Scooby-Doo is the face of his own franchise, having grown from a mystery-solving dog that premiered at the tail-end of the '60s into one of the most iconic cartoon characters of the 21st century. Over the years, Scooby and his friends have gone on all sorts of adventures. The issue for fans, though, is that there's never been a hard timeline for the franchise because the continuity started over almost every time a new show began, making it difficult to keep track of past events.
But one fan on Reddit has found a way to tie many of the shows into a singular arc. This theory suggests that everything happens over the course of three distinct timelines. It's an interesting case for a proposed Scooby-Verse, which encompasses all the previous versions of the Scooby-Doo franchise. But do the timelines actually make sense?
COOLSVILLE
The theory positions "Timeline A", otherwise known as "Coolsville," as the original run of Scooby-Doo shows. The idea argues that the original show Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and The New Scooby-Doo Movies all take place while the main characters are all in high school together. Their eventual graduation led to the group splitting up and going on their own paths. This explains why some of the later stories during this period didn't feature anyone from the core cast but Shaggy and Scooby. The theory also brings up Scrappy-Doo and makes the case for him not actually being Scooby's nephew -- instead, he's a former criminal dog who is currently in the talking animal equivalent of witness protection. This explains his sudden arrival and disappearance from the shows.
At this point, Scooby and Shaggy also encounter a surprising amount of the genuinely supernatural, with the animated films Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby-Doo, and the Ghoul School and Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf happening around this time. Daphne rejoins the cast for The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, apparently having left Fred to partner back up with Shaggy and Scooby. Alongside Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy and the young con-artist Flim-Flam, Daphne actually encountered some of the magical elements within this show about an unleashed group of cursed ghouls, Fred and Velma both join back up with Mystery Inc. for The New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show, however. At this point, Scrappy returns to his family and leaves the shows.
This begins the period where What’s New, Scooby-Doo and many of the direct-to-video films from the early 2000s take place, moving the characters into the modern era with newer technology. The timeline takes a depressing turn, however, with a proposed epilogue to the final episode of What's New, Scooby-Doo. In the final episode of the series, "E-Scream," the gang ends up playing a series of virtual reality games. The theory argues that the games ended up being too much for Shaggy and Scooby, causing them to have seizures and slip into comas that they never wake up from. Scooby dreams of Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue, where the pair are able to lead easy lives thanks to a massive inheritance left to Shaggy. Meanwhile, Shaggy dreams of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and sees himself and all his friends in happier days when they were younger. This timeline ends here, with Shaggy and Scooby eventually dying without ever waking up.
THE OTHER SCOOBY-DOO TIMELINES
However, some versions of Scooby-Doo are different enough from the others that they can't be fit into the Coolsville proposal. This leads the theory to argue there are two additional timelines, where the rest of Scooby-Doo media takes place. Timeline B is the universe where Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incopererated takes place. The series is more overtly tied to the supernatural, and the gang is all in high school together while engaged in a major mystery. That series ends with the gang deciding to head out and figure out more mysteries across the country.
This leads directly to the events of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo, where the group travels the country and solves mysteries once more -- responding to the surprising drama of their investigation during Mystery Incorporated by being as silly as possible. The theory argues that many of the remaining animated movies (such as Scooby-Doon on Zombie Island and Scooby-Doo and the Witches' Ghost, Scooby-Doo and Alien Invaders and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase) take place in this timeline as well as the gang travels the country. It also points out that a reference to Flim-Flam in Mystery Incorporated suggested he was a more villainous figure in this timeline, a quiet reminder that's a different world than the earlier universe.
Timeline C is relegated to whatever remaining Scooby-Doo content exists. This includes the two live-action films (which saw Scrappy become a villain after being ejected from Mystery Inc.). It's also argued to contain Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights and Scooby Goes Hollywood. In this world, Mystery Inc. is more recognizable and famous, with Scooby and Shaggy even spending time as television stars in Hollywood. This could explain why they're so famous by the time of the live-action films, giving everything a more self-aware sense of humor.
DOES THE SCOOBY-DOO TIMELINE THEORY HOLD UP?
The theory holds up decently well when it comes to the first timeline. The "Coolsville" timeline works as a greater arc for Scooby and Shaggy, charting their increasingly supernatural adventures and changing connection to the rest of the group. It works around the absence of certain characters like Fred and Velma from certain shows in the process. Two of the more openly cartoonish entries in the timeline are even revealed to be dreams (A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue) although it necessitates a very sudden and depressing end to this version of Shaggy and Scooby. The idea of Scrappy essentially being a witness protection puppy is also a strange invention, but it does at least have a tie to the origins as part of a gang of troublemaking dogs before he was taken in by Scooby. It's an interesting way to tie many of the entries in the franchise together.
The other two timelines are less put together, but that's because many of the more recent Scooby-Doo shows have been more self-contained and specifically designed. Mystery Incorporated is a surprisingly dramatic mystery, riffing on a style, not unlike the surreal cult-hit TV show Twin Peaks. Be Cool, Scooby-Doo is a far more comical version of the characters, largely lacking the serious dramatics or stakes of Mystery Incorporated. The same thing applies to the third timeline, which feels more like an afterthought to include any leftover movies or stories that don't fit in the original timeline. These shows also featured references to other series in the franchise, but they were relegated to more as easter eggs or inside jokes. It makes sense to consider these as different timelines from the original story, but less likely they all happen in their own world.
This also doesn't take into account for other future timelines as well, such as in the form of the genuinely bonkers Scooby Apocalypse or the upcoming animated film Scoob!. These will likely lead to an entirely new timeline as well. But as a way to tie many of the older shows together, it's a fun theory.