Dance of the Undead is the eighteenth episode of the second season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and the forty-fourth overall.
Premise
A ska group named Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics return to life to turn people into zombies and make them dance forever!
Synopsis
Krissy Kristy, a TV music news reporter, is broadcasting her show live on TV, straight from the spot where music group Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics died in a plane crash 30 years ago. She starts interviewing Ian Hope, the Ska-Tastics' manager, about the tragic incident, but they're suddenly attacked by mysterious beings and the signal is cut. Shaggy and Scooby, watching at home, are terrified.
The gang decides to investigate, going to Grooves from the Grave to search for information about the band. They are greeted by shop owner Martha Quinn, who shows them the band's only hit, "Graveyard Ska Inc." Martha explains, with the help of a slideshow, that Rude Boy turned to voodoo magic to further his career, leading him to cast love spells on the audience, curse other bands, and even cast an enchantment of never - ending pain on a synthesizer; he always said he'd return from the grave....
Later, the zombified Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics attack several people in the Tiki Tub, forcing them to unwittingly dance to their tune. While the zombie band leaves just before Sheriff Bronson Stone and his deputies arrive, their victims can't stop dancing. All the victims are transported to Crystal Cove's hospital.
Once the gang arrives at the hospital, Scooby decides to visit Nova again. According to Daphne, the dance the victims are doing, called "Skanking," is the proper way to dance to ska music. A doctor informs the gang that if the cure isn't found within 24 hours all the victims will enter a permanent cataleptic state and become zombies forever.
The gang goes to the cemetery where Rude Boy and the band are buried to look for clues, and Shaggy accidentally falls into Rude Boy's grave, finding Ian Hope bound within; shortly after, the gang encounters the zombified band, which pursues them across the graveyard and through town.
Once the zombies are out of sight, the gang returns to Grooves from the Grave and talks to Ian Hope. Martha Quinn recounts the "Dancing Plague" that happened in France in 1818. Hearing ska music coming from outside, they all exit the store, only to discover Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics playing their only hit on top of City Hall, and everyone begins dancing... except for Shaggy and Scoob. Music is "just noise" to dogs, and Shaggy is tone deaf. The two seek help from the Hex Girls, who confront the Ska-Tactics in a magical-musical "battle of the bands." With Shaggy and Scooby's help, the Hex girls are victorious, freeing everyone from the dancing "curse."
Sheriff Stone arrests the zombies. It seems Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics faked their own death in order to make a surprise comeback a year later with a new hit; unfortunately, writing the perfect song took longer than expected, and by the time it was ready, ska's popularity had died out. In an attempt to revive their fame, the band disguised themselves as the undead. They used an enharmonic chord with special frequencies to make people dance.
At Shaggy's home, the Hex Girls discover musical notes in the Planispheric Disk, which Velma is sure weren't there before- the Planispheric disk has changed. The Hex Girls hum the notes, causing the disk's pieces to spin; Velma holds a lamp and redirects its light to the pieces, reflecting another set of coordinates on the floor. Fred insists the gang see where the coordinates lead them, though Scooby decides to go visit Nova again. The coordinates lead the team, sans Scooby, to the Clam Cabin, where they find Skipper Shelton wearing a peculiar helmet; after conversing with the gang, Skipper gives the helmet to Velma, which she realizes is the second key.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Scooby is talking with Nova when she flatlines, to Scooby's concern. Nova suddenly opens her eyes and stands. "Nibiru," she says, "Nibiru is coming." She then collapses again.
Characters
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Ian Hope
- Martha Quinn (only appearance)
- Sheriff Bronson Stone
- Mayor Janet Nettles
- Hex Girls (final appearance)
Villains:
- Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics (zombies) (only appearance)(Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics' disguises)
- Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics (only appearance)
- Rude Boy (only appearance)
Other characters:
- Krissy Kristy (only appearance)
- Scritti Politti (only appearance)(photograph)
- Crystal Cove citizen (Cass Elliot lookalike)
- Crystal Cove Community Center auctioneer
- Photographer
- Nova
- Skipper Shelton
- Handsome Jimmy (mentioned)
Locations
- Crystal Cove
- Strasbourg, France (picture)
Objects
Vehicles
Suspects
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Ian Hope | Although he was the manager of the Ska-Tastics, he was not with them in the plane when it crashed and he was very nervous when the gang talked with him about that. |
Culprits
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics as the zombies | Turning the townspeople into "ska-zombies", forcing them to listen to their music and become famous again. |
Cast
Songs
| Song | Credits | Performed by |
|---|---|---|
| "Good Bad Girls" | Written and produced by Dave Wakeling | Kimberly Brooks, Jennifer Hale and Jane Wiedlin |
| "Yer Dead Right, Mate" | Dave Wakeling | |
| "Who Do Voodoo" | Written by Jane Wiedlin | Jane Wiedlin |
| "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat" | Written by H.B. Barnum Produced by Joey Levine |
Fran Southworth |
Continuity
- Shaggy and Scooby (and the rest of the gang) got to know the Hex Girls in In Fear of the Phantom.
- Nova was critically injured in the previous episode.
Notes/trivia
- This episode was aired in Latin America and Brazil on March 1, 2013.
- Fred announces the "previously on..." recap.
- HB News is also a news program in the regular continuity as shown in Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon.
- Shaggy gives Scooby's name as "Scoobert Dooby-Doo" over the hospital intercom; his original incarnations parents frequently addressed by his full first name on A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
- The Hex Girls wear the costumes their original counterparts did introduced in their standard continuity version's first appearance, Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost; they explain this to be a public demand meaning their costumes in In Fear of the Phantom are actually their second ones. They also wear two other outfits: the second is skull-like outfits they wear to take on the zombified Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics, and the last is more casual outfits; they also have different hairstyles for both.
- The music notes that the Planispheric Disk play that the Hex Girls also hum to is based on the series main title music.
- The Cass Elliot lookalike can be seen in the first dance mob scene on the right side.
- The song, "Who Do Voodoo", was originally sung by the Hex Girls in the direct-to-video movie, Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire.
- The two new songs in this episode, "Yer Dead Right, Mate" and "Good Bad Girls" were written by Dave Wakeling, the vocalist of the British band, The Beat.
Cultural references
- While in the Grooves from the Grave, one can see an album looking strikingly like indie rock band Phoenix's album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.
- The way the Ska-tastics walk to the police car references British Band Madness' album cover for One Step Beyond...
Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches
- Right before Velma, Daphne and Fred become dancing zombies, Scooby, as Velma tells him and Shaggy to save the town, has no spots.
- The ring of Scooby's dog tag is fully shown over his collar, as he and Shaggy smash their guitars to the ground after the band battle is over.
Inconsistences/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities
Erroneous music notes.
- The notes on the Planispheric Disk don't match with the main title music, the notes are: B D G B B G C A G; the actual notes are: B G F# E F# G B.
- How could the Hex Girl hum the song, if they are not seeing the correct notes?
- In the previous episode, the Horrible Herd destroys most of Crystal Cove, yet in this episode, everything looks untouched.
- Whilst Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics are wearing their zombie outfits during their unmasking, after the flashback, they are shown wearing their original ones.
- The credits for "Hex Girl" and "Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air" are given to "Who Do Voodoo".
In other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Italian | Ballo Con Gli Zombie | Dance with Zombies |
| Spanish (Latin America) | La Danza de los No Muertos | Dance of the Undead |
| French | La Danse des Zombies | Dance of the Zombies |
| Hungarian | Zombik tánca | Dance of the Zombies |
| Greek | Ο Χορός των Ζόμπι | The Dance of the Zombies |
Home media
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Season Two, Part 2 - Spooky Stampede DVD set released by Warner Home Video on June 18, 2013.- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The Complete Season 2 DVD set released by Warner Home Video on October 7, 2014.
- Scooby-Doo! Mystères associés: L'intégrale de la saison 2 (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The entirety of season 2) DVD set released by Warner Home Video on September 10, 2013.
Quotes
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External links
- TBA