The Backstage Rage

The Backstage Rage is the ninth episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!.

Premise
The gang investigate an abandoned theater where they face a spooky phantom and his puppets, all connected to a counterfeiting operation!

Synopsis
Scooby and Shaggy are walking home from a pizzeria when a car rolls by and hits a bump, causing a violin case to fall out of the back window. Shaggy picks up the case and discovers it is full of money. Shaggy goes to call the gang, leaving Scooby to guard the violin case. The same car drives over near Scooby. Suddenly, a poodle dog whining and limping attracts Scooby's attention. Scooby puts down the violin case and heads over to the poodle. Two hands are seen picking up the violin case. The poodle giggles and Scooby turns his head to hide his giggles, and the poodle is raised up and the car drives off. Scooby is confused and also sees that the case has been stolen. When the gang gathers, Scooby explains the whole situation.

The gang search the area and find a puppet controller with "Pietro's Puppets" written on it. Under the circumstances, the gang deduce this was the work of counterfeiters. So, Mystery Inc. head to Strand Theater, an old theater where Pietro's Puppets is located. They talk with the doorman who they fool by signing Scooby up for an audition. But Shaggy finds a discarded counterfeit bill, and with the evidence, the gang leave. In the van, however, Velma concludes it was a real dollar. The gang return and sneak past the sleeping doorman. The gang split up and a phantom in a black cape begins to stalk the gang, trying to drop sandbags, and set props onto them. The gang see the phantom and follow it into a room filled with empty violin cases. They are lured back on stage by the sound of an organ playing and as they get onto the stage, they see the phantom playing the organ. In a second, the phantom disappears. All of a sudden, the gang are attacked by Viking and pirate figures, and the girl poodle shows up and Scooby disables the dog. and they see it is a puppet.

In the dog's stuffing, rests a money-printing case for a 20 dollar bill. They confront the doorman, but he is just a life-size puppet! The gang returns to the room underneath the stage and find a secret room. Inside they find a printing press and the phantom that gives chase. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby go back onto the stage and the pirates and Vikings attack again, but Velma realizes they are just puppets. Scooby spots the phantom working the puppets from a catwalk and corners him on a rope. Freddy pulls another rope, causing the villain to fall into a trap, and the phantom is unmasked as Mr. Pietro. With Pietro now in a cop car, the gang explain to the officer that he pretended to be the doorman to throw himself off suspicion and was scaring everybody away from the theater so his counterfeit operation would not be discovered. Shaggy adds that the real hero was Scooby, just when he can't find him. They spot him at the stage door entrance, wearing a magician's hat and cape. Velma responds by calling him a ham.

Characters
Main characters:
 * Mystery Inc.
 * Daphne Blake
 * Fred Jones
 * Scooby-Doo
 * Shaggy Rogers
 * Velma Dinkley

Monsters and other villains:
 * Puppet master /
 * Pietro

Other characters:
 * Police officer

Locations

 * Neighbourhood
 * The Pizza Palace
 * Strand Theatre
 * Back entrance
 * Secret room
 * Stage
 * Tunnel
 * Outside stage entrance
 * Telephone booth

Objects
Clues
 * Puppet controller
 * Violin cases hiding thousands of counterfeit dollar bills
 * Printing press

Food and drinks:
 * Blockbuster Pizza
 * Scooby Snacks

Other objects
 * Girl dog puppet
 * Johnny
 * Pirate puppet
 * Pizza box
 * Viking puppet

Vehicles

 * Pietro's car
 * The Mystery Machine

Full credits
The following credits are how they are seen on-screen (or as close as possible).

Produced and Directed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna

Associate Producer Lew Marshall

Story Ken Spears Joe Ruby Bill Lutz Story Direction Howard Swift

Voices Nicole Jaffe Hal Smith Casey Kasem John Stephenson Don Messick Jean Vander Pyl Vic Perrin Frank Welker Stefanianna Christopherson

Animation Director Charles A. Nichols Production Design Iwao Takamoto Production Supervisor Victor O. Schipek

Layout Bob Singer Alvaro Arce Paul Gruwell Mike Arens Alex Ignatiev Ric Gonzales Bill Lignante

Animation Bill Keil George Rowley Oliver E. Callahan Ed Love Rudy Cataldi Bill Nunes Zdenko Gasparovic Joan Orbison Bob Goe Jay Sarbry Hicks Lokey Ken Southworth Lloyd Vaughan

Background Styling Walt Peregoy Backgrounds Ron Dias Gary Niblett Daniela Bielecka Rolly Oliva Title Design Bill Perez Titles Robert Schaefer

Musical Director Ted Nichols Technical Supervisor Frank Paiker Ink and Paint Supervisor Roberta Greutert Xerography Robert "Tiger" West

Sound Direction Richard Olson Film Editing Gregory V. Watson, Jr. Ted Baker Chip Yaras Camera Dick Blundell Bill Kotler George Epperson Cliff Shirpser Charles Flekal Roy Wade

A Hanna-Barbera Production © 1969 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.

a hanna-barbera production A Taft Broadcasting Company

Notes/trivia

 * The Mystery Machine returns after a two-episode absence.
 * The puppet master does evoke the titular character of The Phantom of the Opera.
 * This episode was one of four Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episodes, (the other three being A Clue for Scooby Doo, Hassle in the Castle, and Jeepers, It's The Creeper), that were selected for the 1998 VHS Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries by being voted "Most Popular" by the fans.

Miscellaneous

 * Disguises: None.
 * Scooby Snacks bribe: 1
 * Zoinks count: None.

Cultural references

 * Velma talks about Mata Hari, an archetype of the femme fatale.

Adaptations

 * Gold Key Comics adapted this episode into the first story (out of two) for Scooby Doo... Where Are You! #3, calling it One Spook Too Many.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

 * The pepperoni is in more decorative when the pizza is first taken out the box to just looking regularly placed when has it balanced on Shaggy's finger.
 * At one point, the mysterious sedan looks as if it is driving on the sidewalk.
 * When Scooby mimes playing the violin, his sclera are missing.
 * There are several mistakes with the violin case:
 * Shaggy's arms while holding it are reversed in different shots.
 * Although Scooby doesn't put it anywhere near a storm drain, it's next to one when the puppeteer picks it up, at which time it's also facing the opposite direction.
 * When the gang first split up, the scenery wall the phantom pushes onto Shaggy, and blames on Scooby, is gone a few moments later.
 * When Velma removes the engraving place from the dog puppet it is still there.
 * When they go to wake up the doorman (and before they discover he is a puppet) his eyes are wide open.
 * When the gang catch the puppeteer, he falls into a base drum that looks like it was already broken.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

 * It is unexplained how Pietro could continue to manipulate the girl dog puppet and also go over to get the counterfeit money. Perhaps he had a remote control.
 * Shaggy and Scooby are noticably less cowardly than usual in this episode- they don't protest about returning to the theatre, splitting up and looking for clues or express a desire to leave, and Scooby even chases after the villain at the end without incentive, much like he does the Ape Man in Never Ape an Ape Man.

Home media

 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries VHS released by Warner Home Video on April 13, 1998.
 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries DVD released by Warner Home Video on May 6, 2003.
 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons DVD set released by Warner Home Video on March 16, 2004.
 * Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons DVD set released by Warner Home Video on June 20, 2005.
 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: Volume 3 - Hello Mummy DVD released by Warner Home Video on September 1, 2009.
 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Series (limited edition) DVD set released by Warner Home Video on November 9, 2010.
 * Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Series DVD set released by Warner Home Video on November 21, 2011.
 * Happy Spook-Day Scooby-Doo! DVD released on April 9, 2012.
 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Series DVD set released by Warner Home Video on November 13, 2012.
 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (Walmart exclusive) DVD released by Warner Home Video on July 23, 2013.
 * 🇺🇸 Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map DVD released by Warner Home Video on February 14, 2014.