Character of the Week: Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo

In the mid 1960’s parents were complaining that there was too much violence shown on Saturday morning cartoons.  They formed organizations to protest and reform the line-ups.

“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” was CBS’s answer to these concerns.  Fred Silverman, in charge of children’s programming, was looking for a show that would take into account concerns of parents, and be successful with children.  William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were contacted to create the show.  They called on writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, along with character designer, Iwao Takamoto.

At the time, there were a few cartoon series featuring a group of teenagers in a band, and this was the idea that “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” was originally based on.  Other influences were the radio show, “I Love A Mystery,” and the television show, “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.”  Fred Silverman came up with a new idea to add to this format; that the kids in the band would solve mysteries in their free time as they traveled the country in their van, the Mystery Machine.  The show’s name was to be “Mysteries Five,” (also the band name) and there were to be five teenagers in the band.  Also, the kids would have a pet dog that was to be a small supporting character.

The dog was named, “Too Much,” and it was a toss-up as to what species he would be.  The choices were either a small or large dog.  A large dog was chosen, and at first, the dog was to be either a German Shepherd or a Sheepdog.  As character development progressed, it was agreed that Too Much would be a Great Dane.  Takamoto took the basic form of a Great Dane, and added bowed legs, a double chin, and a sloped back to the character.  Too Much was also given a funny voice, done by Don Messick.

When the team showed the storyboards to CBS for the 1969 season, the final characters were Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy, along with Too Much, the dog.  The show was renamed “Who’s S-S-Scared?” by Silverman.  The CBS executives thought the storyboards and animation were too frightening for children, and so they rejected the show.

The team went back and reworked the show so that there was a lot more comedy, and less frightening parts.  The teenagers were changed to young adults, and they would no longer be in a band.  They would be a group of detectives named Mystery, Inc.  Also, the focus of the show was changed so that Shaggy and the dog, Too Much, were to play a central part in the plots.  It has been said that Silverman was listening to Frank Sinatra’s song, “Strangers in the Night” and heard the phrase “Doo-be-doo-be-doo” which inspired him to rename the dog Scooby-Doo and name the show, “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”

This time, the CBS executives approved the show for production.  “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” first appeared on television on Saturday, September 13, 1969.  From the very beginning, Scooby-Doo and his friends were very popular.  People loved the funny situations that Shaggy and Scooby-Doo got into.  It was also fun to try and figure out who the villain was from the clues that were provided.  The end of each show always showed the gang solving the mystery and catching the crook.  One of the most famous lines in animated television comes from the end of each “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” episode, as the villain says, “And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!”

“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” ran for two seasons on CBS before it was changed to an hour long show called, “The New Scooby-Doo Movies.”  These episodes revolved around the Mystery, Inc. gang meeting up and solving mysteries with various celebrities who guest starred on the show.  Some of the most memorable celebrities adding their voices to the animation were Phyllis Diller, Don Knotts, and the Harlem Globetrotters.  After two seasons of this, reruns of the original format were shown until “Scooby-Doo” moved to ABC in 1976.

Once on ABC, new episodes of “Scooby-Doo Where Are You!” were produced, but they were joined with various other shows such as “Dynomutt, Dog Wonder.”  This became the “The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show.”  In 1979, Scrappy-Doo was added to the cast, and the show was reworked and renamed “Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo.”  In 1980, Fred, Daphne, and Velma were completely cut from the show to focus more on Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy!  Although children liked this version, people who had watched the original series hated this major change.

“Scooby-Doo” continued going through changes as the years went on, but in many people’s opinions, it never caught the magic of the original series. The original “Scooby-Doo Where Are You!” episodes have been in syndication since 1980 and ran on cable network channels, while new shows and formats continued to be made.  In 2002, the Kids WB station ran “What’s New, Scooby-Doo?” which was the closest to the original series of any show since 1978.

For almost 40 years, the many incarnations of this show have entertained adults and children alike.  Scooby-Doo and the Mystery, Inc. gang are a part of pop culture and animated television history.  Although the show has gone through major changes and incarnations over the years, one thing has remained the same.  Scooby-Doo has always been the star of the show.  His popularity has never waned, even through all of the changes.  Generations have watched the adventures of this zany dog, and laughed at the many scrapes he gets himself into.

Merchandise featuring Scooby-Doo has been available for many years, in the form of action figures, games, and posters, among other things.  Visit our website and check out the Scooby-Doo Bobble Head to create your very own adventures with the funny dog we all love.