Scooby-Doo the Great Dane was the star of a very popular animated series created by Hanna-Barbera Productions that was produced from 1969-1986, then from 1988-1991, and then again from 2002 to present day.  These shows feature Scooby-Doo, the talking Great Dane, and the members of Mystery Inc.; Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne, who were the original cast, while other cast members were introduced over the course of the shows.  They drove around the world in their van called the Mystery Machine, while solving mysteries usually involving ghosts, ghouls, and many other supernatural phenomenon.  However, at the end of the show, the scary ghost or monster that was terrifying the locals had a rational and completely logical explanation.  

As the shows progressed, Mystery Inc. met other characters, such as Scooby-Dum, Scooby's cousin, and also Scooby's nephew Scrappy-Doo.  There have also been many adaptations of Scooby to other formats, such as tele-films and direct-to-video features.  These actually did have supernatural beings in them rather than just a normal villain masquerading as a monster, such as witches and ghosts.  A live action version of Scooby-Doo was released in theaters in 2002 starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and Linda Cardellini as Velma as well as Rowan Atkinson, the owner of Spooky Island, a scary amusement park.  A subsequent sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, with the original cast, was released in 2004.  This movie was based on the monsters that were first seen in the animated television show that begin in the 1960's. 

Trivia : The show's main idea was actually derived from a 1940's radio program called "I Love a Mystery," as well as a television sitcom that aired from 1959 to 1963 entititled "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis."  It also came from Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" books series that involved four kids and their dog solving mysteries.

The name "Scooby-doo" came from a line in a Frank Sinatra song called "Strangers in the Night."

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