Fan Spotlight 2021 Day 13: Joel

Happy Scooby’s anniversary everyone! 52 years ago today, the very first episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! aired at 10:30am on CBS. Our final fan spotlight is on  Joel, the administrator of the Planet Scooby website. Joel is also responsible for one of the first Scooby-Doo sites on the Internet, which he created way back in 1997 on his university’s web server. Though that website was taken down in 2003, Joel started the Planet Scooby website in 2019, where he makes weekly YouTube videos reviewing various episodes of Scooby-Doo.

Without further ado, I’m incredibly excited to introduce you to Joel through his answers to the questions below:

1. What is your name?
Joel (aka Professor Joel)

2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo?
I was born in the mid-70s and I have three older brothers who are 7-10 years older than me.  So they were watching Scooby-Doo from the get-go and my earliest memories were watching Scooby-Doo with them on Saturday mornings.  

What sealed the deal for me was that my parents were invited to the grand opening of a Hanna Barbera theme park called Canada’s Wonderland in 1981.  They brought me back a Scooby-Doo toy that turned me into a super fan.  I still have that toy and it sits at my office desk.

3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why?
My favourite Scooby-Doo episode is ‘A Night of Fright is No Delight’.  I love the creepy gothic atmosphere, and the backstory that Scooby saved Colonel Sanders’ life and is up for an inheritance provided he spends the night in this creepy house.  I also love the design for the Phantom Shadows.
 
My favourite film would be Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.  I was in my early twenties when that was released and there had been a lack of fresh Scooby-Doo content.  It was exciting that they were bringing Scooby-Doo back, and I loved the horror element. 
 
4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online?
I have a YouTube channel where I review a new Scooby-Doo episode every week.  I also have a website. I spend at least an hour a day on websites, social media accounts and YouTube, reading & watching content or chatting with Scooby fans. It’s so much fun.
 
5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby?
The Scooby-Doo Show season 2 is my favourite era.  I’m still shocked it has never seen a full release on DVD or Bluray
 
6. What one Scooby-Doo series or film would you want a sequel to someday?
That’s a difficult question to answer as we saw a couple of sequels that weren’t well received by the Scooby community with the 13 Ghost and Zombie Island sequel (I enjoyed them though).  So much time had passed and Warner disposed of the supernatural aspect that many fans loved about these classics.
 
I think for myself, I’d love to see another Scoobynatural episode crossover.  I know the series Supernatural has run its course, but it would be fun if there was a Halloween special where they encountered the Scooby gang once more.
 
7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future?
I’d like the series to go more gothic in its atmosphere and return the focus back to simple mysteries.  I like Scooby-Doo best when the show is spooky, but remains relatively kid-friendly.
 
8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why?
Not counting Scooby-Doo, I’d have to say Shaggy.  His responses to situations always crack me up.  I also found it funny he was always on the lookout for food.
 
9. What is your favorite villain? Why?
There’s so many fabulous villains to choose from, but if I could only choose one, I’d have to say the Space Kook.  That far-out laugh still makes the hair on the back of my neck rise up..
 
10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise?
The Hex-Girls.  I always get a big smile on my face when they pop up.
 
11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it?
I do have a Scooby-Doo collection, although it’s not very focused.  I’ve always seeked out old Scooby books and comics from the 70s so I have quite a few of those.  Over the years I’ve acquired t-shirts, toys, stuffed animals, unofficial artwork, posters, video games, VHS tapes, board games, playmobil and lego sets. 
 
Seventy percent of my collection was given to me by friends and family as gifts so a lot of the items I have are sentimental.
 
My most favourite item is a Scooby-Doo Colouring book that I bought in 2002.  When I make a new friend, I get them to colour a page. It’s always fun to pull the book out and flip through it to remember all the great times I’ve had with friends over the years.
 
12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years?
That’s a tough question to answer.  I feel like Scooby-Doo was lightning in a bottle in how all of these amazing characters, villains, spooky plots and silly humor came together and created the perfect storm for success.  
 
Hanna Barbera certainly tried to copy the formula multiple times, yet Scooby-Doo prevailed over Jabber Jaw, Captain Caveman and Josie and the Pussycats.  
 
Perhaps where Scooby stands out is that he’s consistently Scooby throughout the 50+ years.  No matter how dark or silly the series gets, Scooby’s always going to be lovable, cowardly, and upbeat.
 
13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? 
I once won a year’s supply of M&Ms candy.  Upon winning I imagined throwing a party where I’d fill the bathtub, sinks and lampshades with this glorious candy.  But the prize only turned out to be 365 snack sized boxes of M&Ms.
 
14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here!
I want to thank WildwindVampire for featuring me in the fan spotlight.  It’s a huge honor as I’ve been a big fan of the Scooby Snax website for so long!

Thank you so much to Joel for participating as our final fan spotlight today, and for being such a huge supporter of the site for so long! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out his Planet Scooby website, where you can find his weekly episode reviews and a “mystery map” where you can geolocate all the real-life locations the gang has solved mysteries.

I've really enjoyed doing these fan spotlights over the past 13 days. It's been so much fun getting to introduce you all to so many cool Scooby fans again this year, and I've been so happy that people have been enjoying these so much! Here's to another amazing year of Scooby :)