Scott Menville Movies

In the tenth incarnation of Hanna-Barbera's animated Scooby-Doo franchise (which dated back to the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?), the spotlight was on cringing, crime-solving Great Dane Scooby and his funky human pal, Shaggy (Scott Menville), with the other familiar characters -- Velma, Daphne, and Freddy -- consigned to occasional guest appearances. This time around, the premise had Shaggy's scientist uncle, Dr. Albert Shaggleford, disappearing from the face of the earth -- but not before bequeathing millions of dollars to his nephew, and also passing along a passel of high-tech crime-fighting inventions. Tooling about in an upgraded "Mystery Machine" -- which could now morph into other vehicles, from submarine to helicopter -- Shaggy and Scooby continued their mission to solve crimes and bring heavily disguised miscreants to justice. Scooby was helped along in this pursuit with his familiar "Scooby Snacks," which were now seasoned with nanotechnology enabling our doggie hero to fly, turn invisible, and so forth. The principal villain was mad scientist Dr. Phinius Phibes, based partly on the Vincent Price character of the same name -- and partly on real-life animation director Bruce Timm, longtime collaborator of series developer Eric Radomski. To sum up: less mystery and more action, but the same old "meddling kids and that stupid dog." Shaggy & Scooby-Doo joined the CW's "Kid's WB" Saturday-morning cartoon lineup on September 23, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fighting a never-ending battle against the forces of evil--and their own immaturities, insecurities and petty jealousies--Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire return for a third season of the animated Teen Titans. In the season opener, Cyborg, disguised as a muscleman named Stone, infiltrates the H.IV.E. Academy, breeding ground for the evil Slade's minions. The mission succeeds in utterly decimating H.I.V.E. , a victory that may prove Pyrrhic when several surviving academy members mount an undersea counteract against the Titans in a later episode which features "guest hero" Aqualad. Elsewhere: Robin must battle his alter ego Red X, and his own guilt for making Red X the crazy mixed-up character he has become. Starfire surprises everyone when she announces plans to marry a man she's never met. Beast Boy's obsession with computer games causes Cyborg to be infected with a virus that causes him to berserk--and later in the season, Beast Boy experience another personality makeover when he's drenched in toxic waste. The Titans' long-dead enemy Slade apparently returns to life--or is it merely Robin's delirium that has brought about this unholy resurrection? Raven a rendezvous with a magician she frees from one of her books; and later,the less benign illusionist the Amazing Mumbo sucks the Titans into alternate world reminiscent of the Krofft Brothers' Lidsville! Retro villain Mad Mod returns to crash the Titans' 4th of July party and hurtle the U.S. back into the British Empire. And the Titan's unofficial pet Silkie the silkworm, introduced the previous season, turns out to be one of those domestic creatures that becomes more unmanageable (and more dangerous) when it's off its feed. The two-part season finale marks the formation of a new team, Titans East, comprised of DC Comics veterans Speedy and Aqualad, and Spanish twins Mas Y Menos; alas, their crimefighting activities are severely curtailed after a brainwashing session with the sinister Brother Blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Youthful superheroes Robin the Boy Wonder, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire battle a vast array of costumed villains--not to mention their own raging hormones, petty jealousies, and deep-set insecurities--in Season One of the animated Teen Titans. Thirteen episodes are dished up this season. In the opener, the Titans are attacked by graduates of the H.I.V.E. Academy, minions all of the mysterious Slade Williams. Then, Starfire is locked into a fierce sibling rivalry with her mercurial sister Blackfire. In the next episode, an effort to wipe out the villainous Cinderblock comes acropper because the Titans can't get along together. And there's more. Practical joker Beast Boy gets a dose of his own medicine just in time to reign in a destructive fraternal pair called Thunder and Lightning. The half-robotic Cyborg suffers a power failure in the middle of a pitched battle with the Amazing Mumbo. An enchanted mirror enables the Titans to literally find out what's on the apparently schizoid Raven's mind. The feud between Starfire and Raven has to be put on the back burner when the Titan males are "puppetized." Beast Boy shows off his morphing ability, only to be upstaged by former Teen Titan Aqualad (voiced by Wil Wheaton). Robin zeroes in on the mysterious Slade when the latter steals a valuable computer chip, virtually ignoring another and possibly more serious threat. The "retro" villain Mad Mod kidnaps the Titans and subjects them to a bummer of a bad trip. And in a two-part episode, Robin agaonizes over the possibility that he may be no better than the villains he pursues. In the first-season finale, Cyborg creates his "dream" vehicle, the T-Car, only to have the vehicle fall into the wrong hands--several wrong hands, in fact! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Full House's two-part series finale, Michelle (the Olsen twins) has lost her memory as the result of a horseback riding accident, whereupon everyone in the Tanner household joins forces to help her remember. Elsewhere, Joey (David Coulier) and Jesse (John Stamos) make a professional move that will profoundly alter their future; Steph (Jodie Sweetin) learns a secret about her "Romeo and Juliet" leading man; and just wait until you see who ends up escorting DJ (Candace Cameron) to the prom. Unfortunately, the original ending of this episode, in which each and every person who appeared on Full House during its eight seasons on the air shows up for a mass curtain call, has been removed from the DVD version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Kimmy (Andrea Barber) is turned down by Stanford University, she impulsively decides to run off to Reno and marry her monosyllabic boyfriend Duane (Scott Menville). DJ (Candace Cameron) rushes after Kimmy to prevent her from this ill-conceived union--whereupon Danny (Bob Saget) jumps to the conclusion that DJ is planning to elope with Nelson (Jason Marsden). Elsewhere, Joey (David Coulier) opens mouth and inserts foot when he meets British Royalty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

From time to time, U.S. fighter pilots have been known to develop a messianic complex. Trainee Eddie Gordon (William O'Leary) goes a bit farther than that: he begins fantasizing that he's the Angel of Death. Armed with nuclear weaponry, Gordon flies toward Las Vegas, intending to bomb "sin city" back to the stone age. It is up to squadron leader Matt Ryan (Peter Strauss) to stop him. The made-for-TV Flight of Black Angel debuted February 23, 1991, over the Showtime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Quest is invited to the London museum, there to determine the origins of a mysterious crystal skull. Unfortunately, an ancient Druidic cult is also interested in the skull -- so much so that they're willing to kill in order to steal the artifact. It is up to the Quest team to prevent the cult from unleashing the skull's awesome and horrifying powers upon the modern world. "Skullduggery" made its syndicated TV bow on March 1, 1987, as part of the weekend "Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entertaining feature for the 3- to10-year-old set, the wicked witch Hydia (voice of Cloris Leachman) and her two nasty daughters, Reeka and Draggle (voices of Rhea Pearlman and Madeline Kahn) are scheming to flood Ponyland with a strange liquid called Smooze. The ponies find allies in the Grundles, who have already been made homeless by the Smooze. The challenge is to stop the witch and her daughters, send them back into their volcano, and retrieve the lost land of the Grundles from under its cover of Smooze -- not to mention protecting Ponyland from the worst. Not an easy agenda, even after several adventures gear everyone up for the grand finale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A middle eastern shiek is being terrorized by a band of outlaws riding robotic horses. Dr. Quest is summoned to put an end to the villains' activities. Only trouble is, the steel nags are completely impervious to weapons -- and they also have the capacity to kill. First broadcast on September 21, 1986, as part of the "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera" syndicated series, "Nightmare of Steel" was later incorporated in the standard Jonny Quest package, along with the "classic" episodes from 1964-1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Twenty-one years after ending its original ABC prime-time run in 1965, the Hanna Barbera animated adventure series Jonny Quest was revived with 13 brand-new episodes as a component of the weekend syndicated package "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera." All of the original characters were revived: globetrotting research scientist, Dr. Benton Quest; his tousled-haired son, Jonny; Jonny's bodyguard-tutor, Race Bannon; his mystical young Indian friend, Hadji; and the pet bulldog, Bandit. Of the original voice actors, only Don Messick (as Dr. Quest and Bandit) and Victor Perrin (as perennial villain Dr. Zin) were heard on the later series. In the sixth of the "new" episodes, another member of the Quest team was introduced, a "Monolith Man" named Hardrok. Slightly better animated than the original -- and with markedly wittier dialogue as well as a refreshing increase in its sci-fi-fantasy content -- the Jonny Quest (1986 series) was later incorporated in the same package as the 26 "original" Jonny Quest episodes. Under the blanket title "Classic Jonny Quest," this manifest was seen on cable's Cartoon Network from 1992 to 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Quest leads his team to Scandanavia, there to embark upon an archeological expedition. In the course of events, the team comes across the frozen body of a huge Viking ape, who, when thawed, turns out to be very much alive. The furry orange beast turns out to be a likeable fellow, and as a result, the Quest Team pulls a "reverse King Kong", rescuing Vikong from hostile villagers and mercenary carnival hucksters. "Vikong Lives" originally aired on October 19, 1986, as part of the weekend syndicated series "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera," before it was incorporated into the standard Jonny Quest rerun package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide