Hang in There, Scooby-Doo

Hang in There, Scooby-Doo originally aired as the first of four segments of Scooby-Doo's All-Star Laff-A-lympics, later repackaged as the third episode of the second season of The Scooby-Doo Show, and the nineteenth episode overall of the series.

Premise
The gang heads to the southwest so Fred can compete in a hang-gliding contest, only to run into a ghostly pterodactyl!

Synopsis
The gang heads to the canyons in the Southwest for a hang gliding competition in which Fred will compete. They arrive at the ranch where they see a strange pterodactyl creature flying straight at them. He flies off into the canyons, and the gang meets the manager of the ranch, Mr. Bohannon. He tells them that millions of years earlier, the canyon was home to many dinosaurs and pterodactyls, some of which evolved into man-like creatures. The next day, the competition is about to begin, when Scooby gets caught in one of the hang gliders and flies into a cliff-side cave. The rest of the gang follows and discovers Scooby hidden behind a hollow wall.

They decide to search the cave for clues, where they find footprints leading into two different directions. After splitting up, Shaggy and Scooby are chased by the pterodactyl ghost. Meanwhile, Fred and the girls hear strange music within the cave and find a tape cassette on the ground. After leaving the cave, the gang heads back to the ranch to search for clues there. They head to the basement, and decide to follow Mr. Morbley, the handyman. They watch him burning a bunch of papers, and decide to figure out what they are. They decide the ranch holds no clues and they must return to the caves. The pterodactyl is relentless and continues to chase the gang into another cave. There, the gang discovers a recording studio.

They head back to the original cave, where they discover tire tracks leading into it. The gang then sees the ghostly pterodactyl driving a car, full of records and music tapes. The gang decides to trap the ghost after solving most of the mystery. After trapping him, the pterodactyl is revealed to be a man named Johnny, whose motive was to pirate hit records. Mr. Bohannon arrives, and the gang exposes his part in the pirating scheme. One of the papers Mr. Morbley burnt was an order from Mr. Bohannon purchasing the pirated materials. Not only that, he also dreamed up the pterodactyl scheme to scare away curious onlookers. Both Bohannon and Johnny were arrested shortly after.

Villains

 * Pterodactyl Ghost/Johnny

Locations

 * Big Canyon
 * Big Canyon Dude Ranch
 * Caves

Notes/trivia

 * A live-action incarnation of the Pterodactyl Ghost appears in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
 * Scooby's laughing at Shaggy's joke, then saying "I don't get it", became a running gag for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
 * Illegally acquiring music is much easier today than it was in the 1970s due to the Internet, and file sharing sites.
 * The skeleton is the first real ghost shown in the franchise. It was used as a brief joke however.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

 * None known.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

 * The amount of time that passed between Scooby entering the cave, and the gang going in after him did not seem like enough for the culprits to carve a cave drawing of Scooby, and the pterodactyl. Also, why would they want the gang to know where he is?
 * What's up with the skeleton in the cave?

Home media

 * Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Run for Your 'Rife! compilation DVD set released September 10, 2013.