It Didn't Quite Suck

Here's the follow-up to the article below. I watched the first episode of the new Scooby-Doo series Mystery Incorporated, and it really didn't suck. I was worried about the animation style, but I adjusted to it after the first few minutes, so that wasn't really a problem. The story line was a typical Scooby-Doo style plot: weird occurence, investigation, presentation of suspects, final trap, villain reveal, and cheesy meddling kids line. So yeah, definitely a whole of familiar, which I like.

Here's what's not familiar, some of which was good and some of which was okay. First off, they're in a town called Crystal Cove that is supposedly the most haunted town in America. The gang is all still in high school, which means you get to see a little more of their lives. The big thing is that you get to see their parents, and in Daphne's case, siblings. Not sure how I feel about that, but it wasn't horribly distracting or anything, so maybe it could be intersting later on.

The gang: the gang is a little different in this series, though. Or at least their relationships are. Daphne is head over heels for Fred, but Fred is obsessed with building the better trap, so he's pretty oblivious. Relatively different from the not-so-veiled relationship always hinted at in the original series. What's really strange, however, is Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby. Apparently, Velma and Shaggy have something going on on the side, but haven't told the gang yet, because Shaggy wants to break it nicely to Scooby, because Shag's afraid Scooby will be jealous or feel left out. In the mean time, Velma is trying to seduce Shaggy, and it's a strange thing to make Velma in any way sexual. I don't know about that sub-plot. So far, I'm not on-board. I hope they scrap that.

I think the best thing of all, though, is the fact that Patrick Warburton is the voice of the sheriff!!! I LOVE Patrick Warburton!!!!! Well done, Scooby voice casters!!!!

All-in-all, I'm pretty pleased with the show, and I will definitely watch it again. Yeah, it's cheesy, but it harkens back to a time when my TV only had thirsteen buttons, and 3 of those didn't have a station supporting them; a time when I rushed home after school to watch my favorite cartoon canine buddy, and when everything seemed a little simpler.