 Sadly, today is the last day of the fan spotlights, but we’re not going out with a whimper.
Today, I’m excited to introduce you to one of the coolest, most badass people I know: the one and only Amelia! Amelia is an awesome goth who took inspiration from the Hex Girls and Scooby-Doo in becoming her perfectly unique gothy self. Amelia is a huge Scooby fan who I met a few years ago now. Over the years, she’s shared with me how influential Scooby has been in her life - from shaping her goth identity to learning English from the show! She’s also taught me quite a bit about the goth culture, which is super cool to learn about and you all should read more into it too! So just how cool is Amelia? As I hinted yesterday, she once drove her (now) daughter-in-law to stop and stare in awe, simply remarking “She’s so cool.” when they first met. See for yourself what a badass, empowered woman Amelia in her fan profile below: 1. What is your name? Amelia 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I’m Danish and when I was a kid my father worked abroad a bit in America. Often when he came back to Denmark he’d bring either official VHS tapes or recordings of cartoons back for me to watch. Since he saw it as a good way to help my learn English, since English is the world language he considered it important I should learn it (very helpful considering later on in life I did marry an Englishman). One of those cartoons was Scooby Doo, and quickly grew to be my favorite out of them. Though I had also seen some episodes of Scooby Doo and movies on TV in Danish, but the English/original voice acting was superior so I preferred it. So along with some other shows Scooby Doo effectively taught me the basics of speaking English, inadvertent on its creator’s parts but I’m grateful none the less haha. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? I don’t really have a favorite episode, there’s some I prefer more than others obviously but off the top of my head I couldn’t pick one out as a definitive favorite. Would be from either Where Are You, SD Show or Be Cool Scooby Doo though, as those are my favorite series. I can for the films though, Witch’s Ghost is easily my favorite movie. With Ghoul School and Zombie Island following closely behind it in second and third place. Partially since I love the aesthetic of the film. The backgrounds are beautiful, especially the autumnal scenes we get in the clips of the gang driving to Oakhaven (the piece of music played there really sells it). The night scenes are so well done too, it actually looks dark at night unlike in a lot of other animation. The music, both background and songs (the Hex Girls’s songs especially), are fantastic too but that’s a given for the four movies of that era. And it had a good contrast/balance of having a fake ghost and a real ghost. And it did introduce us to/create the Hex Girls, and they were definitely an influence on me ending up as a goth. I can remember as a kid seeing them, mainly Thorn, and thinking “I want to be like that when I grow up.” They were just so cool! Well be like that and Morticia Addams from the 60s Addams Family, who I’m definitely more influenced by as an adult. Still have that Hex Girls influence though, since a few years back I did get dental prosthetic fangs. Which provide amusement when I get asked by people if my teeth are really like that lol. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I’m not really that involved honestly. Most of the interaction I have with fellow Scooby fans is just talking about it in emails with friends online. Never been that into forums much. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? I’m going to say the late 90s/early 2000s era. I’m a bit biased, given that’s what came out when I was a kid, but given that’s when the franchise was rebooted and has been a consistent franchise since then (eg movies every year, regular stuff done with the franchise, etc) I do believe that. Plus it gave us the Zombie Island era movies, and I think nearly every Scooby fan can agree they’re one of the highest points of the franchise. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated. I’m admittedly not much of a fan of that series, but I watched it through fully recently so it’s on my mind. It’s one of the few series to have a plot spanning multiple episodes, and whilst the series did conclude that plot I think it ended in a way you could create a sequel to with a bit of thought. Besides it’s one of the few Scooby series where a sequel would make sense. As if you made a sequel to say What’s New Scooby Doo or the Scooby Doo Show it’d just be another generic/usual formula Scooby series. Or maybe a movie further expanding on a plot of an episode or the villains from it. I loved how Frankencreepy did that. Though if they did do that I’d prefer it to be a villain who hasn’t already been reused, or only reused once. As I’m a bit sick of seeing the Black Knight, Captain Cutler, the Creeper, the Zombie, etc over and over again. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I’d like to see it go back to using the original (or original inspired) art style more, no more Get a Clue/SDMI/BCSD odd art styles. Though I have got my wish there with the new Guess Who series. Would prefer the movies to give up the crossover thing, as it’s gotten old, and try to make the movies standout more on their own, like how Zombie Island or Camp Scare standout and are memorable. Which I know is probably a bit hard, given how many movies there are, but I think it could be done. Oh and have the Hex Girls appear again already! 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Shaggy, since he’s funny and cute. That’s literally my only reasons lol. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? That’s an easy question. Ben Ravencroft. He’s one of the gang’s most devious villains, considering how he was so good at being manipulative he even manipulated and deceived Velma. Plus he had good style and was voiced by Tim Curry. I like a lot of the Scooby Doo Show monsters designs though too, since they had some more out there/less generic monsters. As a note the demon shark from A Demon Shark in the Foggy Dark (I love that episode name, gets straight to the point of the episode lol) also gave me a ton of nightmares as a kid too, not sure why though as I’m not scared of sharks. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Well as guessable by my answer to a previous question, the Hex Girls! 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Just VHS tapes (both official and recordings) and DVDs. Do own some fan made Hex Girls t-shirts though. I should buy more stuff, but there’s been little merchandise I’ve been interested in buying. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? It’s simplicity. Some say it’s a flaw but the fact Scooby Doo has almost always followed the same formula makes it easy to understand (for kids) and memorable. Relatable too, as the fact it’s changed little means people who grew up with the show in entirely different generations can relate given they watched the same formula of show, or the same show in the case of SDWAY’s enduring popularity. Plus Scooby Doo’s just such a lovable character, everyone loves him. And whilst I can’t speak for other cultures it at least has some cross-cultural appeal, given how despite being Danish I took to it and loved it as a kid even though I wouldn’t get some references the show made. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? Due to the franchise being one of the shows which helped me learn English there when I was younger (between the ages of 4 to 8 I think it was) where I would say words with an R sound at the beginning when there wasn’t an R sound there. All because I heard Scooby Doo say certain words in English that way, so child me assumed that was how some words were actually spoken! Thank you so much to Amelia for offering to be our final spotlight for the month! I really appreciate her continued friendship over the years, and honestly, her story is super inspiring and I hope people take inspiration from it. That being said, thanks to all of you, the readers of this blog, for just frankly being amazing human beings. I've had so much fun this past month with this little project of mine, and I'll miss posting these every morning. Maybe again someday I'll do some more! I hope you got to meet lots of cool new Scooby fans, as well as hearing all their interesting perspectives of the franchise. This has been an amazing 50th anniversary month, and I hope you all have enjoyed reading all the content as much as I have producing it!
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 I can guarantee you that today’s fan spotlight is going to rock, because we have Futurerocker joining us today! Futurerocker is a friend of mine who I met through the ScoobyAddicts forum. Check out his fan profile below!
1. What is your name? Futurerocker 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? It all started when I was super young. I remember having a couple of episodes on VHS that I would watch on repeat until the tape was destroyed lol. Ever since then I've been a fan. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? It’s hard for me to pick a favorite episode, but one I enjoy a lot was Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf from the second season of Where are You season two. The song was really catchy and I remember always laughing when Shaggy and Scooby gave the monster a good haircut. Favorite movie gotta be Zombie Island. I love the animation and the darker tone is just perfect for me, especially now that I'm older. The monster design was creepy and the soundtrack was killer. Still, jam out to It’s Terror Time. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I usually come on the ScoobyAddicts website to see news and just interact with other fans. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? Each era has its strengths and weaknesses, some more than others, but I think my favorite is definitely the late 90s and 00s. This brought the franchise back out of its decline and brought it to a younger audience. This was also the era I grew up with. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? I would say Zombie Island for a sequel, but since that already being made, I would like a sequel to Legend of the Vampire with a more darker tone with some guest appearances with real Rock bands. Also the Hex Girls. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I think a darker tone would be good for the franchise and taking a step back away from the guest appearances and crossovers with other popular series. I think the upcoming TV show should be more comical in tone while the DTV should have a darker tone for the older audience. The TV shows are good at attracting a younger audience to the franchise while the movies can be used to keep the older fans interested in the series. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? My favorite member has to be Shaggy. He definitely the funniest of the gang and is a huge dog lover, like me. A lot of my friends also call me Shaggy as well, which just helps me connect with the character and makes me like him more. Wish they would focus on developing his character some more. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? A little random, but the Woodsman from the movie Camp Scare. I love slasher movies and woodsman would be your typical slasher villain. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? The best recurring member is the Hex Girls. They got some killer tracks. Hopefully, they come back soon. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Don't really have much of a collection. Just some of the episodes on DVD. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think the ability to change the formula and style while at the same time keeping the original idea is the reason why the show has lasted as long as it has. Stories about the supernatural have become a staple of modern storytelling. Everyone loves a good ghost story. As long as the show can keep this premise, then we can expect this franchise to last many years. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I'm a huge fan of rock music and hope to one day start my own band and create music. Maybe one day I can write a Scooby Doo theme song :} Thank you so much to Futurerocker, for offering to do this fan spotlight and for being an awesome friend! I’m sad to share that tomorrow is our final fan spotlight. However, I can guarantee you that tomorrow’s spotlight will be fantastic (and it's not me this time!), because it features one of the most badass people I know! In fact, this person is so awesome that she once drove a person to stop and stare in awe, simply remarking “She’s so cool.” The final spotlight tomorrow is one you can't miss!  Let’s give a big welcome to Wsdsrdbw4096, an awesome Scooby-Doo fanfiction writer who is today’s fan spotlight! Without further ado, I’ll give Wsdsrdbw4096 the floor to introduce himself and share a bit more about his love for the fandom, and some of the fanfiction he’s currently working on!
1. What is your name? wsdsrdbw4096 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? Quite a long story, actually. I've been familiar with the franchise since I was young, back in the day when Cartoon Network used to air many of the classical series, as well as the good promotion bumpers (Such as the crossover bumpers with Courage for Scare-A-Thon). Among the works I'm familiar with are Zombie Island, The Alien Invaders and What's New. However, I didn't really care much about the franchise until 2009 when the then-newly released movie The Mystery Begins was released and aired on CN in time for Halloween, and I also remember watching the Cyber Chase from top to bottom, and over the months, I started watching plenty of Scooby cartoons, most notably the Samurai Sword and plenty of the classic episodes from TSDS and eventually SDWAY, back when Youtube still allowed the episodes to be uploaded. Eventually came several of the new series and films, though at watching them, I began to develop a greater appreciation of the classic series. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? Favourite episode: Ghastly Ghost Town, the series premiere of TNSD Movies, mainly because of Shaggy and Scooby's major roles, especially when they ended up rescuing everyone else and single-handedly captured the villains. As for favourite film: Samurai Sword, especially with the climax of the film when Shaggy and Scooby engaged the Black Samurai in an epic swordfight. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Besides writing fanfiction on Fanfiction.net and on Archive of Our Own, I've occasionally contributed to the Scooby Fanon Wiki. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? Definitely the Hanna-Barbera era, up until before A Pup, as they set the gold standard regarding the characters and the adventures. The Zombie Island to Cyber Chase era comes a close second, namely due to the charm of the 1990s Cartoon Network. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? If they can make a sequel to a Scooby film, I suppose the Cyber Chase is a good candidate, because they've got plenty of potential of callbacks with the video game settings. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? A major direction the franchise should head towards is placing the gang in a darker and realistic setting, coupled with a more-serious depiction of them, similar to what I'm doing with my Coolsville Central series. In fact, it will be interesting to see the franchise returning onto CBS as a primetime-type series similar to NCIS. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Definitely Shaggy, as seeing him and Scooby coming to the rescue at times is quite the pleasant surprise. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? Good question. Doctor Phibes from Shaggy and Scooby Get a Clue comes into mind, where upon crossing him with Professor Pericles, there's a lot of potential for him to be the criminal mastermind-type that challenges the gang now and then. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? To be honest, the closest I can name would be Shaggy's father, particularly with his portrayal as a police officer in A Pup, because as seen in my Coolsville Central series, it opens the door to further enhancement of the Coolsville or Crystal Cove setting. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what's in it? I don't have a Scooby collection. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it's still going strong after 50 years? Probably the comedy, supernatural and mystery-solving format being the main thing that has kept the franchise going after 50 years. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I play the violin and piano and frequently listen to classical music. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you'd like to here! I have a fictional alter-ego named Garfield Stephenson Wu, who's the main character in a series of stories I've written on FictionPress and has crossed paths with Mystery Inc. a couple of occasions, mainly in stories with the D4 title. If you're curious, D4 stands for Dimension Four, which is one of several universes I've placed my Scooby settings in. The reason why I've used dozens of universes is because I'd like to keep creating stories without the need to worry about continuity issues between the events of one story and another. Anyways, the Dimension Four series consists of my revision and expansion of the classic Hanna-Barbera era of the franchise, from SDWAY to 13GSD and the Superstar 10 films, in addition to incorporating elements from aspects of the Zombie Island to Cyber Chase era. Thanks so much to Wsdsrdbw4096 for his responses! Feel free to leave him a comment in the section below.  Hi everyone and happy Friday! Today, our fan spotlight is the lovely Amber, who is one of my Scooby fan friends I've talked to quite a bit over the years. Amber has some really insightful perspectives on the franchise, and got into the franchise probably the most interesting way I've ever heard. I also have to say, I absolutely love the top picture she requested I use for this post, it's super beautiful! I may have to steal it and use it on something else myself sometime haha.
Anyways, I'll turn it over to Amber, since the spotlight is on her after all! 1. What is your name? Amber 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I think I got introduced to Scooby differently than a lot of fans did! When I was 6 or 7, one of my friends came over and introduced me to the online Bayou Scooby-Doo game on the Cartoon Network website. I thought it was a really cool game! That led my parents to introduce me to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, and I fell in love with the series! My parents slowly introduced me to some other series later on, like The Scooby-Doo Show and the more current series (at the time) What’s New, Scooby-Doo?, which only made me love the show more! I’m 21 now, and I still am absolutely in love with the Scooby franchise and have seen every episode and film. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? Ooh, tough one! I have to go with the original series for the episode. My favorite has always been “A Night of Fright is No Delight,” because it was the first to truly use that classic haunted house location that would be utilized so much in later series. The backgrounds in that episode are immaculate and I remember the green ghosts’ laughs creeped me out as a kid! My favorite film is Witch’s Ghost! I loved the more mature version of the gang that we got in that film (and Zombie Island) and you could really tell the love put into the tone of the film. Also, I really looked up to the Hex Girls as a little girl! They’re such badass, empowered women and I always wanted to be like them! 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? If I’m honest, I’m not all that involved other than just lurking a bit on sites like this one and a bit on the ScoobyAddicts forum. Maybe that will change though after this, these questions you’re asking are really making me think! 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? I’m not sure if it has to be a series or not, but if we’re just talking about eras then I’ll pick the Zombie Island era hands down! Like I mentioned in my answer for question 3, you could really tell the love put into making these films perfect and relatable to both kids and a mature audience. The gang seemed much more mature, and the mysteries and monsters were pretty dark. I know everyone looks for different things in Scooby, but one of the things I really look for is the classic horror tropes. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? I’m nervous to answer this question now after we’ve gotten two less-than-great sequels! Can we add in the contingency that they have to live up to the original? If it would live up to the original film, both in terms of continuity and the overall feel, I would probably pick Witch’s Ghost. There are a lot of films I wanted to pick, Boo Brothers and The Ghoul School coming to mind first, but none of those films really need sequels if that makes sense. Like, what made Boo Brothers great is that it was uncertain if some of the ghosts were real. So if the sequel would just go back and try to tie up all the loose ends, that’s not something I would want. Part of the fun was that it ended on a cliffhanger and was up to viewer interpretation whether it was real or not. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? This is totally just one girl’s opinion, but the direction they’re going in now isn’t enjoyable or engaging to me as a fan. Don’t get me wrong here, I love nostalgia! But series like Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? feel like the writers are trying too hard to make it feel exactly like the original, and as a result it’s been boring to watch because they aren’t doing anything new. In the future, I’d like to see them continue to explore different aspects of the franchise. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated explored a serialized, grittier format of the series which was great! Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! was more quirky and comedy driven. Both of these new directions appealed to me, but just continuing to rehash the same thing over and over again in the DTVs and Guess Who gets old fast. The franchise didn’t last 50 years by just doing the same thing repeatedly, so I’d like to see them get out of their comfort zone and try new things, even if it is a miss for some fans like Get A Clue was. A controversial opinion, but I said what I said. Deal with it lol. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? If I had to pick a favorite, I’d of course go with the typical standby of Scooby because he’s such a cutie. In terms of relatability, I would pick Daphne. I’m also very fashion-oriented, not particularly spatially aware (i.e. danger prone!) and a bit quirky and uncoordinated at times. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? For an all time favorite villain, I’d pick Morgan Moonscar. His design was perfect in every way and he creeped me out sooo much as a kid! 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? The Hex Girls!! I talked about wanting to be like them when I was little in an earlier question, and I’d say they probably influenced how my personality shaped a bit. Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I’m nerdy af, but at the same time I’m very confident in myself and empowered. Which you could draw a parallel to the Hex Girls, they’re also very nonconforming yet confident in who they are and don’t take crap from anyone. I try to live by that motto if I can! 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Nothing Earth shattering. I have all the DVDs plus a few Scooby plushes and a couple of the villain figures, but I’m still building the collection whenever I see cool Scooby merch! 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? People love a good mystery, and I think the diversity of the characters’ personalities is very relatable to everyone. Each series has something different to offer to varying degrees. A lot of classic horror tropes are used throughout the franchise, mixed in with comedy and whimsy so I think there’s really something to appeal to all ends of the spectrum here. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I’m big into dyeing my hair, so if you need any tips for hair dyeing I’m the girl to ask! My current color is pink (as of writing this, honestly it could change even by the time this is posted lol). Also, I can come off as a bit intense at first, but people generally say I’m a big teddy bear once you get to know me! :) 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! Thank you so much for including me in this! This was really fun! I always enjoy talking about my undying love for Scooby with other people, so feel free to leave a comment or just say hi and I’ll be happy to chat! Spread peace and love, not hate. <3 Thanks so much to Amber for her inspiring answers, and for participating in this project! Check back tomorrow for another fan spotlight...there's only 3 left!  I’d like to introduce you to today’s fan spotlight, Greybishop! You may know Greybishop from his comments on this site, or through his own personal blog! Greybishop is also a very avid Scooby collector. Check out Greybishop’s profile below! 1. What is your name? I go by Greybishop or GB. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? Scooby and I happen to be almost exactly the same age and I can honestly say that Scooby-Doo has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Various incarnations of the show were on Saturday morning tv on any given weekend of my childhood in the 70s. I've been a fan to varying degrees over the years and I never really stopped loving the characters. I have a huge dvd collection I started about 20 years ago, including what I believe to be a complete collection of DC Comics related dvds. I long ago added the Batman meets Scooby-Doo crossover movies from the 70s to my collection as part of the DC Comics section and when Scooby and Batman again crossed paths in the recent The Brave and the Bold Scooby-Doo & Batman crossover dvd I decided it was time to add a Scooby component to my dvd collection. That kind of sparked a real rekindling of my love of the character and the gang. Thanks to ScoobySnax.com's super list of releases, my collection is complete, minus only the as yet unreleased episodes. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? I love the Be Cool, Scooby-Doo episode Screama Donna. Kate Micucci's wrap up rap cemented her as my all time favourite Velma voice actress. In terms of films, the two New Scooby-Doo Movies where the gang meets Batman from 70s are nostalgic favourites. Having Casey Kasem do double duty as Shaggy AND Robin makes them Scooby-Doo movie royalty in my opinion and the famous pants-less Batman moment in The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair is priceless beyond measure. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I frequent ScoobySnax.com for release updates on dvds, mainly. When there's something new coming out, you always seem to be on top of it, so kudos for that! I actually got my dvd collection "to buy" list by using your "How to have a complete Scooby-Doo collection" page and thanks to that list I have a currently complete collection. I also write about Scooby occasionally at my own blog as well. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? Three part answer. Three different reasons. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? is a nostalgic favourite. To me it's warm jammies and a cozy blanket with warm cookies and cold milk. Any one of the episodes takes me back 40 years. I love it for its purity and straight up approach. In its own way, it taught kids like me how the world really works. In the end, behind every scary, awful thing you run into, there's probably a bad guy trying to make a dishonest buck. That and life is generally better with snacks. For artistic merit, What's New Scooby-Doo was a beautiful to look at show, well done all around. The updated no ascot design for Fred was a clear miss but the animation and background painting were light years ahead of anything done for the gang before then. Finally, I'm a fan of the current era. Seeing Scooby given a deep, convoluted story that played out over two seasons of Mystery Incorporated was amazing. I'm not a fan of some of the choices the show made but it was still revolutionary as Scooby-Doo shows go. Be Cool, Scooby-Doo also has its own merit. I'm not in love with the design of the show but the writing, direction and voice acting are as good as anything on television. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? I'd like to see a spin-off series of the Brave and the Bold Batman Meets Scooby-Doo movie where Scooby crosses over with the rest of the DC Comics universe. Scooby-Doo meets Wonder Woman, Black Lightning or Harley Quinn would make for some Super fine television. It's been done in print with the Scooby-Doo Team Up comic series from DC, so it's not an unprecedented idea. It looks like The Flash, Wonder Woman and Batman are slated to appear in Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? so someone at Warner Bros is a superhero fan like me! 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise goes in the future? As long as the powers that be give us Scooby with quality writing, animation and voice work, I'm happy. I will say I'm not overly interested in a computer animated Scooby like the upcoming Scoob! movie. I don't love the idea of casting the celebrity de jour as one of the gang simply to sell tickets. I prefer traditional cel animation, voiced by professional voice actors who fit their roles. I also REALLY wish that they would release all the shows complete on dvd. Even a bare-bones MOD version through the Warner Archive would be adequate. The completist in me hates the gaps in my collection. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Oh, that's Velma, hands down. I probably had a crush on Daphne as a kid but I'm not a kid anymore. Cooly logical, scientifically minded women in glasses are my kryptonite in real life, too.. Particularly if they sound like Kate Micucci. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? Old Ironface, easy. What's cooler than a villain who water-skis on shark shaped torpedoes? 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Batman. 'Nuff said. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Oh, yeah. As I said above, thanks to ScoobySnax.com I have a delightfully complete Scooby-Doo dvd collection. I painted a mural of the gang in terrified flight on my front hallway wall recently. I also have the LEGO Scooby-Doo Haunted House and Mystery Machine (it was the best way to get the complete LEGO gang, plus the two sets display very nicely together) as well as a very old Scooby-Doo bobble-head I picked up at a dollar store decades ago. My most interesting piece is a non-official Scooby-Doo set of metal miniatures intended for tabletop gaming like Dungeons and Dragons. I paint miniatures and years ago I stumbled across this range of figures at Hasslefree Miniatures that looked suspiciously familiar. The figures go by "Barney", "Felicity", "Wolsey" and "Louise" and there's a Great Dane mascot named "Hamlet". It's pretty clear what inspired the sculptors. They also have a post-apocalyptic version of the team, complete with weapons to fight a zombie apocalypse. I bought them on a whim then, but with my renewed interest in Scooby, I'm really glad I did. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? You know, I really have no idea. I know I love it but there were a dozen similar shows that all hit Saturday morning around that same time in the early 70s and most of them are totally forgotten. Aside from the obvious fact that they were all modeled on the template that Scooby established, they aren't much different and it's conceivable that any one of them could have found long term popularity. Most of them were produced, written and acted by a lot of the same talent, but somehow lack that spark that makes Scooby magical. I really don't know why a talking dog with a speech impediment and a motley gang of teenagers have endured so long and so well when all the rest faded into obscurity. Glad it worked out that way, though. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I've twice participated in The Three Day Novel Contest. Every Labour Day Weekend, a group in Canada invites writers to lock themselves in a room and pound out a complete novel in just three days. The best three day novel is rewarded with a publication deal. It's totally insane to attempt and even more insane to actually do. I didn't win but eventually I self published the first novel I entered. It's called "Bred in the Bone" and I actually made a few dollars profit on the self publication. It's still up for sale on Amazon.com remarkably enough. The best part of the whole crazy project was finding a signed copy of my book in a used bookstore years later. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! I'm no fan of social media and left Facebook years ago, but I still love to blog. I'm old and stubborn. If you've read this far and aren't bored to tears by my answers, you might enjoy some of my other ramblings at greybishop.blogspot.com where I tackle topics like science fiction, superhero and fantasy cinema, science news and whatever artistic project I'm into at the moment. I love visitors! Thanks so much to Greybishop for his detailed responses! We’re down to four days now for the fan spotlights, so be sure to keep checking the next few days to meet four more awesome Scooby fans! Meanwhile, you can check out Greybishop's Scooby collection in the pictures below, including his metal miniatures in the style of Scooby Apocalypse.        Do you like meeting new people? Do you like learning about awesome Scooby fans? Do you want to know what termites taste like? If you answered yes to all or any of those questions, then you’re in luck!
Today’s fan spotlight is Thomas, a friend of mine who is a huge Scooby fan! Learn more about Thomas in his fan profile below: 1. What is your name? My name is Thomas. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I saw the 1999 Scooby Doo Marathon which premiered Scooby Doo on Zombie Island and the Scooby Doo Project. I was 4 at the time. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? My favorite movie has to be a tie between Scooby Doo on Zombie Island I loved it that the monsters were real and it felt more edgy for a 4 year old. You felt cool to be watching it. My favorite episode would be a Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts. When I was little I thought it was cool that were 4 monsters instead of one, and of course it was classic Scooby. (: 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I sometimes find interesting Scooby info to share with the Scooby Community. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? During the late 90s early 2000s. Scooby Doo had just become popular again and Warner Brothers knew it. We got a bunch of new Scooby series, and they always would rerun the old ones, the commercials were fun, William Hanna and Joseph Barbara were still alive and made some great Scooby Doo movies (Zombie Island, Witch’s Ghost, Alien Invaders, and Cyber Chase). 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? I do not think that Scooby Doo movies definitely need a sequel, but if I could I would reduce Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost. That was just a quick cash grab for Warner Brothers. I would add Scrappy Doo and Bogel and Weerd back into it, but keep the older Film-Flam and Vincent Van Ghoul. And the monster would be 100% real not a fake and not a hallucination. Also Shaggy would wear a red shirt. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I mean for the most part the series is pretty good as it is, but I would like to see maybe a joke movie of Ultra Instinct Shaggy. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Shaggy, I just find him really funny. He reminds me of Jughead from the Archie Comics. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? The Cotton Candy Glob from Scooby 2: Monsters Unleashed. That scene in which he appeared was hilarious. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Scooby-Dum. People forget about old Scooby-Dum as he was only in 4 episodes, but I loved the dynamic he had with Scooby and Shaggy. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Yes I do. Every Scooby Doo movie that has been made and some of the original series. But I want to find a copy of The Scooby Doo Project. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think what has made the series popular is that it is innocent and spooky. There is no blood and gore, cursing, or anything like that. Scooby is a dog who loves everyone. Scooby and Shaggy are a fun bunch of goofballs. And the spookiness of the series implies that there is a tinge of fear, but all in good fun. The concept of the show may be simple, but sometimes simple is best. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I have eaten live termites in Belize. They tasted like minty carrots. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here. I said it before and I will say it again bring us the Scooby Doo Project on DVD Warner Brothers. (: Thank you for doing this WildwindVampire. (: Thank you as well, Thomas, for doing this and for being an awesome friend over the past few years! Feel free to leave Thomas a comment below if you have anything else you’d like to say to him!  Today’s fan profile is Michal, better known as Manbearpig from the ScoobyAddicts forum! Michael is a regular poster on there, writes his own Scooby-Doo fanfiction and is working on creating a Scooby-Doo Tumblr page! Check out Michal’s profile below:
1. What is your name? My name's Michał (eng. Michael) I'm 25 and I'm a Polish Scooby fan. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I love Scooby Doo since I watched it for the first time at the age of 6, but I rediscovered the franchise about 2 years ago and since then I'm a major Scooby fan. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? My favorite series is Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated (the second half of season 1 and the whole season 2). That's because of its dark mood and overarching story. Scooby Doo Where Are You is my second favorite series, despite being 50 years old. My favorite episodes from older series are Foul Play in Funland, Mystery Mask Mix-Up, and That's Snow Ghost from SDWAY and Vampires, Cats and Scaredy Cats, Watt a Shocking Ghost, and The No-Faced Zombie Chase from The Scooby Doo Show. They have the best atmosphere, humor, and plots among the rest of the episodes. My favorite movies are Camp Scare, Abracadabra Doo, Legend of the Phantosaur, The Witch's Ghost and Zombie Island. The first three are very close to being a perfect Scooby Doo movie with many original ideas and a great balance of horror and comedy, especially in Camp Scare. I really enjoyed watching Scooby gang spending free time in Camp Scare. Speaking about the last two movies, Zombie Island has the best animation of all Scooby Doo series and movies and I have a lot of childhood memories with the Witch's Ghost 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I'm writing and publishing my own fanfiction. I'm also about to start my own Scooby Doo blog on Tumblr 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? The best era of Scooby Doo is the 2010 - 2013 era for many reasons. First of all, that's when Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated premiered. In my opinion, it's the best Scooby Doo series ever made, despite its flaws and annoying romances. That era also contains high-quality DTV movies, like Abracadabra Doo, Camp Scare or Legend of the Phantosaur. I also love the original 1969-1970 era with Scooby Doo Where Are You? The 1998 - 2001 movies were also great, especially Zombie Island and the Witch's Ghost, but I prefer Scooby Doo to be more down-to-earth, with no supernatural elements. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated, I think. There's a potential for an interesting story with the gang being the students of the Miskatonic University. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I'd like to see another overarching story in a Scooby Doo series. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Definitely Velma. She's a cute, smart and no-nonsense girl. She deserves more love... 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? Professor Pericles. He was the sickest maniac I've ever seen in a children's cartoon. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Marcie Fleach aka Hot Dog Water from SDMI. She had a quite complex personality and her relationship with Velma was very unique. I'd love to see her in a Scooby Doo series or movie again. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Well... I have only a Chinese bootleg LEGO Mystery Machine set complemented with bootleg LEGO Daphne and bootleg LEGO Velma. And also, my girlfriend owns a board game - Scooby Doo Parcheesi. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think the most important reason is the diversity of Scooby Doo incarnations. There were so many ideas aimed to keep the audience interested. For example, introducing Scrappy Doo in 1979, the new takes on the franchise like 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated with its overarching story, the comedic Be Cool Scooby Doo and last, but not least, the Scooby Doo Apocalypse comic series. Sometimes, the creators were deciding to return to the good old concepts, relying on viewers' nostalgia like returning to the more classic character designs in this year's Scooby Doo and Guess Who. Nevertheless, the main idea was almost always remaining the same: Scooby Doo and his friends solving mysteries together and there's always a different take on that idea. There's no place for boredom in the Scooby Doo franchise 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I like trains. I really like trains. I've traveled around half of Europe by train… 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! Actually, despite being a Scooby fan, I'm more of a cat person. Thanks so much to Michal for his detailed answers! Feel free to leave him a comment in the section below.  Hi y’all!
Today, the spotlight is on Scooby-Doom! Doom is a big Scooby fan who is one of the co-hosts of The Nerd Blitz podcast. Let’s dive right into Doom’s profile and get to know him a little better! 1. What is your name? Who's askin', not a cop are ya? I think it was Salman Rushdie that said "Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried, like so many of the earth's marvels, beneath the dust of habit." So I go by Doom, or @TheScoobyDoom if you're in a more formal mood. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I stumbled across a book at Walmart almost exactly 20 years ago. Scooby-Doo And The Howling Wolfman by James Gelsey. I went to look at the books like I always do and there was this colorful cover with this giant goofy dog on it that caught my eye and I grabbed it and took it too my Mom and asked her what it was and if I could have it. She said she watched the cartoon when she was little and liked it, and I got the book. I've been a fan non-stop since then. Also, the DC Comics from the time fueled my love and fandom. You've got to remember, at that time, we only had 1 DTV movie per year, and no series. So those were a monthly dose to keep me interested in it all. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? Trying to narrow down all of those episodes would be damn near impossible for me, I would have to go series by series and I wouldn't want to bore you with that. As for the best movie, my opinion on that hasn't changed in these past 20 years. Witch's Ghost has always been my favorite. It is a perfect mix of casting, animation, mystery, and comedy for me. Even the music is great and still holds up. I would probably put it in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Well, I used to write reviews, articles, and features over at Scoobyfan.net, but these days I would say mostly through interactions with fellow fans I come across on Twitter or through my podcast, The Nerd Blitz With Doom & Fitz. Most of our listenership doesn't seem to be as keyed into Scooby news and goings-on, so it's sort of a mission of mine to make sure folks that maybe haven't kept up with the franchise know that 50 years on it's still chugging along. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? For me, the best series is hands down Mystery Incorporated. Though not without its flaws, that gave me everything I had wanted from a Scooby show and so much more in 52 pretty solid episodes. As for era, I break it down into 3. Original, Scrappy, and Modern. So, it's a toss up between the original era and the modern era. The modern era has given me some of my favorite entries into the franchise, but also it's had almost all of least favorite entries. The original has WAY & NSDM, so it's hard to choose between them. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? The series I would do a sequel to would be Mystery Inc, I would love to know how that version of the gang got on. Kind of impossible now that Harlan Ellison has died. As for the movie I would want a sequel for, there are so many that would work. Alien Invaders, Cyber Chase, but I think a 3rd in either live action series would have been great to see. Especially the TV movies, I loved that cast and the 2nd movie really left a bad taste in my mouth. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I would really like to see the DTV's take a more serious tone. I think that's the main reason those 1st 4 are so beloved, they gave us classic Scooby and a fresh take all in 1 70ish minute movie. On the series side I think it's in a great place, I really hope Guess Who runs for at least 52 episodes. The other things I would desperately like to see going forward would be more video games, for one. It's sad to me that we haven't had one in almost a decade. The other would be that I want novels, 200-300 page novels would be a dream come true for me. Reading is probably where I get my most joy, so to have substantial stories with the gang in that medium would be heaven for me. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Daphne, she's so hot! Kidding! It's a tie between Shag & Scoob. Having been one myself, I know how great that relationship is between a boy and his dog. It's one of the classic relationships in entertainment for a reason. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? Probably Space Kook, that design is so badass and spooky! That bluish green suit and the spectral floating face is chilling. Same goes for Captain Cutler's ghost. The inhuman quality of both makes them iconic. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? No question about it, The Hex Girls. The songs, unlike some fake bands, are incredible! Their look is entrancing. They've never been in a bad movie or episode and they have never been annoying. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I do! I have a bunch of stuffed Scooby's from my childhood, comic books, Blu-Ray's, DVD's, VHS's, board games, shirts, hats, and my favorite pieces of my collection would be the complete set of the James Gelsey books that started it all for me. I've never counted it all, but I would guess conservatively that it's somewhere between 500-1000 pieces. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think it's a healthy mix of 2 or 3 things. 1 would be dependability/familiarity, especially in the early days.No matter what, there is always a series or movie where it's the familiar characters unmasking a greedy human. The vast majority of the franchise is that exact formula. The other thing would be the ability to continuously adapt the times. While most of the franchise is formulaic "man in a mask" adventures, you have series like 13 Ghost where they were chasing demons, or Mystery Incorporated with its own world ending threat, or Pup where they skewed way younger, or the 1st 4 DTV movies giving us a classic ep and then new real threats, or even Guess Who with its guest stars (really a reboot of The New Scooby-Doo Movies) to bring new attention to the franchise again, or even the inclusion of Scrappy to keep things fresh. Though that backfired and seemingly made most people want the original formula back. It's always changing and doing different things to stay interesting! 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? This is one that, at one time, I would have thought a lot of folks knew, but it still seems to surprise folks when I say it, but I'm a writer and voice actor. I've had people who've followed me on Twitter since I joined that would spot a random link and some variation of this conversation ensues... Them: Is this yours? Me: Yep Them: I didn't know you did voice work, how long have you been doing that? Me: Well, that link is 4 years old. Them: WHERE HAVE I BEEN!? It always gives me a bit of a chuckle. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! If folks are interested, they can check out my podcast The Nerd Blitz as well as our Book Club and Commentaries spin-offs (all 3 shows have Scooby specific episodes!) on NerdBlitz.com or wherever you listen to podcasts. We also post Book Reviews, occasional news pieces, a Question Of The Week, and other nerdy articles on the site. And if folks are interested in checking out my voice work, I'd appreciate it if they would go look at the H.P. Lovecraft's In The Vault, The Camping Trip, The Laughing Bird albums on our Bandcamp, at TSDJAProductions.bandcamp.com And thanks again for thinking of me for this, it was an honor to be asked! Thanks so much to Scooby-Doom for his answers! Check back tomorrow for another fan spotlight tomorrow on ScoobySnax.com.  Today, I’d like to introduce you to Scoob16, who is a huge Scooby fan from Greece! Scoob16 runs a Scooby news account on Instagram and Twitter, as well as commenting on this site and ScoobyAddicts. Scoob16 also was briefly an admin back in the days I was experimenting with making a forum for ScoobySnax. Check out Scoob16’s profile:
1. What is your name? I usually go by Scoob16 but my name is Alexandros, Alex for short. I'm from Greece. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? Just like the average kid, I got into Scooby-Doo by just turning on my TV and stumbling upon a random episode, I was in early kindergarten. I can't remember what episode I first watched, but it was definitely from the first season of The Scooby-Doo Show. There's only one channel that plays Scooby here till this day. Back then they aired the first two seasons of Show. We did have Boomerang dubbed in Greek, but it was only on cable TV. I'm pretty sure that it aired a lot of other Scooby shows. A few years later my mother would buy me 3 VHS tapes: Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers and Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico. After that came the DVDs. We would usually rent VHS tapes and later DVDs from our local video club. The first Scooby DVD that we bought must have been Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. In early primary school, with the help of my mother, I would browse the Internet and learn more about the franchise, the earlier episodes and movies. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? My favorite episode is Harum-Scarum Sanitarium from Show. I remember Dr. Coffin scared the life outta me but I liked that. My favorite movie is Witch's Ghost because it was my favorite VHS to watch. I loved the retro feeling of it compared to Monster of Mexico (the other movie I had on VHS) and when I found out it came out the year I was born, I loved it even more! The plot twist at the end with the real ghost of Sarah Ravencroft and the first encounter of Shaggy and Scooby with the Hex Girls are my two favorite scenes. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Until a few years back I was very active in the ScoobyAddicts forum, which I joined in mid-2013. I used to post news, my reviews and anything Scooby-related I could. It was so much fun to finally share my enthusiasm with the rest of the fandom. Unfortunately real life responsibilities got in the way and I didn't have time to post, even though I still check the forum daily for updates without logging in. For a year or so I contributed to Scoobypedia, which is the ultimate resource for anything Scooby. In 2016 I launched a Scooby-themed (later multi-fandom with emphasis on Scooby, then back to Scooby exclusive) Instagram account where I posted some edits I made. For almost a year it was focused only on the comics that DC put out since I kept up with Scooby Apocalypse. Since June, it has altered to a Scooby news account (for anyone interested, it's @scooby_news). I like to interact with Scooby fans online, it's always interesting to find enthusiasts of such a legendary franchise. A year ago I also joined Twitter, although you won't find much Scooby stuff there. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? These kinds of questions are tough to answer. Adults will tell you that the 1970's were the best era, while newer fans appreciate the 2000's and 2010's since it's closer to them. Fortunately the franchise is evolving, and so is the fan base. The mysteries have become more complicated and elaborate, the franchise has followed several different directions, from changing the standard formula (Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!) to darker (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated) and lighter (Be Cool Scooby-Doo!) versions of the beloved cartoon. So there is no definite answer, at least not from me. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Well, I would say The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo but we already got a conclusion to the series with the Curse of the 13th Ghost movie (not a fan of it, but that's a different story) so I'll go for the unpopular opinion and suggest a sequel for Get a Clue, perhaps another 13-episode season. It'd be interesting to watch what became of Dr. Phibes. I'd like to see him being really threatening this time around, building a new lair and army of agents from the ground and facing off the boys and Uncle Albert in more dangerous missions. As for a sequel to a movie, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School introduced new characters at the ending scene that could set up a continuation, with Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy returning as the teachers of course. Although I believe that with the Grimwood Girls already there, there would be too many characters to handle and develop properly. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? There have been two recent projects that have opened the possibilities to a more dark and adult Scooby: the Scooby Apocalypse comic and Scoobynatural, the crossover episode with CW's Supernatural. I would like to see an adult Scooby cartoon, maybe for Adult Swim but not with excessive swearing, sexual scenes and all that. That could either come in the form of a TV adaptation of Scooby Apocalypse (DC Animation is pretty good at animated adult movies and series) or a totally new show where the gang faces dangerous masked criminals or even real monsters. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? I don't wanna go for the cliche "Scooby is my favorite". I strongly believe that each and every member is vital and plays their own role that eventually leads to the solution of the mystery. But my favorite has to be Shaggy. Besides our shared appetite for food, he has shown that he can be really brave and risk everything to help his friends. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? My favorite villain will always be Professor Pericles from Mystery Incorporated. Diabolical genius, ominous scar across the eye, German accent... what more do you want? Haha, okay, other than that, he is considered one of the most dangerous antagonists in the Scooby franchise as he has actually murdered people who stood in his way. Especially in the last 3 episodes of the show, he showed no remorse for anyone, not even his allies, something that had me screaming in anger at my screen, lol! 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Mystery Incorporated has a special place in my heart, since it came out when I was in the perfect age to enjoy it, so my favorite recurring character is from that series and it's none other than Hot Dog Water. She had the best character development of anyone in the show. She went from annoying rival of Velma to unlikely ally to back-stabber to most faithful friend to the gang, especially Velma. A close second is Cassidy Williams because she was so cool and skilled right from the start due to her secret identity. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Like any self-respecting fan, I've got my fair share of Scooby collectibles. My collection began with the VHS tapes (which I have saved for the sake of my childhood memories) and DVDs (even though nothing new has come here since early 2017). I also have quite a few action figures (the first series that came out, the gang and a few monsters, a whole lot of Mystery Mates mini-figures and the Mystery Machine and haunted house playsets), PlayStation 2 games that I still play when I have time (never too old for PS2!), plush toys, school supplies that I used when I was younger (pencils, pens, rulers, a pencil case), books and magazines that came here translated, a Mystery Incorporated watch that I never wore but got as a collectible, a wall clock that my aunt got me from Budapest, the Scooby Funko Pop, a collectible mini-statue of Scooby that still decorates the shelf... and probably tons of other stuff that doesn't come to me at the moment! I've stopped collecting now because nothing new comes to Greece, save for the occasional school supplies that I don't buy of course. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? As I said earlier, it's the fact that the franchise is evolving. There are writers and directors who are not scared to try a different take and see where it goes. Then there's the fan base that is constantly building up over the years and support Team Scooby. Last but not least it's the fact that Scooby-Doo is a cartoon that can easily adapt to modern times and we've seen that happening in the last few years. More elaborate cases, new technology and gags that keep up with the trends. Scooby has and will always be relevant in my opinion. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I got something Scooby-related. When I was in third grade I painted my bedroom walls with a Scooby howling, some bats and a full moon! It looked great to me at the time, but it took me a couple of years to realize that Scooby is totally out of proportion, lol! I'm happy to say that my drawing skills have become significantly better since then, even though I rarely have time to draw. When I do, it's a quick doodle on the side of a notebook. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! I'm studying to be a journalist. Music has been a huge part of my life for the last couple of years and I've become really involved with the new releases, charts and everything that I would love to have my own radio show, but something more than just playing the music. Hosting a top 30/40/50/whatever countdown, providing information and news about songs and artists. My favorite artists are G-Eazy and Halsey, although my favorite genre is rap, lyrical rap, from the likes of G, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Logic, Joyner Lucas etc. Other than that, I enjoy a good workout session at the gym (with music blasting through the speakers of course) and horror/mystery shows and movies. I'm a fan of the Conjuring movie series and their spinoffs and the TV shows Supernatural (that I started watching thanks to the Scoobynatural crossover) and Lucifer. I have also watched Twin Peaks (thanks to the references in Mystery Incorporated) and a handful of animated series, such as Gravity Falls (strongly recommend it for mystery lovers), Star vs the Forces of Evil and Steven Universe, out of which only the last is still ongoing. Thank you so much, Scoob16, for your detailed answers and continued friendship over the years!  You can call him Samuel. You can call him Sam. You can also call him today’s fan spotlight!
The wonderful Mr. Samuel Kirkwood is a big Scooby fan who often comments on this very site! He wrote the 161st edition of the long-running Fun Fact of the Week series, which discovered that Scooby’s birthday is April 7, through context clues in the series. Here’s Samuel’s profile: 1. What is your name? I have many nicknames for all the different social circles and fandoms I'm in but let's just keep it simple and stick with Samuel or Sam. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? Born in 92 I grew up watching classic episodes on Cartoon Network when we had cable in my early years. I remember full days specially dedicated to the Great Dane that my mum would record for me on VHS alongside the three late eighties TV specials. Then there were the visits to the grandparents, visiting the video shop and renting a VHS from the kiddies section that often would be Scooby based. such as Scooby Doo meets Batman. Later down the years as I moved into my teenage and adult years feeling I may be getting too old for Scooby, new series, movies and old ones released on DVD have pulled me back in. I think the lovable Great Dane will always be a big part of me and I'll still be re-watching episodes when the 100th anniversary rolls on by! 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? A tricky one. Episode wise it would have to be one of the very first 25 episodes of the Scooby Doo Where Are You series because nothing even comes close to that season in my eyes, the comedy is superb and I know numerous quotes of by heart such as when out walking with family and we're deciding which route to take I'll say something like "well the left fork is the long route, right fork is the short, but it also takes us past the haunted mansion". The background music is also superb and really sets the mood whilst the chase scenes are hilarious. As for best episode, Scooby Doo and a Mummy too is probably my stand out favourite, from a rampaging mummy turning characters to stone left, right and center to in my eyes the best quote from the entire Scooby franchise, "Zoinks, it's the creepy coin collector again", still has me in stitches every time I hear it, superb voice acting by Kasem combined with superb animation of Shaggy's reaction. As for movie in a close second it's the three late eighties flicks which I once again grew up watching on VHS, each standing out for different merits. The Boo Brothers for the mystery and treasure hunt, the Reluctant Werewolf for its comedy and the Ghoul School for some brilliant characters who would almost certainly have got a sequel of their own if the film was released now. Still, as the first new true Scooby media produced after I was born (excluding Arabian Nights) and for bringing Scooby back from the brink of extinction, Scooby Doo on Zombie Island has to be my favourite, especially with all those expertly animated zombies. Once again my mum recorded it on VHS so I could watch it time and time again. Let's just hope the sequel isn't as bad as the 13th Ghost is. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Not much really, I just like ScoobySnax's awesome website and will occasionally pop in and see what new Scooby stuff is coming up and giving my view on certain intriguing topics, my biggest claim to Scooby fame being the source behind fun fact of the week 161, I need to make more of an effort in celebrating Scooby's birthday on April 7th. I'm also always happy to discuss Scooby so feel free to find me on Facebook, Twitter or Snupps or through my comments on ScoobySnax. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? As I said in question 3, Scooby Doo Where Are You wins paws down. As for era I think I had it the best being born in the 90's. There may have been no new Scooby Doo series till the early noughties but I had a whole backlog of classic Scooby to catch up with before What's New Scooby Doo aired plus the release of Zombie Island and some other awesome direct to video movies. I've got the soundtracks to both Witch's Ghost and Alien Invaders on CD along with a soundtrack of Scooby theme music and songs from different series. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Aside from 13 Ghosts I think all other series ran their course before going stale and got the closure they deserved. Even 13 Ghosts has been wrapped up now. A third season of Mystery Incorporated with the gang fighting real monsters for Harlan Ellison would be pretty cool. As for movies, most post 2000 ones are usually nicely wrapped up by the end and there isn't much scope for a sequel, leaving in my view the Ghoul School, which definitely deserved a sequel and/or TV series, Reluctant Werewolf which ended on a cliffhanger and could certainly have birthed a sequel, a return to Beauregard manner and the Boo Brothers or one of the first 3 direct to video films. If I had to choose just one though I'd go for Scooby Doo and the Goblin King, there is just so much scope for a sequel and I'd love to see the Spirit realm and Princess Willow again, the Amazing Krudsky is also pretty hilarious. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? Around 400 episodes and 40 or so movies later of course the idea of 4 kids and a dog catching bad guys in masks is going to need some variation here and there, from sports to apocalypses to Zombie Nazis and satanic cults, the Scooby franchise has explored so much it's hard to say where it could possibly go next or where. The upcoming movie S.C.O.O.B and the idea of a Hanna Barbera world does sound promising and intriguing, whilst returning to a more classic style in Scooby Doo Guess Who? is certainly appeasing to fans of the original Scooby series. Even so, in my eyes there is one big thing in 50 years each Scooby series has failed on, longevity. I would personally love a future series like My Little Pony or Steven Universe that goes on for years and into hundreds of episodes without having to reset. Mystery Incorporated had the opportunity to do this but sadly was cancelled before it really got going. Include in that series a mixture of real and fake monsters to liven things up so we don't know week in week out if it's a person in a suit or an actual werewolf, for example, and I'd be really pleased. The only other thing I'd really like to see is Frank Welker still voicing Fred when he's 100. Sorry, Frank you can never retire. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? I love Scooby but Shaggy wins hands down. With Scooby’s vocabulary limited he’s the one who often provides the witty remarks and humorous dialogue when the two inevitably encounter the monster again and again. His reactions are priceless. 5 years Casey, you may be gone but you’ll never be forgotten, thank you for all the laughs you’ve bought me and continue to do so. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? Way too many villains to remember one in particular, then the Creeper pops into my head. I haven't mentioned him once yet and he totally deserves the award for best villain and what I think most people look like the morning after a night out. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? There aren’t that many and I’m not a big fan of any of them really, I’d probably go for the Hex Girls, awesome looks, wicked personalities and great songs. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Although it’s my number one TV show besides the usual DVDs I don’t have much else. One super large plush of Scooby, the CDs that I mentioned earlier, some comics, all the lego sets plus lego dimensions figures and numerous video games but that’s pretty much it. Probably the coolest Scooby Doo things I own are the Scooby Doo Monopoly and Clue(do) sets. Although this may have changed, for a long time this Cluedo set was the only one to feature outside locations, mystery machine and graveyard, and where no character died, rather a character is kidnapped by a ghost/monster and you had to work who was abducted, where it took place and what the monster left behind. It’s long been discontinued, I was lucky to get a slightly battered set reasonably cheap a number of years back, and in my eyes an awesome item to possess. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? A few reasons. The first is a lot of kids cartoons, especially earlier ones, follow the same premise of a good guy vs. a bad guy. You always know the good guy will win in the end, but what makes Scooby different and keeps you entertained is you have to try and follow along with the gang to try and work out who that villain is. Although you know who the villain may be when re-watching the episode, this inclusion of the audience within the show along with the humour, low level danger and the character's personalities are what has kept it going strong for so long. Combine that with its flexibility in both its format, from real monsters, to the gang as kids, to the introduction of new characters and more recently overarching plots, and in incorporating changes from the real world, most notably technology, it’s unsurprising it has been a fan favourite for so long. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I share my bed with a growing army of nearly 40 My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Plushies, sorry ponies are just more cute and adorable than most characters in Scooby Doo, although this questionnaire has now made me want to Ponify Scooby. Maybe I'll add him to the list. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! Don't think anybody wants me to yak on anymore. Thanks for letting me reminisce and remember just why I love Scooby so much! Thank you, Samuel, for your very detailed answers! Check back tomorrow for another fan profile! |
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