Introducing Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an iconic American animated franchise that revolves around the adventures of the titular Great Dane dog Scooby-Doo and his human friends, who solve mysteries. The original Scooby-Doo series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears for Hanna-Barbera Productions and first aired on CBS in 1969 (Scooby Doo History :: ScoobyAddicts.com).
The premise of the original series followed Scooby-Doo and his friends Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, as they traveled in their van the Mystery Machine to solve supernatural mysteries. Although the mysteries invariably involved ghosts, monsters, and other paranormal creatures, they always had a rational explanation in the end.
Since its debut in 1969, Scooby-Doo has become an enduring pop culture icon and one of the most popular and longest-running animated franchises in television history. It has spawned numerous spin-off series, films, merchandise, and even a theme park attraction (Scooby-Doo). Over 50 years later, new Scooby-Doo content continues to be produced, entertaining generations of viewers with the lovable, cowardly Great Dane and his mystery-solving crew.
Meet the Gang
The main characters of Scooby-Doo are a group of friends who call themselves “Mystery Incorporated”. The original gang consists of:
- Scoobert “Scooby” Doo – a talking Great Dane who is Shaggy’s best friend and sidekick. Scooby has a speech impediment that makes him pronounce most words starting with “r” as “w” (“rotten” becomes “wotten”). He has an insatiable appetite, especially for Scooby Snacks. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scooby-Doo_characters)
- Norville “Shaggy” Rogers – a lanky, laidback teen who is Scooby’s owner. He shares Scooby’s love of food and is often scared easily. (https://scoobysnax1.weebly.com/characters.html)
- Fred Jones – the leader of the group who comes up with plans and traps to catch the monsters. He is athletic, intelligent, and usually takes charge in solving mysteries. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scooby-Doo_characters)
- Daphne Blake – a fashionable, wealthy young woman who often gets kidnapped or trapped during mysteries. She is brave and headstrong. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scooby-Doo_characters)
- Velma Dinkley – the brains of the group, Velma is highly intelligent and logical. She is usually the one who finds the clues to solve the mysteries. (https://scoobysnax1.weebly.com/characters.html)
The Original Series
The original Scooby-Doo series was called Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! It first aired on CBS in 1969 and was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. The show followed teenagers Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and of course, Scooby-Doo, as they solved mysteries involving ghosts, monsters and other supernatural creatures.
Some key facts about the original Where Are You! series according to Wikipedia:
- It had a rock-inspired musical score created by Ted Nichols.
- It introduced the iconic Mystery Machine van.
- It established the formula of the group splitting up to look for clues and trap the monster.
- It ran for two seasons before being cancelled in 1970.
The original Scooby-Doo series paved the way for decades of shows, films and spin-offs to follow. Its supernatural mystery formula and quirky characters like Shaggy and Scooby became widely popular. While there was no permanent female dog in those early shows, Scooby himself became one of the most iconic cartoon dogs in TV history.
No Permanent Female Dog
The original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! series that aired from 1969-1970 did not feature a permanent female dog character among the core cast of Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers, Fred Jones, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley (Category:Dogs | Scoobypedia – Fandom). The main canine character was of course Scooby-Doo himself, a male Great Dane. While the gang did encounter various monsters and villains in their mysteries, these were revealed to be criminals in disguises rather than actual supernatural beings. There were no permanent additional dog companions joining them.
The core five characters traveled in their van, The Mystery Machine, from case to case. Their encounters with female dog characters tended to be incidental, such as in the episode “A Tiki Scare Is No Fair” where they met a female dog named Wiki Tiki during their time on Hawaii (List of Scooby-Doo characters – Wikipedia). However, she did not join the gang or have a major role beyond that episode.
So in summary, the original incarnation of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series featured no permanent female dog characters among the core Mystery Inc. group or their recurring cast.
Later Introductions
While there was initially no permanent female dog in the Scooby-Doo gang, later animated movies and series introduced some female canine characters into the franchise. One notable example is Scooby-Doo’s cousin Scooby-Dum, who was introduced along with another cousin, Scooby-Dee, in the 1976 TV movie The Scooby-Doo Show. Scooby-Dum and Scooby-Dee are both portrayed as dim-witted but lovable Great Danes like Scooby-Doo.
Another major female dog character is Scrappy-Doo’s mother, Ruby-Doo. Scrappy-Doo, Scooby-Doo’s nephew, was introduced in 1979 in the series Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo. Ruby-Doo later appeared alongside her son Scrappy in the second episode of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo in 1985. She is depicted as a typical doting mother, always trying to keep Scrappy safe from danger.
While still not main characters, the introduction of Scooby’s cousins and Scrappy’s mother represented first steps toward including more female dogs in the Scooby-Doo universe.
Scrappy-Doo
In 1979, the character of Scrappy-Doo was introduced as Scooby-Doo’s nephew and newest member of the mystery-solving gang. Scrappy is a Great Dane puppy and the son of Scooby-Doo’s sister Ruby-Doo [1]. His full name is Scrappy Cornelius Doo [2].
Scrappy has a feisty and energetic personality in contrast to his uncle Scooby’s more cowardly nature. He is noted for often trying to fight monsters head on with the catchphrase “Let me at ’em!”. Scrappy sees himself as the bravest member of the gang and is determined to prove he can take on any villain [2]. The addition of Scrappy to the cast was an attempt to both challenge Scooby’s reputation for being too afraid of monsters and to give the show an energetic younger character that would appeal to children [1].
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
In 1985, Hanna-Barbera produced the 13-episode series The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. This series featured Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Daphne, and Scrappy-Doo traveling the globe to capture 13 real ghosts that had been released from a chest. The chest accidentally opened when Shaggy and Scooby-Doo were tricked into opening it by the evil warlock Vincent Van Ghoul, voiced by Vincent Price.
This series introduced Scooby’s nephew Scrappy-Doo, who became a recurring character in the Scooby-Doo franchise. Scrappy-Doo is a small, feisty Great Dane puppy who is very confident and wants to prove himself. He accompanied Scooby, Shaggy, and Daphne on their ghost-hunting adventures in this series.
One of the 13 ghosts they encountered was the ghost of a dog named Flapper, who belonged to a pirate named Redbeard. Flapper was a fluffy white sheepdog who could float and become invisible. She was close companions with Redbeard during his life and continued to be loyal to him after becoming a ghost (Scooby-Doo Fandom).
Although Flapper was not a permanent member of the Scooby gang, she did assist them at times during the series when their goals aligned against the 13 ghosts. So she served as a temporary female ghost dog character in the Scooby-Doo franchise.
Scooby-Doo Movies
Several Scooby-Doo movies were released in the 2000s and 2010s, bringing the Mystery Inc. gang to the big screen in live-action and animated films. The first of these was Scooby-Doo in 2002, a live-action comedy film starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Scooby-Doo was computer animated for this film. While it featured its share of spooky monsters, the movie had a more comedic tone and took some liberties with the characters’ origins and personalities. [1]
This was followed in 2004 by the animated film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, with the same live-action cast returning to voice their characters. The Mystery Inc. team battles classic Scooby villains brought to life by a vengeful museum curator. The film was more faithfully aligned with the spirit of the cartoon series. [2]
Additional animated films included Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009), an origin story featuring young versions of the characters meeting and forming Mystery Inc. There was also a series of direct-to-DVD films starting with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island in 1998, which were typically darker and edgier than the TV series. These films experimented with real supernatural villains rather than people in costumes. Overall, the Scooby-Doo movies brought in elements of comedy, spooky thrills, updated animation, and new character interpretations while retaining the core mystery-solving dynamic of the original cartoon series.
Recent Scooby-Doo Series
The most recent Scooby-Doo series include Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010-2013), Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (2015-2018), and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? (2019-present). These series have introduced some new female dog characters.
In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, the gang acquires a female puppy named Nova[1]. She joins the gang on some of their adventures and mysteries.
The 2015 series Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! features Scooby-Doo’s niece Scooby Dee Dee[2]. She is a light blue Great Dane who sometimes helps the gang solve mysteries.
Overall, the most recent Scooby-Doo series have included some prominent female dog characters, like Nova and Scooby Dee Dee, even though the original series did not have any permanent female dogs.
Conclusion
After looking at the history of Scooby-Doo over the past 50+ years, it’s clear that there has never been a permanent, core female dog character in the Scooby gang. While various female dogs have appeared sporadically in episodes, movies, and spin-off series, the only permanent canine member of Mystery Inc. has always been Scooby-Doo himself.
The original 1969 series featured only Scooby-Doo as the dog, with no permanent female dog characters. Later spin-offs like Scrappy-Doo and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo introduced female dogs like Scooby’s sister Ruby-Doo or the pup Flim-Flam, but they were not considered core characters. Recent series like Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated stick to the classic ensemble with just Scooby-Doo as the dog.
While there have been memorable girl dogs over the decades, the Scooby-Doo franchise has stayed true to its roots with Scooby as the one-and-only permanent dog in the gang. After over 50 years, it doesn’t seem like the formula will change anytime soon. Scooby-Doo continues his reign as the top dog in Mystery Inc.