Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is the first TV series in the Scooby-Doo franchise. It was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears for Hanna-Barbara Productions and CBS in response to protests over violent Saturday morning cartoons. It premiered on CBS September 13, 1969, and ran for two seasons for a total of 25 episodes. Its final first-run episode aired on October 31, 1970.
Origin[]
Scooby Doo, Where Are You! was the result of CBS and Hanna-Barbera's plans to create a non-violent Saturday morning program that would appease the parent watch groups that had protested the superhero-based programs of the mid-1960s.Originally titled Mysteries Five, and later Who's S-S-Scared?, Scooby Doo, Where Are You! underwent a number of changes from script to screen (the most notable of which was the downplaying of the musical group angle borrowed from The Archie Show). However, the basic concept—four teenagers (Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers) and a cowardly, clumsy Great Dane (Scooby-Doo) solving supernatural-related mysteries—was always in place.
Writing[]
Scooby-Doo creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears served as the story supervisors on the series.[8] Ruby, Spears, and Bill Lutz wrote all of the scripts for the seventeen first-season episodes, while Lutz, Larz Bourne, and Tom Dagenais wrote the eight second season episodes with Ruby and Spears. The plot varied little from episode to episode. The main concept was as follows: 1.The Mystery, Inc. gang is driving in the Mystery Machine, returning from or going to a regular teenage function, when their van develops engine trouble or breaks down for any of a variety of reasons (overheating, flat tire, out of gas, etc.), in the immediate vicinity of a large, mostly vacated property (ski lodge, hotel, factory, mansion, cruise ship, etc.). 2.Their (unintended) destination turns out to be suffering from a monster problem (ghosts, Yetis, vampires, witches, etc.). The gang volunteers to investigate the case. 3.The gang splits up to cover more ground, with Fred and Velma finding clues, Daphne finding danger, and Shaggy and Scooby finding food, fun, and the ghost/monster, who chases them. Scooby and Shaggy love to eat, including dog treats called Scooby Snacks which are a favorite of both the dog and the teenage boy. 4.Eventually, enough clues are found to convince the gang that the ghost/monster is a fake, and a trap is set (usually by Fred) to capture it; or, they may occasionally call the local sheriff, only to get stopped by the villain half-way. 5.If a trap is used, it may or may not work (more often than not, Scooby-Doo and/or Shaggy falls into the trap and/or they unwittingly catch the monster another way). Invariably, the ghost/monster is apprehended and unmasked. The person in the ghost or monster suit turns out to be an apparently blameless authority figure or otherwise innocuous local who is using the disguise to cover up something such as a crime or a scam. 6.After giving the parting shot of "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids", the offender is then taken away to jail, and the gang is can continue on the way to their destination.
Cast[]
- Don Messick as Scooby-Doo
- Casey Kasem as Shaggy Rogers
- Frank Welker as Fred Jones
- Stefanianna Christopherson as Daphne Blake (Season 1)
- Heather North as Daphne Blake (Season 2)
- Nicole Jaffe as Velma Dinkley
Episodes[]
Season 1 (1969-1970)[]
- 1. What a Night for a Knight - September 13, 1969
- 2. A Clue for Scooby-Doo - September 20, 1969
- 3. Hassle in the Castle - September 27, 1969
- 4. Mine Your Own Business - October 4, 1969
- 5. Decoy for a Dognapper - October 11, 1969
- 6. What the Hex Going On? - October 18, 1969
- 7. Never Ape an Ape Man - October 25, 1969
- 8. Foul Play in Funland - November 1, 1969
- 9. The Backstage Rage - November 8, 1969
- 10. Bedlam in the Big Top - November 15, 1969
- 11. A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts - November 22, 1969
- 12. Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too! - November 29, 1969
- 13. Which Witch is Which? - December 6, 1969
- 14. Go Away Ghost Ship - December 13, 1969
- 15. Spooky Space Kook - December 20, 1969
- 16. A Night of Fright is no Delight - January 10, 1970
- 17. That's Snow Ghost - January 17, 1970
Season 2 (1970)[]
- 1. Nowhere to Hyde - September 12, 1970
- 2. Mystery Mask Mix-Up - September 19, 1970
- 3. Scooby's Night with a Frozen Fright - September 26, 1970
- 4. Jeepers! It's The Creeper! - October 3, 1970
- 5. Haunted House Hang-Up - October 10, 1970
- 6. A Tiki Scare is No Fair - October 17, 1970
- 7. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf? - October 24, 1970
- 8. Don't Fool with a Phantom - October 31, 1970
Music[]
The second season featured "chase scene" songs produced by La La Productions (which had originally been contracted to create the music for Josie and the Pussycats, the first of many shows made from the same mold as Scooby-Doo). These songs were written by Danny Janssen and Austin Roberts, and were performed by Roberts, who also made a new recording of the Scooby Doo, Where Are You! theme song for the second season. The Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! theme song has been officially covered by several famous bands. Matthew Sweet covered it for the 1995 TV special/album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, Third Eye Blind for the 1998 animated film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Billy Ray Cyrus for the 1999 animated film Scooby-Doo! And the Witch's Ghost, Jennifer Love Hewitt for the 2000 animated film Scooby-Doo and The Alien Invaders, The B-52's (Cindy, Kate and Fred) for the 2001 animated film Scooby-Doo and The Cyber Chase, MxPx for the 2002 live-action film Scooby-Doo, and Krystal Harris for the 2003 animated film Scooby-Doo! And the Legend of the Vampire. Episodes contained a laugh track, one of the first Saturday morning cartoon shows to do so. It was removed for syndication in the 1980s. Not long after the Turner networks (TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network) began airing the show in 1994, the laugh track was reinstated in 1997.
Release and reception[]
Scooby Doo, Where Are You! was a hit for Hanna-Barbera and CBS, which led Hanna-Barbera to eventually create series with similar concepts on ABC, NBC, and CBS, including, Josie and the Pussycats, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, The Pebbles, Dino and Bamm-Bamm segments on The Flintstone Comedy Show, The Funky Phantom, Speed Buggy, Jeannie, Jabberjaw, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Inch High Private Eye, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Clue Club, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids, and The New Shmoo. In 2005, Scooby Doo, Where Are You! came 49th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Cartoons, and was more recently voted the 8th greatest Kids' TV Show by viewers of the same channel. It was ranked the 24th greatest cartoon on IGN's Top 100 Animated Series.
Home media releases[]
On March 16, 2004, Warner Home Video released all 25 episodes on DVD under the title Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons