I can’t get Harry Knowles to watch any TV show made after about 1979. We both love “Kung Fu” and the original “Star Trek.” I visited his lavish home screening facility right after the last BNAT and we squealed like teen girls over the Krypton episode of “The Adventures of Superman.” (And, come to think of it, I actually first met Harry in person at a “South Park” event that he seemed to enjoy very much.) But I can’t get him to make a long-term commitment to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” or “24” or “West Wing” or “Gilmore Girls.” I sense he fears the time commitment; he worries any new series will cut into his devotion to big-screen entertainment.
But, again, pre-1979 is another story. Harcourt Fenton Knowles gets giddy at the mention of “Battlestar Galactica” and the Erin Gray version of “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.”
And he takes “Scooby-Doo” very seriously. Read his review of the mortifying live-action Freddy Prinze version of “Scooby Doo” and hear the words of a true believer:
“Fred is the co-leader of the gang. He’s the glue that holds them all together. It’s his and Daphne and Velma’s shared love of the unknown and the mysteries of life that bind Mystery Inc as a cohesive group.”
So here’s a bid to distract Harry from his obsessive gathering of cinematic news:
And he takes “Scooby-Doo” very seriously. Read his review of the mortifying live-action Freddy Prinze version of “Scooby Doo” and hear the words of a true believer:
“Fred is the co-leader of the gang. He’s the glue that holds them all together. It’s his and Daphne and Velma’s shared love of the unknown and the mysteries of life that bind Mystery Inc as a cohesive group.”
So here’s a bid to distract Harry from his obsessive gathering of cinematic news:
So here’s a bid to distract Harry from his obsessive gathering of cinematic news:
Boomerang Haunts October with Every SCOOBY-DOO Episode Ever Made
Four Weekend Marathons Showcase Scooby-Doo in Chronological Order Across 21 Years of Television
Friday-Monday, Oct. 4-28, 8 a.m. - 8 a.m. (ET)
Scooby-Doo, the world's most beloved canine supersleuth, will celebrate his first 21 years (1969-90) of spine-tingling television adventures this October as Boomerang, Cartoon Network's 24-hour commercial-free classic animation cable/satellite network, scares up four extended weekends (Friday - Sunday) of ghost-chasing capers spanning 10 different series created by the legendary Hanna-Barbera Studios. Boomerang will devote 368 uninterrupted hours to "Much A-Doo About Scooby," showcasing in chronological order, Scooby-Doo and his crime-solving co-stars as they venture around the world in their psychedelic van, uncovering spooky mysteries and unexplained apparitions.
The 12-day tribute, to air every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in October (Friday, 8 a.m. - Monday, 8 a.m. ET), will spotlight Scooby-Doo in hundreds of adventures across eight different series, proving he truly is the "Iron Mutt of Animation." Following is an overview of Scooby-Doo series produced for network television from 1969 - 1990:
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- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (1969)-A club called Mystery, Inc., seeks out suspense in deserted mansions, ghost towns, museums and burial grounds. Scooby, the club's mascot, provides the catalyst to solve each mystery. ·
- The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972)-Our gang of teen-aged supersleuths are joined by caricatured guest stars, from Batman and Robin to Sonny and Cher, who team up with Mystery, Inc., to solve more mysteries. Additional guests included Tim Conway, Phyllis Diller, Sandy Duncan, Mama Cass Elliot, Don Knotts, Davy Jones, The Harlem Globetrotters, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Reed, The Three Stooges, Dick Van Dyke and Jonathon Winters. ·
- The Scooby-Doo Show (1976)-Condensed to a series of 11-minute episodes, this series is augmented by appearances from new characters such as Scooby-Dum, Scooby-Doo's oafish country cousin, and Scooby-Dee, a glamorous movie actress. ·
- The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show (1979)-Joining our cast of criminal thwarting characters is Scrappy-Doo, Scooby's pint-sized, boisterous nephew, who proves to have much more courage than his nervous uncle. The series prmiered Sept. 11, 1979. ·
- Scooby, Scrappy and Yabba-Doo (1982)-The members of Mystery, Inc., take a turn off the mystery-solving map and find themselves uncovering comedic storylines. Yabba-Doo, another Scooby cousin, debuts as a Western wise-cracker. ·
- The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries (1984)-A return to form as the gang gets back on track, chasing phantoms and witches and solving all things scary. "If it weren't for those pesky kids ..." ·
- The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985)-A chamber of horrors is unleashed when Shaggy and Scooby unlock the Chest of Demons, raising the specter of the 13 most dangerous ghosts in the world. Inspired by the film Ghostbusters. ·
- A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988)-Viewers return to the days when the members of Mystery, Inc., were merely kids and their mascot but a pup. The "rebirth" of the original gang with a hip subtext. ·
"October, with its month-long Halloween preparation, truly is the perfect month to turn our spotlight on the hardest-working dog in cartoons," said Mark Norman, senior vice president and general manager of Boomerang. "Kids will be enthralled by hours of commercial-free mystery-comedy adventures, while adults can enjoy seeing how Scooby and the gang changed and grew over the course of their childhood. As we're often prone to creating puns around the network, we've coined the term 'Scoob-iquitous' in describing Scooby's October tribute on Boomerang."
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? first aired on CBS in 1969, and over the course of 33 years has spawned multiple animated TV series spin-offs, feature-length television movies, direct-to-video motion pictures and even a blockbuster live-action theatrical film. The series follows a meddling gang of kids¾Freddy, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their Great Dane, Scooby-Doo¾as they seek out suspense in deserted mansions, ghost towns, museums, old carnivals and burial grounds. Scooby always seems to provide the catalyst to solve each mystery. Typically, each episode ends with the thwarted villain proclaiming, "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids and that dog!"
Boomerang is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s (TBS, Inc.) 24-hour cable/satellite network offering the best in classic animated entertainment. Drawing from the world's largest cartoon library, Boomerang showcases classic Hanna-Barbera characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and Top Cat, with a stylized sensibility tailored to the their notable standing in television's pop culture. Boomerang's official Web site is located at http://Boomerang.CartoonNetwork.com.
