Ruh-Roh, “Velma” is jam-packed with meta-humor and messy plotlines

Internet Photo

“Velma,” a new series on HBO Max, created by Charlie Grady and executively produced by Mindy Kaling, was released on Jan. 12, and already it has garnered strong opinions from watchers. 

“Velma” has a whopping 1.3/10 on IMDb and 42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which is not exactly the streaming success the creators had hoped for.

In an interview, Kaling promised fans of the beloved franchise that, “We love ‘Scooby-Doo’ so much and we’re going to honor it.” However, both fans of the original series and newcomers are in agreement that nothing was honored in this remake.

One of the issues people have with “Velma” is how much it strays from the original franchise. Some reviewers expressed their discontent at the lack of Scooby-Doo even being in the show, and others criticized the personality changes made to the main characters.

Many viewers are left upset at the characters portrayed on the screen. Marmar13 on IMDB wrote, “Daphne is vapid and mean, Fred is a rich douchebag, and Shaggy is a bore. Velma herself comes across as Mindy Kaling’s self-insert Scooby Doo fanfic character.”

Other reviews follow in this same vein, and many wish the show’s creators had just come up with an original concept, rather than revamping a classic. 

Another issue is the concept of “Velma” as a whole.

Many reviews comment on the edginess and the adult content this show displays, which sets it apart from the rest of the youth-geared Scooby-Doo franchise. They also criticize the way the plot changes on a whim without much development or thought.

Finally, and what makes up most of the negative comments, is the fact that the show is labeled as a comedy, yet is completely void of humor. Many reviewers agreed that this show either needed to remove its comedy tag or rediscover what people actually find funny.

Positivity for the show is scarce, but not non-existent. Kholsa, a critic on Rotten Tomatoes, wrote, “‘Velma’ is doing a lot — possibly too much — but there are emotional beats and comedic gags that do land amid a saturated creative canvas, including arcs for the future Mysteries, Inc gang that combine existing backstory with eclectic Velma flourishes.”

While a majority of watchers find this show intolerable and abominable, it has managed to reach some people.

Personally, I was excited to check out “Velma” when I first saw the trailer for it, especially when I saw that Mindy Kaling was an executive producer. “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” another one of her shows, has easily become one of my new favorites, so I was eager to see what her take on “Scooby-Doo” would be.

First, when it comes to the characters being changed, it wasn’t much of an issue for me. While I had a general idea of the characters, I didn’t grow up watching “Scooby-Doo,” so I didn’t have a set-in-stone idea of them. I enjoyed the casting choices and felt there was a potential to add a new twist to these characters.

However, within the first episode, the writing managed to suck out all that potential and instead spit out characters that were dull and tropey.

The overall concept of the show had me intrigued at first. I love a good mystery, and I love adult animation. The mystery itself was honestly intriguing enough to keep me watching; however, my interest quickly waned as more plotlines got thrown in and randomly resolved.

In regards to the adult content, I didn’t have too much of an issue with it. I did have an issue with the level of adult content present which then was directly followed up by childlike humor and dialogue.

As many reviews point out, this show doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. It tries to modernize by adding these edgy elements; however, it also tries to maintain a level of childlike nostalgia, making the result something that just doesn’t mesh.

The humor falls flat in this series. Much of the pilot is spent making jokes about the tropey nature of television shows, and it’s directly followed by giving into those tropes, playing it off as a unique comedy style.

In reality, it just comes off as cringy and out-of-touch. As the show went on, this meta humor was toned down; however, each time it was brought back I caught myself visibly cringing, which you never want in a television show.