"Barney's Imagination Island" Video Review

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

I have a craving to make fun of a video that I liked as a kid. Don't know which video I'm talking about? Here's a hint: Barney.
Yep, seeing how I was and still am (somewhat) a Barney the Dinosaur fan, Barney was every imagination-seekers dream come true. He seemed like a close friend for me. But, unlike LarryBoy, Barney had his flaws. Everything about his character is one-dimensional, and he never confronts real-life issues. What he's really good at is letting kids forget their problems for a day by taking them on adventures or just being someone to hang with. Case in point: Barney's Imagination Island.

Well, people remember this special or forgot it. This special first aired on NBC on April 24, 1994 during prime-time (Don't believe me? Look it up on Wikipedia). For those of you that do remember this special, either you loved it or hated it. But for me, this was one of my favorite Barney videos when I was a kid. But now that I'm an adult, seeing this special again seemed... I don't know. Does it still hold up?
Well, today, we're going to find out. So, sit back as we dive into Barney's Imagination Island.

Intro:
We see the special start with the "Bedtime with Barney" title card.

-Eh?
-Why is that even there? Was this special shown around nighttime?
Then Barney tells the audience how "fun" the special is gonna be.
-Got it... Can we get to the real special now?

Opening Scene:

The special (officially) starts with two girls, Min and Tosha, listening to Tosha's mother read them a bedtime story that's obviously foreshadowing what'll happen later on in the special.
The story is interrupted when Tosha's starts crying in the hallway. And, despite Tosha's dad offering to take care of the little ones that are crying, Tosha's mom, for some reason, still thinks that she can put the bedtime story on hold.
-Geez! At least finish the bedtime story, lady! Well, then again, the book was just the special's foreshadowing device. So, don't spoil it.
Anyway, Tosha wants to show Min her new necklace...

-(mimicking Tosha's mom) That I'm gonna allow; but finishing your bedtime story isn't gonna happen.
So Tosha's mom gets going, but not before she tells the girls that they'll have 5 more minutes of playtime until they have to go to bed.
-Trust me; that 5-minute warning is gonna bite this special in the rear later on.
So... what will these girls do to pass the time? Pillow fight, of course!

But they accidentally hit their Barney doll with a pillow, causing them to stop and tuck the doll into bed. Plus, they decide to read him their bedtime story... since Tosha's mom was too dang lazy to finish the job for them.

More of the Bedtime Scene: (45 seconds in on their "playtime." Thank you, Tosha's mom.)
So the girls read more of the story, reading about a storm that threatens the story's ship, when suddenly, an actual flash of lightning and actual clang of thunder strike outside their window, causing the Barney doll to come to life.
-Oh no! It's Godzilla in your bed! Hide your family! Call the police!

So Barney comes to life (obviously breaking the laws of reality, just like in most viewings of his videos) and says hi to the girls, saying that he enjoyed the story that was being read to him. He also explains that... but it's self-explanatory with what he says next:
Barney: "You can do anything, if you just imagine."
And this leads to the special's first song, "Just Imagine."
-Yeah, we're in 5 minutes of the special, and also nearly 2 minutes of the girls' issued "playtime," and already we have our first musical number. Okay, fair enough.
-You know, whenever I hear this song mashed up with such a whimsical premise, I think of the "Make Believe" song from the Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio special. But it's hard to tell which special came out first.

After 1st Song: (1 minute left until the girls must "go to bed," because Tosha's mom said so)
So the girls decide to give their imaginations a try, and they're blown away to see a flash of light come from out of their storybook and fly into their closet, in which the light turns into a magic portal.
-Yeah, that was 100% radiation. Or... did the girls get into the Vicodin?
-Plus, look at Tosha's face when she reacts to the storybook lighting up.

It's like Hush Puppy's reaction from Shari's Passover Surprise, when he learns the truth about chicken soup.

Barney: "Twinkle, twinkle, little stairs. Up you go to who... knows... where..."

-Um...
One, two,
Freddy's comin' for you.
Except that it's actually Barney,
'cuz Freddy Krueger couldn't get away with a G-rating.
So Barney goes up the stairs first, and the girls are delighted to follow him up.
-Some kids may find this charming... while some adults may find this creepy in today's standards-You'd pull those girls the fuck away!
-Besides, where's that mom from earlier that said that the girls had 5 more minutes until bedtime? It's obvious that their playtime is up!

On the Ship:
The girls find themselves on the ship now dressed in... pirate attire? The ship is sailing in the ocean...

-Geez! A toy boat in a bathtub is more exciting than this cheaply-animated ship in the sea!
Tosha then remembers that she needed to put away her necklace, so she and Min try to get back to their bedroom, but find out that they can't go back.
Min: "You know, this isn't the way to your bedroom anymore."

-Well, no shit! Y'all followed the dinosaur during such a time of whimsy. Clearly, you two didn't give this a second thought!
But that's nothing, 'cuz Barney wants to sing another song.
-Yeah, trying to go back home can wait, because it's Barney's time, not yours!
And during this song, we're introduced to Shawn, Derek, Baby Bop, and BJ- together at last!

After That Song:
-Wow, that was enough song. Let's go back to talking!
Derek: "So Barney, what are we all doing here?"
-Did you even read your own script? You're called Barney's Imagination Island. That should've been a dead giveaway!
Barney: "Well, thanks to Tosha and Min, we're on a sailing adventure to find Imagination Island..."

-(mimicking Barney): So if anyone get hurt or dies on this trip, please feel free to sue these girls for compensation.
BJ: "Wow. What kind of surprises, Barney?"
-Yeah, enlighten us, Barney, on what to expect on this delightful trip.
Barney: "Oh! Well, uh, first we're gonna go... hey uh... But then after that, there's gonna be, uh... Oh, and, and... And there's a, uh... Uh... Oh gee, uh... I don't know..."
-Well, shit! That's just great! Barney has no clue, whatsoever, on what to expect on this trip! I mean, this was the guy that sincerely said earlier: "You can do anything, if you just imagine." What the hell happened?!
Anyway, Min and Tosha say that this trip is like the story in their storybook, but they only read part of it.
But that's nothing! The more exciting stuff happens when:
1. Everyone finds that no one's manning the steering wheel
2. Baby Bop running to control the wheel
3. Baby Bop losing to the wheel... Seriously?
BJ: "Yep! That's my little sister!"
-(mimicking BJ): Too bad I can't say that with a straight face.
So the kids let Baby Bop steer the ship, after that terrible slap-stick attempt, really?
-What's next? Are they gonna put her in charge of affairs whenever they're attacked by pirates?
(pause)
Oh, sorry. Wrong movie...
BJ, on the other hand, goes back up to the crow's nest to be the "look-out." This pays off, when he announces that he's spotted Imagination Island.

-Really, guys? This "island" is just a green rock sticking out of the ocean! Apparently, the budget for this production was so cheap, that it resulted to cheap animation. Or... are we to assume that that's...

(pause)
Kinda, sort of?
The gang is so excited to finally make it to Imagination Island, but there's just one problem: the storm from the book comes to (literally) rain on their fun.
-(mimicking our main characters) Help! We're badly reenacting Titanic!

To make matters worse, Baby Bop abandons the wheel and (literally) speeds off into her hiding place with her blanky.

-(sarcasm) Yeah, vote Baby Bop for this year's Captain of the Steering Wheel Award.
Shawn: "This is fun! It's like a roller coaster ride!"
Tosha: "It sure is! I'm not scared!"
-Wanna know what they're actually thinking?

But oh no! A giant wave is coming their way. What's a dinosaur to do?
Barney: "Okay, there's just one thing to worry about. Hold on, everybody!"
So the gang gets attacked by the cheaply-animated wave...

-I should be worried about the well-being of Barney and the gang, but I'm too busy laughing my ass off at the crappy animation to even care!

After the Storm...:
It looks like everyone is okay, as they survey the damage. They see that they're on the island, but there' s a twist: their ship is stuck in the palm trees.

-Yeah, this is why you don't let your three-year-old model some of the storyline.
So what's the gang gonna down to get down? They let Baby Bop do some more slap-stick by pulling a rope ladder out of the storage.
-Well, at least she's making herself useful, because all she's done so far on this trip is spin out of control on a steering wheel and hide from the storm.

On the Island:
After another quick costume change...

Barney: (singing) "Very far away from the homes we know..."
-Oh good! Another song! Rescuing the ship from out of the trees can wait. Let's have our next song here!
-The island is a great place, next!
So the gang finally think about their ship being stuck, so Barney and the kids go into the jungle to find help, while BJ and Baby Bop stay behind to look after the ship.

Jungle:
They sing another song... let's cut back to BJ and Baby Bop!

Ship Scene:

BJ is frustrated by Baby Bop's obsessive bell-ringing... let's cut back to Barney!

Meanwhile:

Barney and friends come across... the Between the Lions house and knock-I mean- ring the doorbell to the place.
Barney: "I guess it's one of those do-it-yourself things..."
-Ain't that obvious?
So they get greeted by a guy named Professor Tinkerputt (played by Barry Pearl), who loves saying obnoxious hellos rather than just saying hi.
So after that awkward greeting, the professor invites the gang inside his workshop. However, there's a catch:
Professor: "Please don't touch!"
-(sarcasm) Yeah, vote Tinkerputt for the Gracious Party Host Award.
And then the guy pulls out a guest-book and calls Barney and friends that are so racist that you'll wonder how this scene got past the TV-Y rating.

Professor: "Ferdinand (Derek)... Elvira (Min)... Rupert (Sean)... Katrinka (Tosha)... and... Rex (Barney)!"
And you wanna know what makes that seen even more pointless? They tell him that those weren't their real names, and...
Professor: "Of course not! But nobody reads this book away."
-This pointless scene brought to you by Lyrick Studios, dealing with lawsuits for over 15 years.
Now, would you like to hear the professor's full name?
Professor: "Professor Erasmus Q. Tinkerputt!"
-(sarcasm) Yeah, 'cuz every child would remember that name.
Professor: (singing) "These toys are mine, so please don't touch!"
-He won't share his toys, next!
So, when asked if he gets lonely on the island...
Professor: "Maybe... a little... sometimes..."
-Uh... no comment.
So the professor explains that he used an airplane to get to the island. The gang wonders if they could use the plane to fly home, but the dick that he is... the professor says that he used the plane parts to make toys.
-Dang! That plane could've cut the show-time in half. The show would've been over already! The plane would've been Barney's and the kids' salvation, you bastard!
So the gang finally tells Tinkerputt about their ship dilemma.

Barney: "It's sort of a long story, professor..."
-Well, we can sit back and watch Barney explain to the professor their problem in full detail...

Ship Scene (with parrot):

...
-Or... we can quickly cut to Baby Bop having fun with a parrot, and BJ getting bored out of his mind... Um. I'd rather check back with Barney and Tinkerputt...

Back at Tinkerputt's:
Barney: "... the wave was so tall..."
-Still explaining to the guy? Geez! We're in almost a half-hour of the special, and nothing was epic-worthy, except for the giant wave and being stuck in the trees!
So Tinkerputt agrees to help the gang with their problem.
Professor: "I'll help you get it down..."
-Oh boy! What ideas do you have for us, professor? Are you gonna build us another plane or build us something useful...?
Professor: "...or my name isn't... George Washington!"
-So... is that it? Are you just gonna fuck with us or keep hinting out that we're not welcome inside your workshop with all your precious toys?
So seeing his multiple-personality mishap, Tinkerputt corrects himself that he can't help the gang with their dilemma. Why?
Professor: "Because I have a problem of my own to solve."
-Well, that makes sense... Selfish!
So Tinkerputt shows the guests his "problem": a balloon machine that's no more than colorful trash cans. He explains that he doesn't know why it won't work, and he just quits on it and then finally tells the gang to leave.
Professor: "Thank you for coming. Farewell. Au revoir. Auf Wiedersehen. And good luck."
-(mimicking Tinkerputt) Just leave me to my self-created isolation, if you will...

So before the professor could kick them all out, Barney points out Tosha using her necklace to take the place of a missing mechanism on the balloon machine, and... what was surprise! It works, and balloons fly out like hotcakes!

Later on in the workshop:
Having being touched by Tosha sharing her necklace to make the machine work, Tinkerputt decides to give sharing a try.
-And I gotta admit, the toys that he shares with the children are pretty cool.
So... seeing that the sharing "experiment" that he got going was a huge success, Tinkerputt decides to ride in his band-bicycle or bicycle-band, and get everybody into the next song...

Barney: "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!"
-Yeah, since this special has like a bajillion songs, we might as well let them get away with this one...
So, after the song, the professor makes an announcement about leaving the island to make more toys to share to the world.
-Yeah, it had to one girl's act of sharing to get him to that proclamation...
But the thing about the ship still being stuck in the trees is in the question. So, what's a professor to do, but put on his thinking cap.

-No, really.
He literally puts on his "thinking cap" and comes up with the brilliant plan of...

Nighttime Ship Scene:
... making balloons to turn the ship into a hot-air ship balloon thing... letting the balloons lift the ship off the trees and into the sky.

-Not a bad idea, come to think of it...
The plan actually works, and the gang is on their way home. And plus, they see the song "Just Imagine."
-We'll let them get away with that song, too, because finally, the plot is going somewhere.

Later on, on the flying ship:

The gang finally spots home. BJ and Baby Bop get going. And Tinkerputt gives Tosha back her necklace, saying that learned so much about sharing, thanks to her.
Barney: "Well, looks like our adventure has come to an end..."
-I remember when I was a kid, I was disappointed when it got to this point of the special. I wanted more adventure, I kept saying. Most kids would think this...
Anyway, before everyone calls it a night, they share on final song...
Barney: "It's good to be home..."
-Our last song. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Back home:

Min and Tosha return to Tosha's bedroom, back in their pajamas, just in time for Tosha's mom to come into the room and say:
Tosha's Mom: "Okay, girls. It's been five minutes."
-That was no five minutes; believe me.

Anyway, the show ends when Min and Tosha say good night to Barney and go to bed, as the Imagination Island ship sails off into the sky outside their window.

End Credits:
As the credits roll, we see that it took 4 people to write this special.

-Seriously? 4 people? I don't know; I always thought that all this corniness and whimsy came from one child-like adult.

And that was Barney's Imagination Island. So, is it still a good special to this day?
I gotta say that out of all the Barney specials, this is one of my all-time favorites. Despite its clichés and corniness, it still holds up. Now I know that this special can be too whimsical at times, but it just adds to the innocence and charm that the characters have.
Yeah, the animation was questionable. Remember, this special came out in the 90s; this was when every animation studio wanted to take down Disney by coming up with CG animation. I don't know; I felt the animation was cheap to contrive that they should've stuck with green-screen effects.
But who cares? I liked the premise; the characters were memorable; the songs were perfectly mashed up with the story (although there were a lot of songs in this special); and the story itself was engaging. Plus, the character-based jokes may be corny, but people get the jokes. Also, have you ever gone on a really cool vacation trip where there was stuff to do and so much to see? That's this special.
The biggest advantage that this special had was that the lesson in sharing was consistent; it wasn't tagged on. All movies and specials must keep their lessons consistent.
Despite its minor flaws here and there, for what it is, this special is worth checking out.

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
Barney's Imagination Island
Shari's Passover Surprise (that one pic)
Mario Party 7 (that one pic that was photo shopped with Nintendo DSi)
Nintendo DSi

All rights go to HIT Entertainment, Shari Lewis, and Nintendo.

"Lamb Chop In The Haunted Studio" Video Review

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Thank God for Youtube, because it houses videos from one of my childhood shows, Lamb Chop's Play Along. But little did I know about one of their specials. When I found its Halloween special, I was curious about it. Yeah, I'm talking about Lamb Chop In The Haunted Studio.

Imagine a special that wanted to look like Scooby-Doo, but it had to be live-action and filled with humor more than scares, and the mystery is... well, there's no mystery, because the antagonizing factor obvious. That's this special. It has guest stars, humorous acting, and many clichés associated with Halloween. It's like it wants to take the Halloween genre seriously but be humorous at the same time. This special is very cliché and corny, that you can't help but be nostalgic about it and laugh at it.
So, seeing that this my first review since the name change to the Whatsoever Critic, let's check out the special that makes Halloween a laughing stock... Lamb Chop In The Haunted Studio.

TV Rating Scene:
Lamb Chop: "The following program is rated PG..."

-Wow, I didn't know that this Lamb Chop special was more grown-up than advertised...
Lamb Chop: "'P' is for 'phantoms,' and 'G' is for 'ghosts'..."
-Y'all got creative with the TV rating, haven't you, special?
Lamb Chop: "It's also rated SS for 'Slightly Scary'..."

-(sarcasm) Yeah, we now know what the PG rating is supposed to mean... Was it worth it?
Lamb Chop: "...and FF for 'Family Fun!'..."

-Seriously, were the rating bumpers worth it?

Opening Credits:
As the credits roll, we see that Shari Lewis and her puppets are the stars of the show. We also see our guest stars Alan Thicke as the show's Dracula, John Byner as the show's Dr. Frankenstein, co-starring Doug Cameron as the studio owner Mr. Wimperdink... and special guest star Jan Rubes as the main antagonist of the special- The Phantom!
-Who are these guys, you may ask? Well, when we get to them in a minute, I'll research them and find out some movie trivia about them...

Opening Scene:

The special opens with Shari telling Charlie Horse to be extra nice to his sister Lamb Chop, because they're going to the studio to rehearse for their Halloween special... and knowing Lamb Chop, she's scared of Halloween. And while Charlie Horse could care less about his sister, Lamb Chop seems defiant to go to the studio... even Charlie Horse finds it a chore to pull her out of the comfort of under her bed... for some apparent reason...
Lamb Chop continues to be defiant to go to the studio. But gee... why doesn't she want to go?
Lamb Chop: "Because the Phantom lives there!"
-(pause) Really? Just like that? Phantom? You're not gonna give us any clues or build-ups towards this antagonizing force whatsoever? Okay then... But hey, there may be a man-eating werewolf that nobody knows about yet... or a Loch Ness monster wreaking havoc in the studio without anyone knowing... Those would've been better pay-offs for this special!
Charlie Horse: "That's just a rumor!"
Lamb Chop: "(gasp) You see? The phantom has a room in that studio!"
-Uh... was that supposed to be a joke or something? More like a pun...
So Shari explains that phantoms aren't real and tries to get Lamb Chop to go to the Old Sunshine Studios with everyone else, and even telling her that her two favorite actors Alan Thicke and John Byner are gonna be there; but the convincing comes to no avail.

Studio Scene:

At Old Sunshine Studios, we're introduced to our main villain, The Phantom, played by Jan Rubes.
-By the way, who is this guy? (researching) Some of you may remember him from One Magic Christmas (1985) and D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994). Probably? IDK.
Anyway, the Phantom learns (out of thin air) that Shari Lewis and all the other actors are coming to the studio. So he plans on...
-Wait, he doesn't explain his evil deeds yet... Really? Do we have to wait for it? Are you kidding me?

Dressing Room:
We then get a shot of Alan Thicke, who's going to play Dracula for tonight's performance.
-Now, as promised, I'll find out who this guy is... (researching) Okay, he was the father from Growing Pains, the baseball announcer from Casper Meets Wendy (1998), and... wow. He's no strange to the Lamb Chop specials... like Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah (1995) and Shari's Passover Surprise (1996). That's pretty cool, actually.
Anyway, Alan is preparing for his performance, when he gets checked on by the studio owner Mr. Wimperdink, who loves spending more time expressing his gratitude in having actors in his "humble" place rather than pissing off to let them prepare for rehearsal.

Alan: "This isn't humble... It's crumby."
-Geez! Lighten up!
Mr. Wimperdink throws his flattery at the actor, but Alan is creeped out by this happy pansy.
-By the way, Wimperdink is played by Doug Cameron... Couldn't find any bio about this guy, 'cuz there are three different Doug Camerons in the Wikipedia world...

Back at Home:
We cut back to Lamb Chop and the gang, singing a song to get Lamb Chop to come to the studio with them. Yeah, the gang goes from bribing Lamb Chop with a toy, to Charlie Horse letting her play on his baseball team, to threatening to leave her home alone... So which one would you think that she'll fall for? Leaving her home alone, of course! And luckily, for the plot, she reluctantly goes.
-Well, that didn't take long... Oh wait, it did! Because of that 2-minute musical number!

Back at the Dressing Room:
We cut back to Mr. Wimperdink still flattering Alan Thicke...
-Dude, lay off on the actor. Otherwise, he won't be ready for the show!
Mr. Wimperdink: "Well, I must be off, welcoming the other actors..."
-Oh thank God!
Alan Thicke: "Well, he's weird..."
-Um, my thoughts exactly, Mr. Thicke.
While that's happening, we see our Phantom spy on Alan Thicke, while petting his cat... which is an obvious villain cliché- having a pet sidekick. Here, he finally reveals his plot to take over the studio.
-About friggin' time...
The Phantom wants revenge on the studio for not letting him play neither Dracula nor Frankenstein; so he'll show them all by his "mastery" of disguises and his perfect imitation of people's voices... and strike fear into people's hearts, and...
Phantom: "Don't worry, Bella. I won't hurt them. It's all just for fun!"
-Wow, a villain that doesn't plan on killing anybody? Imagine Jan Rubes playing a psychopath that killed the whole cast: but how would that be possible if puppets don't have any blood to be spilled?

Other Dressing Room:
We then cut to John Byner, who's going to play Dr. Frankenstein in the show.

Mr. Wimperdink: (flattery) "That was bloodcurdling!"
-OMG! Will you piss off, Wimperdink, and let these actors get ready for rehearsal?! I mean, sure. You have to check on them for security reasons, but don't flatter them to death!!
John Byner: "I'm not used to doing this. I'm used to comedy..."
-(researching) He's right. He's responsible for his voice work from the series The Ant and the Aardvark and for some of The Pink Panther shows.
Anyway, John Byner tells Wimperdink that scary stuff is out of his league, but reluctantly agrees.
Wimperdink: "Well... I'll leave you to your devices..."

-Yes, leave!!!
So after Mr. Wimperdink finally gets going, we get another song: only this time, Alan and John sing a duet about how they'll have to adapt to their new roles even though they will be challenging.
-Well, you can't really blame them, because of their bios. So can you really blame them?
-And I have to admit, this was a really good combo, putting both Alan Thicke and John Byner in a musical number together.
But that's nothing, because the Phantom makes an appearance; Wimperdink is none-the-wiser about the Phantom; and the Phantom locks Alan in his dressing room and leaves with his vampire costume.

-Wait, if the Phantom locked Alan in his dressing room, then why doesn't he lock John Byner in his room? That's really bad if you're plotting to take over the studio with only one person trapped, while everyone else is okay.
-And besides, seeing the Phantom's phantom costume now, he looks more like Zorro than an actual phantom. The costume from The Phantom of the Opera would've been more convincing...

Studio Entrance Scene:

So Shari and her puppet friends arrive. But then we get some action!... When... Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse have fun with the stair rails...

-Neat.
Hush Puppy: "Hey Charlie Horse! Wasn't that fun?"
Charlie Horse: "Yes, especially if you like pain..."
-Um, the Phantom does know that y'all are here, right? The slap-stick attempt was a dead giveaway.
Anyway, the gang gets together and... Do some echoes in this dark, gloomy place, of course!
Hush Puppy: "This is my first echo, and I want to make sure that I get it right."

-(mimicking Hush Puppy) Yeah, the dark, depressing stuff, and the things that go bump in the night in this studio can be dealt with later. Let's do some annoying stuff like making echoes!
Shari Lewis: "What do you think of the studio?"
Hush Puppy: "This place is a dump!"
-Finally! The voice of reason! Know why? Look at the place! It's all cluttered and full of furniture. I mean, what if the Phantom showed up, and there was little space to run from him? Then what?
Charlie Horse: "No, no, no, no. First, it needs a fresh coat of paint. Then, it'll be a dump."
-Okay, since when did this special become a show that's judges creepy places?
Shari tells the kids that they must use their imaginations to make the studio less creepy... and less critical, which leads into yet another song.
So Shari sings about make-believing things so that the place that they're in would more appealing.
-I also gotta admit that this song is awesome. In fact, she dances, sings, and plays make-believe.

-Plus, the make-believing in this musical number is very creative. I wish the rest of the special was like this. To hell with the Halloween genre that it's trying to attempt here...
-And again... The Phantom and his mischief can be dealt with later. We got a cool skeleton that we can dance with!

And a broom to mess around with!

And a blanket to make silly impressions in!

And what a surprise. This musical number has a "The End" credit, really?

But the Phantom doesn't seem to like the "The End" credit, because he tinkers with the lighting, scaring the living shit out of Lamb Chop.
Just then... (sigh) Mr. Wimperdink shows up...
-Well, to be fair, he has to show Shari to her room and stuff... and get her on the welcome-wagon.
Mr. Wimperdink: "...Hubbert Wimperdink..."
Charlie Horse: "Is he for real?"
-Yeah. That would be the first thing that's comes to mind whenever I hear such a funny name...
Anyway, Lamb Chop expresses her fear of the Phantom, but Mr. Wimperdink assures her that the only person here is the janitor who everyone thought wasn't a successful actor.
-Starting to see a connection between the Phantom and the janitor that's being mentioned here?
We then see Hush Puppy needing to go to the bathroom, so Mr. Wimperdink gives them some really good directions on how to get there:

Mr. Wimperdink: "Easy."
-Okay, I'm pretty sure the restroom is just a couple of steps away...
Mr: Wimperdink: "...down the hall, around the bend, up the stairs, through the arch, past the kitchen, across the store room... second floor to the left."
-(pause) What is this, a maze? Those directions are hard to remember, unless it's repeated several times, and someone is taking good notes!!!
Charlie Horse: "We're gonna need cab fare."
-My thoughts exactly...

Back in Alan Thicke's Room:
Alan is preparing for his Dracula role, until he realizes that he's locked in his room.
-Eh...

Hallway:

We see Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse still searching for the bathroom, when in actuality... it looks like they have a studio to tour...
Hush Puppy: "Where do you think we are?"
Charlie Horse: "South America is my guess..."
-(sarcasm) Riveting...
Hush Puppy: "What was it? Was it the right of the stairs and left of the portrait, or right of the kitchen and left of the chandelier? Which one was it, left or right?"

-Which one did you want us to answer first, where y'all are, or what the directions were?
-Plus, do you see the painting on the wall doing scary stuff, while the characters are just rambling and being lost? It's like they're trying to get the two to notice them.
(a painting points to the left in front of Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse)

Hush Puppy: "Oh, thank you very much.
Turning and walking away)
Hee, you know, if there's one thing..."
-Yes, Charlie Horse is seeing all the weird stuff, and not Hush Puppy.

-Plus, I want to focus more on the creepiness of the premise, but I'm too busy checking out how the puppeteers got these two to walk without Shari. You can see Charlie Horse's feet in one take. And plus, only Hush Puppy's arms are moving back and forth, while Charlie Horse seems like he's floating... How much lazier can these puppeteers get?!

Phantom Strikes Again:

We see the Phantom disguise himself as Dracula, kidnapping Charlie Horse in the process. You'd think Charlie Horse would be in fear, right? Nope. Instead, he cracks one-liners at the Phantom:
Charlie Horse: "(mimicking the Phantom)...the world's most-distinguished vwam-pire!"
"Low-cost housing?" (in response to Phantom's coffin)
Oh, and guess how Charlie Horse escapes the Phantom! He tricks the Phantom into getting back into his coffin to prove his vampire-ness, and shuts the door on him...

-(pause) Weak!

Back downstairs:
...
Okay, so if you haven't realized it yet... this special has so much filler in it. So, perhaps it's not riveting to hear about the "really juicy" stuff like...
1. Lamb Chop and Shari getting into an argument on what they just said to each other...
2. Giving each other a better understanding of what they just said...
3. Cutting to John Byner being locked in his room by the Phantom...
-Wait. John Byner is locked in his room? What scene was that? We never saw that! We only saw the Phantom lock up Alan Thicke's room.

Phantom's Encounter with Hush Puppy:
Hush Puppy is by himself, as he stumbles into a room where the Phantom is waiting for him... in John Byner's Frankenstein costume...
-We never saw the Phantom steal that costume either...
So the Phantom-Frankenstein has Hush Puppy sit down in a chair, so that he can carry out his diabolical plan of... switching Hush Puppy's brain with the Frankenstein monster that's on the examination table (or wall).

Hush Puppy: "This is some high-tech toilet!"
-So naïve...
So, you'd think the Phantom would defeat Hush Puppy in this scene, right? Wrong! Hush Puppy escapes in the most logical way possible: he hands over the metal helmet to the Phantom, pulls the lever, and shocks the flesh of the feeble old man!
-(pause) Weaker than Charlie Horse's escape...

Shari's Dressing Room:
Meanwhile, Shari is putting on her witch costume, while Lamb Chop is still acting scared.
Lamb Chop: "Shari, are you listening to me?"
-Oh, you mean listening to you bitch about the Phantom? Nah, brushing my long wig seems more interesting to focus on...
So, as you can imagine, Lamb Chop starts to suspect that Mr. Wimperdink may be the Phantom...

-Uh, no, Lamb Chop. Making this special seem like a Scooby-Doo spoof was out of the question a few scenes ago. So don't act like y'all are still trying, because you're not!
We then see the Phantom play Peeping-Tom by looking into Shari's dressing room...
-Seriously, is the Phantom a pervert?
Anyway, he plans to disguise himself as a witch and to make his voice sound like Shari's...
-How the flying fuck will that process work?
Anyway, Shari lets Lamb Chop sleep in the room during rehearsal, and she's so kind as to...
1. Dim the lights
2. Lock the door behind her
3. Leave Lamb Chop with the Phantom who's... now in the room for some reason.
So the Phantom wakes up Lamb Chop; and of course, this scares the living shit out of her.

The Phantom: "You are like all the others. You are a coward."
-Geez! This guy is a bunghole! Calling Lamb Chop names and purposely scaring her! What a dick!
This gets Lamb Chop angry and causes her to rebel, and even questioning the Phantom's resemblance to a "real" Phantom. But this causes Lamb Chop to bump into things and hurt herself, which Phantom reacts in... a sympathetic way(?)
Phantom: "Oh my goodness! I didn't mean to hurt you!"
-Oh, that's right. When you were telling your cat earlier about not wanting to hurt people but scare them... I totally forgot about that.
So Lamb Chop finally musters up the courage to ask Phantom why he likes scaring people.
Phantom: "That's because I think I'm good at it."
-Yeah, as proven in the many scenes where... you locked people into their rooms; kidnap people to meet you; and sneak into people's rooms to scare them to death... Yep, you're qualified.

Hallway:
While that's going out, Shari and Mr. Wimperdink finally unlock Alan Thicke and John Byner out of their rooms. They finally meet Charlie Horse when he hints out that somebody else was disguised as Dracula earlier, leading everyone to investigate Shari's dressing room.

Back in Shari's Dressing Room:
Shari bursts into the room only to find Phantom reading a children's book to Lamb Chop.

-Yeah, walking in to see a grown strange man reading a book to your child is a red flag...

Back down stairs:

Here's a fun question: What's more annoying than having a villain that doesn't want to hurt people, yet causes havoc in the spirit of Halloween and acting? Having a reason why the villain doesn't want to hurt people yet causing havoc in the spirit of Halloween and acting. Yeah, this special gives Phantom a backstory of how his family didn't care for him, and how he was friendless and picked on as a kid for being "ugly." But wait! There's more! He sings about his family not caring about him, and being friendless and picked on as a kid for being "ugly," and how he decided to turn to acting and scaring people.
-Come on! Jan Rubes' character is weird enough! We don't need anymore reasons why to say that his character in this special is weird!
Anyway, Shari's puppets are back together... for some reason...

-(Plot hole) How did Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse make it back to Shari, if they saw the Phantom?
Shari then gets a letter from both Alan Thicke and John Byner that they decided to go home, because their Halloween roles didn't suit them.

-That seems like a legit excuse.
So, Shari and the others blow that off, and finally rehearse for the Halloween show... and letting Phantom join them in their festivities.

-Wow, the Shari Lewis gang weren't that forgiving when Lloyd Bochner's character wanted to scare them out of the Charlie Horse Music Pizza place...
So, how does the special end? Well... I don't know. The rest of the special is just filler, with some of the characters telling jokes and saying stuff.

-It's just filler.
-Yeah, the special just stops, showing a slide show of some of the screenshots of the special. Uh... can we get the "The End" credit blanket from earlier back?

Thanks.

And that was Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio, or as I like to call it: a fatal attempt of spoofing Scooby-Doo... or, the non-legitimate Halloween special.
Nothing about this special seems Halloween-worthy; all they did was give us a "spooky" premise and have us pretend that this was a Scooby-Doo knock-off.
Some of the human actors (except Shari Lewis) were unlikable from beginning to end. You can blame Jan Rubes for that, because his character was just odd the whole time, and he couldn't keep his mean-spirited demeanor for the whole special- and plus, I got the feeling that he made up his "evil plots to take over the studio" as he went, which is rarely a good thing if you're a villain that has a goal in mind; it's like pick-and-choose what you want to go after and that's it!
Also, some of the plot made no sense, because there are so many little yet noticeable things that were never explained. Some of the special was just filler, and come to think of it... it was mostly vague. Yeah, I didn't show you half of the fillers that were in this specials. (There were plenty; trust me).
What's worse is that they throw in some whimsical bullshit where we're supposed to feel sorry for the bad guy, because of his lonely and unrewarding past. Seriously, guys? Why would I want to sympathize with the Phantom, after seeing him doing mischievous, villainous stuff, and just being an oddball the entire time?
Well, not to be harsh on this special... They did have some good jokes here and there to keep the story and premise interesting. They did put some effort in the writing and acting. And to be honest, I'm glad I saw this special, but I don't think that it's a legit Halloween special.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio

All rights go to Shari Lewis.