Home Media Magazine - October 21-27, 2007 - (Page 12)

TV DVD Edited by John Latchem www.homemediamagazine.com Scooby-Doo STILL GOING STRONG ON DVD By John Latchem idea for a feisty little dog. cooby-Doo has been an icon of animation for “Scrappy was added later, much to everyone’s displeasure,” nearly 40 years. Such massive success couldn’t Spears said. “I personally didn’t feel Scooby-Dum and Scoohave been more pleasing, or more surby-Dee distracted from the show. After X amount of prising, to Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who creyears, you have to look for new avenues.” ated the series in 1969. Ruby and Spears where not involved in the The latest direct-to-video movie, Chill Out, 1972-73 follow-up series “The New ScoobyScooby-Doo!, hit shelves in September from Doo Movies,” which featured such guest stars Warner Home Video, which also is preparing as the Harlem Globetrotters, Sonny and Cher, new DVDs of the most recent “Scooby-Doo” and Batman and Robin. But they did help ABC series. Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Vol. Joe Ruby develop a new “Scooby-Doo” show in 1976. 1 streets Oct. 30 at $14.97, while the two-disc The pair have since moved on to form RubyWhat’s New Scooby-Doo? — The Complete Third Spears Productions (rubyspears.com), where Season is due Jan. 8, 2008 (prebook Dec. 4) at they have been responsible for such shows as $19.98. “Alvin & The Chipmunks” and “Space Ace.” “We were surprised it lasted its first year,” The various “Scooby” shows over the years Spears said. have been hit-and-miss, they said, but they enRuby and Spears were working for Hannajoyed seeing their creations on the big screen in Barbera in the 1960s when they were apKen Spears the 2002 live-action film and its 2004 sequel. proached to help develop a new mystery series “Those movies were loaded,” Ruby said. “At for CBS. first I was thinking the dog didn’t look like Scooby, but Their first concept was based on the successful “Ar- I thought they did a fairly good job.” chie Show” cartoon and involved a group of high-school Ruby and Spears said computer animation has given friends who played in a band and solved mysteries in newer incarnations of the show a wider range of action their spare time. Ruby and Spears added a drum-playing they couldn’t depict on the older episodes. dog into the mix. “We used to have to put the characters behind a ledge When they couldn’t make the concept work, they or a wall so we didn’t have to animate them walking,” ditched the idea of the band and modeled most of the Ruby said. “Cost was always a factor.” characters after the cast of the 1959-63 sitcom “The The newest series, “Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Many Lives of Dobie Gillis,” while retaining a canine Clue,” stretches the formula a bit by giving Scooby sucompanion. perpowers and limiting Freddie, Daphne and Velma to “The question was whether to make Scooby a little, occasional guest appearances. feisty dog or a big, lovable dog,” Ruby said. “We thought But Spears and Ruby agreed that “Scooby-Doo” will a big, goofy, lovable dog was the way to go because kids continue to resonate with audiences as long as the could relate to him better.” characters remain familiar. With notes from CBS programming executive Fred Sil“The relationship between Shaggy and Scooby was verman, Ruby and Spears wrote Scooby as a cowardly key,” Spears said. “But especially Scooby. He’s just a Great Dane. Silverman also suggested unique, lovable character. Kids just love him. It’s Scooby should be the star of the show, amazing.” Ruby and Spears recalled, and the concept was turned over to the art department, which included famed animator Iwao Takamoto. The show at the time was tentatively named “Mysteries Five,” later changed to “Whooo’s Scaarrred?” “And after seeing a short animated sequence based on the concept, Fred decided to call the show ‘Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?’” Spears said. Hanna-Barbera produced 25 episodes from 1969 to 1971. Writers later would expand the cast to include more dogs, including the infamous Scrappy-Doo, who bore a resemblance to Spears’ and Ruby’s initial S Judging a DVD by Its Cover By John Latchem BC Video’s contest to let fans pick the cover of the upcoming Torchwood: The Complete First Season DVD is just the latest example of a marketing technique employed by studios to energize the fan base of certain DVDs. “Fans almost always know more about the show than the people designing the artwork, so getting them involved in the process of selecting a cover is a great move by the studios,” said Gord Lacey of TVShowsOnDVD.com. Lacey has particular insight into such fan votes. His Web site has hosted cover contests for such DVDs as Party of Five: Season 1 and Rescue Me: Season 2 for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. for Warner Home Video. In addition, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment recently held a vote to determine its cover for the second season of “The Muppet Show,” and Universal Studios Home Entertainment allowed fans to pick the cover of the upcoming Battlestar Galactica: Razor DVD, which streets Dec. 4. The case of Razor is especially notable, Lacey points out, because fans noted a mistake on the cover, which the studio has since rectified. “Fans can be quick to point out photographs that use the wrong hair style for a season, or just wrong information,” Lacey said. Meg Branigan, VP of video marketing for BBC Video, said fan involvement was key in the marketing strategy for “Torchwood,” a “Doctor Who” spin-off that has become the highest-rated show in the history of BBC America. “We want fans to feel that they’re part of the destiny of the ‘Torchwood’ line,” Branigan said. “It’s a very important brand for BBC’s cross-promotional efforts.” Branigan said traffic to the BBC America Web site doubled once voting opened, with an increase in preorders at Amazon.com. Voting for the “Torchwood” cover runs through Oct. 26 at BBCAmerica.com/TorchwoodDVDvote. The seven-disc “Torchwood” DVD streets Jan. 22. B 12 Home Media Magazine October 21–27, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://TVShowsOnDVD.com http://TVShowsOnDVD.com http://Amazon.com http://www.BBCAmerica.com/TorchwoodDVDvote http://www.BBCAmerica.com/TorchwoodDVDvote

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Home Media Magazine - October 21-27, 2007

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