Mystery Incorporated' really impressed me on first watch when it first aired. Was not sure about the advertising at first, with the animation style being a bit of a shock, but watching the show throughout its run it turned out to be the best Scooby Doo show since 'The Scooby Doo Show' (speaking as a huge fan) and one of the better incarnations of the franchise. Not as good as that show or the original, but much better than 'Shaggy and Scooby Doo: Get a Clue' particularly of the few not so good incarnations.
"The Shrieking Madness" is the twelfth episode and is among the best of those twelve ("Howl of the Fright Hound" being another standout), of which there is not a bad episode in the bunch as even the weakest (possibly "Battle of the Humungonauts") is still good. It is a great, clever and creepy effort that does nearly everything right, and as well as being one of the best episodes up to this point it for me is one of the best episodes of the incredibly impressive first season.
My only real problem with "The Shrieking Madness" is the too easy to figure out denouement in an episode where suspects are not very many.
Otherwise, "The Shrieking Madness" is just great. The animation is much more appealing than it appeared in advertising and is actually quite unique for the franchise in a good way. Loved the sometimes vibrant and at other times darkly atmospheric colours and rich background detail. The standout in the animation department is on the villain, very cleverly and creepily designed. The music is great as well, the main theme is memorable and the background music sometimes has a cinematic feel to it.
Writing is balanced very well tonally, balancing genuinely funny comedy and intriguingly dark mystery expertly. The beginning with the gang and their families was not too cheesy (apart from perhaps with Daphne) and is not too far off how some parents act saying goodbye to their children when going to university or on their first day of school. The atmosphere in the story is very spooky, especially at the beginning, and the mystery is full of energy.
Really liked the villain, very cool and menacing with a very memorable first appearance visually. The episode is also a must for the clever HP Lovecraft references, the priceless part regarding the burgers in the restaurant and for Shaggy being raked over the coals for saying like too much. The gang are spot on individually and together and the supporting characters are a colourful bunch. The voice acting is great.
Concluding, great episode and one of the best of the season. 9/10.
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