What a Night for a Knight

On-screen title card.

"What a Night for a Knight" is the first episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! season one. It aired on September 13, 1969 on ABC at 10:30am EST. It was written by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, the creators of the show, and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joe Barbera, the co-founders of Hanna-Barbera Productions.

The gang have to return a misplaced suit of knight's armour back to the museum, where they are informed that it is haunted, which leads into an investigation of art forgery.

Detailed summary

A man is driving a pick-up down a road during the night, unaware that the suit of dark armour in the back has come to life and left his containment. Its eyes glow yellow from inside its helmet as it watches the driver.

Close by, Scooby and Shaggy are walking home, with the latter complaining that they're out so late because the former had to see Star: Dog Ranger of the North Woods, twice; Scooby is still excited from it. Just then, they hear rustling from the bushes. Scooby pokes his head in and when he takes it out, a frog is on his nose. When it jumps off, Scooby gets annoyed, barking and giving chase. Shaggy quickly follows behind. Scooby eventually comes to a stop when he loses it. Shaggy doesn't have time to stop and trips over him. They notice the same pick-up truck from before, now abandoned. When they go for a closer look, they see the lifeless suit of dark armour in the driver seat. The two are quickly scared off once its head falls off.

They return with the rest of their group to properly examine it. Fred comments on why a knight's suit of armour would be out alone in the middle of the night in the driver seat of a truck. Shaggy jokes that maybe he's out for the night. Velma chides him for his joke, as Daphne wonders who it belongs to. Fred reads: "Deliver to Jameson Hyde White: Prof. of Archaeology, London, England." Shaggy makes another joke about having heard of hide and seek, but not "Hyde White". Velma says that is an English name. Daphne also finds a delivery slip reading: "Deliver to the County Museum."

The next day, the gang travels to the museum, where they deliver the knight to the museum curator, Mr. Wickles. He thanks them, but fears that perhaps it wasn't a good idea with Professor Hyde White disappearing. He goes on to explain about the legend of the Black Knight and how it comes to life when the moon is full. Velma asks him what Professor Hyde White was doing with it (despite having already found out beforehand), and replies that the professor was delivering it to the museum all the way from England. As this is going on, they don't notice the knight's glowing eyes. Two workers begin to move the crate, one of them asking Mr. Wickles where to put it. He tells them to put it in the medieval room. As Scooby follows the workers, he finds a strange pair of glasses. He picks them up, as Daphne calls him, while Fred says they're leaving.

While driving down town, Velma says that the mystery has her baffled, and has got Shaggy hungry, asking when they can eat? Scooby pops his head up, in agreement, while still wearing the glasses he found. The others notice, and realize he must have found them at the museum. Shaggy wonders what they're for, with Fred suggesting they go to the library to find out.

At the library they read a book which says that the glasses are for jewelers, scientists, and archaeologists like Professor Hyde White. It also says they're made in England. These two clues indicate that something is definitely up, and the gang plan on returning to the museum to investigate.

The gang return to the museum at night and break in through an upper window. They split up and look for clues, not knowing that spooky eyes in an Indian effigy are watching them. Scooby, Shaggy and Velma bump into the Black Knight and have a brief altercation. Scooby runs into the fossil exhibit and begins gnawing on the bone, but is chased by the Knight. He meets up with Shaggy and the two find one of the paintings is missing. He informs the gang, but when they return, the painting is back on the wall. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby follow a trail of paint to a hidden room behind a sarcophagus and find the room full of finished and unfinished paintings. The Knight appears and chases the gang into the relic room, where Fred and the girls hide inside a Second World War armored tank while Scooby and Shaggy hide in a First World War biplane. Scooby accidentally flips the power, and the plane roars to life, flying erratically around the room (even losing both wings in the process) until it finally crashes, taking the Knight down with it. The Knight is unmasked as... Mr. Wickles, the curator! He was part of a smuggling ring; he would steal and sell the real paintings, and then create fake paintings and put them back on the wall (that explained the hidden room, the missing painting and the paint drops on the floor). Mr. Wickles knew that Professor Hyde White would know that the paintings were faked, so he kidnapped him and thought up this Black Knight ruse. Professor Hyde White is later found tied up in the Indian effigy.

Once freed, he discusses the events with the gang about there being no legend and that Wickles just used it to cover up his mysterious disappearance, explaining he somehow got in the armor and made him disappear on the way to the museum. Suddenly they see the Black Knight in the museum office. He lifts up the helmet and is revealed to be Scooby-Doo; the whole gang laughs.

Characters

In order of appearance:

• Professor Jameson Hyde White (Don Messick)
• Black Knight
• Shaggy Rogers (Casey Kasem)
• Scooby-Doo (Don Messick)
• Frog
• Daphne Blake (Stefanianna Christopherson)
• Fred Jones (Frank Welker)
• Velma Dinkley (Nicole Jaffe)
• Mr. Wickles
• Delivery man 1 (John Stephenson)
• Delivery man 2
• Sheriff (Don Messick)

Locations

• Wooded area
• County museum
  • Back entrance
  • Dinosaur exhibit
  • Secret room
  • Transportation exhibit aka relic room
  • Office room
• Public library

Objects

• Invoice
• Jameson Hyde White's magnifying glasses
• Scooby Snacks
• Black Knight suit of armour
• Indian effigy
• Scooby's beret
• Palette
• Gag
• Bear rug
• Professor Hyde White's missing shoe
• Shaggy Rogers's cough syrup
• Velma's eyeglasses

Vehicles

• Jameson Hyde White's pick-up truck
• The Mystery Machine

Development

In storyboards and his model sheet, Jameson Hyde White is instead referred to as "James Hyde White". The storyboard also describes him as being from England, but gives him a cowboy fetish.

• Wickles is spelt "Wikles" in storyboards and on his model sheet.

Behind the scenes

• The opening and closing titles for this episode and "A Clue for Scooby Doo", boasted different theme music composed by Ted Nichols, with a spooky feisty tune which is an extension of the sub-main title theme, complete with intro, bridge and close. From the third episode (Hassle in the Castle) on, the theme song was changed to a composition by Ben Raleigh following lyrics written by David Mook. The original theme was unheard for many years until the show's resurrection on USA's Cartoon Express in 1990 and was heard during its run on Cartoon Network, until Turner decided to remaster all the episodes in 1998.
  • A rescored, slightly-extended rendition of the opening title was reused as stock background music for the season two episodes. Mystery Mask Mix-Up" and "Jeepers, It's the Creeper".
• The gang's names are revealed in the following order: Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Velma. Fred is not named in this episode. Storyboards referred to him as "Ronnie", one of his working names.
• Daphne's the first character to say the famous quote, "Scooby-Doo, where are you?"
• The scene with Scooby shivering and using his paws to close his mouth is essentially reused in "A Night of Fright is No Delight", except it takes place in the bedroom with Fred and Shaggy.

Everlasting influence

Gold Key Comics' Scooby Doo... Where Are You! #1 features an adaptation of this episode with the same name, as does the N64 video game, Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers, with some alterations to fit the new story.

This episode has been regarded as Mystery Inc.'s first case, as depicted in the film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, a live-action adaptation (elements are taken from the episode such as Mr. Wickles and the Black Knight, now named Jeremiah "Old Man" Wickles and the Black Knight Ghost, respectively), as well as in DC Comics' Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #48, in a story called "Tiki Taboo Trouble", having been reported in a newspaper kept as a memento by Shaggy.

Other DC comics reveal that Scooby's favourite film, Star: Dog Ranger of the North Words, also got a handful of sequels in Scooby-Doo #33, in a story entitled "Return of the Star Dog", and "The Black Knight Returns" in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #103. The latter of which revolves around a reboot.

In the live-action film Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, an origin story of how Mystery Inc. met concludes with the revelation that there's been some "strange goings-on" at a museum.