What's New, Scooby-Doo?

The gang, in order from left to right, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby.

The ninth incarnation of Scooby-Doo, the show lasted for three seasons from 2002 to 2005. It is very similar to the original version of the show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, in many respects, but has been updated with more modern technology and is usually more realistic than the older "cartoony" shows. It also parodies many conventions of the older series.

Additionally, this series is no longer produced by the original Hanna-Barbera Productions (which ceased to exist by 1998), instead, it was produced by its then-parent company, a certain animation studio that is famous for making a series of theatrical shorts starring a wise-cracking rabbit, a lisping duck and cat, a stuttering pig and a small canary, and is often nicknamed Termite Terrace.

Tropes used in What's New, Scooby-Doo? include:

Abhorrent Admirer: Gibby Norton to Velma.
Actor Allusion: In "A Scooby-Doo Valentine", Daphne laments that the fact that she was impersonated by an extra (who, ironically, resembled her voice actor, Grey DeLisle), saying "What, Sarah Michelle Gellar wasn't available?" Sarah Michelle Gellar played Daphne in the Live Action Adaptation of the franchise.
- In one episode, Shaggy's filling in as a radio host for their friend Dell. He shows Scooby his "radio voice"... which is, of course, Casey Kasem's natural speaking voice (the one he uses on the radio).
Always Someone Better: One episode introduces a girl named Verona Dempsey who plays this to Velma (all while being really bitchy to her). It turns out she's one of the episode's two villains.
Art Shift: In contrast to the usual Hanna-Barbera style, the characters are redesigned in Warner Bros. Animation's typical "house" style of the time for this series.
Berserk Button: In one episode, Freddy tells Shaggy and Scooby that the Monster of the Week was badmouthing Scooby Snacks; this gets them riled up enough to be bait without the usual bribe.
Betty, Veronica and Archie Switcheroo:
- Veronica faces Veronica in the Halloween special with KISS. Velma's cousin Marcie, local Corn Queen and Alpha Bitch, starts flirting with Freddy in Daphne's presence, while Freddy remains Oblivious to Love. Daphne becomes jealous and questions if Marcie could be the one sabotaging the Halloween festivities; Marcie gets defensive and proves with security cameras that she was working retail at the time of one of the attacks. While Daphne had no proof, she was right; Marcie was the saboteur, using remote electronics to cover her tracks. The camera provided different evidence, that the gloves Marcie was stocking matched the ones found at the site.
- There's a tiny Played for Laughs version between Daphne and Velma when a vampire harasses the Hex Girls at one of their video shoots. Freddy sets up a trap before solving the mystery, and says they need bait. Shaggy and Scooby refuse, but Freddy explains he needs one of the girls to dress up as a Hex Girl. Daphne primps expectantly. Cut to Bookworm Velma in the costume, with The Fashionista Daphne asking why she gets to wear the dress. Surprisingly, Velma outruns the vampire after luring him out in the open, allowing the gang to trap him.
Big Eater: As always, Shaggy and Scooby are made of this trope.
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Occurs in the Halloween episode with redhead Daphne, brunet Velma and Velma's blond cousin, Marcy.
Blond Guys Are Evil: Averted with Fred.
Bookcase Passage: Parodied whenever necessary.
Brainy Brunette: Velma Dinkley.
Charlie and the Chocolate Parody: Shaggy and Scooby once won a contest where the prize was either a trip to Aruba or a tour of the Scooby Snack factory in Munchville, Ohio. And the factory was run by a man dressed like Willy Wonka.
Cloudcuckoolander: Fred Jones.
Continuity Nod: The flashback to the gang's childhood in "A Terrifying Round with a Menacing Metallic Clown" is in the same style as A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
- This series was actually full of nods, a first for a Scooby-Doo series. The gang would reference places they had been previously as well as feature recurring characters in a few episodes. Even the Hex Girls made an appearance.
Covered in Mud: In the episode "Reef Grief!" Spencer Johnson covers the sand castle competitors with mud so they can build his underground freeway.
Crazy Prepared: The show turns Fred into this, having modified the Mystery Machine to be able to turn into a submarine. In "Wrestle Maniacs", it is shown that he carries a spare wrestling outfit around in the van.
Darker and Edgier: Certain episodes, at least. The backstory for the two ghost brothers in "Big Scare in the Big Easy", for instance, states that they killed one another in a duel in the family graveyard. The provided flashback shows the two brothers loading their pistols on-screen, and ends with the sound of a gunshot.
Demoted to Extra: Scooby-Doo himself, in most cases, and sometimes Shaggy. Typically the show would shift focus onto Fred, Daphne and Velma, but one major exception was the episode '"Camp Comeoniniwannascareya", which did not feature Fred, Velma or Daphne at all; it just featured Shaggy and Scooby-Doo as the main characters.
The Ditz: Again, Fred Jones.
Dramatic Thunder: Played straight in "The Vampire Strikes Back".
Even Nerds Have Standards: Velma's opinion of Gibby.
Everybody Did It: In one episode it's shown that all the suspects were in on the plan.
Precious Puppies: The Secret Six are a group of six golden retriever puppies that appear in several episodes. And they are adorable, especially when they're performing military exercises.
Farmer's Daughter: Velma's cousin Marcy is one of these, but without the overly protective father.
Flanderization: Yet again, Fred Jones.
Food as Bribe: How the gang usually persuade Shaggy and Scooby to be monster bait. In one episode, they use Scooby Snacks to persuade Shaggy and Scooby to be literal bait--the two end up dressing like octopi.
Former Child Star: The Mystery Machine used to belong to the Mystery Kids, a musical group that starred a brother and a sister. They appear in the episode "It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine", where their mother has been attempting to arrange a return to stardom for them. They decide at the end that they're happier being nobodies.
The Game Never Stopped: This happens in the episode E-Scream.
Gentle Giant: The "Coral Creature", which turned out to be one of the few (if not only) times where the monster was real.
Genre Savvy: In one episode, Shaggy and Scooby brought their own Scooby Snacks so they'd not have to accept the ones the gang offered as bribe. The gang reacted by offering milk, which they accepted.
- This show is often genre savvy a LOT; every episode has to parody the classic Scooby-Doo formula in some way.
Hey, It's That Voice!: Several voice cast members from The Fairly OddParents can often be heard on this show; not only does Grey DeLisle (Vicky) voice Daphne (having previously voiced the character in Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase), there have been several times where Tara Strong (Timmy), Daran Norris (Cosmo), Susan Blakeslee (Wanda), Carlos Alazraqui (Mr. Crocker), Kevin Michael Richardson (various other characters), even Adam West in one episode.
Human Popsicle: Dr. Armind Zola attempts to enact this trope in "Uncle Scooby and Antarctica".
Inexplicably Identical Individuals: All Daphne needs to look identical to her cousin Danica is a wig. She says that her Uncle Julius also resembles Danica when he wears heels.
- Velma looks like her cousin Marcy's parents, especially in contrast to Marcy herself, ironically.
Instant Plastic Surgery: One gag showed the gang visiting an amusement park of innovations. Daphne jokingly pushes Velma into a high-tech makeover machine. Velma steps out in five seconds with makeup, her turtleneck turned into a tank, and stylish platforms. The machine does nothing to Daphne, who says there's no improving on perfection.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Surprisingly only done on one episode: "The Vampire Strikes Back," it starts off as your classic Scooby-Doo thunderstorm (complete with crackles, pops and vinyl hiss on the first couple of lightning flashes), but then it gets more realistic and loud, and then after the loudest thunder crash of them all (when Fred leaps down from a tower to save Daphne near the end), the storm abruptly comes to an end.
Lampshade Hanging: And lots of it, too. Every episode had to have at least one or two parodies of the classic Scooby-Doo conventions, to the point where it was no longer funny.
Latex Perfection: Typically avoided in this series in favor of the villains using makeup, animatronics, holograms, etc. Though there are a few exceptions in this series, such as in the intro, and in "A Scooby-Doo Valentine" when the gang is framed by rubber-masked impostors, and Scooby is unmasked to reveal J.C. Chasez of N'Sync!
Let's Split Up, Gang!: In pretty much every episode. The show does occasionally break the pattern of the two groups: Fred, Daphne and Velma in one group and Scooby and Shaggy in the other.
Lighthouse Point: In "Fright House of a Lighthouse".
Living Toys: Apparently living toys are the monster of the episode in "Toy Scary Boo".
MacGyvering: It's not rare for Daphne to do this, usually with items she carries around in her purse.
Monster Clown: A giant version of this attacks a mini golf course in "A Terrifying Round with a Menacing Metallic Clown". This is more of a problem than usual because Velma has a phobia of clowns.
Monster of the Week: Though the monster almost always turns out to be fake.
The New Adventures
Not Himself: In "E-Scream", everyone aside from Velma acts pretty weird, Fred doesn't want to split up, Daphne wears shoes that don't match, and Shaggy's catchphrase was slightly different^[1], See The Game Never Stopped.
Once an Episode: Nearly all the parodies of the old series (especially spoofing the "meddling kids" line.)
The Other Darrin: After Don Messick's death, Frank Welker took over the voice role of Scooby-Doo, in addition to voicing Fred as he always did, which resulted in Scooby-Doo sounding more like Brain from Inspector Gadget. Velma was also recast to Mindy Cohn, which made her sound more like Mandy from Grim and Evil (ironically, Mandy was voiced by Grey DeLisle, who was Daphne's voice actress since 2001).
- Also, in The Vampire Strikes Back Kimberly Brooks did double-duty and voiced both Luna & Dusk of the Hex Girls (although the episode's credits claim that Dusk's usual actress, Jane Wiedlin, provided singing vocals).
Out-of-Character Moment: In-universe: In "E-Scream", this is what tips Velma off to the fact that she's in a virtual reality game: Freddy doesn't want to split up, Daphne is okay with wearing mismatched shoes, and Shaggy and Scooby are perfectly willing to be bait for a trap even without being offered Scooby Snacks. Shaggy saying "Toinks!" instead of "Zoinks" is just the final nail in the coffin.
Panty Shot: Velma in "It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine". But you've gotta not blink or you'll miss it.
Pro Wrestling Episode: "Wrestle Maniacs".
Reality Ensues:
- "Space Ape at the Cape" has NASA scientist Janet frantic because an alien hatched from an egg that she was studying, growing and terrorizing the station. She becomes snappy and says no one can see her research even if they have clearance. Her coworkers and the gang assume she's stressed about the runaway alien. Velma figured out that Janet was behind the alien hoax, owing to the power of science. Janet's research wasn't ready, and she engaged in the scam to keep NASA from busting her. The "egg" was rehydrated organic material, something Velma realized after Shaggy and Scooby played with the dehydrator; a few drops of water, and it would grow, eventually "hatching". Oh, and the undercover janitor with the secret lab? She was an FBI agent. The FBI is interested in genuine alien cases, and said agent realized Janet was a fraud in a matter of days.
- In "Toy Scary Boo", this is how Velma realizes that Harry Roze wasn't the saboteur for this reason. None of his toys match up to the same caliber of the microchip-controlled toys that they saw. That, and it didn't account for the roaring noise that the gang heard.
- Sometimes there is a case where the criminal doesn't go to jail for different reasons:
  - In "Lights, Camera, Mayhem!" when the director is unmasked as the saboteur, the whole crew mentions that they didn't want to work on Spy Me A River so it could have been any of them. The director mentions he'd rather got o jail, but Freddy points out they don't need to call the cops. no one got hurt, and the director in fact saved Scooby and Shaggy from a deadly fall. Everyone opts to cancel the film and make a new one, The Modem II. At the premiere, the director thanks the "wonderful meddling kids".
- In "Roller Ghoster Ride," a twofold example occurs.
  - Even though the gang unmasks Terry as the monster, and framing her sister Chris to boot, Velma and Freddy point out she technically got away with it. Since the sabotage and framing happened at the family theme park, on private property, the gang has no jurisdiction to call the cops since Terry made sure that no one could get hurt from her mechanics. Her family would have to make that decision. Chris has a better idea than simply dialing 911: "I'm telling Mom." Cue Terry chasing after her, begging her not to get their mother involved>
  - One kid who was too short to go on any of the rides asked why he wasn't considered a suspect owing to his motivation. Velma breaks it to him gently that he was too small to fit into the costume. "Aww man!" Shaggy and Scooby cheer him up by saying he's not too short for the ride they designed, which involves eating their way out of a hot fudge sundae.
- "Large Dragon at Large" has it revealed that the criminal's motivation was to scare off people while he searched for treasure based on a map at the tourist trap castle. The owner, after this is revealed, is bewildered and laughs. He says that he made up the myth of the dragon and the treasure for tourists. Would a random castle owner just happen to have a map in such a public place?
Scarecrow Solution: Gabe/Toxic Terror, to protect a camp from becoming an adult resort.
Scooby-Dooby Doors: Parodied in almost every episode.
Scooby-Doo Hoax: Naturally.
- One episode plays with it; the monster is real. It's just a creature that was disturbed by the crooked plan of the villain.
Ship Tease: There's some of this between Fred and Daphne, particularly in the Valentine's Day episode. They are the main Fan-Preferred Couple, after all.
Shout-Out: Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner both make a surprise cameo appearance at the beginning of "New Mexico, Old Monster", complete with their classic designs and the appropriate sound effects.
- Doctor Armind Zola should be obvious by now.
- Not to mention that the third episode of season 3 has a character named Bocephus, as in Hank Williams, Jr.'s nickname.
Stalker with a Crush: Gibby Norton, who obsesses over Velma.
Super OCD: Daphne.
Surfer Dude: Daphne impresses one of these with her surfing in "She See Sea Monsters by the Sea Shore".
Took a Level in Badass: Daphne Blake, surprisingly.
Totem Pole Trench: In the episode "Gentlemen, Start Your Monsters", Jimmy and his sister Cindy wore a jumpsuit, with one on the other's shoulders.
Wacky Racing: Fred enters the Mystery Machine in one of these in the episode "The Fast and the Wormious". Because this is Scooby-Doo, the already bizarre race gets interrupted by a large worm monster, which turns out to be one of the racers.
With Friends Like These...: Fred, Daphne, and Velma could be so mean to Shaggy and Scooby sometimes.
You Meddling Kids: Parodied in nearly every episode as well; instances include having twin villains say it in unison (in "The Vampire Strikes Back") and a young kid calling the gang "meddling grownups" (in "Gentlemen, Start Your Monsters"). And the villain of "There's no Business Like Snow Business" called them "meddling teenagers".

↑ He said "Toinks!"

[1] He said "Toinks!"

[1]