Scooby-Doo and the gang attempt to solve creepy mysteries in the town of Crystal Cove, a place with a history of eerie supernatural events. Fredrick "Fred" Jones, Jr., Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, and Scooby-Doo make up the team of teenage mystery solvers who live in a small town called Crystal Cove, the self-proclaimed "Most Hauntedest Place on Earth". The town's long history of strange disappearances and ghost and monster sightings form the basis for its thriving tourist industry, and as such, the gang's parents and some people (mostly Mayor Fred Jones Sr. and Sheriff Bronson Stone) are not happy that their children are debunking all the supernatural goings-on that bring in so much revenue as the overwrought schemes of charlatans and criminals. In addition to the traditional cases they always solve, the team finds itself being nudged into the uncovering of a dark secret that is hidden in the past of Crystal Cove, covered up by parties unknown. The new Mystery Incorporated is following cryptic hints from a faceless mystery-man known only as "Mr. E". The new Mystery Incorporated is unearthing the legend of a cursed Conquistador treasure, the secret history of Crystal Cove's founding Darrow Family, and the mysterious, unsolved case involving four mystery-solving youths and their pet-the original Mystery Incorporated. Standing in the way of their solving this mystery, however, are the romantic entanglements pulling the kids apart: Shaggy finds himself unable to put his new romance with Velma ahead of his longtime friendship with Scooby, while Daphne pines for a trap-obsessed Fred, who obliviously struggles to realize he shares her feelings too. As they investigate further the mystery about the curse of Crystal Cove, they discover that a creature known as "The Freak of Crystal Cove" threatens and stalks anyone who comes near the haunted treasure. They uncover the Freak's true identity to be Mayor Fred Jones Sr. who reveals that Fred's true parents are Brad and Judy from the original Mystery, Inc. In the aftermath, Fred goes off to find his real parents and breaks his engagement with Daphne, declaring that "Mystery, Inc. is dead". Shaggy's parents send Shaggy to a military academy and Scooby-Doo to a farm. As Professor Pericles flaunts his two pieces of the Planospheric Disc, Scooby-Doo vows to get the gang back together and go after him. This is THE darkest Scooby Doo Series I've ever watched. Love it or Hate it, you simply can't ignore it.<br/><br/>I've to admit that the mysteries were top notch. Every episode started with a 'seemingly' supernatural mystery that had a perfect explanation later on(well, almost!). Despite watching so many Scooby Doo series, this one had mysteries that even baffled me :)<br/><br/>I also liked the character development (though at the cost of reduced Scooby & Shaggy time!) and how it served as a prequel to other Scooby Doo series! <br/><br/>And the BEST part was how it paid subtle homage to horror classics and other Hanna Barbara shows! Yogi Bear, Johnny Quest, Flintstones, Terminator, Halloween, Night of Living Dead, etc. I think I've to watch the series again to look for more :) <br/><br/>Now, for the parts that I didn't like. Where are the chases, guys? The comedic chases that became a staple of Scooby Doo series, were almost missing in this one. And the evil-doer fell into the trap, almost in seconds, after it was set. But above all, I really hated the 'intent to kill' of the bad guys. Many of them weren't just trying to scare people off, they were ready to kill!!!<br/><br/>In earlier Scooby Doo series, it was usually a masked man trying to scare off the meddling kids! There were exceptions (Zombie Island, anyone?) but not to this extent. The death of Cassidy Williams was acceptable, but the death of Hot Dog Waters in the season 2 finale shocked me to quite an extent. Maybe the first violent death in the history of Scooby Doo! Even with the entire alternate timeline gimmick, you simply can't ignore that scene.<br/><br/>I hope they eliminate such unnecessary violence from the future series. Or,it might be the death of Scooby Doo show as we know it. I miss when the monsters were real like in Scooby doo and the curse of Zombie island, Scooby Doo and The Witch's Ghost, Scooby Doo and the alien invaders and even Scooby Doo and The Goblin King. That's the only time Scooby Doo was ever interesting to me, when the monsters turn out to be real and they get creative with how the characters have to react to it. The 'guy in a mask' routine was old back in the seventies. It bored me. I wish they would do it with the monsters being real again. It was popular in the eighties with The Thirteen ghosts of Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo and the Boo Brothers, Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School, and Scooby Doo and the Reluctant werewolf. And it was popular again in the nineties with the slightly darker Witch's Ghost, Space Invaders, and Zombie Island. I wish they would start remembering the formula is more interesting Also the animation on this is subpar and too stylized. Besides that it's very hard to get past the change in Shaggy's voice. They should have tried harder to find someone who sounds like Casey. I know they used the actor from the live action movie but I didn't really like that either.
Alrchry replied
367 weeks ago