On first watch, "The New York Underground" was pretty decent but not great. Neither one of the best or worst episodes of Season 1 or of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who' overall. Loved the character moments and Halsey, as well as finding a good deal to admire about the mystery, while not caring for the villain or the reveal as much. There have been episodes of the show that have fared better on rewatch, some have gotten worse and others are pretty much the same good and bad.
"The New York Underground" is one of the episodes that fits in the pretty much the same category, and in a good way. Didn't love the episode but did find myself liking it a good deal, more so than expected to be honest. And the good and not so good things from first viewing are pretty much the same on rewatch, except this viewer found herself appreciating the good things of "The New York Underground" more, especially the character moments which are always looked out for in any episode of any of the franchise's shows.
Getting the not so good things out of the way, for me the villain was forgettable this time and a large part of me is because of it being quite derivative. Especially the character design, and it's not much of a threat either.
Not many episodes of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who' had surprising reveals, or certainly not at this point. The reveal here is very predictable, had a good feeling who it was very early on because of their shifty vibe and having similar characters to their in previous incarnations and suspects are not many. Will say though as well that one never really gets to know the suspects, too come and go.
So much is great however. The animation has a lot of atmosphere, rich colour and even richer attention to detail. The music is dynamic and groovy, also loved the modern spin on the iconic classic theme tune for 'Scooby Doo Where are You', although it is too short. A vast majority of the voice acting is very good, with Matthew Lillard nailing it as Shaggy. Halsey is a great guest star, very sassy and quirky with her poetry being put to good use because of the setting (writing about chocolate milk was a bit out of character though), though understandably because of the family target audience her personality doesn't have her usual edge while not being entirely watered down. She has fabulous chemistry with the gang and looks great.
Also love the gang, very individual personalities (with Fred having the most personality he's had yet) and they are working more closely as a team and as friends with more speech between all of them. Shaggy and Scooby's chemistry is so much fun to watch while also being charming. Despite the predictability of the latter stages, the mystery is great fun and one of the show's better ones up to this fairly early stage still. There is a lot of energy and also really liked the more adventurous vibe compared to the previous episodes. The riddle and key thing was a great addition and the adventure yarn spirit is captured perfectly. The writing is funny and smart.
In conclusion, pretty good if not great. 7/10.
"The New York Underground" is one of the episodes that fits in the pretty much the same category, and in a good way. Didn't love the episode but did find myself liking it a good deal, more so than expected to be honest. And the good and not so good things from first viewing are pretty much the same on rewatch, except this viewer found herself appreciating the good things of "The New York Underground" more, especially the character moments which are always looked out for in any episode of any of the franchise's shows.
Getting the not so good things out of the way, for me the villain was forgettable this time and a large part of me is because of it being quite derivative. Especially the character design, and it's not much of a threat either.
Not many episodes of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who' had surprising reveals, or certainly not at this point. The reveal here is very predictable, had a good feeling who it was very early on because of their shifty vibe and having similar characters to their in previous incarnations and suspects are not many. Will say though as well that one never really gets to know the suspects, too come and go.
So much is great however. The animation has a lot of atmosphere, rich colour and even richer attention to detail. The music is dynamic and groovy, also loved the modern spin on the iconic classic theme tune for 'Scooby Doo Where are You', although it is too short. A vast majority of the voice acting is very good, with Matthew Lillard nailing it as Shaggy. Halsey is a great guest star, very sassy and quirky with her poetry being put to good use because of the setting (writing about chocolate milk was a bit out of character though), though understandably because of the family target audience her personality doesn't have her usual edge while not being entirely watered down. She has fabulous chemistry with the gang and looks great.
Also love the gang, very individual personalities (with Fred having the most personality he's had yet) and they are working more closely as a team and as friends with more speech between all of them. Shaggy and Scooby's chemistry is so much fun to watch while also being charming. Despite the predictability of the latter stages, the mystery is great fun and one of the show's better ones up to this fairly early stage still. There is a lot of energy and also really liked the more adventurous vibe compared to the previous episodes. The riddle and key thing was a great addition and the adventure yarn spirit is captured perfectly. The writing is funny and smart.
In conclusion, pretty good if not great. 7/10.
