"Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated" a so-far assessment - Never Forgotten: a Foster's Home Community

Ccook50 · 09-06-2010, 04:37 PM

To date, nine episodes of the fifteenth Scooby show, Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated have been screened (it's going into repeats till January) and many are saying it's the best Scooby entry since the 1998 made-for-video feature Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island.

That depends on how each entry is seen in regards to canon. Zombie Island has the gang reuniting after years apart (their last venture as a team in 1984), while Mystery Inc. takes the Scooby format, adds in some lampshading and quirks not normally seen and mixes it with the teen angst of Melrose Place. The quirks are notable--the gang's mystery-busting talents are not welcome in their home town of Crystal Cove because the city is a paranormal tourist attraction. The series itself envelopes through an arc which has been learned that a previous team of mystery busters that called themselves Mystery Incorporated has since disappeared and the gang has been left clues by an unseen figure named Mister E (the voice of comedian Lewis Black) for them to suss out the whereabouts of the former team.

But the team's work as a team has been taking a backseat to the angst. Daphne has been trying to start something with Fred, who is obsessed with traps (the type he would build on a moment's notice in the old series). Shaggy has it worst. Velma has been playing up to Shaggy who didn't want Scooby to know for fear of hurting his feelings, but as of episode 9, the cat is now out of the bag (Scooby sees Shaggy and Velma kissing in the back yard of the Rogers' home), and Shaggy is faced with a decision that has to wait till new episodes start: Velma or Scooby. And with both of them mad at him, it won't be (you should pardon the expression) a piece of cake.

It's okay to experiment with characters as established as these, and Fred's idiot savant-leader of the team is a hilarious conceit. But the Scooby-Velma-Shaggy triangle has become very discomforting. Scooby had always been extremely likeable and Velma has always been a wonderful character (as is her voice, Mindy Cohn), but both are shown as selfish twits who have Shaggy against a wall and no concern over his dilemma or emotions. Only their own. It completely shatters the work ethic and love Velma and Scooby had for each other in the past. Now they can't stand each other.

But that's only in the context of this series. And if true Scooby canon is to be followed, then Mystery Incorporated is an alternate canon, not existing. Graphically, the show is stunning, using shadows and design that makes it stand out. But you can't really gift-wrap a bar of used soap and call it a present, and that bar of soap is Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

Cassini90125 · 09-08-2010, 08:01 PM

This is not the Scooby-Doo I know and love. Everythings sounds so wrong; out-of-character characters, a bad setting, and what strikes me as a soap-opera format. Whoever dreamed up this latest incarnation of the classic cartoon seems to have no respect for the source material. I haven't seen the show, fortunately, and I now have no intention of ever watching it. Leave the teen angst for some other lametarded cartoon; Scooby-Doo is supposed to be for kids.

Ccook50 · 09-09-2010, 03:36 AM

That's the other thing. It's thrown in what TV Tropes calls "getting crap past the radar" (Velma to Shaggy, who is wearing a pirate costume: "Any way a girl could dock here?") But it still carries a TV-Y7 rating.

The show does have some funny moments. After recurring character Skipper Shelton comes up with the non-sequitur "Almost doesn't shuck the clam," he and Scooby share an extended laugh, after which Scooby quips, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Lucky · 09-09-2010, 04:49 PM

I saw an episode the other day, and I thought Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue! was bad...

Ccook50 · 09-14-2010, 02:08 PM

Mystery Inc. isn't bad--just hopelessly dishonest with the Scooby brand. For a Scooby done right, check out the DVD movie Scooby Doo: Camp Scare. A bit more intense than past Scoobys (about as much as previous DVD releases) but it's the good old Mystery Inc. gang we all know. No teen soap angst and a generous helping of laughs.

Ccook50 · 10-30-2010, 07:03 AM

Well episode 13 has passed (another hiatus for a bit), and during that time, Shaggy chose his friendship with Scooby over being Velma's boyfriend. At first, Velma was heartbroken (crying in Daphne's arms), but now she's embittered. Scooby has since tried to mend fences with her but she's not ready to take up hammer and nails with him.

09-06-2010, 04:37 PM	#1
Ccook50 Foster's Legend Don't forget to turn left at Greenland Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cumming GA Posts: 510	"Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated" a so-far assessment To date, nine episodes of the fifteenth Scooby show, Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated have been screened (it's going into repeats till January) and many are saying it's the best Scooby entry since the 1998 made-for-video feature Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island. That depends on how each entry is seen in regards to canon. Zombie Island has the gang reuniting after years apart (their last venture as a team in 1984), while Mystery Inc. takes the Scooby format, adds in some lampshading and quirks not normally seen and mixes it with the teen angst of Melrose Place. The quirks are notable--the gang's mystery-busting talents are not welcome in their home town of Crystal Cove because the city is a paranormal tourist attraction. The series itself envelopes through an arc which has been learned that a previous team of mystery busters that called themselves Mystery Incorporated has since disappeared and the gang has been left clues by an unseen figure named Mister E (the voice of comedian Lewis Black) for them to suss out the whereabouts of the former team. But the team's work as a team has been taking a backseat to the angst. Daphne has been trying to start something with Fred, who is obsessed with traps (the type he would build on a moment's notice in the old series). Shaggy has it worst. Velma has been playing up to Shaggy who didn't want Scooby to know for fear of hurting his feelings, but as of episode 9, the cat is now out of the bag (Scooby sees Shaggy and Velma kissing in the back yard of the Rogers' home), and Shaggy is faced with a decision that has to wait till new episodes start: Velma or Scooby. And with both of them mad at him, it won't be (you should pardon the expression) a piece of cake. It's okay to experiment with characters as established as these, and Fred's idiot savant-leader of the team is a hilarious conceit. But the Scooby-Velma-Shaggy triangle has become very discomforting. Scooby had always been extremely likeable and Velma has always been a wonderful character (as is her voice, Mindy Cohn), but both are shown as selfish twits who have Shaggy against a wall and no concern over his dilemma or emotions. Only their own. It completely shatters the work ethic and love Velma and Scooby had for each other in the past. Now they can't stand each other. But that's only in the context of this series. And if true Scooby canon is to be followed, then Mystery Incorporated is an alternate canon, not existing. Graphically, the show is stunning, using shadows and design that makes it stand out. But you can't really gift-wrap a bar of used soap and call it a present, and that bar of soap is Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated. __________________ "God forgot to make stupidity painful." --Ivan Stang (Church of the SubGenius) Last edited by Ccook50; 09-06-2010 at 04:41 PM.

09-08-2010, 08:01 PM	#2
Cassini90125 The Postmaster Love gives you courage that's stronger than anything! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Saturn Posts: 6,645	This is not the Scooby-Doo I know and love. Everythings sounds so wrong; out-of-character characters, a bad setting, and what strikes me as a soap-opera format. Whoever dreamed up this latest incarnation of the classic cartoon seems to have no respect for the source material. I haven't seen the show, fortunately, and I now have no intention of ever watching it. Leave the teen angst for some other lametarded cartoon; Scooby-Doo is supposed to be for kids. __________________ "Frankie! That weird kid is using a flower pot for a cup!" Sailor Moon. Best Anime EVER.

09-09-2010, 03:36 AM	#3
Ccook50 Foster's Legend Don't forget to turn left at Greenland Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cumming GA Posts: 510	That's the other thing. It's thrown in what TV Tropes calls "getting crap past the radar" (Velma to Shaggy, who is wearing a pirate costume: "Any way a girl could dock here?") But it still carries a TV-Y7 rating. The show does have some funny moments. After recurring character Skipper Shelton comes up with the non-sequitur "Almost doesn't shuck the clam," he and Scooby share an extended laugh, after which Scooby quips, "I have no idea what you're talking about." __________________ "God forgot to make stupidity painful." --Ivan Stang (Church of the SubGenius) Last edited by Ccook50; 09-09-2010 at 04:10 AM.

09-09-2010, 04:49 PM	#4
Lucky Settling In I'M PIERRE'S GIRLFRIEND! Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Third Street School Posts: 85	I saw an episode the other day, and I thought Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue! was bad... __________________ The cutest kid ever ---- http://www.youtube.com/user/kablamoi.../3/nLQ4tiMDm8U Check out my YT account!

09-14-2010, 02:08 PM	#5
Ccook50 Foster's Legend Don't forget to turn left at Greenland Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cumming GA Posts: 510	Mystery Inc. isn't bad--just hopelessly dishonest with the Scooby brand. For a Scooby done right, check out the DVD movie Scooby Doo: Camp Scare. A bit more intense than past Scoobys (about as much as previous DVD releases) but it's the good old Mystery Inc. gang we all know. No teen soap angst and a generous helping of laughs. __________________ "God forgot to make stupidity painful." --Ivan Stang (Church of the SubGenius)

10-30-2010, 07:03 AM	#6
Ccook50 Foster's Legend Don't forget to turn left at Greenland Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cumming GA Posts: 510	Well episode 13 has passed (another hiatus for a bit), and during that time, Shaggy chose his friendship with Scooby over being Velma's boyfriend. At first, Velma was heartbroken (crying in Daphne's arms), but now she's embittered. Scooby has since tried to mend fences with her but she's not ready to take up hammer and nails with him. __________________ "God forgot to make stupidity painful." --Ivan Stang (Church of the SubGenius)