Review of Goober and the Ghost Chasers

I never saw this show when it originally ran--my review is based on the run of the show as taped from Boomerang Network. After the massive success of SCOOBY-DOO, Hanna Barbera was asked to come up with a Scooby-like show--in effect, to rip off their own creation! This is their result. Three characters--Gilly, a photographer, and two of his friends (neither of whom have many distinguishing characteristics, other than looking like the human characters in Scooby-Doo from a distance)--work for a magazine that does exposes into supernatural phenomena. They are assisted by a quirky dog, Goober (voiced by Paul Winchell, as are many of the minor characters on the show also), who becomes invisible when trouble arises. He also makes asides to himself as the action unrolls. In these mysteries, about half the time, they are aided by the four YOUNGER members of the Partridge Family (in other words, NOT Shirley or David). Three of the four of them are not developed in any way or given many lines. The only Partridge heavily involved in the plots and given a lot of lines is Danny Bonaduce, which is good since his sarcastic and witty remarks are like having a member of the Little Rascals along for the ride. The plots are somewhat similar, although they work as mysteries aimed at the seven-year-old intelligence. This series SOUNDS more interesting than it is, when one reads a description of it on a history of animation website. It's not really worth finding a copy unless you are a serious Scooby fan or a student of early 70's Hanna-Barbera animation. I showed an episode or two of this to my teen-aged children, both big fans of the original Scooby-Doo, and they thought even less of it than I did. The usual professional H-B product, but just uninspired.