A (Re-)Ranking of the Scooby-Doo Series

9/13/2022

It's hard to believe that Scooby-Doo has been around for 53 years today! To celebrate, I'd like to look back on a post I did three years ago on this day, ranking each of the series in order. Back then, only a few episodes of Guess Who have aired, and my opinions have changed a bit, so I thought it would be fun to revisit this list and update it a bit.

16. The Richie Rich / Scooby-Doo Show
This is still my least favorite series of the franchise. I much prefer the mystery element of Scooby, so given these episodes are all just comedy romps, this series has never really appealed to me. The 7-minute runtime doesn't allow time for any meaningful plot to develop, and the writing often felt rushed.

15. The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour
This ranking hasn't changed either. Not really much to add here, since it's pretty much the same issue I had with the last one, but this is slightly above The Richie Rich / Scooby-Doo Show since there's sometimes a recurring plot of them being on cases for Shaggy's Uncle Fearless, which saves the adventures from being completely pointless. The Yabba-Doo shorts are fine, but they run into the same issue of not enough time and mostly just a comedy romp.

14. Scooby's All Star Laff-a-Lympics
I think it was a really cool idea to have the Hanna-Barbera characters compete against one another in a "Battle of the Network Stars" type competition. All of the different event ideas were cool, and it was fun seeing what the characters would do in different scenarios. However, the plot does get kind of "comedy romp"ish, which as I said, isn't quite what I'm looking for in Scooby even if it is entertaining. The repetitive plot does get a bit tiring after a while, in the sense that it's always just the Rottens cheating and the other two teams having to find a way around whatever obstacle the Rottens have put in their way. It's something that I enjoy watching from time to time, but it isn't something I'd rewatch regularly.

13. Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!
Unpopular opinion: Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! gets way too much hate. While it's not a traditional Scooby series by any stretch of the imagination, it's a lot of fun for what it is. The theme song never particularly annoyed me like it does for other people, and while Shaggy's voice is a bit jarring at first, you quickly get used to it. The humor is pretty fun at times, the characters are really interesting and well-developed, and the situations they find themselves in are ridiculous, but it's fun. This is one of those series that you kind of have to go into with the expectation it's not going to be like other Scooby series, but I really appreciate this series for what it is.

12. The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show
Now we're getting to the series I really enjoy. There are some really solid episodes here, and it sort of feels like a fourth season of The Scooby-Doo Show in some ways. The one issue I have with this series is the portrayal of Scrappy. While I don't hate him, he's very in-your-face here in a way that he isn't in some of the later shows we haven't gotten to yet, and I'm not the biggest fan of it. I also don't like how at times, Fred, Velma and Daphne begin to feel a bit like background characters because Scrappy is being placed front and center. Don't get me wrong, I by no means hate this series and find it quite enjoyable, but this one aspect brought it down from where it could have been.

11. Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?
Up until this point, all of the shows had been in the same order that they were in the original post. However, Guess Who moved a bit down for me. I've talked quite a bit about my opinion of Guess Who in previous posts. At the time of this last ranking, I'd only seen 12 episodes (knowing me, it was actually probably less than that because I likely wrote the post in advance lol), and I was talking about how the nostalgia felt a bit forced. I think I was optimistic the show would find itself when I wrote that post, but I would say my opinion of it has lessened since then. I found the show was very bland, and while I did feel the forced nostalgia got better after the first season, liking episodes was often dependent on your enjoyment of the guest star. "A Mystery Solving Gang Divided!" and "Ollie Ollie In-come Free!" were good examples of that - the guest stars were so in-your-face obnoxious that it made the episodes unenjoyable, at least to me. On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes the guest stars would seem a bit awkward in the role - Jim Gaffigan, Bill Nye, and Neil deGrasse Tyson being examples. That would also make the episodes not as enjoyable as they could be, because certain dialogue would feel awkward or forced. I was really looking forward to the Kacey Musgraves episode, because I love Kacey, but in my opinion it kind of fell flat because she didn't really feel into the role. I would still agree with what I said three years ago that the show didn't ever feel like it brought anything distinct to the table - it felt very safe and like nothing new was really explored. The mysteries sometimes weren't as developed or interesting as they could be because too much focus would be put on the guest star. Don't get me wrong though, there were some amazing episodes here - "I Put a Hex on You!" and "The Legend of the Gold Microphone!" in particular - but overall as a series, there were others I liked better.

10. The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
The re-addition of Daphne felt like it brought mysteries and structure back to the table, and the added four minutes of runtime made the plots not seem so rushed like they did in the 7-minute shorts. Scrappy also feels a bit more toned down in this series, where he isn't always the center focus and other characters feel like they have time to shine.

9. The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries
Although it's basically the same series as the above one, I loved that this brought back full-length episodes some of the time. There are some solid episodes here that are among my favorites of the franchise - "A Halloween Hassle at Dracula's Castle," "The Nutcracker Scoob," and "Happy Birthday Scooby-Doo!" There were certainly a few duds here, but the majority of the episodes were great.

8. The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
I love how in the previous article for this, I apparently wrote "I'll probably be surprised when re-reading this article in a year!" I will confirm I was indeed surprised, both that I ranked this so high previously and to see that random note from myself written three years ago lol. I remember that I'd rewatched this series around that time, so that could have been why this got so inflated. I absolutely love the premise of this series. It's such a cool idea to have Scooby and the gang searching for 13 of the most terrifying ghosts in the world, and some of the ghosts were truly amazing (Maldor and Zomba being my two favorites). My main reason for this ranking decreasing from 2019 is because I wish this series would have had a stronger consistency with the tone. At times, I feel like this series couldn't really tell if it wanted to be dark or silly. We'd get really dark premises like the gang trying to stop a witch from destroying the world, but then it would be executed in a really goofy way, like the gang chasing a witch version of the Three Stooges. At times, it sort of feels like there were two different creative visions for the show that got amalgamated into one, and while it worked sometimes, other times it didn't. I feel like the writing got less strong as the series went on as well. Those who know me know how much I dislike Rankor. He was such a cool-looking villain, but if he's one of the thirteen most powerful ghosts in the world, why is he taking orders from some random monster club and going in the chest willingly?!? I'm still not over how flat-out stupid that scene is even 12 years after watching it for the first time lol.

Overall, I really liked the dark and edgy vibe this series was going for, and the comedy was definitely fun at times. Although it went down a bit for me since the last ranking, I still enjoy this series and wish it would have had a second season to wrap things up.

7. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is such a fun, quirky little show. Although the gang's personalities are quite different from any previous incarnation, I love all the different characterizations of Fred, Velma and Daphne. Fred is super funny, and it's interesting to see Velma in a shier role. While I wouldn't say bossy Daphne is my favorite characterization, Kellie Martin does such a good job with it and I think it fits very naturally with this series. The zaniness of this series can be off the charts at times, but it's so much fun and I have a great appreciation for this show.

6. What's New, Scooby-Doo?
Ugh, I hate that this didn't make top 5, and it was a really difficult choice. I love the updated feel of this show, and it felt like a really natural return to the classic gang adventures, which we hadn't seen in a full series at that point since the 70s. I think a lot of shows introducing technology can be sort of cringey, but this incorporated everything flawlessly in a way that felt consistent with the Scooby-Doo formula. The consistency across seasons in this show is arguably probably the best of any Scooby series, and the mysteries and monsters are top notch.

5. The Scooby-Doo Show
Interestingly given I was just talking about consistency, this is perhaps the show with the most inconsistent tone across seasons, which ironically is kind of part of the appeal of it. Season 1 is such a classic and the writing is solid all throughout. Season 2 is collectively my favorite season in Scooby history. The season had such a dark, eerie tone to it that remains unmatched to date. I personally love darker episodes, so this season was incredible to me. I wish it would have been longer! Season 3 focused more on globetrotting, and many of the episode focused more heavily on the Shaggy and Scooby antics rather than the mystery. While I've mentioned before the heavy focus on antics isn't my favorite (I'm more interested in the mystery aspect of the franchise), I do still really appreciate this series for it introducing us to the gang traveling to different countries on a consistent basis (since them visiting other countries had been much more sporadic previously), which later comes into play more consistently again in What's New, Scooby-Doo?. I liked that we got to meet a lot of the gang's relatives in this season, especially Scooby-Dum, who I have always loved as a character. Although all three seasons are very different, there are so many classics in this series and that makes this series top tier for me.

4. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
This is where it gets really tough for me, because the remaining four series are all incredible in their own ways. I love the darker tone of this series, and the overarching plot is done so much better here than it was in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. The format of a mystery-of-the-week along with the gang slowly figuring out the overarching mystery worked so well. I thought the Easter eggs and callbacks to old series were great. The mature writing (besides the relationship drama) worked really well here, and I would love to see another series like this someday.

3. Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
I know this series has a terrible reputation among some fans, but when you give it a chance beyond the animation, I would argue this series has the most clever writing of any Scooby show to date. The random, absurdist humor is exactly my preferred style of comedy, so this series really resonated with me. I love how this series developed the characters further, particularly Daphne. Daphne's authentically weird, quirky antics were amazing, and it made her such an interesting character. The only thing I wish is that Jon Colton Barry (the head writer) had more creative control over the first season and the last half of season 2. I felt that this series hit its strongest point when JCB was able to exert full creative control over the plots and characters in the first half of season 2. The characters were always on point, and the monsters and mysteries were so well-developed in season 2. That's not to say they weren't in season 1, but I felt the first half of season 2 was the strongest when it came to character development and mysteries. The smart, witty writing fit so well here and I think if you give yourself a chance to get used to the animation, you'll find this show is really enjoyable. The most common complaint I hear is about the animation, and I know it's a bit jarring, but the writing here is far too amazing in my opinion not to give this series a chance.

2. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
So, this used to be my favorite series, and it's still very close. This series started it all, and created so many of the tropes we've grown to love. These original adventures are always going to be the classics in my mind. It was very close, but my current favorite series is now...

1. The New Scooby-Doo Movies
I think part of this is driven by nostalgia, because my parents recorded these episodes on VHS tapes, and I would watch these episodes over and over when I was a kid. I loved the addition of the guest stars to the formula, and the extended run time allowed for some great character interactions and engaging mysteries. A lot of my favorite episodes from the franchise come from this series - "The Loch Ness Mess," "The Mystery of Haunted Island," and "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner" to name a few. I really liked how fluid the tone of this show was. Every episode felt like a new adventure, and the guest stars brought such a variety of different tones to the table. Someone brought this up to me recently and I hadn't really thought about it before, but the episodes also always take the guest star out of their element and put them in a unique situation, and I think that's part of the charm of this series. The two episodes from this series that I'm not as big of a fan of ("The Phantom of the Country Music Hall" and "Mystery in Persia") are the only two episodes that don't really take the guest star out of their element. In his episode, Jerry Reed is just performing a concert in a music hall, and "Mystery in Persia" honestly feels more like a Jeannie episode than a Scooby-Doo episode. The fact that this series puts the guest stars in such quirky situations makes for a ton of fun, and that's ultimately why this series is currently my favorite.

Thank you so much for reading these rankings! If you want to share your own, I'd love to see other people's rankings in the comments, even if it's just an updated version of them if you posted on the original comment thread.

66 Comments

Becker

9/13/2022 12:28:17 pm

Here we go. I'm not gonna bother with Laff-a-Lympics, since that is a Hanna-Barbera crossover show, not really a Scooby-Doo show. And I also view what seasons consist certain shows a bit differently from you, as you'll see in my ranking (strap in, cuz this turned out LONG):

13) Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1980-1982)
Yeah, this is really bad. Lol, this one is genuinely stupid on pretty much every level. Not only is the 7-minute runtime way too short for any fleshed out story, but they basically get rid of mysteries 99% of the time, and they really try their damndest to make you dislike all of the main characters at many points in this show (*cough* Double Trouble Date *cough*). Half the time the "villain" is a person going about their business and then our trio mingle in that business and get chased around by said pissed person. That's the sorry excuse of a "story" they give for too many of these shorts. Not that the shorts that are just random monsters that the trio somehow encounter and have to escape from with no answer to how those creature even exist have much of a story either... And the Yabba and Scrappy shorts are even more god-awful, just unwatchable uninteresting dull crap... why do they even exist? Yabba and Dusty are boring. No wonder why this era is so maligned, it sucks major ass.

12) Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?
Speaking of sucks... yeah, I don't like this show. At all. It's easily the worst iteration of the regular Scooby template. It's dull as nuts, there's nothing about this series that pops. The gang aren't portrayed as well as they could be, the plots aren't as engaging, the villains and secondary characters are kinda lame, the nostalgia is so forced and not natural, the guest stars and their utilization and performance is nowhere near as good as TNSDMo by a country mile. It pales in comparison to what a TNSDMo revival could and should have been. The ratio of good to bad episodes is horrifying. Scarier than anything in this show at any point. I'm honestly shocked how bland this series managed to be, we now have a new standard for most by-the-numbers Scooby show. By the way, the bottom 2 on my ranking are the only shows I dislike, now let's get some good stuff.

11) Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!
Big jump in quality here. I know that doesn't sound right to many people in regards to this show lmao. But I do think it's overhated, it's a pretty decent show when you look at it as something that's inherently not supposed to be your usual Scooby show at all. It's the most different thing the franchise has ever come out with, but it's to the point that it's barely recognizable as a Scooby project. It's like you took Shaggy and Scooby and plumped them in an action spy thriller show. Yeah, it makes no sense on paper, but when you take and judge it purely for what it is, it executes what's going for pretty well. It's actually quite fun a lot of the time, Shaggy and Scooby's characterizations are really good, Dr Phineus Phibes is a good villain, the overarching plot(s) of the show are good, and it's decently funny. Not something amazing, but not bad. Considering I would say I like it, might seem low on the list outside the top 10, but there's a lot of Scooby shows I like more than this still.

Becker

9/13/2022 12:29:21 pm

10) Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979-1980)
You raise a good point that this show feels like a season 4 of TSDS, but with Scrappy. I hadn't really looked at it that way, but you're right that it does have a very similar vibe to TSDS. Therefore, a lot of great elements of TSDS carry over to this. However, the biggest problem that kinda throws a wrench in all of that is Scrappy and the way they utilize and portray him, specifically in this show. Not to the point I would say I dislike him, but he's at his worst in this series for sure. Scrappy's reputation amongst the general populace comes from this show in particular. He can get annoying sometimes, takes up a lot of the screentime and is paired up with Scooby and Shaggy, practically leaving Daphne, Fred and Velma in the dust. There's not as much going on with the latter three, which is to the detriment of this show. Another issue is that I feel there aren't as many creative ideas, monster and plots as in the prior seasons. I don't think it's barren, not at all. There's still a very good amount of cool, unique and interesting stuff, but there's also stuff on the blander side (Sky Skeleton, Jeremiah Pratt, Minotaur); oh and there's also the "finale" to this season, which isn't exactly seen in a good light lol.

9) Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
This is a big one! A lot of people would think this is too low, and I get it, I know it's a pretty great show. I do like it for sure and I agree with all of the positives everyone throws at it. But there's a important piece of this series that I really don't like, which is the only thing people seem to agree isn't that good, namely the romance. The romance, both between Fred & Daphne and Shaggy & Velma, is god-awful in this series. It's mind-numbingly bad. I cannot stand whenever we switch focus to such bad plotlines. And it's also linked to my issues with Fred, Daphne and Velma purely as characters in this show, I'm not really a huge fan of how they're characterized a lot of the time here. I don't dislike them, but I don't like them too much either. All of this actually soured me on this show for a while, but then I started to look at all the other things about it and concluded it's in fact quite good overall. The overarching plot of this show from beginning to end is incredible. So much amazing dark spooky vibes and monsters. And the finale is practically perfect.

8) The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
This is a very unique show inside this franchise. They took a risk with this one, and I think it turned out pretty well. Some people remember it to be much darker than it actually is. In reality it's a pretty zany and humorous show rather than a darker and scarier one. While I would love to see that version of this show, I'm also a fan of the one we got. Brilliant concept, fantastic premise that's very different from everything else in the franchise while still managing to be familiar enough to be a genuine Scooby show, something S&SDGAC didn't achieve. It's really entertaining and creative too. Vincent Van Ghoul is awesome, Flim Flam is a lot of fun, Bogel and Weerd are pretty decent. The gang are all great and fun to be around. The 13 ghosts themselves can be a bit hit or miss, but they're usually good. The biggest problem with this show is that it doesn't have a proper ending, they only captured 12 of the 13 ghosts in the actual show. Now that's a cop-out. Mind-boggling how that happened. And I won't even entertain the idea of The Curse of the 13th Ghost as being canon to this show, no fricking way lmao.

Becker

9/13/2022 12:30:32 pm

7) The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show/The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries
Let's be honest, the 22-minute episodes are what puts this one high. Not that I hate the 11-minute episodes, they're enjoyable usually, but they do not come close to the quality of the two-parters. Those are SPECTACULAR. Seriously, if you take all 8 22-minute episodes of this era and put them together as a miniseries, you would have a damn near flawless Scooby season. It would be in contention for #4. Daphne's readdition to the gang and bringing back actual mystery plots were very much needed for the sake of this franchise's return to form after 3 frankly shit years. From this point on, Scrappy is a lot better than in the previous years too, I really like him in '83-'88. Fred and Velma coming back as recurring characters in the second season was also a perfect decision, it's no coincidence the episodes are amazing when at least one of them shows up. I'll also say that (adult) Daphne during the Tom Ruegger era ('83-'85) competes with Innes Era Daphne as probably the best iteration of the character. So yeah, incredible 22-minute episodes, enjoyable 11-minute episodes, it averages out to a great show.

6) A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
This is just a fun time. If you want to sit back and enjoy chaos unfold, this is the show for you. It's easily one of the funniest Scooby shows, there's so much entertainment value from every single aspect. Red Herring and Jenkins are such fun side characters that I wish would be brought back in an episode or film (not just a cameo). The new personalities given to the kid versions of Velma, Fred and Daphne surprisingly work, especially Fred, he's hilarious. Shaggy and Scooby stay relatively unchanged apart from the general zaniness of this show, and they're just as great as always. The recurring jokes are on point. Monsters are not realistic at all and that's what makes them so good. I mean, that's the whole point of this show after all. Mysteries are still pretty engaging though, and a bunch of creative plots, concepts and settings all around, great.

Becker

9/13/2022 12:31:06 pm

5) Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
I'm one of the very few who was actually never cynical about this show even before it came out. When I first saw the designs, I actually became more intrigued to see what this show would be, since it became clear to me at that moment that this would be a different approach that has a good chance of paying off and getting nailed if done right. And done right it was. The closest comparison I can make is APNSD kinda style as adults in the 2010s, and even that doesn't make it justice. You wanna talk about entertainment, boy I got the show for you. Fred is phuking incredible, there's a good argument to be made that he's the best character here. This version of Fred competes with another one (that I'll mention higher on the list) for my favorite Fred in the franchise. Everything about this show is a joy to watch. It has the best tricks pulled by Scooby & Shaggy on the monsters, no doubt! Those scenes are practically gift wrapped for this approach. The biggest issue I have is actually with the one character you singled out, and that is that the "daphneisms of the day" are quite hit or miss, sometimes they are great, sometimes they are annoying. The quality of the daphneims is so inconsistent which makes me disagree with you on the idea of her being possibly the best character. To me she's definitely not, for the reason I just stated. But that's my only significant problem with this series (the only other issue would be that once in a while the comedy doesn't land, mostly from the episodic characters). It's a show I love more and more as time goes on. Maybe it will end up climbing higher in the future, who knows. Side note: I believe you meant to say JCB was able to exert full creative control in the first half of season 2, not season 1.

4) The New Scooby-Doo Movies
It sure is a strange choice to put the word "movies" in the title of a show, but when that's possibly your biggest problem you're doing good lol. Despite being twice as long as your regular episode, you rarely feel the time, it flies by, which is great pacing. Awesome guest stars that are really fun and engaging and have great rapport with the gang, so many hilarious and entertaining moments, cool concepts, mysteries and settings, Fred likely going through emotional instability and mental breakdowns behind the scenes, what's not to love? Lmao, but really, the one thing I would change about this show is the villain creativity. Monster ideas and designs were kinda lacking throughout most of this show, but for some reason it doesn't bug me as much as it maybe should. I guess because that's intentionally not as much of a focus as in most of the rest of franchise, so I can cut it some slack. But yeah, incredible installment otherwise. Very tough competition at this point in the ranking.

Becker

9/13/2022 12:31:47 pm

3) Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
I don't think I need to explain or defend my top 3 placement of the show that started it all. This original series is a brilliant launchpad for such a longstanding franchise. It set a high bar for future endeavors, it left such an impact and it created a perfect template. Awesome lovable characters, great humor, cool monsters, interesting plots and mysteries, memorable tropes, gags and chases (especially when they introduce chase songs in season 2) that are still part of pop culture. Iconic series for great reason. I'll also add that this might be my version of Velma (alongside the next show on the list). The versions of the other characters are also fairly up there for their best interpretations too. Many people put this one at the very top, since it's the original, but while it's obviously fantastic, I think there's an even better classic HB iteration personally.

2) What's New, Scooby-Doo?
Might be shocking, but this show has actually gone up a couple places on my ranking. It's the perfect 21st century update for a Scooby show, as well as being the most consistent series across its seasons in the franchise. Everything I said about SDWAY can apply to this one basically, it does the classic Scooby formula pretty much perfectly. The characterizations are awesome, but their personalities are also nicely fleshed out, updated and modernized just the right amount. They're clearly recognizable as the characters we know and love while also bringing something new to them that fits. Fred especially is a highlight of this era, this is maybe my favorite version of Fred, a lot of fun. A detail I love about this show is the great sporadic recurring characters like Gibby Norton, Laslow Ostwald, Secret Six, etc. Another thing that plays a part in why it's so high is that WNSD has probably my favorite episode of the franchise: Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman.

1) The Scooby-Doo Show
As much as I love #4-#2, this one was an easy number 1. I think you hit the nail on the head with the fact that part of the charm of this series is that every season has a different enough tone and approach from the others to stand out while also still having a similar vibe and feeling like they all naturally fit into the same show. And it actually works in its favor, because I adore all 3 season for similar AND different reasons from each other. There's an episode or season from every Scooby mood. I know season 3 can sometimes get some flak for not being as consistent (*cough* Jaguaro *cough*) and maybe too antics heavy, and though I agree it's the "weakest" of the 3, it's still a fantastic season overall imo (except the aforementioned episode...). I'd say season 1 of TSDS is the best season of Scooby ever personally. Shaggy and Scooby are probably at their best in the whole franchise, and that's a tall order. Scooby-Dum is my favorite recurring character, I think. This series also has the other 2 entries in my top 3 episodes of all time: The Ghost of the Bad Humor Man and The Spooky Case of the Grand Prix Race. Take what I said about SDWAY and somehow make it just slighly better. This series has everything I want from Scooby-Doo done in the best way to me.

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 02:03:29 pm

I really enjoyed reading your rankings! I agreed with a lot of it, but I just have some random comments I had based on certain things you said.

13. Yeah, one of the biggest issues I have with the show is how Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy are sometimes put in situations where they're unlikable by angering random people who chase them.

12. Guess Who - agreed with a lot of what you said about Guess Who, and I have to say "it's dull as nuts" is probably the most interesting criticism I've seen of the show to date lol.

11. Well said about Get a Clue. I feel like it is a good series, but it's one of those shows you kinda have to give a few episodes before you're able to see that.

10. I do agree with you that Scrappy's at his worst in the 1979 show, and most of his criticisms come from this show. Yeah, the ideas aren't nearly as creative as many of The Scooby-Doo Show episodes/monsters, but there are still some decent ideas here. I like the Shadow Creature, the Snake Demon and the Dragon Beast as villains in particular.

9. I can absolutely understand why you'd place this show where you did. The romance was quite annoying in season 1, although I will say I was more bothered by the Shaggy/Velma stuff than I was with Fred and Daphne. The rest of the series, especially once they get past that stuff in the second season, is really amazing IMO.

7. Omg yes, those eight 22-minute episodes would be an incredible Scooby miniseries. Yeah, Scrappy's definitely at his best from this series on, and I'm glad they chose to tone his feistiness down a little bit. I agree with you that Tom did a great job writing Daphne here.

6. The silliness is really made this show for me; it's just so much goofy fun. I'd argue the recurring characters in this series are the best of any Scooby series other than SDMI, IMO.

5. I was definitely one of those people who was a bit skeptical of this series when the designs were first shown. However, when I gave the show a chance, I instantly fell in love with it. I never personally minded the Daphneisms and enjoyed the quirkiness/absurdity of them, but I can understand that not everyone likes that sort of thing. This is my favorite iteration of Fred too! Oops, yeah, I did mean to say "season 2" instead of season 1. I just fixed that typo, thanks! Side note, I also noticed that somehow my numbering for 12-15 didn't show up/was misformatted, so I fixed that as well.

4. I've always found it odd the name of the show includes the word "movies" too. I kind of agree with you on the monsters, although there were some good ones (I liked The Scarecrow, ghosts of Captain Moody, shark gods, Bigfoot, Haunted Horseman, Revolutionary Ghosts, and Fireball McFain). I would just argue the quality of the monsters was quite inconsistent. Unpopular opinion, I actually kind of like episodes that have tons of different villains like "The Spooky Fog" and "The Mystery of Haunted Island." It creates an even creepier vibe where you don't know what's going to show up next, at least imo.

2. One element of this series that's not talked about enough is the amazing recurring characters, so it's good to see you bring that up! I completely agree that this series had some awesome recurring characters, especially the Secret Six, Laslow Ostwald and Gibby Norton.

1. I thought this series did a good job introducing the gang's relatives in general. I honestly really liked every relative introduced here, other than maybe Uncle Dave who's a bit condescending towards Velma. She very eloquently explains the entire Williwaw mystery and the culprit's scheme, to which he just replies "Good girl, Velma!" as if she's a dog or something lol. I guess we didn't get to know Uncle John very well either, since he was kidnapped the entire episode.

Becker

9/13/2022 03:11:14 pm

13) Another issue is the strange inappropriate portrayals of certain cultures and people. A lot of the earlier shows have one or two episodes with some questionable moments/ideas, but there seemed to be a worrying amount of those in the Scrappy shorts, too many of them for comfort.

12) I had a feeling that wording would get a reaction while reading it lol, that and the Fred rough times part at my #4 followed by "what's not to love?" were my favorite things typing them out.

11) When watching the pilot I thought "alright, strange, but I'm willing to go on this ride".

10) I think Star Creature, Neon Phantom and Blue Scarab were also highlights of that series in terms of villains, those were probably the 3 most creative monsters to me.

9) Season 2 was definitely better since most of the awful romance stuff happened in the first season. Though there was still some bad Fred & Daphne stuff, especially in the beginning of season 2. I don't think Fred & Daphne was considerably better than Shaggy & Velma personally.

7) Yeah, I really wish '83-'84 could've just been more 22-minute episodes in the place of the 11-minute episodes (or at least most of them) considering how fantastic Tom Ruegger and his crew were at making those. They blow SD&SD '79 out of the water, and that was a pretty good series in itself too.

6) Ooh, it's tough for me to say which series had the best recurring characters... and there's more shows with recurring characters than one might expect. There's WNSD, APNSD, SDMI, SDAGW, BCSD, S&SDGAC, T13OSD (just Bogel and Weerd, cuz Flim Flam and Vincent are actually part of the gang here) and technically TSDS but just through Scooby-Dum. Hmm, that's actually an interesting idea to explore in an article, analyzing the recurring characters of each series and which had the best.

5) Around 1 out of 3 Daphneisms on average isn't good, the rest of the time it works though. So overall I wouldn't say that I don't enjoy Daphne's quirkiness/absurdity, it's just that sometimes it goes too far for me.

4) The monsters are usually more simple and sometimes a bit too generic, that's all. I agree that the episodes with multiple monsters showing up in different places and times are great, it works really well somehow (kinda like the Superstar 10 films).

2) And it's not like we're bombarded with those recurring characters either, there's less than 10 of them that appear only 2 or 3 times throughout the show. Something which they stayed true to even in the WNSD movies with Del Chillman.

1) Lmao, I instantly read "Good girl, Velma!" in Sassy Fred's voice for some reason. It's something so awkward, questionable and disconnected that it would make sense for Fred to say it in season 1 of TNSDMo.

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 05:14:29 pm

13. Yeah, I agree with you that many of these plots don't seem to be well-thought through when it came to culture.

10. The Star Creature was definitely a highlight because of how silly of an idea it was. Never was big on the Blue Scarab or the Neon Phantom tbh, both just seem like guys in cheesy suits to me haha.

9. I guess the line for me was that Shaggy and Velma's relationship was outright toxic. She was trying to control what he could and couldn't do, was demanding he change aspects of himself that were important to him, and most of all, she made him choose between Scooby and her, which was just mean and there was no reason for that. With Daphne and Fred, while certain moments were a bit cringey, I never felt the relationship was toxic. Both of them seemed like they could be themselves around each other.

7. Couldn't agree more, and I'd love a full season (or more) of 22-minute episodes in that tone/style.

6. I love that idea for an article! That could honestly be really interesting because I've never really thought about that all that much before.

4. I'm glad you brought up the Superstar 10 films! I agree it worked super well there. I'd love if a Scooby series explored that concept sometimes again like those films and The New Scooby-Doo Movies did.

1. Haha, Uncle Dave must have taken some pointers from New SD Movies Fred lol. I've never heard it mentioned before, but it does come off super awkward and disconnected. Like Velma gives this super eloquent and brilliant explanation and he's just like "good girl, Velma!" lol.

Becker

9/13/2022 07:04:38 pm

The plotline between Daphne & Fred was definitely not inherently toxic like the other one, but it was still executed really badly to me. Felt like a CW show romance, which isn't a good thing. All that their storyline achieved for me was showcase they wouldn't work as a couple (which makes it a bit messed up that they ended up together in the end lol). I couldn't stand either ship in SDMI

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 10:52:09 pm

I can kind of see what you mean, it worked for me in the sense that it wasn't all the time or in-your-face in the way Shaggy/Velma was. Honestly, if that Daphne & Velma book where Fred and Velma are romantically interested in each other taught me anything, it's that romance in Scooby-Doo is best as a side thing. It doesn't work with the main plot because it almost always detracts from the mystery. With Fred and Daphne, although it's been a while since I've done a full SDMI rewatch, it wasn't all-consuming where it was constantly in the background, like with Shaggy having to choose between Velma and Scooby, or Velma trying to control Shaggy by saying she'd leave him if he did certain things he enjoyed. There were brief scenes where it was focused on, but then they'd usually get right back to the mystery, unlike with Shaggy and Velma where it was so in-your-face you couldn't escape it. That's just my two cents, I guess.

I can see why you feel it's CW-ish, although I'll say nothing Scooby related will feel more CW-ish drama to me than that Mystery Incorporated fan series where Daphne's clique and that other group of girls have a standoff in the hall. It's just so overly exaggerated and in-your-face that it's ridiculously unnecessary lol.

Matt

9/14/2022 12:56:45 am

I love how detailed these explanations are, great stuff!

Amber noel

9/13/2022 02:41:04 pm

I 'm just wondering is it possible to rank every single scooby doo film lol ?

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 05:01:40 pm

Haha I will certainly keep it mind for the future, but I've been super busy lately so I don't think I'll have the time for a little while. I appreciate the suggestion, though!

Becker

9/13/2022 03:43:01 pm

I just noticed that both SD&SD and SDAGW are ranked #11 on the post, there are 16 entries on there, not 15.

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 05:02:01 pm

Oops lol, thank you, I just fixed that.

Carson Maitland - Smith link

9/13/2022 06:02:19 pm

Happy 53rd Scooby-Doo 🎉

Jacob Staggs

9/13/2022 07:14:53 pm

My rankings
16) Mystery Incorporated - I don't like this show whatsoever.
15) Pup Named Scooby Doo - I like a few of the episodes and I love Velma's characterization here but I can't stand those lousy character designs ( except for Velma's of course.) The humor is often cloned from one episode to the next, often making the comedy boring.
14) New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show - I don't like this version of the gang and the mysteries are by the numbers.
13) New Scooby Doo Mysteries - Better than the prior season due to some standout episodes, the return of the rest of the gang, and a killer theme song.
12) What's New Scooby Doo - Generic character designs but there's DAPHNE!
11) New Scooby Doo Movies - A good series but it has no sense of quality control.
10) Be Cool - Could have been better but it had a great pilot and a great Daphne and Velma.
9)Guess Who - Harmless stuff. Fun stuff. Wonder Woman was a great guest star. Wonder Woman and Scooby were a great duo.
8) Scooby Doo Show - Good.
7) Scooby and Scrappy Doo (1979) - Like #8 but with a helpful boost of puppy power!
6) 13 Ghosts - Great songs! (Except for one.) Good gang (minus Daphne) Fun (for everyone) BUT When You Witch Upon a Star was awful.
5) Puppy Hour - Fun and games with the added bonus of a detective agency! Good times! Good times!
4) Scooby Richie Rich - Some amazing episodes here! An all around great series!
3) Laffalympics - Definitely earns its name. Sadie Mayhem is great.
2) Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue - Great series. Great character designs. I love Menville's take on Shaggy. I love that when you know Dr. Trebla is Uncle Albert, rewatching certain scenes makes you realize how thoughtfully the episodes were approached. Like the episode where Dr Phibes has agents 1 and 2 cornered by a lion and Dr Trebla agrees with Phibes that this is a good thing. Phibes tells Trebla "I like the way your mind works." Of course he does. He wants a formula created by Uncle Albert. He is jealous of Uncle Albert. He likes the way his mind works but doesn't like him. They are more alike than they think.
1) Scooby Doo Where Are You - The best for several reasons!

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 10:42:27 pm

Really interesting list! It's cool to see Get a Clue and Laff-a-Lympics near the top!

Scooblius

9/13/2022 08:36:42 pm

Oh, wow! Who'da thunk my comment complaining about Phantom of the Country Music Hall would leave an impression lol. Cheers to another Scooby-versary.

1. Scooby-Doo Show
2. Where Are You
3. Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show
4. Mystery Incorporated
5. New Scooby-Doo Movies
I've heard good things about Be Cool, and it might grab a spot in my top 5. I just haven't gotten around to watching it...it's so much easier to throw on the classics that I know by heart and pay only half attention to after a long workday.

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 10:45:47 pm

Haha, tbh I wrote this article two months ago, probably around the time you made that comment. I actually thought it was really insightful and something I'd not really thought about before, but I think you're absolutely right. The fact that the guest star is always put in a very zany, out of their element situation is what makes the show as fun as it is. I was kind of surprised how spot-on the observation was too, given the only two episodes where that doesn't happen are the two episodes I don't really care for as much.

Anyway, nice list! Interesting to see The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show so high on your list. I would definitely recommend watching Be Cool, it's a ton of fun and I feel it expands upon the classic series in a very natural way (despite what the jarringly different animation might lead you to think).

Jakob123

9/13/2022 08:41:42 pm

Here are my rankings!

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (Great)

The New Scooby-Doo Movies (Good)

The Scooby-Doo Show (Great)

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (Great and Fun)

What's New, Scooby-Doo? (Great)

Scooby-Doo! Mystery-Incorporated (A bit dark but still Great)

Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (Really Good)

Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? (Mostly Great)

WildwindVampire link

9/13/2022 10:42:51 pm

Nice rankings! I agree with all of them.

Matt

9/14/2022 12:45:17 am

16. Scooby Doo and Guess Who: I would've never expected this when it was on, but at this point, it just has to be my least favorite, but not in a traditional sense. Odds are, I would enjoy a random episode of this series more than Get A Clue or the Scrappy shorts. So why is this at the bottom? Simple, I find it creatively bankrupt. When Becker says "Dull as nuts", it is an understatement. I don't want to make any comments about how the writers weren't even trying, but it genuinely feels like it. Or, rather their efforts were not with the plot or mystery. This series shows that there is a REASON why episodes of the NSDM were 40 minutes so they can have a genuinely good plot as well as letting the guest star be themselves and integrate themselves with the gang. Clearly, it is hard to do it in the 20 minute format. Not to mention, this series is more formulaic than A PUP NAMED SCOOBY DOO (which actually utilizes its formula in the best possible way, with a lot of charm and wit). I have less respect for this series than any other, even if I don't want to pile on it too hard, but it has to be here for me

15. Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue: I do respect this one, but I just can't, I'm sorry y'all

14/13. Richie Rich/Yabba Doo whatever: These two series of shorts are anywhere from snoozefests to grossly offensive to fascinatingly bizarre. I will give some credit here: You can't call a series with Scooby Doo 2000 formulaic. Unfortunately, there is more of the former two categories than the latter. The worst part is that they are genuinely hard to root for so many times. The trio are just... kinda rude to people? Overall, these series are just whatever

12. 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo: Unlike the last 3, I think this one is genuinely good. After all, Vincent Price is fantastic as Vincent Van Ghoul, and this one is genuinely a lot more spooky than other series. I think it really works well as a series as a whole. But there are two problems, one of which is just personal. That is, I just don't return to it very much. But the bigger issue is that they famously never caught the 13th ghost, and this is truly something that affects the series for the worse, especially considering how the series utilizes episodes connecting to each other. It is an incomplete series that is good for what it is, but it can't be higher than any others for me.

11. Laff-a-lympics: This is just me personally enjoying Hanna Barbera's wide assortment of classic cartoon characters

10. The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show: Things are getting really interesting now. I actually love this series quite a bit. Wedding Bell Boo's is my favorite episode of the Scrappy era, and Where's Scooby Doo, Scooby's Gold Medal Gambit and No Thanks Masked Manx are also up there. And this series also has my ultimate guilty pleasure in Crazy Carnival Caper. So what puts this one below other seasons? Well... there are duds in here. For example, Scooby Roo is a disappointment, The Mark of Scooby is extremely boring, and Scooby of the Jungle is one of the worst episodes of the franchise. Overall, a very good series, but certainly not without its down points

9. Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo- Speaking of having one of the worst episodes of the franchise. Ransom of Scooby Chief is absolutely horrible, which contributes to it being this low. Other than that though, I still stand by this being more interesting than the season before, so I like it quite a bit.

8. Be Cool Scooby Doo: This one has moved up my rankings a spot or two, but moved up my opinions by way more. This one is aging like fine wine

7. The New Scooby Doo Mysteries: The best series of the Scrappy era, largely thanks to those 2 parters, which are all fantastic. Even the 11 minute episodes are all really good (besides the Dooby Doo Affair or whatever it is called)

6. Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated: I almost put this one at 5 instead of 6, but this one has its flaws to go along with its high points. The Velma vs Scooby plot dragged on for way longer than it needed to. The drama obviously got pretty cringey at points. With that being said, the series itself is phenomenal and a very unique entity in the franchise

5. A Pup Named Scooby Doo: Way underrated and genuinely very clever and witty with its humor. When something works as super formulaic, that means it is very, VERY consistent. I was honestly quite shocked when I realized just how well this series held up in terms of humor. It is over the top, it is ridiculous, and I love it. I will point to this series as the funniest Scooby Doo series of all time, and for me, as many other funny ones as there are, none even come close to this one

4. Scooby Doo Show: This is difficult. If season 3 was considered a different series than the first two seasons, then the first two seasons would be the greatest series in the show imo. I am glad season 3 exists, but it really leaves a lot to be desired for me as a season as a whole. Disappointing episodes, too much running arou

Matt

9/14/2022 12:49:17 am

...nd. Overall, I like the season, but it takes away the consistency of the show for me. I can't reiterate enough how special those first two seasons are though

3. The New Scooby Doo Movies: When this series works, it WORKS (and it usually does). I feel like all of my 5 favorites from this series (Loch Ness, Dynamic, Bigfoot, Shark Island, Country Music Hall) all utilize the runtime and the guest stars so uniquely. The runtime really allows helps this show become special

2. What's New Scooby Doo- My childhood. Even more so than number one. Has to be top 2

1. Scooby Doo Where Are You- A perfect 10/10. A truly rare accomplishment and it deserves it. Even the worst episodes here are good, and some are just flat out spectacular

Becker

9/14/2022 04:20:32 am

About Get a Clue, I do wonder if you've come around to giving some episodes a shot recently, since I remember you saying you might pop it in and finally properly watch it.

Matt

9/14/2022 06:26:38 pm

I have not done so yet. Perhaps I'll do it when my schedule clears up a bit

WildwindVampire link

9/14/2022 10:11:37 am

16. I love how we've all just collectively associated Becker's phrase "dull as nuts" with Guess Who lol. Personally, I don't know if I'd go as far as saying it's creatively bankrupt. There were definitely some decent episodes here, but the overarching problem with it for me is that it tried so hard to be like Where Are You and New Scooby-Doo Movies that it felt forced, and thus it didn't feel like it brought anything new or different to the franchise.

15. Totally understandable. It's definitely an acquired taste.

14. "The Richie Rich/Yabba Doo Whatever" is the official new name I will be referring to this series as from now on lol. In seriousness though, yeah, I completely agree with you that the quality is all over the place. There are a few needles in a haystack like "Scooby-Doo 2000," "Hothouse Scooby" and "A Fit Night Out for Bats," but otherwise, it kinda doesn't feel like the plot goes anywhere for most of the episodes. The guys screw up and upset somebody, run away rather than apologizing, and then chaos ensues until somehow they narrowly escape the person. Like Becker said, there were also several culturally offensive episodes in this series which brings it down further for me.

12. I agree this series really gets the spooky vibe down. It was a genius move to have Vincent Price be involved in this series. He adds so much to it.

10. Like I mentioned in response to Becker's post, I also think this series is very underrated. It brought us back to the mystery format of the show, and there are quite a few amazing episodes here, including all the ones you mentioned plus "Scoobygeist," which is a personal favorite of mine.

5. I think Pup highlights how to do a super formulaic Scooby show well. It's ridiculous and over the top, and thus brings something new to the franchise, whereas Guess Who just kinda relied on ideas from other series and executed them in a way that wasn't nearly as good as the original series.

4. The Scooby-Doo Show would be higher in my rankings too if not for season 3. It's not bad by any means, but like we've talked about on other posts, it's a lot of running around and antics which I guess isn't the core element I look for in a Scooby show.

3. I have a lot of personal nostalgia around this series too, so quite a few of my all-time favorites are here as well. I don't entirely remember, but this may have been the first series I watched in full when I was a kid.

Becker

9/14/2022 10:38:43 am

14) I don't think I have a single needle in that haystack, maybe ironic, but not genuine.

4) I know Matt and I's opinions are basically reversed when it comes to TSDS season 3 vs SD&SD '79, but which one of those seasons do you prefer, Wildwind? You're not too high on either of them.

WildwindVampire link

9/14/2022 03:35:08 pm

I prefer The Scooby-Doo Show season 3. Although I'm not a big fan of the antics, I wouldn't say I dislike them either. They're just kind of there for me, which made a lot of the episodes in that season meh. On the other hand, while I don't hate The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show, Scrappy can sometimes overtake the episodes and make certain scenes a bit annoying. There's no element of TSDS season 3 that annoys me, I'm just more neutral on it because the first two seasons did it better, so gotta go with that one.

Becker

9/14/2022 04:00:51 pm

Like I've said before, I'm never bothered by the antics (at least not in this season). I actually love the antics because I think they're genuinely entertaining as hell. That's what they're supposed to do, so they do their job well. And (hot take?) they don't detract from the stories and mysteries in TSDS season 3 personally.
I don't quite fully get why the antics in season 3 in particular would be kinda a negative or so much more significant, considering there's usually only like one extra scene of that compared to the antics you'd get in seasons 1 and 2. It's not like those 30 seconds would make such a difference if used for something else, at least I don't think so. It's not like the rest of the gang searching and finding another bonus clue or something would amount to much more in the grand scheme of things imo.
Obviously I can't say for certain that's the exact statistics for antics, I'm not crazy enough to go through every episode and fact check and count the antics' screentime lol. But I think that's an appropriate estimation when replaying a lot of the episodes in my head.
I watch something like Scooby-Doo first and foremost for entertainment at the end of the day, Shaggy and Scooby provide that in spades. Their antics, especially their disguises and acts, are also one of the most well done aspects of BCSD.

Matt

9/14/2022 06:34:04 pm

16. I'll admit that using that phrase was definitely very hyperbolic lol. But I will still stand by it being bland and cookie cutter

14. It isn't worth typing out the full names LOL. And yeah, those three stick out to me for sure. A Fit Night Out For Bats is just genuinely good and those other 2 I enjoy so ironically that they stand out and are among the best

10. Scoobygeist is another one that almost got mentioned. The best non-mystery of this specific series by a longshot

5. Completely agree. And in a way, Be Cool does as well with recurring gags

4. Yeah, I like the season overall, so it doesn't drag it down too much. But 1-4 were all so close and I view that season as easily the weakest link throughout the four series

Matt

9/14/2022 06:35:59 pm

I don't really have a problem with the antics on the surface level, but as I've said before, when several episodes are just Scooby and Shaggy running away from the monster while the other three do everything, it just makes the plots a lot weaker. And it is a shame because something like The Beast is Awake in Bottomless Lake would've been amazing if it was done like a season 2 episode, but as is, I find it one of the more underwhelming episodes of the series

WildwindVampire link

9/15/2022 08:25:08 am

Like Matt said, I don't really mind the antics on the surface level either. I agree they can be entertaining at times (especially in BCSD). It's more that the season 3 episodes feel like Fred, Daphne and Velma do everything while Shaggy and Scooby run away from the monster. It makes the plots not as interesting when that's all Shaggy and Scooby are doing, especially compared to how they are involved in the mystery solving process much more in seasons 1 and 2.

Becker

9/15/2022 10:15:14 am

I didn't feel like Shag & Scoob contributed virtually nothing to the plots personally, but that's just how I see it after all.

Matt

9/14/2022 12:54:30 am

It's always interesting to see how opinions changed. I guess we can both say that Guess Who fell down for us, even if it happened to me in a much more dramatic sense

Becker

9/14/2022 04:24:32 am

It happened in a dramatic sense for me too. I remember the good ol' days after the first half of season 1 which I originally enjoyed a good bit and I was hopeful for this series and its surefire improvement. So naive. How times change, right?

WildwindVampire link

9/14/2022 10:13:11 am

It was really interesting to look back on my old post, because I'd written it when only the first 12 episodes of the series had been released. I'd even mentioned that I hoped it would get better and rely less on forced nostalgia, which didn't really happen. I guess I do think that once the series got a rhythm, it improved a little bit, but it's still not anywhere near great.

Mr Neither

9/14/2022 08:49:53 am

Oh no, not this again, maybe when I have time.

WildwindVampire link

9/14/2022 10:14:35 am

If you have the time, I'll be interested to see how your rankings change since you commented on the original post!

Mr Neither

9/15/2022 03:36:12 pm

Slightly rushed, here you go. Want any explanations, ask.#
14. Scrappy shorts
13. Scooby Doo Guess Who
12. Laff-a-Lympics
11. Pup Named Scooby doo
10. Scrappy Doo 1st series
9. 13 Ghosts
8. Scooby/Scrappy Mysteries
7. New Scooby Doo Movies
6. Scooby doo Show
5. WNSD
4. Get a Clue
3. Be Cool
2. Where Are You
1. Mystery Incorporated

Becker

9/15/2022 03:39:24 pm

There's a lot of support for Get a Clue in these comments. A Pup seems a bit low. Not quite sure if you like that show or not?

Mr Neither

9/15/2022 04:06:22 pm

Becker, From my original list:

"It was a tough one, but pup lost a lot of points for just being to overly simplified and seemed to be directed at kids almost of pre-school age. Fred was also quite annoying and idiotic in that series. it had its good points but when you knew who the villain was after 2 minutes, it quickly lost its charm. As for 13 ghosts that was quite a surprise."

WildwindVampire link

9/15/2022 05:44:02 pm

Surprised to see Get a Clue so high from you! All the other ranking make sense, I can see how Pup isn't for everyone. Fun to see your rankings!

Mr Neither

9/16/2022 03:52:39 am

I'm a little surprised to but when I watched it properly, it's good in it's own right, it offers something different to the franchise rather than just playing on nostalgia as Warner Bros. have done in the last few years.

Becker

9/16/2022 04:21:10 am

I personally thought Fred was hilarious, but I can see why he'd cross the line into irritable territory (kinda similarly to Scrappy and Flim Flam)

WildwindVampire link

9/16/2022 09:56:55 am

I also found Fred really hilarious! I get why he'd be annoying to some people, though.

WildwindVampire link

9/16/2022 10:10:52 am

@Mr. Neither glad to meet another fan that appreciates Get a Clue for what it is. I agree that even if it's not the best Scooby series, it's great for taking a risk and trying something different. I don't really think there's anything wrong with the series, it's just doesn't follow the traditional Scooby formula.

Matt

9/16/2022 12:24:27 pm

I’ll also toss one vote in for Fred being hilarious in APNSD. Probably funnier than I have found any other member of the gang in a specific incarnation

Mr Neither

9/16/2022 12:56:56 pm

I'll expand on why I don't like Fred in Pup. I just feel it was unfair to treat him like a total idiot but he was funny, even if a little irritable at times.

WildwindVampire link

9/17/2022 10:39:08 am

I can understand that, although I didn't think he was treated like a complete idiot. None of the gang members were cruel to him IMO.

ScoobyVerse

9/14/2022 03:20:00 pm

16. Puppy Hour, I think the Yabba Shorts and the fact that Scooby and Shaggy are like detective cops is an odd choice.

15. Laff A Lympics, the character interactions are really what saves this show. Shaggy and Scooby have really sweet bonding moments. Very much a rewatch-able for me.

14. Richie Rich, more enjoyable with the monsters. I see myself watching these shorts frequently for a short duration of background noise

13. Guess Who, a show that doesn’t have much depth. Relies heavily on the guest starts to make the plot work but somehow boring. But there is some good storytelling episodes in the bunch. One being in my top 10 favorite episodes.

12. New Movies, this one is controversial, but I never found myself liking this one when younger but grew a bit more fond when I was older. The 44 minute plots really don’t help it. The villains besides a select few aren’t memorable unfortunately. And they somehow almost always found themselves in some sort of cavern or cave.

11. What’s New, I think this suffers the same as Guess Who. But has some really good episodes. I think half I can name I really enjoy. But for the other half, settings and monster I don’t like. Hard to rank a show higher when you aren’t a fan of Half the show.

10. 13 Ghost, it’s a cool show, a bit forgettable with the monsters. But I like the dynamic and they tried to go a bit classical Scooby in some of the early episodes. Just some felt too “mystical” and some felt as if I was watching an episode of Smurfs.

9. Mystery Incorporated, not a fan on how they did them. I think before I fully got really into Scooby-Doo later into adult years I liked it. Thought I needed the dark Scooby and the relationship drama. But after doing character studies of these cartoons and going with the originals…these really aren’t the characters. Call me a purist I guess but I really don’t like the characters besides Shaggy. Saving it is the fact of some good storytelling and monsters. But for the fact in the stories I don’t see the characters in most of the episodes (especially the 1st season) I can’t rank any higher.

8. Scrappy-Doo Show, a good Scooby-Doo story told with the characters, just in a longer format than the to soon to come New Show/Mysteries. Plots are pretty cool, they are unique…but towards the end the shift started to feel as the soon to be shorts. Writing was lacking. Something was going on in the studio

7. New Scrappy-Doo Show, it’s a good series. The mysteries are engaging, the monsters are cool, and has really great character dynamics. Coming straight off the shorts it feels as if it’s a completely different show…in a great way.

6. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, I rank this pretty high because I just find the mysteries and monsters fun. I just have a concern with repetitive things but other than that…a great show I felt got better by the season. Characterizations are odd on some. But I didn’t mind them that much.

5. Get A Clue, say what you will about this series, I liked it. It had a cool plot and was very unique. An overarching story but really felt like Shaggy and Scooby. But the whole fact of the show is they are maturing advancing. Not fun monsters as some shows I really rely for, this doesn’t. The story and characters are enough to drive my love for it.

4. New Mysteries, same as New Show, but better mysteries, story, monsters, locations, and characterizations. The slow inclusion of Fred and Velma was very cool. Showing they still are there. It was a higher scale. I think one episode does lack ex. Code In The Nose, but that makes up for it with other episodes that are really well done.

3. Be Cool, a great Scooby-Doo show with setting, plot, and monsters. While I will admit that the characters are essentially parody it works! Because they change the characters for the sake that they know it’s funny and meta. Unlike Mystery Inc where they thought changing them would work for the better.

2. Where Are You, obviously the classic. Has some of the best monsters. I think the stories are really well done. I don’t think I can name one bad episode. But as you know they were still figuring out the characters…that being said

1. The Scooby-Doo Show, they figured out the characters by this point. You knew what to expect. There was more care and friendship in them. The Scooby and Shaggy bond was really well done. But other than that, the stories were really good! They felt comfortable where they were. Season 2 having some of the best episodes back to back.

But to be known I love all these shows. Just some more than others. I don’t hate a show

WildwindVampire link

9/14/2022 03:43:47 pm

It was fun reading your rankings! I agreed with quite a bit of what you said, so I don't have comments for every ranking, but I have a few miscellaneous comments about some of them!

13. What's the Guess Who episode that's in your top 10, out of curiosity?

12. While I do enjoy The New Scooby-Doo Movies quite a bit more than you do, you're right that there are a lot of caverns in this series! I hadn't thought about it before, but it's probably the most of any series.

9. That's a fair opinion, all of the characters other than Shaggy are definitely changed in some way in the show, especially Fred and Velma.

7. Yeah, I'd describe The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show as refreshing too. It was great to see them go back to the mystery format after all the antics.

5. Great to see some love for Get a Clue!

4. Interesting pick with "A Code in the Nose." For me personally, I guess I'd say "The Dooby Dooby Doo Ado" felt more lacking than that episode to me. It felt Puppy Hour-ish in the sense that it was just the gang fighting some random crooks, but with Codefinger, it at least felt like a solid villain. It took me a bit to warm up to Codefinger as a villain though, because his costume is kind of silly-looking, so I get where you're coming from.

ScoobyVerse

9/14/2022 05:16:10 pm

The episode is What A Night For A Dark Knight. The fact it was supposed to be the first episode in the Guess Who series it had so much call backs to What A Night For A Knight, even reusing the same model for the Scooby Snax bribe scene. Velma thinking the monster is Shaggy (which given it a few seconds she might have thought Man Bat was sick). Them breaking into the building like the museum. Alfred being the Professor Hyde White character. It was really a love letter to the original Scooby. But also a love letter to Batman, which unfortunately wasn’t in much of the episode. The parts he was in was amazing.

WildwindVampire link

9/15/2022 08:20:45 am

That's a cool choice! I enjoyed that episode too. It was fun to see Batman in a somewhat more comedic role.

John Locke

9/15/2022 12:09:36 am

Nice to see you revisit it! I'm neck deep in grad school work, and frankly you couldn't get me to sit through the scooby scrappy and shaggy shorts again so I doubt I could ever give a full list myself. New Scooby doo movies I always had a soft spot for cause I love the guest stars though some of them are just odd choices coming back to it as an adult, like I get they had a three stooges show, but Laurel and Hardy?? (love that episode though).
My top 5 would probably all match yours, though I might put scooby doo show above mystery incorporated. I respect the goals but some of the references were just to make references not for any real service to the plot and felt forced, to me anyway.

WildwindVampire link

9/15/2022 08:17:43 am

Good luck with grad school! Yeah, I have a soft spot for the Laurel and Hardy episode too. I can get what you mean about SDMI. It worked for me, because no Scooby series had done it before and they pulled from some obscure shows/films rather than just mostly Where Are You references like Guess Who did.

Becker

9/15/2022 10:12:53 am

Tbf, one of the references (if you can even call it that, more like overt commentary) in SDMI is actually one of, if not the worst scene in that show, namely when Fred and Daphne stumble upon Flim Flam and Scrappy's statues and... you know the rest. It's awful in every sense.

WildwindVampire link

9/15/2022 11:09:32 am

Oh yeah, that scene is absolutely awful and mean. There was no reason for them to insert that kind of commentary into the show and it's one of the few references I didn't like from SDMI.

Carson Maitland - Smith link

9/15/2022 02:58:50 am

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You and Guess Who

scoobydoouk

9/15/2022 01:33:33 pm

I recently bought some screen used scooby art (called cels) that were pieces of hand painted plastic used to animate the pre 2002 episodes/movies. I got 1 from TNSDMo and 2 from T13GoSD. I own bits of those episodes now lol!

WildwindVampire link

9/15/2022 02:17:31 pm

That is so cool! Thanks for sharing! :)

Carson Maitland - Smith link

9/16/2022 12:36:15 am

Will there be a re-ranking of the movies?

WildwindVampire link

9/16/2022 09:57:38 am

Like I responded to Amber above, I will at some point in the future.

Carson Maitland - Smith link

9/16/2022 11:23:39 am

Scooby-Doo: Falcon Force deserves to be in cinemas

SDF

9/19/2022 02:00:02 pm

I was really busy these past weeks (It's exam period here in Greece's universities) and i didn't have time to wish my beloved scooby happy birthday.

As for the ranking mine is that:

(I find them all from ok to great so i don't think the bottom ones are garbage)

14. Laff a lympics: I find the idea of the show clever and original but i put it last cause it is not a scooby series 100%

13. Scooby Doo And Scrappy Doo (1980 7 minitue episodes): I don't think the 7 minitue format works at all. It has some good episodes but a great number of the rest are forgetable. Also no Fred, Velma or Daphne

12. Scooby Doo And Scrappy Doo: I have nothing against Scrappy i just think this is the original formula series with the less moments to remember. Not many iconic episodes, monsters etc

11. Scooby Doo And Guess Who?: Some guest stars are great, some episodes are good but the whole series is just ok. WB plz stop the sequels they don't work. The original series are so much better

10. New Scooby Doo And Scrappy Doo Show/New Scooby Doo Mysteries: The second season is mutch more iconic than the first one. If i remember correctly in this series we learned Daphne's, Fred's and Velma's last names. I have to concider and the first season though cause it is the same series and it is a bit meh.

9.13 Ghosts Of Scooby Doo: Such a special project with some cringe moments but overall really good. Nice story, Van Ghoul is one if not the most iconic recurring characters and some of the ghosts were creepy. I liked some of its humor also. The resent movie was a disaster and affects this series ranking a little bit. Oh and the part that they don't catch all 13 ghosts too

8. A Pup Named Scooby Doo: I always like the Coolsville set up. It was fun and something different but nothing top tier. I ll put it here in the middle

7.Get A Clue: I like this series more than the averege scooby fan. It was released during my nostalgia era (2001-2008), it is funny and special. It has some weaknesses and i would like the rest of the gang more but overall pretty good

6.Be Cool Scooby Doo: From Now on i think we have masterpieces. I hated the show before it went out because of it's animation but i was wrong. It was hilarious, most of the monsters were great, i liked the personality changes especially Fred's and Daphne's (Daphne was adorable and Fred finally had some depth). The gang had a great bond in this one

5.Scooby Doo MI: I recomend this when someone asks me what series to see next. It is so dark and creepy that everyone can enjoy it. The romance drama was a bit meh but that's ok. Great and consistent plot, great mystery great atmosphere, Everything is great

4. Scooby Doo Where Are You: There is nothing more iconic than this one. Almost every episode and villain is memorable, it is the one that started it all and i respect it but i don't have any nostalgia for it (I saw the series as a teen for the first time)

3.The new Scooby Doo Movies: 40 minuites per episode and still i'm not bored almost never. The plot is so confusing (In a good way you can't understand what's going on), the guest are pretty good and it has some of my favourite episodes of all time. The monsters are the only weakness a lot of them have poor design

2. The Scooby Doo Show: The First Scooby episode i've ever watched is from these series. It is so nostalgic for me. I remember every episide and i love recurring characters like Scooby Dum. I belive it put something extra in the original series and that makes it slightly better

1.What's New Scooby Doo: This is no surprise to everyone who reads my comments. I love the whole WNSD era (the show and the movies), i feel so nostalgic, i love the titles song, i love all the episodes, i love all the villains, i love everything. Nice side characters also i would like to see more of them

That's it. I hope you will find some time to rank all movies or at least specials/crossovers cause i like making lists like that

WildwindVampire link

9/19/2022 05:12:28 pm

I hope exam season went well for you!

14. Yeah, I can see why you'd feel that way even if I appreciated the show myself. I'm still amused by my interview with the writer of this show, where I asked what the inspiration was behind this show, and his response was "money, I'd guess" lol.

10. I also find The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries to be better than The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show. The 22-minute episodes really is what makes the series as amazing as it is.

9. Even for how much I like 13 Ghosts, I'll agree with you that there were some cringey moments. Particularly their rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and that awful "Goodnight Ghoulies!" song. I will say though that the idea of making a super dark show that was silly at the same time is a fascinating one.

7. I'm glad to see lots of fellow Get a Clue fans here! :)

6. Yeah, the bond between the gang and the focus on their friendship is a core element that made this series so good for me.

4. Cool to hear how your perspective differs on Where Are You having seen it as a teen for the first time!

3. I think Matt coined the term in a ScoobyAddicts post from a while back, but I think "lovable messes" is a great way to describe this series. It's quite chaotic, but it's still so enjoyable.

Thank you for sharing your rankings, it was fun reading your post! I have a ton going on right now, so I won't be able to get to the movies, specials or crossovers for a while, unfortunately. However, I definitely plan to do them at some point once life settles down, since I know a lot of people enjoy these lists. :)

A (Re-)Ranking of the Scooby-Doo Series

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