45 years ago today, my favourite cartoon of all time premiered. “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?” was the first incarnation of what would become one of the most beloved TV shows in the world.
This group of teenagers and a scaredy-cat dog have devoted the last 45 years of their lives to chasing down bad guys. Bad guys who like to scare the pants off of everybody while they commit their crimes. Freddy, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby Doo have never backed down from a challenge. In fact, in the likely event that no one believes you’re being haunted by Merlin’s ghost or the Headless Horseman? Who ya gonna call? Yep. “Mysteries Inc”.
Neither monster, nor criminal, nor scary locale, nor creepy night stays these meddling kids from the swift solving of any mystery. If Scooby and the gang had an official creed? This would be it.
Season 1 Title Card
The first two seasons of “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?” (1969/1970) are made up of 25 half-hour episodes. Scooby kicked off season 1 with a spooky suit of armour in “What a Knight For a Knight”, and they wrapped the second season with a menacing wax phantom in “Don’t Fool With a Phantom”.
While not my favourite Scooby series, season 1 is classic perfection, and tough to beat. Most will remember the still entertaining but less spooky season 2 for those mandatory musical interlude chase scenes. Gotta admit, I never cared much for those.
Season 2 Title Card
But it was the next round of Scooby mysteries that I truly fell in love with. In 1976, Scooby Doo returned to Saturday mornings with a brand new show, “The Scooby-Doo Show”.
These are 40 of THE greatest Scooby Doo mysteries, including my number one Scooby episode of all time: “To Switch a Witch”.
Scooby Doo is still going strong to this very day. There have been many other incarnations of the show, countless movies (including a few terrible live-action flops), and merchandise/collectibles galore.
The collectible side of Scooby Doo is something I know quite a bit about, considering I am an AVID collector of it. I have a weakness for this wonderful cartoon Great Dane, and at 28 years old, I don’t see my passion for him slowing down one bit.
My Scooby Doo Collection
One of my most prized possessions is also one of my very first Scooby pieces. He came from a flea market in Pickering, Ontario, and I was 4 or 5 years old when I got him. He was almost as big as me, and I just fell in love with him. The vendor was packing up for the day, and I practically begged my dad to get me the giant Scooby. Pretty sure it was $30. With a smile, he said, “If you go and ask the man if you can have him for $25, then we’ll buy him.” Those who know me now might find it hard to believe that I was quite a shy little thing, and I just couldn’t do it. Thankfully, my dad wasn’t about to see me in tears, and in a few minutes, I walked out of there all smiles and hugging my new Scooby Doo. (And my dad only paid $25 for him. The man could hear everything and was smiling while my dad gave me the pep talk.)
I was tickled not too long ago when I found this old vintage advertisement online.
The ad is supposedly from a 1985 Hanna-Barbera Mighty Star Toys catalogue. Mine is the largest 44” Scooby. Man, would I like to get my hands on that Scrappy Doo though! (And do NOT be hatin’ on Scrappy on my blog, people. No, not even you, Paul!) ;)
So many happy memories and so many Saturday mornings (and every other day of the week too) surround this timeless cartoon character. Scooby, I hope you live forever.
Happy Birthday, Scoob ol’ buddy, ol’ pal, ol’ friend. Here’s your cake, and yes, you can eat it too. After 45 years of mystery-solving, you deserve it.
Well, I can say I watched the original incarnations of this show! It was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, as well. Loved all the ghosts and supernatural elements, even if summarily disproved, a la denouement, most of the time! Fun post, Wendy! :-]
Now, about that lemon cake….
Thanks, Frank! :)
There is nothing about this cartoon that I don’t love. Ghosts, ghouls, monsters and misfits… it never mattered that it was always a bad guy in a mask. I could never get enough of it! And you know something else I admire about this show? Those beautifully painted backgrounds! Just some incredible work. I think I need a blog post just on those.
As for the cake… *looks around* …hmm, I wonder where I put it? *finds empty plate* SCOOBY DOO!! You bring back that cake!
Dang it! Scooby Doo, where ARE you? :-]
I always find myself checking out the backgrounds to not only cartoons, but movies and shows! I like to see the care and thought that’s been put into that effort…what little tidbits most people won’t see, but that put on the finishing touches. And on cartoons, I like to see the depth that that has been given, the thought an artist has chosen to include, and exactly what was included. It’s just a “thing” I do.I guess you could say I’m always looking into the background of life! :-]
That’s nice, I like that! :) And I definitely agree. It’s those little touches that make something special.
Great post. I was at the tail end of cartoon watching when this hit the airwaves. I’ve seen syndicated versions, and I recognize the main players, but I pretty much missed the whole experience. I’m not clear on the progression of cartoons, but at some point, they seem to have transformed into commercials. Was this among the last real cartoons or were there some that followed in the ’70s and ’80s? Maybe it’s time for Netflix :)
Thank you, Dan!
If you missed out on Scooby, then boy, you were deprived! Even now as an adult I still enjoy the show’s unique blend of fun and suspense. And unlike a lot of cartoons (or any show aimed at a younger audience), Scooby Doo made you think. It’s semi-interactive. Now yes, some of the clues that lead the gang to discovering the villain’s identity aren’t revealed to the audience during the episode. But many of them are. And I think every little kid who watched this was trying their hardest to figure out whodunit. At least I know I did! It had a wonderful junior Sherlock Holmes vibe.
And you’re so right about how cartoons have changed. I do think the “real” cartoon genre died with Hanna Barbera in the ’70s. I was never a big fan of too many ’70s and ’80s cartoons (or anything up to present day — and as time progressed, even the newer incarnations of Scooby were sorely lacking the substance and appeal of the original), but there were a few rare gems. Like Inspector Gadget. Oh, man, how I loved that show too! :)
It would seem that 15-year-old boys didn’t watch cartoons. In fact, I was working on Saturday mornings by then, no VCR, no Internet – wow, now I am feeling deprived :) My portion of the HB era included The Flintstones and Yogi Bear and my favs, Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw
Oh, all classics! Especially The Flintstones. And I’m not surprised to learn that you were already a working man at 15, Dan! But now that you have a VCR and Internet (okay, maybe still no VCR!), you should take a Saturday morning and have a go at a Scooby mystery. Or ten. :)
Now THIS is a fun post, GF! Saturday mornings as a kid meant bingeing on cartoons and sugary cereal — and the crown jewel of my animated feast was ALWAYS Scooby Doo. All other favorites were a distant second to this show, which you’ve paid tribute to so nicely here.
The early ones were among my favorites. I loved that they somehow pulled off a genuinely spooky vibe despite the general silliness of the comedic scenes. I mean, the space ghost? Oh, man. That laugh STILL gives me a shiver! And we always got to solve a mystery, which is fun no matter what age you are. What an ingenious formula for a show. No wonder it lives on in reruns!
As for Scrappy, ahem … the less said about him, the better. Pushy little mutt. As I’ve told you before, I hate it when some new character on a show starts giving our heroes a hard time. I wanted to stuff that nasal-voiced little mongrel into the Mystery Machine with a pistol and a shovel, and take a little drive into the countryside. #Blam
But I digress. ;)
Great post, GF! It doesn’t take Velma to crack the case of who wrote the best Scooby Doo blog post. And I’ll bet you’d have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t have been for those meddling kids! ;D
ACTUALLY it’s the Spooky Space Kook, Boss, not the space ghost. Come on, gotta get it right! ;D That IS such a great episode. Of the first two seasons, it’s definitely one of the best examples of an episode that’s borderline scary. All of the original Scooby Doos have a wonderful creepiness to them, but then you get the gems that give you a little bit of a scare. Those are so great.
But we have GOT to do something about your disdain for Scrappy. Poor little Scrappy. All he ever wanted was to be loved, you know! How can you say such horrible things about him, eh? His only crime was that he was brave and courageous. ;P Seriously though, I have mixed feelings about dear ol’ Scrappy Doo. He’s not my favourite by any stretch. He WAS annoying as all get out, buuuuut some pretty great later episodes featured Scooby’s nephew. Normally I feel the same about new characters who sort of infringe on our hero, but I think what makes Scrappy passable for me is that he never criticized Scooby for being afraid. To Scrappy, Scooby was the bravest, most amazing uncle a pup could ever ask for! I think that’s his saving grace. If he’d come on the show and was all, “Oh, uncle Scooby, why are you such a scaredy cat? Come on, grow up!” THEN *I’d* load the gun for you!
So glad you enjoyed this true spur of the moment post, Boss. Next time I have a mystery to solve, you can come along. I’ll bet you’ve always wanted to be a meddling kid. ;)
wow, what a fantastic collection! :0
Thanks! :)
Pingback: The Secret of the Titian-Haired Sleuth | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: A Worthy “Enterprise” | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: Creepy Cartoons: The 10 Scariest Episodes of Scooby Doo | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: Creepy Cartoons: Monster Bash | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: The Lost Art of Animation Backgrounds | Seeker of Truth