Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
Christine had a long and varied career both on camera and behind the microphone until she retired from acting in 2001. She has the distinction of being a part of the very first show covered here on SMF for her portrayal of Bunnie Rabbot on Sonic the Hedgehog. Additionally on Saturdays, she had starred as the voice of Gosalyn Mallard on Darkwing Duck and an episode of Raw Toonage, Rosebud on Beethoven, Bamm-Bamm Rubble on Cave Kids, Oblina and other roles on Aaaah!!!! Real Monsters, and Wizzer and Dumpling on 101 Dalmations: The Series. She was also Ritchie Raccoon on two episodes from ABC Weekend Specials, Kevin on Bobby's World, Badger Boy on The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper, Alcides on Hercules, several guest voices on Recess and Tasha on the Weekenders.
Howdy, folks. Your blogmaster here with some announcements.
First up, I want to thank everyone who has come by week in and week out to check out what I'm doing here. Saturday morning was an important part of my childhood, and I hope I've sparked some memories of your own with what I'm doing. And for those of you just joining us this week, or next week, or the week after for the first time, WELCOME! Hang your hat, stay a while.
Second, with the hustle and bustle of the holidays upon us, this busy time of year has prompted me to take a little vacation during the time when programs were usually in rerun mode anyway. But, fret not! New entries will be back before you know it beginning JANUARY 17TH. And boy do we have some fun in store for all of you! 2015 will begin the reign of the THEME MONTH here on SMF. Each month we'll be presenting shows that tie together with a particular theme, so you'll have a pretty good idea of when some of your favorites will be coming around (but be sure to check out the rest, as you might find something new to like).
In February, we begin with BLACK HISTORY MONTH where we'll look at shows that prominently star black characters. And believe you me, when some of these shows aired that fact was a VERY big deal.
March will bring us the DISNEY AFTERNOON MONTH, where we'll look at programs that aired on both the beloved weekday syndication block AND Saturday mornings.
Remember when your favorite shows would come back and feature younger
versions of the characters? Betcha didn't know that was called
BABYFICATION, and in April we'll take a look at some Baby-fied cartoons.
With Avengers: Age of Ultrondue out in May, what better time to look at the stable of Marvel Comics productions? That's right, it's MIGHTY MARVEL MONTH in May (hey, an M-month...that worked out nicely!).
It's power to the players in June when we do VIDEO GAME MONTH.
Back to the Futureturns 30 in July, so we're breaking out MOVIES MONTH to showcase the programs spun off from various movies.
Crime doesn't pay in August when the best (or worst) crime-fighters in the world take on the best (or worst) criminals ever in LAW & DISORDER MONTH.
Jem and the Hologramsare getting a movie in October, but we'll be celebrating that in September with TOY TOONS MONTH. Why? Because...
...October will be our second HALLOWEEN MONTH as we explore more creepy shows with things that go bump in the night.
The Peanutsfeature film lands in November, so it's time to explore its comic strip roots with COMIC STRIPS MONTH.
And with Star Wars 7on the horizon, December will take us to a GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY MONTH as we journey to the final frontier with programs set in the vastness of space.
Lastly, you can check me out once again on the radio, WGBB 1240 AM out of Long Island, on Sunday, December 21st on It Came From the Radioat 4PM, eastern. Don't live in the area? You can stream it live from the station's website.
Have a great holiday season, and we'll see you again in 2015!
For the history of Scooby-Doo, check out this post here.
By
the time the fourth incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise rolled around on
his tenth anniversary, the formula that made it so popular had begun to wear
thin. Not only had there already been three previous Scooby programs, but there
was also an endless series of clones and twists on the concept produced
by Hanna-Barbera and competitors to try and duplicate the magic. ABC, taking note of
the declining ratings, constantly threatened to
cancel the show every season, forcing Hanna-Barbera to insert a new element
to keep things fresh each time.
Special delivery: Scrappy-Doo!
Enter
Scooby’s plucky new sidekick: his nephew Scrappy-Doo (Lennie Weinrib), created
by producer Joseph Barbera
and designer Iwao Takamoto.
Where Scooby (Don Messick) was cowardly, Scrappy was brave and headstrong,
always ready to charge into a situation fists first (often to the point of
needing to be saved from an impending threat because he wasn’t willing to
recognize when it was too big for him to deal with) while shouting his battle
cry “Tata-ta ta ta-ta, Puppy Power!” Scrappy would also attempt to set his own
monster traps, usually resulting in his capturing Scooby and Shaggy (Casey
Kasem) instead of his intended target. Scrappy would always push Scooby
into situations he would rather run from, offering what he considered
encouragement.
Scrappy carrying Scooby into danger.
The concept for Scrappy harkened back to Joe Ruby and Ken Spears’ initial ideas for Scooby before he evolved into the more
well-known incarnation. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to sell ABC on the
idea right away. Writer Mark Evanier was brought on to help refine Scrappy and write the pilot
episode that would introduce and set up the character for the series. Rumors
floated around about a senior ABC executive being more receptive to ideas that
were similar to classic Warner
Bros. cartoons, so Evanier patterned
Scrappy’s personality after Henry Hawk after a conversation
with Barbera pointed him in that direction and wrote a script based off of
one he had done for the Gold
Key comic book series. In the 11th
hour, ABC wanted Scrappy’s scrappiness to be toned down a bit
in the initial presentation. Although they eventually backed off of that desire,
Hanna-Barbera went through with it anyway.
Scrappy always ready for a scrap.
When casting for
Scrappy, Hanna-Barbera was inclined to approach Mel Blanc to assume the role, as he had played Henry. However, he wanted more
money than they were prepared to pay. Frank Welker was auditioned and even
supplied them with the “Puppy Power” catchphrase. The role ultimately went to
Messick, who had turned in the best audition. That is, until ABC heard the initial
recording of the pilot and decided Messick’s voice just didn’t fit the character.
Going back to the auditions, Daws Butler was selected as the new voice and the
episode was recorded again. However, ABC still wasn’t happy, and the process
repeated. Marilyn Schreffler
and Welker both had turns recording Scrappy, and names like Paul Winchell and Dick Beals were being tossed
around while the studio was attempting to negotiate with Blanc. Finally, the
role went to Weinrib.
The Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco.
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo debuted on ABC on September 22, 1979. The villains of the show were heavily influenced by the culture of the time, with such spooks as the “Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco”. The series was written by Evanier with Glenn Leopold, Diane Duane, Willie Gilbert, Duane Poole, Tom Swale, David Villaire, Mark Jones, Bryce Malek and Bob Ogle. While maintaining the Hanna-Barbera laugh track (the last series to do so), the series did feature an all-new musical score by Hoyt Curtin; finally retiring the score it had used since Where Are You!The theme song was a reworking of TheNew Scooby-Doo Moviestheme.
"Enjoy that ice cream, guys. May be your last good meal in a long time!"
Although Scrappy wouldn’t be a fan-favorite as
the years progressed, the ratings managed to stabilize enough to have Scooby
continue to be ABC’s schedule stopgap every season. While all the familiar
characters were present on the show, the focus of the series began to shift
heavily onto the comic relief of Scooby and Shaggy’s cowardice more than the
spooky weekly mystery-solving. Gradually, the rest of Mystery, Inc. faded into
the background of the stories to the point of irrelevance. In fact, the final
episode featured only mere cameos of Fred (Welker), Daphne (Heather North) and
Velma (Pat Stevens originally, but replaced by Marla Frumkin for health reasons).
Mystery, Inc. was dropped entirely as series regulars with the next incarnation
of the show.
Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood DVD cover.
Before
Stevens departed, she participated in a prime-time special with the rest of the
cast called Scooby Goes Hollywood, produced at the same time as
this series but omitting Scrappy. Shown December 13th, 1979, the
plot of the movie poked fun at the increasingly stale format of the Scooby
franchise. Shaggy and Scooby desiring something new and better than their
typical Saturday morning pratfalls and tried to make it big in Hollywood on prime-time
TV. Ultimately, they’re convinced to return to Saturday mornings.
Shaggy fainting on the job.
Seven episodes had been released as part of five
DVD compilations called Scooby-Doo!
13 Spooky Tales between 2012-15. In 2015, the
complete
series was given its own release. The series entered syndicated reruns in
the 1980s, before ending up on Cartoon
Network with the other Scooby shows in 1994 and sister network Boomerang in 2000. In 2024, it joined the
rotation of Scooby programs on retro animation network MeTV Toons.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The Scarab Lives!” (9/22/79) – A cartoonist’s superhero, the Blue
Scarab, comes to life as a villain and it’s up to the gang to stop him.
“The Night Ghoul of Wonderland” (9/29/79) – The gang treat Velma to a
Sherlock Holmes mystery at an amusement park when the crime ends up being real.
“Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind” (10/6/79) – Scooby, Shaggy and
Scrappy are kidnapped by aliens, leaving the rest of the gang to save them.
“The Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco!” (10/13/79) – The gang help the
owners of Sparklers Roller Disco by finding out what the Neon Phantom wants.
“Shiver and Shake, That Demon’s A Snake” (10/20/79) – While on
vacation in the Florida Keys, Daphne buys an idol cursed by the Snake Demon the
gang encounters.
“The Scary Sky Skeleton” (10/27/79) – Daphne’s friend, stunt pilot
Wendy, is getting ready for an air show when the Sky Skeleton appears.
“The Demon of the Dugout” (11/3/79) – A demon interrupts the baseball
game between the American team and the Japanese team for the Baseball Diamond.
“The Hairy Scare of the Devil Bear” (11/10/79) – The gang stumble upon
the legendary Devil Bear in the Grand Canyon.
“Twenty Thousand Screams Under the Sea” (11/17/79) – The sea beast of
the Aztecs rises in Acapulco and scares away all the divers.
“I Left My Neck in San Francisco” (11/24/79) – A Vampiress that
resembles Daphne stalks San Francisco, leading Shaggy, Scrappy and Scooby to
think Daphne is the vampire.
“Where You Wish Upon a Star Creature” (12/1/79) – A Star Creature
appears to frighten everyone away when the Green Hills observatory discovers a
new star.
“The Ghoul, the Bat, and the Ugly” (12/8/79) – The gang attends the
Batty Awards where the Shadow Creature destroys the best horror film of the
year.
“Rocky Mountain Yiiiii!” (12/15/79) – The ghost of Jeramiah Pratt
interrupts the gang’s ski weekend.
“The Sorcerer’s Menace” (12/22/79) – The ghost of the Great Haldayne
is the prime suspect in the disappearance of the Black Pearl of Tonga Lei.
“Lock the Door, It’s Minotaur” (12/29/79) – The gang investigates why
a minotaur is scaring everyone off the Greek island of Helos.
“The Ransom of Scooby Chief” (1/5/80) – While visiting Scrappy’s old
neighborhood, Scooby and Shaggy end up kidnapped and it’s up to Scrappy and his
friends to save them.
