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''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is the first incarnation of the long-running as a half-hour long show. Twenty-five episodes were produced (seventeen in 1969 - 1970 and eight more in 1970 - 1971 ). OVERVIEW ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' was the result of CBS and Hanna-Barbera's plans to create a non-violent Saturday morning program which would appease the parent watchgroups that had protested the Superhero -based programs of the mid-1960s. Originally titled ''Mysteries Five'', and later ''Who's S-S-Scared?'', ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' underwent a number of changes from script to screen (the most notable of which was the removal of a musical group angle borrowed from '' The Archie Show ''). However, the basic concept -- four teenagers ( Fred , Daphne , Velma , and Shaggy ) and a large goofy dog ( Scooby-Doo ) solving supernatural-related mysteries -- was always in place. ''Scooby-Doo'' creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears served as the story supervisors on the series. Ruby, Spears, and Bill Lutz wrote all of the scripts for the seventeen first-season ''Scooby'' episodes, while Lutz, Larz Bourne, and Tom Dagenais wrote the eight second-season episodes. The plot varied little from episode to episode, running essentially as follows: #The Mystery, Inc. gang turn up in the Mystery Machine, en route to or returning from a regular teenage function--a dance, a rock festival, etc. #Their destination is suffering from a "ghost" or "monster" problem. The kids volunteer to investigate the case. #The gang splits up to cover more ground, with Fred and Velma finding clues, Daphne finding danger, and Shaggy and Scooby finding food, fun, and the ghost/monster, who gives chase. Scooby and Shaggy in particular love to eat, including dog treats referred to as " Scooby Snacks " which are a favorite of both the dog and the teenage boy. #Eventually, enough clues are found to convince the gang that the ghost/monster is a fake, and a trap is set to capture it. #The trap may or may not work; invariably, the ghost/monster is apprehended and unmasked. The person in the ghost or monster suit turns out to be an apparently blameless authority figure who is using the disguise to cover up criminal activity. #The offender - after giving the parting shot of "And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids, and your dog!" - is then taken away to jail, and the gang is allowed to continue on their way to their destination. PRODUCTION Voices As with most Hanna-Barbera shows, ''Scooby-Doo'' features an emphasis placed on verbal rather than visual storytelling, and the work of the voice artists was particularly important. Don Messick , the voice of Astro The Dog , Dr. Benton Quest , and Boo-Boo Bear --among others--provided the raspy, mumbling voice of Scooby-Doo . Radio Dee Jay Casey Kasem voiced Shaggy , young actor Frank Welker voiced Fred (which began Welker's long career in voice work), and actress Nicole Jaffe voiced Velma . Indira Stefanianna Christopherson voiced Daphne during the first season, and moved to New York City to marry and start a family before production began on the second season. As a result, Nicole Jaffe's roommate, Heather North , took over the role of Daphne. Songs and presentation format Studio musical director , when the show was presented on USA 's ''Cartoon Express''. Nichols' original theme is, however, heard under the title card for each episode of both this and the follow-up series, '' The New Scooby-Doo Movies '', and is very prominently used as background score for most ''Scooby-Doo'' episodes through 1979 . The second season featured "chase scene" songs produced by La La Productions (which had originally been contracted to create the Music for '' Josie And The Pussycats '', the first of many shows made from the same mold as ''Scooby-Doo''). These songs were written by Danny Janssen and Austin Roberts , and were performed by Roberts, who also made a new recording of the ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' theme song for the second season episodes. The first two episodes of the series ("What a Night for a Knight" and "A Clue for Scooby-Doo") both use unique title cards. Standardized title cards (featuring the oft-used run cycles for the Mystery, Inc. gang) are used for the other twenty-three episodes. Episodes from both seasons contained a Laugh Track , which was standard practice for American cartoon series during the 1960s and 1970s (a laugh track was even used in the main titles for "A Clue for Scooby-Doo"). It was removed for Syndication in the 1980s. Not long after the Turner networks ( TBS , TNT and Cartoon Network ) began airing the show in 1994 , the laugh track was reinstated in 1998 . Release and reception ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' was a breakaway hit for Hanna-Barbera and CBS, who quickly introduced similar cartoons to accompany ''Scooby-Doo'': '' Josie And The Pussycats '' ( 1970 ), '' The Pebbles And Bamm-Bamm Show '' ( 1971 ) (which re-imagined the toddlers from '' The Flintstones '' as high-school students), and '' The Funky Phantom '' (also 1971 ). In , ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is airing on the Cartoon Network on August 4 , 2007 , but has been moved to Boomerang . DVD RELEASE All 25 episodes were released to DVD in March 2004 by Warner Home Video as ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The Complete First and Second Seasons''. 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 ''. SEE ALSO
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