>>115218957Too much of an emphasis on real monsters. Scooby-Doo's formula was a little silly in its original format, sure, because yeah, of course it was never a real monster. The gang would find clues, set a trap, catch the impostor, then explain how the impostor kept up their illusion.
Think about today, and how now more than ever there's this anti-intellectual pushback against science and facts. Superstitions are making a comeback and so are conspiracy theories. Scooby-Doo shouldn't feed into that, it should act as a rebuttal that cuts through the bullshit. A lot of shows are about escapism that only have one foot in reality for the sake of getting the viewer to believe in the stakes and the drama. With Scooby-Doo, it goes for the logical conclusion, even though that's more difficult to write for, difficult enough that I don't think any incarnation of the show has taken it to the great places that it could go.
If I was in charge, I'd make a new Scooby-Doo series that focuses on the dynamic between Fred and Shaggy. Fred knows about illusions and tricks and traps because let's say his grandpa was a magician. He's been friends with Shaggy long before meeting with Velma and Daphne in high school. Shaggy's a good guy and he has his talents, but he's slipping into paranoia and those conspiracy theories, and he's drifting further away from Fred. And Fred's frustrated because no matter how logical he tries to be, it just seems to push Shaggy even further from him, because Shaggy's insecure and cowardly. To help ease himself and to pick up "vibes", Shaggy gets a dog. Scooby-Doo! And of course, dogs learn from their owners, so Scooby grows to become a coward himself. And when he gets scared over something, it's like confirmation bias for Shaggy. Scooby, being a dog, has a more sensitive nose and better hearing, so he always picks up on something going on first, and Shaggy leaps on this with a "told ya so".
Just one interpretation.
