''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is an American animated

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television series created by

Joe Ruby Joseph Clemens Ruby (March 30, 1933 – August 26, 2020) was an American animator, writer, television producer, and music editor. He was best known as a co-creator of the animated ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, together with Ken Spears. In 1977, they ...

and Ken Spears and produced by

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

for CBS. The series premiered as part of the network's Saturday morning cartoon schedule on September 13, 1969, and aired for two seasons until October 31, 1970. Reruns were broadcast for the 1971 season. In 1978, a selection of episodes from the later animated series '' Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics'' and '' The Scooby-Doo Show'' were aired on ABC under the ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' title name, and was released in a DVD set marketed as its third season. It also aired on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1973. The complete series is also available on

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

, Max, and Tubi streaming services. ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is the first incarnation of a long-running

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

primarily consisting of animated series, films, and related merchandise.

Overview

The show follows the adventures of teenagers Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and their dog

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

. They travel in a van known as the Mystery Machine, encountering and solving mysteries. Once solved, the group typically discovers that the perpetrator of the mystery is a disguised person who seeks to exploit a local legend or myth for personal gain.

Episodes

Voice cast

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered voice roles include Scooby-Doo; Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ''The Flintsto ...

and miscellaneous characters * Casey Kasem as Shaggy Rogers and miscellaneous characters * Frank Welker as Fred Jones and miscellaneous characters * Stefanianna Christopherson (season 1) and Heather North (seasons 2–3) as Daphne Blake * Nicole Jaffe (seasons 1–2) and Pat Stevens (season 3) as Velma Dinkley

Production

''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 A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

-based programs of the mid-1960s. Originally titled ''The Mysteries Five'' and later ''Who's S-S-Scared?'', ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' underwent several changes from script to screen (the most significant being the downplaying of a musical group angle). However, the basic concept—a group of teenagers and their dog solving supernatural-related mysteries—was always in place. ''Scooby-Doo'' creators

and Ken Spears served as the story supervisors on the series.Shostak, Stu (05-02-2012).
Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
". Retrieved 03-18-2013.

Home media

On March 14, 2000, Warner Home Video released five episodes from the series on a DVD entitled ''Scooby-Doo's Original Mysteries''. They later released all 25 episodes on DVD in Region 1 on March 16, 2004 under the title ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The Complete First and Second 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''. On November 9, 2010, Warner Home Video released ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Series''. The eight-disc set features all 25 episodes of the series plus the 16 episodes produced in 1978 which aired as part of ''Scooby's All-Stars''. The set is encased in special collectible packaging in the form of a Mystery Machine replica. It also features a special bonus disc filled with new and archival material. The set was re-released on November 13, 2012. A

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

version of the ''Complete Series'' was released on September 3, 2019, for the series' 50th anniversary. Starting on January 27, 2009, Warner Home Video released DVDs with four episodes each, plus an episode from ''Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue''. Four volumes have been released through October 19, 2010.

Reception

''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' was a hit for Hanna-Barbera and CBS, leading Hanna-Barbera to 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 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''100 Greatest Cartoons'', in the UK, 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 ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

's ''Top 100 Animated Series''.

References

External links

Official Scooby-Doo website
*
Cartoon Network: Dept. of Cartoons: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
��cached copied from the Internet Archive

The Big Cartoon DataBase {{Portal bar, Television, United States, 1960s, Cartoon 1969 American animated television series debuts 1969 animated television series debuts 1978 American television series endings 1960s American animated television series 1970s American animated comedy television series 1960s American children's comedy television series 1970s American children's comedy television series 1960s American horror comedy television series 1970s American horror comedy television series 1960s American mystery television series 1970s American mystery television series 1960s American animated comedy television series American English-language television shows Scooby-Doo television series Television series by Hanna-Barbera American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated fantasy television series American children's animated horror television series American children's animated mystery television series American television series revived after cancellation Animated television series about dogs American teen animated television series Television series created by Joe Ruby Television series created by Ken Spears CBS animated television series American Broadcasting Company animated television series