Just in case you've been "away" for the past 35 years, here's a quick re-cap of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and "Scooby-Doo" in general. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! premiered as a Saturday morning cartoon in late 1969. The show introduced the "Mystery Inc." gang (Although, I must say that I never remember hearing the words "Mystery Inc." uttered until the late '90s.) -- Freddy (voiced by Frank Welker), the ascot-wearing leader of the group; Daphne (voiced by Stefanianna Christopherson), the beautiful, but vapid girl; Velma (voiced by Nicole Jaffe), the brains of the group; Shaggy (voiced by Casey Kasem), a hippie who's always hungry; and Scooby-Doo (voiced by Don Messick), the talking dog who is usually a coward, but can be a hero if the situation calls for it. This group travels the country in a flower-covered van labeled "Mystery Machine" and are constantly stumbling across mysteries which involve ghosts or monsters of some sort. Using ingenuity and luck, they solve the mysteries and save the day. Following Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, these characters appeared in a series of TV shows, and then made a comeback in the late 90s in a series of direct-to-video animated movies. s you can see, Scooby and the gang tangled with a myriad of baddies over the years. Yet, variety was never a strong-point with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, as every episode was essentially the same. The group would be going somewhere and would stumble onto a mystery. From there, they would gather clues and then unmask the villain in a finale which typically made no sense. The villain's motivation was usually greed and everyone, even the authorities, allows took the odd proceedings in-stride. The animation was repetitive and often crude.
However, none of those elements can detract from the show's innate charm and magic. As someone who was destined to become a huge horror movie fan, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! planted the seeds of that love affair, as it presented me with a parade of monsters, some of which were quite scary at the time. Even today, it's easy to see how the infamous Green Ghosts, the glowing alien from "Spooky Space Kook", or the Ghost Clown could scare children. (Hell, that clown is still pretty scary.) Add to that the fact that Scooby-Doo could talk! Even today, I wish that I had a pet who could talk! That was coupled with a group of characters who were called upon to use logic and intellect to solve a problem, as opposed to the violence which was often displayed on other shows. (And, I'm sure that my young mind somehow comprehended the fact that these people never worked and found that aspect attractive as well.) Yes, the show comes off as dated today, especially when one looks at the fashions or music, but the magic that is Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! will always be dear to me, and these episodes show why Scooby is still popular 50 years later.
However, none of those elements can detract from the show's innate charm and magic. As someone who was destined to become a huge horror movie fan, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! planted the seeds of that love affair, as it presented me with a parade of monsters, some of which were quite scary at the time. Even today, it's easy to see how the infamous Green Ghosts, the glowing alien from "Spooky Space Kook", or the Ghost Clown could scare children. (Hell, that clown is still pretty scary.) Add to that the fact that Scooby-Doo could talk! Even today, I wish that I had a pet who could talk! That was coupled with a group of characters who were called upon to use logic and intellect to solve a problem, as opposed to the violence which was often displayed on other shows. (And, I'm sure that my young mind somehow comprehended the fact that these people never worked and found that aspect attractive as well.) Yes, the show comes off as dated today, especially when one looks at the fashions or music, but the magic that is Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! will always be dear to me, and these episodes show why Scooby is still popular 50 years later.