Scooby-Doo!: Behind the Scenes (1998)
A series of eight shorts that aired on Cartoon Network during commercial breaks in the 25 Hours of Doo marathon in 1998.
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Episode 1 - Those Meddling Kids Get Started
Release Date: 1998-01-01Daphne's father, George, is credited with giving the gang a check (made out to "Mysteries, Inc.") for one hundred dollars to get them started, but since they didn't have a car at the time, they paid their parents gas money to drive them around. Unfortunately, that seems to have limited their mystery solving abilities, as Daphne's father is shown refusing to drop them off at a haunted house. Shaggy is credited with finding the Mystery Machine, which Daphne seems indifferent about. Once they acquired the van, they are said to have "skyrocketed to fame, setting new precedents for the whole crime-solving industry". The gang attributes their success to not waiting for mysteries to come to them, but by going out and finding the monsters on their own.
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Episode 2 - That Meddling Dog, Scooby Doo
Release Date: 1998-01-08Fred claims the entire gang thought at first that Scooby having an Adam's apple was "a little strange", but once they got used to it they weren't surprised when he started talking. Daphne is unsure if there's an animal that gets as scared as Scooby, although Velma suggests Shaggy. The remainder of this segment details Scooby's partnership with his "soulmate" Shaggy, who are compared to Holmes and Watson. Shaggy tearfully explains things between them "just clicked" and that there's nobody he'd rather be monster bait with. Scooby's touched to find out Shaggy's said such nice things about him, but Fred ruins the moment by admitting that while it may be hard to get Scooby to deal with a monster, getting him to the vet is an even bigger challenge.
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Episode 3 - Shaggy, That Meddling Hippie
Release Date: 1998-01-15It's revealed that Shaggy's childhood nickname was "Buzz" (in reference to his hairstyle at the time) and that he's currently a vegetarian. Shaggy discusses his unhealthy addiction to Scooby Snacks, which Velma claims at one point made up 45% of his body weight. To overcome this habit, he began collecting "decorator belt buckles" and believes to have the largest collection in the world, with 653. His favorite reads, "When Do We Eat?", although he claims to wear a different buckle for each mystery - they're just hard to see.
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Episode 4 - That Meddling Kid, Daphne
Release Date: 1998-01-22In an attempt to prove she's more than just the "most fashionable member of Mysteries Inc.", Daphne claims to get straight A's in school and footage is presented from her childhood showing her early interest in becoming a detective (and supermodel), much to her mother's chagrin. Unlike the others, she discusses having the most trouble managing a personal life outside mystery solving. On one occasion she is said to have met up late with the gang at Old Man Johnson's farm, despite leaving her date early. The notion that anything is happening romantically between her and Fred is quickly shut down by Daphne, though Fred's response appears a little more flustered. Scooby, on the other hand, appears to imply the two have at least kissed.
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Episode 5 - Velma, That Meddling Brain
Release Date: 1998-01-29Velma chalks up her catchphrase, "Jinkies", to her simply being so surprised that it "just came out" and admits to having previously said the less catchy phrase, "Oh my!" A strong push from her parents to be successful academically is said to have resulted in Velma receiving hundreds of awards for outstanding achievement. However, it's this success that is blamed for her being "more vocal than her comrades would like".
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Episode 6 - Fred and That Meddling Ascot
Release Date: 1998-02-05Fred defends his choice to wear an ascot by simply, though aggressively, stating, "I like how it looks", though is shown in a yearbook, where he was voted "Best Looking", to be wearing a bow tie. He is shown having had travelled with a performance troupe prior to devoting himself to solving mysteries. Daphne attributes this dramatic training to helping him get "into the mind of the villain". When the gang is scared, it is revealed that Fred will sing something from Show Boat to soothe them. Fred's singing voice, at least while performing "Old Man River", is relatively deep. His dream is to become a famous mystery writer.
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Episode 7 - Those Finger-Pointing Villains
Release Date: 1998-02-12One of the Scare Pair, the Gypsy and the Witch Doctor all claim to have been the first to refer to the gang as "those meddling kids". From within a jail cell, the Cat Creature explains that the key to being a good villain is the "hidden door". The Ghost Clown admits that he'd been "groomed to be an astronaut". Dr. Najib, the Black Knight (still stuck in the pillory) and the Headless Specter are all given a chance to give their true feelings on the gang, but appear hesitant to really say much of substance.
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Episode 8 - Those Meddling Kids, Together Again
Release Date: 1998-02-19After solving more than two hundred mysteries together, Daphne says the one thing she's learned is to avoid "paintings that blink" with Velma recalling that the all the bad guys they deal with hang portraits on their walls, with not one haunted house they've visited having had a landscape. At Fred's suggestion they recall the case from Never Ape an Ape Man, although they claim that Fred couldn't get the Ape Man's "mask" off because it was a real gorilla. Velma sums up what they do as "find a mystery, run around, trap a bad guy [and] rip his mask off". Fred says they have fun doing it, at which point Scooby scares Shaggy by putting on a gorilla mask. Fred proceeds to put a hand on each of their shoulders, proclaiming, "I love you guys." Velma is quick to shut him down however, firing back a snarky, "Knock it off."