Friday, August 24, 2007

The return of the Great Dane

“And, I would have got away with it, if it hadn’t been for you meddling kids!”

This is one very famous dialogue from my most favorite cartoon of all times. The Great Dane with his sweet face, his amazing teenaged friends and all those ghosts, ghouls, sea monsters, etc. etc. …. Yes, I am talking about none other than SCOOBY DOO!

When I was about five years old, we got our new T.V. with a new cable connection. One evening, as my father sat browsing through the channels, he came across Cartoon Network. The cartoon that was being aired at that moment was Scooby Doo. I remember being absolutely thrilled by whatever I saw that day. I liked the cartoon so much that I made up my mind to watch it everyday. I did watch it too. I remember that in those days, it used to be aired at 8 p.m. My love for the dog seemed to increase with every episode. At present, Harry Potter is my passion, my obsession. There was a time when Scooby Doo used to be in Harry Potter’s place. Most people around me liked Tom and Jerry and Dexter’s Laboratory. They were really surprised to note that I liked Scooby Doo. They made fun of my choice and me. But, I hardly cared.

In the year 2000, Cartoon Network held an election. They wanted to know which cartoon their viewers fancied the most. The viewers would have to vote for their favorite cartoon saying why they liked it. The cartoon with maximum votes would become the ‘Toon of the Millennium.’ I didn’t waste any time. Immediately sent my vote for Scooby Doo by post. And, Scooby Doo won! He became the ‘Toon of the Millennium’.

But, around 2003, pressure from studies began to increase. So, it became very difficult to sit and watch T.V. at 8 p.m. Gradually , my eagerness to watch the episodes began to flicker. Then, it stopped altogether. With the intervention of Harry Potter in 2004, Scooby was totally wiped out from my mind.

Recently, I discovered an entire new series of Scooby Doo called ‘What’s New Scooby Doo?’ being aired on Cartoon Network. The timing , 2 p.m., is just perfect. I started watching it on Thursdays and Fridays (days I don’t have tuition after school). I liked it a lot. These new episodes are fantastic. Scooby Doo is back in my life. So are Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy. And, of course, all those ghosts who are not really ghosts. They are just a bunch of people trying to scare everyone off because of some reason or the other. The dialogue that I quoted at the beginning of this post is the dialogue that they give after Scooby and Co. catches them.

My love for Harry Potter might eclipse my love for Scooby Doo, but I still love Scooby and will always do. After all, he was my first passion.

12 comments:

Titash said...

it was one of the first mystery toons I had ever seen, and I love it as much as you do!

R said...

I hear you, I hear you! I love the signature tune too. :D

RB said...

Scooby Doo's cooool! One of the very few cartoons I have ever liked. :-)

Jayant said...

Ah, this post reminded me of my days of being in love with Scooby Doo. I was CRAZY about him! I started watching it when I was about 7-8, I guess. Loved Scooby, Scrappy, Shaggy, the comedy and the mysteries. Everything was perfect!
Then there the 1-hour special Scooby Doo movies (dunno if you ever caught them or not). My favourite was the one in which the gang meets the Addams Family. It's been ages since I last watched Scooby Doo. Although, I didn't like the ones that started later on that didn't have the other gang members in them.
But yeah, Scooby Doo will always be as special to me as it is to you. :)
And your wish is granted. I updated. :)

Unknown said...

I was one of those people who made fun of your choice of Scooby Doo but you persisted in your choice of him and his gang...just the way every true love story should be. :)

Subhadip said...

I have never followed Scooby Doo myself; however, I can relate to your enthusiasm as it is same as my niece shows.

Trivia: The name "Scooby Doo" was inspired by Frank Sinatra's singing "Do bee do bee da" at the end of the song "Strangers in the night".

Kanika said...

Never truly liked Scoby Doo...but I think kids love him for what he is...

Nice post kido....

Rakesh said...

One of my nephew is very fond of scooby Doo....

Butterfly said...

@Titash
Great!:-)

@Rohit
Oh yeah, the signature tune is wonderful....Scooby Dooby Doo, Where are You?:-D

@Richa
Of course,he is cool! I forgot to mention that in my post.:-)

@Jayant
Yes, I used to watch the 1-hr Scooby Doo Movies. And, I remember that the gang met the Addams Family in one movie,but I don't remember the story now.
But, I was more crazy about the old Scooby Doo episodes and I knew all of them by heart at one stage.:-)

@Woodsmoke
I still remember you and Riju Dada singing,"Scooby Dooby Doo, Where are You, Gone to do some more hagu!" It used to drive me mad.
But,it's like you said. This is how a true love story should be.:-)

@Subhadip Da
Thanks for that bit of information.:-)
I must say, your niece has a very good choice.

@Kanu
Thanks.:-)
You are right. I love Scooby Doo coz he is Scooby Doo.:-)

@Rakesh
Welcome to my blog.:-)
Your nephew has got a very good taste.:-)

~ Deeps ~ said...

never seen it......grown up by the time all this started coming.....the only one i can still watch again right now is tom and jerry.......but i have heard a lot of scooby dooby from my nephew :)

That Girl said...

Scooby Doo's cute! I was never crazy about the show - haven't even watched too much of it, to be honest - but whatever I've seen, I liked. Scooby and Shaggy are such nuts! :-)

Butterfly said...

@Deeps
But, you can watch it now. It's really good, you know.:-)

@Amiya Didi
Yeah, Scooby and Shaggy make the perfect pair.:-)