Doug



Dear journal...

One of the first three original Nicktoons, featuring eleven-year-old Doug Funnie and his experiences with his friends, family and community. Creator Jim Jinkins developed the concept and drew inspiration from his own experiences growing up. Beginning with Doug's arrival in Bluffington, he dutifully writes about his every adventure in his journal, which frames almost every episode. Very early on, he gained a best friend in Mosquito "Skeeter" Valentine, a nemesis in school bully Roger Klotz, and a love interest in the tomboyish Patti Mayonnaise. His dog Porkchop frequently steals the show with his antics, not unlike Snoopy. Many other colourful characters (both literally and figuratively) were featured.

In many episodes, Doug pretends to be one of his personal superheroes to solve the problem; the methods the hero uses are adapted to fit a real-life situation. For example, one episode has the vice principal Mr. Bone refusing to have a popular rock band play at their school; he considers it heathen entertainment. Doug pretends to be Quailman dealing with the strict alien robots called Robo-Bones. When Quailman couldn't overpower the robots, they turned on him with horrible yodeling (Mr. Bone was part of a yodeling quartet). Quailman ended up saving the day by suggesting that they sing in key and form a band, which made everyone happy. Doug learned that, instead of fighting Mr. Bone, they should make a compromise. He suggested Mr. Bone's yodeling group to open for the rock band, figuring that the student body suffering for five minutes was worth it.

Those imaginary characters were Homages to other heroes in pop culture. Smash Adams was James Bond, Race Canyon was Indiana Jones, Quailman had some resemblence to Superman. Skeeter once revealed his personal superhero as Silver Skeeter, obviously based on the Silver Surfer.

This show breaks away from the borderline-Negative Continuity of other Nickelodeon shows, even getting a Grand Finale when the network prized being able to not pay attention to airing order.

After its initial run, the show was bought and Retooled by Disney into Brand Spanking New Doug (Or Disney's Doug as it was later branded). It wound up changing a few things from the Nickelodeon version (the first episode even address this with the new changes of Doug's life) with many characters getting new looks and various supporting characters changing jobs and roles. Despite the changes, it was still a continuation of the original series, and ended up with a longer run than the original. Like the Nickelodeon version, it also concluded with a Grand Finale (something very few Disney cartoons have managed).

A theatrical film, accurately titled Doug's First Movie was released in 1999. It also got its own stage show in Disney-MGM Studios, Doug Live!, which ran from 1999-2001.

Nickelodeon's Doug is now in reruns on Teen Nick's "The 90s Are All That" block.

Not to be confused with the YouTube series Doug Derky.

"Doug: (As Smash Adams in a fantasy sequence) You'll never make me talk, Dr. Decay.
 * The Ace: Chalky Studebaker was the star athlete of every athletic team, and was the swim team. Deconstructed when Doug learned that he has insecurities about having to be the best at everything due to constantly being compared to his even more overachieving older brother, including when Chalky cheated off of Doug during an exam..
 * Accidental Athlete: Doug becomes field goal kicker of the football team.
 * Adorkable: Both Doug and Skeeter.
 * An Aesop: Most (if not all) of the episodes had one.
 * Aesop Amnesia: One episode has Larry, due to a misunderstanding, starting a fight with Doug, which Doug surprisingly wins (after actually taking a punch). Doug's dad overhears Skeeter talking Doug up, then Dad scolds Doug and turns the episode into "Physical Violence is for those who've run out of good ideas", even in self-defense. Then, near the end of the (Nick) series, Roger hits Connie's Berserk Button verbally and gets the wind knocked out of him with no repercussions, just everyone having a good time. Yes, Roger's an undeniable Jerkass, but it also leads to the other issue of Abuse Is Okay When It Is Female On Male.
 * A word regarding the Doug vs. Larry fight, not only did Doug take the punch, he wasn't even very hurt by it showing that Larry was pretty weak to begin with, While Doug did hit back in retaliation it's easy to make him come off as the bad guy because he actually is bigger and stronger than Larry.
 * Alliterative Name: Several characters, like Bebe Bluff.
 * Almost Kiss: Doug gets one with Patti.
 * Amazing Technicolor Population: White, blue, purple, green? (Word of God says it's been Jim Jenkins's art style ever since he liked to color in his coloring books as a kid.)
 * Amusement Park: Funkytown.
 * Animal-Themed Superbeing: Parodied, of course, with Quailman.
 * Anything But That: When faced with liver and onions in one of his fantasies in "Doug's Dinner Date."
 * Arc Number: 47. It's on many street signs, it's Doug's locker number, etc.
 * Art Evolution: Relatively minor in mostly the animation style, in later episodes the characters are less rubbery.
 * Brand Spanking New modifies the outfits but is otherwise almost identical. The biggest change is in the musical style, from acapella to more orchestrated.
 * There is a quite noticeable evolution in the art between the first and second episodes, though. The pilot features a very wobbly style where the characters' outlines are constantly moving, making the show's world look more surreal and scribble-like. This effect was toned down severely by the second episode, and is gone entirely by the end of season one.
 * Ascended Extra: The Sleech brothers in the Disney series.
 * Bad Job, Worse Uniform: When Doug ends up being a Burger Fool at the Honker Burger (usually it's Mr. Dink).
 * Balloon Belly: Doug gets one in "Doug Tips the Scale".
 * Baseball Episode: Two, actually. "Doug Out in Left Field", where Patti forms her own baseball team for the kids who were rejected from the school's team, and "Doug's On First", where the parents of the kids on Patti's team think it's unfair about what position each player is playing.
 * Being Good Sucks: "Doug's in the Money." Doug returns the money to the old lady, gets a piece of gum for the reward, loses the respect of Roger and some other kids, but gains the respect of Judy, who from that moment on is less of a Cloudcuckoolander Jerkass towards him and more of a Cool Big Sis.
 * Berserk Button: Implying that Mr. Bone wears pink underwear, which earns the offender one of his harshest punishments. Doug and Roger both trick each other into running afoul of this.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Connie proves this when Roger knocks her hat off at Doug's party and exposes her bad haircut, causing her to punch him in the stomach.
 * Beta Couple: Skeeter and Beebe would become this to Patti and Doug eventually.
 * Big Damn Movie
 * Black Bead Eyes
 * Black Best Friend: According to Word of God, Skeeter.
 * Blinding Camera Flash: In the school photo episode, there's a Running Gag about people being blinded by the camera and wandering around dizzily.
 * Book Dumb: Doug was an average student and an average athlete, but part of the success of the show is that he is socially savvy enough to figure his way out of problems using a more natural intelligence rather than school learned.
 * Brand X and Bland-Name Product: Several. One notable example would be that Bluffington has a Worst Eastern hotel. Also, the Pretendo (also used in Muppet Babies), and Beebe's laptop is a Beet... with an interface that looks suspiciously like it's copied from classic Mac OS.
 * Bratty Teenage Daughter: Judy the drama queen, who thinks that anything involving Doug is a cue to burst into nonsensical hysterics.
 * And Beebe Bluff in Disney's Doug.
 * Brother-Sister Team: Doug and Judy sometimes find themselves in this role, such as when they need to outsmart a strict and annoying babysitter.
 * The Cameo: Doug shows up in the role of the Bloody Head Fairy in the Ren and Stimpy episode "Haunted House". This is particularly funny if you consider that Billy West was at various times the voice of Doug, Stimpy and Ren.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: Doug.
 * The Cast Showoff: In both versions of the show, Skeeter Valentine was voiced by Fred Newman, who, much like Skeeter, is highly talented at providing sound effects with his mouth. In addition, Newman did most of the music on the show with just his mouth sounds.
 * Catch Phrase: Mr. Dink is middle-class, just like Doug's family, but he has enough money to buy pretty much whatever he wants. So, of course, his favorite things are "very expensive".
 * Roger uses the expression "Joey Cucamonga" to express shock in one episode of the Nickelodeon version, but in the Disney seasons this was elevated to a catch phrase.
 * Disney also had the previously unseen Skunky using "torque" as an interjection.
 * Cats Are Mean: Stinky is, at least.
 * Channel Hop: Started out on Nickelodeon. Then moved to ABC. Then finally to the Disney Channel before disappearing off the radar completely.
 * Character Title
 * Charlie Brown Baldness: The title character. Oddly enough, there was an episode where Doug worried that he was going bald.
 * Chick Magnet: Skeeter, so very much. He managed to win over Beebe Bluff, Loretta Laquigley, and many other girls along the way.
 * Circle of Shame: Doug has a fantasy about this happening Once an Episode.
 * Compressed Vice: Roger is particularly prone to this.
 * Cool Big Sis: Judy, when she wasn't being a Cloudcuckoolander and/or Jerkass to Doug.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mr. Bluff.
 * Moreso the Disney episodes and movie.
 * Crazy Cultural Comparison: Fentruck's holiday celebrations.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Mrs. Dink. Judy has her moments (despite being a Large Ham), and while Porkchop can't talk, many of his expressions suggest this.
 * Dean Bitterman: Mr. Lamar Bone, "One second late and it goes on your permanent record!"
 * Depraved Dentist: Subverted with Doug's dentist Dr. Kay, but played straight with the Smash Adams' villain Dr. Decay.

Dr. Decay: I don't want you to talk, Mr. Adams. I want you to suffer! (gets a big drill)"

"Doug: He got smart.
 * Demoted to Extra: Chalky in the Disney series.
 * Disappeared Dad: Roger lives alone with is mom, but his dad is never seen in the series.
 * Until the Disney series. A flashback shows that his parents divorced.
 * Distressed Damsel: Patti's role in the Quailman series before she becomes Supersport.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything? / G-Rated Drug: Nic-Nacs.
 * Dreaming of a White Christmas
 * Early Installment Weirdness: The pilot is animated in Squiggle Vision and Doug calls his journal his diary.
 * Edible Theme Naming: Patti Mayonnaise.
 * Embarrassing First Name: "Skunky" Beaumont as revealed in one of the Disney episodes.
 * Engineered Public Confession: Played with in "Doug Didn't Do It", in which Roger tells Doug he stole Mr. Bone's trophy while sitting with his legs across Mr. Bone's desk-- with his foot on the PA system button, and the "on-air" light flashing. It's played with, in that Doug was more than happy to accept the punishment for something he didn't do, had no intention of tattling on Roger, and had even tried to warn Roger about what he was doing. He's just that nice a guy. Of course, the entire school heard it, including Mr. Bone, and Roger will be polishing trophies 'til they put him in the grave.
 * Eureka Moment: In "Doug's Brainy Buddy", Doug just couldn't believe Skeeter is a genius, and gotten to the point where it nearly broke their friendship. When Judy asked what happened...

Judy: Oh.

Doug: What do you mean "oh"? I'm not jealous of him if that's what you think? (he laughs at this) *Beat* I am jealous, am I, Porkchop?

(Porkchop nods)"


 * Doug gets another one in "Doug Graduates" when he finds out why he's unhappy about graduation, while talking to Roger who feels the same way.
 * And another in "Doug's Disappearing Doug" when he realize why Porkchop ran away, because he "treated him like a dog".
 * The Everyman: Doug is a mild-mannered, Book Dumb student with a mostly unrequited crush on a girl, is only a moderate athlete, and can never stay ahead for long.
 * Everyone Loves Blondes: Doug for Patti.
 * Expy: The Beets' name and Liverpool accents are obviously based on The Beatles (although singer Monroe Yoder looks more like Roger Daltrey.
 * Many of the characters are reminiscent of Peanuts characters. Doug is kind of like Charlie Brown in personality and character design, Porkchop is Snoopy, Patty Mayonnaise is the Little Red Haired Girl, Skeeter is Linus, amongst many others.
 * This is Lampshaded in the series premiere of the Disney series when Doug sees a computer simulation of possible haircuts and one is that of Charlie Brown. He even says good grief.
 * Extreme Doormat: Doug had shades of this.
 * Fake Nationality: A girl claiming to be from Yakistonia is called out on this by Fentruck because she wants to be liked.
 * At least some of her stories were true, as her Aunt (whom everyone is convinced is a lie) appears in person at the end of the episode.
 * Fan Service: At the beginning of the episode Doug On His Own, Judy wears a dress that shows her back and cleavage.
 * Fan Service Pack: Happened to formerly pudgy Connie Benge between the Nick and the Disney shows. Explained with her and her mother having been to a beauty farm.
 * Free-Range Children: The eleven-year old cast behaves much more like older teenagers the way they run about their town.
 * First Kiss: The subject of an entire episode. It ends up being Doug and
 * Five-Man Band:
 * The Hero: Doug
 * The Lancer: Skeeter
 * The Smart Guys: Al and Moo.
 * The Big Guy: Chalky
 * The Chick: Beebee
 * The Heart: Patti
 * Team Pet: Porkchop
 * Full House Music: Played straight in many instances, such as when Roger steals Doug's "lucky hat" and when Doug walks home after apologizing to Patti's dad about destroying her old house.
 * Gang of Bullies: Roger is often seen with fellow delinquents Willie, Ned and Boomer.
 * Genius Ditz: Skeeter's revealed to be this in one episode, though it was hidden because he's Book Dumb. It took Doug the entire episode to accept it, reluctantly.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: "Doug's Bad Trip". The episode is actually about Doug and his family going on a road trip, but the title suggests...other things.
 * Surprisingly, in Disney's Doug, the word "sex" is said in the Christmas episode [the one where Doug's baby sister was born, not the Wham! Episode where Doug's dog is accused of attacking Beebe at the lake while ice-skating]-- the ABC episodes had a mini-arc where Doug's dad is trying to give his son the sex talk, only for Doug to tell his dad on the Christmas episode that he already knows about it from school. And in another episode, Guy observes a cartoon with donkeys in it by saying "Hmmm, a bunch of jackasses."
 * Some of the last names sound dirty if you really think about it: Bone, Dink, Buttsavage, etc.
 * In the episode where Roger's cat has kittens, he tells his mom that he didn't know the cat was a girl. She replies by telling him that there's a talk that they're long overdue for.
 * During the Founder's Day Pageant in "Doug's On Stage", look closely; someone in the audience can obviously be seen drinking what appears to be an alcoholic beverage.
 * There is an episode where Doug makes a funny drawing of his teacher, but accidentally sends it with his essay. The title of the episode: "Doug's Doodle."
 * While dressing Doug up for his date with Patti, Judy says he should wear a handkerchief, "but not on the left." In the hanky code once used by the gay community, a handkerchief in the left pocket signaled that one was a "top."
 * The Ghost: Skunky Beaumont in the Nick episodes. Principal Buttsavage from the Nick episodes. Also the Lucky Duck Lake monster before The Movie.
 * Give Geeks a Chance: Patti with Doug.
 * As well as Beebe and Skeeter.
 * Graduate From the Story: More or less. The last regular episode of the Nickelodeon version has the characters graduating from Bluffington School, though there was also a Christmas Episode that aired six-months later.
 * Green Aesop: While not quite as in-your-face as other examples, this is a major plot point of The Movie. Mr. Bluff's pollution of Lucky Duck Lake results in the creation of a monster, which he then wants to kill to cover up his tracks.
 * Green Around the Gills: This happens to Doug in "Doug's Fat Cat", after he tastes some not so appetizing cat food to show Stinky just how good it is. But he ends up feeling queasy and excuses himself to vomit.
 * Hates Being Touched: "He's touching me. Why is he touching me?"
 * Have a Gay Old Time: Roger says "Yeah, what do you know, Skeet-Face?"
 * Her Codename Was Mary Sue: Many of Doug's Imagine Spots fill this role. There's also the episode where Doug and Skeeter collaborate on a comic, with both of them as superheroes.
 * Quailman averted this, as he had few real superpowers, but solved most problems with cunning or diplomatic solutions. Silver Skeeter is a very straight example though, and is even criticized for using his abilities without considering the possible consequences.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: Principal Buttsavage is occasionally referred to, but Doug realized in the Nickelodeon Finale that he (and we) never actually met the guy.
 * Except Doug DID go to see the principal in an early episode. Even though the audience doesn't see him Doug CLEARLY does. Negative Continuity?
 * It's possible the school got a new principal between the beginning of the series and the finale. The end of one of the early episodes ends with a party celebrating Doug's first anniversary of moving to Bluffington.
 * Hollywood Tone Deaf: Patti, in the Disney version's episode about the town anthem contest.
 * She WAS a good singer in one episode of the Nickelodeon series.
 * It's not unheard of for a girl's voice to crack during puberty (though it's not as dramatic a change as it is with boys).
 * Hypocritical Humor: Roger and many of his male classmates at school teased Doug when Patti asked him on a date. After the date Roger and the others stopped him on his walk home, asking him what it was like. It was moments like these where their actual age was evident.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Episode titles always start with "Doug" or "Doug's."
 * Episode Title Card: Doug will walk through a door, offer up the title, and happily declare, "That's me!" before Pork Chop shows up, screws him into the ground, and turns the lights off. All of this is accompanied by a Theme Tune Cameo.
 * Idiot Ball: The Nickelodeon-era Christmas episode has Pork Chop bite and injure Beebe to keep her away from thin ice/hole in the ice and is then taken away because he is believed to be dangerous. Out of context the logic can at least be followed if one didn't know of the thin ice, however; the thin ice was marked as such then a hole formed in the ice that she was heading straight for, he had never shown any signs of aggression at any point and during his "trial" Bebe was instructed to recreate the incident i.e. walk on ice towards a hole in but now in a cast with crutches and Pork Chop seems to be the only one who notices she is about to die and has to break free to save her again.
 * Granted, everyone that wasn't Doug and his inner circle was holding the Idiot Ball that episode. Bill Bluff, Beebe's father and owner of Bluffington, had went to great lengths to paint Pork Chop as a monster and everyone believed him over Doug, no one gave a care about the dog come Christmas and it forced Doug to call everyone out at Pork Chop's trial.
 * I Have This Friend: Practically Doug's catchphrase.
 * He often follows it up with "It's not me," as well.
 * Informed Attractiveness: Patti is apparently beautiful, but we have to be told that.
 * Insanity Defense: In one episode, Roger is attempting to frame Doug for stealing Mr. Bone's trophy. Judy suggests attempting the Insanity Defense, only for Doug to say that the last person who tried it still got in trouble and had to go to the counselor.
 * Insistent Terminology: It's a journal, not a diary!
 * Jerkass: Roger.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Roger on other occasions. He even helped organize Doug's 1 year anniversary in Bluffington.
 * Karma Houdini: Slightly in The Movie, how was Mr. Bluff not arrested at the end? Yes, he did get comeuppance but he broke so many U.S. laws it's ridiculous. He polluted a lake he didn't even own, he bribes the police, he bribes the media. Hell, he bribes everyone! And that's just the beginning.
 * Kid Com
 * Kissing Warm Up: Doug practices kissing on a balloon.
 * Last-Minute Hookup: After seven seasons of crushing and "Will They or Won't They?", Doug and Patti finally get together in the last few minutes of the final episode.
 * Leitmotif: Several characters have one, for example Judy, Roger, and Mr. Dink.
 * Lighter and Softer: Not that you could ever really call the show dark to begin with, but the Disney episodes have a noticeably more lighthearted feel than the Nickelodeon ones did.
 * Limited Wardrobe: Lampshaded and turned into an episode. Doug always wears brown khaki shorts with a green vest over a white shirt. When their favorite TV star wears the same outfit, everyone copies the style, and they think Doug has, too. He spends the entire episode trying to prove that he isn't a lemming, even showing everyone his entire wardrobe of identical clothes, but to his frustration everything he's trying to be like the TV star. So he tries to dress differently, then eventually gives up, figuring that it's not worth the trouble... only to find everyone is now copying a different outfit the TV star wears, which looks the same as Skeeter's.
 * Logo Joke: Skeeter has a poster of the Jumbo Pictures (Doug's production company) egg logo (minus the words) in his room. Doug also lives on 21 Jumbo Street, also having to do with the company.
 * Lovable Alpha Bitch: Beebe.
 * Love At First Sight: Doug is lovestruck the second he sees Patti bike past outside the Honker Burger in the very first episode.
 * Lyrical Dissonance: The song "Anybody Else at All" from the Disney World musical is a fun, bouncy tune...about Doug losing his self-confidence.
 * Mascot With Attitude: Porkchop.
 * Master of the Mixed Message: Patti Mayonnaise. One episode she actually asks him out on a date, which ends kind of awkwardly. This back-and-forth behavior continues throughout the rest of the series.
 * This is Justified Trope due to their ages. After all, most preteens are pretty nervous when it comes to dealing with matters of the heart for the first time.
 * Meaningful Name: The name Dink comes from the acronym for "Double Income, No Kids."
 * Doug's sister Judy, a Shakespeare buff and all-around drama queen, is likely named after Judith Shakespeare. To drive the point home, her mom always calls her Judith.
 * Mr. Bone has a rather large nephew named Percy Femur, large enough to effectively bully Roger, which he does. The femur, (the thigh bone) is the largest bone in the human body.
 * The Ponzi Puzzle Sweepstakes. The name itself says it's a scam.
 * Merchandise-Driven: Disney's Doug had as much merchandise as say, High School Musical or Hannah Montana.
 * Missing Mom: Patti's mother died in a car accident.
 * To a lesser extent, Chalky Studebaker and the Sleech brothers have fathers, but not moms. And unlike with Patti, what happened to them is never mentioned.
 * No, Chalky's mom is with him and his father during a family sports event in one episode, and she has had other small cameos also. The Sleech brothers are another story.
 * Most Writers Are Writers: Doug enjoys writing in his journal as well as writing and drawing his own comics. According to other characters he's actually pretty good at the latter, and this is evident from his Imagine Spots as part of the show's structure.
 * The Movie: Creatively titled Doug's 1st Movie. (However, maybe a more accurate title would be Doug's Only Movie.)
 * The Moving Experience: Doug actually thought Skeeter was moving in one Nickelodeon episode. Turns out, he was... to a new room in his house's basement.
 * Mr. Imagination
 * The Musical: Doug Live!, a live stage-show that was preformed about five times daily in Walt Disney World from 1999-2001. One of Doug's songs, "Someone Like Me", ended up in the movie's end credits. Most of the story was created exclusively for the musical, but included elements from the episodes "Doug Rocks" and "Doug & Patti Sitting in a Tree" (oddly enough, both episodes mentioned were from the Nickelodeon series)
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Subverted Trope by Patti in the later Quailman comics who keeps pronouncing Guy Graham/Rupert Schmupert's last name the French way which he keeps correcting.
 * Myth Arc: Disney's Doug had Doug and Skeeter occasionally visiting Lucky Duck Lake in an attempt to discover if a monster exists in there (a nod to the legendary Loch Ness Monster). The monster itself finally makes an appearance in The Movie and plays an important role.
 * New Powers As the Plot Demands: In-universe. Doug actually calls Skeeter out on this in one episode when the latter's superhero alter-ego, the Silver Skeeter, kept showing off new powers that came out of nowhere and were just what he needed to save the day.
 * New Season, New Name
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Doug literally does this to Patti's old house which is falling apart.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Doug's favorite rock band was named The Beets in homage to The Beatles, who even split up much later in the shows run. They also had an Arnold Schwarzenegger parody. Not to mention Mr. Bone is clearly based on Don Knotts.
 * Not So Different: In "Doug Rocks the House", after Doug finds out he knocked down Patti's old house, he didn't understand why she was upset about it until he remembered how he felt when he first moved away from Bloatsburg.
 * Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The premise of the first episode of Disney's Doug, where Doug finds the world he knows has changed -- the Jerk Jock bully got rich on a real estate deal, his favorite movie character has been Retooled, his favorite band has broken up, his favorite restaurant has gone up-scale, and his usual barber shop is under new management. Doug decides to change a bit himself (specifically, his haircut).
 * Oh Crap: After Doug appeared on a goofy Western-themed kid's show (which his aunt was the director for), Skeeter reassures him that at least no-one they know saw it. Cue Roger dramatically entering, wearing a cowboy hat and spurs..
 * One Judge to Rule Them All: Bill Bluff in the contest to name the new school in "Doug's New School". He names it the "Beebe Bluff Middle School" after his daughter, making the whole contest (and conflict of the episode) pointless.
 * Only One Name: Flounder of The Beets.
 * Our Founder: Thaddeus Bluff.
 * Parallel Parking: The plot point of "Doug's Behind the Wheel"; Judy can't parallel park, thus she can't pass her driver's test and can't drive Doug and Patty to Funkytown.
 * Panty Shot: In the episode Doug's Mail order Mania Judy gets one after falling from her upside down apparatus in the closet.
 * Parental Bonus: Many.
 * Punny Name: DINK (or DINKY) is slang for an affluent couple with no children.
 * Mayor Robert "Bob" White. A bobwhite is a species of quail.
 * Quietly Performing Sister Show: In its original run, Doug was sort of this to Ren & Stimpy and Rugrats. Doug didn't become the pop-culture smash and merchandising bonanza that its fellow Nicktoons did, but was popular enough to remain on Nick's schedule in reruns years after its cancellation.
 * Nickelodeon did promote the hell out of the show when it was still running, if for no other reason than the fact that they show was popular with kids and especially parents, who thought Ren and Stimpy and other shows like it were too obnoxious.
 * Averted with the Disney series, it was promoted almost as much as Hannah Montana!
 * Rags to Riches: When Bill Bluff had the new school built on Fat Jack's trailer park, it turned out that the patch of land on which Edwina Klotz's trailer stood was her own property. She sold it to him for an enormous amount of money.
 * Rampage From a Nail: In one episode, a giant monster created by Dr. Rubbersuit called Klotzilla is rampaging throughout the city. Quailman discovers that said monster has a thorn stuck in his foot and removes it, stopping the rampage.
 * Rashomon Style: "Doug's Disappearing Dog". Doug lampshades how everyone remembers the previous day differently. This helps Doug realize why Pork Chop ran away.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Principal Buttsavich, too bad we never see him.
 * The Renaissance Age of Animation
 * Running Gag: Beets.
 * Rich Bitch: Beebe, though not nearly as bad as some examples (usually). Roger is a worse, male version in the Retool.
 * Ruritania: Yakistonia, homeland of the exchange student Fentruck.
 * Sadist Teacher: Doug had Mr. Bone & Mrs. Wingo in Doug's own nightmarish imagination.
 * Screams Like a Little Girl: Roger seems like a tough guy until he screams...
 * Screw the Money, I Have Rules: Doug proves this when he returns an old lady's money to her instead of keeping it, despite all of the insults he received from most people about it.
 * Secret Diary: Roger gets his hands on Doug's journal in "Doug's Runaway Journal". Turns out
 * Shout-Out:
 * The "Spacemonks" game that Doug plays is a small tribute to Wing Commander, using several similar scenes from the game, including the infamous space funeral.
 * "Silver Skeeter" (see Superpower Lottery below) is, of course, a tribute to the Silver Surfer.
 * A rather blatant one to Arthur appears in the first episode of Disney's Doug.
 * One episode has a sequence where Doug dreams he performs in a concert wearing a really big suit.
 * Doug lives on 21 Jumbo Street, a shout to the then-popular cop show 21 Jump Street.
 * In one episode, Doug goes to see a Smash Adams movie that opens with an evil dentist about to torture the titular character with a dental drill while shouting "Is it safe? Is it safe?!"
 * Slice of Life
 * Slumber Party: Doug and Skeeter are forced to crash one when Doug fears an amateur music video is in Patti's hands.
 * Snipe Hunt: Roger and his buddies offer to take Doug on one of these in the pilot.
 * Soapbox Sadie: Judy, in one episode.
 * The Southpaw: Doug is left-handed. It was a plot point in the episode where Doug is on Patti's baseball team (never having played baseball before) and she realizes that he is left handed and tells him to stand on the right side of home plate so he could have an easier time swinging at the ball. He manages a hit almost instantly.
 * Special Effects Failure: An In Universe example. The costume of a supposedly scary movie monster has a visible zipper.
 * Spoiled Sweet: Beebe Bluff's father owns most of the town, but she goes to a public school and is an alright person. She also saves them in The Movie.
 * Start My Own: After being rejected by the Honkers softball team because she's a girl, Patti forms the "Patti's Pulverizers" softball team.
 * Stern Teacher: Mrs. Wingo, "You're knocking on trouble's door"
 * Stock Ness Monster: The Lucky Duck Lake Monster.
 * Story-Breaker Team-Up: Done inside the show itself when Doug and Skeeter teamed up their imaginary heroes: Superman Expy Quailman and Silver Surfer Expy The Silver Skeeter.
 * Superpower Lottery: Skeeter's superhero Silver Skeeter has a superpower for any and all situations, which Doug finds annoying because it lacks any serious tension.
 * Suspiciously Similar Song: The show often uses Suspiciously Similar Song versions of movie themes.
 * Not just movie themes. The amusement park Funkytown is usually accompanied by an appropriate Suspiciously Similar Song version of the famous Lipps Inc. song, and in one episode Skeeter plays a dangerously close soundalike of "U Can't Touch This."
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: Judy gives one when Doug shows up at her school and her friends see him: "I don't know him, I've never seen him before, and he's definitely not my brother."
 * Sweet Dreams Fuel: Admit it, after watching an episode, you feel really good inside. It manages to be sweet and adorable without tasting like diabetes
 * Take a Third Option: Most of Doug's problems are solved through compromises between him and whoever he happens to be confronting.
 * Take the Wheel: A fantasy in which Doug and Skeeter are truck drivers. Skeeter's request to take the wheel ends up with Doug literally giving it to him.
 * The Talk: A Running Gag of Disney's Doug has his father trying to initiate the conversation, which is usually offset by Doug being concerned with something unrelated. It doesn't help that he keeps trying to segue using nonsensical metaphors ("The salmon swims upstream"). This was put to an end on the Christmas episode where Doug just tells his dad that he already knows about sex from school.
 * Tempting Fate: After Doug's aunt gets him on a children's cowboy show, Skeeter tells him "At least no-one we know saw it." Cue Roger bursting through the door, wearing a cowboy hat and spurs...
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Patti and Beebe
 * True Art Is Incomprehensible: In Universe Porkchop (the dog) leaves footprints all over Doug's canvas, and it's hailed as an artistic masterpiece.
 * Anything that comes out of Judy's mouth.
 * Tuxedo and Martini: Smash Adams.
 * Tyrant Takes the Helm: Mr. Dink temporarily appoints Roger the scoutmaster of Doug's Bluff Scout troop while he is away, and his abuses are such that even his own cronies turn against him.
 * Ultimate Authority Mayor: Mayor White. Unusually for this trope, he's eventually voted out and replaced by Doug's neighbor, Mrs. Dink.
 * Umpteenth Customer: Doug enters what looks like a video game store and looks around, only to discover that he's the one millionth customer and has won a Pretendo. Of course, this was the setup for the episode's Aesop.
 * Uncle Pennybags: Mr Dink. Very expensive!
 * Subverted in that he's middle-class, but apparently good with money.
 * Never underestimate how much income is left disposable by not having children.
 * Word of God says Dink stands for Dual Income No Kids
 * Upperclass Twit: Willie White, son of the (former) mayor of Bluffington.
 * Verbal Tic: Skeeter's little honking noises he makes.
 * Mayor White's "Vote for Me!"
 * And not surprisingly his son Willie White also has a verbal tic considering he starts most of his sentences with "Duhhhh".
 * "Very expensive."
 * Very Special Episode: In the Disney version, there was an episode where Patti thinks she's fat after overhearing Doug comment on her weight (when he was referring to a homemade vehicle he was making to catch the Lucky Duck Lake monster), prompting Patti to become anorexic. (Also, at the end of that episode, there was Patti's spoken Public Service Announcement on how to help out on eating disorders by locating or contacting institutes or places or medical centers, right before Toon Disney and the Disney Channel overdubbed her voice through Clumsy Copyright Censorship.)
 * The Nic-Nacs episode could count too, aside from the whole G-Rated Drug business. Though it's very different from typical anti-drug/anti-smoking episodes, and just as much about being skeptical of marketing messages as it is about avoiding dangerous substances -- not to mention openly hostile toward the company behind the product in ways that a program that relies on sponsorship from Philip Morris subsidiaries (they owned Kraft at the time) could never get away with had they not substituted a made-up product for cigarettes.
 * Welcome Episode: The first episode of the series, which features Doug moving to Bluffington and meeting most of the main cast.
 * Wham! Episode: Doug's Christmas Story, Just in time for the holidays.
 * What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Subverted. Quailman's main superpower is the hypnotic "Quail-Eye," but he rarely encounters a situation that he could fix through sheer force, forcing him to take a third option.
 * Keep in mind this is a superhero whose main attributes are a belt on his forehead and wearing his underwear over his pants.
 * He's Doug. Of course he'll never purposely hurt anyone.
 * Where The Hell Is Bluffington?: Or Bloatsburg (where the Funnies came to Bluffington from), for that matter.
 * Whole-Episode Flashback: Most episodes are structured this way, as Doug writes about it in his journal.
 * Write Who You Know: Doug writes and draws almost the whole cast of the show into his Quailman comics, sometimes multiple times.
 * Your Tomcat Is Pregnant: Roger's cat Stinky fell into this trope.
 * Youtube Poop: A few Doug-centered poops have been made. Among them are those of Disney's Doug.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Connie wears Grade C after her beauty farm visit.