History WesternAnimation / DoUg

* ACMEProducts: [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] with S.T.U.A.R.T. in the ''Quailman'' universe in ''Disney's Doug''. Their enormous product palette only serves one purpose, namely to annoy the customers with things that malfunction at the worst possible time.

* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: Male version; many of Doug's {{Imagine Spot}}s fill this role. There's also the episode where Doug and Skeeter collaborate on a comic, with both of them as superheroes. Patty also joined in during the Disney years. Quailman is actually more of an aversion, as he had [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway few real superpowers]], but solved most problems with cunning or diplomatic solutions. When Doug shares his Quailman stories with friends, it's shown he is aware of the InvincibleHero and avoided making the character too much wish fulfillment. Silver Skeeter is a ''very'' straight example though, and is even criticized for using his abilities without considering the possible consequences.

** Doug: "How did I get into this mess?"

* The Disney run is not much better in this regard, with several episodes featuring things like characters not being fully drawn into shots, bizarre propotions, and crowd scenes that look like children's doodles.

* AnAesop: Most (if not all) of the episodes had one. The writers were even expected to write the intended moral of the episode at the top of each outline. The show got E/I branding ("Illuminating Television", as ABC called it) during the Disney run. Doug himself usually voices the moral via voiceover as he writes in his journal at the end of each episode, although it was still usually done in a non-{{Anvilicious}} way, especially in earlier episodes when Doug struggled to come up with the right words to voice the moral, adding additional humor.

* NotSoDifferent: In "Doug Rocks the House", after Doug finds out he knocked down Patti's old house, he didn't understand why she was upset about it until he remembered how he felt when he first moved away from Bloatsburg.

** The pilot is animated with LineBoil and Doug calls his journal his diary. Also in the pilot, Mr. and Mrs. Dink hung out with the kids at Bluffington Elementary School, and Roger was Doug's romantic rival for Patti (the role would later be given to Guy in the Disney series) and he had a different gang (whether they're early versions of Ned, Willy, and Boomer or completely different characters is unknown, as none of them were given names). All of the scenes featuring Skeeter also appear to have been added later on, as the animation style in his scenes is cleaner and more reminiscent of the rest of Season 1.

After its initial run, the show's production company - Jumbo Pictures - was bought by Disney, which {{Retool}}ed into ''[[TheNewAdventures Brand Spanking New Doug]]'' (or ''Disney's Doug'' as it was retitled for later episodes and reruns) for Creator/{{ABC}} (which Disney had also just bought out); starting in 1997, it became one of the focal points of the new ''Creator/OneSaturdayMorning'' block. It wound up changing a few things from the Nickelodeon version (the first episode even addresses this with the new changes of Doug's life) with many characters getting new looks and various supporting characters changing jobs and roles. Despite the changes, it was still a continuation of the original series, and ended up with a longer run than the original. Like the Nickelodeon version, it also concluded with a GrandFinale (something ''very'' few Disney cartoons have managed).

A theatrical film, accurately (and [[StillbornFranchise optimistically]]) titled ''WesternAnimation/Dougs1stMovie'' was released in 1999. It also got its own stage show at Disney-MGM Studios, ''Theatre/DougLive'', which ran from 1999-2001.

Nickelodeon's ''Doug'' is now in reruns on Creator/TeenNick. You can also find the complete Nickelodeon series [[http://www.amazon.com/Doug-The-Complete-Nickelodeon-Series/dp/B00LBHOCHS/ref=pd_sim_mov_13?ie=UTF8&refRID=0BJYQVTW532717KFEXH8 here]]. The Disney series meanwhile, is currently available to stream on Creator/DisneyPlus. According to creator Jim Jinkins, Disney still holds the rights to the series and has not expressed any interest in reviving the franchise. Nevertheless, Jinkins says he has more stories to tell if a revival is ever green-lighted, complete with bombshells for longtime fans.

* EpisodeTitleCard: Doug will walk through a door, offer up the title, and happily declare, "That's me!" before Porkchop shows up, screws him into the ground, and turns the lights off. All of this is accompanied by a ThemeTuneCameo.

* RealityEnsues:
** "Doug Gets His Wish": Principal White tries to fire Ms. Krystal on the grounds that she didn't teach Willy anything, and because she didn't vote for him as mayor. When Doug finally tells the School Board, Principal White thinks that he can use the opportunity to slander Ms. Krystal further. Before he can start, Tippi Dink gives him a reality check: "You can't fire a teacher because they didn't vote for you." Then Doug proceeds to prove that Willy got a thorough education on English literature, dispelling his dad's claims that she didn't teach anything. Mayor Tippi Dink had heard enough; she not only reinstates Ms. Krystal but punishes Mayor White for the blatant abuse of his authority.
** "Doug's Disappearing Dog" has it played straight. Porkchop goes missing and has packed up his home, so Doug is trying to retrace his dog's steps from the previous day, suspecting maybe one of his acquaintances hurt his dog. Everyone has a different story, with some consistent details: Porkchop wasn't allowed to go on the rides, participate in a three-legged race, or enter the local restaurant for shakes. Why? Because Porkchop may be Doug's best friend, but he is also a dog. Thus, he can't do human things. Doug realizes that he inadvertently mistreated Porkchop by leaving him behind and tying him outside.
** "Doug's Midnight Kiss" has a hilarious one. Roger mentions he kisses a lot of girls on New Year's Eve and sees it as a record. Cue him doing so, as Doug gets cold feet about kissing Patti because he doesn't feel ready. The thing is that none of the girls consented to Roger kissing them. He has to run from an angry mob of them, making his act PyrrhicVillainy. Meanwhile, Patti spends the rest of the time with Doug because she said she wasn't ready for any kissing, and is happy to be with a guy who gets it.
** Patti finds out that her dad was secretly seeing a woman with the initials "E.K." and becomes concerned. Her big fear is that it's Roger's mother (Edwina Klotz), who is single. Doug thinks it's not a big deal while helping her figure out who the mystery woman is, hoping that the answer will assuage her worries. [[spoiler:Patti actually reacts worse when learning it's their English teacher, Ms. Emily Krystal, and having an ImagineSpot of Ms. Krystal replacing her mother. She freaks out, yells at her dad and Ms. Krystal, and runs off in tears. As her dad acknowledges, breaking the news would have hurt regardless of the timing]].

** Patti finds out that her dad was secretly seeing a woman with the initials "E.K." and becomes concerned. Her big fear is that it's Roger's mother, who is single. Doug thinks it's not a big deal while helping her figure out who the mystery woman is, hoping that the answer will assuage her worries. [[spoiler:Patti actually reacts worse when learning it's their English teacher, Ms. Krystal, and having an ImagineSpot of Ms. Krystal replacing her mother. She freaks out, yells at her dad and Ms. Krystal, and runs off in tears. As her dad acknowledges, breaking the news would have hurt regardless of the timing]].

** In "Doug Saves Roger", Roger, a known bully, falls victim to the bullying of Percy Femur, Vice Principal Lamar Bone’s nephew and who’s bigger than Roger. [[spoiler: Doug stands up for Roger and almost pays for it. Roger tells Mr. Bone about his nephew's bullying, explaining to Doug that he ran out of ideas.]]

* FakeNationality: [[invoked]] Loretta [=LaQuiggley=] claiming to be from Yakistonia is called out on this by [[FunnyForeigner Fentruck]] because [[TheWoobie she wants to be liked.]][[note]]At least some of her stories were true, however, as her Aunt (whom Doug is convinced is a lie) appears in person at the end of the episode.[[/note]] She actually ''is'' Yakistonesian but she wasn't born there and doesn't know much of the language so Fentruck likely doesn't see her as a native.

** In "Doug on the Wild Side", Grandma Opal suggests Doug tell Patti "You look nice today." In Doug's daydream, he tries it out but Patti takes it the wrong way: "I don't look nice ''other'' days?" Doug shrinks in embarrassment and walks away. Of course this is just Doug's insecurity showing: when he says those words to Patti in the real world, she's flattered.
** Referring to Doug's journal as a "diary" in "Doug's Runaway Journal" provokes this reaction in him. Oddly, in the pilot episode, Doug ''himself'' calls it a diary.

*** In the Nick series, this is most notable in "Doug's Brainy Buddy" (although Skeeter's not totally blameless, as he admits he was deliberately trying to make Doug a little jealous).

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The title object in "Doug's Lucky Hat" lands at Doug's feet on a windy day. When he puts it on, he appears to become a good luck magnet as he finds the only Sky Davis trading card he doesn't already have, wins a KBLUF radio phone-in contest, has his Smash Adams X-ray specs rescued from the laundry by his mother, and tracks down Patti's wayward guinea pig Hamlet. Skeeter believes the hat really is lucky, but Doug is embarrassed to think so, especially when it becomes clear that Patti is dubious about the idea; Roger believes it, though, and forcibly "borrows" the hat - and actually passes a biology test (with a D-) while wearing it. Patti, however, tells Doug that while the hat may have made him feel like a winner, he's a winner with or without it. Whether or not the hat really is lucky is left to the viewer to decide; by the end of the episode Doug isn't sure himself, but it's implied he can live without it as long as Patti thinks he's a winner, and he doesn't object when Roger tells him he's not giving the hat back. He was perfectly fine when the hat gets blown by the wind again, feeling it's someone else's turn to wear it. He remains optimistic for the day he'll see the hat again. Jim Jinkins has said this is his favorite episode of the Nickelodeon series.

** In "Doug's Brainy Buddy", Doug just couldn't believe Skeeter is a genius, and it got to the point where it nearly broke their friendship. When Judy asked what happened...

** And another in "Doug's Disappearing Dog" when he realizes why Porkchop ran away, because he "treated him like a dog" without even realizing it.

* LimitedWardrobe: {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and turned into an episode. Doug always wears brown khaki shorts with a green vest over a white shirt. When their favorite TV star wears the same outfit, everyone copies the style, and they think Doug has, too. He spends the entire episode trying to prove that he isn't a lemming, even showing everyone his entire wardrobe of identical clothes, but to his frustration everyone still thinks he's trying to be like the TV star only taking it too far. So he tries to dress differently, then eventually gives up, figuring that it's not worth the trouble... only to find everyone is now copying the new outfit the TV star wears, which looks the same as Skeeter's.

* MadeASlave: It's the main point of the Nickelodeon episode "Doug Is Slave for a Day" (aka "Doug's Servitude"), in which Judy makes Doug her personal slave in return for not telling Mom that Doug broke a vase. Judy starts taking it too far and [[DisproportionateRetribution extends his servitude for breaking a few rules on the contract]], and threatens to tell mom if continues to argue. Later, Doug flips the script on Judy when he ends his servitude by confessing to Mom (and is grounded as a result), and makes Judy ''his'' personal slave in return for helping clean her costumes out of the basement so she can attend a party.

* ArcNumber: 47. It's on many street signs, it's Doug's locker number (in the first season), it's the notorious menu number for liver and onions at Doug's favorite restaurant, etc.

The first of the [[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} three]] [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow original]] Franchise/{{Nicktoons}} and, thus, first Nicktoon overall, featuring eleven-year-old Doug Funnie and his experiences with his friends, family and community. Creator Jim Jinkins developed the concept and drew inspiration from his own experiences growing up. Beginning with Doug's arrival in Bluffington, he dutifully writes about his every adventure in his journal, which frames almost every episode. In the first episode, he gained a best friend in Mosquito "Skeeter" Valentine, a nemesis and school bully Roger Klotz, and a love interest in the {{tomboy}}ish Patti Mayonnaise. His dog Porkchop frequently steals the show with his antics, not unlike [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Snoopy]]. Many other colourful characters (both literally and figuratively) were featured.

After its initial run, the show was bought and {{Retool}}ed by Disney into ''[[TheNewAdventures Brand Spanking New Doug]]'' (or ''Disney's Doug'' as it was retitled for later episodes and reruns) for Creator/{{ABC}} (which Disney had just bought out); starting in 1997, it became one of the focal points of the new ''Creator/OneSaturdayMorning'' block. It wound up changing a few things from the Nickelodeon version (the first episode even addresses this with the new changes of Doug's life) with many characters getting new looks and various supporting characters changing jobs and roles. Despite the changes, it was still a continuation of the original series, and ended up with a longer run than the original. Like the Nickelodeon version, it also concluded with a GrandFinale (something ''very'' few Disney cartoons have managed).

** Doug himself can hold it on occasion (e.g. in "Doug's Brainy Buddy" - although Skeeter's not blameless as he admits he was trying to make Doug jealous a little). The most notable example in the Disney series is probably "Doug's Big Comeback." What sets him apart from say, Roger, though, is that Doug realizes he's in the wrong and does what he needs to do to make it better.

* ArcNumber: 47. It's on many street signs, it's Doug's locker number, etc.

* FakeKidnapping: In-universe in "Doug and Patti P.I.", which has Doug reading a KidDetective book called ''Whiz Kids''. The solution to the book's case of the titular Kids' father disappearing is that he "kidnapped" himself to test their sleuthing skills.

* ArtisticAge: The characters are supposed to be 11 at the start, 14-ish by the end. Across both shows they behave more like they are 15 in terms of the social circumstances they get involved with and their ability to [[FreeRangeChildren wander around unaccompanied]]. One episode involved Doug and Patti going on a date, which had some teasing by the other kids, but when it was over they were asking Doug what it was like.

* SliceOfLife: As a KidCom, this is almost entirely what the show revolved around. Going to school, first crushes, picture day, and growing older and graduating were all concepts the show explored.

** Refreshingly averted in this series due to its AmazingTechnicolorPopulation, with the possible exception of Fentruck, although he's not so much a minority as a CanonForeigner (on the other hand, Loretta, who is also of Yakestonesian descent, does not have an accent, owing to the fact that she's revealed to know very little of the Yakestonesian language).