A Mastiff born in 1969 in USA became a very popular hero of the cartoon series, Scooby-Doo...
This large mastiff and his friends were first unveiled to the world in September 1969 in America by Hanna-Barbera and writers Ken Spears and Joe Rugby for CBS. Fred Silverman, the head of Daytime Programming, was in search of a new Saturday morning cartoon. It was he who came up with the name. Well sort of! In fact, he was listening to Franck Sinatra singing “Strangers in the night” one day, and was so struck by the phrase “Scooby-dooby-doo” that he decided the dog should be called Scooby-Doo and should be the hero of the series! Thus, the other characters were there merely to support him.
“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” was born, and so was Scooby. Originally intended to be a show with a largely mysterious atmosphere, it ended up being more comical than anything else, but that’s possibly why Scooby-Doo is still so famous today. The show focused more on the personality of the characters than on the actual mystery behind the story. And, of course, the main character was our beloved Scooby, without doubt the most famous and most loved Great Dane of the century! For thirty years, countless episodes, and several movies, Scooby and his gang of Mystery, Inc. have seduced millions of children and adults across the globe.
There were several different series, over the years:- The first was called “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” and was premiered in September 1969. The series was broadcast at least 7 times in the USA during the seventies alone (including the reruns, obviously). Real fans like this series most.
- From 1972 to 1974, the format changed into 1-hour episodes, with appearances from celebrity guests. Not bad, say the fans, but maybe not quite spooky enough to their taste.
- In 1979, the show was getting very high rates. It was decided to introduce Scrappy-Doo, Scooby’s nephew. This marked a turning point in Scooby’s adventures and most fans seem to hate him.Other variants of the show followed, and Freddy and Shaggy were removed from the cast, and Velma made only occasional appearances.
- The latest Scooby movie, “Scooby-Doo And The Alien Invaders”, was released in 2000 and is available on VHS and DVD. There is also a soundtrack album available on CD.You can purchase this video/DVD as well as various others directly from the official Warner Scooby-Doo site:http://www.scoobydoo.warnerbros.com/video_page/titles/movies.html
All pictures courtesy of Warner Bros Video
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