With the release of HBO Max's Scoob! from a few years ago. With a few exceptions, they always follow the same formula, though.
The formula of the Scooby-Doo episode is pretty well known at this point. The gang finds a mysterious phenomenon that usually turns out to be a regular person in disguise. This is present in almost all of its adaptations with a few variations. As such, many memes have been made by fans on social media lampooning Scooby's formula.
When The Gang Splits Up
With a series as long-running as Scooby-Doo, there are occasionally scenes in the show itself pointing out the cliches. This meme adds a hilarious classic reaction image for extra flair. When asked to split up, Shaggy and Scooby immediately assume they’re on their own. Shaggy asks if they ever do it any other way when Fred protests.
It leaves Fred (and the audience) dumbfounded. Shaggy isn’t dumb, but this kind of insight is rare for him. It stumps Fred completely, and leads to a classic meme reaction image.
Would You Do It For A Scooby Snack?
Scooby might be a talking cartoon dog, but for the most part he’s still ordinary. When he faces down monsters, his life is in danger. He’s aware of this, and shows considerable fear of danger. The human of the gang do manage to get him to do dangerous things, though.
When the plan is being formed, Scooby is usually required to be the heavy lifter. In order to get him to do it, they would offer him Scooby-Snacks, a dog treat brand. This meme uses the hilarious “me and the boys” template to point out how cruel this once-an-episode practice was.
Shaggy's Running Skills
Scooby is one of the most famous cartoon dogs, but it’s easy to forget he’s canine. He talks like a human does, after all. Not only is he a dog, but he’s a great dane, one of the most physically impressive dogs. This meme points out what this means in regard to one of his most famous gags.
One of the stock jokes of the show is Shaggy and Scoob running side-by-side. They’re two close friends, so it does make a lot of sense. This classic gag does have one unintentional implication, though; Shaggy can run just as fast as a great dane.
Human Bait
As mentioned earlier, the gang is often making Scooby do ridiculous things just for a treat. Sometimes this extends to Shaggy as well, whose appetite is voracious enough to accept dog treats. This meme answers the question of why the gang uses Scooby-Snacks so much. It’s pretty much universally for bait.
Fred and Daphne were often thought as useless, but they did do something almost every episode: they attempted to build a trap to catch the monster. Sometimes it worked, but it usually didn’t. What they needed was bait, and that’s the reason a scene like the above meme happened in almost every episode.
Velma's Glasses
Velma can’t see without her glasses. This is something everyone who watched even a single episode of the original Scooby-Doo Where Are You? can . It was basically her second catchphrase after Jiinkies.
Without fail, Velma would always lose her glasses right as the danger or intrigue ramped up. This would happen practically once an episode and was a key part of the formula. The meme spotlights this key trope that always seems to remove the most competent member of the gang from the chase temporarily.
The Summation
Especially in the earliest days of the franchise, the culprit would end up being trapped or restrained by the gang. At this point, Velma and Fred (and sometimes Shaggy) would unravel the plot and unmask the villain. This means the caught villain would just have to sit there and listen to it.
The parlor scene is a classic staple of detective fiction but meme shows how silly it can be. Every episode of Scooby-Doo ends with Velma condescendingly explaining the plans of the perpetrator back to them as they can’t move. It’s helpful for the kids watching, but it is silly in a vacuum.
13 Ghosts Was Weird
There are many Scooby-Doo TV shows and spin-offs each with their own clichés and formulas that have been lambasted by memes. This meme, which takes the popular “They Don’t Know” format, hilarious pokes fun at the kind of things that happen in 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo and its associated movies.
This era of the franchise saw more influence from supernatural elements and fewer of the core cast. As such, Shaggy had to explain to the others what he got up to while they were gone. The scene illustrated in the meme (showing Shaggy’s design from The Reluctant Werewolf) is par for the course for '80s era Scooby.
Fred's Dad In Mystery Incorporated
Another spin-off that had its own formula was Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated. It makes sense, though, as this show always took place in the same town. This gave rise to new additions to the formula, such as the frequent appearance of Fred’s father, Mayor Fred Jones Senior.
Mayor Jones would frequently appear to comment on whatever monster was haunting Crystal Cove that episode. He would then propose the monster be made into some kind of a tourist attraction. It’s a fun inversion, as most monsters are trying to scare people away. Still, it happened with regularity enough for this meme to lambast it.
Life Lessons From Scooby
This meme takes on the ever-popular “motivational” format. It presents itself as serious thought with its black-and-white background. While the advice it hocks is good, it does seem a little too serious for Scooby-Doo. It does point out well that the culprits are usually normal humans, though.
There are exceptions, of course, like in Scooby-Doo’s many films and movies. For the most part, though, the culprit is usually human or human-adjacent. The reason this format has persevered is that it does a great job of teaching children lessons about human greed.
The Obvious Villains
This meme points at something that’s arguably true of all mystery stories, but especially noticeable in Scooby-Doo. The “Whodunnit” aspect can often be pretty obvious. A character who is going to turn out to be the culprit is likely to be memorable otherwise the creators risk having them fade into the background.
Scooby-Doo usually makes its culprits a little too memorable, though. While they only have minor roles, they often have elaborate designs, celebrity voice actors, or clear motivation. This is understandable since the show is mainly for kids. Still, this meme points out how the gang should never be fooled for too long.