Scooby-Doo Fan Site

Fred Jones

Fred is typically the leader of the group. He comes up with the group's plans and the traps they use to catch the bad guys, usually made out of random objects. He is also usually the owner of The Mystery Machine and its usual driver. Sometimes, Fred and Daphne are also boyfriend and girlfriend, or at least seem to have a crush on each other. However, Fred does not appear in every episode of the franchise, and there are some series and movies, like The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, where he doesn't appear at all.

In the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, Fred was a very serious character, the next-smartest character to Velma. The two of them are usually the ones who figure out the solution to the mystery before the others do. In later series, Fred has been given more of a silly side. For example, in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, when Fred is young, he constantly suspects the local bully, Red Herring, of being the villain and is almost always wrong. In that series, he's also wrong about other things and forgets important information, and he believes all of the crazy stories about monsters and aliens in his uncle's tabloid, The National Exaggerator. In What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Fred shows an inability to master any foreign language, constantly messing up whenever he has to communicate with anyone using any other language than English, even when he's using a phrase book.

In all of the series, Fred is physically very strong. He generally likes sports, and in some series, he brags about his weight-lifting, saying that he can bench 220 lbs.

Daphne Blake

In the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, Daphne was usually the damsel-in-distress, who frequently needed to be rescued from the villains. She's always been accident-prone, or "danger-prone," as her friends like to say it. In later series, Daphne becomes more competent. She still remains somewhat accident-prone, for the sake of comedy, but she also develops other skills that are useful for solving mysteries and helping her friends.

Daphne's skills and interests change from series to series. In many of the series, she loves fashion and is very concerned with keeping her clothes and hair neat. In What's New, Scooby-Doo?, she still likes fashion and pop culture, but she also acquires the ability to pick locks and can redo even the worst rooms to make them more comfortable for her friends (she calls it a "Daphne-Do-Over." Both of these abilities depend on items found in her purse, which becomes a running gag when she loses her purse for an episode. In one of the most recent series, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, Daphne is less concerned with fashion and seems to be in a kind of finding herself phase, trying all kinds of strange and random hobbies. In that series, Daphne is also shown to be a real people person, good at understanding people's emotions and helping her friends to resolve arguments or raising her friends' spirits when they're discouraged.

In multiple series, Daphne comes from a wealthy family, and sometimes, her family's wealth becomes part of the plot. Depending on the episode or series, it can be the group's reason for attending parties or special events or going to exotic locations, such as an old family castle. In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, young Daphne always summoned her family's butler, Jenkins, to do things that she found difficult or unpleasant.

Velma Dinkley

Velma is the smart one of the group. In all series, she is a genius with esoteric knowledge on many different subjects, ranging from history and archaology to science and robotics. In a number of episodes, Velma creates ingenious inventions or science fair projects which are key parts of the episodes. Often, Velma is the one who figures out the solution to the mystery.

Aside from her high intelligence, other characteristics that Velma has vary between series. What's New, Scooby-Doo? did more character development with Velma than most of the other series. In that series, Velma declared an interest in foreign films (especially sad love stories starring her favorite French movie star) and a deep love of hockey (although she seemed to have less interest in other sports, like wrestling). She is also afraid of clowns, something that appeared in multiple series.

One weak point for Velma is her poor vision. She is completely dependent on her glasses in order to see, and a common gag since the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You! series is to have Velma lose her glasses when the ghost or monster is around, leaving her unable to see where she's going or where the monster is and sometimes forcing other characters to try to help her. (Sometimes, I swear that Velma must also store extra brain cells in her glasses frames because she also seems to become less intelligent without her glasses.)

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers

Aside from Scooby himself, Shaggy is the only other character to appear in every episode, in every series, and in every movie. (All other human characters have series or at least episodes where they do not appear.) He rarely goes by his given first name, although it is mentioned in more than one series. Most people just call him "Shaggy." Technically, Shaggy is Scooby-Doo's owner, although they usually prefer to think of themselves as best friends rather than owner and pet. Both Scooby and Shaggy love food, and they are considered the most cowardly members of the group, although they are also both the ones most often used as bait for Fred's traps. (None of the others really want to do it. Just saying. Although, there are a few episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo? where the others are the bait instead.)

Shaggy's character is pretty constant throughout the different series and movies. Sometimes, the shows do give him other interests and hobbies aside from eating. In What's New, Scooby-Doo?, he plays in a miniature golf tournament, and he appears to be a regular camp counselor at a summer camp. In one episode, he and Scooby also do volunteer work at a zoo.

Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane, but unlike most Great Danes, he can talk. Nobody in the series really thinks that this is unusual. Scooby's ability to talk varies a little between episodes, even ones in the same series. Sometimes he is able to say whole sentences in coversations, and sometimes, he seems to have to resort to miming or giving hints like in Charades to tell people things. He frequently pronounces 'L's in words like 'R's or adds 'R's into words that wouldn't have them otherwise (like "Ruh-roh!" instead of "Uh-oh!" or "Rots of ruck!" instead of "Lots of luck!"). Sometimes, Scooby's relatives also appear in episodes, and they also talk.

Technically, Shaggy is Scooby-Doo's owner, although they usually prefer to think of themselves as best friends rather than owner and pet. They both love food (any kind, really) and are considered the most cowardly members of the gang, even though they are most frequently used as the bait for Fred's traps.

Throughout the series, various relatives of Scooby's appear. All of them are also talking dogs. Most of them have names that contain either "Scooby" or "Doo" or elements with a similar sound:

• Scrappy-Doo - Scooby-Doo's nephew, the son of Scooby's sister, Ruby-Doo. He appears more often than most of Scooby's other relatives. Scrappy grew up in New York City, and he's always ready to pick a fight. When Scooby and Shaggy try to run away from ghosts and monsters, Scrappy drags them toward the scary things so that they can "splat" them. In episodes or movies where Fred does not appear, Scrappy makes the traps, which he calls "Scrappy traps." Although he seemed fairly popular when he was first introduced, many fans think of Scrappy as annoying.
• Scooby-Dum - Scooby's cousin, who wants to be a detective but doesn't really have the brains for it. He often gets confused and makes dumb mistakes.