Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!


 * This article refers to the original TV series. For other uses, see Scooby-Doo, Where Are You (disambiguation).

Scooby Doo, Where Are You! is the first incarnation of the long-running Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. It premiered on September 13, 1969 at 10:30 AM EST and ran for two seasons on CBS as a half-hour long show. Twenty-five episodes were produced (seventeen in 1969-1970 and eight more in 1970-1971).

Origin
For more details on this topic, look here.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was the result of CBS and Hanna-Barbera's plans to create a non-violent Saturday morning program which 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, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy, along with a large goofy Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, solving supernatural-related mysteries—was always in place. Character development was not a major focus of early sitcoms (especially animated cartoons), so little was offered about the personal lives of the Mystery Inc. members before the show, aside from the obvious (i.e. they are high school students). Also, each episode is a self-contained story, with connections to previous or future episode. (A story arc for the franchise did not exist until Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, which is essentially a reboot with everything that WAY didn't have or wasn't allowed to.)

Writing
Scooby-Doo creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears served as the story supervisors on the series. Ruby, Spears, and Bill Lutz wrote all of the scripts for the seventeen first-season Scooby episodes, while Ruby, Spears, Lutz, Larz Bourne, and Tom Dagenais wrote the eight second-season episodes. The plot varied little from episode to episode. The main concept was as follows:
 * 1) The Mystery Inc. gang turn up in the Mystery Machine, en route to or returning from a regular teenage function when their van develops engine trouble or breaks down for any of a variety of reasons (overheating, flat tire, etc.), in the immediate vicinity of a large, mostly-vacated property (ski lodge, hotel, factory, mansion, etc.).
 * 2) Their (unintended) destination turns out to be suffering from a monster problem (ghosts, Frankenstein, Yeti, etc.). The kids volunteer 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 gives chase. Scooby and Shaggy in particular 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 to capture it.
 * 5) The trap may or may not work (more often than not, Scooby-Doo falls into the trap and they accidentally catch the monster another way, usually if the plan is explained in detail before attempted execution it fails). 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 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 blasted meddling kids" (sometimes adding "...and your stupid dog!"), the offender is then taken away to jail, and the gang is allowed to continue on their way to their destination.

Cast

 * Scooby-Doo is the team's mascot. Naturally, they use Scooby to sniff out clues -- if his cowardice doesn't get in the way, but this is averted by a dog treat (which shares his name). He is voiced by Don Messick, a Hanna-Barbera veteran; uses a similar voice to Astro, ''The Jetsons ' family dog.
 * Shaggy Rogers, the owner and best friend of Scooby. If they're not finding the monster while searching for clues with Velma, they're finding the monster by themselves. When surprised, he'll usually shout, "Zoinks!" (occasionally "Zoink"). He also cracks bad jokes and puns. He is voiced by radio dee jay, Casey Kasem.
 * Fred Jones is relied onto for his leadership in seperating the gang when they need to cover more ground, and to formulate a plan to capture the monster. He is voiced by young actor, Frank Welker, who began his long career in voice acting.
 * Velma Dinkley uses her vast knowledge to aid in solving the mystery. She'll ocassionally use complicated scientific word to explain an event. She is voiced by actress, Nicole Jaffe.
 * Daphne Blake tries to support the gang, but inevitably falls into a trap floor and/or being held captive by the monster. In season one, she was voiced by Stefanianna Christopherson. After that season had finished, she quit to get married and start a family. Heather North, Jaffe's roommate, auditioned for and won the role of Daphne for the second and last season.

Music
For the theme song, see Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! theme song

Studio musical director Ted Nichols wrote an instrumental theme for the show, which was for the opening credits of and under the title cards for the premiere episode, What a Night for a Knight. The closing theme of the first show was the now more familiar Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! theme song, written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh and recorded by Mook three days before the show's September 13 broadcast premiere. After Nichols's theme was used as both the opening and closing theme of the second broadcast episode, A Clue For Scooby Doo, Mook and Raliegh's theme became the permanent opening credits theme, and was also heard as the closing credits theme on all but three episodes: Hassle in the Castle, Which Witch is Which?, and A Night of Fright is No Delight, which used the original instrumental theme in syndication in the 1990s. Nichols' original theme is, however, heard under the title card for each episode of both this and the follow-up series, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and is very prominently used as background score for most Scooby-Doo episodes through 1979.

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 episodes.

Both seasons contained a laugh track, which was standard practice for American cartoon series during the 1960s and 1970s. It was removed for syndication in the 1980s. The laugh track was then reinstated when Cartoon Network began airing the show.

Reception and legacy
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was a breakaway hit for Hanna-Barbera and CBS, who quickly introduced similar cartoons to accompany Scooby-Doo: Josie and the Pussycats (1970), The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971) (which re-imagined the toddlers from The Flintstones as high-school students), and The Funky Phantom (also 1971).

In the UK, in 2005, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! came 49th in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Cartoons" [1]. As of 2006, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is also the only classic Hanna-Barbera series that continues to air on Cartoon Network; the others were gradually moved to Boomerang in the early 2000s.

Home media
Episodes from season one and two were released to VHS under the title Classic Scooby-Doo. Releases include: Classic Scooby-Doo - Mystery Mask Mix-Up, Classic Scooby-Doo - Which Witch is Which?, Classic Scooby-Doo - That's Snow Ghost, Classic Scooby-Doo - The Haunted House Hang-Up, Classic Scooby-Doo - Scooby-Doo and a Mummy Too, Classic Scooby-Doo - A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts and Classic Scooby-Doo - Foul Play in Funland. Each VHS release contained its titular episode and a second episode.

Season sets
All 25 episodes were released on DVD in March 2004 by Warner Home Video as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons. A DVD entitled Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Third Season was released on April 10, 2007, made up of episodes produced in 1978, added to the Scooby's All-Stars package, and later syndicated as part of The Scooby-Doo Show.

Volumes
Unlike other Scooby shows, WHV released Where Are You! on season sets first before doing single volumes. The second season remains unreleased.

Airing history

 * Canada (English and French)
 * Teletoon and Télétoon (1997–present)
 * Teletoon Retro and Télétoon Rétro (2007–present)
 * Jamaica
 * Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (1980-1997)
 * CVM Televsion (1998-2006)