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Ruh-roh, Rhaggy -- we're American icons! |
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Scooby-Doo, Where are You! airs Weekdays @ 9 a.m., Monday - Thursday @ 10:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. (e/p) on the Cartoon Network.
We live in an era where nothing can be taken at face value. We have prime time specials revealing the illusions of magic; We have movies like Man on the Moon, which takes legendary comic and national enigma Andy Kaufman and explains in pain-staking detail the genius behind his seemingly mean-spirited antics; Heck, we even have shows describing how wrestling is fake! What is our world coming to? And what's to blame for our "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" society? Wes Craven's Scream. In case you've been isolated in a bio-dome for the last few years (and if you have been, I hope it wasn't with Pauly Shore), Scream is a horror film which takes all the conventions of the slasher genre and turns them on their ear by having all the characters aware of not only the predicament they're in, but also of the rules and guidelines from horror films of the past. Don't check to see if the killer is dead, for he'll surely pop up at the last second! Don't have any sex; fornication will inevitably lead you to the wrong end of the maniac's knife! Ever since the mediocre Scream and its two lackluster sequels, we've been on this quest to be "in on the joke."
Such is the case even with Scooby-Doo. Ever since I was a kid, I've enjoyed the hilarious hijinks of Scooby and the gang as they got into trouble and solved mysteries. Back then, I enjoyed Scooby-Doo, Where are You! for exactly what it was -- mindless cartoon fun. But nowadays, we try to delve into this imaginary subtext of the popular kids' show. Oh, Shaggy eats a lot because he smokes dope. When the gang splits up to look for clues, Fred and Daphne always go together, thus implying that there must be some hanky-panky going on in the Mystery Machine (which, by the way, is yet another drug reference due to its psychedelic colors and design). But I'm getting ahead of myself. Scooby-Doo -- again, if you've been living in the aforementioned bio-dome -- is a Hanna-Barbera (champions of cheap animation) cartoon that features the titular Scooby (a dog), and his four human companions: Fred (the leader), Daphne (Fred's alleged squeeze), Velma (the brain -- hence she has glasses!), and Shaggy (Scooby's scruffy best friend and alleged drug addict). The series revolves around the same basic premise, regurgitated over and over again with slight variations. The gang will be out on the town -- having a sundae at the diner, going for a drive in the woods, visiting Shaggy's uncle upstate, whatever -- when suddenly it'll be brought to their attention that strange things are afoot within that general proximity. More often than not, this entails a monster, ghost or zombie haunting said area.
Naturally, our sleuths are inexplicably drawn to these types of occurrences, and head out to investigate. The investigation process introduces us to our list of suspects, usually consisting of a kindly, elderly protagonist, and one or two shady characters -- who are usually the butler, the gardener, or someone of that type. Our crew then begins to search the house -- the barn, the graveyard, the abandoned amusement park, whatever -- for clues; this is usually begins with Fred stating, "Let's split up, guys. Velma, you go and check out the boathouse. Shaggy, you and Scooby scrounge around the cellar. Daphne and I will head up to the Master Bedroom and begin our search there." Inevitably, they all meet up with the Spook O' the Week. They get chased about for a while (sometimes accompanied by generic '60's music), find some clues ("A chewing gum wrapper! It's all starting to make sense to me now!"), and get chased around some more.
Finally, after finding all the inconsequential evidence, Velma (with the glasses, remember?) solves the mystery. But first, before the shocking conclusion can be revealed, the Spook O' the Week must be captured. Being the most expendable, Shaggy and Scooby are usually coerced into luring out the suspect (what can you say about two guys who can be convinced with putting their lives in danger with the mere promise of food?). The plan being: Fred comes up with some ridiculous trap to nab the monster, but Scooby and Shaggy have to lead the creature into said trap. The trap never works, but through some comic bumbling by Scooby-Doo (and/or Shaggy), the bad guy (or gal) is always apprehended anyway. First, Velma explains the (contrived) solution to that episode's mystery (usually involving an overly-elaborate scheme to extort money from the protagonist), then there's the dramatic unmasking of the crook ("Oh my! It's Ned, the Poppa John's Night Manager!"); and in conclusion, the inevitable unmasking is always followed by the inevitable catch-phrase uttered by the criminal, "...and I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you lousy kids and that dog!" Then either Scooby or Shaggy do or say something wacky, everyone shares a good laugh (save the crook), and cut to the credits.
In a sea of animated mediocrity (such as Top Cat and The Snorks), Scooby-Doo shined high above the rest in the vast (and I do mean vast) Hanna-Barbera kingdom. Scooby-Doo, Where are You! has triggered a slew of TV spin-offs and made-for-TV movies. As with all spin-offs, some were much better than others. In 1972, The New Scooby-Doo Movies was introduced, but this time they added guest stars to the tried-and-true formula. For me, as a kid, this added an air of excitement whenever the opening credits commenced. Who was going to be the guest star today? Batman and Robin?! The Harlem Globetrotters?! Will I be treated to some fun and mirth courtesy of The Three Stooges? Unfortunately, these exciting prospects rarely came to be. Instead, I got: "Today, Scooby-Doo meets Conrad Bain!" But nevertheless, The New Scooby-Doo Movies was a great concept. But with one good idea, there are usually a slew of bad ones. One bad idea, in particular, was the introduction of a new character in 1979 -- Scrappy-Doo: Scooby's little nephew with an extreme case of Short Man's Plague. Though I'm sure that Scrappy's feistiness and undying quest to prove himself to his uncle was supposed to provide a catalyst for even more Scooby-Doo hilarity, all it succeeded in doing was giving me a headache. I don't think it's physically possible for Scrappy-Doo to be any more obnoxious. I think Newton might've covered this, but I can't recall the specific law.
But regardless of its many spin-offs and reincarnations, Scooby-Doo remains a national icon; or at least a pop-culture icon. It amazes me how a show with such poor animation, plot redundancies, and corny jokes can be so endearing. Perhaps it's the undeniable power of nostalgia from growing up with the program. Perhaps it's the chemistry of the cast, the honesty of the dialogue, or the aforementioned subtext behind the stories. Perhaps Scooby-Doo signifies the very essence of the human race -- the drive to solve life's little mysteries, but at the same time, have a good laugh along the way. Nah, it's probably just the nostalgia. Date: 5/5/00 Copyright © 2000 by Joe Bannerman |
