Scooby-Doo
The first episode of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" "What a Night for a Knight" debuted on the CBS network Saturday, September 13, 1969. The original voice cast featured veteran voice actor Don Messick as Scooby-Doo, radio DJ Casey Kasem (later host of radio's syndicated "American Top 40") as Shaggy, actor Frank Welker (later a veteran voice actor in his own right) as Fred, actress Nicole Jaffe as Velma, and musician Indira Stefanianna Christopherson as Daphne. Scooby's speech patterns closely resembled an earlier cartoon dog, Astro from "The Jetsons" (1962–63), also voiced by Messick. Seventeen episodes of "Scooby-Doo Where are You!" were produced in 1969–70. The series theme song was written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh, and performed by Larry Marks.
Scooby-Doo
These first four direct-to-video films differed from the original series format by placing the characters in plots with a darker tone and pitting them against actual supernatural forces. "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island", featured the original 1969 gang, reunited after years of being apart, fighting voodoo-worshiping cat creatures in the Louisiana bayou. "Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost" featured an author (voice of Tim Curry) returning to his hometown with the gang, to find out that an event is being haunted by the author's dead ancestor Sarah, who was an actual witch. "The Witch's Ghost" introduced a goth rock band known as The Hex Girls, who became recurring characters in the "Scooby-Doo" franchise.