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Description

This is an idea I've had for quite a while now, this is my attempt to completely reimagine the Scooby-Doo canon with a hard reboot, taking place right as Mystery Inc are just meeting for the first time and starting their careers as mystery solvers, along with new version of award favourite characters and episode formula. This is partially inspired by Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated but mainly by my love of Gothic Horror and art style, I want to make Scooby-Doo scary again like is was in the early 70's, with a darker art style and scarier monsters. And if you’re wondering, yes, the title is a reference to the graphic novel Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, and no, Daphne won't be a prostitute in this version. I wanted to call it Scooby-Doo Unmasked but there was already a Scooby-Doo game with that exact title, I did think of Scooby-Doo: The Early Case Files as a title but I thought is was too generic so I make this one is a rush.

The set-up for this interpretation is that it is the end of the 1960's and during the summer of love, the four guys have just graduated from college and are now looking for employment back in their hometown of Crystal Cove, formally known as Coolsville after the mayor went throw a midlife crisis. But once the four guys get back to their hometown, all the best job options are no longer available do to all the major businesses in town closing down due to the market crash and a Second Great Depression. At the same time, a dog who is a part of a breeding program in order to breed a race of super intelligent dogs, escapes from the lab he was being held in and hides in a van which is then bout by Shaggy for him and his hippy friends. Once Shaggy finds him and sees that not only can he talk but is also immune to chocolate, he decided to adopt him and call him Scooby after the snack he was eating when he found him. The four guys are now stuck with dead end jobs that they hate and can't seem to find a way out of it until they get involved in a strange case at the local museum involving ancient statues coming to life. They then find out it was just someone pretending to be a monster due to the Second Great Depression, Shaggy then suggest to the others that since there all outcasts who have been rejected by society due to its own problems, that they should make a new life for themself on the road, looking for adventure no matter what form it takes. At first, the guys hate the idea, but seeing how much they hate there lifes at the moment, they decide to bite the bullet and tag along with Shaggy and Scooby in there new van which they have named "The Mystery Machine". However, the news about the incident at the museum spreads and other businesspeople who have been affected by the Second Great Depression decided to imitate it with their own monster identities, Scooby and the gang must now deal with these people who are getting in the way of their site seen which is not goings so well as the landscapes around them a rapidly degrading do to the economic climet.

As for the before menchend characterisation, I would like to go through them now along with some other changes and ideas.

Freddy:

This was my first idea for this version and the main reason I wanted to do this, here, Fred is like something you'd find in a British sitcom like Fawlty Towers or Red Dwarf, being openly rood a thoughtless, making his opinions of people openly clear. Some people won't like this characterisation but seeing how much of a blank slate he was in the 70's and 80's and how they turned him into an annoying man child in the 2000's and 2010's, I thought it only made sense to go all the way his unlikableness in this show. The best comparisons I can make are Alan Partridge, being very out of touch with the modern world with very outdated views and representing right wing parts of American coulter, and Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear, being a very radicalist thinkers, always going for the most extreme or harshest way of doing things. But a better comparison though would be Rimmer from Red Dwarf as he sees himself as the superior man who wants to be in charge but is always out done by someone else.

Shaggy:

Shaggy is like how he is in the other incarnations except his hippy aspects are more present with him being a very keen tree hugger and green peace activist, and there is more of a focuse on him being a slob like Lister from Red Dwarf or Bernard Black from Black Books. He is also a theoretical rival for Freddy, with the two being representations of opposite points of view with Freddy representing the Republican way of thinking while Shaggy is a hardened Democrat. They sort of have a two brothers’ relationship, always getting into scuffles over minor and unimportant matters with Daphne being a sort of mother figure for the two.

Daphne:

Daphne was another reason I wanted to do this reinterpretation, in nearly every single incarnation of the franchise, she is nothing but and air head with no discernible traits. However, in the mid 80's without Freddy and Velma, she suddenly became the smart one in certain situations, so I thought "what if Daphne was the team leader instead of Fred?". This might make some right-wing internet trolls angry but for everyone else with the power to think, it would be a blast. I also reworked her character to fit with her new role, she's a lot more stern and authoritarian, being quite cold and short tempered. If you want a comparison, she's a lot like a younger Jane Tennison from Prime Suspect. She's someone who takes her job very seriously but is constantly being mocked by the others for having no sense of humor, being the rebels that they are. Velma is her best friend and only connection to the real world, sort of like a support dog. She also acts as a stuff authority figure of Fred and Shaggy, being a bit like their mother, having to break up there little childish fights.

Velma:

Velma's characterisation is ruffly the same as it was in Mystery Incorporated except there is just as much emphasis on her shy and quiet nature, she loves exploring and learning new things but has a hard time socialising with other people and making friends. There is also a love story between her, and Shaggy like in Mystery Incorporated, but unlike in that show, it moves organically as the two become closer and closer without the stupid and awkward love triangle. There relationship is a lot like Jonathan and Maddie in Jonathan Creek except less forced, both of them are awkward individuals who don't get along well with people and find solace in each other's company, helping come out of their shells.

Scooby-Doo:

Scooby is the same old Scooby the world has come to love but in this case his loyalty is more prevalent. He is very loyal to his friends and will do anything to protect them, unless it involves going tow to tow with a scary monster, he's a bit like Lance Corporal Jones from Dad's Army in some ways. Unlike in Mystery Incorporated, when Scooby finds out about Shaggy and Velma, he actually tries to get the two together as his only mission in life is to make his master as happy as he can be. Outside of that, he's mainly used to offset the more dark and scary moments with element of humor, he's still a key character but he doesn’t get in the way like he does in some incarnations.

Art Style:

The art style would be a mix of Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz style character designs, with Mike Mignola style aesthetic and monsters. It would also be model around the late 60's aesthetic from the characters cloves to the design of Mystery Machine having a psychedelic mural on the side around the name.

Episode and Season:

Unlike most incarnations, this would focus just as much on the characters as on the main cast, this makes the mysteries a lot more compelling as it makes you care more for the other characters. To give a lot more space for the stories to breathe naturally, each of the gang’s adventures will be told across two episodes with a Doctor Who style cliff-hanger right in the middle like Justice League or the Sara Jane Adventures. It also works a lot like Law and Order, with the first episode being the set-up and the second episode being the investigation. This might put some kids off, but I think they would still be engaged by the characters, funny humor and cool monsters.

There would also be somewhat of an over arcing story line with the Second Great Depression changing the landscape of the world the gang lives in but would then change in the next two season, being about an old, abandoned experiment and where Scooby came from and who made him.

Description

This is an idea I've had for quite a while now, this is my attempt to completely reimagine the Scooby-Doo canon with a hard reboot, taking place right as Mystery Inc are just meeting for the first time and starting their careers as mystery solvers, along with new version of award favourite characters and episode formula. This is partially inspired by Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated but mainly by my love of Gothic Horror and art style, I want to make Scooby-Doo scary again like is was in the early 70's, with a darker art style and scarier monsters. And if you’re wondering, yes, the title is a reference to the graphic novel Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, and no, Daphne won't be a prostitute in this version. I wanted to call it Scooby-Doo Unmasked but there was already a Scooby-Doo game with that exact title, I did think of Scooby-Doo: The Early Case Files as a title but I thought is was too generic so I make this one is a rush.

The set-up for this interpretation is that it is the end of the 1960's and during the summer of love, the four guys have just graduated from college and are now looking for employment back in their hometown of Crystal Cove, formally known as Coolsville after the mayor went throw a midlife crisis. But once the four guys get back to their hometown, all the best job options are no longer available do to all the major businesses in town closing down due to the market crash and a Second Great Depression. At the same time, a dog who is a part of a breeding program in order to breed a race of super intelligent dogs, escapes from the lab he was being held in and hides in a van which is then bout by Shaggy for him and his hippy friends. Once Shaggy finds him and sees that not only can he talk but is also immune to chocolate, he decided to adopt him and call him Scooby after the snack he was eating when he found him. The four guys are now stuck with dead end jobs that they hate and can't seem to find a way out of it until they get involved in a strange case at the local museum involving ancient statues coming to life. They then find out it was just someone pretending to be a monster due to the Second Great Depression, Shaggy then suggest to the others that since there all outcasts who have been rejected by society due to its own problems, that they should make a new life for themself on the road, looking for adventure no matter what form it takes. At first, the guys hate the idea, but seeing how much they hate there lifes at the moment, they decide to bite the bullet and tag along with Shaggy and Scooby in there new van which they have named "The Mystery Machine". However, the news about the incident at the museum spreads and other businesspeople who have been affected by the Second Great Depression decided to imitate it with their own monster identities, Scooby and the gang must now deal with these people who are getting in the way of their site seen which is not goings so well as the landscapes around them a rapidly degrading do to the economic climet.

As for the before menchend characterisation, I would like to go through them now along with some other changes and ideas.

Freddy:

This was my first idea for this version and the main reason I wanted to do this, here, Fred is like something you'd find in a British sitcom like Fawlty Towers or Red Dwarf, being openly rood a thoughtless, making his opinions of people openly clear. Some people won't like this characterisation but seeing how much of a blank slate he was in the 70's and 80's and how they turned him into an annoying man child in the 2000's and 2010's, I thought it only made sense to go all the way his unlikableness in this show. The best comparisons I can make are Alan Partridge, being very out of touch with the modern world with very outdated views and representing right wing parts of American coulter, and Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear, being a very radicalist thinkers, always going for the most extreme or harshest way of doing things. But a better comparison though would be Rimmer from Red Dwarf as he sees himself as the superior man who wants to be in charge but is always out done by someone else.

Shaggy:

Shaggy is like how he is in the other incarnations except his hippy aspects are more present with him being a very keen tree hugger and green peace activist, and there is more of a focuse on him being a slob like Lister from Red Dwarf or Bernard Black from Black Books. He is also a theoretical rival for Freddy, with the two being representations of opposite points of view with Freddy representing the Republican way of thinking while Shaggy is a hardened Democrat. They sort of have a two brothers’ relationship, always getting into scuffles over minor and unimportant matters with Daphne being a sort of mother figure for the two.

Daphne:

Daphne was another reason I wanted to do this reinterpretation, in nearly every single incarnation of the franchise, she is nothing but and air head with no discernible traits. However, in the mid 80's without Freddy and Velma, she suddenly became the smart one in certain situations, so I thought "what if Daphne was the team leader instead of Fred?". This might make some right-wing internet trolls angry but for everyone else with the power to think, it would be a blast. I also reworked her character to fit with her new role, she's a lot more stern and authoritarian, being quite cold and short tempered. If you want a comparison, she's a lot like a younger Jane Tennison from Prime Suspect. She's someone who takes her job very seriously but is constantly being mocked by the others for having no sense of humor, being the rebels that they are. Velma is her best friend and only connection to the real world, sort of like a support dog. She also acts as a stuff authority figure of Fred and Shaggy, being a bit like their mother, having to break up there little childish fights.

Velma:

Velma's characterisation is ruffly the same as it was in Mystery Incorporated except there is just as much emphasis on her shy and quiet nature, she loves exploring and learning new things but has a hard time socialising with other people and making friends. There is also a love story between her, and Shaggy like in Mystery Incorporated, but unlike in that show, it moves organically as the two become closer and closer without the stupid and awkward love triangle. There relationship is a lot like Jonathan and Maddie in Jonathan Creek except less forced, both of them are awkward individuals who don't get along well with people and find solace in each other's company, helping come out of their shells.

Scooby-Doo:

Scooby is the same old Scooby the world has come to love but in this case his loyalty is more prevalent. He is very loyal to his friends and will do anything to protect them, unless it involves going tow to tow with a scary monster, he's a bit like Lance Corporal Jones from Dad's Army in some ways. Unlike in Mystery Incorporated, when Scooby finds out about Shaggy and Velma, he actually tries to get the two together as his only mission in life is to make his master as happy as he can be. Outside of that, he's mainly used to offset the more dark and scary moments with element of humor, he's still a key character but he doesn’t get in the way like he does in some incarnations.

Art Style:

The art style would be a mix of Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz style character designs, with Mike Mignola style aesthetic and monsters. It would also be model around the late 60's aesthetic from the characters cloves to the design of Mystery Machine having a psychedelic mural on the side around the name.

Episode and Season:

Unlike most incarnations, this would focus just as much on the characters as on the main cast, this makes the mysteries a lot more compelling as it makes you care more for the other characters. To give a lot more space for the stories to breathe naturally, each of the gang’s adventures will be told across two episodes with a Doctor Who style cliff-hanger right in the middle like Justice League or the Sara Jane Adventures. It also works a lot like Law and Order, with the first episode being the set-up and the second episode being the investigation. This might put some kids off, but I think they would still be engaged by the characters, funny humor and cool monsters.

There would also be somewhat of an over arcing story line with the Second Great Depression changing the landscape of the world the gang lives in but would then change in the next two season, being about an old, abandoned experiment and where Scooby came from and who made him.