Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated: Season 1 V.1 [Import]

I love this new take on Scooby-Doo, but understand why others would see the differences as shocking.

One of the most interesting new aspects of Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. is the underlying mystery which provides greater depth to the show as each show helps builds upon the next one with small parts of the larger mystery slowly being revealed. In previous versions of Scooby-Doo it was rare for the other mysteries to be mentioned and very little looking back, which worked well for the original Scooby-Doo but also made going back and re-watching previous shows something to do just to re-watch, not to watch again for subtle plot points which might have been missed in the first viewing leading to better understanding of the characters and the larger mystery.

As to the romantic interests developing in the show others have mentioned, I actually think these new romances help to breathe more life and give more depth to the characters. In my opinion, within previous versions of Scooby-Doo Velma, for example, was a very smart girl and a interesting character but she was mainly to me the smart girl, friend of Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, a bit of a klutz at times but nothing really to bring her more to life then that; this new version though with the romantic interest show to her character helps show more sides to her even hinting at possible darker side then previously shown and as a result works to bring far more life to her character.

Fred and Daphne's romance was always hinted at and lets none of us forget both boys and girls in high school and be rather oblivious to signals sent from the opposite sex as some of us might remember being ourselves in those days. So Daphne sending out massive hints and Fred being a bit dense about the signals does nothing to take away from his character for me and again helps to make him more real. His character is still the one who is crafty and intelligent with building the traps but with this added dimension to his character, like with Velma, more life is breathed to the character for me.

Overall an excellent new version of a classic that I think succeeds and honors the original series far more in putting its own mark on the classic characters within the classic series then it could ever by trying to copy the original, which with other versions in the past is where I think those versions have failed, trying too hard to be a precise copy of the classic.

I'd like to pick this up for my son, but he's going to have to wait, as should you.

Studios are increasingly catching on to the 'double dip' of multiple versions of the same product. Extended vs. theatrical release is somewhat forgivable, but breaking up seasons into volumes is a blatant money-grab.

Basic points to skip this release:
The show is broadcast in HD -- an HD release is possible.*
This is an actively produced and re-fun show (you can 'tape it' and wait)
Unless you're chucking the case, this is going to take up more room in your collection than a full set will

If you honestly can't wait for this and don't care about possibly re-purchasing the same thing later, I doubt you'd be reading the reviews; if you're on the fence, at least wait for a full season 1 release before purchasing.

*This argument isn't guaranteed, however. Camp Scare, so far, was the only Scooby-Doo Cartoon released on Blu-Ray.

Everything about this new series is pretty enjoyable, EXCEPT for two main things...

1) The complete change in dynamics between the characters with the whole "romantic interest" addition. I really don't understand the point of this... well, I mean I do understand the point, but it just doesn't work, and detracts more than enhances. They should just let the characters be the friends they've always been, and leave the romance stuff for short storyline stints outside of the normal cast.

2) The complete change in personality of Fred and Velma. What were they thinking!?!? I'm certainly not one to mind changes, but they've nearly ruined the very essence of what made these two characters great (not to mention what made them work, and stand the test of time, for over 40 years now). I think I understand what they were trying to do, but they just went WAY too far with it. They should have kept both of these characters in the same vein as the "What's New Scooby Doo" series, which I think was a perfect blend of the original characters updated slightly with some more humorous elements.

Unfortunately, those two things make this series a little hard to swallow. On top of this, about half the episode's storylines are REALLY weak. The only thing that saves this series is that it's Scooby Doo, and Scooby Doo is awesome!... Scooby is unchanged, Shaggy is great (and Matthew Lillard is great), and there's some really entertaining and witty humor and dialog thrown in here and there throughout all the episodes. Plus, SOME of the story content is good, and Mister "E" is kind of interesting. Combined together... despite being personally really disappointed in a show that had huge potential for greatness... the show still manages to maintain itself as an enjoyable watch for me. I really hope they straighten out some of what they've messed up on here as future episodes unfold. I will definitely be buying this DVD to support the franchise and hope it stays around for a while.

There are in fact a few other things I don't like... other changes they've made from previous Scooby gang incarnations... but I consider them to be minor in comparison, and possibly just my own personal bias... so I'm not going to bother mentioning them here. I've covered the most important stuff.

Whoever is writing this series, they need to be paying attention to the latest Scooby movies that have been made... Camp Scare and Abracadabra Doo... because both of those were simply brilliant in every way, from characters to storylines. It's obviously a different set of people that must be working on the movies and the series.