Saturday Morning Cartoons: FANGFACE

"Every 400 years, a werewolf is born into the Fangsworth family," the narrator explains at the start of FANGFACE. In this case, it's Sherman "Fangs" Fangsworth, a Shaggy-esque dimwit who travels the country solving crimes with his slightly more intelligent friends.

In case it wasn't obvious enough that the show was a SCOOBY DOO ripoff, the second season saw the introduction of a youthful sidekick named "Fangpuss" that seems to defy the "Every 400 years ..." hook in the opening. Ah, well. When I was seven years old, I loved this series. A Saturday morning cartoon starring a werewolf? I'm not made of stone. I'M NOT MADE OF STONE.

Today's episode, "Begone, You Amazon," first aired Nov. 18, 1978. Here's a summary:

"During a storm, the gang land in the Amazon jungle where Fangface rescues Sheba, an Amazon queen. Fangface and his friends must help her reclaim her throne from her evil cousin, Thera."

FANGFACE was a temporary whirlwind of licensing products. Assuming they were getting in at the groundfloor for the next SCOOBY DOO, companies signed up to produce everything from board games to novels based on FANGFACE. The show didn't have Scooby's legs, though, and came to an end in early 1980.

If you have fond memories of this series, I'm going to warn you that FANGFACE hasn't aged well. I kinda wanted to punch all of the characters in the throat.