Weekly Poll #224

3/31/2024

Happy Easter to all those who are celebrating today! Although all options got votes from last week's poll, there was a gigantic gap between first and second place as expected. Here are the results for last week's poll:

What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode taking place in a hospital?
The Harum Scarum Sanitarium - 50
Attack of the Headless Horror - 6
There Wolf - 5
The Horrible Haunted Hospital of Dr. Phineas Phrag! - 5
Scrappy's Birthday - 3
When the Cicada Calls - 2
American Goth - 2

41 Comments

WildwindVampire link

3/30/2024 11:12:40 pm

6. Comic Book Caper - even though this is last place, this is actually pretty good for a Scrappy short!

5. A Scary Duel with a Cartoon Ghoul - this has never been one of my favorite New Scooby-Doo Mysteries episodes, but it’s decent.

4. The Scarab Lives! - a good premiere for Scrappy-Doo. I don’t love this one as much as I feel many others on here probably will, but it’s a neat episode with a cool mystery t/villain.

3. Scooby in Kwackyland - this one has grown on me over time. Demondo is my second least favorite of 13 Ghosts, but the plot is really fun.

2. Mask of the Blue Falcon - This was a really fun blast from the past, and they did a good job reimagining a classic Dynomutt episode. One of the best DTVs of the 2010s.

1. The Schnook That Took My Comic Book - this is such a classic. One of my favorite Pup episodes and easily the episode to first come to mind for this theme.

Mr Neither

3/31/2024 06:18:52 am

6. Mask of the Blue Falcon - A fair Scooby movie but against some stiff competition here I feel it just falls a little short.

5. A Scary Duel with a Cartoon Ghoul - Monster Mutt looks like me first thing in the morning.

4. The Schnook that took my comic - A so so pup episode in my eyes.

3. The Scarab lives - A decent enough start to the Scrappy era.

2. Comic Book Caper - This is one of those Scrappy shorts that really could have been excellent as a full length episode. Instead the whole thing was very rushed due to the time frame sadly. Go wonder horse go!

1. Scooby in Kwackyland - When it comes to comic book episodes, nothing can beat this unique take in my eyes

3.

WildwindVampire link

3/31/2024 09:07:27 am

5. Lol!

2. Completely agreed, I would have even been okay with this being an 11 minute New Scooby-Doo Mysteries short. It just needed more time for the mystery to be able to develop.

Matt

3/31/2024 11:56:07 am

2. I am also on board with this. It could’ve been better with more time. It still works for what it is, but yeah, good but could’ve been great in another format

Becker

3/31/2024 12:31:52 pm

5. Lmfao

Mr Neither

3/31/2024 02:19:33 pm

5. In my defence, I am a supermarket worker that has to be up at 4am for work most mornings, cycle to work and then deal with customers. I earn the right to look like that.

Becker

3/31/2024 02:37:49 pm

@Mr Neither, that's a very good defence, doesn't sound fun.

Matt

3/31/2024 12:20:59 am

This is a really solid set. Happy Easter to those who celebrate

6. Comic Book Caper- Not bad! Will never be a list topper for me but for what this is, I enjoy it enough

5. A Scary Duel with a Cartoon Ghoul- My thoughts here kinda resemble my thoughts on Comic Book Caper, except that I definitely feel this is a big step up from even that in terms of quality. I enjoy this for what it is

4. Scooby in Kwackyland- This is tough because I truly love all of the top 4 here. This is one of my favorite 13 Ghosts episodes but there are a few that are stronger and I enjoy the top three even more

3. Mask of the Blue Falcon- I definitely enjoy this one more than what I’ve seen the general consensus on it being. This is a standout among 2010s DTVs

2. The Scarab Lives- Amazing episode. One of the best Scrappy episodes even. Shockingly well written episode all around with a nice atmosphere

1. The Schnook That Took My Comic Book- Pretty easy choice here for me. Definitely top 3 for APNSD if not higher. This is some of the best and sharpest comedic writing of not only the series, but the franchise imo. This is a big favorite of mine

WildwindVampire link

3/31/2024 09:10:30 am

Our lists were super similar this week!

3. Interesting, I don't feel like I've seen much negative about Mask of the Blue Falcon. Maybe I'm misremembering though.

2. I do find this to be a good episode but for whatever reason, it's never stood out to me as one of the best Scrappy episodes. It feels pretty average to me. That said, the writing is pretty great here and I like the atmosphere.

1. Yeah, this would be in my top 3 for Pup as well (only beat by "The Babysitter from Beyond" and "Curse of the Collar"). Love the writing here.

Matt

3/31/2024 11:36:43 am

3. It’s not as much negative as it is much less positive than I am on it. It is close to a top ten Scooby movie for me

2. Another part for me is that I actually really like this season of Scrappy (with one notable episode exception, which I’m sure everyone can tell what that is lol), more than I like season 3 of the Scooby Doo Show. I know I am pretty much alone on that and that you and I see that comparison differently. But for me, when season 3 really started slowing down and we started getting stuff like Don’t Go Near the Fortress of Fear (even if I do actually like this one more than most), Warlock of Wimbledon (even though I view it as so bad it’s good), and Beast is Awake in Bottomless Lake, The Scarab Lives felt like such a breath of fresh air at the start of the season. I can’t even chalk it up to the additional character as much as I felt it was completely engaging, a great atmosphere, and just really a big step up in writing imo

1. For me, Schnook and A Bicycle Built For Boo are probably top two in any order given on the day. Probably a strong competition for number 3 with Were-Doo, Snow Place Like Home, and maybe a few others as contenders. Maybe even Chickenstein Lives is up there as that is also one of the most outrageously funny episodes of an outrageously funny show in general

Becker

3/31/2024 12:36:19 pm

@Matt, I'll give it to you that The Scarab Lives is one of the best SD&SD episodes and it's great, but I stand by the fact that I'd take more than hald of TSDS S3 over this episode any day of the week. Weinrib's Scrappy inherently can't get this show's episodes really high.

Becker

3/31/2024 12:39:45 pm

More than half of*

WildwindVampire link

3/31/2024 12:45:08 pm

2. Even though I don't necessarily like the antics heaviness of The Scooby-Doo Show season 3, I feel like there were a lot more classics and memorable episodes here, like "To Switch a Witch," "Who Was That Cat Creature I Saw You With Last Night?", "The Creepy Creature of Vulture's Claw," lately "Scooby's Chinese Fortune Kooky Caper" (which I mentioned in a comment thread a few months back has really grown on me) and "A Menace in Venice." The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show was more consistent in quality, I don't feel it had as many great, memorable episodes as The Scooby-Doo Show season 3 did, even if there were some lows in that season. A part of it might be that I have more nostalgia in general over The Scooby-Doo Show, since it was among the first Scooby series I watched as a kid, whereas I didn't see Scooby and Scrappy-Doo until a bit later in my childhood. I think the other part for me is the same as what Becker said, I'm just not a huge fan of Weinrib's Scrappy.

1. I'd say my top 10 would look something like this:

1. Babysitter from Beyond
2. Curse of the Collar
3. Schnook Who Took My Comic Book
4. A Bicycle Built for Boo
5. Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner?
6. Snow Place Like Home
7. Chickenstein Lives
8. Sludge Monster from the Earth's Core
9. Scooby Dude
10. Wanted Cheddar Alive

Matt

3/31/2024 04:49:53 pm

@Becker- Obviously I strongly disagree, which I’m sure isn’t shocking to you lol. I’d take To Switch a Witch and A Menace in Venice over it definitely. Diabolical Disc Demon is close but I’ll lean towards Scarab. That’s probably it in that season for me

@Wildwind- I think I’ll go with

1. A Bicycle Built For Boo
2. The Schnook That Took My Comic Boom
3. Snow Place Like Home
4. Chickenstein Lives
5. Were-Doo of Doo Manor
6. Wanted Cheddar Alive
7. Terror Thy Name is Zombo
8. For Letter or Worse
9. Sludge Monster From the Earth’s Core
10. Wrestle Maniacs

Curse of the Collar and Robopup are probably two of the next ones up, maybe a few others around that range. My top ten is definitely has a lot of nostalgia and a few that are just very funny to me (Wrestle Maniacs is definitely very underrated in how hilarious it is)

Becker

3/31/2024 05:29:57 pm

@Matt, personally I'll happily take Watch Out! The Willawaw!, A Creepy Tangle in the Bermuda Triangle, To Switch a Witch, The Tar Monster, A Highland Fling with a Monstrous Thing, The Creepy Case of Old Iron Face, Make a Beeline Away from That Feline, The Creepy Creature of Vulture's Claw, The Diabolical Disc Demon, Scooby's Chinese Fortune Kooky Caper and A Menace in Venice, if not even more, over The Scarab Lives (I'm sure the first especially probably gives you a headache, but hey, I really like that episode lol). Had The Scarab Lives not featured Scrappy, it would've been different; but as is, it just can't go higher when a titular character makes you wanna mute the audio every time he talks. And keep in mind this is one of the best SD&SD eps for me, a bit of a yikes for how much the Weinrib Scrappy detracts from the show.

Matt

3/31/2024 07:19:57 pm

I’d take a ham sandwich over Willawaw. I also feel like I would take most episodes of the Scrappy season over Bermuda Triangle. Maybe all of the first 15 episodes of the Scrappy season because I don’t really like Bermuda Triangle much. Also would take quite a few of them over Highland Fling and Iron Face. Other than that, Vulture’s Claw and Fortune Kooky Caper are two of the better season 3 episodes where I might take them over some of the episodes in the Scrappy season, but certainly not The Scarab Lives

WildwindVampire link

3/31/2024 09:18:08 pm

@Matt I thought about "Terror Thy Name Is Zombo," "The Were-Doo of Doo Manor" and "For Letter or Worse" in my top 10 (and I think they have all been in my top 10 at some point or another). Those are all great episodes.

@Becker Yeah, I'd take all of those over "The Scarab Lives!" other than "A Creepy Tangle in the Bermuda Triangle."

Becker

4/1/2024 02:46:12 am

@Matt, tbf, the truth is that I would've said all of that about TSDS S3 in relation to most Scooby shows and episodes in general. Idk about you, but my ranking of the shows (or at the very least the way I'd group them) influences and dictates most of my placements of episodes of different series against each other. For example, while I think BCSD, APNSD, 13G are pretty great, there are not really many episodes from those shows that I would put above more than a couple of episodes from SDWAY, NSDMo or WNSD. SD&SD falls into the former group, and coupled with the fact that TSDS is above all the latter show and my #1, the results become very skewed in TSDS's favor. If I'm completely biased, i think at least 15 of my favorite 25 episodes of all time would be from TSDS, simply because there's a reason why it's solidly my favorite of all the series – I just enjoy it the most, so it would reflect that bias.

Matt

4/1/2024 01:44:16 pm

I get what you mean and can kinda relate, even if not to the same degree. I would say it is hard for any episode to beat my very favorites of the classic era (with the exception of Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman, I am pretty sure my entire top ten consists of Where Are You, first two seasons of SDS, and maybe some NSDMo), but I can definitely have episodes from other series above a lot of episodes from those series. Like, I would have Night Terrors over several episodes from any of those series. I also do find this Scrappy season a lot easier to compare to SDS season 3 because I do feel like both seasons are relatively similar. I almost feel like they are each other’s best comparison for me considering how much better I view the first two seasons of SDS than either

I would say that it just makes sense that my favorite series would have more of my higher ranked episodes, but it isn’t an automatic thing for me

Becker

4/1/2024 04:38:34 pm

SDMI is a tough series to compare, due to its highly serialized format. I feel like I love the show itself more than I do most of its episodes, simply because it's not the type of show you put on a random episode from to just watch. It's like a holistic experience.

Becker

3/31/2024 12:30:25 pm

Never thought I'd see the day I not only rank a 1979 episode higher than you, but vote for it when you don't lol, given our debates about whether 1978 or 1979 is better.

Matt

3/31/2024 04:41:58 pm

Well, I still definitely like the episode more than you do lol. I just adore TSTTMCB

Shadowscooby

3/31/2024 04:33:58 am

I’m going for Mask Of The Blue Falcon.

Carson Maitland - Smith

3/31/2024 05:37:48 am

The Scarab Lives

Becker

3/31/2024 12:24:10 pm

Interesting how almost all of these happened in the span of a decade, and most surprisingly before comic books and related media became mainstream popular. I would've expected more comic book related episodes and movies in the past 15 years, given we've been living in a superhero prime/boom during this time period. Admittedly, we've had crossovers with existing superheroes and supervillains recently (Brave and the Bold, Guess Who, Happy Halloween, Krypto Too), which don't qualify for this poll, but still, no original ones in so long (as even Mask of the Blue Falcon is kind of a callback movie to an preexisting superhero show).

This is actually the first time I've binge-watched all of the episodes before deciding to vote. I didn't get time to rewatch the one movie, but I remember it enough from my last time a couple years ago. So this time I'll go in-depth. Btw, none of the options from this roster are bad, which is rare.

6) Comic Book Caper — this is one of the better Scrappy shorts for the simple fact that it has an actual mystery and monster. Wow, when you actually make something that resembles a Scooby plot, a Scrappy short can be decent! Who woulda' thunk?! I honestly had a fun enough time with it, which is more than I can say for the majority of this show. The mystery was very simple and it was still a bit of a continuous chase, but the setting and villain were cool (despite the name Slime Boy being quite silly, but silly is a prerequisite for this series lol), the gang were likeable and not douchebags, and there were a lot of funny moments. I noticed some callbacks to previous Scooby media, which were a nice touch, like the 2 in 1 horse disguise similar to Headless Horseman of Halloween, and a really nice spin on Shaggy's coin flip trick on Scooby from Which Witch Is Which. The plot is also kind of a blueprint for The Schnook Who Took My Comic Book. Shaggy's shockingly brave quick thinking of seizing the opportunity to just pull the mask off the monster when he noticed it happened to stand with its back at them was really clever and I wish we'd see stuff like that a bit more lol, too bad it turned out to just be a cosplayer, not the villain.

5) A Scary Duel With a Cartoon Ghoul — did anyone else notice the "scarey" typo in the title card? I watched this right after The Scarab Lives, and lemme tell ya, the drastic shift in pacing between these two was like whiplash lmao. That's the thing that stood out the most to me. This segment is so fast paced, more than the average 11-minute episode. Understandable enough though, as they have to get through the motions quicker due to the time constraints. Easy mystery, but the villain's design is neat, as well as the reveal. Shaggy and Scooby launching themselves into space is just one of those normal 80s Scooby things lol, definitely the silliest decade of the franchise all around. The gang creating their own cartoon is something we've never seen again afaik. And man, Ms Handle's voice is so annoying. But I have to agree with her on the cartoon that the gang created lmao.

Becker

3/31/2024 12:24:43 pm

4) The Schnook Who Took My Comic Book — perhaps a controversial take, but I don't think this is one of the better APNSD episodes. It's a very good episode clearly, but I feel like the humor isn't as zany, constant and out-there as in many other eps, which is the main attraction of this show (the humor we do get is good, which is why I say we needed more). The mystery is laughably easy even by APNSD standards, and the chase song sequence is pretty much nothing. I just think this show has better to offer personally. However, amazing concept and story and monster! Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt are a well remembered and beloved highlight/aspect of this show, and this is the ep that introduced them. Shaggy and Scooby naturally own this episode, but Fred is in his element too. Daphne and Velma are a bit more in the background here, the latter having one of those episodes where she barely says anything in the first half lol. Finally, great usage of Red Herring (especially the interrogation scene with Shaggy); too often he is used as just a one-moment gag, but not here.

3) Mask of the Blue Falcon — I'd say I prefer a few other early 2010s movies to this one, but this is still a really solid movie. But when compared to the post-2015 films, it might as well be Zombie Island ngl. The plot and villains are great, and the mystery isn't crappy for once on this list. The characterizations of the gang are good, the supporting cast is fun. The third act is quite epic, appropriately comic booky. Chock-full of Easter eggs, you can tell effort went into this, it does justice not only to the direct source material, but to comic book culture as a whole. I think the superhero discourse and parodying is still accurate and relevant to our present, the movie stands the test of time. What can I say, the typical quality of an early 2010s DTV. Just wish they could go back to that quality at least semi-regularly these days.

Becker

3/31/2024 12:25:17 pm

2) Scooby in Kwackyland — I debated heavily between this and my #1, but I ultimately to put this at #2, because it's not the type of episode I would seek out very often. It's an experience I have to be in the mood for (tbh that's something you could say for 13 Ghosts in general). Nonetheless, really unique idea and direction, and definitely in the top half of 13 Ghosts imo, love the vibe and style. Such an easy enjoyable ride that you don't even have to think for much lol. The side characters are well done, especially the man, the myth, the legend, Platypus Duck. Demondo's design is fairly bland, but his plan is pretty cool. Scooby is for sure the heart of this episode, he's undeniable the center of it, and he's as great as ever. Bogel and Weerd dressing up and acting like Daphne and Shaggy was hilarious, but it boggles my mind that Vincent wasn't able to tell that they weren't Shaggy and Daphne. He's able to see perfectly fine in all the other episodes, why did he suddenly need glasses to see more than one meter in front him here? Bonus: rare horndog Shaggy moment when he says "That Astrid... zokins, what a fox!" Lmao.

1) The Scarab Lives — it's not often that I vote for a Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo episode, mainly because to me there's always a cap to how good the episodes of this show can get, due to a one big reason: Scrappy-Doo. Scrappy is easily at his worst in 1979. While I don't hate him in this season, he definitely gets on my nerves a good amount, enough to singlehandedly bring all 1979 episodes down. Every Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo episode would be better without him. His characterization is simply way way way too much; they realized this themselves when they started toning him down more and more with every new show after this until he was at his mellowest in the Superstar 10 movies. And unfortunately his excessiveness is only exacerbated tenfold by Lennie Weinrib's voice and performance, which is so irritating and tiresome. I'll never understand why they didn't go with Don Messick as Scrappy from the get-go, because I guarantee you Scrappy would've automatically been significantly more likeable if Don voiced him instead. I'm certain a main reason for why Scrappy is so hated is due to Lennie's portrayal. And unfortunately this series is the most well known version of Scrappy, so most people picture Lennie's voice when they think of him. Scrappy wouldn't have become so hated if Don voiced him from the beginning. Anyway, now onto the actual episode. The reason why I ended up voting for it is because it is in fact one of the best 1979 eps, no doubt. And the utilization of Scrappy in the second half of the ep is easily one of the best in this show, which is part of why this is one of the best eps of this show, it seems like he has a purpose and is bearable. Too bad he still gets pretty annoying and jarring a number of times in the first half, which results in a not-so-great first impression. However, the whole idea is amazing, the villain and plot are great, and the pacing, atmosphere and settings are really good. The mystery is fairly easy though. Straight-up feels like a TSDS episode with an over-the-top Scrappy added in. Fred, Velma and Daphne don't fade into the background as much as in most eps of this show, they're utilized well, especially Velma. And I gotta say, Scooby and Shaggy are on fire here with the humor. The two of them are fucking hilarious, especially Shaggy, he's really on it in this episode in terms of peak entertainment, he's such a highlight throughout. If anything, it's probably this aspect that gives this episode the win. Btw, I don't think I've ever heard Shaggy scream like this in anything else lol: https://youtu.be/PrObhnLKDCk?t=95s

WildwindVampire link

3/31/2024 12:59:08 pm

6. Lol, yeah, I mirror your thoughts on this one 100%. It's a shame it didn't have enough runtime for the plot to be properly executed, but it's a gigantic step up from most of the other shorts.

5. Yeah, I noticed the typo too and chose to correct it lol. Part of me wonders if there was a different spelling of scary back then, as a Funky Phantom episode ("The Hairy Scary Houndman") also had that same typo in the title card. Anyway, yeah, I think the biggest thing that drags this episode down a bit for me is the pacing. I don't dislike it, but the mystery feels rushed. Also, I found Ms. Handle's voice extremely annoying. And yes, their cartoon was pretty bad lol.

4. Don't necessarily agree on it not being one of the better episodes, but agreed that Red Herring was really well used here, and I thought Scooby and Shaggy taking a lead in the episode was a really well-done.

3. Totally agreed, it doesn't seem like that quality should be hard to achieve, but it feels like the days of getting that style/tone of DTVs is unfortunately over. Even if it's not my favorite era, I did really enjoy the early 2010s era, and think something like that could be a good direction to pivot back to start a new era of DTVs, if they wanted to do it without making a drastic change.

2. While I do enjoy this one for what it is, I'd enjoy it more with another villain. Demondo's design is the worst of the 13 ghosts imo, and while his plan was cool, nothing else about his design or characterization was very good. Bonus points for Platypus Duck though haha. Yeah, Vincent's characterization is definitely weird here, similarly to "That's Monstertainment!" where he for some reason seems scared of Zomba, despite not seeming frightened in that same way with any of the other demons. "Shaggy horndog moment" lol.

1. 100% agreed with you here, I feel like I'd enjoy this first season so much more without Scrappy. Weinrib's characterization is pretty over-the-top, and I really dislike his voice. I think he'd for sure be at least a little more liked if they would have started with Messick. I don't think I've ever noticed Shaggy's bizarre voice change in that clip before, it sounds like he was having a bit a growth spurt there lol.

Becker

3/31/2024 02:51:37 pm

1. Yup, as I was watching the episode, while I really enjoyed it, I couldn't help but think if this season was just the 4th season of TSDS without Scrappy, it would be great, and every one of these 16 episodes would be elevated (well.. maybe not necessarily the last one lol). Would still be the weakest TSDS season imo, but the gap would be significantly shrinked.

WildwindVampire link

3/31/2024 09:21:15 pm

Although Scrappy doesn't bother me quite as much as you, I completely agree with you here.

Matt

3/31/2024 04:58:30 pm

4. I absolutely love the interrogation scene and Red Herring’s usage in it lol

1. This may surprise you, but I agree with you about Weinrib’s Scrappy. It just isn’t really a dealbreaker for me when I view the episodes overall as pretty strong. I agree that there is a ceiling for how good these episodes can be, but it is definitely much, much higher for me than for you. I don’t have any episodes from this season as one of my very favorites of all time, but I definitely have quite a few as better than quite a few episodes of the last season for me

Becker

3/31/2024 05:16:49 pm

When one of the main characters, namely one of the 3 with the most screentime, is annoying and irritating half the time, it detracts a lot from the enjoyment. Scrappy is simply not written well in this show (so automatically the writing of this show isn't as strong as you sometimes make it out to be imho), so I'll never be able to look at it and think "yeah, this is the best version of what this episode could be!". If a main character of a show is a turn-off, I think it is a bit of a dealbreaker (and it clearly is for all the people who keep bashing Scrappy unfortunately). I can't just tune him out whenever he's on-screen, I gotta sit through that over-the-top voice delivering that over-the-top dialogue in an over-the-top performance almost every minute of every episode. That inherently for me makes no episode pretty strong overall, it's more like "pretty strong bar Scrappy" in the case of The Scarab Lives for example. However, despite all of what I've said, I still believe I'm one of the most lenient and forgiving people out there when it comes to this season, given the huge number of folks who despise it purely because of Scrappy, tarnishing it all for them and overpowering every other aspect of the show.

Matt

3/31/2024 07:07:23 pm

If you can’t enjoy the mystery, atmosphere, or plot of an episode solely because of Scrappy dragging it down, then I definitely would not say you are very forgiving on the subject. Which is fair, you are entitled to your opinion, but I do feel that there are more people who at least like the season more than you do than you might think, at least from my experience. At least with people who know the season because let’s be real, for most people, this season would be deep cuts, the episodes aren’t very well known

WildwindVampire link

3/31/2024 09:11:14 pm

For me at least, the issues I have with Weinrib's Scrappy are kind of similar to how I feel about the antics in The Scooby-Doo Show season 3. Like Becker pointed out, there's a lot of emphasis on Scrappy causing trouble for Shaggy and Scooby, which like the antics-heaviness of The Scooby-Doo Show season 3, is something I've never really loved about this season. It isn't a dealbreaker for me and I don't feel it overpowers the episodes like Becker does, but it makes the episodes feel a bit less strong than anything from The Scooby-Doo Show for me. Even though I didn't love the additional focus on the antics in season 3, Shaggy and Scooby are more enjoyable characters than Weinrib's Scrappy, which is what gives TSDS season 3 the edge for me (well, that and nostalgia).

As someone who's been active in the fandom since 2008, I feel like there has been a shift with more people liking the first Scrappy series than there used to be. Pretty much anything Scrappy used to be completely blacklisted by most fans as "the dark times" of the franchise, whereas I feel like now I see a lot more people enjoying the first series and the 1983-1985 series. That's probably because there were much less people involved in the fandom back then (and thus less voices/perspectives), but I have definitely noticed a shift in the past decade or so.

Becker

4/1/2024 02:32:42 am

@Matt, I do enjoy the mystery, atmosphere and plot of the episode despite Scrappy though. I said in my ranking that the atmosphere and plot are great, and although the mystery was pretty easy, at least there is a proper mystery to follow and is a good ride that still keeps you engaged and the clues and motivations were neat (the heist spree aspect of the episode is one of the biggest things that makes it stand out imo).

I also mentioned that this episode is very good besides Scrappy (I gave it my vote, so I must enjoy it quite a lot, the top 4 there is tight). So Scrappy doesn't directly detract from the plot, atmosphere and mystery themselves, but as a whole he detracts from the episode overall. The Scarab Lives is actually the type of episode where I'd say I liked to loved just about everything about except Scrappy and the fact that you can tell who the villain is simply by looking at them. That's the one flaw of this villain that I really like – that the culprit is obvious from the body shape and revealed skin of the suit.

The reason I said I'm more forgiving and lenient on this season is because I'm still able to appreciate and highly enjoy the other parts of it despite Scrappy being there (knowing that a lot of people won't even give this show a chance due to him). Shaggy's humor was so on point and cracked me up a lot despite Scrappy being in his presence most of the time. It's not like I hate Scrappy's mere presence on-screen. I don't find everything he says irritating or confounding, but it does happen about half the time, which is still quite a lot for a titular character, thus ultimately dragging the episodes down.

To make it clear, The Blue Scarab is like an 8/10 episode for me, it had the potential to be a 9.5 without Scrappy; I don't dislike it as it is though, far from it. There's not a single SD&SD episode I would say I genuinely dislike besides the obvious one.

Becker

4/1/2024 03:01:04 am

@Wildwind, I've noticed more people speak favorably about '84-'88 than the Scrappy stuff prior to that. I haven't really seen many people discuss 1979. The biggest defenders I've come across are Matt and Billiam (youtuber), who discussed everything Scooby.

Maybe it wasn't the best choice of words to say "Scrappy overpowers everything else", what I meant by that is that he inevitably drags the episodes down no matter how good they are otherwise. He's such a focus of the series that I can't look past it the way Matt can, he's always one of, if not the weakest of the episodes, and thus I can't say they are as great as I would hope.

Becker

4/1/2024 03:30:15 am

Weakest part of the episodes*

WildwindVampire link

4/1/2024 07:56:19 am

I haven't checked out Billiam but yeah, more people seem to defend the later Scrappy stuff than the 1979 content. I can think of a few other defenders, including Billy and Amelia from the Scooby Dos or Don'ts podcast and a few other folks that are more on the social media side of the fandom, but agreed it seems more common for people to like the post-1983 stuff when he's more toned down.

Matt

4/1/2024 01:30:35 pm

@Becker- I get what you mean now. I think the way I read your last comment made your opinion on the show sound way harsher than it actually appears to be lol

I do feel like more people would like this show if they had seen it, but not only is it a lot of people not giving it a chance, but I also just feel like it is pretty obscure in comparison to even other Scrappy material like the 3 most popular NSDMy episodes (you know what they are), 13 Ghosts, and ESPECIALLY the Scrappy movies

Becker

4/1/2024 04:33:15 pm

Most people seem to hearken back to 1979-1982 when they're being negative on Scrappy as a character. Those are the most common references to this time period.

Juan

4/1/2024 03:44:30 am

I've got two words for you.
Platypus Duck.

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