A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
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| A Pup Named Scooby-Doo | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The main title card from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988) | ||
| Run time | 30 minutes | |
| Starring the voices of | Don Messick as Scooby-Doo Casey Kasem as Shaggy Carl Stevens as Freddy Kellie Martin as Daphne Christina Lange as Velma Scott Menville as Red Herring | |
| Network | ABC | |
| Original run | September 10, 1988–August 31, 1991 | |
| No. of episodes | 30 | |
| Scooby-Doo chronology | ||
| The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985–1986) | A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988–1991) | What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002–2005) |
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was the eighth incarnation of the long-running Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. This spin-off of the original show was created by Tom Ruegger and premiered on September 10 1988 and ran for three seasons on ABC as a half-hour program. Thirty episodes were ultimately produced (thirteen in 1988-1989, eight in 1989-1990, and nine in 1990-1991).
Overview and Tone
After the overall failure of the previous incarnation of "Scooby Doo" (The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo), it was decided that "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" would bring the the show back to its roots with the core five characters Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby. It was also decided to reboot the series, outright sidestepping the previous incarnations with the gimmick of "babyfication" of older cartoon characters, reducing the original Scooby-Doo Where Are You! cast to the ages of 12 year old kids. The series reverted to the classic formula of the original 1969 show with the gang solving supernatural-based mysteries, where the villains were always revealed as bad guys in masks and costumes. The show's theme song featured lyrics by series creator Tom Ruegger and music by composer John Debney.But while the formula was the same, the tone of the show was drastically different. For the first time, the show's writers decided to openly mock and satirize the franchise and its predictable formula and stock characters. While Scooby and Shaggy remained relatively the same, the characters of Fred, Velma, and Daphne all changed drastically. Freddy was portrayed as a conspiracy theory and tabloid-loving goof with little leadership skill, Daphne as a spoiled and vain rich girl and valley girl with a butler (named Jenkins) at her constant beck and call, and Velma as a generally silent cute child prodigy who spoke mostly to point out clues and solve the case. Also a new character was added to the mix, in the form of "Red Herring", a red-headed bully who routinely crossed paths with the gang during their mysteries and who Fred always accused of being the criminal.
The show embraced its cartoon nature with the characters engaging in wild Bob Clampett-esque takes when they ran into ghosts and fourth-wall breaking musical sequences that showed the monsters and the Scooby Gang together during the obligatory rock-music-scored chase sequences. The monsters themselves were also more comedic, such as a creature made out of molten cheese and the ghost of a dogcatcher.
Impact on the Scooby-Doo Franchise
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo's impact is considered quite large, in terms of reviving the Scooby-Doo franchise and attracting new and older fans of the series. The series, while the last to air on ABC, has gone on to be a regular on Cartoon Network, being aired in constant rotation since 1993. Its influence on the Scooby-Doo franchise can be felt heavily in the two Scooby-Doo theatrical movies.Trivia
- Following the show's first season, many of Hanna-Barbera's production staff, including Tom Ruegger, left the studio, and helped to revive the Warner Bros. Cartoon Department, beginning with Tiny Toon Adventures.
- This is the only animated Scooby-Doo production in which Fred Jones was not voiced by Frank Welker. However, he did make a guest appearance as the voice of Fred's uncle, publisher of the National Exaggerator.
- This was the last Scooby-Doo series to feature Don Messick as the voice of Scooby-Doo.
Episode guide
Season one (1988 – 1989)
| # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot Episode | "A Bicycle Built For Boo!" | September 10, 1988 |
| 1.2 | "The Sludge Monster from the Earth's Core" | September 17, 1988 |
| 1.3 | "Wanted: Cheddar Alive" | September 24, 1988 |
| 1.4 | "The Schnook Who Took My Comic Book" | October 1, 1988 |
| 1.5 | "For Letter Or Worse" | October 8, 1988 |
| 1.6 | "The Babysitter From Beyond" | October 15, 1988 |
| 1.7 | "Snow Place Like Home" | October 22, 1988 |
| 1.8 | "Now Museum, Now You Don't" | October 29, 1988 |
| 1.9 | "Scooby Dude" | November 5, 1988 |
| 1.10 | "Ghost Who's Coming For Dinner?" | November 12, 1988 |
| 1.11 | "The Story Stick" | November 19, 1988 |
| 1.12 | "Robopup" | November 26, 1988 |
| 1.13 | "Lights...Camera...Monster" | December 3, 1988 |
Season two (1989 – 1990)
| # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | "Curse of the Collar" | September 9, 1989 |
| 2.2 | "The Return of Commander Cool" | September 16, 1989 |
| 2.3 | "The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" | September 23, 1989 |
| 2.4 | "Chickenstein Lives!" | September 30, 1989 |
| 2.5 | "Night of the Living Burger" | October 7, 1989 |
| 2.6 | "The Computer Walks Among Us" | October 14, 1989 |
| 2.7 | "Dog Gone Scooby" | October 21, 1989 |
| 2.8 | "Terror, Thy Name is Zombo" | October 28, 1989 |
Following the final first-run episode on October 28, reruns from the first seasons were rerun alongside episodes from the second season.
Season three (1990 – 1991)
| # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | "Night of the Boogey Biker" | September 8, 1990 |
| 3.2 | "Dawn of the Space Shuttle Scare" | September 15, 1990 |
| 3.3 | "Horror of the Haunted Hairpiece" | September 22, 1990 |
| 3.4 | "Wrestle Maniacs" | September 29, 1990 |
| 3.5 | "The Mayhem of the Moving Mollusk" | July 7, 1991 |
| 3.6 | "The Were-Doo of Doo Manor" | July 13, 1991 |
| 3.7 | "Catcher of the Sly" | July 20, 1991 |
| 3.8 | "The Ghost of Mrs. Shusham" | July 27, 1991 |
| 3.9 | "The Wrath of Waitro" | August 31, 1991 |
Notes
- A Pup Named Scooby-Doo aired at 12:30 PM during seasons two and three, and was often pre-empted for football game broadcasts.
- From October 6, 1990 to July 6, 1991, a Pup Named Scooby-Doo rerun (from season one, season two, or the first half of season three) was scheduled for broadcast. The final five first-run episodes were not run until July and August of 1991.
References
- A Pup Named Scooby-Doo trivia. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094531/trivia on September 4 2005.
- Banks, Clive. "Scooby-Doo". Retrieved from http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Scooby-Doo%20Intro.htm on September 4 2005.
- Baxter, Joel (2003). The Complete Scooby-Doo Episode Guide. Retrieved from http://www.execulink.com/~joelb/scooby/doobydoo.htm on September 3 2005.
- "Hanna-Babera Studios" (and subarticles). The Big Cartoon DataBase. Retrieved from http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Hanna-Barbera_Studios/index.html on September 3 2005.
External links
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