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I have two more days of isolation. It’s not worth wasting a precious test as I’d need to do two on two consecutive days and by then I’d be pretty much out of prison anyway, though I am, of course, curious to know if this fucker is still persisting inside me. I felt pretty good today, but was tired in the afternoon and worried that I’d made a mistake by attempting two remote RHLSTPs tonight. But although my throat struggled a little on the second one (which is probably as much to do with not really having spoken much in the last week and a bit as anything) I got through everything OK. Two interesting and funny chats with Laura Jean Marsh (who directed and wrote Giddy Stratospheres in which I played her dad) and Grainne Maguire, who is admirably open and witty about the times in her life that things haven’t to plan.
Anyway good to get a couple under my belt and nice to socialise again, even if it was remotely and I was in my pyjamas. These two will be out next week and the week after, so my topical jokes will almost seem viable, but not quite.
My son is obsessed with the Scooby Doo Haunted (or as he calls it Faunted) House that he got for Christmas, even though he’s never seen any Scooby Doo (hence his believe that Fred was Scooby Doo). I struggled to find the original series on a legal platform without having to pay over £40 a series so I bought the DVD of the first two series for about a fiver instead. We did watch one of the newer series on ITV hub, but it doesn’t have the right theme tune (which is the main attraction of the show, so good they play it twice and so good you never skip either start or end titles). Anyway today I sat down with him to watch the first couple of episodes of this amazing series. He loved it. He found it hilarious when at the end of the episode the ghost of the black knight seemed to rise again, but then it turned out just to be Scooby. Lucky he likes that joke as he’s going to see it a few times.
The series was made in 1969 and it was nice to be sharing a childhood favourite with my own kid - I’d say it had lasted for two generations, but it’s possible that this series has been enjoyed by four generations of the same family. But then I was struck with an awful realisation. As much as we were enjoying 1969 Scooby, that’s 53 years ago. Scooby Doo is definitely dead. No dog has ever lived for more than 30 years and Scooby was already an adult at the time of recording. He’s gone. And all we have to remember him by are his cowardly, greedy antics. It’s too much to bear. Even the fact that Scrappy Doo is also definitely dead is scant consolation.
The gang are probably still with us. In episode one Velma mentions that Shaggy is the best gymnast (I think it was) at school. So it’s likely they’re all still teenagers and would now be in their 70s. Shaggy’s lifestyle choices may have shortened his life, and if he is alive I bet he believes in a shit load of conspiracy theories (ignoring how his teenage adventures consistently debunked the paranormal), but I am confident the others are still out there somewhere. I hope they’re living a peaceful ghost-free life.
But I’d quite like to see a film where the dead Scooby comes back to haunt a middle-aged Shaggy - or is the ghost just the memory of his departed best friend. If they’re doing a gritty version Fresh Prince, then Scooby Doo can’t be too far behind.
I bet his private life was messy though. It's probably good that he's gone.
