Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

Original Air Date: 1969-1970

Network: CBS

Welcome to the cartoon's first "procedural." There have been a ton of Scooby Doo cartoons over the years, but this was it. Scooby Doo Where Are You! was the one that had the gang solving crimes in the Mystery Machine. Chasing ghosts and revealing them to be old crusty codgers in masks. This was before all of the Scooby Doo movies that featured guest stars like Don Knotts and Batman (?). This was the show where they changed the world by tackling the tough cases that no one else could crack. Their van would break down, and then they'd all learn that wherever it was that they managed to get stranded had a ghost problem. Then Fred would have the brilliant idea of splitting up the gang to look for clues, in which he always sent the two pothead cowards, Shaggy and Scooby, off together. Then they'd set a trap for the fake monster. Then they'd pull off the mask to reveal it was really old man Withers/Snyder/Malloney... and that they were just trying to scare people away from the land so they could buy it cheap. And of course... "I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling/snooping/pesky... kids." Was there a formula to it? Damn straight. Just like there is for CSI and NCIS. And we wouldn't have it any other way.