A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is 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, eight in 1989, and nine in 1990-1991).
Overview
The new format followed the trend of the "babyfication" of older cartoon characters, reducing the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" cast to junior-high age. This new show also used the same basic formula as the original 1969 show: the gang (referred to in this show as the "Scooby-Doo Detective Agency"), solved supernatural-based mysteries, where the villains were always revealed as bad guys in masks and costumes. The biggest difference was the tone of the show: with "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", producer Tom Ruegger built upon the slightly irreverent humor he had established along with producer Mitch Schauer with Scooby's previous incarnation, "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo". This resulted in a wackier, more extremely comic version of Scooby-Doo: it was not uncommon for the characters to do wild Bob Clampett -esque takes when they ran into ghosts, Fred was constantly blaming a character appropriately called "Red Herring " for each and every crime on the show (true to his name, Red was always innocent, except for the one episode in which Fred didn't blame him), and shots of the characters (and even the monsters), dancing were inserted into 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.
The characters themselves were general parodies of their "grown-up" incarnations: Freddy was portrayed as a conspiracy theorist 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. Shaggy's and Scooby's characters remained relatively intact (perhaps due to the fact they were already very exaggerated to begin with).
Rock and roll styled songs (specifically about the monster-of-the-week) were played during the chase scene in each episode, similar to the second-season episodes of Scooby-Doo, Where are You!. The show's theme song featured lyrics by series creator Tom Ruegger and music by composer John Debney.
The show premiered on September 10, 1988, and lasted until August 31, 1991 on ABC. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was the first Scooby series to be re-run on the Cartoon Network, in 1993.
Episode Guide
Season one (1988 – 1989)
1 "A Bicycle Built For Boo!" September 10, 1988 1
2 "The Sludge Monster from the Earth's Core" September 17, 1988
3 "Wanted Cheddar Alive" September 24, 1988
4 "The Schnook Who Took My Comic Book" October 1, 1988
5 "For Letter Or Worse" October 8, 1988 2
6 "The Babysitter From Beyond" October 15, 1988
7 "Snow Place Like Home" October 22, 1988
8 "Now Museum, Now You Don't" October 29, 1988
9 "Scooby Dude" November 5, 1988 3
10 "Ghost Who's Coming For Dinner?" November 12, 1988
11 "The Story Stick" November 19, 1988
12 "Robopup" November 26, 1988
13 "Lights...Camera...Monster" December 3, 1988 4
Season two (1989 – 1990)
14 "Curse of the Collar" September 9, 1989 4
15 "The Return of Commander Cool" September 16, 1989
16 "The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" September 23, 1989
17 "Chickenstein Lives!" September 30, 1989 5
18 "Night of the Living Burger" October 7, 1989
19 "The Computer Walks Among Us" October 14, 1989
20 "Dog Gone Scooby" October 21, 1989
21 "Terror, Thy Name is Zombo" October 28, 1989
Season three (1990 – 1991)
22 "Night of the Boogey Biker" September 8, 1990
23 "Dawn of the Space Shuttle Scare" September 15, 1990
24 "Horror of the Haunted Hairpiece" September 22, 1990
25 "Wrestle Maniacs" September 29, 1990
26 "The Mayhem of the Moving Mollusk" July 6, 1991
27 "The Were-Doo of Doo Manor" July 13, 1991
28 "Catcher of the Sly" July 20, 1991
29 "The Ghost of Mrs. Shusham" July 27, 1991
30 "The Wrath of Waitro" August 31, 1991
Notes: Following the final first-run episode on October 28, reruns from the first seasons were rerun alongside episodes from the second season. The shows 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.
In the new movie "Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins", they were teenagers when they first met, but, in this series they met as kids. though they never show how Scooby and the gang met in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
DVD Releases
Warner Home Video released all 30 episodes of the show on DVD in seven volume sets from July 19, 2005 to August 14, 2007. The first five contained four episodes each.
Trivia
- Following the show's first season, much 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. *
- "Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner" and "The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" are the only episodes in which Freddy does not accuse Red Herring of being the monster.
Running Gags
- Daphne calling for her servant Jenkins on most cases. She would say "JENKINS", and Jenkins would say "Yes, Ms. Blake", and when he's done, Daphne would say "That will be all Jenkins", and Jenkins would again say "Yes, Ms. Blake".
- Daphne does not like to get dirty.
- Fred's crazy ideas like talking about Mud Men, Bigfoot, etc.
- Someone saying words or phrases which Scooby repeated with an "R" sound, the same person would say "No", and then repeat themselves.
- Something weird happens to Red Herring and he would get laughed at and he would say "That's not very funny."
- Breaking the fourth wall during and after every mystery.
- Fred questioning certain people and that person would yell out their answer at him. Hwoever, in one episode, Fred does the yelling, claiming that he "doesn't get to do that often".
- Whenever Velma says "Jinkies", someone would say "Velma said Jinkies, it must be a clue." On some occasions, they would say "Velma spoke!" before it, referencing her quietude. On some occasions, Velma's reaction is for other reasons, and on another occasion, no one reacted to her saying "Jinkies," so she grabbed a horn and shouted: "I SAID JINKIES!".
- The villain saying, "and I would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for you pesky kids and that puppy." However, occasionally, Scooby reminds the villain to mention him.
- Scooby laughing at a joke only to stop and say "I don't get it." Occasionally, he makes a joke at Shaggy, inciting the same reaction. At one point, Daphne made a joke at both of them, with the same results.
- Shaggy and Scooby being afraid of a monster and Daphne saying "There are no such thing as (Insert fictional monster).", sometimes accompanied by her parents, who share her beliefs.
- A news bumper saying "We interrupt A Pup Named Scooby-Doo for this special announcement" (in a style similar to Sesame Street's News Flash bumpers) that would have the newscaster reporting on a minor thing that happened in the episode or that one of the running gags is about to occur.
- Before the obligatory chase sequence with the monster, one of the Mystery Inc. members would often halt the action (often interrupting the monster) so as to turn on the appropriate chase music from a convenient source (such as carrying a stereo in Velma's briefcase).
- During the musical chase sequences, the gang, and even the Monster would stop running long enough to dance for a bit before continuing.
- While the gang is checking out an empty building, Daphne will scream "Ah!" When the others ask her what's wrong, she will complain that she got a stain on her clothes, that the place is dusty, etc, always making them roll their eyes in annoyance.
- The gang disguise themselves and performing a comedic skit, eventually confusing the monster in an attempt to catch it.
- Many instances where Scooby, and sometimes other characters, would not do anything without one or more Scooby Snacks (sometimes spelled Scooby Snax).
- Scooby Snacks coming in ridiculous flavors such as pizza and marshmallows
- After eating a Scooby Snack, Scooby would hug himself and then turn into a rocket and blast off. He would then float lazily down into Shaggy's arms and declare "Rokay, I'm ready."
- Shaggy and Scooby eating ridiculous combos of food such as peanut butter and hot dog sandwiches.
- Velma would sometimes have an elongated skateboard big enough to fit the gang. It also had a motor and tiller on it, which she would pilot. She always wore a red helmet and had her teeth bared whenever driving.
- Velma keeping a computer in her briefcase with which she used to review the clues. Occasionally, other items such as a science lab would be stored in it.
- The plans involving the characters, mostly Shaggy and Scooby, disguising themselves as workers of a business relevant to the scene, which temporarily confuses the monster.
- The chases interrupted by something random, even stopping the monster from grabbing the gang.
- Scooby's nose is removable and his tail can turn itself into an arrow and do various other things.
References
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094531/trivia
http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Scooby-Doo%20Intro.htm
http://www.execulink.com/~joelb/scooby/doobydoo.htm
http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Hanna-Barbera_Studios/index.html