COMPFUNK2
Joined Feb 2002
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Reviews12
COMPFUNK2's rating
After over a decade of inaction following A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Joseph Barbera and company decided to give Scooby and the gang a makeover with 2002's What's New, Scooby Doo? The show doesn't really stray away from the original format; what brings things down is the voices.
Here's the thing: the only original voice actors that returned for this series are Frank Welker (Fred) and Casey Kasem (Shaggy). Mindy Cohn takes over as the voice of Velma (but that's not really surprising because Velma has had a different voice in just about every series; plus, the voice isn't as annoying as whoever took over in 1979 after Patricia Stevens left), and even Heather North failed to reprise her role of Daphne (to be fair, though, North didn't do the voice in 1969); she is replaced by Grey DeLisle.
The strangest thing of all is Scooby-Doo's new voice. Since Don Messick died back in 1997, Frank Welker does the voice, and to say that he doesn't sound the same would be an understatement. It's not that I was expecting the voice to be identical, but Welker's version sounds, well, weird. Not only that, but he does it in a way that ANYone could be doing the voice. Another thing about it is that Scooby hardly ever talks now; the only thing he really says is "Scooby-dooby-doo!" at the end of each episode, as well as saying "Yeah!" followed by a snippet of what Shaggy just said. Isn't this supposed to be HIS show?
Since the format of the show hasn't changed, people will probably argue over whether the series is classic or dated, but I personally am just going to stick with the episodes from the show's glory days: the 1970s.
Anthony Rupert
Here's the thing: the only original voice actors that returned for this series are Frank Welker (Fred) and Casey Kasem (Shaggy). Mindy Cohn takes over as the voice of Velma (but that's not really surprising because Velma has had a different voice in just about every series; plus, the voice isn't as annoying as whoever took over in 1979 after Patricia Stevens left), and even Heather North failed to reprise her role of Daphne (to be fair, though, North didn't do the voice in 1969); she is replaced by Grey DeLisle.
The strangest thing of all is Scooby-Doo's new voice. Since Don Messick died back in 1997, Frank Welker does the voice, and to say that he doesn't sound the same would be an understatement. It's not that I was expecting the voice to be identical, but Welker's version sounds, well, weird. Not only that, but he does it in a way that ANYone could be doing the voice. Another thing about it is that Scooby hardly ever talks now; the only thing he really says is "Scooby-dooby-doo!" at the end of each episode, as well as saying "Yeah!" followed by a snippet of what Shaggy just said. Isn't this supposed to be HIS show?
Since the format of the show hasn't changed, people will probably argue over whether the series is classic or dated, but I personally am just going to stick with the episodes from the show's glory days: the 1970s.
Anthony Rupert
I remember when this show first came on, I thought it was okay. But then after a few episodes, I came to the decision that it just wasn't funny. By looking at movies from the '80s (Hollywood Shuffle, for example), it was evident that Robert Townsend COULD act, but maybe he'd forgotten how for this show.
After the end of the third season, Kenny Blank (who played the eldest child, Michael Peterson) abruptly left the show, and he was replaced by an ex-con kid named T.K. (played by Tyrone Dorzell Burton). I initially thought the episodes with T.K. were better, but I've seen those episodes on reruns and now I know that I was wrong. With the possible exception of Burton, the acting on the show was TERRIBLE. And this includes the cast AND the guest stars. In fact, any time anyone yelled, it was overdone.
Also, as another reviewer said, the plots went from funny escapades to instilling wholesome family values in the most generic way possible. Approximately at the point where there were ten minutes of show left (including commercial time), Robert and Jerri came to the selected kid and said something like, "Don't change your image. Be yourself!" or "If you really care about her, you should tell her."
I have no idea how this show lasted as long as it did. Usually wack sitcoms only last on UPN.
Anthony Rupert
After the end of the third season, Kenny Blank (who played the eldest child, Michael Peterson) abruptly left the show, and he was replaced by an ex-con kid named T.K. (played by Tyrone Dorzell Burton). I initially thought the episodes with T.K. were better, but I've seen those episodes on reruns and now I know that I was wrong. With the possible exception of Burton, the acting on the show was TERRIBLE. And this includes the cast AND the guest stars. In fact, any time anyone yelled, it was overdone.
Also, as another reviewer said, the plots went from funny escapades to instilling wholesome family values in the most generic way possible. Approximately at the point where there were ten minutes of show left (including commercial time), Robert and Jerri came to the selected kid and said something like, "Don't change your image. Be yourself!" or "If you really care about her, you should tell her."
I have no idea how this show lasted as long as it did. Usually wack sitcoms only last on UPN.
Anthony Rupert
[1 star out of 5]
Now, this isn't just another review that says that the new Ren and Stimpy is nothing like the OLD Ren and Stimpy. I can tell that when John K. was given the OK to once again recreate R&S, he wanted to steer as far away as possible from the Nickelodeon version (after all, he was fired from his own show). But THIS version of the show is just unsettling.
Let me do a quick comparison of a few other cartoons. Now, a little bit of "bathroom humor" can be seen on The Simpsons from time to time, and even MORE can be seen on South Park. But calling the new Ren and Stimpy bathroom humor would be an understatement. The stuff seen on this show is just disgusting for no reason. Ren and Stimpy living in a spittoon eating people's snot and vomit -- I'm sorry, HOW is that funny? If you're going to be gross, shouldn't it at least remotely make sense?
I was looking at the R&S page at IMDb's affiliate site, TV Tome, and of course it had the different synopses for the episodes. When I read some of them, I said, "Holy living F!" Stimpy getting pregnant by Ren? Okay, last time I checked, Stimpy was a guy. I know this is a cartoon, but that's just stupid. And there were a few episodes that showed Ren and Stimpy having oral sex or something, and I'm not homophobic or anything, but I agree with the reviewer that said that that's not exactly the kind of thing that people want to see on "the first network for men."
A lot of Adult Party Cartoon lovers say that the show needs to find its niche, as do the other Spike TV cartoons (Striperella and the hilarious Gary the Rat), which is why only three episodes were shown and the rest held back until sometime this summer (supposedly). But these people are overlooking an important point: there were more than three episodes of Striperella and Gary the Rat shown. In fact, some of the Ren and Stimpy episodes they showed came from the Nickelodeon years (and no, all of them were NOT first parts of sequels, as some fans will probably argue).
I know this is hard to do, but the new Ren and Stimpy is even more disturbing than the OLD Ren and Stimpy. I'm not 100% sure if it's actually coming back, but it's not like I care, either.
Anthony Rupert
Now, this isn't just another review that says that the new Ren and Stimpy is nothing like the OLD Ren and Stimpy. I can tell that when John K. was given the OK to once again recreate R&S, he wanted to steer as far away as possible from the Nickelodeon version (after all, he was fired from his own show). But THIS version of the show is just unsettling.
Let me do a quick comparison of a few other cartoons. Now, a little bit of "bathroom humor" can be seen on The Simpsons from time to time, and even MORE can be seen on South Park. But calling the new Ren and Stimpy bathroom humor would be an understatement. The stuff seen on this show is just disgusting for no reason. Ren and Stimpy living in a spittoon eating people's snot and vomit -- I'm sorry, HOW is that funny? If you're going to be gross, shouldn't it at least remotely make sense?
I was looking at the R&S page at IMDb's affiliate site, TV Tome, and of course it had the different synopses for the episodes. When I read some of them, I said, "Holy living F!" Stimpy getting pregnant by Ren? Okay, last time I checked, Stimpy was a guy. I know this is a cartoon, but that's just stupid. And there were a few episodes that showed Ren and Stimpy having oral sex or something, and I'm not homophobic or anything, but I agree with the reviewer that said that that's not exactly the kind of thing that people want to see on "the first network for men."
A lot of Adult Party Cartoon lovers say that the show needs to find its niche, as do the other Spike TV cartoons (Striperella and the hilarious Gary the Rat), which is why only three episodes were shown and the rest held back until sometime this summer (supposedly). But these people are overlooking an important point: there were more than three episodes of Striperella and Gary the Rat shown. In fact, some of the Ren and Stimpy episodes they showed came from the Nickelodeon years (and no, all of them were NOT first parts of sequels, as some fans will probably argue).
I know this is hard to do, but the new Ren and Stimpy is even more disturbing than the OLD Ren and Stimpy. I'm not 100% sure if it's actually coming back, but it's not like I care, either.
Anthony Rupert