I have talked about Velma twice. Would've been thrice, but that would be with a claim to how Return to Zombie Island may be worse, and something tells me I'd regret making it. But I've seen a recurring trend with the show, and that's people clambering for Mystery Incorporated.
I remember watching Mystery Incorporated when it was new, and let me tell you... that show made zero impact on me. I watched it, only because there was little else I wanted to watch back then. The only shows I ever followed religiously were those made for Fox, Mystery Incorporated was just something I would watch for a lack of anything else.
Comparing Mystery Incorporated to Velma is like comparing where you get shot, whether it be in the head or the lung, all that's different is the survival rate, and either way you'd be shot and it'd be painful. If I were to take a shot I'd take it in the thigh because there is a chance I'd not only survive but keep my leg, and in that I'd watch Be Cool Scooby Doo.
But why am I being so hostile? Let's break this down the best I can.
Fanfiction
You remember Fifty Shades of Grey? That book which was initially written as fan fiction but would go on to become a legitimate book? It feels like we're dealing with a similar situation with this series. Someone's old deviantArt fan fiction was pitched to Cartoon Network as they were looking to back a new Scooby-Doo series, they got desperate and someone decided to show off this kick ass story they wrote, and there we go.
Now, in this situation something like that would appeal to a young demographic, it's familiar and I'd be lying if I'd say no one is into that kind of stuff. For instance, shipping drama. Someone's Shalma ship was put on full display for most of the episodes. Just saying, it and many other elements would feel right at home in the body of a story someone wrote for fun.
Not that it's bad, I've just seen this done one time too many and I've rarely seen anything that pokes fun at common conventions, just telling the same tale with enough variation to make it stand out.
The Overall Tone
The only thing about this show that kinda stands out for me is most of the jokes, even if most of them have punchlines you can see coming half the time. This is a drama show with comedic elements, but otherwise maintains a straight atmosphere. But even so, it feels like there're some very choppy jumps between more serious moments and more comedic moments, and those intended to come off as surprising either feel forced or predictable.
Most jokes are handled through dry deliveries and occasional sight gags that are often telegraphed, like The Dog Dies (why else would they hang on that sign for so long?) or on the nose like that Scrappy Doo cameo; What's New Scooby Doo did it better because there was a lighter set-up to it, here it's like a stab at the character's infamy, but handled poorly.
At the end of the day humor's subjective, even when it was new it didn't even get anything out of me.
There are also times the show makes references to certain trends. Anyone remember Pants on the Ground? Well they did that mixed with a node to flashy pants and that episode's antagonist being a washed up musician. It's a cardinal sin in any show to feature a reference to relevant popular culture, lest said reference has enough staying power to sustain itself with later viewings. What, was it meant to reflect that the song would be destined to be a one hit wonder? That people would forget the song eventually? Is this a cringe meta joke made before cringe meta jokes became common place?
One joke that really bothered me was when Mister E. gave the gang a clue, there is a swordfish, Daphne is able to immediately diffuse it and everyone else doesn't figure it out. I felt the seconds slip away from me as I saw this, even the first time.
Familiarities
Now, cliches, they aren't objectively bad, but people treat them like they automatically ruin a series. They levy this toward more comedic shows, and yet they go radio silent when darker shows do them. Just because a certain drama isn't as common that doesn't mean it should be held above criticism of what people considers an objective issue for any show. Especially for a series that people claim broke the mold on Scooby-Doo shows.
Allow me to list common cliches or whatever I could find.
- Having the Monster of the Week formula for a majority of the episodes alongside more serialized elements.
- Romantic tension between main characters; Shaggy and Velma for a majority of the series.
- A strained friendship between main characters; Shaggy and Scooby.
- An angsty detachment between characters that were once an item; Fred and Daphne.
- Even going as far as doing an angsty song to tie it all together; Daphne.
- Fan service and references to old stuff; the return of the Hex Girls as well as a stab at Scrappy Doo, mentioning the identity of the Creeper, when it turns out that went nowhere just to cover up that girl's connection to this mysterious figure that the serialization is based off of.
- A character becomes evil due to greed and serves as a thorn to the characters' side; Pericles entire arc.
- Another older mystery solving gang disappearing under unknown circumstances.
- The parents of Mystery Incorporated are against the kids solving mysteries.
- Someone has daddy issues.
- Often telegraphed jokes.
Its been done, it's right at home in most fan fiction, and a majority of these are commonplace in drama shows, often done verbatim. Why am I saying this like it's a problem? If people can claim a show is bad through cliches alone, why do we have to turn a blind eye on most shows? Every genre has its own batch of cliches.
I can forgive comedies for cliches because humor is subjective, they tell their jokes and who knows, maybe it's funny to some people. With drama, it feels like the same story told twice, people enjoy dramas for mostly the same reasons. If you're able to predict something happening before it does, it symbolizes weak writing. A truly good show should not have scenes that would be suited for a bingo card. It's especially bad for more serious shows because if the writing sucks, the experience will feel hollow.
If there were more dramas than comedies I'm sure the shoe would be on the other foot. If a show receives that much praise it would be held to more scrutiny as a result, because people would want to see if such an honor is deserved.
It's good because it's familiar
I stress my statements on cliches because I feel like that's a reason these drama shows are viewed so highly. People like these shows because they feature familiar elements to one another. That isn't to say drama in general is cliched, but that applies more to live-action. It seems that animated dramas embody tropes and cliches the most often, having just enough to be different. It is easy to draw parallels, whether it be romantic subplots, angst, all the like.
I can't reward anyone for writing dramas like these because chances are they didn't get these ideas on their own, they looked to other things and the only effort they made was making it different enough. You don't think about these things when you're young, but when you've seen enough programs and read enough stories, you're bound to see a lot of the same, and once you're able to single out cliches then you can never look at anything the same way.
As a side note, it really feels like this show takes itself more seriously than it should, playing most of its cliches entirely straight and playing them out to a T. Now, I understand mocking cliches is also a problem, if the issue is stated point blank for a meta joke, but with drama shows there's a big opportunity that I feel the show never seized. If a writer keeps to their comfort zone it just makes things worse, not poking fun at itself subtilely and reflecting a lack of self-awareness.
A very low barrier to pass
Keep in mind the darkest things Scooby-Doo has done was the original direct-to-video movies, save for Cyber Chase and Alien Invaders because those are more restrained compared to Witch's Ghost and Zombie Island, and maybe the live-action movies, though those were poised as being for older audiences bar those meddling executives and their pesky rabbit.
But that's for movies. In terms of television Scooby-Doo has maintained a comedic approach for better or worse. After so many years of more of the same people would be more accepting of a change, so of course they would take Mystery Incorporated in with open arms, especially given their appetite for drama. Who cares about the finer print on what happens, we got drama.
I feel like Mystery Incorporated didn't earn its following. It came out at a time we grew numb to the series as a whole, so this comes out of nowhere and catches us off guard. Now that we had time for the series to stick, at least for me I feel like this series aged like water, never changing, stagnating and becoming a veritable breeding ground for bacteria, and by bacteria, I mean the greater cartoon community, one that has a very specific palette for shows with obnoxious girls and things that take themselves way too seriously.
And in case you're doubting, discussion of the show became radio silent until Velma came out. Not doing anything? Remember that Thundercats cartoon from 2011? I mean yes because I did watch it when it was new, but for a time people forgot about it until Thundercats Roar came out. Nobody remembers these shows unless they could be used to weaponize against reboots, seeing it as an opportunity to promote some tripe, that's the only way anyone can conceivably bring a show back into the spotlight.
A truly great show can be brought up under any circumstance, so to see it used as an example of something being better and little else reflects how little the show has going for it.
How can they improve?
The big one, try to work harder to combat or subvert cliches associated with the genre, unless they play a big enough role to justify their existence. But if this isn't possible, cut them down however you could to those absolutely necessary.
Second, perhaps have Mystery Incorporated solve mysteries for the town, be relatively accepted by the community with their parents exhibiting understandable nerves because they tend to have risks attached. The fact the entire town looks down on Mystery Inc. for solving mysteries is unbelievably forced. If the mystery solving was poised as benefiting the town, maybe the serialized element could be put toward investigating town myths, rehabilitating a long going stigma and determining the fate of the original Mystery Inc.
If not, why not have that be the key reason why everyone's against the new Mystery Inc. nobody wants them to suffer the same fate and the people are concerned, not gratingly apathetic like they are here.
Third, be more self-aware. It's a risk, but if this show mocked common drama conventions then it could lead to a Shrek-like renaissance, maybe encourage writers to try something new, take a chance and encourage others to do the same. High risk, high reward.
Fourth, back on the original Mystery Incorporated, you can have Fred's fake dad be part of it, drop the Pericles and Mr. E bullshit and reveal he had contracted people to make fake mysteries for the sake of attracting tourism and using Mystery Inc. as a scapegoat to prevent litigation. If you really want Mr. E, have him be a mysterious contact to Fred's fake dad and imply him to be the one pulling the strings, perhaps play a part in Fred's fake dad being let off and you can wonder how many more people are part of a much bigger thing, rather than just a generic vow to stop the bad guy.
Yes I saw the ending and it was underwhelming.
Final Thoughts
Even when it was new, even when I saw this on television for the first time, at most I was just intrigued with the nature of the show, but over the years things began to wear out for me. I began to draw parallels to other shows with similar elements and realized they're practically the same. A big reason I'm harsher toward animated dramas is because they're just as if not more shameless than most adult animated comedies in terms of how they handle their writing. Pure double standards as people praise animated dramas without a second thought, even when it seems like writers take the easy way a lot of the time, and no nobody would ever admit to something like that.
Mystery Incorporated isn't a bad series by any stretch, but it certainly isn't deserving of high regard, especially since it may very well be as cliched as Scooby-Doo shows before them, unremarkable, and best served as an example of what else you can watch other than Velma.
Watching Mystery Incorporated over Velma, you got the allegory already. I'd either watch Be Cool, Scooby-Doo, or go to those animated adult shows that Velma helped me learn to appreciate. And in spite of all of this, their contempt for the series, it's far from the worst Scooby-Doo thing ever, and I can say it with confidence as Return to Zombie Island exists, one that seeks to directly undermine itself whereas Velma lept without looking and did nothing to moderate itself.
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