This section is a rewrite of the Hopeless Romantic part of the website. It was updated on 3 Dec 2002 as an effort on Gina's part to keep the webpage up to date with all the current happenings in the Scooby world. You can still find the old site (for a bit of history) HERE. Now, onto the current page!

Once, it was up for grabs if anyone in the Scooby gang was romantically linked with someone else in the gang. Sure, Fred and Daphne danced hands-off dances together, but as a kid, I thought of everybody as just friends. It wasn't until I saw "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before" (the first episode of The Thirteen Ghosts of Scooby-Doo), in which Daphne and Shaggy shared a lingering hug, that I got to thinking in terms of inter-gang romance. To my dismay (though perhaps I shouldn't really be too surprised), in later years a Fred/Daphne trend and sentiment gained force, leaving Shaggy out in the cold. Things culminated with the live action Scooby-Doo film, in which real life lovers were cast as Fred and Daphne. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!

This page used to have a list of reasons why each of these couples-Fred/Daphne, Fred/Velma, Shaggy/Daphne, and Shaggy/Velma-could be romantically linked. But it's grown hopelessly outdated, as I didn't include many of the movies and even excluded the whole A Pup Named Scooby-Doo series. So what I wish to do to revamp this page in detail why I still think Daphne and Shaggy make the better couple, as opposed to Daphne and Fred, everyone now already knowing the points in favor of Daphne and Fred.

Don't get me wrong, I think Fred and Daphne would make a compatible couple, but so wouldn't Luke and Leia, but they are siblings, and that is what Fred and Daphne seem like to me. I sense no sexual chemistry between them; they're just so bland together. And too obvious a couple-"Hey, let's pair up the handsomest guy in the gang and the most beautiful girl in the gang, and leave the misfits to scrape up love interests outside the gang." I admit, there are times on other shows or movies where I do root for the obvious match-Jonny and Jessie on "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest", for example. But ever since that first episode of "The Thirteen Ghosts of Scooby-Doo", I've been hooked on the idea of Shaggy and Daphne. But, hey, that handsomest guy/prettiest girl thing could work with a twist--Shaggy is by far a more favorite character than Fred, who often comes in last in surveys. So--why not pair up the most favorite (human) male character with the most popular female character (Daphne)?

Besides the embrace in "To All The Ghouls I've Loved Before", what else do I have to say in Shaggy and Daphne's defense? Well, before Fred and Velma rejoined the gang, it was just she and Shaggy for awhile, with only two dogs for chaperones, travelling around the world. You gotta admit, it was a cozy situation. In "No Thanks, Masked Manx", Daphne seems to be taking Shaggy home to meet the folks, who are quite fond of him. Mrs. Blake, in fact, calls Shaggy "a knight in shining armor". Daphne and Shaggy dance together at the masquerade ball. In "Me and My Shadow Demon", while waiting for Scooby to finish singing a particularly long note, Shaggy and Daphne lean against each other, back to back. There are even a couple of Daphne/Shaggy incidents in the early Fred & Daphne days of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?. In "What a Knight for a Night", Daphne praises Shaggy as "the swiningest gymnast in school!" In "Never Ape an Ape Man", she whips up a special "Shaggy snack" just for him. Besides that, I think Shaggy and Daphne have an appeal similar to that of Lady and the Tramp, Aladdin and Jasmine, and Titanic's Jack and Rose, that is to say, a ragamuffin-like boy winning a high class girl.

So, do I think Fred and Velma should be left to scrape up romances outside the gang? No. I don't like the idea of there being two sweethearts in the gang, one dog, and two third wheels. It feels awkward. There should be two pairs of sweethearts, or they should all be "just friends". Besides, I think Fred and Velma make a cute couple, too. Why can't the brainy girl get the jock? Fred and Velma have even more in common than Fred and Daphne. Brainy Fred and Velma are always the two to take the lead in solving a mystery. "You know how Freddie and Velma are when they got a mystery to unsolve," Shaggy observes in "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf", noticeably omitting Daphne. Everyone seems to think it's such a big deal that Fred used to pair himself off with Daphne. Well, how about all those later episodes in which he made sure to bring Velma along as well? When Daphne is unavailable, Fred often pairs himself off with just Velma, for short periods of time in "Which Witch is Which" and "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts", and for most of the Scrappy-era episode "I Left My Neck in San Francisco".

If, perhaps, you are a Fred/Daphne fan, and reading this page has made you mad, don't be angry. I'm not going to force you to agree with me. Besides, your side seems to be winning, so there's really no need to feel disturbed. There's no good guy and bad guy here, just differing opinions. Just think of this as the babbling of a disgruntled and disillusioned old Scooby fan.

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