In defending What's New, Scooby-Doo? in a previous review, I stated that "...if you're really hung up on the idea that they updated your favorite 1970s cartoon without your permission or approval -- maybe you need to take a break from Scoob and the gang for awhile." So...I guess I can't get too upset with Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1, the tenth version of Hanna-Barbera's indomitable series that now airs on the The CW's Kids line-up. Shag and Scoob have been redesigned, the rest of Mystery, Inc. are nowhere to be seen, and the Mystery Machine is now a morphing technical wonder. Kids will like it, no doubt, but what happened to Scooby's face?

This latest version of Scooby-Doo shunts the mystery-solving angle to the side, focusing instead on an almost James Bondian atmosphere of globe-hopping action. Shaggy (voice of Scott Menville) learns that he has inherited a billion dollars from his genius scientist uncle, Dr. Albert Shaggleford (voice of Casey Kasem), who hasn't died, but mysteriously disappeared. Traveling to his estate, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo (voice of Frank Welker) are met by Robi (voice of Jim Meskimen), a robot butler never quite perfected by Dr. Shaggleford. Discovering Dr. Shaggleford's secret lab below the estate, Shag and Scoob discover that Uncle Shaggleford has developed some cool nanotechnology that includes a formula, hidden in some Scooby Snacks, that will allow Scooby to acquire all sorts of super powers.

Taking a few million from his pile of money, Shaggy retrofits the Mystery Machine to become a morphing techno-wonder, which can, among numerous other things, fly and submerge. And he's going to need those capabilities, because the world is constantly being threatened by the aspirations of evil genius Dr. Phineas Phibes (voice of Jeff Bennett), a twisted scientist with one hand who wishes to rule the world. Aided by mild-mannered Dr. Trebla (voice of Scott Menville) and bumbling henchmen Agent #1 (voice of Jim Meskimen) and Agent #2 (voice of Jeff Bennett), Dr. Phibes' global reach is awesome, and his plans nefarious. Luckily, slacker dufuses Shaggy and Scooby are there to save the day.

It's obvious after watching the four 22-and-a-half minute episodes contained in Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1 that the creators of the show are trying to go for an Adult Swim-Lite kind of smart-ass, deadpan, absurdist sense of humor here. And a few scenes with Dr. Phibes (from the Vincent Price movie, via Dr. Strangelove, Austin Powers, and even Han from Enter the Dragon) work well within that range (Dr. Phibes not realizing a tiger had ripped off the entire back of his clothes was admitted pretty funny). But too much of Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1 doesn't play like the old series - or even the new incarnations - for me to really care about the show within the series' mythology.

Losing Thelma, Freddy and Daphne didn't hurt too much; they were never marketable characters to begin with, and I'm sure later producers were always trying to figure out how to keep Shag and Scoob front and center. And as for the globe-hopping espionage/mad scientist angles instead of true mystery solving, well, again; who cares? Some of the visuals in Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1 are fairly good (the sequence where Scoob and Shaggy, shrunk down to tiny size while Agents 1 & 2 try to stomp them, has a nice comic book feel to it), and the episodes are energetic enough. After all, how many more times can they get a character to believably put on one of those monster masks again?

No, my big problem with Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1 was a decidedly nit-picky one, but crucial to my enjoyment of the show: Scooby doesn't look like Scooby anymore. Specifically, he's been redesigned with these small, pin-point, beady little black eyes that totally eliminates any of the wonderful expressive qualities of the character that so many generations have grown to love. After all, a big chunk of the appeal of the various forms of Scooby-Doo has been the mutt himself. We all love it when Scooby's laughing, idiot face suddenly goes craven and he starts bawling, the minute anything scary happens. Now, the creators of this new version have virtually eliminated any of the distinctive character that was so pronounced in the old Scooby's face, to the point where this Scooby could ultimately be any hound. The voice sounds right, but as any animator worth his or her salt will tell you: the key to audience identification with any animated character, is in the eyes. Beady, black pinpoints don't engender identification or warmth on the part of the viewer. It may seem like a small matter, but it's absolutely crucial to the success of Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1, and ultimately, a big let-down. My three-year-old son put it best when he watched the first episode here. Settling in, he yelled out, "That's Scooby!" when the silhouettes of Shag and Scoob dance together in the amusing, well-designed opening titles. But when he got a good look at the new Scoob in close-up, he said, "That's not Scooby," and a lot of his delight went right out the window. Well put.

Here are the four episodes included in Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1:

Shags to Riches
The first episode in the series, where Shaggy learns of his inheritance, where he discovers his Uncle's secret formula, and the introduction of the new Mystery Machine van. Dr. Phibes and his henchman are introduced as well.

More Fondue, Scooby-Doo
Shaggy and Scooby are off to Switzerland when they learn that Dr. Phibes plans on melting a glacier with a laser, thereby embarrassing a host of scientist holding an anti-global warming event.

High Society
Scooby and Shaggy sneak into a high-brow country club to protect three scientists who are targeted for kidnaping by Dr. Phibes.

Party Arty
Dr. Phibes' Automated Robotic Tactical Unit robot threatens to destroy Shaggy's housewarming party.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full-screen, 1.33:1 video image for Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Volume 1 is quite nice, with a super-sharp image and no compression issues.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 Surround stereo mix is more than adequate for these new music-skimpy adventures. A similar French mix is also available, as are subtitles and close-captions.

The Extras:
There's a Shaggy and Scooby-Doo's Crooked Capers Challenge game included, which asks your child to pick-and-choose various characters as answers to trivia questions.

Final Thoughts:
I didn't mind the re-tooling of the format, and some of the Adult Swim-inspired jokes and timing were actually amusing. But a serious left turn occurred when the producers redesigned Scooby's face, virtually eliminating any of the character's wonderful expressiveness by pinpointing two mean little black dots for his new eyes. The voice is the same, but that's not Scooby. Too bad. You might get by with a rental, but I would imagine these episodes are being repeated all the time on TV (unless the show was canceled), so weigh that against the usefulness of having the DVD.