Friday, August 28, 2015

An idea unused-----yet

Earlier, I had suggested that maybe Hanna-Barbera, and, up to this point, Warner Bros./Cartoon Network, had missed the boat on what would've been a perfect primetime venue for Scooby-Doo, something that could still be done, in this writer's opinion.

Some years ago, CN presented the Fancy Anvil Awards, which was just an excuse to create some sort of honor for Scooby, whom network programmers were obsessing over at the time, using classic reruns to fill every available open space on the schedule, a practice currently being used for the dreck known as Teen Titans Go!, because the programming department doesn't know any better. Prior to that, Scooby's only primetime special for ABC, Scooby Goes Hollywood, was the real impetus for Scooby & Scrappy-Doo going to a more slapstick comedy format beginning in season 2, a fact that Scrappy's legion of haters haven't wrapped their collective head around yet. Scooby & Shaggy were being used in a bite-the-hand-that-feeds-us showcase parodying a number of ABC series.

Now, you would think, given the ratings, that ABC would've asked for a 2nd Scooby primetime special, but nothing came of it, and it would be 23 years before the WB served up a pair of half hour primetime episodes that easily fit into What's New Scooby-Doo. This short-sightedness could be explained away as the network's reluctance to offend a number of major stars, particularly those who were regularly partying, if you will, with Dean Martin on his Celebrity Roasts. See where I'm going with this?

Given the interaction Scooby had with various celebrities during the New Scooby-Doo Movies series (1972-4), and later on What's New, a special roast of Scooby would not and should not be out of the question. WB has the resources to make this happen. The dais would be filled with the likes of former major league ballplayer Mike Piazza (who guested on What's New while with the Mets), Dick Van Dyke, Cher, John Astin (ex-The Addams Family), Tim Conway, and various other H-B/WB stars in a mix of live-action & CGI animation. As an inside nod to the fans, cast members such as Frank Welker would also be included.

But, here we are, after 46 years of Scooby's adventures, and the roast hasn't happened, even though Comedy Central now does an annual roast that would be ripe for parody. Most internet fans are prepared to hate on the forthcoming Be Cool, Scooby-Doo, ticketed for Boomerang, because of some ill-advised character designs, but why couldn't WB commission a roast in the interim, especially in between DTV's? Is Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes that much of a clueless putz?

What do you guys think?

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