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Scooby-Doo!

Article Excerpt
HELLO!

I'm Daniel, the Editor of JUNIOR SKEPTIC. Welcome to our special issue celebrating the 40-year anniversary of Scooby-Doo!

For generations, the Scooby gang has introduced kids to the idea of skeptical investigation. How can we learn important skeptical lemons From these Fictional, cartoon sleuths?

Let's find out!

GRANDMA'S HOUSE

Living in a 30-foot travel trailer, my brothers and I grew up without a TV. This made television a special treat to enjoy at Grandma's house. Readers my age may remember many of our favorite shows: Banana Splits', Rocket Robin Hood, the old Spider-Man, and others.

But of all of them, the one we liked best was Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?

The show featured the famous "Scooby gang": skeptical Velma, kidnapping-prone Daphne, gung-ho Fred, beatnik Shaggy--and Scooby, the cowardly Great Dane. In each episode, the gang would stumble across a spooky paranormal mystery and decide to investigate. After a series of chase scenes and misadventures, the hoaxed monster would be captured, and Velma would explain the unmasked villain's dastardly plan.

My Dad was annoyed that we loved this show. "But every episode is exactly the same!" he'd say, throwing up his arms. He was right--but he was wrong, too. What he was missing was the fun of seeing a mystery solved, of watching someone confront a spooky stoW and get to the bottom of it. That was the magic of Scooby-Doo.

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40 YEARS OF SCOOBY-DOO!

Happy Birthday, Scooby! Everyone's favorite skeptical cartoon premiered on September 13, 1969 (just two months after Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon). In one form or another, Scooby has been a star ever since, appearing in many TV series--and even a series of big Hollywood movies.

The original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? cartoon was inspired in part by the runaway success of The Archie Show (a hit cartoon based on the Archie comics). Cartoon company Hanna-Barbera (creators of The Jetsons and Yogi Bear) asked writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears to come up with a show about an Archies-like group of fun-loving teenagers. The twist was that these kids would solve crimes.

The show was planned as non-violent and funny, but with a spooky, mysterious background to add to all the comedy.

The writers were joined by artist Iwao Takamoto, an animator who had designed other cartoon characters (including Astro, the dog on The Jetsons). Together with the producers, the team soon realized that the new show's main character wouldn't be one of the fun-loving kids--but their dog!

The question was, what was funnier: a small, scrappy dog, or a big, scaredy-cat dog? The team settled on a cowardly Great Dane. For research, Iwao Takamoto talked to a friend who was a Great Dane breeder. Takamoto remembered that his friend

"showed me some pictures and talked about the important points of a Great Dane--like a straight back, straight legs, small chin and such. I decided to go the opposite and give him a hump back, bowed legs, big chin and such. Even his color is wrong."

Scooby's name was inspired by a Frank Sinatra song called "Strangers in the Night," which ends with the improvised nonsense sounds "dooby-dooby-doo."

The show was an instant smash hit, and everyone involved went on to great things. The writers formed a...

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