Grab your Scooby-Snacks!
Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Freddy rev-up the Mystery Mobile and set out for mystery. Be it swamp witches, haunted miners, robot monsters, snow ghosts, vampires, werewolves, or phantom clowns, the Scooby gang is going to solve the mystery or die trying. Are ghosts real? Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo will find out!
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 1 aired from September 13, 1969 to January 17, 1970 on CBS as part of CBS’s Saturday morning cartoons. The series was produced by Hanna-Barbera and created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. The series was originally titled Mystery Five, Mysteries Five, and W-Who’s S-S-Scared?
Scooby and Shaggy must have permanently damaged their hearing at some point…
Scooby-Doo was already an institution when I was young. The established show was a classic filled with memorable characters and catch phrases. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! has become a parody of itself over the years with drug references and sex jokes, but watching the original episodes, it feels rather low-key and straight laced.
Take away the innuendos and jokes, and Scooby-Doo is generally a pretty generic mystery show. It has the gang meet a ghost, run from the ghost, and then discover who is the ghost (unless there is an afterthought, the ghosts aren’t real). The thing that was always frustrating about Scooby-Doo is that it was always pretty obvious who the ghost was, and the “ghost” pulled off impossible stunts through projectors, wire work, Papier-mâché, phosphorus paint, and things like invisible skis…something that a kid can’t really solve nor would be possible. It always kind of irritated me even as a kid.
“My glasses!!!” aka Velma really needs contacts
What sells Scooby-Doo is the cast. Over the years the cast has been juggled and characters like Scrappy-Doo and Scooby-Dum were added while characters like Freddy and Daphne didn’t always show up. The basic five member team of the Mystery Mobile work and Don Messick (Scooby-Doo), Casey Kasem (Norville “Shaggy” Rogers), Frank Welker (Fred Jones), Nicole Jaffe (Velma Dinkley), and Daphne Blake (Stefanianna Christopherson) provide great, classic vocal work. Stefanianna Christopherson left the series after Season 1 and was replaced by Heather North.
Scooby-Doo was also loaded with fun animation. Hanna-Barbera wasn’t in the league of Disney or even Looney Tunes Tunes, but they had a special style. The character design of the characters are classic and the series is bolstered by great “ghosts” which sometimes even creeped me out as a kid (but then reassure kids by revealing they aren’t real).
So…much…running…
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is a series that has caught on with kids and adults and the series was emulated multiple times by Hanna-Barbera in shows like Jabberjaw, Josie and the Pussycats (which originally came from Archie), Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Clue Club, and Speed Buggy mimicked Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (even borrowing members of the cast)…but this was still the original and the best. Though sometimes marketed as having three seasons (The Scooby-Doo Show—Season 3 is often called Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?—Season 3), Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? was followed by its second and final season.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 1 Complete Episode Guide:
“What a Night for a Knight”
1.1 What a Night for a Knight Airdate: 09/13/69
Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo find themselves embroiled in a missing professor which could be tied to the curse of the Black Knight.
“Hassle in the Castle”
1.2 Hassle in the Castle Airdate: 09/20/69
A day out on a lake ends up with Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Fred, and Daphne stranded on Haunted Isle. When they find the Vesquez Castle, they are warned by the Phantom of Vasquez to leave immediately.
“A Clue for Scooby-Doo”
1.3 A Clue for Scooby-Doo Airdate: 09/27/69
A ghost of Captain Cutler is accused of causing boat to disappear in the harbor. Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred set out to find if Cutler’s ghost is back!
“Mine Your Own Business”
1.4 Mine Your Own Business Airdate: 10/04/69
Scooby, Daphne, Velma, Fred, and Shaggy find themselves lost in Gold City and learn that the Miner ’49 is haunting the local hotel.
“Decoy for a Dognapper”
1.5 Decoy for a Dognapper Airdate: 10/11/69
Scooby-Doo witnesses a dognapping, and Buck Masters offers a reward to find the stolen dogs before the dog show. Fred has a plan…with Scooby-Doo as the bait.
“What the Hex Is Going On?”
1.6 What the Hex Is Going On? Airdate: 10/18/69
Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma visit Sharon Weatherby but the haunted next door home of Elias Kingston could have cursed Sharon and her family.
“Never Ape an Ape Man”
1.7 Never Ape an Ape Man Airdate: 10/25/69
Daphne’s Uncle John is making a movie about a legendary ape man…but Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Fred, and Dalphne discover a real ape man might be haunting the set.
“Foul Play in Funland”
1.8 Foul Play in Funland Airdate: 11/01/69
Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne discover that Funland has opened despite being closed for the season. As the gang investigates the strange amusement park, they begin to question if it is haunted.
“The Backstage Rage”
1.9 The Backstage Rage Airdate: 11/08/69
When Shaggy and Scooby find a violin case full of counterfeit money, it is promptly stolen back by the Phantom Puppeteer. Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Dalphne, and Fred set out to find the counterfeiter and stop the Puppeteer.
“Bedlam in the Big Top”
1.10 Bedlam in the Big Top Airdate: 11/15/69
A circus is being haunted by the Ghost Clown and the audiences are being chased off. It is up to the gang to find the truth of the Ghost Clown.
“A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts”
1.11 A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts Airdate: 11/22/69
Scooby, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Velma travel to Franken Castle where they are faced by Count Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, and Count Dracula.
“Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too”
1.12 Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too Airdate: 11/29/69
The gang investigates a mummy’s curse. When Shaggy accidentally takes one of the mummy’s cursed treasure, they find themselves being pursued by the mummy that can turn its victims to stone!
“Which Witch Is Which?”
1.13 Which Witch is Which? Airdate: 12/06/69
A witch and a zombie are haunting the swamps, and the gang is out to find out what the witch is hiding.
“Spooky Space Kook”
1.14 Spooky Space Kook Airdate: 12/13/69
The Mystery Mobile runs out of gas in a small abandoned town. When the gang learns that the town is being menaced by aliens, they set out to find the truth.
“Go Away Ghost Ship”
1.15 Go Away Ghost Ship Airdate: 12/20/69
A ghost pirate named Redbeard is robbing the ships of C.L. Magnus…and Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne are out to find the truth.
“A Night of Fright Is No Delight”
1.16 A Night of Fright Is No Delight Airdate: 01/10/70
Scooby-Doo finds he’s been listed in Colonel Beauregard Sanders will and can earn a fortune…if he can spend the night in a haunted mansion!
“That’s Snow Ghost”
1.17 That’s Snow Ghost Airdate: 01/17/70
The gang goes to Wolf’s End Lodge for a ski weekend but learns that the lodge is being hunted by the Snow Ghost.
Related Links:
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The New Scooby-Doo Movies—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The New Scooby-Doo Movies—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
