The Scooby Gang was created by Hanna-Barbera in 1969 with the release of the television show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?. For the past fifty-two years, the characters of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo have evolved with the times, altering in appearance and personality while still maintaining their solid characteristics.
Whether it be Fred's love of traps beginning as a genuine personality trait and becoming a comedic element of his character in newer shows, or entirely different character designs, it is undeniable that the Scooby Gang has had several distinguishable iterations. Fans of the series have differing opinions about each incarnation, as is evident by the TV shows' IMDb ratings.
The New Scooby And Scrappy-Doo Show (1983-84) - 6.5
Lasting for two short seasons, The New Scooby And Scrappy-Doo Show saw an incarnation of the Scooby Gang that did not include the entire roster for its 1st season. In the 2nd season, Fred and Velma were reintroduced after a 5-year hiatus from the franchise.
The show featured the gang as undercover reporters for a magazine, while they solved mysteries in typical Scooby-Doo fashion. The New Scooby And Scrappy-Doo Show is a series that does not feature the best version of the gang- it was criticized primarily due to the inclusion of the much-maligned character, Scrappy-Doo, and the exclusion of integral of the group.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988-91) - 6.8
This series featured a younger version of the Scooby Gang. It saw each member with the same personality traits carried over from the previous incarnations, only exaggerated to highlight their young age. This series also marked the last appearance of the Scooby Gang on TV for eleven years.
The series was praised for its humor and original take on the Scooby Gang, as the previous 7 series were based on the gang as young adults. Despite being a fresh take, many argue that such a drastic change hindered the show due to the gang's well-defined appearance- something that fellow show, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! suffered from 24 years later.
Scooby-Doo And Guess Who? (2019- ) - 7.3
The newest series in the Scooby-Doo franchise, is Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?- a show that is still currently airing. The show itself sees the Scooby Gang solving mysteries aided by a different celebrity guest each week, leading to Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? featuring some strange crossovers with characters such as Steve Urkel from the 1990s ABC sitcom Family Matters.
Scooby-Doo as a franchise is no stranger to a crossover. Throughout its 52-year run, Scooby and the gang have met several characters from Batman to the Winchester brothers from Supernatural. As the series was released following one of the lowest-rated shows in the franchise, many argue that Guess Who? is a return to form for the Scooby Gang with its classic animation style and cleverly plotted mysteries.
What's New Scooby-Doo? (2002-06) - 7.3
After an 11 year hiatus on television, the Scooby Gang returned with What's New Scooby-Doo?- a series that saw the first iteration of the gang (on TV) in the 21st century. While still, of course, an animated show, it was intended to be a more realistic version of the gang, straying away from elements that are too cartoon-ish.
Many fans of the franchise enjoyed What's New Scooby-Doo? for its inclusion of iconic villains, and its unmistakable theme tune performed by the band, Simple Plan. What's more, is that the series itself arguably rejuvenated the franchise in its traditional television form, as several new TV shows have been released since.
The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo (1985-86) - 7.4
Released in 1985 and running for just 13 episodes, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo is the shortest TV show in the Scooby-Doo franchise. 13 Ghosts does not feature the full gang and instead only showcases Shaggy, Daphne, Scrappy-Doo, and Scooby-Doo as they try to capture several ghosts.
This show stands out in Scooby-Doo lore as the ghosts were actually real, and not people in costumes as is most commonly the case in previous and following series'. Many fans found the conclusion unfulfilling, as the gang never caught the final ghost. This storyline was continued 23 years later in Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost, but was disappointing to many, as proven by its 6.5 IMDb rating.
The Scooby-Doo Show (1976-78) - 7.6
This series is one of the first TV shows in the Scooby-Doo canon, consisting of several different segments of episodes that lead to the show essentially being an amalgamation of different stories. It featured The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, Where Are You? and Scooby's All-Stars.
While the show itself is not entirely consistent due to its incorporation of several distinguishable stories, The Scooby-Doo Show featured some of the Scooby franchise's scariest villains. One of these villains is 10,000 Volt Ghost, a mass of electricity that was recreated in the 2002 live-action iteration of the gang, Scooby-Doo.
The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972-73) - 7.7
Ranking as the third-best TV show in the Scooby-Doo franchise, according to IMDb, and running for 24 episodes is The New Scooby-Doo Movies, which featured several famous guest stars throughout its run. This bears a similarity to the most recent TV series, Guess Who? as its primary purpose is to showcase several celebrities.
Despite perhaps coming across as outdated in hindsight as several of the famous guest stars and characters are not as relevant as they once were, the show still ranks among the best of the franchise. Unfortunately, as is reported by MeTV, an episode of the classic series (one featuring The Addams Family) is unavailable due to copyright issues.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (1969-70) - 7.9
The series that featured the first iteration of the iconic Scooby Gang is Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Now fifty-two years old, the TV show saw the gang stumbling across mysteries wherever they went, while each member contributed their own unique characteristics to help solve them.
Featuring many iconic quotes, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? cannot be ignored in the lore of the Scooby-Doo franchise. Not only is it considered one of the best iterations of the gang, but it also defined each character's basic personality, meaning that every series that follows owes a great deal to the one that started it all.
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010-13) - 8.0
Like many of the other shows in the Scooby-Doo canon, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated ran for just two seasons and featured 52 episodes in three years. What allows Mystery Incorporated to stand out though, is its inclusion of one long story arc. While many episodes did feature a monster-of-the-week format, there was an overarching plot that headed to an epic conclusion.
As the only Scooby-Doo property (including TV shows and movies) to rank above an 8 out of 10 on IMDb, Mystery Incorporated is widely considered to be the peak of the Scooby-Doo franchise. In over 52 episodes and one long story, each member of the gang is fully developed, allowing their teamwork to save the world at the end of the series to be so moving, and heartfelt. This series proves that Scooby-Doo as a property is well-suited to an overarching story, which many fans would undeniably agree with.
