Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated



""The new Scooby Doo cartoon is quite vexing because it is genuinely entertaining and funny for the exactly the reasons [sic] the writers intended rather than because of camp value or Alternate Character Interpretation.""

The newest addition to the Scooby Doo franchise, which premiered July 12, 2010, with a sneak peek shown April 5, 2010.

The show is a notable spin on the universe, as it takes elements from nearly all that came before it, most strongly from the original series, while adding a somewhat edgier, more modern spin, with what you might call more ironic humor, as well as an on-going plotline. The show is aimed at an older audience than usual, and its general feel is more mature than the Scooby Universe usually gets, with lots of lampshade hangings, and ironic and sometimes darker humor -- in general, having fun with the conventions of the franchise. The show is also more scarier and violent compared to previous shows, yet it still got a TV-Y7 rating!

After Scooby and friends solve many mysteries around their home of Crystal Cove, the town, whose thriving tourist industry is, as it turns out, based on the supernatural, decides it's had enough of them debunking prospective tourist attractions and cracks down on the Scooby gang's mystery solving. It doesn't work. Hilarity Ensues.

No one, not overbearing parents, nor a obnoxiously obstructive sheriff, nor a mayor who's more interested in tourism than solving crimes (and is also an overbearing parent), nor the mysterious Mr. E and the supposed curse of Crystal Cove, can stop Mystery Inc.!

NOTE: The main page is for general tropes. Character-specific tropes should go to the character sheet, unless they apply to multiple characters or characters without their own entry in the character sheet.

Now has a recap page.

"Velma's Dad: Are you trying to destroy our business? Velma: Reboot Parentals, I was just being honest!"
 * Achilles in His Tent:.
 * Actor Allusion:
 * In Episode 4, David Faustino plays a down-on-his-luck guy named Bud. Huh, where have we seen that one before?
 * The mother of Velma's Stalker with a Crush Jason is played by Jessica Walter, who played one herself in Play Misty for Me.
 * In episode 18, James Hong's character takes on the guise of a powerful Chinese wizard.
 * James Hong as a Chinese wizard, you say?
 * Of course, the H.P. Lovecraft Expy is played by Jeffrey Combs.
 * From "The Night the Clown Cried", Crybaby Clown is voiced by Mark Hamill, who has much experience with voicing clowns.
 * Acting for Two: Frank Welker is pulling double-duty as Fred and Scooby again, as well as providing menacing sounds the various non-speaking monsters make.
 * He's also Daphne's dad. Try not to think about all the ways you can make that creepy.
 * Alliteration:
 * Daphne and her sisters: Daisy, Dawn, Dorothy, and Delilah.
 * In Episode 12, Harlan Ellison spouts out a paragraph about the monster, full of "f" words (but not the F Word).
 * Adrenaline Makeover: Principal Quinlen in "The Mystery Solvers Club State Finals". She starts off as very nervous and upset but the frantic pace and perils of the mystery causes her to lose her ponytail, glasses, and the top buttons of her blouse, and gains a more adventurous attitude.
 * Adults Are Useless: In Episode 2 none of the parents can give the kids a ride home, for reasons such as "I just got comfortable" and "It's dark out there". The kids were stranded alone in a small suspicious town that had recently been having people disappear.
 * Not all adults are. Velma's mom knows a lot about the supernatural and the gang goes there when they don't have a lead on monsters. And in episode 25, Professor Hatecraft helps the kids
 * In the season 2 premiere, the only slightly competent adult is the new mayor, who immediately agrees to help get Mystery Inc back together to deal with a new threat to Crystal Cove. Every other adult is completely useless, holding out for a hero, and immediately willing to pay off the villain to go away.
 * Adult Child: Sheriff Stone, complete with personality as well as wearing kiddy pajamas with a police style bed.
 * Affectionate Parody: The second half of episode 10 is a shameless parody of The Terminator films. Several shots are almost identical to those used in the film, such as  or   Oh yeah, and there's also the mech from Aliens.
 * All Just a Dream: The events of.
 * All Love Is Unrequited: Velma and Daphne are having serious problems with Shaggy and Fred, respectively.
 * Episode 24:
 * All of the Other Reindeer: The locals treat the gang as, at best, a nuisance and, at worst, a group of destructive vigilantes owing to their inconvenient habit of saving a town filled with stupid, submissive and greedy jackasses from themselves.
 * As Velma states in the season 2 premiere, "The town hates us when we're not needed, cheers us when we are".
 * All Up to You: Scooby Doo and the other non-human sidekicks have to solve the mystery when the teenage sleuths are abducted in "The Mystery Solvers Club State Finals".
 * Taken literally in Episode 26.
 * Almighty Mom: In Episode 20, how did Velma's mom know she had a visitor in her room (which she has to keep secret since )? Mom spies on her through her blog.
 * Almost Kiss:
 * Between Shaggy and Velma in Episode 2.
 * In Episode 13 Daphne puckers up to kiss Fred, who suddenly gets conveniently distracted after seeing his dad, the Mayor.
 * Alternate Continuity: Rather than follow in the footsteps of What's New, Scooby-Doo? or A Pup Named Scooby Doo, the show instead focuses on a new continuity that is still a continuation of the old show, but with a few differences.
 * Ambulance Cut
 * Anachronism Stew: At the Ren Faire in episode 8, a number of people attend the medieval event as pirates. The staff are none too happy about this.
 * The show itself is stylistically set in what looks to be the 60s or 70s, vinyl records and the like have their place but such futuristic marvels like cassette players, compact discs and cellphones make appearances.
 * An Arc: For the first time since The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, there's an underlying/overarching plot going on in the background of the otherwise episodic mysteries.
 * Animesque: Watch the "Trap Of Love" music video and tell me it doesn't look like gothic lolita anime.
 * Answer Cut: In Episode 8 when the Queen says they must keep out the pirates because "Who knows what shambling low-lives will arrive?". Enter Shaggy and Scooby dressed as pirates.
 * Art Evolution: The characters designs are done in a much sharper, more stylistically simplistic way than ever before. Lampshaded in the second episode, when Daphne out of the blue asks Velma what happened to her hair.
 * Art Shift: Episode 14 has the cast appear as they did in the original series. There also appears not to be any Conspicuous CGI.
 * Asbestos-Free Cereal: Destroido makes chips made of landfill waste and gummies made of lead.
 * As Himself: Harlan Ellison voices an unflattering portrayal of himself in Episode 12.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: While not quite near 50 feet, Episode 9 features a pair of creatures dubbed Humungonauts.
 * Auction: The Cold Opening for the eleventh episode. $34 raised, and all we see auctioned off are: front-row tickets to a ladies roller derby, and a spoooooky painting.
 * B-Movie: The Vincent Van Ghoul movies. He's starred in at least 400, we can assume they were cranked out fast and on a low budget. Sadly none of them have been titled thus far.
 * Actually, yes they have, as of Episode 19: The Mutant Bee, The Repellant Dr. Phobos (Doubles as a bit of Actor Allusion) and The Castle of Gummy Discharge.
 * Baba Yaga: Featured in Episode 28
 * Bar Brawl: Episode 15: "The Wild Brood" starts off with a bar brawl between biker-punks and the orc-like Wild Brood. Asses get kicked.
 * Bedlam House: Animal Asylum For the Criminally Insane.
 * Berserk Button: Don't use "like" in a grammatically incorrect fashion in Harlan Ellison's presence. Or ask him about H.P. Hatecraft.
 * Although the Hatecraft thing is debatable.
 * Big Bad: The first season's is revealed to be, while   is shaping up to be the next season's.
 * Big Bad Ensemble:  and.
 * Big Eater: Shaggy and Scooby, of course.
 * Daphne at the end of Episode 19, after not eating anything all day. Shaggy even remarks that this is the one time anyone has eaten more than him or Scooby.
 * Big Fancy House: Daphne's residence, naturally. Though it's interesting to note that in this incarnation, all of the lead characters come from wealthy families.
 * Bigger on the Inside: Lampshaded type 1, for the locker that is "big enough" for the huge Man-Crab costume.
 * Big No: Fred has one after it is revealed that the rest of the team won't go to the Mystery Solving contest due to Scooby being sick.
 * Big Screwed-Up Family: Daphne alludes to the Blakes being this, what with family meetings with shrinks and her mom being temporarily committed.
 * Break the Cutie:
 * Broad Strokes: Contains many echoes of the original series in a modern setting.
 * By Wall That Is Holey: During the Humongonaut fight in episode 9.
 * The Cameo: Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm make an appearance at the beginning of episode four.
 * Yogi Bear shows up at the end of Episode 10.
 * Johnny Quest and the gang show up Episode 25. Word of God says they'll show up again in the second season.
 * Camp Gay: The Hex Girls' manager in episode 7.
 * Can You Hear Me Now?: Subverted. The gang has cell phones that work when they are stranded in Gatorsburg, but.
 * Captain Color Beard: Scooby uses the pirate name 'Dogbeard' in "The Grasp of the Gnome".
 * The Cast Showoff: Daphne gets to sing, not one, but TWO songs in the episode "In Fear Of The Phantom". Grey DeLisle knocks both right out of the park.
 * Catch Phrase: The old standards appear.
 * Velma - "Jinkies!"
 * Shaggy - "Zoinks!"
 * Scooby Doo - "Scooby Dooby Doo!"
 * Professor Pericles uses "Hello, Children!" each time he meets the gang.
 * Which is also a Shout-Out to South Park.
 * The Cavalry Arrives Late: Lampshaded.
 * Cerebus Retcon: Freddy's motive for his trap addiction; . Essentially.
 * Characterization Marches On: Rampant throughout this series, in the case of both Mystery Inc. and the supporting characters.
 * A subtle example would be Velma's parents. In the first few episodes, they appeared to be just as thoughtless as the other parents, but as the show progressed the gang would go to Velma's mom for advice on the supernatural. She even helps them during a case involving a headless zombie, and once offered to "take care" of Shaggy after he chose Scooby over Velma (she was kidding). Granted, Velma's mom still got in a couple of snarky comments here and there, but her reveal that she actually reads Velma's blog is something you'd expect of a typical parent. And, by the disastrous events of the last episode, the Dinkleys are the only parents shown comforting their child and not making the situation worse.
 * City of Adventure: Crystal Cove.
 * CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: In one episode, Fred rescue Daphne from the rising water of a swimming pool. Fred ask her if she's alright. Daphne, who is unharmed, take advantage of the situation and tells Fred to give her CPR. It doesn't work.
 * Clothes Make the Superman: Not just the Man-Crab, but every villain in costume seems to gain awesome agility and strength.
 * Clueless Detective:
 * About half the time, the gang's leads are off and they learn who the monster is at the same time the audience does. Jason even calls them out on jumping to conclusions when they accuse him in Episode 10.
 * Episode 2. There are only 3 people in this ghost town. There are 3 alligator people scaring visitors away. Who could the alligator people possibly be?
 * Clueless Mystery: Episode 15.
 * Comedic Sociopathy: After causing a patient to flat-line due to a panic attack, all the gang merely walks out with Freddy commenting that the questioning had gone well.
 * Comically Missing the Point: Daphne's mother mentions that she's been taking night classes to become a notary, and states that knowledge is more important than beauty. Then she says that she's going to find out what a "notary" actually is before the final.
 * Compliment Backfire: "Oh Velma, you're very pleasant when you aren't trying to be smarter than everyone else."
 * Conspicuous CG: Most non-human motion tends to do this, especially moving cars.
 * Continuity Nod: Bordering on Alternate Continuity Nod, to boot.
 * Velma's family owns a museum filled with "monsters" that have haunted Crystal Cove - many of which the gang has debunked.
 * In fact, in the pilot she's guiding a tour through the museum, and is reprimanded by her parents for ruining the tour by revealing who was under the masks when they were finally caught.
 * Episode 6 can be considered a huge one of these, considering.
 * An in-series nod in Episode 10. The Mystery Machine runs out of gas and slows down, and Daphne says "Don't tell me the engine is missing again!" referring to when Mr. E removed it in episode 2.
 * Another in-series nod in Episode 15. After the cold open, the episode starts off at the Tiki nightclub, where Sheriff Stone congratulates Mayor Jones for re-opening the club after it was destroyed by the Humongonauts from Episode 9.
 * Yet another in-series nod in Episode 20; simply put, Scooby still has no idea what, if anything, Skipper Shelton is talking about.
 * More in-series references: The two teens who got abducted from Episode 4's Man-Crab reappear as victims of the Manticore. As well as the owner of the amusement park wondering how they're going to sell their stock of Que Horrifico shirts and Char Gar Gothikon plushies.
 * Episode 24 has Daphne worry whether her seafood allergy from Episode 4 will act up with all the oysters around.
 * Episode 25 not only has Hatecraft show up again,
 * Continuity Reboot: Possibly lampshaded when Velma is talking to her parents in the first episode. Highlighting the differences between generations.
 * Episode 25 not only has Hatecraft show up again,
 * Continuity Reboot: Possibly lampshaded when Velma is talking to her parents in the first episode. Highlighting the differences between generations.

"Velma's Mother: "Good thing I have this spare key so I can search your room when you're not home. (Beat) Oops, did I just say that out loud?""
 * Cool Car: The Mystery Machine, especially with the improbable moves it pulled out against the ghost truck, as well as the rather impossible jump-flips it did while trying to shake off the Fright Hound.
 * Crossover: "The Mystery Solvers Club State Finals" features Scooby-Doo teaming up with the sidekicks from Speed Buggy, Jabberjaw, The Funky Phantom and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.
 * Episode 25 reveals that Quest Laboratories is a subsidiary of Destroido.
 * Season 2 is set to feature more of the Quest family, along with Dynomutt and Blue Falcon
 * In a recent commercial at AMC Theaters, the Gang find the one guy who didn't turn off his cell phone; Daffy Duck.
 * Crazy Prepared: In Episode 21, Fred explains to Velma that he gave the Planespheric disc piece  Episode 26 reveals that Shaggy and Scooby do have it in a bed/fridge that they keep in the case that they don't get an evening snack before bed.
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
 * Say what you will about Fred when it comes to teenage life, but he shows total competence when there is a mystery to be solved.
 * Scooby and Shaggy. They're still the lovable cowards, but both of them will go and stop the monsters roaming around town.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: The villain in episode 7. Not only did The Phantom have the foresight to sabotage Fred's trap, when Shaggy and Scooby attempt their typical escape via Scooby-Dooby Doors, he simply sets fire to the van they're in.
 * Episode 17 dealt with Fred and the villain out matching the other, both having encyclopedic knowledge of traps and their workings.
 * Darker and Edgier: Ala Zombie Island and Witch's Ghost. It's definitely not cynical, but the universe as a whole is a little less idealistic, and the jokes, characters and events are more mature with some monsters intent on actually killing the gang. This perhaps explains Shaggy's behavior. The kids are also less goody-two-shoes than they used to be. A lot of the villains are more violent, aside from the aforementioned bus incident.
 * In episode 17 the villain becomes fed up with Mystery Inc. both beating his traps, and believing that they are trying to steal from him, tries to stab them repeatedly with a fire poker. In addition the traps he placed them in would have been fatal, if not for Fred's genre savvy.
 * The Manticore in episode 21 is strongly implied, at the start of the episode, to have killed two people and possibly more. It also tried to kill Mystery Inc. by picking them up and dropping them.
 * In episode 23 the villain shoots at them repeatedly and openly threatens to kill them, marking one of the few times the word "kill" has been used in the franchise.
 * The monster of the Season 2 premiere acts more like a domestic terrorist, driving around town randomly blowing up buildings and neighborhoods, and at one point demanding a ransom from city hall to get him to stop.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Velma, in spades, Shaggy on occasion, and, remarkably enough, Scooby in some very memorable moments.
 * Decon Recon Switch: The show switches between the two a lot.
 * Despite the Plan: Averted every few episodes where Fred's traps actually work. Lampshaded in episode 9.
 * Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Velma's mother has this moment after she just bursts into her daughter's room:
 * Despite the Plan: Averted every few episodes where Fred's traps actually work. Lampshaded in episode 9.
 * Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Velma's mother has this moment after she just bursts into her daughter's room:

"Fred: Oh what the heck, going to the prom with a friend will be more fun than with a date anyway. Right? Daphne: *sigh* I'll take what I can get."
 * Does Not Like Shoes: The female vampire Monster of the Week in episode 11.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?:
 * Fred's magazine "Traps Illustrated" has a woman in a bikini on the cover. His reaction to Daphne finding it is similar to someone hiding porn. It's a reference to Sports Illustrated with its famous swimsuit issues, though Fred's "I read it for the articles" invokes Playboy.
 * In episode 7, the Hex Girl's manager used to be the manager of a singer called Fancy Pants. After he was dropped by his old label, the manager mentions that Pants "went down the rabbit hole". Consider for a moment what that's slang for, and what some rock stars get involved with when their career hits a rocky patch...
 * In episode 8 Shaggy and Scooby watching the Renaissance Fair announcer who says he hates pirates secretly dresses up like one. It's made to seem like watching him dress up in women's clothing. Even Scooby says his "brain needs a shower".
 * Episode 25: Hatecraft's novel about Char Gar Gothikon is supposedly a major hit in Japan...
 * For a non-sexual one let's go back to episode 21 with Angel and Velma.  Now compare that to the first 10 episodes with Velma's relationship with Shaggy. We all know that keeping secrets NEVER leads to anything good.
 * Downer Ending:
 * Dude, Where's My Respect?:
 * The gang's attempts at solving crimes are not met with enthusiasm. Justified, in that curtailing the crimes would lessen the town's revenue stream. It's their stream of revenue!
 * You'd think that after being saved from an Eldritch Abomination, even a faux Eldritch Abomination, would make the rescued party grateful enough to spare you a lecture on proper grammar.
 * The Motive Rant for "Lord Infernicus" in "Mystery Solver State Finals".
 * Early-Bird Cameo: Skipper appears in episode 3. In the next episode, he's a prime suspect.
 * Mr. Chen, as well as his cafe, are introduced in episode 15. They are featured in a more prominent role three episodes later.
 * Hot Dog Water made a brief appearance in episode 18. Episode 21 had her be an employee  of the amusement park that the manticore attacks. She's also not exactly best of friends with Velma.
 * There is also Ernesto and his group of environmentalists. They first appear in episode 12. They appear again in episode 20.
 * This is possibly the case with the Quest Team, who were first seen . Season 2 was announced as having them in an episode.
 * Earthquakes Cause Fissures: The cold open in Episode 17 starts off with this during a flashback, swallowing a mansion up underneath it. An earthquake appeared at the end of the episode, but it's not stated what happens after that.
 * Eldritch Abomination: Char Gar Gothicon, monster of "The Shrieking Madness".
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: The Hex Girls' new look for the series.
 * Establishing Character Moment: The first episode had the gang talk to their parents to show off certain quirks of theirs, such as Fred's obsession with traps and Velma's sardonic attitude.
 * Everybody Evil Laughs Ending: In Nightfright, Vincent Van Ghoul starts the laughter at the end of the episode and everyone else joins in.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": One of the background characters is a classmate known as "That weird girl, Hot Dog Water." In an episode 18 flashback, she says she's gluten intolerant.
 * Evil Counterpart: Professor Pericles to Scooby Doo.
 * Evil Twin: The Fright Hound in episode 10, to Scooby.
 * Evil Versus Evil: Professor Pericles vs. Mr. E. vs.
 * Expy:
 * Design-wise, Alice May is a blatant one for Gwen Stacy: same hairstyle, hairband, and green-striped clothes.
 * Gus, or "G-man" from episode 7 is basically the eccentric Ronnie "Z-man" Barzell from a certain creepy schlock film. That may make him a case of Getting Crap Past the Radar, actually. In addition to looking exactly like Z-man, he talks with his faux-British accent and mannerisms, as well as being a record producer with a taste for alt bands.
 * Jason Wyatt from episode 10. What with being a nerd, having great scientific know-how, and adores/admires Velma... It's "What's New Scooby Doo?"'s new form of Velma-stalker Gibby Norton!
 * Ernesto from Episode 20 is a die-hard environmental protestor. He is also Che Guevara, even down to his first name.
 * Dr. Rick Spartan is a composite of and stand-in for Doc Savage, Allan Quatermain and Indiana Jones.
 * Family-Friendly Firearms: Averted in episode 10. Not that it does the guards any good against the Fright Hound, a robot who is Immune to Bullets.
 * Fan Disservice: Episode 24, when Night Ranger takes his shirt off to use a bale of hay for a punching bag (It Makes Sense in Context). Daphne pretty much speaks for the viewers when she asks "why did he have to take his shirt off?"
 * Fantastic Racism: Hilariously played with the Wild Brood. Everyone treats them suspiciously, but this is due to the fact that they are a motorcycle gang and not because they are Orcs.
 * Fetch Quest: Dramatically subverted in episode 16.
 * 555: A radio version - Angel Dynamite's station is 104.2, and FM stations always end in an odd digit.
 * Flaming Skulls: Lord Infernicus.
 * Foreshadowing: A fair amount so far, much of it related to hinting at the mysterious history of Crystal Cove and the identity of Mr. E.
 * First, we have the locket from episode 1. Members of the original Mystery Inc. had them and it was considered their symbol.
 * Also take a good note at what Velma states about Crystal Cove's early history: it was found by Spanish Conquistadors.
 * Then there's the newspaper clipping in episode 4. Part of it was cut off and Angel seems as if she knows something.
 * Episode 6 shows someone
 * Episode 10 has Professor Pericles spouting out that the gang has to keep an eye on those close to them; especially Fred.
 * Episode 12 has the Darrow Family Trunk filled with secret documents.
 * Episode 16 has Pericles and Scooby teaming up and gathering items for an antidote. One of the places was at the old Spanish Church
 * Here's another one: "I guess we're not a team anymore."
 * A minor one. In the cold opening flashback of episode 17, Danny Darrow as a little boy is wearing a white beard as his Halloween costume.
 * Speaking of Danny Darrow, he nicknames Fred as Big Chin Man
 * For Want of a Nail:
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: The gang appropriately match their own color schemes. Daphne is Sanguine (Red Hair) as she is the most optimistic and cheerful of the group, Velma is Choleric (Yellow Sweater), she exhibits leadership when solving the mystery but is rather pushy, and a rather violent Tsundere at her worst. Shaggy is Phlegmatic (Green Shirt) is the Non Action Guy who runs away from anything spooky, and is only there to react to the situations. Fred is Melancholic as he is obessessive (when it comes to traps) and emotionally high strung (when Daphne is in danger). He wears... white, rather than black, kinda crashes that color coded bit. Scooby fits into Supine (Blue Collar), as he is rather non-confrontational.
 * Freeze-Frame Bonus: Sheriff Stone's pad during the first gnome victim's interview.
 * The complete recipe for "Countess Hagula's Youth Juice" from The Secret Serum is readable in freeze-frame.
 * Friend Versus Lover:
 * Velma vs Scooby over Shaggy. At first it seemed that Shaggy was using Scooby as a scapegoat to hide his fears of commitment, but it turned out his fear of telling Scooby was pretty well founded.
 * Also, Fred and Daphne.
 * Friend Versus Lover:
 * Velma vs Scooby over Shaggy. At first it seemed that Shaggy was using Scooby as a scapegoat to hide his fears of commitment, but it turned out his fear of telling Scooby was pretty well founded.
 * Also, Fred and Daphne.

"Daphne: Wow! I haven't seen-- Fred: Look away, Daphne! We all promised each other that we would never speak of it. Not ever!"
 * The Fred and Daphne thing has been averted as of episode 24.
 * Not anymore!
 * Shaggy and Velma. Shaggy dumped Velma in favor of Scooby, then had a change of heart and wanted to try the romance thing with Velma again. She responded at first, but decided they should stay "just friends"... later revealing that she is still hurting over being dumped for Scooby, and apparently afraid if she took Shaggy back he'd do it to her again.
 * Funny Background Event: Scooby is harassed by an angry squirrel in the first episode, while the rest of the gang are talking to Prof. Raffalow.
 * The Generic Guy: Deliberately avoided. Even Fred, the former Trope Namer himself, is given a much more developed personality than ever before.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Enough examples for its own page.
 * Gotta Catch Em All: The six pieces of the Planespheric Disk.
 * Growling Gut: A Running Gag with Daphne in episode 19.
 * Hands Go Down: "Can anybody tell me what photosynthesis is? ... And PLEASE don't say plant farts."
 * Hannibal Lecture: The gang gets one in "Howl of the Fright Hound", from a prisoner in !
 * Hell Hotel: The one place to stay overnight in Gatorburg invokes this..
 * Heroic BSOD: This happens to Fred after Daphne is kidnapped by the crab monster and when a teacher has supposedly died (see Faux Death).
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Shaggy and Scooby, played mostly straight but also hilariously subverted. On chapter 9, with the Friend Versus Lover between Scooby and Velma, Scooby used phrases like "You are cheating on me!" or "I gave him the best years of my life".
 * Hey, It's That Voice!
 * It's almost disconcerting that Mr. E doesn't swear.
 * Hope Spot:
 * Hot Amazon: Daphne's older sister Delilah, a tough-as-nails military officer who brandishes a riding crop.
 * Hot Dad: Daphne's dad, too.
 * Hot Mom: Daphne's mom - which makes sense, considering her daughters form an Fundamentally Female Cast all by themselves.
 * A House Divided: Episode 11 has Velma say "I guess we're not a team any more."
 * In Episode 26
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: Episode 25 has Shaggy lampshading the fact that Obliteratrix's costume has no pockets so where are all her weapons coming from?
 * Justified: Dr. Quest did it. No, really - she stole tech from Quest Labs.
 * I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: Shaggy does a version of this: "I'm an eater, not a fighter."
 * Impossibly Cool Clothes: Averted by Fred's team uniforms in episode 9. Fred's the only one who thinks they look any good.
 * Indy Escape: Episode 22. A rolling idol head nearly runs over a Damsel in Distress. Subverted because
 * In Medias Res: "Howl of the Fright Hound" begins at the climatic action.
 * Insane Troll Logic: Episode 20. "We have to destroy the environment to save it!"
 * Irony: Scooby and Shaggy, the scaredy cats of the team, love to watch horror movies.
 * And not just any horror movies; they're known to watch a marathon of Vincent Price's horror movies (More than 400 but less than 500 no less) whenever the one week marathon passes by.
 * Jet Pack: Both of the Kung Fu wizards who turned Crystal Cove into a battle ground in episode 18 had jet-packs in their costumes enabling them to fly.
 * Karma Houdini: The Cicada Monster's main motivation was to get back at the company for putting LANDFILL WASTE in their snacks! And it seems like everyone is A-Ok with this!
 * Subverted. Several episodes later, it's revealed they often get sued for their products and most of Mystery Inc. consider them terrible.
 * Keep It Foreign: More like Keep It Retro. In the flashback in Episode 25 of the original Mystery Inc, which was supposed to be "20 Years Ago" (i.e. 1991), it had a distinctly 50's look to it, which complimented the 70's look of the rest of the show. In seems like everything has been culturally time-shifted about 40 years.
 * Lampshade Hanging: Doesn't quite beat A Pup Named Scooby Doo yet, but it's certainly up there, which, coupled with its more-sharp-less-goofy humor, gives the show an interesting style.
 * Large Ham: The Phantom in episode 7. He booms in rhyming couplets and even threw in a "sayeth" for good measure.
 * Vincent Van Ghoul in episode 19.
 * Laser Hallway: Played straight in episode 21.
 * Lava Is Boiling Kool-Aid: Dead Justice's backstory has him chasing his nemesis into a volcano, then sticking his arm out from underneath just to handcuff him.
 * Leaving You to Find Myself:
 * Let's Just Be Friends: Episode 22 has  at the end of the episode; it's an ache
 * Let's Split Up, Gang!: Perhaps taken literally on episode 11. At the start, Daphne and Velma split up from the boys and Scooby. Their rejoining to the rest of the mystery is edgy at best. The end has them all going separate ways.
 * Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Fred to Daphne about Scrappy-Doo.
 * Love At First Sight: The Orc asks this to Velma after she fixes one of their motorcycles. Velma, being the Deadpan Snarker that she is, blatantly tells him that she does not find him attractive.
 * Magic Skirt: In episode 18. The White Wizard carries Mai Le off by her feet, rendering her upside down, but her skirt doesn't fall over. And again later after Mai Le gets hung upside down in the snare set on the Blake yacht (which was disguised as Mai Le's escape vessel).
 * Averted in the Man-Crab episode when Velma visibly tries to keep her skirt down after being flung into the air by the Crab.
 * Meaningful Name: Possibly Professor Pericles. The Greek general/politician he's named after was supposed to have a slightly deformed head. Professor Pericles has a greatly inflated head, and an evil scar.
 * Missing Mom: In Episode 23, Scooby accidentally knocks a photo off Fred's mantel; his
 * in season 2.
 * Man in a Rubber Mask Sob Story: It's a little hard not to feel bad for at least a few of the villains, especially.
 * Mood Lighting: Extensively. Most obvious example is the chase scene in "Creeping Creatures".
 * Morality Kitchen Sink: The delineation between good guys and bad guys isn't nearly as clear-cut this time around; the problem is that the Gang can't quite see that just yet.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * Shaggy and Scooby love watching Vincent Van Ghoul movies.
 * Van Ghoul is the specter-besieged central figure of episode 19, "Nightfright."
 * Velma's parents run a supernatural tour of the city, which references many ghosts from the original series, such as The Miner 49'er. When Velma's forced to work as a tour guide, she takes great pleasure in explaining to the gaping tourists just how fake each and every one of them were.
 * Velma's mother is wearing an unused Alex Toth design for Velma's outfit in the original Scooby Doo cartoon.
 * A Don Knotts caricature can be seen amongst the tourists in episode 1, and he appears again at the beginning of episode 9. Knotts famously guest-starred on The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
 * Nugget Nose AKA The Galloping Ghost (a very obscure 1978 Hanna-Barbera feature from Yogi's Space Race, an equally obscure show) can be seen during the historical montage about Gatorburg.
 * Mama Cass Elliot, another The New Scooby-Doo Movies guest star, is one of the attendees at the auction for a painting. Amazing feat, as she has been dead since 1973.
 * In "Secret of the Ghost Rig", while in her bedroom knitting an ascot for Fred, Daphne hums the theme from The New Scooby Doo Movies.
 * The haybaler scene from the 1970 episode Jeepers, It's The Creeper is re-created, save for the baby chick that mistakes Scooby as its mother.
 * The episode 7, "In Fear of the Phantom", The Hex Girls of two Scooby-Doo Movies and What's New Scooby-Doo? make a reappearance. Not only that, but they sing some of the songs from those appearances.
 * Also in that episode was Harry the ventriloquist's dummy. Shaggy threw his voice a few times in the classic series.
 * In episode 8, Velma calls Daphne by her old nickname "Danger-prone Daphne" after she falls into the hidden door inside a tree.
 * Like the What's New episode "Large Dragon At Large", Velma bristles at the thought of wearing an Olde English maiden's outfit. Unlike the What's New episode, she doesn't wear one.
 * In a web game tie-in, one sidequest has Shaggy and Scooby collecting scattered pages of a play script. Shaggy notes that the play's set in a town called "Coolsville" (from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and the live-action movies) and the main suspect is named Red Herring (also from Pup).
 * Suzie Chan, from The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan, appears in episodes 6 and 16.
 * A poster of her and Stanley can be seen on HP Hatecraft's wall in episode 25.
 * Along with a poster of Prez Rickard, the Teen President of the United States from an obscure 1973 DC Comics series (and later, The Sandman).
 * The Monster Museum in the beginning of Episode 20 sees a statue of Flim-Flam (who Daphne described as getting 25-to-life, despite being a pre-teen con artist), and when she sees a statue of Scrappy Doo:
 * A poster of her and Stanley can be seen on HP Hatecraft's wall in episode 25.
 * Along with a poster of Prez Rickard, the Teen President of the United States from an obscure 1973 DC Comics series (and later, The Sandman).
 * The Monster Museum in the beginning of Episode 20 sees a statue of Flim-Flam (who Daphne described as getting 25-to-life, despite being a pre-teen con artist), and when she sees a statue of Scrappy Doo:

"Daphne: (winks to Scooby) They actually put it off till next week so you could get better...but we haven't told Fred yet."
 * Episode 21: Linda Cardellini, Velma from the live-action theatrical Scooby Doo movies, is the voice of Hot Dog Water. That makes two members of that cast giving voices to this animated edition.
 * The high-tech costume and superweaponry  used in her Oblivia the Obliteratrix disguise were supplied to her by a man on Destroido's payroll: Benton Quest.
 * The pose for the yearbook photo of the original Mystery Inc is similar to a pose that Scooby's Mystery Inc had in Scooby Doo Where Are You theme song.
 * The current-day Mystery Inc also strikes that pose at one point.
 * Episode 27: Crybaby Clown tells the gang that Mano Tiki Tia (original series ep A Tiki Scare Is No Fair) and the Ghost of Redbeard (Go Away Ghost Ship and Ghostly Creep From The Deep) are nothing compared to him.
 * Never Say "Die": Averted. They don't say it often, but they are able to say it, usually for the sake of a gag.
 * And in episode 19 "Time for you to die!" is part of the monster's catchphrase!
 * "Next time I see you, I shoot to kill!"
 * Nonuniform Uniform: In episode 9 Fred gets the gang team uniforms that make them look like a 70s Japanese supergroup. They're all similar white jumpsuits except that the color of the trim, piping, and ascot of each corresponds to a color of their previous outfits. It only lasts the one episode.
 * Noodle Incident:
 * Daphne recalls how her dad was once found naked gnawing on a soup can when her mom was out of town.
 * In another episode Daphne talks about how every time her mother would sleep in their backyard treehouse, her family brings in a doctor or someone with authority to "work things out". Then they lock her away for a few months.
 * In episode 25, she mentions how one of her older sisters trained chickens to spell out her name as part of being engaged.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Episode 25 features Regina Wentworth, young author of the popular Dusk series of vampire romance novels.
 * No OSHA Compliance: The abandoned steel mill in episode 10. Lampshaded by Fred.
 * Not Wearing Tights: The villain in episode 17 has no secret identity. He doesn't reveal himself because he mistakes them for the first Mystery Inc, who already know him.
 * Official Couple: Velma and Shaggy are dating, but Shaggy does not want to be public about it. As of episode 10 . Fred and Daphne date and as the show progresses.
 * As of the season 2 premiere,
 * Ominous Latin Chanting: Follows the monster in episode 12.
 * Otaku: Fred is a serious Trap Otaku
 * Shaggy could be seen as a Food Otaku.
 * Our Gnomes Are Weirder: The Scary Gnome in episode 8. It attacks Renaissance Fair-goers dressed as Pirates.
 * Our Orcs Are Different: The "Wild Brood" 'Orcs' are leather-wearing bikers, led by a smooth-talking Thrall Expy.
 * Our Mermaids Are Different: Totally alien blue looking mermaid,
 * Our Vampires Are Different: Episode 11's monster is searching for ingredients for an eternal-youth potion.
 * Out of the Inferno: The Frighthound. The fire burns away its Scooby Doo disguise.
 * Outrun the Fireball: An industrail-size propane tank explodes in a construction yard in episode 9, forcing this on the gang.
 * Paranoia Fuel: "Beware those close to you...."
 * Parental Neglect:
 * The gang's parents seem to put their happiness before their kids. Velma's mom (as shown in a picture) cares a lot more about her horses than her own daughter, Shaggy's parents think of him as an embarrassment, Fred's dad was thrilled at the idea of his son dying at the hands of the cicada monster, and Daphne's mother told her right to her face that sometimes she wishes they had a boy instead.
 * ALL the parents of Crystal Cove fit in this trope. When their children are "spookified," they abandon them!
 * Parent Service
 * The Password Is Always Swordfish: Velma hacks a computer using this.
 * The password on Fred's laptop: "Trappin' Guy."
 * The Picture Came with the Frame: It is revealed in Episode 26 that.
 * Punny Name:
 * Rung Ladderton, who sells ladders.
 * Skipper Shellton, who runs a clam restaurant.
 * Rusty Gnales (Nails), construction contractor.
 * Mr. E, whose identity is a mystery.
 * Race Lift: Luna of the Hex Girls. She's a couple shades darker than her recent appearance on What's New Scooby Doo, but closer to her original appearance.
 * Reconstruction
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Fright Hound in episode 10.
 * Redemption Equals Death: In Episode 17: Danny Darrow, the last survivor of the Darrow family, had booby-trapped his mansion in order to keep hold of a clue to the Haunted Treasure. Upon realizing that he'd wasted his life, he told the gang to take it and escape from the collapsing dwelling. His last words were "I hope it brings you more happiness than it ever did me."
 * Relationship Reveal: The show decides to stop holding back, taking the long implied tease between Fred and Daphne and less-teased-but-not-entirely-fanon thing between Shaggy and Velma and canonizing them, in about as blatant a way as they could get away with.
 * Retro Universe: Inspired by Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and the 1960s, with 21st century tech and snark. Which some have decided to dub "Cyber-Funk".
 * Rhymes on a Dime: The Phantom.
 * Rube Goldberg Device: Freddy's traps have gotten a lot more elaborate.
 * Runaway Train: Played straight near the end of "The Wild Brood", complete with knocked-out engineer, the brakes failing, destroyed bridge and the locomotive completely demolished in an explosion.
 * Running Gag: Once an Episode, when the villain has been unmasked and does the classic You Meddling Kids, it will be played with in some way.
 * Sassy Black Woman: Angel Dynamite . Also, Lady Marmalade in episode 23.
 * Scooby-Dooby Doors: It only took seven episodes for them to reappear in the episode "In Fear of the Phantom".
 * Scooby-Doo Hoax: It wouldn't be a Scooby-Doo show without it.
 * Averted in episode 17. Instead of a human in a fake ghost costume, the antagonist was the deranged surviving member of a lost family.
 * Sdrawkcab Name: All of the "Wild Brood" bikers in have these, from smooth-acting leader Odnarb, to Foog and Dren, to the disgusting Gabtraf. Justified because.
 * Seventies Hair: In abundance.
 * Shadow Archetype: Hot Dog Water is what Velma would be like if she didn't have a conscience (or friends).
 * Shadow Discretion Shot: Spoofed. Fred assures Scooby they wouldn't leave him behind at the Mystery Solvers State Finals, but then excuses himself to go sob and wail -- but we hear him and see his shadow angsting.
 * Shadow Archetype: Hot Dog Water is what Velma would be like if she didn't have a conscience (or friends).
 * Shadow Discretion Shot: Spoofed. Fred assures Scooby they wouldn't leave him behind at the Mystery Solvers State Finals, but then excuses himself to go sob and wail -- but we hear him and see his shadow angsting.

"Freddie: It looks like a mystery to me, and I think that's just a little more important than school."
 * Shadow of Impending Doom: In episode 4 the shadow the kids mistake as the Man Crab turns out to be an actual little crab. Painful none-the-less - it pinches Scooby's nose.
 * Ship Tease: Velma/Shaggy.
 * Shout-Out: Enough for its own page.
 * Shouldn't We Be in School Right Now?: The gang is still in high school, but cuts class frequently.

"Scooby: I think I already did. (Shaggy and Van Ghoul distance themselves from Scooby slightly)"
 * Signs of Disrepair: The Drowsy Gator. Pool, Food and Sundries.
 * Skunk Stripe: Velma's Mom.
 * Stalker with a Crush and Stalker Shrine: Velma's got one in her old lab partner, Jason. The tubby little dork's bedroom walls are a virtual to her. It's somewhat subverted in the end of episode 10 when Velma confesses she has someone she likes and that the two be 'friends'.
 * Stealth Pun: "Hey there, Delilah."
 * Also, Lady Marmalade the barista's "mocha-choca-lattas."
 * Strong Family Resemblance: The gang's families traits were clearly passed on.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: An alarmingly high rate too, compared to the older shows; there have been cars, trains, houses exploding, even the Mystery Machine
 * Super OCD: Fred makes a multi-page schedule for Daphne so he'll know where she is every minute of the day. Like Monk, he.
 * Tainted Veins: These show on on the Gnome's victims in Episode 8
 * Take That: Episode 20 has one against Scrappy Doo and Flim Flam. It's mentioned that Flim Flam was given 25 to life for being a con artist, even as a preteen. Scrappy gets a quick "We all promised each other that we would never speak of him."
 * The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Parodied in episode 17, where  says that his tape is pre-recorded as they can't trick him, but then they point out he did indeed answer them and he just the charade.
 * Team Rocket Wins:
 * The Teaser: Each episode begins with one where the Monster of the Week attacks a victim.
 * This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman: Jabberjaw lampshades how, now that they were near water, he can actually be useful.
 * Those Two Guys: Ethan (thin red-haired guy) and Gary (large brown-haired guy), team-mates of Fred that keep showing up together.
 * They are voiced by Mitch Watson (producer and writer) and Tony Cervone (supervising producer) respectively, making these Creator Cameos.
 * Thunderous Confrontation: Done near the end of "The Shrieking Madness".
 * Title Drop: The gang eventually finds out that the kids who vanished from Crystal Cove long ago were a mystery-solving crew much like them, who called themselves "Mystery Incorporated." Fred likes the name and the group adopts it. When the Scooby show was first developed in 1969, this was their unofficial - and unused - team name.
 * Toilet Humor: Episode 11 has this all over the place, with mentions of Daphne's mom getting "the squeakers", talk of throwing "poo" on plants, and French "oui-oui" jokes, the first two of which show up in the first ten minutes.
 * Episode 19 has Vincent Van Ghoul saying he's so scared of facing Nightfright that he has to tinkle.

"Shaggy: A couple of late night jalapeño stuffed clam poppers and it's another all-nighter on the porcelain-- Scooby: (disdainfully) Shaggy! Please!"
 * Episode 23:

"Crewman: But isn't that haunted? Captain: Aye, 'tis what they say. And we may not even make it back alive. But don't forget, we're fishermen. We do stupid things all the time!"
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Velma and Daphne, who are, of course, best friends.
 * Too Dumb to Live: "Those are radioactive symbols, meaning whatever's inside is dangerous. Meaning we need to open it right away. Don't want whatever's in there to mess up our schedule."
 * Episode 20: A fisherman and his crewman find their net empty, so the captain plans a venture to Dead Man's Point.

"Shaggy: Can you give us a straight answer? Mr. E: Where's the fun in that?"
 * Took a Level In Badass: Scooby Doo is a lot braver and more proactive here than in other incarnations. Particularly in the season 1 finale and the season 2 premiere.
 * Also the monsters in this series are more threatening and do more damage than in previous shows, causing lots of collateral damage and being willing to murder people who get in their way. And that's not even getting to the main villains.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: Velma and Scooby both due to the "love triangle" between them and Shaggy. Shaggy seems to inadvertently bring out the worst in both of them.
 * Torture Mansion: The ruins of the Darrow Mansion in Episode 17 is this, complete with ominous music.
 * Town with a Dark Secret: Crystal Cove has a long and storied history of mysterious happenings, as well as an alleged curse. And if "Mister E" is to be believed, the gang have just invoked the curse again. Regardless, it becomes clear by the end of the pilot episode that something is very wrong with Crystal Cove.
 * That very wrong thing is a treasure hidden by the conquistadors; it's said that trying to find it could well bring about the destruction of the city.
 * Episode 20:
 * Trap Master: Fred, to the immediate tee, and
 * Troperrific
 * True Companions: Fred already thinks of the gang as this, stating in episode 8 that the relationship of the group as a whole is more important than the individual romances within and that they're going to be together their "whole lives".
 * Turn in Your Badge: In Episode 24, Mayor Jones fires Stone in favor of a vigilante in a rubber mask.
 * Two Scenes, One Dialogue: The gang talk to their parents this way in the beginning of the first episode.
 * Unwitting Pawn: Scooby, Angel and the gang in Episode 16; Mister E's legman arrives at the end of the episode to tell them they've not only been played, they may well have unleashed the very destruction they were supposed to prevent.
 * Velma in episode 21. Angel plants an eavesdropping bug in her sweater collar so Mr. E can find out who has the disc piece.
 * The Virus: In Episode 16, a woman with a huge grudge against the town tried destroying it by making the locals mad with love.
 * The War Has Just Begun: The last line in episode 26:
 * Was It All a Lie?: In Episode 18, Shaggy asks Mai Le this after she'd been caught with the ruby she'd come to Crystal Cove to steal; the answer "Yes, you fool!" devastated him.
 * Fred to Angel in episode 25.
 * Fred in episode 26.
 * And Sheriff Stone to
 * Wham! Episode: Episode 13 reveals that.
 * Episode 21.
 * Episode 23.  Phew...
 * Episode 26.
 * Episode 27/Season 2 Premiere.
 * Wham! Line:
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: In episode 13 the gang visits a victim in the hospital and asks for information on the Cicada monster. They end up giving the poor guy a heart attack, his monitor flatlines, and they sneak off as the nurses are rushing in the crash cart. His fate is never revealed.
 * Episode 21: We never know what happened to Brenda and Dylan after the Manticore attacked them in the cold opening.
 * Episode 26: We don't know what became of Ed Machine after Professor Pericles visits him. We just see lights flashing and hear Ed in what sounds like agony.
 * The latter two may fall under Gory Discretion Shot.
 * White and Grey Morality: Episode 20. "We have to destroy the environment to save it!"
 * Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: Being thoroughly convincing up until the inevitable unmasking, the monsters are (almost) always asked where they get their get the resources to be monsters in all but physical constitution. The explanations are usually utterly ludicrous.
 * Where's the Fun In That?:

"Episode 2:  : If it weren't for you meddling juveniles with your unauthorized investigation of our synthetic gator accessories. Episode 3:  : If it weren't for you meddling... peers. Episode 6:  : If it weren't for you meddling.... schoolmates .... of mine.   uses it straight in episode 15 but the gang say it doesn't apply; that's because   are the people who actually captured him. Episode 20 has the perps saying if it wasn't for  . Episode 21 has the perp gets a card from a fortunetelling machine which reads, "Meddling kids and a dog will foil your plan" which satisfies Fred, who felt there was something missing when it wasn't said by the perp out loud. Episode 22 has the culprit calling the gang "those meddling sycophants." Episode 23: Averted as the culprit was   Episode 24: Fred tells his dad that perp "wouldn't have gotten away with it if it weren't for us meddling kids." Episode 25: Episode 26: AMC cell phone reminder; The entire audience says, "Keep it down, you meddling kids!""
 * Whole-Plot Reference: Chargargothicon was a reference to the many Necronomicon forgeries. The names have been changed to protect the innocent... and for some reason implicate Robert E. Howard.
 * Where Walks Aphrodite is basically Invasion of the Body Snatchers, down to the inhuman shriek.
 * Who Is Driving?: In episode 27, Scooby barrels a tank into the barracks at the military school where Shaggy is attending so he can break him out.
 * Who Would Want to Watch Us?: At the end of "Nightfright."
 * Wilhelm Scream
 * The Worm That Walks: The Cicada Creature, shaped like and made of cicadas, in episode 13.
 * X Meets Y: Scooby Doo meets Twin Peaks.
 * You Are What You Hate: The greeter at the medieval fair professes nothing but contempt at the pirates who attend on the outside, but in private secretly wishes to be one.
 * You Meddling Kids: Lampshaded in the first episode, and then becomes a Mad Libs Catchphrase.


 * Your Princess Is in Another Castle: At the end of Episode 18,