I generally do not write about television. . . not because I do not like it (I have spent hours upon hours watching sports, Seinfeld reruns, American Pickers, and everything in-between), but rather, have not found the time to build a new area on my website that would pay tribute to the different, though no less entertaining, artistic medium in the proper way.
Though today, I cannot help myself. For thirteen years, heading all the way back to September 13th, 2005, I have tuned in to the adventures of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) on the television series Supernatural. I was seventeen years old at the time, and its alluring combination of demons of the week, hitting the road in Dean’s 67 Chevy Impala, the classic rock tunes, and the dynamic relationship between the brothers, drew me in.
Of course, the series has evolved, once just a monster of the week show (with a loose plot revolving around finding their father – played by the great Jeffrey Dean Morgan), it has quickly grown into an epic tale of good versus evil, with dynamic season-plus long arcs where everything is on the line (Heaven and Hell are just the beginning). Along the way, the writers have figured out ingenious ways to throw in episodes that do not necessarily fit within the flow of the season’s arc – meta standalones that find the brothers in a plethora of unexpected situations, be it at a live action role playing convention (where those attending are acting out the lives of Sam and Dean – titled “The Real Ghostbusters”), or transported to a place called Vancouver where they are actually playing people named Jared and Jensen – two actors shooting a series (episode: “The French Mistake”). Each one of these unique episodes have burned a place into the psyche of Supernatural fans, and the newest one is no different.
The brothers, along with their loyal angel friend Castiel (Misha Collins), find themselves sucked into a cursed television – an animated episode where they come face to face with Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and the rest of the gang. What at first may seem like an absurd premise, with a little bit of thought, it makes sense. . . as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is basically a kids version of Supernatural from the late sixties and early seventies. Hear me out – you have a group of youths hitting the road each week to solve mysteries (driving in a cool vehicle no less – The Mystery Van), with each episode having a psychedelic rock song that would play into an action sequence – all of which is built around the comradery of the group. To draw another connection, Sam and Dean spend much of their time eating in roadside burger joints, the Scooby gang, at malt shops.
Now to flash back, I watched the series religiously, waking up each morning at 7:00 A.M. as a kid, an hour of Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones back to back. Not always the original show (1985’s The Thirteen Ghosts of Scooby-Doo always ran around Halloween – it had a memorable character voiced by Vincent Price), it was the first iteration that was my favourite. I even made sure to track down the DVDs, watching all the episodes again in University.
Left to right: Castiel, Fred, Shaggy, Dean, Daphne, Scooby, Sam and Velma hide from the visicous ghost
So, to see the brothers Winchester transported into the world of malt shops, ascots, and giant sandwiches was an absolute treat. Riffing on episode sixteen of season one, “A Night of Fright is No Delight”, its premise is that Scooby has been named in the will of a rich Colonel – but, the only way to collect is to spend the night in his haunted mansion along with the other benefactors (a similar premise was used to great effect in The Flintstones – “A Haunted House Is Not a Home”, with memorable character Uncle Giggles Flintstone). Dean is thrilled to be there (a diehard Scooby fan, he says he’d take a bullet for the dog), while Sam seems more apprehensive. Dean explains it to Sam thusly, “growing up on the road, no matter where Dad dragged us, no matter what we did, there was always a TV. And you know what was always on that TV? Scooby and the gang. These guys, they’re our friggin’ role models, man. Except Fred. He’s a wad.”
Imbued with a Supernatural twist, of course, the ghost is real – and violent (those others named in the will do not disappear like in the original iteration, but rather, are murdered in gruesome ways). Likewise, things are ratcheted up in the romance department, with Dean trying to angle out ascot-wearing Fred (whom he clearly does not hold in high regard) in order to woo Daphne (though she only has eyes for her blond beau), while brainy Velma is enamoured with the broad shoulders of Sam (funnily enough, the brainier of the two brothers). It is this unique mix, old-school cartoon values (like men and women don’t sleep in the same room), that, when combined with twenty-first century writing, makes for a weirdly nostalgic and pleasurable mystery.
Voiced by the current actors of Scooby Doo, it is great to hear Frank Welker’s voice (the original Fred, he also does Scooby’s iconic cadence now) – he is the last of the original cast still performing (and there is nothing better than hearing him direct the large group – “we should all split up and search the house for clues”). Matthew Lillard still lends his voice to Shaggy (he starred as the iconic character in the live action film in 2002 and its 2004 sequel), while Grey DeLisle is Daphne and Kate Micucci, Velma. It is a testament to doing it right – adding that realistic tone of the show, both past and present, to the Supernatural world. A treat for Scooby fans – the original theme song is used for the chase scene.
This unique Scooby premise is somewhat reminiscent of “Changing Channels”, a classic Supernatural episode where fan favourite the Trickster (Richard Speight Jr.) sends the boys into tv land, forcing them to battle their way through multiple series (a medical drama, a Japanese game show, a C.S.I.-style show and Knight Rider) until they figure out how to escape.
Castiel, Dean and Sam at the end of the episode – note that Dean has added the ascot to his signature look
Bookended by two live action parts, the episode, titled “Scoobynatural”, ends in a most satisfying way, a play on the old Scooby-Doo conclusion that is just so much fun. Impressively, Supernatural continues to pull off daring, entertaining, and creative episodes thirteen years after its debut, still bringing laughs and scares as we encounter jeepers creepers each and every week. So, don’t feel like you’re getting away with anything criminal by watching this stellar episode, it adds to Supernatural’s ever-expanding lore, bringing a new generation back to the ‘jinkies’ and ‘zoinks’ of yesteryear, and you’d be an ‘idjit’ not to watch it.