“Scooby Doo, Where are You?” was one of my favorite shows as a kid. Chasing bad guys in costumes was the gang’s jam, and it entertained me episode after episode. It wasn’t hard to figure out that this cartoon — like a lot of others — has an obvious formula. This made every episode the same in some regards, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t groovy. Here is the outline for pretty much every Scooby Doo episode ever.

1. The gang is on their way to or at an event when they get scooped up in a mystery.

They’re just a regular group of teens dancing on the beach or hanging out at the malt shop when they hear about a monster terrorizing the locals.

2. Fred takes the lead.

“Gang, it looks like we’ve got another mystery on our hands!”

3. Shaggy cracks the best jokes.

You can leave it up to Shaggy to bring the humor to the episode.

4. Fred, Daphne, and Velma go one way, and Shaggy and Scooby go another.

There never seemed to be any reason for this, but this is always how the gang was divided.

5. Somewhere along the way, one of the gang will say “jinkies,” “jeepers,” “groovy,” and/or “zoinks.”

Whether they stumbled across an important clue or were making a general remark, at least one of these words was bound to make it into an episode.

6. Velma ALWAYS finds the important clues.

Being the intellectual brain of the group, this makes sense.

7. Instead of looking for clues, Shaggy and Scooby will either eat food or play with something they found.

The two scaredy-cats of the group easily get sidetracked by sandwiches, hot dogs, or fur coats.

8. Fred, Daphne, and Velma find the clues and Shaggy and Scooby find the monster.

If Shaggy and Scooby found a clue, it just wouldn’t be the same.

9. Daphne will get separated from the group.

Daphne getting kidnapped by the monster is a well-known running gag on the show.

10. Velma will lose her glasses.

“My glasses! I can’t see without my glasses!”

11. Shaggy and Scooby will be chased by the monster.

They might even put on a costume to trick the monster into thinking they’re someone else.

12. Fred or Velma will come up with a trap that involves Shaggy and/or Scooby luring the monster into it.

It doesn’t make any sense that the chickens of the group are the bait, but it’s how it always goes down.

13. The gang will have to entice Scooby into doing it with some Scooby Snacks.

Scooby, like us, is always up for snack encouragement.

14. Despite the perfectly-laid plans, the trap always gets messed up.

It just wouldn’t be a good trap if Shaggy or Scooby somehow didn’t get into it.

15. When the bad guy gets caught, he/she will say something about "you meddling kids."

“I could’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling kids and your dumb dog!”