# What's the usual level of difficulty in solving a Scooby Doo mystery? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339 "2007-02-15T14:14:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/81 "2009-02-10T21:40:44Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > [Here is a neat quiz.](http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=94) Scooby Doo plot or actual headline? I got 7/10. I assumed that anything that seemed too strange for a Scooby Doo episode was real. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/82 "2009-02-10T22:07:41Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > [Here is a neat quiz.](http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=94) Scooby Doo plot or actual headline? I got 7/10. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/83 "2009-02-10T22:14:31Z")
I have watched far too much Scooby Doo over the years. Score: 90% (9 out of 10) I blew the castle question though. Apparently people who take the quiz do well on it though. > [@](#): > > This quiz has been taken 75359 times with an average score of 66% ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/84 "2009-02-11T07:47:27Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > Doubtful, because, as others have pointed out, the company that is making The Venture Brothers is the _same company_ that own the rights to Scooby-Doo. I’m sure it’s done with the copyright holder’s blessing. The Venture Brothers has also parodied Jonny Quest the same way. They’ve depicted grown-up Jonny as a heroin addict and they even killed off Race Bannon in one episode. > > There’s little danger of confusion. Adult Swim doesn’t come on the air until 10pm in most markets and The Venture Brothers usually doesn’t run before midnight. If your kids are watching TV then you’ve got bigger problems. The same company, eh? Sounds like a bunch of snake-oil publicity people who deserve a fate such as that meted out to the victims on NCIS. Chester Gould did not create a separate Dick Tracy who was a crooked, dissolute cop; there’s no alter ego of Mr. Chips who behaves like a Simon Legree wannabe. If the company owning the rights to the characters is as you describe, I hope they go belly-up and their policymakers starve to death. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/85 "2009-02-11T08:08:46Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > The same company, eh? Sounds like a bunch of snake-oil publicity people who deserve a fate such as that meted out to the victims on NCIS. Chester Gould did not create a separate Dick Tracy who was a crooked, dissolute cop; there’s no alter ego of Mr. Chips who behaves like a Simon Legree wannabe. If the company owning the rights to the characters is as you describe, I hope they go belly-up and their policymakers starve to death. :mad: Yes, I’m sure that Time Warner is doomed to a swift death, along with Microsoft and the Coca-Cola Corporation. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/86 "2009-02-11T12:03:14Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > The same company, eh? Sounds like a bunch of snake-oil publicity people who deserve a fate such as that meted out to the victims on NCIS. Venture Bros. is definitely not for everybody, but you really don’t know what you’re talking about here. Basically it’s a parody of Jonny Quest and a lot of similar Hanna Barbera adventure shows that feature clever young boys, brilliant scientists and comic book style supervillains. It’s very stupid sometimes and very funny and clever at others. They did _one_ Scooby Doo episode and I think it was closer to the funny and clever side: combining the Scooby Doo gang with famous serial killers was sick but inspired in my opinion. Everybody’s parodied Scooby Doo, but as far as I know, nobody’s ever done THAT. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/87 "2009-02-11T13:27:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Everybody’s parodied Scooby Doo, but as far as I know, nobody’s ever done THAT. My favorite Scooby parody was a commercial on Cartoon Network where the Mystery Machine was run off the road by the Mach 5 (and then, of course, exploded, as cars do in Speed Racer when they get run off the road). “Dogs should not drive cars, Uh-huh!” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/88 "2009-02-11T22:26:37Z")
[QUOTE=dougie\_monty] The same company, eh? Sounds like a bunch of snake-oil publicity people who deserve a fate such as that meted out to the victims on NCIS. Chester Gould did not create a separate Dick Tracy who was a crooked, dissolute cop; there’s no alter ego of Mr. Chips who behaves like a Simon Legree wannabe. If the company owning the rights to the characters is as you describe, I hope they go belly-up and their policymakers starve to death. [/QUOTE] Dude, get over it. It’s not like they created a new series called _Scooby Doo: The Dark Side_, and run it back-go-back on Saturday mornings with the original. It’s a one-off parody on a separate show in a different time slot with a completely different audience: adults who grew up watching the cartoons as kids watching parodies for humor. It’s pulling a “Simpsons” or “Southpark” on the shows. As far as the creative team, it is a different set of people entirely writing these shows. They are protected from copywrite infringement for a variety of reasons, one significant one being that the copywrite holder is the same entity (Time Warner), but Time Warner wisely recognizes that they have a lot of markets with different demographics, and catering to one does not interfere with another. If you don’t care for it, don’t watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/89 "2009-02-11T22:55:59Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > [Here is a neat quiz.](http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=94) Scooby Doo plot or actual headline? 10/10. I recognized more of the weird news stories than I did the Scooby Doo episodes. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/90 "2009-02-11T22:56:17Z")
Besides that, there have been a lot of _unauthorized_ parodies featuring the _actual_ characters that are much worse. (I’m thinking specifically of the _TV Funhouse_ poking fun at the babyification of cartoon characters by having Scooby and his pals as fetuses, and the _Family Guy_ spoof where Frank Welker himself appears as Fred and gives the memorable line, “You know what that means- we’re dealing with one sick son-of-a-bitch!”) ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/91 "2009-02-11T23:54:20Z")
I got 7/10 but I was second guessing myself too much. I got the castle one, but failed on Gene Simmons (who squiks me out) and the snowboard one. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/92 "2009-02-12T00:09:02Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Dude, get over it. It’s not like they created a new series called _Scooby Doo: The Dark Side_, and run it back-go-back on Saturday mornings with the original. It’s a one-off parody on a separate show in a different time slot with a completely different audience: adults who grew up watching the cartoons as kids watching parodies for humor. It’s pulling a “Simpsons” or “Southpark” on the shows. > > As far as the creative team, it is a different set of people entirely writing these shows. They are protected from copywrite infringement for a variety of reasons, one significant one being that the copywrite holder is the same entity (Time Warner), but Time Warner wisely recognizes that they have a lot of markets with different demographics, and catering to one does not interfere with another. > > If you don’t care for it, don’t watch it. [pedant] You mean **copyright** , not **copywrite**. [/pedant] The key to avoiding Gaudere’s wrath is to use as few words as possible. And to type really, really slowly. And to proofread multiple times. You know, on balance, it’s not really worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/93 "2009-02-13T06:26:49Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Dude, get over it. It’s not like they created a new series called _Scooby Doo: The Dark Side_, and run it back-go-back on Saturday mornings with the original. It’s a one-off parody on a separate show in a different time slot with a completely different audience: adults who grew up watching the cartoons as kids watching parodies for humor. It’s pulling a “Simpsons” or “Southpark” on the shows. > > As far as the creative team, it is a different set of people entirely writing these shows. They are protected from copywrite infringement for a variety of reasons, one significant one being that the copywrite holder is the same entity (Time Warner), but Time Warner wisely recognizes that they have a lot of markets with different demographics, and catering to one does not interfere with another. > > If you don’t care for it, don’t watch it. _Watch it?_ I’d sooner go into a diabetic coma. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/94 "2009-02-14T01:44:48Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > _Watch it?_ I’d sooner go into a diabetic coma. :mad: Yeah, I know, it _is_ pretty freaking sweet. What? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/95 "2009-02-14T05:37:53Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Yeah, I know, it _is_ pretty freaking sweet. > > What? Yeah, as the sugar of lead. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/96 "2009-02-14T15:27:43Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Yeah, as the sugar of lead. (One Wiki search later) Hah, I didn’t know about that. Neat.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/97 "2009-02-14T17:03:10Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Chester Gould did not create a separate Dick Tracy who was a crooked, dissolute cop. I bet you loathe [Al Capp](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearless_Fosdick), then. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/98 "2009-02-14T17:08:16Z")
_What’s New Scooby Doo_ is awesome. _Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue_, on the other hand, seriously sucks. And although I’m sure they’ve made more than one episode, I keep seeing the same one. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/99 "2009-02-14T17:21:58Z")
You’d think the gang would realize that it was never a ghost, and stop being scared when they saw supernatural things. But no, they acted as though it was really a ghost EVERY SINGLE TIME. Gah! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339/100 "2009-02-14T17:23:31Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > You’d think the gang would realize that it was never a ghost, and stop being scared when they saw supernatural things. But no, they acted as though it was really a ghost EVERY SINGLE TIME. Gah! Given that they were high in the midst of every single case, that’s to be expected. I mean, seriously dude–they thought SCOOBY COULD TALK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-usual-level-of-difficulty-in-solving-a-scooby-doo-mystery/392339.md?page=6)