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What a Night for a Knight

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This article is about the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode. For other uses, see What a Night for a Knight (disambiguation).

What a Night for a Knight is the first episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

Premise

When Scooby-Doo and Shaggy find an abandoned pick-up truck with a knight's armour in the front seat, the gang deliver it to the museum in place of the missing professor. However, this Black Knight is said to come alive every full moon. As the gang investigate the knight, they realize that it is a full moon, and the knight has come alive...!

Synopsis

A man is driving a pick-up down a road during the night, unaware that the suit of dark armour in the back has come to life and left his containment. Its eyes glow yellow from inside its helmet as it watches the driver.

Close by, Scooby and Shaggy are walking home, with the latter complaining that they're out so late because the former had to see Star: Dog Ranger of the North Woods, twice; Scooby is still excited from it. Just then, they hear rustling from the bushes. Scooby pokes his head in and when he takes it out, a frog is on his nose. When it jumps off, Scooby gets annoyed, barking and giving chase. Shaggy quickly follows behind. Scooby eventually comes to a stop when he loses it. Shaggy doesn't have time to stop and trips over him. They notice the same pick-up truck from before, now abandoned. When they go for a closer look, they see the lifeless suit of dark armour in the driver seat. The two are quickly scared off once its head falls off.

They return with the rest of their group to properly examine it. Fred comments on why a knight's suit of armour would be out alone in the middle of the night in the driver seat of a truck. Shaggy jokes that maybe he's out for the night. Velma chides him for his joke, as Daphne wonders who it belongs to. Fred reads: "Deliver to Jameson Hyde White: Prof. of Archaeology, London, England." Shaggy makes another joke about having heard of hide and seek, but not "Hyde White". Velma says that is an English name. Daphne also finds a delivery slip reading: "Deliver to the County Museum."

The next day, the gang travels to the museum, where they deliver the knight to the museum curator, Mr. Wickles. He thanks them, but fears that perhaps it wasn't a good idea with Professor Hyde White disappearing. He goes on to explain about the legend of the Black Knight and how it comes to life when the moon is full. Velma asks him what Professor Hyde White was doing with it (despite having already found out beforehand), and replies that the professor was delivering it to the museum all the way from England. As this is going on, they don't notice the knight's glowing eyes. Two workers begin to move the crate, one of them asking Mr. Wickles where to put it. He tells them to put it in the medieval room. As Scooby follows the workers, he finds a strange pair of glasses. He picks them up, as Daphne calls him, while Fred says they're leaving.

While driving down town, Velma says that the mystery has her baffled, and has got Shaggy hungry, asking when they can eat? Scooby pops his head up, in agreement, while still wearing the glasses he found. The others notice, and realize he must have found them at the museum. Shaggy wonders what they're for, with Fred suggesting they go to the library to find out.

At the library they read a book which says that the glasses are for jewelers, scientists, and archaeologists like Professor Hyde White. It also says they're made in England. These two clues indicate that something is definitely up, and the gang plan on returning to the museum to investigate.

The gang return to the museum at night and break in through an upper window. They split up and look for clues, not knowing that spooky eyes in an Indian effigy are watching them. Scooby, Shaggy and Velma bump into the Black Knight and have a brief altercation. Scooby runs into the fossil exhibit and begins gnawing on the bone, but is chased by the Knight. He meets up with Shaggy and the two find one of the paintings is missing. He informs the gang, but when they return, the painting is back on the wall. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby follow a trail of paint to a hidden room behind a sarcophagus and find the room full of finished and unfinished paintings. The Knight appears and chases the gang into the relic room, where Fred and the girls hide inside a Second World War armored tank while Scooby and Shaggy hide in a First World War biplane. Scooby accidentally flips the power, and the plane roars to life, flying erratically around the room (even losing both wings in the process) until it finally crashes, taking the Knight down with it. The Knight is unmasked as... Mr. Wickles, the curator! He was part of a smuggling ring; he would steal and sell the real paintings, and then create fake paintings and put them back on the wall (that explained the hidden room, the missing painting and the paint drops on the floor). Mr. Wickles knew that Professor Hyde White would know that the paintings were faked, so he kidnapped him and thought up this Black Knight ruse. Professor Hyde White is later found tied up in the Indian effigy.

Once freed, he discusses the events with the gang about there being no legend and that Wickles just used it to cover up his mysterious disappearance, explaining he somehow got in the armor and made him disappear on the way to the museum. Suddenly they see the Black Knight in the museum office. He lifts up the helmet and is revealed to be Scooby-Doo; the whole gang laughs.

Characters

Main characters:

Supporting characters:

Villains:

Other characters:

Locations

  • Wooded area
  • County Museum
    • Back entrance
    • Dinosaur exhibit
    • Secret room
    • Transportation exhibit aka relic room
    • Office room
  • Public Library

Objects

Vehicles

Suspects

Suspect Motive/reason
Professor Hyde White His mysterious disappearance.
Mr. Wickles He told the gang about the legend of the Black Knight.

Culprits

Culprit Reason
Mr. Wickles as the Black Knight Made up the legend of the Black Knight to cover Prof. Hyde White's disappearance because he would know that the portraits would be fake.
Museum workers Members in Mr. Wickles's art forgery.

Cast

Don Messick Scooby-Doo
Professor Hyde White
Sheriff
Casey Kasem Shaggy Rogers
Frank Welker Fred Jones
Stefanianna Christopherson Daphne Blake
Nicole Jaffe Velma Dinkley
John Stephenson Black Knight
Museum worker 1

Full credits

The following credits are how they are seen on-screen (or as close as possible).

Notes/trivia

  1. The Black Knight after he casts a shadow on Scooby.
  2. Scooby leaping out of the flower pot.
  3. The gang are reading the book in the library, and then look forward, above it (or in other words to the audience).
  • The title card for this episode and the following one are different than the ones in the rest of the series; both show the monster while the rest show the gang running with the title floating above them.
  • Aside from Scooby Snacks, there isn't any proper (human) food.
  • The scene where Shaggy and Scooby walk home on a spooky late night after having seen a movie about a heroic dog twice was given a 21st Century semi-remake in the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine, with the duo this time walking out of the theater after watching Return of Astro Mutt: Space Dog of the Future twice. It's also worth noting that both scenes end with them finding a vehicle.
  • The gang's names are revealed in the following order: Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Velma. Fred is not named in this episode. Storyboards referred to him as "Ronnie", one of his working names.[1]
  • In storyboards and his model sheet, Jameson Hyde White is instead referred to as "James Hyde White". The storyboard also describes him as being from England, but gives him a cowboy fetish.[2][3]
  • Wickles is spelt "Wikles" in storyboards and on his model sheet.[4][5]
  • Daphne's the first character to say the famous quote, "Scooby-Doo, where are you?"
  • Scooby and Shaggy go to see a sequel to Star: Dog Ranger of the North Woods in DC Comics' Scooby-Doo #33 story Return of the Star Dog. They've apparently waited ten years for it, since seeing the one in this episode, although of course they haven't aged at all. It's however spelt as "Star Dog", when in the episode, Shaggy put emphasize on "Star" being separate from "Dog Ranger of the North Woods".
  • This is the first instance in which Velma shows the running gag with her glasses.
  • The scene with Scooby shivering and using his paws to close his mouth is essentially reused in A Night of Fright is No Delight, except it takes place in the bedroom with Fred and Shaggy.
  • The series is prone to use a new sheriff every time one is needed, but the one in this episode could very well be the same one in Which Witch is Which?. A note on his model sheet does indicate as much.[6]
  • A few other non-related monsters would also be called the Black Knight.
  • This episode was included in Cartoon Network's Scooby-Doo! Back to School Marathon (August 10–11, 2013).
  • The exact same scene from this episode of the gang looking at the screen while in the library is featured in the opening theme of the DTV Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery.
  • The opening credits for the DTV Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon ends with the gang doing a parody on the scene where they look at the screen while reading a book, however, they are instead looking in a comic book.
  • The Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode Come Undone also parodies the library scene except this time, the gang is looking at a computer, not a book.
  • In Scoobynatural after breaking his arm in a fall, Shaggy mentions how he jumped out of a bi-plane and wasn't hurt, an event that occurred in this episode. This proves to be a sign that the Winchesters and Castiel crossing into the world of Scooby-Doo is having real consequences on the characters.
  • Upon finding the suit of armor, Fred exclaims "Well, gang, it looks like we're up to our armor plates in another mystery." The gang's previous adventures wouldn't be seen until 29 years later with the release of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.

Miscellaneous

Adaptations

  • This episode was the first to be adapted in Gold Key Comics' Scooby Doo... Where Are You! #1. It contains the following differences:
    • Wickles is spelt "Wikles".
  • This episode is the first level in the video game Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers.
  • Solving this case was the first known case of the gang in the live-action film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. In it, the gang are now adults who have achieved celebrity stardom in their hometown of Coolsville. They have put the various monster costumes they have faced and donated them to the Coolsonian Criminology Museum, including the Black Knight. Wickles has also been released from prison and tries to go straight by opening up a theme park in Coolsville. His plans are jeopardized however, when he's set up as a suspect to have brought the Black Knight to life, after the gang encounter it in his own home. The true culprit is Professor Jonathan Jacobo, a prison mate of Wickles, who took revenge on the gang by bringing the past fake monsters they've faced to life. There are some differences including:
    • Despite this being the gang's first case, they've also faced Chickenstein from the A Pup Named Scooby-Doo episode Chickenstein Lives in that same continuity. This was a monster the gang faced before they were called Mystery Inc. (instead referring to themselves as the Scooby-Doo Detective Agency). The case involving the Black Knight Ghost could be retconned as the gang's first one as Mystery Inc., considering a flashback revealed that they've been friends since they were teenagers. But then again, since A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is in the same universe as What's New Scooby-Doo, which is a continuation of the Where Are You Formula, and their Treehouse from the same PNSD show was in the movie, it could be possible that Chickenstein is more of a minor case, while the Black Knight one was major.
    • The Black Knight is called the Black Knight Ghost.
    • Mr. Wickles's full name is Jeremiah Wickles (and is nicknamed "Old Man Wickles").
    • Perhaps to show that time has moved on, Wickles is now a relatively old man (hence the nickname) and has white hair.
    • Wickles lives in his ancestral mansion in Wickles Manor.
  • In another live-action continuity, this time Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, which sees them coming together to save their school from the Specter. After this mystery is solved, they really don't have any need to stay together (because they didn't really have anything in common to begin with), but Velma has heard some strange going-ons at the Coolsville Museum (solidifying their friendship).
  • The LEGO-inspired TV special, LEGO Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror, is a semi-reimagining of this episode, with the Black Knight haunting a mansion instead.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

  • There is no one driving the truck in the very first scene.
  • As Shaggy and Scooby are running after seeing the lifeless armour's head fall off, Shaggy's mouth moves, but he doesn't say anything.
  • Scooby pops up behind the gang while riding in the Mystery Machine, only he appears to be between Daphne and the seat back.
  • When Velma says, "Now look what that dog did! He knows I can't see without my glasses!", the end of her sleeve briefly flashes the color of her skin.
  • When Velma loses her glasses, she mistakes the knight for Shaggy and hearing the knight's raspy voice, she tries to give the knight cough syrup, thinking it's Shaggy. Shaggy enters and takes the cough syrup. A few scenes later, with no time for Velma to find her glasses, she has her glasses back on.
  • The red plume on the knight's head disappears and reappears a few times during the episode.
  • After the entire gang exclaims Professor Hyde White's name while at the library, Daphne, Fred, and Scooby's eyes move left slightly before promptly returning to their normal spots.
  • When Fred raises the car jack to its limit, the grooved part is so long, it couldn't have fit into the jack in the first place.
  • When Freddy grabs that jack, his arm is certainly long.
  • Although the Black Knight casts a long shadow over Scooby, Scooby himself casts no shadow at all. 
  • The hidden door inside the mummy case is a different shape the second time it is seen.
  • The plane flies very well without wings for one scene.
  • When the gang exits the relic room, the background shows the same vehicles in the next room.
  • When the gang react to seeing the Black Knight again in the office room (before Scooby opens up the visor), Daphne's entire eyes disappear as she blinks.
  • When Velma says "So that's what the Black Knight was after," her mouth doesn't move.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

  • Shaggy and Scooby go and investigate the car with the knight in, which, in later episodes, is something they would run from. It is possible that the writers were still setting up the formula and setting the scene for the series, but it is strange Shaggy and Scooby went to investigate it without being told to do so by Fred, Daphne or Velma, especially on such a "spooky" night.
  • Mr. Wickles appeared shorter than the Black Knight. Nothing was ever explained of how he made himself look taller.
  • There were two full moons in a row. Then again, the second one could have been a blue moon.
  • When Mr. Wickles was explaining about the legend, the camera moved to the Black Knight, showing its eyes lighting. This wouldn't make sense since Mr. Wickles was the Black Knight.
  • Velma asks Mr. Wickles about Professor Hyde White's role in delivering the Black Knight when she already knew full what it was. This was done either to remind the audience or to inform the new ones just tuning in, or of course, both.
  • Fred is able to see at the top window of the museum, not only in the dark, but standing right up to the wall. Unless he's familiar with the place.
  • There must be little worry of burglaries since the windows have no glass.
  • This is the beginning of the gang's carelessness of not following the "no breaking and entering" rule. The window was "open", but it's still the same.
  • The ladder that Shaggy uses is way too long to fit in the Mystery Machine.
  • How is it possible for a plane inside a museum exhibit to be turned on and flown? Plus, even with the armor protecting him, Mr. Wickles would likely have been killed by the plane's impact.
  • It is never revealed what Mr. Wickles was planning to do with Professor Hyde White after kidnapping him.
  • Mr. Wickles hides Professor Hyde White, who is bound and gagged, under a large mask and blanket. The eyes of the mask are shown to move and blink while the Professor is behind it, implying that those are his eyes moving and blinking. However, the eye holes on the mask are much too far apart for the Professor to look through them both at the same time. In addition, while he is bound, he is not actually tied to anything, so he should have been perfectly capable of moving his body to get the attention of the kids. He should've also been able to make sounds as well.
  • Things are all too conveniently set up for there to be a real mystery to solve.
    • It would have been far less complicated if the suit of armour and Professor Hyde White had traveled to the museum separately. The way it looks, it's as if Professor Hyde White, an archaeologist, was merely being used as a delivery service to bring the suit of armour all the way from England to the County Museum. But if it was that simple then it wouldn't have had the two messages. The one on the crate could be to identify who it belonged to, but that doesn't explain why he needed a letter to go to the County Museum. From in-universe, it's possible the letter had a specific address, if he wasn't working there to begin with, but the message on the crate said it needed to be delivered to him. It seems a lot of fuss went over a simple suit of armour unless it belonged to someone of importance. If it had been sent all the way to England and Professor Hyde White took it with him to America, then the first note on the crate with his name on it (which is presumably supposed to be a form of address, although if it were, it would be a lot more specified than just "London, England") would've been already replaced by another mailing address by airplane since it couldn't have traveled all the way from England by train. The fact that the gang had the convenience of finding those two addresses is fundamental to directing their mystery to begin with (other than just finding the suit of armour), otherwise they'd just be stuck with the armour and wouldn't know what to do with it, except for calling the sheriff. (They would've likely deduced it needed to be taken to the County Museum itself, anyway.)
    • Professor Hyde White said that Mr. Wickles somehow got into the armour and down to the train station which is a mystery itself as he would have surely been caught in the time it would have taken to open the crate and then put the armour on himself and then close the crate up.
    • It isn't explained how while Professor Hyde White was driving, Mr. Wickles was able to get him gagged and bound to the museum. He must've at least either had the professor stop the car by scaring him and then either he fainted from shock or Mr. Wickles had to knock him out, then drive all the way to the museum, then gag, bound, and hide the professor away, and then finally drive the pick-up truck back to a reasonable spot back where Professor Hyde White had been driving or Mr. Wickles had him gagged, bound, and hidden after Professor Hyde White had driven all the way to the museum. The two museum workers might have helped along the way since it seems too elaborate for Mr. Wickles to do it all himself.
  • It's unknown how the museum workers were caught. The only logical explanation would be is that Mr. Wickles ratted them out so he wouldn't take the fall himself.
  • When the gang finds the weird glasses Scooby took from the museum, instead of returning them like good citizens, they detour to the library to do some research on them. 
  • That mousy-looking curator certainly is strong. Not only does he run all around the museum in full armour, but he lifts a table with Shaggy and Scooby hanging under it and throws it with considerable force, even though the entire load has got to weigh around 300 lbs! Of course, after he throws Shaggy and Scooby against the wall, they are shown landing facing the top of the table instead of the underside, though it's entirely possible Shaggy and Scooby were impossibly quick enough to get on the other side of the table and to safety.
  • Scooby tackles Shaggy and knocks him down the hall, where he notices a missing painting. While they leave to bring the others, the painting is returned to its place. Just how far away did Scooby and Shaggy go to give Mr. Wickles time to replace it?
  • When Scooby tackles Shaggy and knocks him down, they are right by the gang. But then when they point out the painting is missing, the gang is far away. That scene doesn't last very long, so they don't have time to get away from Shaggy and Scooby.
  • Apparently, there is no night watchman in this museum, though Velma forces Scooby to be quiet anyway. 
  • The Black Knight puts his fist through a painting; one can only hope it's one of the forgeries. 
  • One area of the museum is called the relic room. This is awfully vague... aren't all museum exhibits considered relics? Besides, the room is filled with vehicles. Shouldn't it be called the transportation room or something?
  • When Scooby puts on the armour at the end of the episode, the hands have morphed to fit his paws.

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
French La Nuit du Chevalier The Night of the Knight
Greek Η Παράξενη Νύχτα του Ιππότη The Strange Night of the Knight
Hungarian Fekete éjben fekete lovag Black knight in a black night
Italian Che notte per un cavaliere What a night for a knight
Polish Noc w muzeum A night in the museum
Swedish Den svarte riddaren The Black Knight
Brazilian
Portuguese 		O Fantasma do Cavaleiro Negro The Ghost of the Black Knight

Home media

Quotes

Shaggy: What a nervous night to be walking home from the movies, Scooby-Doo, and all because you had to stay and see Star: Dog Ranger of the North Woods, twice.
Scooby: (excited) Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!


Scooby: Hyde White?
Shaggy: I've heard of hide-and-seek before, but never Hyde White.
Shaggy and Scooby: (laughing)
Velma: That's an English name, you comedians.


Fred: Well, gang. Looks like we're up to our armour plates in another mystery.


Daphne Blake: Let's take this back way out!
(The door slides open to reveal the Black Knight (What a Night for a Knight) standing in the doorway growling)
Shaggy: Leave it to Daphne to pick the wrong door!

References

  1. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20010312060859/http://cartoonnetwork.com/doc/scooby/45.01/sb/sdsb_45-01_pg031.html
  2. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19990508032003/http://cartoonnetwork.com/doc/scooby/45.01/sb/sdsb_45-01_pg001.html
  3. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19990508094958/http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/doc/scooby/45.01/ed/sded_45-01_pg001.html
  4. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20010710014107/http://cartoonnetwork.com/doc/scooby/45.01/sb/sdsb_45-01_pg035.html
  5. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19990508102708/http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/doc/scooby/45.01/ed/sded_45-01_pg002.html
  6. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19991129021941/http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/doc/scooby/45.01/ed/sded_45-01_pg004.html

External links


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