Over the years there have been countless incarnations and adaptations of the beloved Scooby-Doo characters we all know and love. Since the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? first aired in 1969, the cowardly Great Dane and his pals have been solving mysteries on every screen imaginable. From animated series to live-action feature films (and everything in between), Scooby-Doo has become a powerful pop culture legend, with Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne serving as recognizable icons (and popular Halloween costumes) for the better part of the past fifty years. But the gang's recognizable status aside, only one Scooby series has managed to transcend the others with its complex character arcs and intricate over-arching mystery. Yes, we're talking about none other than Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated!
If you haven't seen it, you should really give it a shot. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, which ran on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2013, is set in the small east coast town of Crystal Cove, which has a serious monster problem, and by monsters, we mean highly-intelligent people who dress up in elaborate costumes to scare others away so that they may find fortune and fame. Now, this may sound like most incarnations of Scooby-Doo to you, but what sets Mystery Incorporated apart from the rest is the series' "in-universe" explanations for the strange events that consistently unfold in their small town... Much like Twin Peaks (a show that is heavily referenced on SDMI) or the early seasons of Smallville, Mystery Incorporated unravels a complex mythology that envelops Crystal Cove's founding and origins, while also stretching into the personal histories of its main cast members.
As it turns out, a cursed Conquistadorian treasure lies beneath the foundations of Crystal Cove, and its deceptive draw is what has changed the townsfolk into the corrupted versions of themselves that they are. This has been happening for a long time and Mystery Incorporated makes it clear that most of the other Scooby incarnations are still (somewhat) canon, rather than starting completely from scratch. Classic Scooby-Doo foes like The Creeper are mentioned and occasionally appear in flashbacks, with their stories continuing spiritually through other characters like Alice May (Hynden Walch), who claims to be the Creeper's daughter out for revenge on Mystery Inc ("The Legend of Alice May").
Episodes like "All Fear the Freak" expertly highlights the severity of the 52 episode-spanning mystery and the personal implications of a corrupted town like Crystal Cove by introducing recurring monsters. One of these, The Freak of Crystal Cove (Frank Welker), as he's called, terrorizes the gang in search of their pieces of a mysterious Planesphiric disk, with the Season 1 finale unmasking this fiend and blowing up Fred's life in the process. Later, in "Nightmare in Red", the Freak returns, albeit in a more supernatural capacity, and ushers the gang into their final hour. Other recurring monsters, such as the Crybaby Clown (Mark Hamill) and even Alice May, make their mark on multiple episodes and force our beloved characters to deal with their personal issues with one another.
But what's more compelling about Mystery Incorporated is the series' ability to seamlessly weave together seemingly unrelated mysteries, characters, and plotlines into its overarching narrative. The gang's discovery of the Original Mystery Inc. via an old locket, their investigation into the Darrow Family and the origins of Crystal Cove, and ancient legends and apocalyptic prophecies related to the Anunaki and the time of Nibiru all lead Scooby and the gang to the biggest mystery of their career. Honestly, no Scooby-Doo cartoon or direct-to-DVD feature has been able to top it since. As the Evil Entity (Clancy Brown) slowly descends on Crystal Cove, only the Mystery Inc. gang can stop him in this series that often feels more like a sci-fi/fantasy drama than a children's mystery cartoon.
Regardless of the occasional change in tone, the real consistency comes from Mystery Incorporated's engaging combination of the classic Scooby-Doo formula and the long-game emotional arcs of Fred, Daphne, and the gang. Each member of Mystery Inc. gets their own upgrades through this show, rounding them out more as complex characters than the archetypes we've grown accustomed to. Fred Jones (also voiced by Welker) for instance seems to go through the most change. Here, the classically confident leader of the gang expresses his insecurities via his relationship with Daphne Blake (Grey DeLisle), his love of traps, and his constant desire for the approval of his father, Mayor Fred Jones, Sr. (Gary Cole). Fred's somewhat tragic family background combined with his absent-mindedness towards Daphne has disastrous consequences on their relationship, forcing him to buck up and fight for his true love and their friends. Daphne goes through some character growth herself, moving on from being just the "damsel in distress" (which she still often is) to taking ownership of her own destiny. It's because of Daphne that the gang even discovers the first clue relating to the series' overarching mystery.
But Fred and Daphne aren't the only ones who get an upgrade, Velma Dinkley (Mindy Cohn) is a lot more developed here as well and, as always, proves herself to be the smartest one in the room. Though this time around, Velma is even more tech-savvy and carries a lot more attitude with her, even going so far as to work behind the gang's back for the mysterious Mr. E (Lewis Black). That's right, Velma has a 'tude this time around, which is understandably due to the fact that she and Shaggy Rogers (Matthew Lillard) begin the series in a relationship that is eventually wrecked by Scooby-Doo (Welker)... Yeah, Shaggy and Velma date, which you'd think might force Shaggy to grow up a bit, but the truth is that he chooses his friendship with Scooby over his relationship with Velma. So, there's that.
Overall, Shaggy and Scooby are the same goofy-but-lovable characters you remember from just about every incarnation of Scooby-Doo, though there are moments where this duo has to be braver and more heroic than they're usually known to be. In a world where monsters try to kill you every week and your friends are all going through their own emotional problems, a more consistent Shaggy and Scooby make this series feel a bit more familiar, and that's a good thing. The new bit of trivia that Shaggy and Scooby love old horror movies, especially those starring the Vincent Price-inspired Vincent Von Ghoul (Maurice LaMarche), is a welcomed one and comes back often.
Mystery Incorporated manages to pull from all corners of pop culture to respectfully emulate some of the greatest films, books, and TV series out there. The reimagined version of Von Ghoul, who was actually voiced by Vincent Price in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo cartoon from the 80s, is a hilarious addition that keeps on giving. While the 13 Ghosts version was an actual warlock, this version is nothing more than a washed-up actor whose biggest fans are a hippie and a talking dog. Then there are science-fiction and fantasy authors (and Darrow University professors) H.P. Hatecraft (Jeffrey Combs), a clear rip-off of H.P. Lovecraft, and Harlan Ellison, who plays a highly-fictionalized version of himself. Hatecraft's "Char Gar Gothakon" (a Chthulu stand-in) is an especially noteworthy villain ("The Shrieking Madness"). While Hatecraft and Ellison's squabbles are hilarious in and of themselves, what makes them all the better is that they especially hate the vampire-romance novel, Dusk, which is a clear Twilight parody that Daphne loves.
The series also pays tribute to other important pop culture representations like Dungeons & Dragons in "The Web of Dreamweaver," where we learn that Sheriff Bronson Stone (Patrick Warburton) grew up playing D&D. The episode "Dead Justice" features a ghost cowboy, similar to a Clint Eastwood character, who has come back to settle a score, and "Mystery Solvers State Finals" (a fan favorite) unites Scooby and the gang with several old Hanna-Barbara cartoon gangs including Speed Buggy, Jabberjaw, and the Funky Phantom. The series' pop-culture homages don't stop there though. The mythology-heavy episode "Nightmare in Red" sends the gang to an otherworldly red room (with a small man to guide them) that feels eerily similar to the one seen in Twin Peaks, while "Howl of the Fright Hound" features a mechanized dog that pays direct homage to The Terminator, with small musical cues and everything.
In the second season episode "Heart of Evil," the gang eventually meets the Blue Falcon (Troy Baker), a Batman-wannabe who originally came from the Johnny Quest cartoons (Quest Industries is also mentioned often). "B.F.," as Dynomutt (again voiced by Welker) calls him, is a clear parody of how dark Batman has become over the decades, moving further away from the Adam West-style of crimefighting that made the superhero popular. Episodes like this highlight how Mystery Incorporated excels at re-purposing old concepts from film, TV, and especially old Hanna-Barbara cartoons and modernizing them to fit their story. It's truly impressive.
There are admittedly a lot of Scooby-Doo incarnations to choose from when deciding to watch your favorite talking dog, some much more iconic than others. But, if you want your Scooby-Doo viewing to be a bit more engaging, honest, and interesting, then Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated is for sure the cartoon for you. It has everything from a long-form serialized mystery to true romance, comedy, and everything in between.