Buford and the kids to find the real crook. Buford riskes his life to recover Duchess collar. The series ends with Bufrd giving a sad farewell to Duchess. 

I thank my good friend Sean Phillips “Tony” for sending me the images and the information of The Buford Files.

FANG FACE:  Every 400 years in the Fangsworth Family a werewolf is born. Now, he in the company of 3 Teenagers, "Kim", "Biff" and Puggsy they solve the most spooky cases. Sounds familiar? This cartoon is compeletly a la Scooby Doo, from the entrance, to the characters and the cases. The weird part is that is not from the Hanna Barbera Studios, this came out from the Ruby Spears Studios in 1978. They made a very bad job with this cartoon, is very easy to know who is Freddy Jones, Daphne and Shaggy. The only original character is Sherman Fangsworth, the poor guy that turns in to a werewolf every time he sees an image of the moon and turns back when he sees a picture of the sun. C'mon =). Any way, this unfortunately is one of those cartoons that were everything but good or original.

DRAK PACK:  When monsters form a new generation dedicated to end the evil of their ancestors, they choose as a leader no other than Dracula, the great D. 3 Teenagers form the Dracula’s Drak Pack Team. With their special powers they turn in to monsters that use their powers to stop evil. Specially the diabolical Drake, that is always trying to conquer the world. Oh brother =).

Well this one of those cartoons created by Hanna Barbera Studios that is not a la Scooby Doo, but unfortunately it’s a variation of it. This cartoon is silly in many ways, from the characters to the cases they solve and specially the way they turn in to monsters to stop just one crazy monster who’s plans never work =). Any way, the only thing I can ask now is… What a hell they were thinking? =).

This, the second television incarnation of Charlie Chan, ( The Chinese detective from the 1950's ) was in animated form, produced by Hanna Barbera, and shown on Saturdays its first season. The clever detective was back solving mysteries in this version, and was “assisted” by the Chan Clan, a group consisting of Charlie’s ten children and the family dog Chu Chu. Henry and Stanley were Charlie’s eldest, and therefore the leaders of each mystery/search, which took place in a different American locale every week.

The Clan tooled around in a van which could change into various vehicles, depending on what was needed for camouflage. The family also performed as a rock group, sans Charlie of course; he was always more of a solo artist. The well-intentioned Clan would try to help solve the mysteries, usually doing more harm than good; Charlie would then bail them out at the end of the show by clearing up everything.

The voice of Charlie was provided by Keye Luke, who portrayed Number One son in the Charlie Chan movies of the 40's. Except for Henry and Alan, the children’s voices were almost immediately recast, as their dialects were deemed too thick to be understood by Western audiences. In an intersting footnote, future Oscar winner Jodie Foster was one of the actresses brought in to replace the original voice talents.

EPISODES OF THE FIRST SEASON:

1.- The Crown Jewel Caper , 2.- To Catch a Pitcher,  3.- Will the Real Charlie Chan Please Stand Up?, 4.- The Phantom Sea Thief,  5.- Eye of the Idol ,  6.- The Fat Lady Caper,  7.- Captain Kidd's Doubloons, 8.- The Bronze Idol, 9.- Double Trouble, 10.- The Great Illusion Caper , 11.- The Mummy's Tomb, 12.- The Mardi Gras Caper, 13.- The Gypsie Caper, 14.- The Greek Caper, 15.- White Elephant,  16.- Scotland Yard.

The second season of the show consisted of repeats, and aired on Sundays.

Characters & Voices Charlie - Keye Luke Henry - Bob Ito Stanley - Stephen Wong, Lenny Weinrib Suzie - Virginia Ann Lee, Cherylene Lee Alan - Brian Tochi Anne - Leslie Kummamota, Jodie Foster Tom - Michael Takamoto, John Gunn Flip - Jay Jay Jue, Gene Andrusco Nancy - Beverly Kushida Mimi - Leslie Juwai, Cherylene Lee Scooter - Robin Tomm, Michael Morgan Chu Chu - Don Messick

I thank my good friend Louisa Swanson for sending me the information of the Charlie Chan Cartoon.

All the material in this page, except the image of Freddy Corven.  Its property of the Hanna Barbera Studios and is only being use for entertainment purposes. Please, if you want to use any of the images in this site ask for my permission first.  It toke me a while to Screen Scan all these images.