Scooby Doo, Where Are You!

Scooby Doo is a classic cartoon. Now they're releasing new Scooby Doo videos, and I must say, the one I saw wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but NOTHING touches the classic. Now if there were only a real snack called Scooby Snacks:)(there're some for animals)

P.S. The episodes that came later with Scrappy are stupid. Don't watch them.

While Disney and Warner Bros. are the kings of made-for-film cartoons, Hanna-Barbera are the kings of made-for-TV cartoons. The creators of The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, and Hong Kong Phooey; they've all been successful, but the crown jewel of their creations is Scooby Doo.

Unlike most cartoons, Scooby Doo was a smart and ingenious creation that required thinking and deep thought. The adventures of four teen sleuths and their Great Dane have been a regular viewing pleasure for years. Heck, I still watch it today. The best episodes were the first ones from 1969-72. I think they got progressively better over time because in the early ones, they didn't have enough suspects; usually, they'd only meet up with the guy who was the criminal. Later, they'd have 4 or 5 guys who could be the one unmasked at the end.

As for Scrappy, the only episodes worth seeing with him were when he's with the full cast, solving mysteries. I liked him here, because the act with Scooby and Shaggy always being frightened of every situation got tiresome; at least Scrappy would go right in, and Shaggy and Scooby had no choice but to follow him in, or Scrappy would egg them on. Only when they didn't have the full cast and were only in comic situations (i.e. all the other shows) would the show be awful.

This is definitely one of the classic series in animation. You had four kids (the hunk, the beauty, the nerdy chick and the supposed stoner) joined by a huge cowardly dog who go around solving mysteries all over the country in a green, flower covered van. This show was so funny that it still watchable today. Forget the latter versions with all the stupid members of Scooby's family (Scooby Dum and of course that insufferable brat Scrappy). This will always be a classic.

Also, check out some of the earliest episodes. In those you will see that Shaggy wasn't the coward he became later on. He was actually quite brave in the first four or five episodes.

I heard that the creators wanted to have the youngsters solve mysteries that involved scary characters, but the execs found the bad guys a bit too intense for young audiences. Enter Scooby-Doo, the wacky, funny great dane. They make him the focus of the series, the counterbalance to the villains, and the rest is history.

I enjoy the many memorable lines, and contrary to what you might think, they're not just from Shaggy. They include Daphne saying to the Swamp Witch, "You can't believe everything you read" or Freddie saying to Shaggy as he's trying to get into the museum to see the Knight, "That's it, no more jack." Just a great series, especially if you enjoy the quirks and sayings of the late 60's/early 70's.

"Scooby-Doo, Where are you!" is probably my favorite "Scooby-Doo" show. Each episode featured Scooby, and the gang riding along in their van called "The Mystery Machine", and stumble into a mystery. Along the way, the gang would discover clues, Shaggy and Scooby would be eating a lot, and get scared constantly, the ghost/demon/monster/zombie whatnot would be unmasked unveiling someone that the gang encountered earlier, and that would be that for the half-an-hour of programming bliss.

I have to agree with the majority, this has to be Hanna-Barbera's CROWNING achievement, and I hope it's on for years to come (just a little less with Cartoon Network airing it too much). This gets a perfect 10!!

SCOOBY DOOBY DOO!!!!!!!!!