Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'll try and be brief: the show itself = obviously a five star rating. Warner's way of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the show? = pretty crappy really. First off: no way is this set worth $70 — $80 of your hard earned bucks, simply no way. So what exactly do you get? A flimsy, cheapo PET type plastic outer packaging — when you would expect a solid well made embossed case. Design of the 'Mystery Mansion' box (external artwork)? = admittedly very good here, with a 'horror funhouse' type feel, including cut-out windows with the Scooby-Doo gang all peeking out on iridescent inserts. It's really well designed — so credit where credit is due. Conversely, the design of the 'Mystery Mansion' box (internal structure) ? = very poor, you would expect the blu rays to fit horizontally and snug within the box — but they don't — they're just thrown in vertically with a nice big gap for them all to rattle back and forth in — so no thought and a poor design. The 'Collector's Book' is just a smaller version of an already pre-existing book — it's slight and inconsequential in terms of content (i.e it's aimed at 7 year olds ) and it's also rattling back and forth inside the main box with a nice big gap. Moving on ...... The actual disc case is the cheap fold out digi-book type, complete with bland 'no-colour' budgetary disc design. Next, a bargain basement toy key-ring is included — next to yet another MASSIVE unused gap in the box — again it is indicative of just a thrown together packaging concept: "Oh it'll do, as they're gonna buy it anyway". Plus, the key-ring's presence within the box? — it's only there to promote that specific toy line, so it's basically a cynical marketing ploy, endorsed by Warner. Moving on now to the actual disc content....... Here, they continue to pig-headedly insist on calling the last 16 episodes of this set 'Where Are You' when everyone knows they were always really part of 'The Scooby-Doo Show' from 1978 — it's just so they can justify (to themselves) charging you more money for 41 episodes — instead of the historically correct 25. Now on to the most irritating part — bearing in mind that this is supposedly the 'celebratory 50th anniversary edition of the show' — if your looking or expecting the first three episodes to have their original opening and closing themes restored back to their original broadcast versions — then you're gonna be sorely disappointed — Warners simply don't do that you see — it's way too much to care about, way to much to think about and it's certainly way too much money for them to invest in this type of product (as it would surely cut deep into their profit margin). Plus I doubt that even the producer/overseer of this half-assed release — would be even aware of the incorrect archive soundtrack issue on the first three episodes — as he would be too busy projecting that said profit margin. And yet these are the kind of people who produce and oversee this kinda crap that's ostensibly 'aimed at collectors', and they're also the very same people who still refuse to release 'The Tom & Jerry Golden Collection' Vol. 2 on blu-ray — all because of their stupid SJW paranoia. As it stands, I'd say this set is worth $40 - $45 tops. But of course Mr. Warner wants double that off you. Honestly if it had the restored soundtracks on episodes 1-3, then I'd say it was totally worth it, but you just know that ain't never gonna happen. Jeez ..... even I can find the original Ted Nichols opening & closing themes for these episodes to listen to on Youtube !! So after 50 years!! and this being the anniversary of the show — if they can't even get that right and restore them properly, then exactly what hope is there with them? In fact, instead of the crappy toy key-ring promotions — to justify their asking price — they should do all the necessary archive research on the 1969 broadcast soundtracks (which they should've done already prior to releasing this) and then be petitioned by fans who care — to offer a FREE DISC REPLACEMENT PROGRAM for all those affected episodes. Are you happy to have the bovine imbeciles at Warners Animation oversee the beloved shows of your childhood? — I know I'm not. Even I as a nobody-fan, I can come up with a better concept in ten seconds: 25 episodes across 3 coloured discs with the correct soundtracks/ embossed solid case with velour interior/ lavish fold out artwork that actually fits inside/ 10 art-cards/ independently commissioned documentary instead of 'in-house' navel gazing crap/ and a well researched 80 page book from a historical perspective. Now wouldn't that be worth your money? So to sum up, what exactly are you getting for your $70 / $80 bucks? — just the syndicated versions of the episodes in a cleaned-up blu-ray quality (which undoubtedly is a very good thing) plus the usual few cheapo 'in-house' mini documentaries — in what is overall, a crappily designed packaging gimmick (the cool external box artwork notwithstanding). Bear in mind it's taken Warner 13 years since blu ray first caught on, to finally release 'Scooby-Doo Where Are You' — proof yet again that whoever oversees their animation releases — completely mismanages it — and hasn't got the slightest clue about their real customer base. And, if it seems like I'm harshing on them way too much here, well really I'm not, as it's long overdue. Warners have habitually released poor animation packages for the better part of two decades now — and they totally deserve to be called out over their poor marketing decisions that are entirely at odds with the archive history of the animated shows that make up their own catalogue.