| Creator: | Joe Ruby Ken Spears |
| Developer: | William Hanna Joseph Barbera Iwao Takamoto Fred Silverman |
| Director: | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Theme Music Composer: | David Mook Ben Raleigh |
| Opentheme: | "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" performed by |
| Network: | CBS |
| Network2: | ABC |
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is an American animated comedy television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera 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. 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.[1] It also aired on BBC One in the UK from 1970 to 1973.[2] The complete series is also available on Boomerang, Max, and Tubi streaming services.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is the first incarnation of a long-running media franchise primarily consisting of animated series, several films, and related merchandise.
The show follows the adventures of teenagers Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and their dog Scooby-Doo. 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.[3]
See main article: List of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episodes.
See main article: List of Scooby-Doo characters.
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.[4] 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).[5] However, the basic concept—a group of teenagers and their dog solving supernatural-related mysteries—was always in place.[6]
Scooby-Doo creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears served as the story supervisors on the series.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9] [10]
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.[11] The set was re-released on November 13, 2012. A Blu-ray version of the Complete Series was released on September 3, 2019, for the series' 50th anniversary.[12]
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.[13]
| +Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! home video releases | Season | Episodes | Release dates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1969–70 | 17 | Original Mysteries: March 14, 2000 Episode(s): "What a Night for a Knight" – "Decoy for a Dognapper"----Spookiest Tales: August 21, 2001 Episode(s): "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts" • "Which Witch is Which?" • "That's Snow Ghost"----Creepiest Capers: June 4, 2002 Episode(s): "Hassle in the Castle" • "Go Away Ghost Ship" • "A Night of Fright is No Delight"----Greatest Mysteries: May 6, 2003 Episode(s): "A Clue for Scooby-Doo" • "Hassle in the Castle" • "The Backstage Rage"----The Complete First and Second Seasons: March 16, 2004 / May 23, 2017 (reissue) Episode(s): Entire season featured----Volume 1: A Monster Catch: January 27, 2009 Episode(s): "What a Night for a Knight" – "Mine Your Own Business"----Volume 2: Bump In The Night: May 5, 2009 Episode(s): "Decoy for a Dognapper" – "Foul Play in Funland"----Volume 3: Hello Mummy: September 1, 2009 Episode(s): "The Backstage Rage" – "Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too"----Volume 4: Spooky Bayou: October 19, 2010 Episode(s): "Which Witch is Which?" – "A Night of Fright is No Delight"----The Complete Series: November 9, 2010 / November 13, 2012 (reissue) Episode(s): Entire season featured | |||||
| 2 | 1970 | 8 | Creepiest Capers: June 4, 2002 Episode(s): "The Haunted House Hang-Up"----Greatest Mysteries: May 6, 2003 Episode(s): "Jeepers, It's the Creeper"----The Complete First and Second Seasons: March 16, 2004 / May 23, 2017 (reissue) Episode(s): Entire season featured----The Complete Series: November 9, 2010 / November 13, 2012 (reissue) Episode(s): Entire season featured | |||||
| 3 | 1978 | 16 | The Complete Third Season: April 10, 2007 / June 6, 2017 (reissue)----The Complete Series: November 9, 2010 / November 13, 2012 (reissue) Episode(s): Entire season featured | |||||
| Special features | ||||||||
| Original Mysteries: Scooby-Doo Music Video (featuring scenes from Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost) • Take the Scooby-Doo Challenge • Snack Tracks • Scooby Snack Time----Spookiest Tales: Bonus episodes: The Scooby-Doo Show: "The Headless Horseman of Halloween" • "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" • Mystery Inc. character bios • Trivia----Creepiest Capers: Mystery Game. • Get the Picture: How to Draw Scooby-Doo. • Music Video • Mystery Inc. Yearbook----Greatest Mysteries: Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries music video • Barrels of Mystery Challenge----The Complete First and Second Seasons: Scooby-Doo's Ultimate Fans (disc 2) • Get the Picture: How to Draw Scooby-Doo and the Gang (disc 2) • Funky Fashion (disc 3) • America Loves Scooby-Doo Music Video (disc 3) • Scooby-Doo Street Smarts (disc 4) • Take the Scooby-Doo Challenge (disc 4; original from the Original Mysteries DVD)----The Complete Third Season: Hanna-Barbera: From H to B featurette----Volume 1: A Monster Catch: Bonus episode: Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!: "Shags to Riches"----Volume 2: Bump In The Night: Bonus episode: Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue | "More Fondue for Scooby-Doo!"----Volume 3: Hello Mummy: | "High Society Scooby"----Volume 4: Spooky Bayou: | ||||||
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,[14] in the UK, and was more recently voted the 8th greatest Kids' TV Show by viewers of the same channel.[15] It was ranked the 24th greatest cartoon on IGN's Top 100 Animated Series.[16]