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Shaggy Rogers

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character in the American animated television series Scooby-Doo, about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and Shaggy's pet Great Dane, Scooby-Doo. A cowardly slacker more interested in eating than solving mysteries, Shaggy is the second most-popular character in the franchise after Scooby himself, and is the only other Scooby-Doo character to appear in all iterations of the franchise. He also is the number one trouble maker in the gang but number two in getting captured after Daphne.

Character

Shaggy closely reflects the 1960s era in which the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! series was created, particularly in his manner of speaking (he often punctuates his sentences with the word "like") and his appearance—he is lanky, with bushy brown hair and a rough goatee, and typically wears a green T-shirt and brown bell bottoms. Thus, he embodies elements of both the beatniks of the early 1960s and the hippies of the late 1960s, with the primary inspiration for the character coming from Maynard G. Krebs, a beatnik character played by Bob Denver in the early 1960s sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Shaggy has been also shown wearing a red shirt and blue jeans in four 1980s Scooby-Doo productions: the Saturday morning series The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo and three TV movies: Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, and Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf. In Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, a TV movie about the Scooby-Doo characters meeting artificial analogues of themselves in a virtual reality environment, Shaggy's double wears the red shirt and blue jeans that the character wore in the 1980s.

Both Shaggy and Scooby-Doo have nearly insatiable appetites, and are readily bribed by scooby snacks, as well as tendencies towards goofing off and cowardice. Due to these similarities, Shaggy typically treats Scooby as a normal person rather than his pet. Shaggy uses his catch phrase "Zoinks!" whenever he's surprised or scared, which is frequently, because of Scooby and Shaggy's cowardly nature, a running gag is that every time they split up to search for clues they always end up getting chased around by the monsters (Shaggy actually states in one instance "Split up and look for clues. Gotcha. See you when the monster chases us.") His other catchphrase is "GAAANGWAAAAY!" when Scooby and Shaggy see a monster or before a chase commences.

Although usually considered a coward, Shaggy often proves useful in ferreting out the "monsters" and "ghosts" that are usually at the heart of the gang's mysteries (sometimes by reluctantly acting as "live bait" for a trap), and providing a necessary distraction for their eventual capture (the plans almost always go wrong and he and Scooby are then chased for longer periods of time). Shaggy also has athletic, disguise, and ventriloquism skills which often help the gang. On a couple of occasions, he took his disguise skills so far he even dressed up as Scooby-Doo himself (in the "Never Ape an Ape Man" episode of Scooby-Doo, Where are You! and the 2003 What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "A Scooby-Doo Halloween"). Shaggy is a miniature golf champion from the '60s. In the series A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Shaggy is called "Norville" by his dad.

Originally, "Shaggy" was merely a reference to his appearance, which resembled shag carpeting. However, in Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!, it is implied that the nickname "Shaggy" comes from an abbreviation of the name "Shaggleford," the last name of Shaggy's rich uncle.

Voice artists

Shaggy was originally voiced by radio DJ Casey Kasem, who continued in the role for twenty-five years. Kasem later became a vegetarian, and requested that Hanna-Barbera change the Shaggy character's (expansive) diet to reflect this. This was not done, and Kasem walked out on his role as Shaggy when he was asked to perform the voice for a Burger King Kids' Club commercial in 1995.

Billy West and Scott Innes (who also voiced Scooby for a time) briefly took over the role in several of the direct-to-video films produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, Kasem returned to the role for The WB's new Scooby series What's New, Scooby-Doo?. At his request, Shaggy was made a strict vegetarian, although he continued to eat excessively. In the live-action films Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Shaggy is portrayed by Matthew Lillard. Scott Menville assumed the role of Shaggy in 2006 for What's New, Scooby-Doo's replacement, Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!. As such, Shaggy is no longer a vegetarian.

Casey Kasem (1969-1994, 2002-present)
Billy West (1994-1995, 1998)
Scott Innes (1995-2002)
Scott Menville (2006-2008)

Characteristic dialogue

Zoinks! (see phrase number 3)
Like no way man! (when told to be bait, generally)
T-t-t-th-th-the ghost! (when the villain was encountered)
Gang way! (when running from the villain)
What is it, Scoob?
Scoob! Old friend, Old buddy, Old pal!
Scooby Doo! Where are you?! (when looking for Scooby)
Check out that crazy house, Scoob!
Maybe there's food inside! (food is encountered when they enter its kitchen)
Like, Scoob, please tell me that was you. (when a growling noise was heard, apparently made by the villain)
Yikes!
Like let's get outta here!
Like, hey Scoob!
Like, let's say we already checked and didn't find anything.
"SCOOOB!"
Like, wow! (when he found something)

Relatives

Relatives of Shaggy shown during the series include:

Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Chastain "Mom and Pops" Rogers: Shaggy's parents. Shaggy's father is a police officer. At one point, Shaggy's parents lived in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Maggie Rogers: Shaggy's sister. In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, she is portrayed as a baby named "Sugey" (pronounced SHOO-gee), which was possibly Maggie's nickname.
Wilfred: Maggie's fiancee/husband, and Shaggy's brother-in-law.
Gaggy Rogers: Shaggy's uncle, who likes to play practical jokes.
Uncle Shagworthy: Shaggy's rich uncle. Not only does he look like his nephew - he has the same appetite and cowardice. He keeps his most precious possession (food) in a secret refrigerator with valuable jewels.
Great Uncle Nat (Nathaniel): Shaggy's great-uncle.
Fearless Shagaford: Shaggy's uncle, who owns the Fearless Detective Agency (see Fearless Fosdick)

In A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Shaggy is shown to have an infant sister named "Sugey", presumably a younger version of Maggie (which would make "Sugey" a nickname). However, the difference between the two siblings' ages in Pup seems greater than the difference when both are older (i.e., Maggie apparently aged at a faster rate over the ensuing years than Shaggy did). A similar phenomenon is found in the popular comic strip Peanuts, where Sally was aged from infancy to being a year or two younger than her brother Charlie Brown, and in soap operas, where the phenomenon is known as SORAS.

Love Interests

Googie: In Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988), Shaggy has a girl who acts as a steady love partner and rides along with him, Scooby and Scrappy and helps him out when he is entered into a monster car race. She seems to be more involved in the relationship than Shaggy, who of course finds food more important, though they do show signs of affection such as hugging and Shaggy has the onions held from his hotdog on their date. This was her only appearance in the series.

Crystal: In Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), Shaggy meets a girl named Crystal who claims she and her dog Amber are wildlife photographers. Later at a restaurant, the gang is shocked to find out that Shaggy is so love-sick he did not want anything to eat. While the gang is eating, Shaggy daydreams a musical scene called "Groovy" about getting married to Crystal and living with her. Then living together in a house with "Shaggy Jr.", Scooby, Amber, and their puppies. Eventually it is revealed that the two are government agents from a far away planet and the girls leave Scooby and Shaggy heart broken.

Mary-Jane: In the feature film, Scooby-Doo (2002), Shaggy comes across a girl named Mary-Jane who loves Scooby Snacks but is unfortunately allergic to dogs. She is turned into a monster but is saved when Scooby and Shaggy tip over a tub of spirits while fighting off an evil, super-sized version of Scrappy-Doo. Director of 'Scooby-Doo' the movie Raja Gosnell says the reason for Mary-Jane not appearing in the sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is that the relationship wouldn't have worked out because of Scooby and Mary-Jane being allergic to him.

Mei Ling: During the events of the "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" episode "Block-Long Hong Kong Terror", Shaggy began a relationship with Mei Ling, daughter of toy maker Harold Ling and professional Chinese acrobat. After his "Duck Guy" broke before the events of the episode, Mei gave Shaggy her "Duck Girl" as a token of affection. During the episode in question, she saved both Shaggy and Scooby numerous times from a Chinese Dragon.

Cultural references

Shaggy has been parodied in such series as Saturday Night Live, Robot Chicken (with Matthew Lillard reprising his role), and such movies as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and even Star Wars: Clone Wars (in the form of Jedi Shaa' Gi). In these and some other parodies of the Scooby-Doo series, Shaggy's constant giddy, hungry, and confused state is often parodied as a sign of marijuana usage. In Looney Tunes: Back In Action, Lillard appears as himself, being criticized by an animated Shaggy for not portraying him well.
In Robot Chicken, Mystery Inc. investigate Camp Crystal Lake which is supposedly haunted by the machete wielding ghost Jason Vorhees. During the investigation, Shaggy and Scooby go inside a cabin to look for clues. Shaggy finds a box of Scooby Snacks inside a cabinet and starts to eat them. During his snack, he says "Like, I am one sad dog food eating hippy!" he is later killed by Jason when he stabs him through a barrel.
In the film Scooby Doo, Shaggy connects with a girl on the flight to Spooky Island through a common love of "Scooby Snacks"—while the original Scooby-Doo cartoons implied these to be dog treats, the term has come to be used in stoner culture as slang for drugs. Furthermore, the girl's name is Mary Jane, a common euphemism for marijuana. Upon learning her name, Shaggy responds, "No way. That is, like, my favorite name." These and other veiled drug references in both the original cartoon and its live action progeny may seem to justify popular culture's interpretation of the zany pair. The idea was also addressed in an episode of the satirical animated series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law entitled "Shaggy Busted." In it, Shaggy and Scooby are arrested under suspicion of drug use. Freddy later states that Shaggy and Scooby aren't high, rather "they're just stupid." Another reference to Shaggy using drugs is in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, after Shaggy and Scooby consume mysterious potions that transform them into a variety of bizarre creatures. After they are turned back to normal, Shaggy comments "Like, that was almost exactly like my freshman year at college".
The second-season episode of The Venture Bros. entitled "¡Viva los Muertos!" features the entire Scooby-Doo cast re-imagined as famous serial killers and radicals. Shaggy's analogue, "Sonny", is reminiscent of David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam" killer. Sonny is a hallucinating drug addict who, like Berkowitz, believes his dog ("Groovy", Scooby-Doo's double) is talking to him and coercing him to commit murder. "Ted", Fred's parody (his name a reference to killer Ted Bundy), keeps Sonny on a short leash by controlling his access to "groovy treats". Both Sonny and Ted are viciously murdered by the excessively violent Brock Samson.
Eddie Izzard commented on Shaggy and Scooby during his stand up comedy special "Dressed to Kill." "Shaggy and Scooby are interesting characters,two of the most major characters in American literature. I think it's fantastic, because they are cowardly characters. They believe in cowardice and sandwiches. Can you think of any in the realm of English-speaking literature, cowardly characters that you identify with? You're with them all the way - "Go, Shaggy! Go, Scooby!"