History Headscratchers / Doug

* Why is a whole neighborhood full of houses that were occupied as recently as two years ago so dilapidated?

* In "Doug's Lost Weekend", Doug wins a brand-new video game system that's the equivalent of a {{UsefulNotes/SNES}}, which makes sense, as this episode premiered in 1992. When he and Skeeter are setting it up, however, they have to use a screwdriver and actually screw some of the components into the back of their TV. That's the way one would set up something like an Atari 2600, which is about 15 years older than the system Doug and Skeeter have. Systems of the early 1990s connected to a TV via component cables or an RF switch, the latter of which you'd have to attach it to your TV the way you would with a coaxial cable, but it isn't complicated and wouldn't require a screwdriver. Is the thing supposed to be an oddly-designed new retro system of some sort?

* You're not the only one. Another thing that bugged me was a part of the series as a whole: Mr. Bone. Somehow as the plot goes, the assistant principal always seems to be keeping his eye on Doug and only Doug, for whatever odd reason. Not many others except Roger, the token bully. Why Doug? Did something happen on the first day of school to make him get singled out? Or are we listening to an Unreliable Narrator, since the episodes are all pretty much flashbacks from his journal? Never made sense much.

* Why name the movie "Doug's First Movie?" They probably thought they'd have others, but it's never wise to name a movie such things no matter how popular the source-series is because it may backfire.
** It worked for Pokemon. The creators of the Doug movie probably just thought the film would be more popular and that they'd get to make others. Guess they just overestimated the popularity of the source material. The movie was originally going to be direct-to-video, but that changed. When a direct-to-theaters movie doesn't do well, it's less likely to get a sequel. Direct-to-video, though, it doesn't take that much to be considered successful enough for another.
*** The first Pokemon movie only had "First" in the informal English title because the second one had already premiered in Japanese theaters before the first even came out in the U.S. (The Japanese name of the first movie was simply ''Mewtwo's Counterattack'', and the official English title was ''Mewtwo Strikes Back''.) The localization crew ''knew'' there would be more movies, so long as the movies kept being dubbed into English. With Doug, on the other hand, that first movie was the only one in existence, so it wasn't a great idea.


* So in "Doug's First Movie," how it possible at Mr. Bluff has his own private army who can just break into random people's houses... without a warrant?
** He's that rich, plus they're probably privatized.

** This troper is a big introvert and daydreams all the time, but he is not autistic. I think if Doug were autistic, WordOfGod would've told us by now, or it would have been mentioned by Doug or one of the other characters by now.

** Who names a kid "Mosquito?"

*** that old housing development could be near the original middle school, the one that had termite issues and collapsed under it's own weight in a flashback at the start of the Disney series.

* In one episode, where the school takes a field trip to see the Mayor, Bone puts it on Doug to interview the Mayor, and telling him if it isn't an interesting interview, it will go on Doug's ''school record''. That's a pretty dick thing for a school employee to say to ''a kid''.

* Why is Doug's daydreams involving Quailman so inconsistant. I mean how can Vice Principal Bone, Rulemeister, and Robobone coexist in his Quailman daydreams?

* In "Doug's Lost Weekend", Doug wins a brand-new video game system that's the equivalent of a {{SNES}}, which makes sense, as this episode premiered in 1992. When he and Skeeter are setting it up, however, they have to use a screwdriver and actually screw some of the components into the back of their TV. That's the way one would set up something like an Atari 2600, which is about 15 years older than the system Doug and Skeeter have. Systems of the early 1990s connected to a TV via component cables or an RF switch, the latter of which you'd have to attach it to your TV the way you would with a coaxial cable, but it isn't complicated and wouldn't require a screwdriver. Is the thing supposed to be an oddly-designed new retro system of some sort?

** Because it's a cartoon. Why is it that people are so preoccupied with this when it comes to Doug? That's the better question. Why is Snidely Whiplash from Rocky and Bullwinkle blue? Why are The Simpsons yellow? Why is Huckleberry Hound blue? Why is Stimpy red? Why is Clifford red? Because it's a cartoon. You can do anything you want in cartoons, and animators often do. Cartoon worlds are known for their alternate universe aspects.