I’m so excited that after two years of waiting, we’re finally getting the third Daphne & Velma novel today! However, there’s another thing I’m excited about today, and that is because of our fan spotlight! The fan spotlight for today is quite a unique one, because it is the very first one involving someone I know from my real life. What ended up happening is that unfortunately, a few of the people who had agreed to do a fan spotlight for this year weren’t able to send in their answers due to some personal circumstances. I was able to find replacements for all but one slot, which is when I got another idea. I thought it might be interesting to ask someone who isn’t a Scooby super fan like the previous 62 fan spotlights have been, but was a big Scooby fan in their childhood. That being said, I’m excited to introduce Avalon, our fan spotlight for today. Although Avalon isn’t the huge Scooby fan that most of us on this site are, she still casually watches some of the more mature iterations of Scooby on occasion in adulthood.
1. What is your name? Avalon 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I remember my dad recording a couple of old episodes of a series called What’s New Scooby Doo on a VHS tape. I don’t remember the titles, but I fell in love with the characters when watching the show. I’ve always loved a good mystery so that was probably also a plus for six-year-old me. I can remember getting really excited and asking my dad to look up when new episodes aired. Pretty soon, I was watching the series every week! My parents also started buying the movies on DVD whenever a new one would come out. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? My answer is probably different now from what was back in my childhood. As a kid, I think my favorite episode was whatever new episode had aired that week, haha. I really was head over heels for What’s New Scooby Doo for a while. Now that I’m older, I mainly enjoy the stuff that’s more mature, so like Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, and Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated. I don’t know if I have a favorite episode of either of those shows, because I enjoy the majority of the episodes. If I had to pick, I’d choose the Krampus one. The gang setting up the original Mystery Inc like that was iconic. Even the last episodes of both of the seasons weren’t as shocking as the reveal in that episode. For movies, I gotta go with Zombie Island. Even though it was rated PG, it’s super scary and I think there’s still a big appeal for all ages. The characters were so well-written. The villains actually felt like something that would come out of a horror movie! 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I didn't even realize there was a fandom until I was asked to do this, haha. I think that’s cool there are sites like this where people can talk about Scooby comfortably without judgment. It seems like there’s a societal stigma around people liking cartoons once they become teenagers. That’s unfortunate, because people should like whatever they want to like. There shouldn’t be shame in enjoying a cartoon as an adult. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? Like I touched on in question 3, Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated because I love how it has an appeal for adult fans. Whether you’re looking for comedy, romance, mystery, horror or drama, Mystery Incorporated has all of those aspects. Not only that, but they do it in a way that is appealing to a broad audience, even people who aren’t Scooby fans. I would love it if they made more Scooby shows in that style. I wouldn’t change anything about it. 6. What one Scooby-Doo series or film would you want a sequel to someday? I was gonna say Zombie Island, but I was told there is already a sequel to that. I haven’t watched it, but I saw reviews online saying it was terrible and ruined the original so I’ll go with something different, lol. If they could do it without ruining the original, I’d like a sequel to Alien Invaders. That was another great movie that I remember fondly from my childhood. I’ve watched it a few times in adulthood too, and it deserves as much credit as Zombie Island does. Maybe they could come up with a plot where Crystal and Amber return and are chased by the government, or something like that? 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I would like them to go in a more mature direction like Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders or Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated. Those movies show that Scooby Doo can be written in a way that appeals to all ages. I’d think they would want to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible so they can get more viewers, and this seems like a great way to do that! I checked out Be Cool Scooby Doo recently too, and despite the weird designs, the humor is a lot more mature than you’d think. I love it. To be honest I think it’s more appealing to me than the adult cartoons I’ve seen it compared to, like Family Guy or American Dad or whatever. I usually don’t enjoy shows that make the edginess over the top just to be “shocking”, because it feels forced. The writing of Be Cool Scooby Doo was great so I wouldn’t mind if they went in this direction either. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Daphne! She’s always been my favorite, even when I was younger. She might be clumsy or danger prone at times, but she’s so awesome and resourceful. I especially liked the quirkier personality they gave her in Be Cool Scooby Doo. Of the shows and movies I’ve seen, I think it’s the most dynamic and developed her character has ever been. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? Professor Pericles! He takes evil to the next level. I never would have thought I’d see characters be killed and electrocuted to death in a Scooby Doo cartoon. He is maniacal and heartless, and probably the most evil villain there has ever been in Scooby Doo. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? I love The Hex Girls! It’s sad they haven’t been in many Scooby episodes because they’re such awesome characters. This is embarrassing, but I idolized Thorn as a kid because she was so cool and badass, lol. They’ve also got a positive environmental message attached to their personalities, plus I suppose them being a rock band it fits into the feminist Riot Grrrl Movement that was popular in the 1990’s, so what more could you want? 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I don’t have a collection anymore, but I had most of the DVDs as a kid and a Scooby Doo stuffed animal. My parents might still have them at home, but I’m not sure. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think it comes down to a couple of things. Scooby Doo has a broad appeal that is timeless. Even the newer shows like Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated and Be Cool Scooby Doo still focus on the core formula of the Scooby Doo gang solving mysteries. Although certain elements change in different series, like how Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated is darker, and Be Cool Scooby Doo is more focused on comedy, that same formula is still there. Scooby Doo also has something for everyone. Whether you’re looking for mystery, adventure, or comedy, Scooby has it all, and they’ve continued to include those elements for over 50 years. The fact that they keep making shows with these core elements makes parents who liked Scooby Doo as a kid want to introduce it to their children, so the cycle continues and Scooby Doo has become a household name. In fact, it would be odd if you hadn’t ever heard of the cartoon, and there aren't a lot of shows you can say that about. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I just started my second year in college! I am currently studying Sociology. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! Thanks for having me! This was fun. Thanks so much to Avalon for being today’s fan spotlight! To be honest, I wasn’t sure how well the idea of asking someone who wasn’t currently a big Scooby fan would work, since I wasn’t sure if some of the questions could still be answered. However, I really enjoyed reading Avalon’s answers and it was really cool to see these questions answered from the perspective of someone who is a much more casual Scooby viewer. I hope you enjoyed reading this fan spotlight, and be sure to check back for another fan spotlight tomorrow!
3 Comments
Matt
9/6/2022 03:32:54 pm
Nice!
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Avalon
9/6/2022 05:04:49 pm
Thank you for inviting me to do this! It was fun answering these questions!
Reply
9/6/2022 09:40:00 pm
Thank you for being one of the fan spotlights! It was really interesting reading answers from the perspective of someone who wasn't a big fan like all the previous fan spotlights have been! :)
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