Dead Justice

Not a bad episode, not bad at all. It has a plenty of story arcs and character progression all within the twenty odd minute window which is very impressive. It's not my favourite episode of all time but it's not the worst either, I'd say a low 8 personally, which is still very good in my eyes.

Its scooby doo, my favourite show from when i was a kid...I don't watch cartoons anymore, I don't even watch TV now and if i do its CNN. And low and behold i find this and check it out for old times sake to see what they have done with scooby and the gang and .... i watched every episode in two days. This is the best scooby series ever, better then the original. I can...actually relate to the characters...they are not just card board cut outs anymore they actually have personalities and dreams. Freds like a dumbed down version of my self...well...cept for the traps part, and seeing his whole shtick with Daphne reminds me a lot of...well me. I love how the episodes have a giant arc over the series, i love Crystal Cove, I love that jokes are thrown in for adults as well as kids, I love how they Have Mathew Lillard Patrick Warburton (high five) and of course Frank Weller. Daphne is spot on and Velma isn't a just a talking computer anymore. Whoever wrote this series, they deserve a medal. Whoever does the art direction, medal, voice cast, medals. I love this show, its the only show i watch, and they better continue it. There's always a new scooby incarnation every few years, this is the best one ever, and since this one actually has a real story and real characters, it should be the one to stay, something can actually be built here, instead of watching different versions of the same things since the 70s we finally get to see the real evolution of these characters. I could rave about this show forever. Scooby Doo where are you? is now number 2 in my books, i never thought id say that.

Have always loved it when the Scooby Doo franchise achieved the perfect balance of funny and creepy, and it achieved that more than it didn't in the older and newer incarnations. That balance was handled extremely well many times in 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' in both seasons, thanks to the villains (many of them scarier than most of the post-'The Scooby Doo Show' ones, though not as iconic as most from the 60s and 70s) and the humour from Shaggy and Scooby and Sheriff Stone.

"Dead Justice" is one of my favourite 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' episodes, it left a big impression on me on first watch and it is one of those episodes that gets better with each watch. It is for me the best episode since "Escape from Mystery Manor" (if not quite as good as that) and is one of the few ones of a consistently very good to great Season 1 that didn't have anything that bothered me, "Escape from Mystery Manor" and "All Fear the Freak" being the others.

It is one of those episodes where the balance of funny and creepy is perfect. The villain is extremely memorable in design and is a very sinister antagonist, in a season and show full of scary villains Dead Justice is up there as one of the scariest. Plus he has an interesting back story. The Western-like setting is very atmospheric and imaginatively done, of the show's few episodes to have that or similar "Dead Justice's" is one of the most atmospheric and imaginative and like Dead Justice it has a back story that is interesting.

The humour is plentiful and all of it ranges between very amusing and hilarious. Not just from Shaggy and Scooby, but also Stone in one of his funniest appearances. It is always great when Stone is given a bigger role and the writers clearly were having a ball. The writing is fun, smart and not over-complicated, simplistic or corny, nothing felt contrived or forced as well. The story is enormously compelling and creepy, there is a lot going on and the more action-oriented parts are exciting and has more suspense than the usual Scooby Doo episode. The identity of the perpetrator wasn't one of the prematurely obvious ones (one of the few recurring problems), it was a surprise for me actually.

Animation is of the usual high quality, especially for Dead Justice's character design and in the action. The music fits very well throughout, while the gang and their dynamic are well written. Have really loved how they have been written with respect for the characters (apart from Velma's bossiness being overdone in too many of the previous episodes, another recurring problem and the bigger one but not an issue at all here) while fleshing them out and expanding on them in the way none of the previous shows did. The voice acting is great, especially from Patrick Warburton and for Dead Justice.

Overall, brilliant. 10/10.