Finally, character development for the Scooby-Doo Gang. Despite the fact that Fred and Daphne are back in their old late 60's outfits, new life has been breathed into Scooby's supporting cast. Norville "Shaggy" Rogers and his pet Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, have always been the most developed of the five characters and display their usual hijinks and slapstick, with one exception...Shaggy has a secret involving one of the members of the gang. Freddy Jones, the son of the town's Mayor in this story line, no longer has the Mr. Perfect persona, but is a precocious and eager yet likable teen who loves the thrill of mystery solving to the point that he gets carried away. Daphne Blake's personality is very sweet and endearing. Her character is more reminiscent of the original Daphne from the sixties only this Daphne is a cheerful optimist when it comes to her friends but is easily dishearten when it comes to Fred's cluelessness of her affections. The real surprise is Velma Dinkley! Her appearance seems to be modeled after the live-action version as her features looks more feminine. Although she's still extremely short in stature, Velma has more of a slender build making her noticeably busty. And though Velma still wears the usual outfit, her turtle neck sweater plunges slightly lower, revealing her neck. She now sports a fluffier hairstyle with small hair ribbons. As for her personality, she is sarcastic, opinionated, slightly quick-tempered, and (surprisingly) flirtatious. This new change in her character is well suited for the flow of the show and rounds out the cast quite nicely. Even with all the changes, "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" takes you back to the original Scooby-Doo roots, with enough of it's own originality to bring it up to date. However, with more attention directed towards the lives of the characters rather than the mystery, it leaves the story of how the mystery was executed half explained. Still, the writers seem to know what their doing and if they keep to this format, this show has the potential to be almost as popular as the classic "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?".
