1969: How Scooby-Doo Got His Name

Scooby-Doo is just as popular today as he was when his show, Scooby-Doo, Where are You! first premiered Saturday morning TV on this day in 1969. Originally, Hanna-Barbera put together a whole different show. CBS was looking for companion piece to match the look and feel of its Archie Show. The first concept was for The Mysteries Five which featured a rock band of five teens and their dog, with the name of Too Much. Of course, they would get side-tracked with a variety of mysteries that needed to be solved. The show went through many changes including taking away one cast member, re-naming all of the characters and taking out the rock band element. (Hanna-Barbera basically recycled that formula the following year for their Josie and the Pussycats cartoon. The new characters were strongly based on the TV show, Dobie Gillis. After hearing Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night,” (where he sings “doo-be-doo-be-doo”) they decided that “Scooby-Doo” was a better name than Too Much and that is how Scooby got his name.

1963:  ‘The Outer Limits’ Takes Control of Our TVs

Often compared to The Twilight Zone (but with a focus strictly on science fiction) The Outer Limits premiered on this day in 1963 on ABC. Originally titled Please Stand By but rejected by the network, The Outer Limits was created by Leslie Stevens. Each episode opened with voice actor Vic Perrin stating that “there is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission…” Season one of the series often mixed science fiction and horror together featuring some type of monster and the show received fairly good ratings. However, the second season didn’t fare as well having been moved from Monday to Saturday and having to go up against The Jackie Gleason Show. The stories were largely changed to focus more on more hard science fiction. The show was cancelled halfway through the second season. Ironically, the series did better when it was revived in 1995 for Showtime where it ran for five seasons before moving to the Syfy Channel for two more.

Birthdays

Return to September Page >>>