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BIG QUESTION today. For those that cant fully do #5 we give you something completely different!
In Chronological Order Series Wise:
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
Scooby's All-Stars/ Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
Scooby, Scrappy and Yabba-Doo
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
What's New Scooby Doo? (Premiering This Fall)
Movie Wise:
Scooby Doo Meets The Boo Brothers
Scooby Doo And The Ghoul School
Scooby Doo And The Reluctant Werewolf
Scooby Doo's Arabian Nights
Scooby Doo on Zombie Island
Scooby Doo And The Witch's Ghost
Scooby Doo And The Alien Invaders
Scooby Doo And The Cyber Chase
Scooby Doo (Live Action)
If you have no idea what Scooby Doo you've been hiding under a rock.
Benchmarking a record 13 TV Series, 8 animated movies, and 1 live action movie with more on the way, to say Scooby has had no effect on animation in general would be a bald faced lie. :P
Whether you love him or hate him - the mutt and the four kids that tag along behind him have a fan following that spans <b>GENERATIONS</b>. Heck, our parents grew up watching the show and its STILL GOING in some form or fashion.
Having said that - we all know how bad Scooby can be in several aspects - whether it was Cartoon Network's previous "Scooby Blitz" (which has thankfully calmed down) to Kids WB's "Scooby Blitz" (which is thankfully slowly waning off) LONG PROMISED AND NEEDED new episodes are on the way which leads me to this multiquestioned Fresh Question #6:
1. Ignore the oversaturation of the series for a moment. That is done by the people in charge. What do you <b>LIKE</b> about the series story and character wise? What do you "dislike"? In your opinion, is SD a <b>bad cartoon</b> considering its many ups and downs? Why?
2. Scrappy Doo - villified as one of the most hated cartoon sidekicks in animation and credited by many as the downfall of Scooby Doo. BUT here's a Q - In your opinion which Scooby Series did Scrappy work _BEST_ in and why? Could Scrappy have been made into a better character and if so how? And more importantly - WHY do you dislike him, or if you're in the minority LIKE HIM.
3. Considering how often its aired you have to have seen all of them or darn near all of them at least once. having said that what episodes of the entire series combined, that you can think of, would you consider THE BEST of the series. Dont limit yourself to the first series either. What would you consider the WORST? What is the best executed of the 12 series?
4. If Scooby were not as overplayed as much as it is, do you think would you like it a little more?
5. "What's New Scooby Doo?" Series #13 has a big task ahead of it. A Pup Named Scooby Doo was one of the more successful ones because it was the first to return to the core cast and parody the show itself, not taking itself seriously at all. But this series has the challenge of bringing the series BACK to the popularity that once made it famous. What do you expect from it? Should it stay with the OVA's which have gained good poularity and reviews and mix real mosters with the hokey fake ones? Should it be more serious or campy? And overall - lets say ONE to TWO episodes were dedicated to Scrappy Doo. Should they take this time to write him off the series permanently and respectfully, make him a LIMITED recurring character, or make him into a villian to fit with the theme of the live action movie?
This should be a very interesting discussion. I consider myself a fan of the various incarnations of Scooby-Doo but I do think they want into overkilled with the hype the past five years or so (then again, for years before that he was ignored in the marketing department by the likes of Yogi and his friends so I guess there is a kind of justice in that). Time to answer the questions.
1. I like the characters. They are clearly defined and each character has a role in the story: Fred is the leader, Velma is the brains, Daphine is the curious one who finds a lot of the clues, Shaggy is the expert monster evader, and Scooby is the one who always come through for his friends in spite of his fears. Although the storylines do get repetative there is a sense of dangere and the feeling that anything could happen, particularly in the earlier episodes. Once that sense of danger disappeared, which started happenning in some of the 1976 and 1977 episodes but really became apparent in the 1978 episodes, that's when the series started going downhill. The fact that personalities became less distinctive as time went on was also a factor. I think Scooby-Doo was a good show but it definitely had its sub-par seasons that drags the series down as a whole.
2. Scrappy worked the best in Scooby, Scrappy, and Yabba Doo because this series actually brought back the intelligence of Shaggy and Scooby that was evident in the earlier episodes, thus Scrappy was more part of a team as opposed to as the one who hogged all of the action. I liked it best when Scrappy worships Scooby but not blindly, in other words he knows his Uncle Scooby isn't perfect but he always comes through in the end. When Scrappy is written as a fallible character and doesn't clearly take the "Fred role" he works best. Saying that, his characterization for his first two seasons was too annoying and very unlikeable. Scrappy was best characterized in Scooby, Scrappy, and Yabba Doo and The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo.
3. The best episode was The No Face Zombie Chase from 1976. This was one non-stop chase scene from beginning to end. Everything from a robot zombie to a masked gorilla to a befeddled police detective was involved until the climax. Another favorite was Scooby-Doo, Where's the Crew also from 1976. A boat and three different sea monsters, a really well done outing. As for the worst, I have to say Close Encounters of the Scooby Kind and The Ransom of Scooby Chief both from the first Scrappy season. Both plots reeked of desparation. The best of the series as a whole was Scooby-Doo Where Are You with The New Scooby Doo Movies a close second. Both series nailed the formula on the head and created most of the mythology of the show.
4. I would enjoy Scooby more if it wasn't overplayed. Scooby is my favorite cartoon character.
5. I think What's New should be a combination of spooks in mask and real spooks. I wouldn't mind seeing monsterless day in the life stories Archie style (Doobie Gillis was an inspiration). I don't mind a Scrappy appearance. He should be used in the vain of the Archie Scooby comics, treated as a kid on an adventure.
>>>BIG QUESTION today. For those that cant fully do #5 we give you something completely different!
1. Ignore the oversaturation of the series for a moment. That is done by the people in charge. What do you <b>LIKE</b> about the series story and character wise? What do you "dislike"? In your opinion, is SD a <b>bad cartoon</b> considering its many ups and downs? Why?
<<
Well, I guess what I liked about the show was:
- Grew up watching Scooby...used to watch in syndication as a kid in the 80's "The New Scooby Doo Movies", the original series and "The Scooby Doo Show", and the Scooby eps on Sat.mornings (and eventually, the ones on the USA network).
- I suppose as a kid, Scooby's antics were pretty amusing (and the ghosts/monsters aspects seemed pretty cool as well, even if they were all fakes); as an adult, I guess now it'd be considered as cheesy-yet-sort-of-amusing-timekiller. Favorite characters: Shaggy and Scooby, natch.
Wouldn't say Scooby (at its best) was a bad cartoon, or a great one; pretty average for the most part, I guess. For its era, was probably better than the average cartoon that was on (70's/80's H-B and Filmation dreck).
>>>
2. Scrappy Doo - villified as one of the most hated cartoon sidekicks in animation and credited by many as the downfall of Scooby Doo. BUT here's a Q - In your opinion which Scooby Series did Scrappy work _BEST_ in and why? Could Scrappy have been made into a better character and if so how? And more importantly - WHY do you dislike him, or if you're in the minority LIKE HIM.
<<
Do notice Scrappy seems to be *the* most hated cartoon character around, if one believes Internet ramblings (presume that "Poochie" episode of the "Simpsons" might've been based off of this Scrappy-hatred/what the writers wished they could do with Scrappy given the way the episode ended [would've been a lot better ep to me if it weren't for the "you owe them" snide meta-commentary by Bart portion in the middle...]).
As an adult, don't care much for Scrappy at all (though can see why he was added: to boost sagging ratings); as a kid, thought Scrappy was OK. Perhaps he could've been a better character, but it still might've come off as similar to "Pinky Elmyra and the Brain"/"Pinky and the Brain and Larry"---him feeling like a "third wheel".
Best series w/Scrappy: either his original series (w/the rest of the gang present), or "The New Scooby Doo Mysteries" (with him, Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne present).
Worst series with Scrappy: easily what's the low pointof the whole Scooby series--- those early 80's shorts where it's just Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy running from real monsters/aliens/etc. for 6-8 minutes straight. Recall one called "Scooby Doo 2000"(sp?) where they somehow travel into a Jestons-like future (complete with space-puns, natch) and run from a mechanical ape in "Spacey's Department Store" before returning home (they time-travelled via spinning around a clock tower clock dial on one of its hands really fast...aaahhh, yeah. WOnder what Velma would've made of this)...
>>3. Considering how often its aired you have to have seen all of them or darn near all of them at least once. having said that what episodes of the entire series combined, that you can think of, would you consider THE BEST of the series. Dont limit yourself to the first series either. What would you consider the WORST? What is the best executed of the 12 series?
<<
The best episodes/series: the Creeper one on the original series; the "Scooby Doo Movies"; the "reunion of the gang" one in the "New Scooby Doo Mysteries"; the Chickenstein and "Velma's monster computer" ones from "A Pup Named Scooby Doo"; the 90's-era direct-to-video Scooby movies. Vaguely recalled a few of the "13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo" eps might've had a few redeemable qualities to it ("Flim Flam" aside)...
The worst: the running-from-the-monsters-for-8-minutes Scooby episodes I mentioned above; most of the pre-90's Scooby movies.
>>5. "What's New Scooby Doo?" Series #13 has a big task ahead of it. A Pup Named Scooby Doo was one of the more successful ones because it was the first to return to the core cast and parody the show itself, not taking itself seriously at all. But this series has the challenge of bringing the series BACK to the popularity that once made it famous. What do you expect from it? Should it stay with the OVA's which have gained good poularity and reviews and mix real mosters with the hokey fake ones? Should it be more serious or campy? And overall - lets say ONE to TWO episodes were dedicated to Scrappy Doo. Should they take this time to write him off the series permanently and respectfully, make him a LIMITED recurring character, or make him into a villian to fit with the theme of the live action movie?
<<
Hmm...what they could do:
- maybe mostly fake monsters, but with a few "real" ones thrown in on a few occasions (though I suspect the "real" vs. "fake" monster camps will never be really satisfied with whatever path the producers take, I suspect). As long as it's not just Shaggy and Scooby running from monsters for 8 minutes straight, I'll be pleased ;-)
- expect it to be written in the same tone as the direct-to-video movies of the 90's.
- if they do opt to bring back members of Scooby's extended family, I presume if it's in a well-written manner/use of the characters, then there's room for them to be thrown in (as appealing as sending Scrappy off to the Phantom Zone with "Family Guy"'s Stewie Griffin might be to some ;-)
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
This is the classic. The tone was set, the characters were in place, and the world would never be the same. Despite it's simplicity, It's the best Scooby series.
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
My least favorite Scooby series. The guest stars seemed out of place at times. Plus, the animation quality went down, and looked infirior compared to the first show. An early indication of the show jumping the shark.
The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
Dynomutt was pretty cool, and the show's formula was pretty much back to basics now. This series also introduced us to Scooby-Dumb.
Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
Guilty Pleasure at best, but not quite as good. Some characters were more out of place than others. It's okay as A seperate show, but dosen't quite fit with the other Scooby shows.
Scooby's All-Stars/ Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
At least the original episodes were back.
The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
The begining of the end. This is definately when the series jumped the shark.
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
Richie Rich was okay on it's own, but the Scooby episodes were at an all time low with Scooby, Scrappy, and Shaggy being chased by lame monsters..
Scooby, Scrappy and Yabba-Doo
Still at an all time low.
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
Even the return of Daphne couldn't save the show.
The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries
Freddy, and Velma made A few appearance in this series, but it was too little too late.
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
This series was darker than the previous shows, and tried to be campy, and not take itself to seriously with mixed results. Scrappy wasn't as annoying this time, and Daphne's look was modified. Vincent Price did A reasonable job as Vincent Van Ghoul. It even had some humorous moments. like when the show was interrupted by A mock newscast where Scrappy interviws Loretta Cutitout (Get it, Cut It Out.) about the use of fire breathing dragons on Saturday Morning. This was bold, and satirical. Even for A Hanna-Barbera cartoon. However, the show's title almost gave away the fact that it would only last A 13 episode season. Which isn't always A good sign. (Perhaps it would've worked better as A movie of the week.) The addition of Flim Flam was interesting at best, but leaves much to be desired at worst. While this series was bold, and daring, it had A long way to go before it reached the boldness of the Video movies.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Bill Hanna, and Joe Barbera continued to capitalized on the "kidification" craze they started with The Flintstone Kids. This time, with Scooby and the gang. The results were mixed. The show's self parody made it slightly more entertaining than The Flintstone Kids. Despite that, it was still just another "kidification" type show. At least The Jetsons stay the way they were when they made A comeback in the 80's.
Bravo-Dooby-Doo
The Infomus Johnny Bravo episode where he joins Scooby, and the gang in A search for his Aunt Jebidisa in A spooky house. Van Partible executes A wickedly funny Scooby-Doo parody while at the same time paying respect to the original series. Johnny tries so hard to win Daphne's affection, but fails meserably. The true highlight of the episode. Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, and Heather North were all in their full glory as their respective characters. Sadly, Don Messick has passed away at that time.
What's New Scooby Doo? (Premiering This Fall)
Here's hoping that this new series will be on par with the video movies, and make us forget the about that live action abomination we had to endure. Casey Kasem will return as Shaggy, Mindy Choen will play Velma, and Frank Welker will be doing double duty as both Freddy, and Scooby.
I remember liking 13 ghosts when I was little because the monsters werent guys in suits :P
I now find it cool because when I got older, I knew who Vincent Price was, but I do hate scrappy and flim-flam, and Velma is the cooler female character than daphne (daphne only seems to exist for her looks) :P
I never understood what people hated about the show. As a kid I was a huge fan of The 13 Ghosts of scooby Doo and then a huger fan of a Pup Named Scooby Doo.
Infact I still love that show today. Even the so called Scooby haters liked that show. So can I ask what makes "A Pup Named" so special that even non-Scooby fans like it. ?
I knwo why I liked it. It was funny, I loved what threy did with the characters, the show as pure fun and I just dug it.
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Mama Cass , Don Knotts, The Addams Family, The Harlem Globetrotters, Laural and Hardy, Sandy Duncan, Batman and Robin, Dick Van Dike, The Three Stooges, Sunny and Cher, Josie and the Pussycats, and Speed Buggy rolled into one show? Three Stooges were lame. Mama Cass was still alive and fat. The addams Family were better in the 50's and 90's. Dick van Dike is still 2 parts of his name. Laural and Hardy were funny as usualy, but not as good. Batman and Robin made the Ambigilaously Gay Duo look good. Josie and the Pussycats are better by themselves Sunny and Cher were dull as allways, yet Bono's line about Sking was priceless. Speed Buggy was the worst episode. Metalark's voice actor from the Globetrotters did the voice of Jazz from Transformers and thats still funny to me. Sandy is still an airhead. That hot Gennie with that "Yabble Dabble" Fatty was very boring. I forgot their name, but that looser musican, the exterminator, and that bad comedian from Velma's School. Mostly bad bad stuff.
The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
Hey its Dynomutt and Blue Falcon, but more Scooby Doo?
Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
The only Scooby related show I liked. This was as close as you were going to get to Wacky Racers, Dick Dasterly, and Penolopy Pitstop cartoon humor. And it was the only good show where the old school Barbera Team looked good together. Forger that lame Yogi's Gang with Mr. Waste and The Greedy Genie, these guys looked even better than that junk.
Scooby's All-Stars/ Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
Whats the difference? Its still kids and a dog who talks very poorly solving silly mysteries.
The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
My god! His cousin wasn't bad enough, but now his nephew?! Good lord put that doggie to sleep.
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
It was cancled for Scrappy bighting Richie's rich $$$.
Scooby, Scrappy and Yabba-Doo
I thought it was a crossover with the FLinstones at first, but it was worse than I imagined.
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
Don't let the "New" fool you folks. Its as bad and old like the origional ones.
The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries
Everytime I think of this show and that bad opening theme with the monsters lined up doing a can-can dance it scares the living crap out of me.
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
13 episodes of crapy crap crap. Yet Scrappy learns to keep his yap shut when needed too. Vincent Price was cool in it at least. Whats with that spanish kid though. Is he Marco from Sealab2020's father? Why not get Dumb Donald instead?
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Flinstone Kids and the Pebbles and Bam-Bam show were one thing, but this went too far. The plot holes get even worse. Daphney is rich,yet she rides around smoking blunts and has plenty of intercourse in a hipee van? Also they were kids in the 50's so it should've taken place in the 50's when we actually saw skateparks, video arcades <not pinball and nickle games>, personal computers, and comic conventions. Also that Red Harring should've been in a Scooby Doo episode and kicked the **** out of Fred.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Flinstone Kids and the Pebbles and Bam-Bam show were one thing, but this went too far. The plot holes get even worse. Daphney is rich,yet she rides around smoking blunts and has plenty of intercourse in a hipee van? Also they were kids in the 50's so it should've taken place in the 50's when we actually saw skateparks, video arcades <not pinball and nickle games>, personal computers, and comic conventions. Also that Red Harring should've been in a Scooby Doo episode and kicked the **** out of Fred
As with all the kidification shows the time was set in the same year that the show was based in. Namely the 80's/early 90's. Anybody remember Yo Yogi ? Same thing. Question when did Daphney smoke blunts ? And Daphney being rich has nothing to with it, cause her friends weren't rich so she does what they do.
The Flinstone Kids was different cause well it was prehistoric times and that's the whole gimmick around that series.
>>>
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Mama Cass , Don Knotts, The Addams Family, The Harlem Globetrotters, Laural and Hardy, Sandy Duncan, Batman and Robin, Dick Van Dike, The Three Stooges, Sunny and Cher, Josie and the Pussycats, and Speed Buggy rolled into one show? Three Stooges were lame. Mama Cass was still alive and fat. The addams Family were better in the 50's and 90's. Dick van Dike is still 2 parts of his name. Laural and Hardy were funny as usualy, but not as good. Batman and Robin made the Ambigilaously Gay Duo look good. Josie and the Pussycats are better by themselves Sunny and Cher were dull as allways, yet Bono's line about Sking was priceless. Speed Buggy was the worst episode. Metalark's voice actor from the Globetrotters did the voice of Jazz from Transformers and thats still funny to me. Sandy is still an airhead. That hot Gennie with that "Yabble Dabble" Fatty was very boring. I forgot their name, but that looser musican, the exterminator, and that bad comedian from Velma's School. Mostly bad bad stuff.
<<<
I like the "Mamas and the Papas" (and as a kid, thought the Mama Cass one was pretty amusing....or maybe I just liked the idea of running around in a candy factory; mmmm....sweet. :-)
Re: " Batman and Robin made the Ambigilaously Gay Duo look good": Uhhhh...yeah.
"Exterminator": Do you mean Don Knotts?
"Bad Comedian": Tim Conway, maybe?
>>>
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
13 episodes of crapy crap crap. Yet Scrappy learns to keep his yap shut when needed too. Vincent Price was cool in it at least. Whats with that spanish kid though. Is he Marco from Sealab2020's father? Why not get Dumb Donald instead?
<<<
Actually, Flim Flam was from the Himalayan country the whole show started off in, IIRC (making him...Indian? Pakistani? Tibetian?)
>>
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Flinstone Kids and the Pebbles and Bam-Bam show were one thing, but this went too far. The plot holes get even worse. Daphney is rich,yet she rides around smoking blunts and has plenty of intercourse in a hipee van? Also they were kids in the 50's so it should've taken place in the 50's when we actually saw skateparks, video arcades <not pinball and nickle games>, personal computers, and comic conventions. Also that Red Harring should've been in a Scooby Doo episode and kicked the **** out of Fred.
<<<
As Chris said, they tended to make those kiddified shows take place in the then-present year rather than back-dating them accordingly. Re: the Flintstones, the main continuity discrepancy is that the "Kids" conflicts with the original series' implying that Fred and Barney didn't meet Betty and Wilma until they were teenagers or young adults (working at a resort). As for Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, since the show takes place in the past (and is fiction), much like the various "Star Trek" series have done, they're free to jump around in time to show various stages of the Flintstones clan's life; hence, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm doesn't conflict with the original series---it's just taking place some 15 years afterwards, where we see what they're like as teenagers.
Though "A Pup Named Scooby Doo" did seem to mix 50's aspects (the doo-wop themed soundtrack, the way the kids were dressed, a few other elements, the name "Coolsville" for their hometown) with 80's/early 90's aspects (computers, space shuttles).
Re: "Daphney is rich,yet she rides around smoking blunts and has plenty of intercourse in a hipee van?":
It was established in one of the Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy-centered spinoffs that Daphne's family was wealthy; presumably, between her financial resources and whatever reward money the gang gets for catching all these crooks, this would explain why they never seemed to be working...
No comment on the rest of your, erm, "Daphne observations"... :-p
As with all the kidification shows the time was set in the same year that the show was based in. Namely the 80's/early 90's. Anybody remember Yo Yogi ? Same thing. Question when did Daphney smoke blunts ? And Daphney being rich has nothing to with it, cause her friends weren't rich so she does what they do.
I know it had to do with the present, but the whole thing further ruined the element of the previous shows. And I forgot to add Yo Yogi and "and were pretty bad" after "were one thing". As for Daphney well you know the story. Hippies in a van doing what Hippies do besides lissen to music. And I know not all hippes do that type of stuff, yet we know Scooby and Shaggy are the worst cases when it comes to that. Also we know the "real" why Fred splits up the gang. Velma is just a book nerd looking for adventure by traveling allong with the guys and doing what they like. I bet she was the inspiration for the whole "Mystery INC" because she likes mystery novels. Daphney is a some-what clumsy, rich girl also looking for adventure and wants to do the things the guys like. She basically takes care of the bills because how else do you explain traveling all over the country, the expensive concert tickets, the boat cruises, and the food consumption of Shaggy and Scooby. That would explain my theroy. Yet you will say "You didn't mention anything about the blunts!", but I said,"wants to do the things the guys like" and we can take a wild guess what Shaggy's intrest is.
I like the "Mamas and the Papas" (and as a kid, thought the Mama Cass one was pretty amusing....or maybe I just liked the idea of running around in a candy factory; mmmm....sweet. :-)
I ment that as a joke. Yet its was a sad tragity for her.
" Batman and Robin made the Ambigilaously Gay Duo look good": Uhhhh...yeah.
Uh oh! I didn't mean to write that! It was a stupid thought that ran through my mind while I was typing! Sorry!
You mean Don Adams. (Missed it by that much.) He did Inspector Gadget's voice, as well as Tennesee Tuxedo's. He was on "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" as well.
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" Batman and Robin made the Ambigilaously Gay Duo look good": Uhhhh...yeah.
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Uh oh! I didn't mean to write that! It was a stupid thought that ran through my mind while I was typing! Sorry!
You weren't that off ol' chum. I mean this was the era when Robin didn't wear pants.
1. My mother not too long told me that she made me watch the show when it began when I was 3. Don't know why shoe would or had to "make" me watch it, but by 6, I was totally intrigued by the format and it shaped my whole mindset to the present. Creepy mansions, secret passages (often behind bookcases), sliding down a chute to escape, solving baffling riddles, and Velma's big word speeches. This was the essence of Scooby, and I would love to try to find "secret passages" in places and wonder what was behind doors (especially in Dept. stores (leading to stock rooms) for some reason, which always evoked a sense of mystery. I loved working in one for a while when I grew up, even though it didn't pay anything.) Also the massive NYC subway (which I now work in). The many tunnels with diverging routes reminded me of passages Scooby was in, and this was the closest I would have to that experience.
There was nothing I didn't like about it (other than I had to watch it rather than be there in it), though when I became a teenager, I identified with Shaggy and would liked to have seen him with the girls more. (It was then, when they all entered daily syndication, that I began comparing the quality of different seasons.
So 3. comes next. The Movies were the expansion of the original format with twice as much time for more developed plots. The special guests didn't changer anything for me, as the gang sometimes had other people with them in the original, and most of these personalities I didn't know, (I knew mostly the other cartoon characters) so it was no different. This series made my week, and I would get up hours earlier, catching on one occasion the end of the late late show, (some war picture I remember), then Channel 2 Eye On, and the Patchwork Family waiting eagerly for 8:00.
Dynamic Scooby doo Affair-- where they figure out the disapperaing farmhouse, and Joker and Penguin turn out to not be the brains (both Batman and Velm give speeches); Loch Ness Mess, where they face glowing ghosts by land and a serpent in the lake, and Uncle Nat's huge mansion; Frickert Fracas with Johnathan Winters little sound effect show, and the thickening plot about who the scarecrow is; BigFoot, with Shaggy and Laurel & Hardy's winter acrobatics, plus some good secret passage action. This is what Scooby was all about. Then I could even appreciate the originals better. Night Of Fright, Haunted House Hangup, Backstage rage, Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts, Mr Hyde, Hassle in the Castle and Night for a Knight. These were the best from the first two seasons.
After that, it became more of an action adventure series, with the new Dynomutt style music, weirder monsters, and emphasis on Shaggy and Scooby as chickens/clowns. At first I was excited, having fallen in love with the Superfriends. But little did I know, the magic of the earlier Scooby was wearing off. Then there was the change of Velma as I have been mentioning, I watched through 1978, but it did not capture my memory or imagination as the earlier stuff did. It was in syndication with all the series playing side by side for easy comparison that I really noticed how far from the spirit of the original these were (Yet people keep calling them "Scooby Doo Where Are You". The original show played in or next to the Scooby's Allstars block these episodes aired in, but they themselves are not apart of the original show). Especially with Fred always taking BOTH of the girls and the gang staying separated through most of some episodes (such as Jaguaro)
In all three of these years, there was much less of the classic haunted house adventure, and more traveling abroad and seafaring stories. It seemed Clue For Scooby Doo and Tiki Scare were the big influences for this period. Those were good episodes, but it neglected more of the traditional "spooky" elements that made Scooby intriguing.
That brings us to 2. By his time, I was totally gone, and Scrappy was just another fad that was also occuring in several other cartoons. Even without him, the episodes were a continuation of the prior season. He was more naive and a silly distraction in the first season, (and the crotchety Lennie Weinrib voice - like first season "Flintstone kids" Fred- added to the annoyingness) but I think the second season was where he was best. The whole mystery format was obviously worn out, having been used in Scooby for 11 years, and dozens of copycat shows, and the series had been drifting more in the way of slapstick chase adventure, rendering Freddy and the girls and their job as the sole clue hunters unncessary, for the time being. Scrappy was now just as brave, but not nearly as naive, and really could take care of himself and others when he gets the chance, though Scooby and Shaggy still usually snatch him away first. Shag and Scoob were still their same old selves, crying "yow/zoinks", and clinging to each other in fear, and since they did this by themselves so much when Fred and the Girls were off finding clues, and this was obviously the highlight of the show, what difference did it make that this was completely comedy, the rest of the gang was gone, and Scrappy was there? His methods of challenging the villains, ruining Shaggy and scooby's silly disguises was hilarious.
This period was a break from a format that had grown dull to me, though it would take a few seasons before I discovered it and came to like it (I was totally uninterested by the idea of comedy shorts when I first turned to Richie Rich/Scooby Doo). Scrappy's new voice by Messick was definitely an improvement.
The Scooby and Scrappy Doo/Puppy show (with Yabba), was similar, but Scrappy was becoming less prominent, and it was not so much about him challenging meanies any more, but rather was more people oriented than the prior season (there were a few bullies he really needed to splat, but he did almost nothing.) They were still cute comedies, split between teenage type adventures, and the Fearless Detective Agency, which was a return to the crime solving format. It was when I came across the 3 episodes using original 1969 score that I became interested in new Scooby cartoons again. The series was slowly beginning to circle back around! Then, Daphne was reintorduced. This was a dream, as it was she and Shaggy without Fred and Velma. But the pairings were usually her and Scrappy, and once again, Scooby and Shaggy as the comedy relief. Scrappy was pretty useless here, as he is like the new Fred (solving the mystery with Daphne), and hardly even spent time with Shaggy and Scooby to challenge the bad guys who scared them (which was his main purpose). He could have easily been replaced by Freddy or Velma. But they were still cute mini mysteries with some fresh new ideas brought in. The break from 1980-82 apparently did some good. Then the next season Fred and Velma even made some guest appearances. Halloween Hassle In dracula's castle was a new classic. There was no original music, but the new music they were using then fit almost as good. It had the classic ingenuity, such as the lights going out,and people disappearing. Shaggy asks "who disappeared now", only to find it was his group, who were now in a dungeon with spooky passages. I hate so much that people would trash this because of Scrappy, yet call the 1978 season "lost episodes of the original Where Are You". The real monsters still doesn't hurt it. Scooby was about plot, not whether the monsters were real. 13 ghosts was an intersting idea, and since they now had a 5 member gang again, it probably would have been nice to use Fred and Velma instead of Scrappy and Flim Flam, but they were gone again. Scooby and the Boo Brothers would have been a classic Scooby adventure also if it had the original gang. Pup Named Scooby was a spoof, of course, and I didn't take it seriously. It too was the fad of the period, occuring in several other shows. I hated the way thay had changed Fred and Daphne so much, but that was supposed to be apart of the joke (look what they were, compared to what they became).
The recent movies are too far from the feel of the original (like the new Justice League, gone is the cartooney animation, music and sound effects. Everything uses theatrical feature style score). also, I don't like this Fred and Daphne thing. That was a good joke in Brovo Dooby Doo, but the gang was never about that kind of stuff.
4. I myself could never tire of new Scooby, but to those who are tired of it, just be patient. We've had a nostalgic revival these last few years, (centering on his 30th anniversary) but it will eventually blow over. We have this new series on WB, and maybe a live sequel, but as It is now moving from Cartoon Network primarily to Boomerang (with that killer marathon coming up), it will soon fall back into perspective.
5.I just hope the new series, even if produed somewhat like the animated movies, goes back to the focus of the original. Hope Welker does a good job as Scooby, and that Cohn can bring back some semblance of the original Velma.
I always thought it would be nice to see more new Scrappy, but the trend now is to always portray him negatively, and if that's what they want to do, just leave him out. There are some creepy, dark cartoon villains, megalomaniac losers, etc. But Scrappy was valiant, and that is a positive character, so once again, people are only projecting their own dislike of him. Otherwise, to try to make everyone happy, he would work in a Clue Club type role, where they always try to leave the young girl behind to watch the data thing, and she always gets involved later on anyway. Or an occasional guest, as in stories where we see Scooby's family (The Christmas special could be an idea). Important Afterthought from months later for whoever stumbeles across Perhaps, the best use of Scrappy might be to make new "Scary Scooby Funny" shorts to accompany new movies (video, or theatrical), just like the cartoon shorts of old (which they reminded me of).
Scooby has come a long way, and his story is an interesting cycle. I just hate to see it being turned into a pogram against Scrappy.The Scooby Story
There was a spoiler thread when the movie came out, but that's long gone. (so much stuff coming in; I didn't realize threads don't last two months). So you can click on my page, above your post, and go down to the bottom, where I have a blacked out spoiler section discussing those details of the movie.
Thats how I found out since I didn't see the movie or the thread. Thats so dam funny. That would be the only reason to own a copy is just for that moment.
As I said, kids didn't seem to think so. They do not have any biases to project onto the characters.
Anyway, NEWS!!
I am starting to see the promotionals for the new series on WB. It seems to look just like the animated movies (new WB style). I guess it was either that or Cartoon-Cartoon style, which would fit even less.
Funny, Shaggy in the promo was still voiced by Innes. I guess this might make Casem's return to the show more surprising to those who didn't already kbnow about it.
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Laural and Hardy were funny as usualy, but not as good. Batman and Robin made the Ambigilaously Gay Duo look good. Josie and the Pussycats are better by themselves Sunny and Cher were dull as allways, yet Bono's line about Sking was priceless. 
Speed Buggy was the worst episode. Metalark's voice actor from the Globetrotters did the voice of Jazz from 
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