Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated- The Complete Series Blu-ray Review
“Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” is one of the best Scooby-Doo series.
Created by Mitch Watson, Spike Brandt, and Tony Cervone, 2010’s “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” ran for 52 episodes across two seasons. As one might expect, the series finds Scooby-Doo, Daphne, Velma, Fred and Shaggy (AKA Mystery Inc.) solving mysteries, debunking claims, and unmasking villains in the most haunted place on Earth (Crystal Cove), but this series deviates from the episodic nature by being more of a serialized animated series. There are numerous ongoing story and character arcs spread throughout the series involving Fred’s parents, Crystal Cove’s history, the vanishing Darrow family, the original Mystery Inc. team, the mysterious Mr. E, a cursed treasure, Mystery Inc. disbanding, the planispheric disk map, Scooby nightmares, the Freak of Crystal Cove, time, and an evil entity.
“Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” is essentially one big love letter to the franchise. Not only does it pay homage to past Scoob films and series, but it digs deeper into the characters and the storytelling. While the show does often go the monster of the week route, the writers are more focused on a big ambitious overarching mystery involving the town of Crystal Cove. ‘Mystery Incorporated’ tries something different and, for the most part, is successful in veering away from the standard formula that we have seen in so many incarnations over the years. Fred gets more of a character here (particularly in terms of his family and his love of traps), the stories (and the top notch animation) dial up the spooky elements as they reference the likes of “Saw,” “The Shining,” and “A Nightmare On Elm Street,” and the ongoing story arcs are full of mystery, intrigue, and surprises. It feels like a more grown-up Scooby-Doo with more than just “meddling kids.”
Outside of the horror movie and TV references, viewers can expect other fun surprises like Hanna-Barbera character cameos (such as Blue Falcon, Jonny Quest and Captain Caveman) and references to the Kaiju classic “The War Of The Gargantuas,” cult classic “Twin Peaks,” and authors H.P. Lovecraft and Harlan Ellison. In fact, the episodes “The Shrieking Madness” (inspired by Lovecraft’s Cthulhu) and “Nightmare In Red” (a combination “Twin Peaks” and “A Nightmare On Elm Street” dream centric episode) were easily the best episodes of the entire series.
You can’t talk about the show without mentioning the great voice cast. Matthew Lillard is note perfect as the scene stealing Shaggy. Frank Welker disappears into both Scooby-Doo and Fred, Mindy Cohn completely embodies Velma and Grey DeLisle shines as Daphne. Keep your ears peeled for Linda Cardellini in some guest spots as well.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? The hi-def transfer does wonders for the animated series. The colors really pop here.
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? This a decidedly lively audio track (especially for a 2.0 track).
Extras include trailers for seasons 1 and 2 and commentary by Matt Hargreaves and Andy Clift on the episodes “Beware The Beast From Below,” “All Fear The Freak,” “The Man In The Mirror,” and “Through The Curtain.”
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