What really killed off the Scooby and Shaggy franchise? SCRAPPY!!!
By the time the series switched networks and went from CBS to ABC in the late 1970's and really into the 1980's,the show suffered a severe puncture wound from which it will never recover from thus ending the beloved franchise of Scooby Doo and the gang. I have read all the comments about this and they're 100% right! Scrappy Doo was the most annoyingest character imaginable and if you really watch the episodes you'll see why this is very so. Also,the producers killed off the rest of the gang and basically leaving Scooby,Scrappy and Shaggy in there own show which was a total bore,but in my opinion it was total bull**** from the get go and from there the end of the Scooby era. This was in the 1980's,when Hanna-Barbera cranked out a sea of dull ass cartoons and sorry characters thus using the same format in each of the episodes and a prime example of this was during the 1980's which featured shows like "The Flintstones Mysteries","The Smurfs","The Incredible Shmoo" and not to even mention "The New Adventures Of Peebles and Bamm-Bamm" "A Pup Named Scrappy Doo","The Thirteen Ghosts Of Scooby Doo","Godzilla" to name a few.
There was one episode in particular where they put Vincent Price in as one of the lead characters,and by the end of the decade,Hanna-Barbera decided it was time to kill off the show since it became dull and boring.