Mission Scooby-Doo

The villains are frightening. The characters are fleshed-out. the plot is dynamic. The art style is unique, and its universe has depth. Put simply, this is Scooby-Doo living up to its fullest potential.

I know my Scooby. I grew up with all the incarnations of the show, and while it's generally held a place in my mind as being fun, I probably would never have considered myself a true fan. I didn't doodle Scooby on my class notes.

But some genius came along and changed the rules. This show is true expansion, not a retelling of the original story. Not a remake. It's not trying to be hip, or modern. It's trying to be iconic; it's trying to be bold. They flashback to scenes straight out of the original series, and build their universe brick by brick, staying true to the core elements of Scooby (including the ridiculous slapstick), while introducing intrigue, fear, tension, development - and humor, like you've never seen in Scooby before.

I think the moment I realized that I might be watching something incredible came along when Velma was giving a tour of her family's Spook Museum, and casually resting in the background was the opening monster from the Scooby-Doo live action film. It never came up; it was just *there*.

That was a tell-tale sign of a groups of creators that loved their material - both good and bad. It takes guts to recognize the embarrassments of a franchise, and then continue onward, using elements of that embarrassment to produce something wonderful. Passion is oozing from the seams in this show.

I am surprised by some of the negative reviews on here. This is the best incarnation yet of the original show. The Scooby Doo Mystery ones with the special guests were pretty horrible, the Scooby/Scrappy show was a disaster, and the most recent "What's New Scooby Doo's" were decent but a little too trendy and trying to be hip to the 2000s. Therein lies the beauty of this show. It is a new show, with new stories, new relationship drama, and new villains and mysteries. However, it keeps the old look & feel too. The show is darker now than it's been since the original series (when almost every episode happened in the creepy night time) and you feel that darkness when you watch it. It's spookier than the hackneyed villains of "What's New" and certainly far less goofy than the ones with the special guests. I cringe when I see those awful episodes with The Globetrotter and Phyllis Diller. Sure, the relationship stuff is more "adult" than the past but for those of you pointing out that the costumes are 70s again ... that's cool! So is Fred playing an 8-track on a record player ... that was funny, and meant to be! You've got to get the joke. Look, no one likes change all that much. I'm a marketing exec and I know this more than anything but change, when presented with elements that make us still feel comfortable, is great. Kudos to the writers for this fresh take on a great show that still makes me feel at home. (Oh, and I love the "Mr. E" stuff. It's a nice creepy sub-plot that now has me tivo'ing the show for myself, not just my kid!)

I will start by saying this, I am not at all a fan of previous Scooby-Doo TV shows, and one of the biggest "complaints" I have heard about this show is that it isn't like the previous shows. In my opinion that is a good thing, it dares to break free from the former chain of reboots that are all the exact same episode after episode. So if you were a die hard fan of the original Scooby show when you were a kid, then this show may not be for you. Please do not form an opinion one thing just because it isn't like something else, that is not an opinion.

Okay, now on to my actual thoughts on the show. Mystery Incorporated immediately changes up the Scooby-Doo formula by having an ongoing plot from episode to episode. You might be able to watch the first half of season 1 with no context but when watching the second half of S1 and most of S2 you will need prior knowledge to understand what is going on. This not only brings the story a serious feeling, (the show has some really dark undertones and themes) but gives opportunities to create new characters never before seen in the Scooby-Doo franchise. The original 5 are still here slightly more likable than before but mostly the same. The original 5 help show off the new characters, and the new characters are great in my opinion. Mr. E, Angel, Sheriff Stone, Hot Dog Water, Brad and Judy, Mayor Jones, Vincent Van Ghoul, Skipper, and especially Professor Pericles all feel so natural in this world. Plus constant recurring characters that will come back later because they have some sort of importance. The writing of the show show is good for the most part but it can have its kind of awkward moments with an overused joke or two. Another reason I love this show as a Scooby-Doo show is because of the plot. The plot of this show (Late S2 especially) is so complicated and twisted just to explain why Scooby can talk. I think this works really well in ways and poorly in other ways.

Now what do I not like about this show. In many cases the animation can look odd. When moving 3D models are used against the 2D characters the overall look feels very unpolished. The animation doesn't look odd at all times just once maybe every 5 or 6 episodes. My other problem would have to be sometimes it's tone is all over the place. For example when nova starts talking about her ancestors it's a little challenging to take seriously. I don't think these problems at all ruin the entirety of the show though.

In all Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated is, in my opinion, the best Scooby show out there. With a good story, good characters, and breaking free from 10+ shows before it that all followed the exact same formula every single episode, this show is well worth a watch.

Finally, character development for the Scooby-Doo Gang. Despite the fact that Fred and Daphne are back in their old late 60's outfits, new life has been breathed into Scooby's supporting cast. Norville "Shaggy" Rogers and his pet Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, have always been the most developed of the five characters and display their usual hijinks and slapstick, with one exception...Shaggy has a secret involving one of the members of the gang. Freddy Jones, the son of the town's Mayor in this story line, no longer has the Mr. Perfect persona, but is a precocious and eager yet likable teen who loves the thrill of mystery solving to the point that he gets carried away. Daphne Blake's personality is very sweet and endearing. Her character is more reminiscent of the original Daphne from the sixties only this Daphne is a cheerful optimist when it comes to her friends but is easily dishearten when it comes to Fred's cluelessness of her affections. The real surprise is Velma Dinkley! Her appearance seems to be modeled after the live-action version as her features looks more feminine. Although she's still extremely short in stature, Velma has more of a slender build making her noticeably busty. And though Velma still wears the usual outfit, her turtle neck sweater plunges slightly lower, revealing her neck. She now sports a fluffier hairstyle with small hair ribbons. As for her personality, she is sarcastic, opinionated, slightly quick-tempered, and (surprisingly) flirtatious. This new change in her character is well suited for the flow of the show and rounds out the cast quite nicely. Even with all the changes, "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" takes you back to the original Scooby-Doo roots, with enough of it's own originality to bring it up to date. However, with more attention directed towards the lives of the characters rather than the mystery, it leaves the story of how the mystery was executed half explained. Still, the writers seem to know what their doing and if they keep to this format, this show has the potential to be almost as popular as the classic "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?".

This show was so well done, it's was one of my favorites. Although I'm a too old for kids shows, I find myself absolutely enraptured in the universe the show created. I need more!!!