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This episode is one of my personal favorites. Mainly because we get to see a side of Shaggy that no other Scooby show ever delved into: the doting big brother. It's really cute to watch and I think it gives his character a bit of extra depth and likability.
Also, on a completely shallow note, I LOVE the way Shaggy's parents were designed in this show (for once, Shaggy's mom doesn't look like him in drag!). And making both of his parents really attractive makes for a funny contrast with the awkward, scrawny guy that Shaggy will grow up to be.
Now, without further ado, on to the episode!
Our story begins with Shaggy and Scooby trying to get reception on their TV (raise your hand if you’re old enough to remember doing the “antennae dance” to get reception on certain channels).

When I was a kid, I had to get in this position to watch channel nine!
They finally manage to get a clear picture just as an ad for the movie they plan to watch with the gang comes on. The ad says the movie is so scary it was banned in Transylvania! ZOINKS!

The commercial alone is enough to put Shaggy and Scooby on edge and cause them to freak out when they see shadows approaching. Luckily, said shadows belong to Mr and Mrs Rogers.

I really like Shaggy’s parents in this show. I love how his mother looks like a 50s housewife and talks like a 60s beatnik (now we know where Shaggy gets it). And the fact that his dad is a stoic cop who looks a bit like Superman is just really amusing to me for some reason. They both call him “Norville”, which really cheeses him off (mainly because it invites lots of teasing from Scooby).

Mr and Mrs Rogers are late for the Policemen’s Ball and ask Shaggy if he can drop his sister, Sugie, off at the baby sitter’s house on his way to the movies. On the way out, they remind Shaggy that they’re depending on him to make sure everything goes right. Which is a lot of pressure to put on a 12-year-old boy no matter how good a brother he is (would it really kill them to take an extra 5 minutes to drop the baby off themselves?). But I suppose the parents in this show have to be super neglectful in order to keep the plots moving, so maybe I’m just overanalyzing things too much.





Anyhoo, Shaggy says he doesn’t mind the extra responsibility because “Sugie is my favorite person in the whole world” (AWWWW).

This statement causes Scooby to get sad.

.........WAIT! Hold the phone! Scooby is jealous of a BABY!? And he’s upset because Shaggy said that he loves his little sister!? OH NO! Did I accidentally turn on Mystery Incorporated!?!? Scooby isn’t growling at the baby or calling her a whore; so I’m pretty sure this isn’t Mystery Incorporated. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!?!

False alarm! Scooby is reassured when Shaggy tells him that Sugie is his favorite HUMAN person. My love for Pup-Scooby can remain intact. Thank goodness!
Fun/Random fact: Sugie’s name was “Maggie” in the 70s special that she first appeared in and I assume it’s her “real” name in this show. And Shaggy & Maggie were about the same age in that special; not 10 years apart like they seem to be here.
ONTO THE THEATRE

The theatre is on the way to the sitter’s house, so Shaggy stops to see if the gang is there already.


I love a man who’s secure enough in his masculinity to push a pink stroller around
He sees his friends standing in front of Boogedy Bones and immediately snatches them up and carries them away (I wonder if being around his sister put him into “protector mode” or something).




In any case, Daphne stops him and lets him know that it’s just a statue that was put out to promote the movie. She also scolds him for bringing his baby sister to a scary movie. Shaggy tells them he needs to run to the sitter’s house and asks if they want to come.


Fred initially declines because he doesn’t want to miss the beginning of the movie; but Velma informs them that they have more than enough time to get there and back (22.8 minutes to be exact).


So they all head off. Right after Scooby has some fun with the Boogedy Bones statue



CUT TO THE BABYSITTER'S HOUSE

Shaggy is a little nervous about leaving his sister in “this spooky place” all alone. But after they hear the sitter beckon them to come in, Daphne says the lady sounds nice and that Shaggy is just being paranoid.

The sitter tells them she’ll be downstairs in a minute; so Shaggy decides to get Sugie set up while he waits for her.

He gets her favorite teddy bear…

Her blankie and her play pen...

And her baby food...

DANG! I guess the big appetite is a genetic thing!
Shaggy tells Sugie he has to leave soon and she immediately starts bawling.



And since he can't stand to see his sister cry, he tries to cheer her up by playing the “funny face game”.


The first face fails to impress her


But it sure as heck works on the babysitter!



The sitter freaks and demands that Shaggy “Give me that child!”. Prompting Shaggy to scoop up Sugie and get the hell out of there!



Sugie seems to be enjoying the ride when, all of a sudden, she starts crying again. The asks Shaggy why she's so upset and he realizes that they accidentally left Sugie’s teddy bear at the sitter’s house.


Now, if I were in Shaggy’s shoes, I’d tell my sister “tough luck” and keep running. But Shaggy is a kinder sibling than I and insists on going back for it even though he REALLY doesn’t want to.


The kids manage to get back inside and lock the babysitter out of her own house. She is not pleased and declares that she’ll “get that baby if it’s the last thing I ever do!”.


Shaggy should have just run home and offered to buy Sugie a new toy. But since he got the whole gang and his sister stuck in the house, the best he can do is go into the basement and hide. Hey, he may be a sweet big brother, but no one ever said he was a smart one.



Shaggy starts to express frustration that the she-monster not only threatened his sister, but also spoiled his night out and caused him and his friends to miss the Boogedy Bones movie. Right on cue, guess who shows up…





Lucky for him, his mother put Sugie’s favorite boulder in the diaper bag. So I guess this means the company that made Sugie’s bottomless diaper bag is the same one that made Velma’s deus ex briefcase and Felix the Cat's magic bag.

Anyway, Scooby and Shaggy fill the gang in on what happened in the basement....


Daphne tells them that they’re being idiots and that there’s no such thing as Boogedy Bones. She tries to prove it by moving the boulder and going into the basement herself.


When she gets down there, the gang hears her screaming and fears the worst. They rush down to save her only to find out that she was upset about losing one of the buttons on her sweater.





Velma decides to investigate anyway and finds broken glass on the floor underneath the basement window; indicating that somebody had broken in.

Fred decides that Red Herring must be behind it. But just as he does, he gets a phone call from Red (how the hell did he know they would be there?) informing him that his whole family is out of the country this week, so Fred can’t accuse him of anything. Daphne assures Fred (in her best sarcastic tone) that they’ll be sure to let him know if they need another bone-headed theory from him.

Just then, Sugie wanders too close to the “grave” and gets nabbed by Boogedy Bones! Prompting Daphne to march up to him and tell him that it’s seriously messed up for a grown man/zombie/whatever to pick on a defenseless baby and snatch her away from him (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE Pup-Daphne?).







The kids all run up the stairs and the boys secure the door with more stuff from Sugie’s bottomless diaper bag.

The kids all huddle up and try to figure out what the hell is going on.

Shaggy mentioned that it all started when they saw that Boogedy Bones ad on TV and decides to turn on the sitter’s TV to demonstrate (Did he just assume the ad would be on? Whatever, just go with it) and they catch a news report about an escaped convict named “Manny the Mauler” whose crimes include robbery, backwards driving, burglary, and puppy napping! The reporter says that Manny is expected to join up with his old accomplice “Molly the Moll”. Velma plugs her computer into the TV and uses what I assume to be a primitive form of Photoshop to morph Molly’s picture until it looks like the sitter.






The gang thinks they look similar (I disagree with them) and they all believe that the sitter is Molly in disguise. Their belief only gets stronger when the reporter tells them that (a) the stolen loot was never found and (b) Manny and Molly used to live IN THIS HOUSE!
**dun dun DUUN***
Shaggy then says the most rational statement that has ever been uttered in this entire show (nay, the entire Scooby Doo franchise): “I say we call my dad! This is a job for the police!”.
I can’t imagine why Shaggy doesn’t suggest this for EVERY case. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that the kids charge their clients a fee in this show and they probably wouldn’t get paid if they brought in the cops to do their work for them.
Velma agrees with Shaggy and picks up the phone. But just as she does, someone cuts the phone line


Shaggy says that, since his parents will have to swing by to get Sugie eventually, they should just barricade the doors, turn on all the lights, and wait for them. At that moment, Manny the Mauler shows up at the window and demands to be let in



Meanwhile, at another window, the babysitter is still trying to break in and get to Sugie!

And Boogedy Bones is trying to break down the door that’s trapping him in the basement.

And just when you think the kids can’t get any more screwed than this, the electricity gets knocked out.


Holy s**t, these kids are boned!
Luckily, Velma’s briefcase has enough flashlights for everyone. So at least they won’t have to wander around in the dark.

Velma formulates a plan on her computer (I guess that thing runs on batteries) and hands it over to Freddie. She also asks to borrow the diamond barrette that just suddenly materialized on Daphne’s head.


Shaggy asks Scooby to guard Sugie for him. And Scooby responds by asking who will guard him. This actually pisses Shaggy off a little.



If it makes you so mad, guard your sister yourself, dumbass!
The gang splits up and starts putting Velma’s plan into action. Daphne and Fred set up the trap…

While Shaggy and Scooby go to the kitchen to help Velma with her part. They ask Velma what she intends to do with that thing she’s making and she says “call the police”. Shaggy assumes that she’s going nuts and asks her if she’s feeling OK. She responds by asking the boys to clean out a mayonnaise jar (which doesn't help in convincing Shaggy that she hasn't gone crazy).

Scooby obliges...


But while he’s licking the mayonnaise jar, he loses sight of Sugie and she crawls off

Oh no. Shaggy’s gonna have to go Old Yeller on Scooby's ass now
Meanwhile, Fred starts to question whether or not Velma’s trap will work. Right on cue, Manny tricks Fred into opening the door for him. But, luckily, the Home Alone style trap Velma had them set up does the trick. It flings Manny all the way to whatever country Red is staying in!







Poor Red. He can’t even escape Fred’s crap when he goes on vacation! I know Red is a bully and a total jerk. But sometimes I feel bad for him.
Anyhoo, because this show runs on Looney Tunes logic, Manny is able to get back to Coolsville in a matter of minutes.




Velma finishes her invention and, just as they’re about to try it out, Shaggy notices that Sugie is gone. I find it hard to believe it took him this long. Was he really THAT wrapped up in watching Velma work her magic?


How could he not be? Look how cute she is!
Surprisingly, Shaggy does not scream at Scooby or threaten to kill him for losing his baby sister (probably because he needs Scooby’s nose to sniff her out)

Scooby is able to find her; but he’s too late. They arrive just in time to see the sitter run off with her!

Shaggy tries to head down after her, but Manny is blocking the door!

So the gang’s only option is to cling to Shaggy...

...and jump out the window and slide down the drainpipe!!

While Manny chases the kids down, Velma slips away and tries to get her invention working.

But it’s not easy because they keep running past her and spinning the poor girl around





Scooby somehow manages to get Sugie back in the middle of this clusterfark


While Daphne manages to get her hair done

And Boogedy Bones manages to escape from the basement


CUT TO THE POLICEMEN’S BALL
Mr and Mrs Rogers are happily cutting a rug. Completely unaware that their children and their son’s friends are being scared s**tless at that very moment.

BACK TO THE SPOOKY HOUSE
We get a short Scooby Doors gag via the “graves” in the basement



And Sugie gets to be a hero!






When the gang catches up to Velma, they ask her what the heck she’s been trying to do this whole time. Turns out her invention was a little Bat-Signal like device and she was writing messages in the sky in the hopes of catching the police’s attention.





But her signal is interrupted when the monsters start chasing the kids again! The poor kids are so freaked out that they don’t even do their recycled dance animations when the chase songs play. THAT’S HOW YOU CAN TELL THINGS ARE SERIOUS!!!



The kids flee up into the attic and try to keep their pursuers out by squatting on the attic door while Velma keeps trying to call for help.




D’awwww. She looks like a little Sarah Palin here! ^_^
Eventually, she FINALLY succeeds in getting Officer Rogers’ attention. And she even made sure to customize the message so he would know who it was coming from!
By the way, Mr and Mrs Rogers have some cute romantic banter here. We don’t see much of them in this show, but they are still by far my favorite Scooby parents ever!




While waiting for help, the kids get desperate and start looking for anything that can buy them more time and Shaggy tells them that the only thing left in his sister’s bag is her string collection



Fred & Daphne: “Oh sh!t. We’re gonna die”
Luckily, it’s a very big string collection. Big enough to tie up Boogedy Bones and Manny.


But just as the kids start to celebrate, the sitter comes back to claim Sugie again! Shaggy tries to catch up to her but, lucky for him, his dad has good timing and arrives just in time to stop all this madness




Officer Rogers wants to know what the heck is going on and Velma volunteers to explain it to him


Turns out the creepy sitter really was **drumroll**
…just a normal baby sitter with an abnormal sense of fashion. She was desperate to get Sugie because she was hired to keep Sugie safe and thought that Shaggy meant her harm because of the bad first impression they got. Oops.

In Shaggy’s defense, a woman who makes her living by taking care of other people’s babies shouldn’t be dressing like a monster 24/7. Just sayin’
Velma also explains that Manny was trying to break into the sitter’s house because that’s where his stash was hidden (he used to live there, remember?). Fred points out that Boogedy Bones dug the holes, not Manny; prompting Velma to reveal Boogedy’s true identity: Molly the Moll. Velma explains that Molly broke in when she heard that Manny escaped because she wanted to make sure she got the money all to herself (so much for honor among thieves).



Officer Rogers demands that the criminals tell him where the loot is hidden and they tell him to piss off. But luckily he doesn’t need their cooperation because Scooby’s nose is able to sniff out the cash like a metal detector.



Sugie celebrates by hopping on the moneybags. I like to think she was trying to swim in it like Scrooge McDuck.

Mr and Mrs Rogers congratulate the kids on a job well done!



Not only did the kids catch two escaped convicts and deliver Sugie safely to the babysitter (…eventually); they also finished up this case in time to return to the theatre and catch the movie. YAY!!

CUT BACK TO THE THEATRE


Shaggy gets to the ticket counter only to discover that his cash is missing. He thinks that he’s been robbed; and Fred is excited to have another mystery to solve and immediately blames zombies.



But it turns out that Scooby “borrowed” the cash because, after what they went though, he didn’t want to see Boogedy Bones anymore. So he decided to buy him and Shaggy tickets to a movie called “Picnic in Candy Land with The Bunny Bunch”.

Scooby thinks that a movie about cute little bunnies can’t possibly be scary. Clearly, Scooby has never seen Watership Down:
Final thoughts:
This episode is one of my faves. Making Shaggy a super affectionate big brother was a good way to add some dimension and likability to his character and I can’t for the life of me understand why none of the other post-Pup Scooby incarnations tried to use it, too. I can understand why it would be hard to squeeze her into a show like What’s New Scooby Doo (since the kids are constantly driving around and don’t live with their families). But I think Abracadabra Doo would have been a much better movie if it had been about Shaggy reuniting with Sugie/Maggie and trying to impress/protect her instead of inventing a sister for Velma and then not even bothering to explore the big-sister/little-sister dynamic. But that’s a rant for another review. ~_^
Mystery Incorporated would have been the PERFECT opportunity to bring Sugie/Maggie back and give Shaggy the chance to be the “cool big brother” again; and I'm still kinda bummed that she wasn't included. On the bright side, considering what an insensitive ass MI-Shaggy turned out to be, I think Sugie dodged a bullet on that one.
Mod Note: If you're interested in reading a slightly more colorful "director's cut" version of this review, click here.
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Date: 2011-03-18 08:54 pm (UTC)