Did quite like but not loved "Ollie Ollie In-Come Free" on first watch, especially for the setting, atmosphere and villain as well as the older incarnations parrallels. There are many 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who' episodes where one's enjoyment is dependent on their thoughts on the guest star. Personally have liked a good deal of Ricky Gervais' work in the past and he talks some common sense as a person at times, though did worry about how he would fit with the gang with his style of humour being so different.
"Ollie Ollie In-Come Free" has on rewatch of all of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who's' episodes gone down in my estimations. There was still a lot liked about it and them being pretty much the same as before, but is unbalanced too much by one thing primarily and it is a strong example of an episode where any enjoyment is dependent on general thoughts on the guest star. In no way is "Ollie Ollie In-Come Free" bad, far from it (the opposite generally), but considering the premise it really could have been a lot more.
There are a lot of good things. The animation is vibrant, slick and atmospheric in one of the best looking Scooby Doo incarnations. The villain especially looks great. The music has some nice groove and atmosphere and do like the nostalgic if too brief take on the iconic theme song when talking about the show in general. The voice acting is on point, and this is including Gervais.
Enough of the writing is amusing and clever, with some sly referencing and self awareness. The story has a nice energy and benefits from the creepy setting, the heavy influence of "Scooby Doo and Mummy Too" (one of the classics from 'Scooby Doo Where are You') and the very eerie villain that is very reminiscent of the Mummy from that aforementioned episode. The gang are well defined and really like how they interact. The chase sequence is creative and isn't dragged out or repetitive.
However, "Ollie Ollie In-Come Free" could have been better. General critical reaction within the fandom to Gervais was mixed to negative, it is very easy to see why and count me as someone who was mixed on him on rewatch (found him amusing on first watch but this is one of those episodes that has a doesn't quite hold up as much on rewatch). The good news is that it is unmistakably Gervais and he isn't dumbed down or over-toned down (minus all the swearing and punch ups), his personality is fun at times. Some of the humour is amusing, especially the referencing and some of the self awareness. The not so good news is that he dominates too much in an episode that reads of too much Gervais not enough Mystery Inc and he does tend to mug, do agree that there is too much a recorded separately feel hence the disconnect.
Not all the humour worked, with the poking fun at moments being too shoe-horned in and borderline mean spirited, stylistically too it is very different to the tone of the show and tends to jar. Also found Gervais' treatment of the gang too disrespectful even for the type of humour that was being attempted. Despite loving the villain and much of the mystery, it is a shame that the final solution is so predictable too early, with there being such a low suspect count, which took away from any kind of suspense.
Just about above average all in all, but there was potential for it to be great. 6/10.
"Ollie Ollie In-Come Free" has on rewatch of all of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who's' episodes gone down in my estimations. There was still a lot liked about it and them being pretty much the same as before, but is unbalanced too much by one thing primarily and it is a strong example of an episode where any enjoyment is dependent on general thoughts on the guest star. In no way is "Ollie Ollie In-Come Free" bad, far from it (the opposite generally), but considering the premise it really could have been a lot more.
There are a lot of good things. The animation is vibrant, slick and atmospheric in one of the best looking Scooby Doo incarnations. The villain especially looks great. The music has some nice groove and atmosphere and do like the nostalgic if too brief take on the iconic theme song when talking about the show in general. The voice acting is on point, and this is including Gervais.
Enough of the writing is amusing and clever, with some sly referencing and self awareness. The story has a nice energy and benefits from the creepy setting, the heavy influence of "Scooby Doo and Mummy Too" (one of the classics from 'Scooby Doo Where are You') and the very eerie villain that is very reminiscent of the Mummy from that aforementioned episode. The gang are well defined and really like how they interact. The chase sequence is creative and isn't dragged out or repetitive.
However, "Ollie Ollie In-Come Free" could have been better. General critical reaction within the fandom to Gervais was mixed to negative, it is very easy to see why and count me as someone who was mixed on him on rewatch (found him amusing on first watch but this is one of those episodes that has a doesn't quite hold up as much on rewatch). The good news is that it is unmistakably Gervais and he isn't dumbed down or over-toned down (minus all the swearing and punch ups), his personality is fun at times. Some of the humour is amusing, especially the referencing and some of the self awareness. The not so good news is that he dominates too much in an episode that reads of too much Gervais not enough Mystery Inc and he does tend to mug, do agree that there is too much a recorded separately feel hence the disconnect.
Not all the humour worked, with the poking fun at moments being too shoe-horned in and borderline mean spirited, stylistically too it is very different to the tone of the show and tends to jar. Also found Gervais' treatment of the gang too disrespectful even for the type of humour that was being attempted. Despite loving the villain and much of the mystery, it is a shame that the final solution is so predictable too early, with there being such a low suspect count, which took away from any kind of suspense.
Just about above average all in all, but there was potential for it to be great. 6/10.
