The gang, in order from left to right, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby.
What's new, Scooby-Doo? We're coming after you
You're gonna solve that mystery
I see you, Scooby-Doo, the trail leads back to you
What's new, Scooby-Doo?
You're gonna solve that mystery
I see you, Scooby-Doo, the trail leads back to you
What's new, Scooby-Doo?
— Title Theme Tune sung by Simple Plan
The ninth incarnation of Scooby-Doo, the show lasted for three seasons, airing from 2002 to 2006. Essentially a modernized (as well as more grounded) version of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! — it also parodies many conventions from the older series of the franchise.
Additionally, this series is no longer produced by the original Hanna-Barbera Productions (which ceased to exist by 2001), instead, it was produced by its then-parent company, Warner Bros..
This show provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Gibby Norton to Velma.
- Action Girl: Daphne Blake plays this up a lot more than she did in previous shows — she's the one to usually get the gang out of a jam and can defend herself well.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Most noticeably with Velma — who is given a cute face and an attractive figure here (whereas her original design had her be very plain and appeared slightly overweight) — and to a lesser extent Shaggy, who probably benefits more from the less rough art-style.
- In Velma's case, it might also be an influence of the Live-Action Adaptation, since Linda Cardellini as her was an example of Nerds Are Sexy.
- Daphne's already lovely body is even more curvaceous and buxom than in previous incarnations.
- Adaptational Dumbass: Fred. In some cases, he seems even more scatterbrained than he was in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo!
- Age Lift: In the production bible of the original series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, the characters were teenagers, with Fred and Shaggy being the oldest at 17 and Velma being the youngest at 15. While most of the subsequent series have hinted toward the characters becoming older, but it's never explained just how old they are. If the show's Valentine's Day Episode is anything to go by, they must be at least 18 or older (since they're all shown to be living on their own)note .
- Always Someone Better: Velma was this to a kid named Elliot Blender, who appeared in two episodes as both a Sore Loser, a Red Herring, and an all-around Jerkass.
- Anti-Villain: Used several times, a first for the franchise. Every once in a while, the characters would run into a villain with sympathetic motives — generally, these folks would be let off because "nobody got hurt" (though not for lack of trying, sometimes) or the case just dropped without fanfare.
- Art Shift:
- In contrast to the usual Hanna-Barbera style, the characters are redesigned in Warner Bros. Animation's typical "house" style of the time for this series (resembling a show produced by Adelaide Productions, such as Men in Black: The Series and Jackie Chan Adventures — both of which also aired on Kids' WB). It hits some characters more strongly than others, like Velma's redesigned body shape. And it advertised itself with Fred missing his ascot.
- The earlier episodes of the series had a lot more deliberate animation for the characters, particularly with a lot of motion frames for characters mid-talking, though at the same time the art played more fast and loose with keeping characters on-model. The further the series went along, the more consistent the character designs became and fewer moments of those idle animation bits. This is also reflected in the direct-to-video movies in the era, with an early one like Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico having the earlier animation quirks, while something like Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword was more consistent with the later seasons.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Occasionally episodes have this trope as Monster of the Week.
- Attack of the Killer Whatever: A lot of them. See the recap pages for specific entries.
- Big Eater: As always, Shaggy and Scooby are very gluttonous and are rarely seen not eating a bunch of food.
- Bookcase Passage: Parodied whenever necessary.
- Bound and Gagged: Daphne in "Big Scare in the Big Easy".
- Brainy Brunette: Velma Dinkley, as usual. Though, it's a bit more exaggerated in this series than the original at times. In the original, she was often the one who figured out the story behind the cases and pulled Eureka Moments when she found a clue. In this series, she's one step away from being a rocket scientist at certain points.
- Cats Are Mean: The Monster of the Week in "Homeward Hound" is a cat creature.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Parody: Shaggy and Scooby once won a contest where the prize was either a trip to Aruba or a tour of the Scooby Snack factory in Munchville, Ohio. And the factory was run by a man dressed like Willy Wonka.
- Classy Cat-Burglar: Trudy in "Recipe for Disaster", who has Catwoman like reflexes, and wears a dark suit and mask around, while trying to steal the Scooby Snacks recipe.
- Clear My Name: Two episodes had the gang being framed, "Big Appetite in Little Tokyo" and "A Scooby-Doo Valentine".
- Clothes Make the Legend: While the Scooby Gang's outfits have been modernized, they retain the same classic color scheme, independent of what they wear (except for disguises): Fred's is always white and blue, Daphne is always wearing purple and magenta, and Shaggy always wears green shirts and burgundy pants (Velma's orange-on-red scheme is retained as well for other types of clothes). It borders on Limited Wardrobe.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Fred Jones. While some of the movies had been toying with this to push him away from his original flat everyman characterization, this was where the new characterization started to take hold.
- Continuity Nod: A first for a Scooby-Doo series. The Gang would reference places they had been previously as well as feature recurring characters in a few episodes.
- In Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire, the Gang and the Hex Girls reunite, and it's mentioned that they've met each other before, referencing the events of Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost. The Hex Girls later appear in another episode.
- In "A Scooby Valentine!", Daphne and Velma's house is identical to Daphne's house seen at the beginning of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.
- Convection, Schmonvection: Inverted in "Big Scare In The Big Easy". Velma held dry ice with her bare hands like they were normal ice cubes. Dry ice has to be at least -78 degrees Celsius to stay frozen which would've necrotized her flesh.
- Crazy-Prepared: The show turns Fred into this, having modified the Mystery Machine to be able to turn into a submarine. In "Wrestle Maniacs", it is shown that he carries a spare wrestling outfit around in the van.
- Darker and Edgier: "Big Scare In The Big Easy", compared to the rest of the series — the backstory for the two ghost brothers states that they killed one another in a duel in the family graveyard. The provided flashback shows the two brothers loading their pistols on-screen, and ends with the sound of a gunshot.
- Demoted to Extra: Scooby-Doo himself, in most cases, and sometimes Shaggy. Typically the show would shift focus onto Fred, Daphne, and Velma, but one major exception was the episode "Camp Comeoniwannascareya", which did not feature Fred, Velma, or Daphne at all; it just featured Shaggy and Scooby-Doo as the main characters (Fred is only mentioned in it).
- The Ditz: Again, Fred Jones is the dumbest of the group. That said, he's smarter and more grounded than his portrayal in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
- Dork Knight: Yet again, Fred. He's the only one who can't see how much he keeps making a fool of himself.
- Distressed Dude: At least twice, Fred has been put in real danger and had been rescued by Scooby.
- Eat the Camera: A regular occurrence, mostly happening on the monsters, and sometimes the gang.
- Most notable episode with this trope is "Vampire Strikes Back", with three moments total, the first on the first vampire, second on Daphne as she screams, and the third on the second vampire starting the chase sequence.(Almost happened with Thorn as well, but was left as a Mouth Screen moment instead.)
- Roller Ghoster starts with a zoom on the titular villain, then midway through the episode, zooms into Velma's mouth, fading to black when her uvula stops wiggling.
- A Scooby-Doo Valentine also starts the episode with this, but on a female civilian this time as the villain scares her and the camera zooms past her uvula and fades into the title screen.(Her uvula is difficult to notice as the color palette is all black with just an outline of her throat making it visible.)
- Even Nerds Have Standards: Velma's opinion of Gibby is that he's too geeky, even for her.
- Flanderization:
- Yet again, Fred Jones. At least he has a character now.
- When you look at it, Daphne (being much more fashion-conscious than before — even though she's still sharper than Fred, and still more competent than she was in the original series) and Velma (who must always be right and, whenever she's wrong, the script will find a way to prove her right at the end of the day...with a few notable exceptions) qualify as well.
- When Scooby and Shaggy enter a scene, you know the first thing they'll say will be food-oriented. Then again, it isn't that different from their other portrayals.
- Food as Bribe: How the gang usually persuades Shaggy and Scooby to be monster bait. In one episode, they use Scooby Snacks to persuade Shaggy and Scooby to be literal bait — the two end up dressing like octopi.
- Even when Shaggy and Scooby see this coming, the gang manages to work around it.
- Foreshadowing: In "E-Scream" there are a couple of hints to show that Velma never left Dr. Ostwald's virtual reality game, the rest of the gang aren't wearing their convention costumes seen at the beginning of the episode, Fred didn't want the gang to split up, Daphne wore a green shoe instead of another purple one and didn't care about them not matching, Shaggy and Scooby actively volunteered to be live bait, and the big giveaway was that Shaggy said "Toinks" instead of "Zoinks".
- Friendly, Playful Dolphin: Becky the orcanote in "She Sees Sea Monsters by the Sea Shore", who got a little too friendly and playful with Shaggy and Scooby.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Fred gets jealous when anyone steals his thunder at making traps.
- Human Popsicle: Dr. Armind Zola attempts to freeze himself in "Uncle Scooby and Antarctica".
- Humongous Mecha: All of the gigantic monsters (minus the Coral Creature) are this, whether it's ascetically or through a reveal.
- Ink-Suit Actor:
- Brett Hull, Mike Piazza, and skateboarders Chris Klug and Ryan Sheckler are among the celebrities to appear on the show in cartoon form.
- Gibby, the nerd who had a crush on Velma, resembles his v.a., Eddie Deezen.
- Simple Plan, who performed the series' theme song, voice animated versions of themselves in "Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman".
- Insufferable Genius: In this series, Velma can sometimes come off as condescending towards those who aren't as intelligent as her.
- Lampshade Hanging: And lots of it, too. Every episode had at least one or two parodies of the classic Scooby-Doo conventions.
- Latex Perfection: Typically avoided in this series in favor of the villains using makeup, animatronics, holograms, etc. Though there are a few exceptions in this series, such as in the intro, and in "A Scooby-Doo Valentine" when the gang is framed by rubber-masked impostors, and Scooby is unmasked to reveal J.C. Chasez of *NSYNC!
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: In pretty much every episode. The show does occasionally break the pattern of the two groups: Fred, Daphne, and Velma in one group and Scooby and Shaggy in the other.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to the original shows and the early direct-to-video movies, this series is more light-hearted and really tones down the scariness of the villains, though a few (e.g. the San Franpsycho and the Creepy Keeper) have rather scary designs.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: This happens to Daphne three times. The first time she loses a shoe in "E-Scream", then in "Big Scare in the Big Easy" and finally in "Recipe for Disaster".
- MacGyvering: It's not rare for Daphne to do this, usually with items she carries around in her purse.
- Magic Skirt: Velma and Daphne's skirts stay in place even when they're hung upside down. Though "Recipe for Disaster" has the Marilyn Maneuver happen to them.
- Monster of the Week: The series once again has the team deal with a different monster in every episode, though the monster almost always turns out to be fake.
- Ms. Fanservice:
- Daphne goes a few episodes wearing a bikini and other attractive outfits.
- Velma gets in on the action, too, getting some swimsuit scenes as well, and also dresses up as a belly dancer with Daphne in "Mummy Scares Best".
- Mythology Gag: In one episode, part of the background music is the same as the "malt shop" music from the original series.
- Nerds Are Sexy: In addition to her Adaptational Attractiveness, Velma gains many admirers in this series.
- Nonstandard Character Design: Most of the human characters are drawn quite realistically (in Warner's typical "house" animation style of the time), and even Fred, Daphne, and Velma had been redesigned a bit to fit with the show's art style (Velma noticeably got slimmer and more shapely.) But Shaggy still retained his classic semi-cartoonish design (albeit with eye sclera now), and the cartoony Scooby-Doo still stuck out from the rest of the realistically-drawn animals in the series (aside from the cartoony-looking penguins and seal in "Uncle Scooby and Antarctica"). Although, this series is still cartoony compared to the first four of the Scooby-Doo Direct-to-Video Film Series, which the rest of the films follow until Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword.
- Once an Episode: Nearly all the parodies of the old series (especially spoofing the "meddling kids" line.)
- Once a Season: In each of the three seasons of the show, there is a special set around a certain holiday.
- Season 1: Christmas
- Season 2: Halloween
- Season 3: Valentine’s Day
- Papa Wolf: Do not menace puppies or small children in front of Scooby-Doo, lest he remember that he's a very large, very strong dog. "Homeward Bound" showcases this best, when Scooby flat out tackles the Cat-Creature when it menaces the Secret Six.
- Polar Penguins: A young penguin accompanies the gang in "Uncle Scooby and Antarctica".
- Poorly Disguised Pilot: The episode "Camp Comeoniwannascareya" and the recurring guest appearances of the Secret Six puppies both come off like backdoor pilots for two separate spinoffs.
- Precious Puppies: The Secret Six are a group of six golden retriever puppies that appear in several episodes. And they are adorable, especially when they're performing military exercises.
- Punny Name: Nearly every episode has a guest character or two with such names.
- Scooby-Dooby Doors: Parodied in almost every episode. It's even featured in the intro.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: Naturally, the gang deal with monsters that are wearing disguises. However:
- "Reef Grief" subverts it; the monster is real, but it has nothing to do with the (human) villain's plot. The villain was unintentionally pissing it off by making too much noise underwater. It's friendly otherwise, and it even saves Scooby from drowning when escaping the villain's Collapsing Lair.
- Pretty consistently, if the monster is some kind of techno-terror (like a sentient Killer Robot or a monstrous Mystery Machine), it's an animatronic or remote controlled. This is consistent with the occasional way-out science-fiction explanations for the more conventional hoaxes.
- Any monster that appears to be a serious supernatural entity is actually extremely convincing practical effects work.
- "High-Tech House of Horrors" inverts this. Instead of the smart house's actions being the work of some sort of hacker or other saboteur, it's actually S.H.A.R.I., the AI inside the House. That's right, the haunted house itself was the villain the whole time.
- The Space Ape's infant form subverts this trope (although the adolescent and adult forms are indeed a human), as the infant version is still a living, breathing creature in disguise, just not a human in disguise.
- In a more non-monster example, in "Homeward Hound", the big bad's dog (which is a small dog, oddly enough) is disguised as an evil version of Scooby Doo. Oh, and in case you're wondering, excluding a lack of a collar, constant scowl and more aggressive behavior, it's actually a convincing disguise
◊ Yeah, that Scooby is a small dog in disguise. - In "Camp Comeoniwannascareya", the Toxic Terror is, of course, a person in a suit. The trope becomes more literal though when Scooby and Shaggy alongside their wards actually help Counselor Grey at the end to scare off the greedy camp director that was going to take down the camp to make a resort.
- In "It's All Greek to Scooby", the centaur turns out to be Lysander's assistant...who Scooby-Doo and the gang don't meet until they pull the Centaur's mask off. Velma angrily declares that it doesn't count because of this.
- Self-Parody: Nearly the entire show is like this, perhaps even more than its predecessor A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
- Ship Tease: There's some of this between Fred and Daphne, particularly in the Valentine's Day episode. They are the main
Fan-Preferred Couple, after all. - Shout-Out: Enough references to other works to warrant its page.
- Sixth Ranger: Often the gang might be joined for parts of the investigation and/or chase scenes of an episode by guest character (like the kids in "Camp Comeoniwannascareya") or previous victims who they rescue from the Monster of the Week, like Janey from "Hi-Tech House of Horrors" and Leon from "New Mexico, Old Monster".
- Stalker with a Crush: Gibby Norton, who obsesses over Velma and creates a Monster of the Week to get her attention.
- Surfer Dude: Daphne impresses one of these with her surfing in "She See Sea Monsters by the Sea Shore".
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Sometimes the criminals don't go to jail owing to a few factors, such as in "Space Ape At The Cape", "Roller Ghoster Ride" (though it's implied that Terri is still going to be in major trouble) and "Lights, Camera, Mayhem".
- Janet Lawrence in "Space Ape At The Cape" has been working on matter uncovered from space probes, ordering people not to see her work even if they have clearance, and studying a so-called alien egg. The alien seems to grow overnight, hatching into a purple humanoid that runs wild at the space station. It turns out that a bit of reality undoes the scheme: Janet's research wasn't ready, and the alien scam was to keep her from being found out. She was being snippy even to her coworkers, who assume that she was stressed about the rampaging alien but misunderstood. Velma realized that the "egg" was dehydrated organic material, thanks to Shaggy playing with the food dehydrator, and Janet added water to make her fake egg explode. To top it all off, Janet's supposed breakthrough attracted the attention of the FBI, who are interested in the possibility of alien life, and said agent realizes in a matter of days that Janet's work was fraudulent.
- Teen Drama: Has some traits of this at times, in addition to the usual mystery-solving formula. Not that surprising, given the show, aired on The WB.
- Took a Level in Badass: Daphne Blake, surprisingly, getting moments where she outsmarts Fred and even rescuing herself from unsavory situations.
- Unexpected Kindness: In "It's All Greek to Scooby", the crew thinks that a man with a scary face is the villain since he's chasing them and yelling in Greek. He actually wants to return Daphne's purse.
- Vague Age: As noted above under Age Lift, we never find out how old the (human) members are, but this show implies that they're probably in their late-teens/early-20s (they're at least legally old enough to be living on their own instead of still living at their home with their parents).
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Happens sometimes with people terrorized by monsters in the Cold Openings, such as the previous safari in "Safari So Good", skateboarder Rich Curman in "San Franpsycho", and the second burglar in "Recipe for Disaster".
- You Meddling Kids: Parodied in nearly every episode as well; instances include having twin villains say it in unison (in "The Vampire Strikes Back") and a young kid calling the gang "meddling grownups" (in "Gentlemen, Start Your Monsters"), and another villain referring to them as "interloping adolescents" before Velma corrects him (in "There's No Business Like Snow Business"), another villain has called them "meddling teenagers", etc...
