Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979 TV series)

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
Genre
Created by
Based onScooby-Doo, Where Are You
by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
Developed byMark Evanier
Directed by
Voices of
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producers
  • William Hanna
  • Joseph Barbera
ProducerDon Jurwich
Running time22 minutes
Production companyHanna-Barbera Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 22, 1979 (1979-09-22) –
January 5, 1980 (1980-01-05)
Related

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo is an American animated television series and the fourth incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise.[1] It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for ABC. It premiered on September 22, 1979, and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour animated program. A total of sixteen episodes were produced.[2] It aired internationally on BBC One in the UK from 1981 to 1984.[3] It was the last Hanna-Barbera cartoon series (excluding prime-time specials) to use the studio's laugh track.

Overview

By 1979, the staff at Hanna-Barbera realized that the Scooby-Doo formula was getting worn out, which gave them reason to parody it in a 1979 primetime special, Scooby Goes Hollywood, which was produced and finished before the series aired in September 1979. In addition, ABC began threatening cancellation for the show, as the show's ratings were declining and Fred Silverman, one of the show's biggest backers at ABC, had left for NBC in 1978.[4] ABC was going to choose between two shows: Scooby-Doo or an unnamed pilot from Ruby Spears Enterprises.[5] Therefore, for its 1979–1980 season, Scooby-Doo was given a major overhaul, adding the character of Scooby's nephew Scrappy-Doo, voiced by Lennie Weinrib, and changing the name of the show to Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo.[6]

Although still present in these episodes, the characters of Fred, Daphne, and Velma became less essential to the plot, and it became more of a concentrated effort to try and make them relevant, once the new character's presence shed light on it. [7] However, they ultimately were removed by the next season. Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy were the main focus. Marla Frumkin took over Pat Stevens' role as Velma Dinkley towards the end of the season, beginning with episode 12, "The Ghoul, the Bat, and the Ugly". Velma has only one line (off-screen); "Have A Good Visit" in episode 16, "The Ransom of Scooby Chief" as she, Fred, and Daphne were not in that episode that much. In fact this episode could be seen as a backdoor pilot of what was to come the following season. Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained a laugh track created by the studio.

Staff

Voice cast

Main article: List of Scooby-Doo characters

Episodes

No.TitleVillainIdentityOriginal air date
1"The Scarab Lives!"The Blue ScarabHoward GruberSeptember 22, 1979 (1979-09-22)

The gang has to help a cartoonist after his superhero creation "The Blue Scarab", who is Scrappy’s hero, comes to life as a supervillain and begins committing crimes all over town while demanding that his creator stops making his comic books.

2"The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld"The Night Ghoul of LondonMr. MarinoSeptember 29, 1979 (1979-09-29)

The gang is trapped inside a theme park created to be like 19th-century London and soon find themselves under attack by its robot residents while exploring Velma’s fantasies. The plot and title are similar to that of Westworld.

  • The Night ghoul was voiced by Scooby actor Don Messick, while Mr. Marino was voiced by Fred actor Frank Welker
  • Messick also voiced Mr. Kemper
  • Alexander Wallhouse was voiced by William Woodson
3"Strange Encounters of a Scooby Kind"The AlienTessieOctober 6, 1979 (1979-10-06)

While the gang tries to relax on a camping trip in the mountains, Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy are kidnapped by an alien, and it is up to Fred, Velma and Daphne to save them. The title is similar to that of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

  • Tessie and The Alien were voiced by Ginny Tyler
  • Mr. Moss was voiced by Stan Jones
  • Don Messick also voiced Harris and the police officer on the radio
4"The Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco!"The Neon PhantomBill WalkerOctober 13, 1979 (1979-10-13)

When a being known as the Neon Phantom appears at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and cuts out the electricity, the gang chases him all over the city to find out what he is up to.

  • Scrappy actor Lennie Weinrib also voiced Bill Walker and the Neon Phantom
  • Frank Welker also voiced Steve Shimmer
  • Joey Cassette was voiced by Michael Bell
5"Shiver and Shake, That Demon's a Snake"The Snake DemonFirst Mate DefargeOctober 20, 1979 (1979-10-20)

While on vacation in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean, the gang encounters a menacing Snake Demon after Daphne buys an idol cursed by the demon.

  • Defarge and the Snake demon were voiced by Frank Welker
  • Ms. Audrey was voiced by Velma actor Pat Stevens
  • Mr. Percy was voiced by Alan Oppenheimer
6"The Scary Sky Skeleton"The Sky SkeletonEddie DrakeOctober 27, 1979 (1979-10-27)

When a living skeleton appears and threatens to ruin Daphne's friend Wendy's air show, the gang must solve the mystery and help Wendy.

  • Frank Welker also voiced Henry Greycloud
  • Eddie and the sky skeleton were voiced by Michael Bell
  • Future Velma actor Marla Frumkin voiced Wendy Airs
  • Amelia Parmer was voiced by Marilyn Schreffler
7"The Demon of the Dugout"The Dragon BeastMr. HusaiNovember 3, 1979 (1979-11-03)

The gang goes to Tokyo, Japan for a baseball game involving the American Team vs. the Japanese Team for the Baseball Diamond. During the game, a dragon-like demon appears and the gang must solve the mystery.

  • Pat Stevens also voiced the luggage collector
  • Mr. Husai and the Dragon Beast were voiced by Alan Oppenheimer
8"The Hairy Scare of the Devil Bear"The Devil BearChuck HuntNovember 10, 1979 (1979-11-10)

The gang investigates a myth of a "Devil Bear" haunting Indian caves within the Grand Canyon.

  • Veteran French film and television actor Louis Jourdan guest starred as Chuck Hunt and the Devil Bear
  • Marla Frumkin voiced the archaeologist
  • Professor Carver was voiced by Michael Bell
  • Mr. McGee was voiced by John Stephenson
9"Twenty Thousand Screams Under the Sea"The Sea Beast of the AztecsTiger MorrisNovember 17, 1979 (1979-11-17)

The gang tries to solve the mystery of a Sea Beast that is haunting the Mexican coastal town of Acapulco.

  • Casey Kasem also voiced the cliff diving judge
  • Frank Welker also voiced Senor Gonzalez
  • Miguel Valdez was voiced by John Stephenson
  • Pat Fraley returned to voice Tiger Morris, the Sea Beast of the Aztecs, and the harbor patrol officer
10"I Left My Neck in San Francisco"The Lady Vampire of Cloud BayLefty Callahan (Mrs. Corneil)November 24, 1979 (1979-11-24)

The gang goes to San Francisco, where they encounter the Lady Vampire of the Bay on Alcatraz Island. The vampire strongly resembles Daphne, who sits out most of the investigation with a cold, but she is nowhere to be found when the vampire turns up, leading Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy to think she is a vampire.

  • Casey Kasem also voiced the pizza parlor chef
  • Mrs. Cornell/Lefty Calahan and the Lady Vampire of the Bay were voiced by Joan Gerber
  • Sally Polk was voiced by Marlene Aragon
11"When You Wish Upon a Star Creature"The Star CreatureMr. GreenfieldDecember 1, 1979 (1979-12-01)

When Professor Spaulding of Green Hills observatory discovers a new star, it does not take long before the Star Creature comes to frighten everyone off.

  • Frank Welker also voiced Professor Spaulding
  • Mr. Greenfield and the Star Creature were voiced by Stan Jones
12"The Ghoul, the Bat and the Ugly"The Shadow CreatureBrandon DaviesDecember 8, 1979 (1979-12-08)

The gang attends the Batty Awards Show at Hillside Manor, which is interrupted by a Shadow Creature.

  • Brandon Davies and the Shadow Creature were voiced by Jack Angel
  • Creighton Aimes was voiced by Michael Rye
  • Harrison Stone was voiced by William Woodson
13"Rocky Mountain Yiiiii!"The Frozen Ghost of Jeremiah PrattWill Henry PrattDecember 15, 1979 (1979-12-15)

The gang goes to the snowy mountains of Colorado for a skiing vacation, where they meet the ghost of a pioneer who wants to find his caravan and his pot of gold.

  • Marla Frumkin also voiced Mrs. Winters
  • Will Henry Pratt and the Ghost of Jeremiah Pratt were voiced by William Callaway
14"The Sorcerer's a Menace"The Ghost of the Great HaldaneMorgan the MagicianDecember 22, 1979 (1979-12-22)

At a magic show in a fancy hotel on Atlantic City's boardwalk, the ghost of the magician's former teacher appears and causes a valuable black pearl to disappear. The gang has to find out why.

  • Don Messick also voiced Conrad the Conjurer
  • Frank Welker also voiced the security guard
  • Morgan the Magician and the Ghost of the Great Haldane were voiced by William Callaway
  • Lorraine was voiced by Marilyn Schreffler
15"Lock the Door, It's a Minotaur!"The MinotaurNick PapasDecember 29, 1979 (1979-12-29)
While in Greece, the gang discovers that a Minotaur is scaring everyone off and they set out to find him.
16"The Ransom of Scooby Chief"Carl and TonyN/AJanuary 5, 1980 (1980-01-05)

The gang arrives in New York City and drops off Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy to look around Scrappy's old neighborhood. After Scooby and Shaggy are kidnapped for ransom, it is up to Scrappy and his puppy friends to save them.

Note: The title is a take-off of "The Ransom of Red Chief."

Home media

A complete series set was released on April 28, 2015.[8]

DVD Name Release Date Episode(s) Included
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo: The Complete Season 1 April 28, 2015[8] All episodes
Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales Around the World May 15, 2012[9]
  1. "Shiver and Shake, That Demon's a Snake"
  2. "Lock the Door, It's a Minotaur!"
Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Holiday Chills and Thrills October 16, 2012[10] "Rocky Mountain Yiiiiii!"
Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Ruh-Roh Robot! September 24, 2013[11] "The Scary Sky Skeleton"
Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Field Of Screams May 13, 2014 "The Demon of the Dugout"
Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Surf's Up Scooby-Doo May 5, 2015 "Twenty Thousand Screams Under The Sea"

References

  1. ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 249=253. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 534–538. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ "BBC PROGRAMME INDEX". BBC. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. ^ "The network kept threatening to cancel it every year or two, so every season they had to add a new element to the show to keep it fresh." – Mark Evanier, one of the writers for the animated Scooby Doo series. Retrieved from The Scooby Story on October 6, 2006.
  5. ^ "Radio Rashy Episode 170 – Son of Evenings with Evanier!! | Radio Rashy".
  6. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 723–724. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  7. ^ "A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo! - 017| Interview with Duane Poole (Part Two) on Stitcher". A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo. 20:02
  8. ^ a b "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo - Press Release for 'The Complete Season 1' of the 1979 Show". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  9. ^ "Scooby's All-Stars - '13 Spooky Tales Around The World' Draws From 6 Scooby Shows". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  10. ^ Lambert, David (June 21, 2012). "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! - '13 Spooky Tales: Holiday Chills and Thrills' 2-DVD Set". Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  11. ^ Lambert, David (2013). "The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries - '13 Spooky Tales: Ruh-Roh Robot!' DVDs with More Classic Episodes". Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2013.

External links