Scooby Doo General

So it struck me that since Mystery Inc is over, and there's a new show on the way, and they're still making those neat made-for-tv/dvd movies, we might as well have a general Scooby Doo topic about the series as a whole - old movies/shows, new movies/shows, etc.

I think they should eventually make a show with a more traditional format but with more in-depth characters writing in a similar vein to Mystery Inc's - the current movies are like that (they even made a thirty minute special this year, though admittedly that ran a bit like a What's New), but eh.

I wonder if Boomerang is going to do the Scooberang thing this October. I remember one year they made it a mission to play every single Scooby Doo production ever made back to back across the whole month.

edited 8th Sep '14 10:01:48 PM by KnownUnknown

Oh, I did not know about the year of playing every Scooby-Doo cartoon in one month. I would have watched that.

Last night someone showed me "Mask of the Blue Falcon", where Hanna-Barbera has its own convention, and he said it's the character who gets forgotten about for the rest of the movie that's the bad guy, when he wasn't saying it was the Adam West analogue. That and I wondered what the point of the robot guy was if not to build the giant robot...

To be perfectly honest, I purchased the film but never really watched it. I even forgot why I didn't watch it. I actually played the DVD, but I never paid any attention to the film other than bits and pieces.

The best thing about Mask of the Blue Falcon is the sheer density of Hanna Barbera references. And the Michael Bay parody.

Edit: So I just saw Frankencreepy, and it's up there with Phantosaur as being one of the better of the newer made for tv/dvd movies. It's a really neat plot, even if the mystery itself takes a backseat to the character stuff.

edited 10th Sep '14 11:07:09 PM by KnownUnknown

They never really did get better than Zombie Island those movies...although Witches Ghost got close, and Legend of the Vampire was excellent if for the opposite reasons.

But Mystery Inc is easily the best thing in the whole run.

Have you seen the recent ones (a few years ago, after Samurai Sword they underwent a major format and writing change)? Stage Fright, Legend of the Phantosaur and the most recent one are pretty good, though they don't radically reimagine the formula like Zombie Island did - they're relatively similar to the early seasons of Mystery Inc, albeit ultimately played straighter.

edited 11th Sep '14 11:46:28 PM by KnownUnknown

I mentioned this in the mystery Inc thread, but I'd like to see a different take on the Evil Counterpart theme that the original and older Mystery Inc introduced.

Like a rival Mystery team trying to beat our heroes to solving the mysteries, but they do it for money rather than for kicks like our heroes. They also might be more willing to cut corners on it or something along those lines.

Right now, for my idea, there are only two member: Marcy Fleech and Red Herring. The latter gets in because one of my favourite eps of that series was the one where Freddy would have actually been right for once if the others hadn't forced him to not accuse Red for a change.

I'd suggest using one of the old Scooby Clone teams Hanna Barbera used to have, after a fitting retool of course, for the rivals. My first personal choice would be Josie and the Pussycats,but HB doesn't have the rights anymore... I dunno, the Jabberjaw gang would be too difficult to update, the Teen Angels and Captain Caveman would be cool but there'd be Unfortunate Implications on making an (almost) purely female team the rivals...

The most subversive part of me would love seeing the Groovy Gang, but, fat chance.

The Frankencreepy movie was really weird.

At least we got to see Velma in a very tight dress.

Speed Buggy?

edited 13th Sep '14 5:15:00 PM by Grounder

The Clue Club maybe?

You know, Scooby-Doo could work as an Adult Swim series, as long as it doesn't parody itself too much. I mean, imagine how the series would be if it wasn't as inhibited by the censors, how much subtext would be text?

They did really push the limits with Mystery Inc. I think the only thing that makes it unlikely is a reason similar to why The Doctor was never going to appear on TorchWood.

It's been a kids show for years, and having it become an adult show wouldn't stop kids from watching it, which is probably something they really don't want.

I could a see a Scooby series that deals with the mysteries and such more seriously. Like, instead of being a bunch of kids who stumble across increasingly ridiculous plots (both What's New and Mystery Inc went the opposite direction, by dealing with the contrived nature by making the schemes increasingly ridiculous) to maybe being outright amateur paranormal investigators who intentionally hunt after mysteries that are already there.

I'd love to see an anime take on Scooby-Doo myself. Very unlikely to happen, but it would have the possibility of being really enjoyable in its own right.

I would like that too. I also find that it would be interesting (a good fanfic briefly did this idea as a one-shot)if Shaggy's backstory behind his cowardly characterization was because he was nam vet. It's obvious why Velma is so smart and why Daphne is so fashion oriented, Freddy could get more complex though (although Mystery Inc did a wonderful job with him) but we never really got an explanation behind Shaggy's behaviour (besides the obvious hippy drugs implication in regards to Scooby snacks and his eating habits).

edited 15th Sep '14 4:35:32 PM by Bleddyn

That's because Shaggy is, come to think about it, the sanest one. The dog really can talk, and the sanest answer for most teenagers to have when dealing with something that could be either a supernatural mystery or the workings of criminals would be fleeing and leaving it for the proper authorities.

And when your friends keep dragging you along where you could be killed to keep a piece of land in some shady developer's hands, you'd probably get baked too.

Fred: "Let's go! We have a mystery to solve!"

Shaggy: "Can't we leave it to, like, the proper authorities?"

Velma: "Bakka, the police won't do anything!"

Bonus scene, at some point in time Velma exclaims, "Eh! So embarrasing!"

EDIT:

I've just seen the finale two-parter of Mystery Incorporated earlier today again, and I only just now noticed what kind of hidden meaning there was in the relationship between Marcie and Velma. And no, I'm not going to discuss the potential lesbian feelings going between them.

When Velma and Marcie part ways, there is this brief moment of sincerity in their eyes. You know they're not just friends. I mean, Velma's best friends are the rest of Mystery Incorporated, but the friendship those two had was more special. It's kind of the relationship Fred has with his van, one he cherishes for the rest of his life, but not the kind where he has to have sex with his van. It's kind of the same feeling I've noticed between Velma and Marcie. Now I'm not saying it's actually love, but it's a really close friendship, something closer than the friendship she has with her other friends.

In general, though, I appreciate the finale even more after I have let it all sink for a while. I think I'm going to rewatch the entire series again someday before I return to my fanfic Anunnaki.

edited 17th Sep '14 2:02:02 PM by GaryCXJk

The word you're looking for is 'sisterhood', I think. You can get along worse with a sibling than with your friends, but the ties you share with the sibling are still stronger than those with your friends (usually).

Anyone remember the Scooby Doo espies in The Venture Bros, where each member was based on a different criminal/serial killer? It was a bit disturbing how well the characterizations worked...

It seems that between Velma and Marcie leans towards "Romantic" Two-Girl Friendship than it does sibling stuff.

I do hope some of the Mystery Incorporated characters and elements do carry over to future series. I mean, Marcie did get a sudden surge of popularity.

Marcie being played by another person who'd played Velma might have had something to do with it.

Her friendship with Velma was essentially two versions of the same character playing off each other.

So I saw Scooby Doo and Kiss. The recent DTV movies just keep getting better. It's not only the most well animated Scooby Doo production since Zombie Island, it's definitely up there as one of the most over-the-top insane Scooby Doo things ever.

Seriously, the whole thing just kind of explodes into madness partway through. It's also the first Scooby Doo thing in a while where the supernatural parts were at least partially real, not counting Mystery Inc of course.

Though since I know next to nothing about KISS themselves, so my general reaction was more "this is the most 80's thing I've ever seen in my life."

edited 19th Aug '15 2:51:43 PM by KnownUnknown