As I sit here watching a weekend-long marathon of vintage Scooby Doo episodes on the Cartoon Network, I have to ask: How many of my fellow spooky enthusiasts grew up watching
Scooby Doo, Where Are You? 
For obvious reasons, it seems like Scooby Doo was (and, hopefully, remains) a real gateway drug to the macabre for the young and impressionable. How many of us watched episode after episode, loving the heady blend of '70s kitsch, spooky/supernatural themes, random stoner jokes and slapstick cartoon comedy, hoping and praying that -
just this once - the gang would find a real monster under that sheet or behind that mask instead of old Mr. Jenkins, the amusement park caretaker or old Mr. Carruthers, crooked real estate developer? I can't be the only one!
Unfortunately, if you're over the age of 8 or so, you'll find that Scooby Doo starts to get repetitive pretty fast. (That's why they need a constant stream of guest stars to liven things up! Phyllis Diller and the Harlem Globetrotters, anyone?) Still, I'll always love Scooby for stoking the fires of my love affair with spookiness. I'll just try to overlook later atrocities, like Scrappy Doo, and the regrettable live action movies starring Mr. and Mrs. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and a really poorly executed CGI Scooby.
Zoinks! No thanks. I think I'll also avoid the live action "Scooby Doo Origins" movie they're pimping on Cartoon Network - I mean, Fred doesn't even have blonde hair! What's that about?! In the meantime, however, I'm happy to relive my childhood with this little marathon. Anyone else share my affection for Scoob?
For obvious reasons, it seems like Scooby Doo was (and, hopefully, remains) a real gateway drug to the macabre for the young and impressionable. How many of us watched episode after episode, loving the heady blend of '70s kitsch, spooky/supernatural themes, random stoner jokes and slapstick cartoon comedy, hoping and praying that - just this once - the gang would find a real monster under that sheet or behind that mask instead of old Mr. Jenkins, the amusement park caretaker or old Mr. Carruthers, crooked real estate developer? I can't be the only one!
Unfortunately, if you're over the age of 8 or so, you'll find that Scooby Doo starts to get repetitive pretty fast. (That's why they need a constant stream of guest stars to liven things up! Phyllis Diller and the Harlem Globetrotters, anyone?) Still, I'll always love Scooby for stoking the fires of my love affair with spookiness. I'll just try to overlook later atrocities, like Scrappy Doo, and the regrettable live action movies starring Mr. and Mrs. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and a really poorly executed CGI Scooby.
Zoinks! No thanks. I think I'll also avoid the live action "Scooby Doo Origins" movie they're pimping on Cartoon Network - I mean, Fred doesn't even have blonde hair! What's that about?! In the meantime, however, I'm happy to relive my childhood with this little marathon. Anyone else share my affection for Scoob?
2 comments:
i love scooby doo! i always wanted them to find a crazy underground cavern with a maniacal mind-controlling robot. and i loved all the guest stars. i learned about a lot of celebrities from scooby doo.
i don't like any of the follow-up shows though. i especially disliked the adventures of scrappy doo. even as a kid i had no patience for his overconfidence.
It's funny - as a kid, I didn't particularly like Scrappy Doo, but I also never really minded him. I guess I didn't give it much thought. But as an adult, I find him positively insufferable. Isn't he supposed to be Scooby's nephew or something? Since when do dogs keep in touch with their relatives!?
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