Hi everyone! To celebrate the site and blog's seventh anniversary, I have a very special surprise for you all. I had the incredible opportunity to interview Duane Poole, the writer of some of the first season of The Scooby-Doo Show and Scooby Goes Hollywood., as well as a story editor on The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show.
My conversation with Duane is below: 1. What inspired you to get into scriptwriting? When I was a kid, my parents bought me a tape recorder and I taped a Dick Van Dyke Show -- a series I loved and to which I give credit for whatever sense of humor I may have. I listened to it over and over and then thought to type it out on a toy typewriter I had. My first script. Stolen, but we all start somewhere. So I was always interested in writing...and when I discovered live theatre I thought *that* was where my interests would take me. One of my stage musicals was seen by a couple producers at Hanna-Barbera who invited me down to write animation. And a television writer was born. 2. What was your process of writing an episode of Scooby-Doo from start to finish? It pretty much always started with the ghost/goblin/monster of the week. That inspired the setting, the setting inspired the gags, and the characters did the rest. There were, of course, stock bits that had to be in every episode. The eating gags, the chases, the "those pesky kids" reveals. So much of it was looking for variations and the setting (a lighthouse, a haunted graveyard, an old castle) dictated much of that. 3. What was the most rewarding part of writing for Scooby-Doo? What was the most challenging part? The best part, considering many of the primetime shows and movies I've done, was that in animation, Scooby never said "I won't say that line". So there was a freedom -- a freedom that extended to the story as well, since live action projects often come with budgets that limit number of settings, etc. With animation, the artists could give you anything you could dream up. You want ancient China? Done. A city on Mars? Have at it. So Scooby and the gang could go anywhere without limits. (Well, obviously not ancient China and Mars, but you get what I'm saying.) The most challenging part was coming up with those fresh takes on the stock gags. I hate duplicating something I've already done, but sometimes it had to happen, the same sort of gags in different settings. Still, we all tried to keep it fresh. 4. Though you mostly only worked on season 1 of The Scooby-Doo Show (according to IMDb), season 2 had a noticeably darker tone. Do you know if there was any creative reasoning from the writers' room behind making the second season darker than the first? No idea. And there really wasn't a "writers' room" back then. The producers usually worked as story editors as well and assigned the various stories -- sometimes created in house, sometimes pitched by the outside writers. 5. What memorable responses have you received for your work on Scooby-Doo? I think sitting in that first big, live-action Scooby movie and hearing the crowd boo Scrappy -- which I had a hand in creating -- was perhaps the most memorable response. But to be fair, I've always found him annoying as well. 6. Was writing an episode of The Scooby-Doo Show a lot different than writing an episode of The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show, and why? As I mentioned, we were always trying to keep the show fresh. The addition of Scrappy, for better or worse, gave us all another color to paint with, metaphorically speaking. So there was a little fresh energy added with that change. 7. How did the idea of Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics come about? What inspired Hanna-Barbera to create a "battle of the network stars" type TV series with all of their most famous cartoon characters? Money, I'd guess. It's the same reason shows do crossover episodes and shows like the one you named. "What's another way we can use our characters and encourage an audience to tune in?" 8 The final episode of the first year of Scooby and Scrappy-Doo, "The Ransom of Scooby Chief," features Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy visiting New York, while Fred, Velma and Daphne appear very minimally. Given this was the last episode to feature Fred, Velma and Daphne for three years, do you know if this episode was intended as a "backdoor pilot" of sorts to test the waters for the 7-minute Scooby and Scrappy-Doo shorts that came the following year? It could have been. I have only a vague memory of this one -- though I think I still have the storyboard in a box in the garage. 9. When adding Scrappy-Doo to the series as a main character, did you or any of the other writers at that time feel there was any sort of risk that viewers wouldn't like him? I'm not sure any of us was prepared for the negative reaction he got. At the time, we thought he would just help expand the world and the comic possibilities. 10. Scooby Goes Hollywood was truly a one-of-a-kind film. What was your creative logic behind writing this film? What inspired you to make the gang stars of their own mystery-solving TV show? Were you trying to hint that all of the gang's past mysteries were just part of a TV show? You've overthinking, sorry to say. We just figured it was a good concept for a Scooby special, the fun of parodying movies giving us a fresh background to explore. I really wish I had a better answer for this for you. 11. I know from another interview you did that you love musicals. Was this part of what inspired Scooby Goes Hollywood to be a musical? I really pushed for it to be a musical. It didn't go as far as I'd have liked, but yes, the musical element was really important to me. 12. In your interview with A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo in 2018, you mentioned that there were talks of a live-action Scooby-Doo show in the 1970s (in which you played Shaggy for the screen test!). Could you share more about this show? Was any plot or aspect of the series developed before it was scrapped? The talks were just that and never went much beyond -- certainly never a script or a real concept. HB were merely exploring the idea using their big-headed park costumes and had me play Shaggy. This (I believe) was even before I was working on Scooby-Doo. Still that young kid writer from Seattle they were trying to find work for. 13. Do you have a favorite show or project that you’ve worked on? Animation-wise, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon. We could really go wild with the comedy there. Live-action, I was pleased to have written/produced the final two screen appearances of screen legend Katharine Hepburn. It's been a good career and I've been incredibly lucky. 14. You also worked on Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, which aired around the same time and crossed over with Scooby three times. How did these crossovers come to be? Were the multiple crossovers with Scooby an attempt to make the audience more intrigued with Dynomutt and Blue Falcon by including a familiar character? Much like the crossover question above, yes, it was to get a bigger audience to discover Dynomutt. How I wish that series had a longer life than it had. 15. You worked on Goober and the Ghost Chasers as well as Scooby-Doo. This isn't a Scooby question, but I've always been intrigued by the fact that ten of the sixteen episodes included guest stars in a major role, eight of those times being The Partridge Kids. What was the inspiration behind making Goober such a guest-star driven show? Again, not so much inspiration as crass commercialism, figuring the guest stars would bring in bigger audiences. It was a kick to work with all those 'star' voices, though. 16. Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of scriptwriting? Write and write and write some more. Learn the craft and learn your television and cinema history. (Nothing is more frustrating to me than contemporary writers who don't know the classics.) And knock on a lot of doors. All it takes is for one right door to open and the rest will follow. A hard business to break into, but so gratifying. 17. What projects are you working on currently? I've been doing a lot of the Hallmark Christmas movies lately while focusing my spare time on live theatre. I've had four shows play in New York -- nothing on Broadway yet, nothing you'd have heard of, nothing with a long run -- but that's my next goal. Thank you so much again to Duane for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions. It was truly an honor getting to talk with him, and I wish him the best of luck with his current projects!
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About a week ago, the back cover of Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog was revealed on a Swedish release site. However, the image was pretty blurry and not much could be made out, in addition to the fact that the cover was not in English. Today, Amazon UK has revealed the English back cover for the film (thanks to The Cop for letting me know it was posted here). Here's the description of the movie from the back cover:
An original animated feature so exciting it's scratching at the door! Comedy is unleashed when Scooby-Doo, your favorite mystery-solving mutt, teams up for the first time with Courage the Cowardly Dog. The canine colleagues sniff out a strange object in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas, the backwoods hometown of Courage and his owners, Eustace and Muriel Bagge. Soon, the mysterious discovery puts them on the trail of a giant cicada monster and her wacky winged warriors. Fred, Velma, Daphne and Shaggy know that this job is far too big for a flyswatter. They'll need the help of the doggy duo to piece together the puzzle. Can Scooby and Courage their jitters and defeat the insect army before the whole world bugs out? Try not to get scared. We double-dog dare you! Happy Thursday everyone! Today’s fan spotlight is Ben, a big Scooby fan who’s currently studying to become a teacher in college. Ben has written a number of fun facts for the blog, and definitely deserves to be recognized for his dedication and commitment to the fandom.
Here’s Ben’s fan spotlight: 1. What is your name? Ben R 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? No incredible tale here. My younger siblings fell into the show when they found a VHS of it, and when I was born Scooby-Doo was always around. I just never stopped loving it. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? I love Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island as many other Scooby fans do. I love the mystery, the acting (Mary Kay Bergman’s “Who opened a window?” never fails to make me laugh), the animation, and the characters. As for my favorite episode, I have to say It’s Mean, It’s Green, It’s the Mystery Machine only because I’ve watched it so many times I know each line by heart. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I wish I was involved more lol. I usually just try to stay updated on Scooby info on sites like ScoobySnax.com and Scooby Addict’s Blog. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? Mystery Incorporated Era. By far, my favorite Scooby show (although Be Cool is a close second) Movies that came out in this era were also great like Abracadabra Do and Camp Scare. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Alien Invaders. I think it would be really nice to see Amber and Crystal again. They made such great characters and I would hate it if we never saw them again. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? More dark. It’s what a lot of people say, and I really think the same. While I love Be cool Scooby-Doo, Guess Who played it way way too safe so it would be nice to see them get dark again. I hope the Velma show can do that. Also hope Velma stops with the monsters are fake garbage. It can get very very annoying especially when you’re preaching that at the best Scooby movie of all time. Okay, now I’m just rambling lol. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Scooby-Doo. He’s the cute, loveable talking dog, and well I love him for that. Miss when he used to talk in all “r”s. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? Elias Kingston. As a child, he was the villain that scared me the most and I just never forget him talking about how he would turn the entire Scooby gang into old people. It’s the first time in the series that there are actual stakes to the gang’s investigation: if they don’t solve the mystery they might turn to dust. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Scooby-Dum. It was nice that everyone in the gang got along with him, and his dumbness worked to the fact that it wasn’t too annoying. It would be really nice to see him again because it’s been like 30 years since his last speaking appearance. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Yes, I do have a Scooby collection. It has the usual DVDs, toys, books, and even cute little lunchboxes. Whenever I’m in the store, and I see something Scooby-related, I will buy it. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think it’s the characters. They're just so recognizable. If you talk about Velma to anyone in the world they are most likely going to know who she is. Another reason for this is the outfits. Each character has its own color scheme and design that is completely unrelated to the other gang member. When I see green and purple together I immediately think of Daphne. If you don’t believe that, then it’s definitely the formula of the gang going somewhere and solving a mystery. One of the reasons why Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue or Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo isn’t that beloved is because they didn’t follow the signature formula. The reason why Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island and Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated are remembered is that they took that formula and added something new to it. That doesn’t mean I don’t love Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue or Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (I love them way more than I should) it’s just one of the reasons why they don’t fit so well in the Scooby brand. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I am currently in college right now studying to be a teacher and am also a teacher’s aid at a local school district in Wisconsin. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! Scooby-Doo Stage Fright is very underrated lol. Thank you so much to Ben for his detailed responses, and for participating in these fan spotlights. Check back tomorrow again to meet another wonderful Scooby fan like him! Hi everyone and happy Scooby anniversary month! In just 12 days, Scooby-Doo will have been on television for 52 years! For our first fan spotlight, I’d like to introduce you to Matt. Matt is a big Scooby fan who recently got back into the fandom, and is a very active commenter here on the blog and the ScoobyAddicts forum. Without further ado, I’m excited to introduce you to today’s fan spotlight!
1. What is your name? My name is Matt! 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? One of the very few things I remember from when I was around 3-4 was running away from Scooby Doo at a theme park. I think it could have been Kings Island in Cincinnati. The only show I watched at that time was Blues Clues (which I would argue set me up for loving Scooby Doo) but my older sister liked Scooby Doo and she was getting pictures with the guy dressed as Scooby. That was the last moment I remember before we were watching Scooby Doo dvds in the car all of the time. We had Creepiest Capers, Spookiest Tales, Original Mysteries, and Greatest Mysteries. Then we started getting into What's New more with the Safari, Sports, and Europe volume dvds being the ones we watched a lot. Eventually, she outgrew a lot of it (she still loves What's New and select movies) but I never really did. In fact, I just kept getting more and more into Scooby Doo watching a bunch of different shows and movies. The format fascinated me and it was comfortable to watch. Eventually, by the time where I was in high school and cared way too much about what other people thought about me, I quit watching it so much. Once I stopped caring if people judged me for liking "a kids show", I started watching again and now I'm here haha. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? My favorite Scooby Doo episode is High Rise Hair Raiser. It might seem like a random choice, but it has quite a few things going for it. For one, this is one of the episodes I remembered a lot watching The Scooby Doo Show on Boomerang along with Ghost of the Bad Humor Man. Once I figured out that season was on dvd under the title of the Scooby Doo Dynomutt Hour, both of those episodes were delightful. As for the episode itself, it is fantastic. I love how it starts out with the gang looking for a job. It shows something we haven't thought about before. The setting of a construction site is really creative and the crime is one of the most unique (in a VERY good way) and the different locations are fantastic. The strongest of these is, of course, Ebenezer’s house which includes one of the funniest gags of the franchise with the book of spells. One little scene that is almost completely forgotten is while the boys were working, Velma and Daphne were looking in newspaper archives for information which is just a case of good detective work. One of my favorite parts of the episode, though, was Ebenezer following the gang to the lens store and spying on them through the window. It is a creepy little scene that is just perfect. Everything about this episode was fresh and between the creativity and the dark mood, it was perfect and represents the best of The Scooby Doo Show. Honorable mentions go to What the Hex Going On, Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman and The Loch Ness Mess for also bringing their A game and representing the best that their respective series have to offer. As for films, others have explained why Zombie Island is the best Scooby Doo has to offer PERIOD far better than I can explain it, but I’ll try to hit on a few points. The mature feel of it, both in the scare factor and just their general attitudes and age, makes it feel very different. It is a very normal take to say that Zombie Island has the best music, and I feel that is true for both the songs and the background music. The background music doesn’t get pointed out enough as the scenes where they are driving around New Orleans where the music just makes me feel almost emotional. Again, y’all don’t need another person telling you why Zombie Island is their favorite, but I just love it so, so much. It’s the best thing that has ever been done with Scooby in my opinion and I never thought I would say that about a movie rather than an episode. Honorable mentions go to Alien Invaders for being one of the most rewatchable movies ever for me and my former favorite Camp Scare for bringing the absolute best to the table for a modern movie. A complex mystery plot with so many different elements and very likable side characters. Whew, that was long winded 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? My involvement is mainly through here at Scooby Snax and the Scoobyaddicts board! It’s something that I would like to expand upon whenever I feel comfortable doing so. Fandoms can be overwhelming so I’ve mainly stuck in my limited lanes in both Scooby and my other fandoms 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? I’ll answer both! My favorite series is Where Are You, but a lot of series give it a run for its money! New Movies, Scooby Doo Show, What’s New, Mystery Inc, and A Pup are all just phenomenal shows imo. The first three on that list are always fighting for the final 2 spots in my top 3 and the other two are always fighting for that 5th spot. First season of Scrappy, New Mysteries, and Be Cool are also excellent series, and I like most of the others too. But Where are You is my biggest childhood series with What’s New. Honestly, if the third season of the Scooby Doo Show was as good as the first two, that series wins it all. As for era, it has to be the Mook Era. Sorry for the basic answer but the general vibe of the movies from that era just hits different. Shout out to the Scooby Doo Show season 2 though. It doesn’t count as an era but those episodes felt very different to anything else in a very good way. 6. What one Scooby-Doo series or film would you want a sequel to someday? I think I have to go with Camp Scare. The characters and settings are well set up for a modern sequel. And it wouldn’t be too different from what they are doing now so I don’t think they could completely screw it up like they have done with some older material they tried to modernize. I’d love to see Bert, Luke, Trudy, Jessica, and especially the Camp City guy (so much that could be explored with him and his museum) appear for a second camp movie! 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I would LOVE to see Scooby be darker again. An example could be Night Terrors. A super creepy and very well written episode but it doesn’t stray too much from what they are trying to do with Scooby right now. It doesn’t have to have an overarching plot like Mystery Inc but the darkness of MI was what I miss. Also, Scooby just feels too formulaic right now. I mean, it is Scooby Doo, but Guess Who just felt way too cookie-cutter at several points. I wish they wouldn’t be afraid to stray from the formula a bit. Like, include a real monster every once in a while or something. Scooby shouldn’t be boiled down to the same thing over and over like the stereotypes would suggest. Because it hasn’t always been that way. Sorry if that was a little too ranty but yeah I am always an advocate for striving to be better rather than staying complacent in a franchise. It’s why I have so much respect for Be Cool as a whole 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? This one changes per series for me. Velma is the only one who I have never considered my favorite, but I have liked her in most incarnations though (the newer Velma not as much). It is mostly Scooby and Shaggy though except Fred is the best in A Pup and What’s New, and Daphne is my favorite in the 80s 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? I think I have to lean with some classic villains for this one. Spooky Space Kook, Ghost Clown and Captain Cutler are probably my favorites. All stone cold classics 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? I’ll go with Scooby Dum. It can’t be a coincidence that the episodes he is in are so freaking good. Shout out to some villainous fellas in Red Herring and Gibby Norton just for making me laugh at a consistent rate 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I have a couple of lego sets, a couple of stuffed animals, some figures, and some miscellaneous things. However, my main Scooby Doo collections are DVDs and especially VHS. DVDs are mainly just to own the episodes, while VHS are something I just think are neat to have 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? Not gonna lie, Scooby Doo is really lucky to still be going on. An interesting and unique (at the time it was first made) premise got it so far up until A Pup, but Scooby can really thank Cartoon Network for showing reruns of Where Are You in the 90s and giving it so much more popularity. From there, it was able to come back. So that’s why I can’t get too mad at Cartoon Network for starting the Scrappy hate when they were probably the reason we got Scooby back at all. The odds were against this consistent popularity, but I am certainly happy about it 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? Most of my favorite shows are animated. It is a more consistent medium than live action shows. For example, some of the best stories ever told have to do with kids or teenagers (Scooby Doo lol) yet in live action, these people grow up and the plot has to grow older with it. With animation, you get to control the timing of how your show grows through time, if at all. And it usually doesn’t have to take away from the story if it is animated. There are a couple of animated shows for older audiences that I won’t promote on this platform that I really love. I am a huge fan of classic animation such as Hanna Barbera or Looney Tunes. Perhaps the show that is up there with Scooby for me is the Total Drama franchise. It is a perfect series for anyone that is a preteen or older. That is my other main fandom btw 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! Thank you for giving me this opportunity! And thank you for being such a dedicated presence in the fandom, Wildwind! This blog is something special. Thank you so much, Matt, for kicking off our fan spotlights! Be sure to check back every day through Scooby’s anniversary on September 13 to meet a new Scooby-Doo fan every day! |
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