Well, another Spring has sprung. In anticipation of the final ribbon ceremony two short days from now (finalize those ribbon noms now!), and in no way stealing valor or preempting affairs, let’s warm up with another season’s Out-Of-Time awards. As last year, will focus on collective awards for the Thing. First up, the really-rolls-off-the-tongue
ASTOOSTATS
I know Spring Thing wants to be the “loose, counter-culture” comp, but I gotta say. There is some real polish to these works! Congrats to all the try-hard work that definitely showed!
(A brief, dissonantly serious clarification. When I started, I had a very reductive view of what each Mystery, Inc character would stand for. The breadth of the entries immediately challenged that, but turns out, these characters have such a long pop culture life, they comfortably represent more than just the boxes I initially put them in!)
Expected more Shaggy and Scooby, and less Fred, but here we are! For those of you who think that is a bad thing, I refer you to 2010-2013’s “Scooby-Doo, Mystery Incorporated” Fred is something to aspire to. (Though that show did some dirt to Velma)
From there, a smooth transition (smooth BECAUSE I SAY SO) to the 2024
ASTOOTIE Awards
The Ribbon Runners. The works that made me pull my hair deciding BIS. One of 'em won it. All of 'em coulda.
- Alltarach
- Doctor Jeangille’s Letters
- PROSPER.0
- Social Democracy: An Alternate History
- The Trials of Rosalind
The Meatloaf Casseroles. Comfort Food like Momma made. The entries that tickled very specific, very pleasant memories for me.
- Bydlo: or the Ox-Cart
- The Truth About PRIDE!
- Voyage of the Marigold
- Zomburbia
The Pink Panther Prize Plate, to those works that most effectively awoke my inner Detective. More often than not, Inspector Clouseau.
- The Case of the Solitary Resident
- Loose Ends
The Breathalyzers. The works that made me most question my fitness for driving, paying bills and operating heavy machinery.
- Nonverbal Communication
- Provizora Parko
- Thanks, but I don’t remember asking
- You Can Only Turn Left
The Tingly Trousers. Those works that made me wonder what mysteries my parents were hiding from me on Cinemax.
- Beseech Old Sins
- Ink and Intrigue
- The Portrait
The Animaniacs “Nothing Matters but the BIT” Gold Circle, to the works whose humor tickled me perhaps beyond what a casual observer would consider ‘reasonable.’
- A Simple Happening
- Pass a Bill
- Potato Peace
The Wayne and Garth “I’m Not Worthy” Endowment, to those works whose ambitions exceeded this reviewer’s capacities, mired as he was giggling at things like sushi-based combat.
- Alltarach
- A Dream of Silence
- Luna Gardens
- Provizora Parko
- Social Democracy: An Alternate History
And, without further ado…
Jinkies, Gang! We got a mystery on our hands! Let’s split up to cover more ground, try not to get distracted by big sandwiches or lose our glasses, and confront all the existential terrors around us with rube goldberg traps to SOLVE THIS MYSTERY! Who are the AS2T Mystery, Incorporated? ZOINKS!
Fred: Voyage of the Marigold
Daphne: Studio
Velma: The Portrait
Shaggy: You Can Only Turn Left
Scooby: Octopus’s Garden
Scrappy: A Dream of Silence
Rooby ROOBY ROO!
