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Remember that classic Saturday-Morning Cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera in The '70s? The one about a group of young people and their cowardly dog solving supernatural mysteries?

Well, of course! Who could forget Goober and the Ghost Chasers?

This series aired for one season (1973) on ABC. Goober, voiced by Paul Winchell, is a dog who becomes invisible when he is scared. His human companions are Ted and Tina, reporters for Ghost Chaser magazine, and Gillie, their reckless photographer.

While often compared to Scooby-Doo for operating on similar premises, several things that were in this show that were not in earlier Scooby incarnations later became a part of the Scooby incarnations.

Though Hanna-Barbera produced the series, the actual animation was farmed out to Eric Porter Studios in Australia. Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Gray were guests in one episode each, and the kids from The Partridge Family appeared in several others.


Goober and the Ghost Chasers provides examples of:

  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Gillie, Ted and Tina, respectively.
  • Catchphrase: Goober's "This is ridic-ilic-ilic-ilous!"
  • Cool Car: Or Cool thing they drive in this case. If any case it looks more like a tank.
    • The Partridge Bus also appears in a few episodes.
  • Crossover: Goober and company cross over with guest stars in most of their episodes, mostly with the Partridge Family. Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Grey also appear.
  • Foreshadowing: In "Aloha Ghost", the island girl who helps the gang escape the ghost of Matamoa mysteriously disappears each time. In addition, the Specter Detector beeps whenever Matamoa is around, but he isn't affected by the Haunter Taunter. In the end, it turns out "Matamoa" is just a guy in a costume, and the island girl is the ghost who was being detected.
  • Ghost Pirate: They meet two on a ship, named Dink and Dunk. One is a friendly ghost, the other not so much.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Jimmy McDonald, a friend of the gang, makes these all the time in his episode. In the end they ask him what he plans to raise on this farm, he answers with corn. As Goober notes "corn for the cornball".
  • Invisible Streaker: Goober is a canine version. When he disappears, his hat and collar are still visible.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Goober talks into the camera to the viewers at least once if not more every episode.
  • Let's Split Up, Gang!: This gang also often splits up, Ted with Tina and Goober with Gillie. Guest Stars often join in on this.
  • Parental Marriage Veto: In "Venice Anyone?", Julia's father refuses to let her marry Carlo, as their family have been feuding for centuries. He eventually gives them his blessing to marry when the ghost of his ancestor decides that the feud has gone on long enough and now needs to end.
  • Real After All: Used in this show more than anywhere else in Hanna-Barbera. Real ghosts often helped the gang unmask the fake ghosts.
  • Reckless Sidekick: Gillie to Goober. Even though Goober is the dog, it's his show and his sidekick almost always stays to take a picture of the ghost after Goober already ran away.
  • Redhead In Green: Tina wears a green sweater.
  • "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: Sometimes used but most episodes also contained real ghosts.
  • Spiritual Successor: To Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, as well as The Funky Phantom.
  • Spoofy-Doo: The show is basically Scooby-Doo mixed with ghost-chasing amateur reporters (interestingly, it actually introduced some elements that would later be used in Scooby-Doo).
  • Talking Animal: The cartoon plays with this. Goober does talk in asides to the viewer, but only barks at other characters.
  • Twin Switch: Dunk attempts to perform this to mixed results in one episode with his brother Dink. Dink and Dunk are both actual ghost pirates.
  • Voices Are Mental: This happened in one of the Partridge crossovers.
  • Weirdness Magnet: Downplayed to some extent, the kids work for Ghost Chasers Magazine, so they often on purpose go to investigate hauntings but sometimes it's played straight with them bumping into a situation.

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