For our second fan spotlight, we have a man of many names...but on here, you may know him as John Locke! John is a regular commenter on the blog and has been a Scooby fan for pretty much his entire life. Let’s get to know him a big better through this fan spotlight:
1. What is your name? I go by a few names, in real life I go by Kyle, online I use John Locke. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? Honestly, I’ve been a fan of Scooby so long I don’t recall, it has always been a part of my life. I have a video tape that was recorded when I was 3 or 4 that has a Halloween block from USA (this was before Cartoon Network even existed) which had the Headless horseman episode from The Scooby-Doo Show, and Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, among other things no one remembers like Rusty and Buttons. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? Episode: ‘Spooky Space Kook’ from the original series, I just remember always seeing it in the opening but the episode itself never seemed to be on the air, so it blew my little mind when I finally got to see it. Movie: Just have to go with Zombie Island, loved it since I first saw it and have watched it many times since, love the darkness of the plot (without going too dark), advancing the characters to adults, the stakes, the misdirection on who the villains are, the jokes, making Fred the skeptic for once, just about everything except Billy West as Shaggy, loved it at the time but now I just can’t not hear Matthew Lillard or Casey Kasem in the role. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Well once I discovered your excellent guide for collecting episodes (Thank you for that it is incredibly useful) I climbed out of my hermit like existence and started chatting a bit. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? I’m not sure if this is controversial, but I don’t think there’s been a better time to be a Scooby fan than the past 10 years. We’ve gotten 2 fantastic shows (Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc & Be Cool, Scooby-Doo) which press the franchise in different ways, one taking it to a much darker and more referential place, and the other taking the characters and making them funnier than I have ever seen them. On top of this, we’ve gotten films like Scooby-Doo & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Daphne & Velma (Would love for a sequel), and Moon Monster Madness. Heck, we’ve even gotten new things in the comics with Scooby Apocalypse! We are getting near constant reinvention right now and while it has led to a few duds, on a whole I would say this is better than any time before it. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? I’d honestly like someone to take a second shot at Curse of the 13th Ghost, like it or hate it, it’s a show that deserves a proper ending, whether you enjoy there being real monsters in your Scooby or not, the show was built on the premise they were real and it should not have been handwaved. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I would like to see another take on the classic formula, decent mysteries, some comedy and a few less gimmicks. Doesn’t need to be as funny as Be Cool, but more like the original show. If not that, I’d like someone to do another A Pup Named type series, it was fun and I really like when they get meta with the comedy. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? It varies depending on adaptation, I loved Shaggy most as a kid and even tried to emulate him, now it varies, I love Fred most in BCSD as he balances wacky with still being in charge, Velma most in a Pup Named, as she’s just adorable, and Daphne most in What’s New, as I like her resourcefulness while still being rather girly. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? That’s a tough one! I mean I love the Space Kook because that design is just naturally creepy, and still rather unique. Most of the villains if I saw them coming at me in an alley I’d laugh, him… I’d high tail it out of there and probably not stop till I’m in the next state! 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? I will always have a weakness for Scooby-Dum as an episode with him was on that tape I mentioned, but other than that, I’d say I just love the Harlem Globetrotter episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, they’ve always been some of my favorites! 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I have a few items, most the DVDs, minus the 2-3 episode ones, a set of action figures of the gang, some pajamas and a mug that came out for Scoob!, and the Witch Doctor from the ‘A Tiki Scare is no Fair’ episode someone gave to me. I also have one of the hardbound books from when I was young, just called “Scooby-Doo.” 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? It’s a unique mixture of comedy and scary. Kids like spooky stuff, adults like spooky stuff (I love horror but never cared much for gore) so I feel it crosses lines and everyone can enjoy it. The Franchise has had infinite variety due to the mixture of the personalities and plots. They can make it more serious and referential; they can make it goofy; they can do comedy. They can split the gang up in different ways, they even had Daphne lead for a bit while they were figuring out Fred, but they never permanently got rid of one of the core 5 and they’ve always found ways to reinvent/improve the characters. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I called in to try to win that life-sized Lego Scooby-Doo statue during the Scooby-Doo Project airing. I didn’t win of course, don’t know where I’d even put the thing if I had! 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! May the next 50 years of Scooby be as good as the last. Thank you so much to John Locke for agreeing to be one of the fan spotlights, and for being such a loyal reader and commenter on the blog all these years. Feel free to share any questions or comments you may have for him in the comment section below, and be sure to check back tomorrow to meet another awesome Scooby fan!
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