Scooby Doo, Where Are You!

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, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy) 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. 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 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 allowed to continue on the way to their destination.

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 Where Are You! theme song has been officially covered by several famous bands. Matthew Sweet covered it for the 1995 TV special and album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, Third Eye Blind for 1998's Zombie Island, Billy Ray Cyrus for 1999's The Witch's Ghost, Jennifer Love Hewitt for 2000's The Alien Invaders, The B-52's (Cindy, Kate and Fred) for 2001's The Cyber Chase, MxPx for 2002's live-action Scooby-Doo, and Krystal Harris for 2003's 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.

Cast

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, 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's Top 100 Animated Series.

Season sets

On July 4, 2002, Warner Home Video released four episodes from the series on a compilation DVD in Region 1 entitled Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers. 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 8 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. In addition, it also features a special bonus disc filled with new and archival material. The set was re-released on November 13, 2012.

Volume releases

Starting on January 27, 2009, Warner Home Video released single disc 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.