Some people might not be aware that every iteration of Scooby-Doo and the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang all take place in the same canonical universe. There is no reboots (besides maybe one, but we’ll get to that), and that means that these meddling kids have probably solved over a million mysteries in their teenage and young adult life. That’s actually incredible.
In this post today, I will list out every single version of Scooby-Doo in canonical order. This is not the order of the shows when they were released. In some later versions, the gang is actually younger than they were in the previous. One important thing to note, though:
I will NOT be listing the direct to DVD movies, the television movies, or the crossover episodes with other shows.
Those definitely fall into the canonical realm that is being created, but there are just so many of them, and my rule is if the animation style looks like one of the television shows, it happened somewhere in that general time.
If you have any questions after I go through all of the iterations, feel free to comment or message me with the questions you have, and I will do by best to explain.
“A Pup Named Scooby Doo”
(1988-1991)
Following the success and popularity of “Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies” in 1984, “A Pup Named Scooby Doo” follows the gang as children. Solving mysteries and unmasking criminals is something these five seemed to be born to do.
This is one that I remember watching a lot when it was on the TV growing up. There are countless fourth-wall breaks in the episodes, and there’s even a character whose actual name is Red Herring, whom Fred believes is the perpetrator of every crime until the clues say otherwise.
“Scooby-Doo, Where are You!”
(1969-1970) (1978)
The first series. For a total of two seasons in 1969-1970, and a revitalized one in 1978, this show is what put Scooby-Doo in the public eye. Full of iconic episodes, a laugh track, and memorable villains/monsters, this show is still very fun to watch today.
“The Scooby-Doo Show”
(1976-1978)
I honestly didn’t remember this show existed. According to Wikipedia, the title is actually “an umbrella term for episodes of the third incarnation of Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo franchise.” It contained episodes from the “Scooby-Doo/Dinomutt Hour,” ” Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics,” and “Scooby’s All-Stars.” It might have been something I watched on Boomerang once or twice, but this era of Scooby-Doo is honestly a mess with different versions.
“Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo” versions 1 & 2
(1979-1980) (1980-1982)
“The New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show”
(1983-1984)
Technically, these are all three different shows, but because they all feature Scrappy-Doo, and they were all made one after the other, I’m combining them all here.
The Scooby-Doo brand was getting stale before these shows were made, and ABC was threatening its cancellation. They decided to give Scooby and the gang a small “sidekick” to liven things up. These also started to focus more on the Shaggy/Scooby dynamic, and put Fred, Velma, and Daphnie more in the background.
“The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo”
(1985)
I don’t think I ever watched or even heard of this one before researching for this post. Apparently the premise is that Scooby and Shaggy are tricked into opening a chest that contains powerful demons, and each episode is them trying to fix it? It only has 13 episodes so it’s the shortest series that’s been made of the character. It also is the last time Scrappy-Doo makes a regular character appearance.
“Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!”
(2006-2008)
I’ve never seen this one before either. According to Wikipedia, “The premise of the show revolves around the fact that Shaggy Rogers’ incredibly rich Uncle Albert Shaggleford disappears and names Shaggy as his sole heir for an inheritance. With the help of the inheritance, Shaggy has upgraded the Mystery Machine, giving it the ability to transform itself into a number of other different vehicles, like the ‘Hotdog Making Machine’.”
I think I just never realized that this was a Scooby-Doo show, even with the title. The art-style is so divergent from any previous iteration, that I think it just made me not want to watch anything.
“Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated”
(2010-2013)
This is honestly one of my favorite iterations of the characters. It’s funny, has an incredible plot, and a huge mystery that spans all three seasons. There’s still episodic villains in this, but they all link up into one larger mystery that continues throughout the series. It also had real monsters at times, and a curse that the gang was stuck in. I could actually go on forever about this show, but I need to continue through this timeline.
Spoiler: At the end of the series, there is a ‘reboot’ of the universe, making all the real monsters go away, and making the gang’s history only solving mysteries about people in masks, making it a great tie-in to all the other series made previously.
“Be Cool, Scooby Doo!”
(2015-2018)
I didn’t watch this one after “Mystery Incorporated” because I was also disliking the animation style of this one. The premise, however, is that the gang has one summer left after graduating high school, so they’re trying to chase adventure. I actually saw some clips of it before and thought it was written well, but I just hate the animation style.
“What’s New Scooby-Doo?”
(2002-2006)
I’m putting this here on the timeline because in this, the gang is a bit older, and Fred isn’t wearing his classic ascot. It follows the original theme of “Scooby-Doo, Where are You!” I watched this a lot growing up, along with a lot of the film that were released in this time. The theme song is incredible too. It’s sung by Simple Plan, and they actually cameo in an episode too.
“Scooby-Doo” 1 & 2, Theatrical release
(2002 & 2004)
Some people aren’t a fan of these live-action films. I personally like them. They’re cheesy and fun, and the actor who plays Shaggy is perfect. In the animated shows/movies that came afterwards, he actually voiced Shaggy in most of them.
There is actually a lot of character development in these movies too.
As of right now, these movies would be the end of the timeline, because they’re all young adults and have seemed to wrap everything up while still being ready for more adventures.
And that’s just what Scooby-Doo is all about, right? Always ready to solve another mystery.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for more Scooby-Doo content, or if you’re reading from the future, feel free to look at it now!
Kristopher K. Online 