We all know about the premise of Scooby Doo and the shows he stars in. A dog and four teenagers, who are part of a group called, “Mystery Inc.,” drive a van to solve mysteries in different places. When they see monsters or any forms of danger, they run from them. But eventually, the monsters are tied to chairs and one of the kids finds out who the demons really are by pulling off their masks.
Despite how the monsters are always people in disguise (except for the zombies in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island), the Mystery Inc. members continue to flee from them rather than learning how to fight against them.
Yes, it’s part of the premise. But at the same time, it’s also kind of lazy, especially since they are eventually able to catch the dangers.
Below is a made-up scenario of Mystery Inc. choosing to defeat the demons that attack them.
Scenario
The gang is solving a typical mystery and searching for clues. But a monster finds them and tries to hurt them.
They escape from it–but Velma stops them and whispers about how everyone is always running from the monsters and suggests that it’s time to fight back. Scooby and Shaggy quiver and worry that the demon will attack them. But Velma comes up with her plan to defeat it while hiding.
The kids hide in different places in a room. The monster comes in. Velma quietly signals the others what to do.
Scooby and Shaggy, although frightened, squirt the monster with some type of liquid, which makes it trip. Fred and Daphne push a bookshelf toward it, which falls onto it, along with its books.
The gang sees the monster and Shaggy asks if it’s still going to hurt them. Velma checks and sees that the demon is too injured to do anything. She drags it out, and it sits tied to a chair.
From that point on, Velma recommends to the others that they continue to fight against the dangers while hiding and work their ways up to battling them directly (not necessarily punching them in the face or using any other physical attacks). They hesitate but agree.
How would audiences react?
Unlike books and movies, changes in TV or on-demand series often displease viewers. So, those who became big fans of Scooby Doo would probably feel disappointed, regardless of the characters’ choice to be braver.
But people who’ve watched a little bit of one of the Scooby Doo shows might be okay with Mystery Inc. deciding to fight against the monsters that attack them instead of fleeing from them. This could be particularly true for those who focus a lot on believability, which matters less in cartoons.
However, due to the popularity of Scooby Doo and its premise being common knowledge, if the gang changed how they dealt with dangers, the cartoons would likely lose viewers–and maybe more than half.
I, however, support the idea of the gang choosing to battle the monsters rather than escaping from them.
Why, you might ask?
1: I find it a little bit annoying for them to run from dangers, particularly since the monsters often end up being just regular people in costumes. Plus, since I like to read books and watch movies, it’s hard for me to accept the lack of characters’ behavioral changes, even though that leaves most audiences dissatisfied.
2: I’ve watched a lot of shows where the main characters fight against dangers regularly. One notable example is The PowerPuff Girls, which I became a fan of as a child.
Despite wishing that someone would fight against the dangers for Mystery Inc. when I was little, there is a Scooby Doo movie where that actually happens. It is called Scooby-Doo! And Krypto, Too!
From what I saw in the trailer, it looks like Krypto defeats the villains and saves the gang. Krypto is a lot like a powerpuff girl to me.
Conclusion
Although making drastic changes to a TV or on-demand show often disappoints audiences, there are still some who are okay with them. I think the idea of Mystery Inc. learning to fight against the monsters that attack them isn’t too significant for a change.
What do you think of that idea? Let me know in the comments if you’d like.
I also have another post about a made-up scenario in Codename: Kids Next Door and how audiences might react.