polychrome_pen: (Sokka rainbows)
[personal profile] polychrome_pen
 I have to admit, I never thought I would admit to unabashedly enjoying a Scooby Doo show.  Prior to now, my only experience with Scooby-Doo as a franchise was catching old episodes on my Grandparents' cable when I was sick as a kid and stayed home from school.

But Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated isn't just good for a Scooby Doo show.  It might be the best thing I've watched so far this year.  I can hear the cries of shock, I know.  You say, "But Ry, Scooby Doo is a weird 70s relic about mystery-solvin' teens and their hungry great dane - not good television."  And before finishing Mystery Incorporated, I would have agreed with you!  Such is the power of this show.

You see, for the first time in 40+ years, the characters actually have character.  Sure, Fred is all about traps, Shaggy and Scooby eat a lot, Daphne gets captured, and Velma is the genius who looses her glasses and says "Jinkies!".  But this go around, the creators were actually allowed to create interpersonal relationships and conflcts.  The show starts out with Shaggy and Velma dating, and progresses to add Fred and Daphne into the mix.  The interpersonal relationships between the characters are never static, and it always takes into account material from the preceeding episodes.  The gang are given parents for the first time, too, and live in a town called Crystal Cove that bills itself "The Most Haunted Place on Earth" and depends on monster tourism.  So when they unmask criminals who could be potential tourist draws, they really are "meddling kids!"  Genius.

This is without even mentioning all the delicious backstory. It starts with another group calling themselves Mystery Incorporated who disappeared in the caves beneath the town twenty years ago, and goes all the way back to ancient Mayan prophecy.  Every episode has a more or less self-contained mystery, but the writers deftly weave the central mystery in and out through most of the episodes.  Suffice to say the climax of S2 is epic and an incredible payoff.  I mean, Velma brings up string theory in the final few episodes.  How is that not amazing?

The show is full of hilarious sci-fi and horror references and great voice acting too.  Fred and Scooby are voiced by the one-of-a-kind Frank Welker, who is an animation voice-acting legend and has been portraying these characters for something like 40 years.  For the Monster High/Ever After High crowd, Kate Higgins (Frenkie Stein/Briar Beauty) voices the mayor in the second season, which was a fun treat.  Patrick Warburton turns in a great performance as the Sheriff.

So yeah, apparently I totally fell in love with a Scooby-Doo show.  I'm actually afraid to go and check out any of the other material produced for this franchise, though, because I know it won't be as good as what I've just finished.  And ye gods, I totally want to get a little bit of merchandise for my toy collection now. >_<

Date: 2015-04-02 05:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] stormyserenity.livejournal.com
That sounds... good. O_o I kind of want to watch it now. I've never been a scooby doo fan, though I have a soft spot for "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost" because it has singing "Wiccans" called the Hex Girls who sing about magic and I love all songs about magic ever. So I like them but could happily skip the rest of the movie.

Date: 2015-04-02 05:51 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ry-sabir.livejournal.com
Then you will be delighted to know that the Hex Girls appear in major roles in several episodes of the show! I don't know how well they match up to any previous incarnations, but I thought they were really cool! (And so does Velma, and they're her favorite band in the show. :)

Date: 2015-04-02 01:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] strongheartmaid.livejournal.com
I loved when Daphne joined the Hex Girls in that one episode :D
Such a catchy song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D04Mk4y1PP4

Date: 2015-04-02 06:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ry-sabir.livejournal.com
Yes, Daphne as a Hex girl was amazing!

Date: 2015-04-02 07:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] strongheartmaid.livejournal.com
I think that was one of the episodes I did enjoy

[and le gasp! It had airs of the Phantom of the Opera]

Which reminds me I need to poke at a Phantom rabbit at some point XD ...because Beauty and the Beast isn't my only love XD

Date: 2015-04-04 04:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] stormyserenity.livejournal.com
I am indeed delighted! *bounce* Only I have to do homework so i can't watch TV now.

Date: 2015-04-08 03:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] stormyserenity.livejournal.com
Awesome! I have put some of the series on hold at the library, after finding it not free-on-netflix. Also dvds are good because i have a tiny dvd player with a screen so I can watch them in secret! Nobody needs to know my shameful TV habits.

October 2016

S M T W T F S
      1
2345678
9 101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 9th, 2025 07:30 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios