Doll-A-Day 2023 #200: Ken as Shaggy

   Today's doll is a familiar figure to those of us who grew up in the 60's and early 70's, all the way to today's kids. It's Ken as Shaggy, from "Scooby Doo".

This is his original outfit, minus his shoes.

This doll is dated 2002, the same year as the first live action Scooby Doo movie. 

There were, of course, four dolls in the series, which also included Barbie as Daphne, Teen Skipper as Velma, and  Ken as Fred. All four dolls came with a plastic flocked Scooby and a miniature faux box of 'Scooby Snacks'. Luckily the Scoobys were all a little different, but if you wanted the whole set of dolls, you still ended up with four of those dumb dogs. (Let's get this out of the way right now: I never liked Scooby Doo. I always thought he was stupid.) Mattel had already made a Barbie as Daphne in 2001, with a less iconic Daphne outfit in hot pink satin. In 2003 Mattel would add to the collection with a set of four Kelly and Friends dolls as the same characters. None of them came with a dog, not even a Scrappy Doo.

  So Ken had to be two people in that series, Shaggy, and Fred. Ken as Shaggy features Shaggy's signature beatnik beard.

Shaggy uses the Ken body with jointed elbows and knees. This body was also used on several of the Barbie movie Princes of the era, amongst other guys.

The beard and the name would imply that Shaggy was a beatnik. (As well as the vernacular. "Like, hey man, you know what I mean?") This is spite of the fact that the show premiered in 1968. Beatniks were passe', having been replaced, (or, perhaps, evolved into), hippies by then.

For some reason they chose to glue down Shaggy's hair. Why do they think his name was Shaggy?

  While researching this post I found some interesting facts concerning Mr. Doo. For one thing, his full name is Scoobert Doo. Who would have thought? The other thing was that the whole show was originally way different from what we know, and other people who aren't me, love. Fred Silverman, who was head of all three major networks at some point in his career, was the head of Daytime Programming on CBS at the time. He had already found the successful "Archies" cartoon, based on the comic books. (Way before "Riverdale" changed Archie and company forever.) Silverman had the idea for another series.  He wanted it to be a cross between an old radio show called "I Love a Mystery", and the TV series "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", (which ran for four seasons, ending in 1963.) The characters would be a pop group who solved mysteries in between music gigs. He wanted the characters to be based on either the Archies, or the characters from 'Dobie Gillis'. Now here's where the beatnik idea comes back. Dobie Gillis was about a high school guy, (oddly enough, named 'Dobie Gillis', and played by a bleached blonde, (during the first season), Dwayne Hickman, who looked strangely like a Ken doll.). Dobie has a crush on the beautiful Thalia Menninger, is loved unrequitedly by plain Zelda Gilroy, and has a lazy, beatnik best friend named Maynard G. Krebbs. (Maynard was played by Bob Denver, before he shaved his beatnik beard and became Gilligan, of 'Island' fame.)  A show was developed. with the characters based on...The Archies. The title was going to be "Mysteries Five", as there was a fifth character at that stage. Scooby's original character was originally called 'Too Much', and he played, what else, if you're a beatnik's sidekick?: the bongos. He was to be a Great Dane, a Sheep Dog, and then a Great Dane again. Silverman rejected the show, and the planners went back to the drawing board. They dropped the fifth character, and changed the character's names. (One character's name was changed to accommodate Silverman's request: He would now be called 'Fred'. What an ego.)  They repitched the show. Silverman didn't like the name. He wanted to call the show, "Who's S-S-Scared". (Because that's a great title...) This time the show was rejected by the president of the network because he was afraid it would be too scary. Back to the drawing board again.  Silverman had the show beef up the comedy aspects, and bring down the chill factor. The characters would also no longer be a band. One final change: Silverman changed the dog's name to Scooby Doo. He claimed he got the idea from the 1966 Frank Sinatra song, "Strangers in the Night", where he famously crooned, "Dooby dooby doo".  It had nothing to do with the fact that just a few months prior, The Archies had put a song out called "Feelin' So Good(S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.)", or with a failed pilot for a TV show a few years before called "Swingin' Together", about a rock band, one of whom is named Scooby Doo, who travels the country in a bus. Nah. No connection.

  That's it for today. See you again tomorrow.