Next Thursday Stuart Hall is teaching....
is a long-running American animated television series produced for Saturday morning television in several different versions from 1969 to the present. The series was created by Joe Ruby, Ken Spears (story) and Iwao Takamoto (character design) for Hanna-Barbera Productions, who produced numerous spin-offs and related works until being absorbed in 1997 into Warner Bros., which has handled production since then. Though the format of the show and the cast (and ages) of characters have varied significantly over the years, the most familiar versions of the show feature a talking dog named Scooby-Doo and four teenagers: Fred "Freddie" Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers.
These five characters (officially referred to collectively as "Mystery, Inc.", but never referred to as such in the original series) drive around the world in a van called the "Mystery Machine", and solve mysteries typically involving tales of ghosts and other supernatural forces. At the end of each episode, the supernatural forces turn out to have a rational explanation, typically criminal plots involving costumes and mechanical special effects intended to frighten or distract. Later versions of the show featured different variations on the supernatural theme of the show, and include additional characters, such as Scooby's cousin Scooby-Dum and nephew Scrappy-Doo, in addition to or instead of some of the original characters.
Scooby-Doo was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1976, when it moved to ABC. ABC cancelled the show in 1986, but presented a spin-off, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, from 1988 until 1991. A new Scooby-Doo series, What's New, Scooby-Doo?, aired on the Cartoon Network and soon after was put on the WB Network during the Kids' WB programming block from 2002 until 2005. The current Scooby-Doo series, Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!, airs Saturday mornings on The CW network. Repeats of the original series, as well as second-run episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo?, are broadcast frequently on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the United States and other countries.
