Char Gar Gothakon is the creation of a professor at Darrow University by the name of H.P. Hatecraft, voiced by Jeffrey Combs. Hatecraft
claims that Char Gar Gothakon and his ilk are real entities that
contact him in dreams and that he then spins into horror stories. Some
people scoff at this notion, including visiting lecturer Harlan Ellison
(voiced by the author himself), deriding Hatecraft as a fraud. This
stance doesn't find favor with one of Hatecraft's biggest fans, a young
man named Howard E. Roberts, whom Ellison humiliates at his appearance
at Darrow University. Here's Roberts, who looks nothing like any real world person, living or dead. Char
Gar Gothakon attacks the university several times, leading Hatecraft to
eventually admit that Ellison is right and that he invented the monster
with his own imagination rather than having been contacted by him.
Unfortunately, that doesn't stop the beast from attacking Ellison in a
parking lot and nearly carrying him off. I
won't say any more about the plot of the episode, since I don't want to
spoil it for anyone, though I suspect anyone who's watched even a
single Scooby-Doo episode should have no trouble unraveling the mystery.
For me, though, the real joy of this was seeing all the references and
allusions to some of my favorite pulp fantasists and their creations. It
was also amusing seeing Harlan Ellison making light of himself, his
writings, and his acerbic style. If you get the chance to see this
episode, please do so. There's nothing deep or meaningful in it, but it
is great fun.