AllofTV.net - Scooby-Doo, Where are You!

• Season 1

Scooby-Doo, Where are You! was 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). 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 watchgroups 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 removal of a musical group angle borrowed from The Archie Show). However, the basic concept -- four teenagers (Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy) and a large goofy dog (Scooby-Doo) solving supernatural-related mysteries -- was always in place. 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 Lutz, Larz Bourne, and Tom Dagenais wrote the eight second-season episodes. The plot varied little from episode to episode, running essentially as follows: 1. The Mystery, Inc. gang turn up in the Mystery Machine, en route to or returning from a regular teenage function--a dance, a rock festival, etc. 2. Their destination is suffering from a "ghost" or "monster" problem. 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 referred to as "Scooby Snacks" (Scooby and Shaggy both eat them). 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 invariably fails. 6. Scooby Doo slips, one way or another, and hurtles toward the ghost/monster, who falls down. 7. The ghost/monster is apprehended and unmasked; the person in the ghost or monster suit turns out to be an apparently blameless authority figure who is using the disguise to cover up criminal activity. 8. The offender(s) - after giving the parting shot of "And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids, and your dog!" - is then taken away to jail, and the gang is allowed to continue on their way to their destination.