I was wrong about Velma...

Velma on HBO Max is bad, but not for the reasons other people are saying.
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Home of the popular Comic Misconceptions series, NerdSync makes video essays and in-depth analyses about nerdy pop culture. From comic books and superheroes to Scooby-Doo and other classic cartoons, host Scott Niswander explores fascinating topics that range from history, philosophy, culture, and art. NerdSync makes fascinating, complex ideas a little more accessible through the heroes and villains from Marvel, DC Comics, and beyond! Subscribe for new videos every other Friday, you wonderful nerd!
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[@NerdSyncProductions]

Please watch our Whisper of the Heart video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hminoZKndr-BZrc If you want to see my reaction to the full Velma episode, go here: nebula.tv/videos/nerdsync-velma-full-reaction

[@spidermonkeybm]

the whisper of the heart video was absolutely incredible!!! excited for your take on Velma, thanks for watching it so I don't have too

[@Robin_Is]

Ok.

[@raendolffraendolffson7042]

I absolutely will! As soon as I watched the movie itself^^

[@epicepicenter715]

What is wrong with you

[@raendolffraendolffson7042]

@@epicepicenter715 let me think... I guess not having multiple hours of time, the moment the video was released is what is wrong with me XD. But srsly, The premise of Scott´s video seemed very interesting to me so I wanted to watch the movie unspoiled and then go back to the video. Is that wrong?

[@PastelOddity]

Personally, my theory is that this was an original project, but HBO wouldn’t green light it without a recognizable IP. These characters are too far detached for this to have been conceived as a Scooby-Doo adaptation.

[@SashaMinkh]

Disclaimer: I've not watched Velma, only watched the first episode of Wednesday. I have the exact same theory about Wednesday: show got written to like 75/80% of the way there, then the distributing company demanded an IP get attached and no work was done at all to inform the premise of the show by the IP or the characters carried over. The weird thing is it seems like it worked for Wednesday? I hated it, but everyone and their mother seems to think that show is the bees knees.

[@GoddessM2]

Which means it's not Mindy's fault for working her original idea into Scooby-Doo, but rather HBO for pressuring her to do so.

[@leaffinite2001]

@SashaMinkh i think its cuz most ppl under 40 havent really consumed or attached themselves to anything addams family related. So its extremely popular with yadults and teens

[@Gurianthe]

i don't think it's a theory, that's just what happened

[@iamepic6726]

@@SashaMinkh Wednesday was an alright show to me but it does have its problems. Like wednesday being into those guys out of no where. Might just be me though.

[@Valor6]

Imagine an alternate universe. The shower scene opens the pilot as the camera pans over a steamy room. Rather than seeing all the naked teens for.. some reason, you just hear Velma (not Daphne) reciting the same lines about how pilots like to oversexualize their openings in order to hook viewers but then tone it down as the show goes on. We see the silhouette of what looks to be a conventionally attractive woman leaning against lockers as the steam covers her and the camera slowly zooms in and as everything clears... The silhouette is revealed to be great dane stealing a sandwich out of a locker and behind him, Velma in full mad scientist gear fiddling around with dry ice in a cartoony chemistry kit and with a dry voice she just says 'This is not one of those shows.'

[@theturtlemoves9171]

can u direct the show

[@PixieoftheWood]

OMG, I want to watch this show so bad! I wish you were the writer/directer.

[@leilatimeful]

Brilliant! That sounds like a show I would watch!

[@justsomeotherguy5679]

I think we found someone more qualified than Mindy to head the project!

[@brandonchandlerMGnO]

Still a little cringy (not like that's the worst it could be), but yes, a much need improvement that's better for setting up how the show should be.

[@HistoryBluff137]

I want the Bob's Burgers creators to make a Scooby-Doo show. They've proven they know how to make a show with adult humor that's also wholesome with characters who support each other.

[@tyrant-den884]

that would be awesome. their brand of deadpan yet surreal humor fits the classic show perfectly.

[@mainstreetsaint36]

A Scooby series helmed by Bob's Burgers creative team? Yes, please.

[@tdgaming6694]

A way this could be bad if it was the family guy team (the modern seasons) in the new seasons everyone HATES each other.

[@Sanjidub]

you might like "Be cool scooby doo"

[@luizotavio2116]

Yes! We need more wholesome adult animation!

[@davidcantrell2568]

Velma is a show that is aiming at an audience that doesn’t actually exist, yet they are certain will love it. Written by people that honestly don’t seem to like the characters. The animator have my sympathy because they are the ones that are truly care and put in the real work.

[@normanclatcher]

I agree with "doesn't actually exist, yet" _Some_ group of Gen Alpha or beyond is gonna look back at this with an ironic grin _specifically_ because it made everyone so uncomfortable.

[@BuildinWings]

@@normanclatcher Gen Alpha isn't old enough to describe as having any specific character yet. Zoomers aren't even fully into adulthood yet.

[@wesleywyndam-pryce5305]

@@normanclatcher i doubt it.

[@whatadollslife]

who wrote this show ...Meghan Markle ......the woman who tried to ruin Kill Bill

[@markmagician2471]

The Velma show is for Twitter users really

[@BackSet]

This is the first "I was wrong" video where the reviewer actually had decent expectations beforehand.

[@IrritableArsonist]

Not the first I've seen (unfortunately) but I totally get what you mean (it's rare to say the least) 🥲 I also had some hope for Velma before it came out so I don't blame him lmao

[@bearlyhardley]

Every other KZbinr who says “I was wrong” about this show brings up their problems with the race swapping within the first 3 minutes. As someone who couldn’t care less about that dumb shit I was just disappointed we didn’t get an interesting or mature spin on Scooby-Doo

[@XaadeTheBlade]

@@bearlyhardley People make this too complicated. There is no issue with race swapping unless people start patting themselves on the back and praising each other over it. Silent race swapping like Nick Fury typically are just casting choices. But the self-praise is usually a big red flag.

[@bearlyhardley]

@@XaadeTheBlade oh yeah, I agree, I just found it funny that every other review I tried to watch had the phrase “if it’s not a big deal if she’s white, then why change her race at all???” As if their agenda isn’t more obvious than anyone working on the show lol

[@andrewwertz3335]

@@XaadeTheBlade are they really making a big deal about it though? This is essentially a casting choice to get Mindy Kalinin as Velma (casting that could definitely work IMO)

[@kamirubidan2080]

Velma's character is what you get when you love Daria but you don't understand why Daria works.

[@marocat4749]

That daria is more or less an unreliable narrator edgy teenager, but it takes her serious. With all th humor and hijinks, she is taken serious. Which why its works, its an earnest flawed fun character. I think.

[@DickDarkie]

And I feel by the end they didn't understand Daria or stretched the show too long ...the later seasons really dropped off

[@kamirubidan2080]

​@@DickDarkie But the show itself does understand Daria by the end she just evolves as a character and is tested and pushed by her interactions with other characters. The tone is certainly differeint in season 4 and 5 and I understand why some don't like those episodes but the character herself had a pretty natural evolution. But like I said I understand why people don't like those seasons as much. Season 4 has a long string of dramatic episodes, and your enjoyment of late season 4 and season 5 really depend on how you feel about Tom.

[@leilatimeful]

Yep, this is exactly it.

[@jordan_roadhouse4798]

Kamiru, i think it was diarrhea it tried mimicking.

[@video-luver769]

I just... I just wanna know why body-shaming is still acceptable when it's making fun of a male character. It's a pretty awful double standard.

[@merrivideo]

Yeah, I hated that. Velma is the worst.

[@anonymous_psycho]

You're absolutely right body shaming hurts everyone

[@grammeatticus2172]

Especially a prepubescent minor child! When did this become acceptable???

[@goku546686]

Welcome to the toxic woman brain. ( some women like some men decent humans)

[@connorsullivan1855]

@@grammeatticus2172 Right? And isn't the joke he hasn't gone through puderdy yet? Which is either him developing late or he has a medical condition. Either way that's like middle school bully level insults and feels trashy even for "edgy" adult animation.

[@everyoneknowsimlogan4770]

Poor Scott, the one man who went in having hopes…

[@william3253]

We all did n Mindy kaling gave us the finger

[@itsblitz4437]

@@william3253 Mindy Kaling is not bad actress

[@itsblitz4437]

Well we all have to be optimistic somewhere.

[@stapuft]

its his own fault, its 2023, he shouldn't have any hope left to waste on this pile of shit.

[@stapuft]

@@itsblitz4437 LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL YES, YES SHE IS.

[@sneakyskunk1]

If they really want to shock or surprise the audience they will make Velma the killer. She already behaves as if she believes everyone is brainless. Actually removing the brains of her classmates is the next logical step for this version of that character. Those hallucinations could be a signifier of a complete psychotic break.

[@gypsylee333]

I feel like that's what I expect from it

[@AnarchoTak]

yeah but then it'll be a bad show with the addition of a stereotype that psychosis= killer. and I would hate the show more but it would make sense since she's a bad person lol. but it would also make the stupid meta monologue about how women origin story are about going crazy even tho she did the exact same thing IDK lol

[@ObrasHabel]

@@AnarchoTak they already made fun of Mental Health, I wouldn't put it past this show

[@torielric]

I said something similar on a different video. Great minds think alike!

[@sneakyskunk1]

@@torielric Secretly I think we were all thinking the same thing. I wouldn't complain if Dinkley here went all Spear and Fang on the residents of Crystal Cove.

[@themilkman5004]

Velma and Harley Quinn are basically two different types of satire. Satire that’s in on the joke and satire that isn’t on the joke. The Harley Quinn writers obviously love the DC universe and pull some very deep cuts for characters and concepts while doing its own the thing with those characters. Velma from the two episodes I’ve watched thinks they are on a joke and understand it, but they do not. It comes off as “Look how stupid this thing is after I take away its most defining traits”. The most painful thing about this for me is I really like the art style of Velma.

[@Kickstop_]

After hearing all these bad reviews by word of mouth, I gave it a fair chance and watched the entire first episode. I mean, from the start I felt so awkward watching that locker scene and from there it was just downhill. The humor was awkward, and not in a good way, I can't believe how toxic Velma is as well. I actually couldn't even finish the second episode. And like you, I LOVE the art style, it's very well done and that's what hurts about it. It's just painful :(

[@kaineshigaraki5253]

Yes. The art style is actually, really fucking good. Oh whale [>

[@JoshuaJacobs83]

I think you're wrong about the writers loving the DC universe. But that's just my opinion having barely stomached three seasons of Quinn and wondering how much more they could violate DC

[@richardofredemption]

@@JoshuaJacobs83 lol season 3 was a wtf moment for me with Bruce and Selena but then I read Tom Kings run and how he violated DC himself

[@JoshuaJacobs83]

@@richardofredemption I'll be honest, haven't read King's run so I'll grant you it could be worse

[@ellielynch8543]

I don't really follow Scooby Doo, but I feel like to make an adult geared Scooby Do , you just have to keep everything the same but you let Fred say "Fuck " ya know

[@addex1236]

Yah you can make a fun adult show were the cast aren't bastards which from what I can tell is something this show doesn't get

[@ryans413]

He’s how you do an adult Scooby Doo just hire back the actors from the 2002 2004 movie and do and older version of the gang. Do you know how much you could doo with that.

[@CyberBlastoise]

He does not! :p

[@fieratheproud]

I kinda like the murder mystery angle, I think it could work *without* absolutely massacring the cast's characterization. But yeah definitely let Fred swear.

[@tylerjohnson2470]

Or, remake Zombie Island with gore

[@jakehero95]

I remember seeing an interview where Mindy admits that she doesn't understand teenagers even though she writes shows for them. Apparently that extends to Scooby Doo.

[@theturtlemoves9171]

no offense but i don't think she understands humans in general

[@gander4872]

She didn't write it though

[@jakehero95]

@@gander4872 she produced it, all final decisions go thru her she's the one that decides what the show will be at the end of the day. She helped write it, voice acted in it, and greenlit every decision that gave us the end product we got. Not like she can say she didn't know or that she had no say in how the show was written/made.

[@fatemakhan3843]

Mindy is the definition of privilege. She grew up upper class, went to an ivy league college & never had to struggle to get where where she is. She made Velma herself insert but this version of Fred is actually her.

[@Neyebureturns]

Yes, I agree with you. She even showed her privilege when she said in an interview that she stole a kiss of a cast member and that if someone protest they will be fired.

[@neu_dae]

it shows.

[@Cool_Kid95]

👀 Interesting

[@mysticmongrel1289]

@Rubén Castañeda Sosa As a victim of abusive women I hope someone hospitalizes her for shit like that

[@RoninRose541]

Also I stopped watching the office because she so fucking annoying. If I had that voice next to me at night I’d strangle her with a pillow

[@JellyFilledEmpanada]

Props for owning up to being too optimistic! Not everyone would

[@comixproviderftw_02]

That was me with She Hulk

[@vasil417]

@@comixproviderftw_02 oh you poor soul

[@comixproviderftw_02]

@@vasil417 Yeah… I really wanted to like She Hulk. There was definitely potential. It could’ve been like Deadpool but way crazier. Any nice I would say about it is too overshadowed by its flaws and I’m like “you guys are but… I dunno, I didn’t hate it THAT much”. At least we got to see Daredevil again and clap some cheeks like the Chad he is.

[@veggiewillymass]

@@comixproviderftw_02 As someone who likes She-Hulk both in the show and the comics I'm curious what you mean by it could've been like Deadpool but way crazier? Like in what way?

[@comixproviderftw_02]

@@veggiewillymass You know in the finale where she breaks out of her show and into the Disney+ menu and towards the Assembled Documentary series and confronts KEVIN? I wanted to see more of that. But it was only for the finale.

[@stephen6279]

The Metoo joke hits different when you find out Mindy appeared on Conan, and told him that while on set for The Mindy Project, she kissed a male co star non consensually and off script, then, when told by her writers/producers 'Why did you do that? You could get sued by the actor', she told them, 'Tell anyone and you're fired'.

[@nigelnyoni8265]

😮

[@lancebaylis3169]

@stephen6279 The fact she thinks that anecdote landed as 'cute' and not 'horrifying' is all the proof one needs that Mindy is a terrible human being.

[@AtoZAnimationsandStories]

"The one sandwich that Shaggy and Scooby would skip" has got to be the sickest diss I've ever heard.

[@matthewmartin1852]

and has added wight given his video of making scooby doo sandwitches and trying them

[@roshawngreene7069]

Indeed it is, lol!!!

[@LegoAssassin098]

During production, Mindy Kaling said that she doesn't care if the fans like or hate it. At that point, I knew it would be bad.

[@beanlegion8529]

Then it’s just a vanity project. She didn’t make it for others, just for her narcissistic self… I’m pretty sure her character on the office wasn’t a character…

[@ooffordays566]

If you're gonna create a story out of an older IP that comes pre-packaged with a decently sized fanbase like Scooby Doo, why would you go out of your way to disregard that target audience in favor of... just winging it? It's a bad look.

[@blacktruth6769]

Do you have a source on this? Looks like a interest interview/post.

[@HaintblueRee]

Then why create it? I mean true enough you have to have some level of not caring but come on Mindy

[@spookcityghouls]

This is basically how She Hulk went down, so it's no surprise that this show sucked as well.

[@Carcerian]

"Velma's humor isn't for me" Dont worry, apparently it also isn't for 94% it's audience, according to rotten tomatoes (Velma has a whopping 6% audience approval rating!)

[@seunglee6990]

@@jamiewalkerdine3705 I think that’s called hate watching

[@Tommedian]

I’m honestly surprised that there are enough people who like it to get 6%

[@ItsIntelligentDesign]

Hey Scott, argument against the “Velma isn’t supposed to be likable” idea: in the shows you mentioned (Succession, IASIP, even Breaking Bad) the idea isn’t for the viewer to root against those characters, it’s to make the characters relatable in spite of how terrible they are. They actively challenge the viewer by asking “How can you like this person knowing how terrible they are?” even though the writers are the ones making you like that character. The issue people have with Velma (I think, I had no interest in the show even before this video since I’m just not a big fan of Mindy Kaling) is that they’re not doing enough to make Velma likable, so it’s just bad writing

[@Cash42]

I haven’t seen this anywhere, but this is a really good take on that

[@shino4242]

Yeah, either its like Scott said and you need to have fun watching unlikable assholes fail, or its what you said and the MC's just ooze charisma and/or relatability that you want them to succeed despite being horrible (or you are rooting for them to get better or whatever), OR its just fun watching the character be bad (often times with charismatic antagonists chewing the scenery in a movie or show). But this show does none of that. She's unlikable, unrelatable, and its not fun watching her fail nor do you really want/care that she succeed. She comes across almost like the snarky sidekick to the MC in some other comedy shows...but here SHE'S the MC and it doesn't really work right.

[@zachnoland155]

Velma (the character) isn't sympathetic enough to justify her shitty actions like breaking bad nor are the writers willing to make her the butt of the joke like IASIP. I don't think Mindy Kaling is self aware enough to allow her self insert to be written intentionally unlikable

[@QuincyQuinn95]

This. I don't think entire series/movies have any good reputation if you just don't like them, whether they're assholes or not. You can like assholes. Idk why that's so hard to get.

[@addex1236]

What you said so many shows today forget if you want the main character to be an ass hole you can do it but you have to earn it by either them being entertaining or at least written in a way to were you get them you understand why they are how they are

[@OG-SAN56]

Just on its own the fact that she doesn't go into a panic whining "My Glasses, My Glasses. Where Oh Where are My Glasses" Is enough for me To NEVER consider her Velma. #NOTMYVELMA

[@TheDaks27]

I love the fact that her original voice actress (Nicole Jaffee, 1969) was the inspiration for that character trait. The story goes she was auditioning for the role when she tripped on the carpeting and her eyeglasses flew off and she panics and start yelling the famous phrase. It was such an amazing moment that the producers knew they had lightning in a bottle for Velma and the show as a whole.

[@wildheartrazorfang6]

If it makes you feel any better, I've always heard of a Compliment Sandwich being the insult hidden between two compliments, with a good first impression and a good final statement. So technically you could've had a Shaggy and Scooby level sandwich packing it full of all the insults lol

[@maca76]

i really thought he was going to start with a compliment then all the bad stuf and finish with another compliment lol

[@jannyjan90]

That is how a compliment sandwich is supposed to work Compliment bread with the insult filling

[@troymilanharrison2023]

Velma is based off existing IP set in a school about mystery (solving a murder) and something happens to the main character’s parent. Also, she gets visions and she’s extremely cynical. Wait, am I talking about Wednesday or Velma?

[@thetimebinder]

They're the same picture.

[@crowdemon_archives]

Wednesday is at least more interesting lol

[@tyrant-den884]

nope, its Sabrina.

[@troubadour723]

No, Harry Potter.

[@cynthiamiller9552]

I think this is Riverdale

[@RyanMcAllister1987]

It is interesting to see many nostalgic franchises be taken over by creatives that in some way distain the fans of said franchise.

[@Georgefhaley]

So sort of like how they were originally created.

[@KULTOFKYLE]

Examples? My first thought was Man of Steel

[@haplo781]

Dungeons & Dragons has entered the chat

[@marthademovimaus5140]

Applies to pretty much everything on Adult Swim. Hanna Barberra eating their own creations and crapping them back out...

[@mmrchive]

Creatives?

[@KarlieStarrSings]

I went back and watched my favourite Scooby doo show "What's New Scooby Doo?" and it made me grow a deeper appreciation for Fred as a character. Sure he looks like your typical jock type character but he's a actually a total dork. He's a huge techie and geeks out over meeting his favourite celebrities. It's very endearing 🥺💕

[@bulbacrazy1797]

What's news version of Fred will always be my favourite (I'm probably biased due to nostalgia).

[@McHobotheBobo]

@@bulbacrazy1797 I started with the OG series, and "What's New?" is by far my favorite SD series

[@Nshadowtail]

I've never been hugely into Scooby, but all the talk about Velma lead me to finally get around to starting Mystery Incorporated. A few episodes in and I *adore* that version of Fred. Man just wants to hang with his friends and follow his passion for absurdist engineering. Absolute icon.

[@loganarnoldkicks4321]

Was that the first version of himbo Fred we got ?? (I’m not counting APNSD since he was a child)

[@braedenmclean5304]

@@Nshadowtail it’s fine, you can say that Fred likes traps, everyone else in the show does.

[@seanson24]

Am I the only one that noticed how Scott placed his Scooby doo figures together. All except Scooby doo referencing the fact that the show doesn’t even have Scooby in it good one Scott 😂

[@totallyofftask]

The action figures in the background being separated from a scoob who’s been dropped on his side is a funny subtle background joke. Nice one Scott

[@aurumthebrave3427]

The fact that they got the whole world to briefly unite and hate on this collectively is an achievement lmao.

[@RabbiJoeInJerusalem]

But Mindy Kaling already made that show, and it's called Never Have I Ever. The main character is a smart Indian girl who suffers from hallucinations and has a bunch of oddball friends/ romantic interests. So did the execs say: Yes, but what about worse? And animated? And Scooby-Doo without Scooby-Doo?

[@KULTOFKYLE]

“But what about worse?” Made me snort 😂

[@CarrionCarriesOn]

The Norville doesn't like drugs joke was in my opinion amusing the first time they made it, then that turned out to be, seemingly, his only joke so far, making the character feel just a bit one note

[@devilord3271]

And it's gonna end one of two ways, either the very predictable punchline of shaggy accidentally eating a weed brownie or something and then LOVE weed or there is not punchline because they're too scared to portray a black man as a stoner

[@JohnDoe-ne1ni]

Ok am I crazy but who tf is Norville and why tf does he exist? Shaggy is a universally loved character by people of all types and messing with our Nostalgia is a dangerous game. That kind of thing can get u blacklisted faster than cancel Culture. But in the eyes of the consumers. There is no way any sort of group testing was done to see if people generally liked the 2nd most beloved character of Scooby-Doo being stripped from the show was a good call. If anything Velma was the most replaceable one of the Scooby-Doo cast.

[@devilord3271]

@@JohnDoe-ne1ni Norville is Shaggy's real name, that's been a thing since the 90s

[@goawayplease6456]

Norville is the only not insufferable charactor in this show. And he barely has a personality

[@chrispitchforth621]

I wish the show had started by showing the more traditional gang, but then said "this is about how we became friends, we were very different in the past. I wasn't a nice person, but at least I could sort of see without my glasses. " Then we could see them develop.

[@DanielBoutinAwesome]

So what I'm hearing is that the animators did a fantastic job with the great visuals & adding in visual gags and the storyboard artists tried to make some fun nods to Scooby-Doo fans... And the writers definitely made some... Choices?

[@shino4242]

Of all the choices those writers made, this show definitely had some of them, thats for sure.

[@conormurphy4328]

Lmao “great visuals”

[@tooth2887]

I got a meme for this, "they took a calculated risk, but holy shit are they bad at math."

[@nadyanathania3847]

@Balmung theyre at least trying, gotta say that at least

[@riotd.r.8363]

My personal favorite dramatization of the Scooby-Doo characters was A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. Shaggy pretty much stayed the same, Fred always took the lead but had no idea how to solve the mystery (literally accusing the character Red Herring, Daphne was the stereotypical popular girl and Velma was smart to the point of having a literal super computer in her backpack.

[@tyrant-den884]

Not my favorite version, but Red Herring is one of my favorite running jokes of all time.

[@emeryltekutsu4357]

I think it was funny when you discuss the cast and talk about the VA bringing in the rage he's known for. And that's the biggest problem with the show. Since when is Fred known for his rage? The VA might be doing a good job with the lines he's given, but even from the bare description of it most people would be like, "Wait, Fred angry?"

[@LoneSilverW0lf]

The only time I can see Fred getting angry is if he’s hit by some hypnotic doohickey, or if it’s in defense of his friends. This…. Thing, isn’t Fred.

[@cadendicky1855]

It works for something like "It's always Sunny," but if you're trying to voice act an already established character that isn't quite known for having rage issues on that level, then it simply doesn't make sense.

[@MTTT19]

I’m just guessing here but I think the creators of this show wanted to make their own Harley Quinn show out of Scooby Doo characters and it doesn’t seem to have paid off too well.

[@timothymclean]

In some of their defense, I suspect that the creators who wanted to make their own show and the ones who wanted to use Scooby-Doo characters were different people, forced to combine an IP with a story that fits it poorly for Brand Recognition.

[@pettybee3860]

The problem is that DC and those characters are mature and despite all the superhero stuff, there are still very adult themes there that you can easily translate into another media because that's just what the content is and it's wildly known to be that way, HOWEVER, Scooby Doo was created specifically for seasoned kids and is *safe* for most ages💀✋🏽and is wildly established for decades to not be known for whatever Mindy made this rendition of it as. I'm 17 and I still watch Scooby Doo because it's nostalgic and I'm not saying that Scooby Doo didn't have mature themes there already, it's that it was executed so poorly and even the live action movies had some "spice" to it and it was pretty okay and they didn't have to change core characteristics of the very well known characters.

[@DeonysusSoD]

Yes. I believe this.

[@CocTheElf]

Unfortunately, Harley Quinn is amazing (socialist Joker is hilarious) and Velma is dogshit.

[@zinkheroofyoutube8004]

@@pettybee3860 Good examples of mature Scooby-Doo media would be Mystery Incorporated and the first On Zombie Island

[@jlouisa]

I'm reminded of the personality that the current takes on Velma is what I think worked in the character of Daria. She is that cynical, intelligent teenager and there are times Daria can come off mean. But that show worked to play off that and Daria grows throughout the seasons. Those characters felt like teenagers. Velma comes off as just mean to be mean. It's adult in teenage suits. Why didn't this take place in college? I already live in a world that can get brutal, I would like some joy in my animations.

[@Nightman221k]

Other characters called out Daria's close-minded and sometimes would be spiteful (like being needlessly harsh to Jane or Quinn). The sad part is that the show kind of realized early on that Daria as a role-model wasn't a thing to strive for. Sure she was very entertaining and her quips were hilarious but that was her barrier from expressing some of her vulnerabilities and it wasn't always healthy. She's well written and makes sense as a character, but when people take the wrong things from her portrayal we get characters who are unpleasantly mean and harsh instead of having the snark work for the bigger picture.

[@pettybee3860]

Yup and her entire personality changed. Velma is just straight up an ass and nasty in this version

[@CocTheElf]

At least Daria was funny and endearing. Velma is just mean-spirit and unfunny.

[@MA-go7ee]

Daria, to her eternal credit, was never screechy no matter how cynical she got. I literally disliked Velma almost from the second she said something in the trailer. I'm so confused that they thought people would like her like that. Just mean without being charming or funny.

[@CocTheElf]

@@MA-go7ee Daria also had character development, and also she had really good points when she was the "voice of reason".

[@needmusicnow7]

I'm tired of snobby "smart" characters. I miss seeing shows that had smart characters that just enjoyed contributing to the group. They were just excited to be part of a team and share a niche topic that never thought they'd get to talk about.

[@mechengr1731]

Its also bad. Its saying you have to be smart OR likable. That is such bad messaging

[@BaeBunni]

one of my biggest problems with the show is, this is suppose to softly be a prequel to the scooby gang and why would these 4 people all be friends is really mind boggling to me.

[@PastelOddity]

And if they go with Fred being the killer like they want to imply, um…how’s that gonna work? Why would anyone want to spend any time with him? And that being the case, you either know it’s not Fred because that’s dumb, so you can see the red herring a mile away, or they completely ruin the prospect of this being a sequel and send him to prison. This was a bad idea from the jump.

[@timothymclean]

Obviously, because they are placing this series in the timeline between _A Pup Named Scooby-Doo_ and the current iteration of the main series. Speaking of which... @@PastelOddity Red Herring's in this series?

[@davidunderwood9728]

If you take that to its logical conclusion, the Norville the bright and intelligent black man will be introduced to drugs and become a stoner. In trying to subvert a stereotype, they'll just enforce it. True Irony.

[@ThePandaSupreme]

@@PastelOddityhe’s for sure not going to be a killer it’s just for jokes

[@Zarastro54]

@@timothymclean Is this a joke? This show clearly has no connection with A Pup Named Scooby Doo.

[@aaronbecker5617]

Anytime you put people in charge of a show who hate the material you get shows like this.....and it's happening more and more

[@Mega-Brick]

Not always, there are exceptions. For example, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was directed and written by someone that didn't like Star Trek - and that movie is often considered the best of the whole lot. That director felt that the movie's success was due to him not being a fan: he was willing to do things that a fan wouldn't have done, such as kill off a sacred character, if it happened to benefit the story - and in this case it did. I believe the difference is a passion for your work, and not whether you like/hate the source material.

[@SamanthaLain]

@@Mega-Brick well they killed off the character cause the actor didn't want to play the character anymore

[@Skabanis]

@@SamanthaLain not true as he directed 2 after and played part

[@SamanthaLain]

@Skabanis Malaka he wrote a book called I am not spock because he didn't want to be only known for spock, he later changed his mind wrote another book titled I am spock and decided he would continue the character but originally he wrath of khan was supposed to be the end of spock

[@devinjones1527]

Yeah, it seems like bc of the success of existing shows and greater corporate influence, if people do try to come in with original characters or even something based on or inspired by previous IP, the networks, etc always take it and try to milk nostalgia from it. It's so depressing and i wish they would start either listening to what people actually want or just let creators create. The public perception of art in any medium is completely unpredictable. Van Gogh's work "wasn't what the people of Paris wanted" during his lifetime, but look now. It's all for money now though.

[@LucyAdroit]

If I recall the reviews, Velma doesn't even NEED glasses, she just took her mother's.

[@PixieoftheWood]

Yeah, which...is weird to me, because if you're wearing prescription glasses you don't need, you're going to struggle to see anything. It's not an accessory. No reasonable person is going to go through life essentially blind just so they can wear their mother's glasses.

[@gypsylee333]

What?! After it being the recurring gag of Velma losing them then not being able to see anything?

[@LucyAdroit]

@@gypsylee333 Shocking, I know

[@gypsylee333]

@@LucyAdroit that is so annoying

[@lollyjollyflapjacks6078]

Yeah… it’s… sweet?

[@AHealthyDoseofFran]

The fact that a fan tv series (mystery incorporated here on KZbin) managed to get the idea of an “adult” Scooby Doo with the heart of the IP over this says a lot

[@First-to-last]

That's a Scooby do property l, not a fan show

[@bipbop3121]

So Mindy hates herself?

[@TheArkman360]

@@w0rmfarts He's to a different one

[@w0rmfarts]

@@TheArkman360 oh my bad weird they didn't give it a different name

[@larsg.2492]

I got more of a gritty highschool teenage drama reboot vibe from that one episode. I can't get over the 'casually drugging a girl so Daphne can become prom queen' bit. And the actors who are way too old for the roles.

[@tk-zay5073]

It’s amazing they had mystery incorporated right there as a good example of how to do Scooby well and dropped the ball this hard

[@DoDisturbedTv]

As I was watching the show, I was wanting to watch mystery incorporated instead.

[@iamepic6726]

Allegedly, this show originally had nothing to do with scooby do and just threw the ip in there.

[@noahdavis7406]

@@iamepic6726 It's an interesting theory. Though, I guess there's really no way to know for certain.

[@normanclatcher]

@@noahdavis7406 just wait for interviews.

[@wesleywyndam-pryce5305]

mystery incorporated is so fucking overrated. an example of a good scooby doo show would be the original.

[@lilylam7162]

Velma isn't nice to her Mom either. We find out little Velma was a menace and caused her mom to lose an eye. I fully believe this women left by herself.

[@snazzey14]

That’s the thing you can tell. Mindy pitched this as an a reverent adult geared teenage comedy and it just feels like an executive or creative. Director was like well green like this if you add in Scooby Doo and then they just deconstructed the show into something unrecognizable and unwatchable. My problem with Mindy is all of her shows. She’s a producer on kind of feel like self inserts and I’ll leave it right there just to not come off as rude.

[@christopherb501]

*irreverent

[@sv32099]

I've never seen her other shows, never watched the office either. Only thing I saw her in was that one sunny episode which I really enjoyed her character there as a change of pace from Dennis. A manipulative narcissist who is actually pretty good at not only hiding those things but also plays both fields without telling both fields they're playing for both

[@Gomitasd]

She has other shows??

[@ebensennett3095]

@@Gomitasd I have literally never heard of anything else she has ever worked on. I've heard some people liked her on the office though

[@ryanodagawa]

Mindy seems like the Sean Diddy Combs of Tv shows. I don’t know that much about this show, but I think it was a lot about Mindy having to do with it. Which doesn’t = good show necessarily.

[@nagamata]

I think the unlikable protagonist trope that people defend for the sake of an arc of character growth is basically a cop out for bad writing. I understand that yeah, sometimes our heroes start as jerks, but there’s a big difference between not liking a character, and not caring about a character/not enjoying the way they’re written. The latter is definitely worse. If you don’t care about or enjoy what they do, then you probably won’t care about what they will do, or even continuing the narrative at all.

[@magicalpasta5462]

Would it be shocking if Velma murdered those girls while having those visions during the mental breakdowns and her mom is dead and she's actually going full Norman Bates

[@goawayplease6456]

That would be better than the actual plot

[@comixproviderftw_02]

Given the current landscape of how every show and movie needs to be based on a popular IP before gets greenlit, much like RebelTaxi, I too believe in the theory that this was meant to be an original stand alone, high school mystery adult animated series but Scooby Doo was added at the last minute.

[@jacklindsey8400]

Yea taking that as a concept... I'm not sure I'd have liked that version either. If there was still someone like Fred there I just have real problems with that reveal and what it says, not to mention some of the jokes just put in it. I just don't think this was a good idea.

[@comixproviderftw_02]

@@jacklindsey8400 At least it would something that was original but forgotten about or got a cult following like Inside Job, instead of having the baggage of it being related to Scooby Doo.

[@timothymclean]

You can't retool a show to be about Scooby-Doo at the last minute. At the very least, you need to do it before storyboarding or voice casting. I definitely would believe that this show was made from Scooby-Doo's fur stapled onto the skeleton of an original teen mystery thingy.

[@comixproviderftw_02]

@@timothymclean Well, conceptually it was made as something else, but then was changed overtime.

[@franklinnartz1381]

"needs to be based on a popular IP before gets greenlit" This is usually because they are running out of time on their rights to the IP. You have to release something related to the IP once in a while to keep it.

[@medtle1]

Apparently, the people behind the show wanted to make an original show that starred a south asian female character but the studio didnt think it would be profitable and forced them to make a scooby doo show instead. This definitely explains why the show was written like this. The writers were pissed that they couldn't release an original show that starred a South asian female character, so they wrote the Scooby-Doo doo characters and the show that way to get back at the studio. We need to see the draft of the original show they wanted to release. [Edit: Apparently, the higher-ups wouldn't let them add scooby-doo in the show because it would be too "childish" and "unrealistic". The higher-ups definitely set up Velma to fail.]

[@tyrxian6452]

Source? Like, yeah I've heard this fan theory but currently it's just a rumor

[@medtle1]

@@tyrxian6452 no links regarding the Velma show actually starting as an original series first or mindy stating that the higher-ups wouldn't let them add scooby-doo to the show - just stuff, claims, and rumors I heard from other people regarding the show. [Honestly, Velma seems like it was a show forced to slap the scooby label on it; similar to fate: the Winx saga not being like Winx club at all. I wouldn't be surprised if this was true. The bad writing and humor is too hamfisted and deliberate to come off as a bad show that was made with love, especially if you compare Velma to some of the other shows and movies the people behind the show have written.]

[@yonayonadance]

it’s really disappointing how you can feel the passion that the animation crew had for scooby doo but the writers don’t share that feeling. the highschool setting is so overdone it feels like they wanted riverdale except with the mystery gang and they could’ve easily been in college for a school setting

[@domomitsune5920]

That's the question I had, too. It's like it's fanfiction for the woman who depicts her exact self as Velma. It's like she's enacting her fantasies of being a lesbian, while making fun of straight men. And in her fanfiction, Velma and Daphne are lesbians. And what was with the scene of seeing a naked Daphne? If they're trying to scare away fans of Scooby-Doo, they succeeded with critical success. But funny how only episode 1 and 2 is watched and it's an immediate drop-off and no one sees any more of it.

[@jadenbryant9283]

I am still hoping it's just ep 1 and 2 that aren't good and the rest is fine but they are not making a good first impression

[@PixieoftheWood]

Honestly, it seems worse than most fanfiction I've read. Most fanfiction at least feels like the writer enjoyed the source material even if they don't really understand the characters. This feels like what someone would write if someone forced them to write a Scooby Doo series and they actively hated the show.

[@domomitsune5920]

@@PixieoftheWood that surprisingly thumbs up the entire show, from what I have seen. It's like they haven't watched the show, so you don't know about the spirit of the show, so they quickly just put some random ideas that have no reason being in the show. And as a result it is failing.

[@NoVideolnput]

Honestly Velma is just Mindys self insert. She is suffering from main character syndrome and has no care for the source material that she is adapting. And in my opinion I feel like she is also extremely racist as well and extremely toxic from everything that I have seen of the show so far.

[@domomitsune5920]

@@NoVideolnput my thoughts, exactly. You hit the show plot right on the head. She even changed the looks and the characters in our own head of the main character, to make herself more relevant.

[@sarah-beth-thomson1034]

Ngl Scott, as a 19 year old currently in university, who is struggling with depression your videos have always been a light in my life, and I really appreciate your perspective on mental health, and relationships. So thank you for continuing to create content for nerds like me❤

[@burn3978]

Best advice you’ll ever get is to sort yourself out. Stop waiting for others to fix you. Your problems are your responsibility. If you’re not actively trying to fix your problems then you are the problem and you’re reaping what you sow. Sort yourself out or quit bitchin.

[@lazylefthand]

Just remember that theres someone smarter than you, nobody is attracted to, couldnt afford university and is currently struggling to pay rent. Depression is a prison that you create but you also have the key to get out of.

[@notdannyp]

u should watch a channel called healthygamergg along with the channel hamza, i can relate to this comment and these two channels help me understand things

[@lazylefthand]

@Barack Obama nothing worthwhile in life is easy to do.

[@696Productions]

Scott is 19?

[@robsolf]

9:40 I liked the shot in the beginning of the chase scene where it shows a window outside of the school and you expect them to crash through it, but they crash through the wall, instead. That was a great visual gag. The problems with this show are the characters and dialogue. It's misanthropic to the core.

[@magnus87]

For me the main problem with this series is that it was not necessary to use the characters from Scooby Doo, it could have been a completely new series, perhaps alluding to Hannah Barbera shows in general like Jossie and the Pussycats, Speed Bugg, Jabberjaw, and others. Rick and Morty are based on DocBrown and Marty but they knew how to take that as a premise to create a totally new adult series.

[@justforplaylists]

Rick and Morty has the opposite problem as this, where the audience isn't supposed to like Rick but a lot of them do.

[@magnus87]

@@justforplaylists What I meant was that you can "base on certain characters" without actually having to use them. Almost no one remembers anymore that Rick and Morty started as a parody of Back to the Future, they managed to have their own identity in 6 seasons, building a lore big enough for people to create their own theories.

[@iamkonner4813]

I can’t believe they managed to make everyone but Shaggy sort of the worlds most pessimistic cynical group of people

[@halflightdark3182]

I think that this wasn't originally another idea that they reskinned to fit a recognizable IP. Fred was originally a buff guy who liked traps, and they challenged his masculinity after he falls into a trap. Shaggy was a stoner who is scared, and he overcame his fears to come to Velma's aid and is vehemently anti-drug. Velma was a smart mystery solver, and now she's someone who can't solve mysteries and is constantly having to be told what's happening by the people around her. Daphne was a kind beautiful girl, and now she's the conniving mean girl. I think they were trying to play on the character stereotypes, but it was done badly. Scooby-Doo wasn't there cause they didn't have a joke they could make.

[@TheGarv29]

In the second episode we see a first person pov scene of her putting on the glasses and her vision without the glasses is only king of blurry. Not nearly the "I can't see without my glasses" level that we have come to expect.

[@jeo1812]

Your commentary on the casual use of violence in the show reducing the shocking factor of the scenes that should be shocking reminds me of the director's commentary for the Pink Panther film. There was a scene they considered adding where a whole lot of nonsense is occurring in an airplane around inspector Clusoue. But they felt that it was no longer that funny, because the whole point is that everyone else is supposed to be normal, and only the Inspector was the nonsensical one; that's what made hime funny. It also reminds me of a character in the Series Camp Camp: there's a character that never curses, except for one scene, where someone messes with one of the campers. A lot of the comments pointed out that the scene felt a whole impactful because they knew, "Oh crap, things got serious"

[@KimberlyPinkney]

I hope the hallucinations never go away. I totally root for them and nearly died when Velma thought she was free of them. The rest of this is toilet water and one of my least favorite cartoons.

[@maca76]

theyre the best animated parts

[@creed8712]

You know what’s funny about the race swap thing. The common talking points for people against it all totally work with this show. These characters didn’t need to be the Scooby gang, they act nothing like them and it makes you wonder why they didn’t just make original characters for them. The other is about diversity and representation. Mindy flat out said she identified with Velma which I’m wondering why in that case she decided to co-opt the character and change her in her entirety. Lastly whenever the whole “their race shouldn’t matter” argument comes up this show once again seems determined to be a dog whistle by having a large majority of the jokes especially directed at Fred be about him being white.

[@infernez]

I find the people who say, "race doesn't matter( so keep them white)" And those who say, "Race doesn't matter, so we are going to swap characters race to show how much it doesn't matter" both groups harbor some pretty interesting racism of their own.

[@creed8712]

@@infernez everyone’s a little racist I’d imagine though I’m sure that’s just a human trait to naturally dislike even in a small way things that aren’t exactly like us, I mean the uncanny valley most likely exists because we had to watch out for dudes with big foreheads trying to hit us with rocks back in the day, I’m sure in some way that trait was passed on in racism more than we’d realize

[@saltypineapple8371]

i didnt mind the race swapping, honestly just wished they did something more with it like subtle hints with design on culture (like interior design of the house, speaking a different language with parents, etc, like you see in craig of the creek). thats why i got incredibly disappointed with it.

[@JohnDoe-og2bt]

Also if race didn't matter why was changing it so important?

[@MissBloopTartVT]

That's the thing.. about her relating to Velma and changing everything that made her Velma. Because she doesnt get Velma. Mindy, I would go so far as to argue, has no real empathy for people who didn't go through whatever hoops and hurdles she went through. As far as she's concerned, she likes Velma because Velma isnt Daphne. And like episode 4, she defines her whole persona based on what she *isn't* And because she honest to god seems to have no empathy, isn't *that* inciteful, and doesn't have the confidence, sass, or wit of Velma, all that's left is just this ball of contradictions and anger.

[@RazeAndSew]

The one biggest problem I have with Velma is how they butchered Shaggy. Like he is no longer laid back, and he is a food snob, which neither of those are Shaggy! Even if they use his birth name instead of his nickname

[@antoinehenderson1659]

One can hope that discrepancy is part of a character arc.

[@EpicEverz]

The guy who used to shove piles of junkfood into his mouth became a food snob? What the hell?

[@hornetsilksong]

They did him so dirty too. Like having him expressing genuine emotion and vulnerability to try to comfort Velma during her hallucination be a punchline of "haha men have feelings" is such a bruh moment and ironically reinforces the toxic masculinity it is trying to make fun of.

[@TheLadyLiddell]

And yet he's the best/most likable character in the show.

[@RazeAndSew]

@@TheLadyLiddell still doesn't change the fact that he has been ruined in various ways, and turned into the opposite of Shaggy

[@princetbug]

It doesn't seem like the writers understood that Sass is not just someone being mean.

[@NinjaAlchemist3050]

I love how even though this isn’t a scripted video, you took the time to set up the figures with scooby’s thrown off to the side

[@starclone4]

Hey Scott is it just me, or are new shows these days, forgetting about how fun the characters use to be, and how much they loved each other like family? So frustrating 😔

[@MJAranas]

Generous statement to say “some” people really like the show so far.

[@TheNameBrandCompany]

I actually really enjoyed this more laid back unscripted format where we just hear your thoughts! Honestly wouldn’t mind seeing more of these from you!

[@UltimateKyuubiFox]

My favorite part of this review was realizing Scott doesn’t know how compliment sandwiches work.

[@KatieFrog217]

I feel like this is where most of my frustration comes from: any time the characters wanna say something, they kinda just... say it and be done with it. Like, are you going to comment on that issue in a thoughtful way or are we just going to slam that down on the table and not elaborate or explore that further? A lot of the time it feels like "HERE IS A THOUGHT.... NOW A JOKE AHAH"

[@Revenkin]

I think the joke is it's expected audience is stoned and watching it at 4am not really paying attention to the dialogue and being entertained by the art style

[@Benji-jj2bg]

The art style sucks though it's the same generic art style they use for every new cartoon

[@raymondreynolds9978]

its funny bc this is exactly what i did and i disliked it still mainly bc how dislikable everyone is,and as a stoner i was really hoping shaggy/nordville would be a stoner but they made him hate drugs and doesnt have a dog.I wouldve been cool w shaggy not being a stoner if they didnt try and insult the viewers for being a stoner

[@ProducedByMERC]

How is that a joke?

[@reiphas]

Okay, I think we finally know who is the target audience - stoned adults who can't fall asleep.

[@adamallie8859]

Is your comment about Velma or Robot Chicken? If the latter I agree with you 100% I was stoned watching velma at 2am and I thought it was awful. Maybe I was watching it too early because being stoned has nothing to do if I was paying attention to the dialogue except I'd find the jokes a lot funnier when I'm stoned. Unless you're saying the target audience does cocktail a of psychedelics everyweek, even then they'd watch colorful, techno, kaleidoscope videos and instead of... this... The target audience of Velma consists of one person and it's Mindy.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

These characters literally share nothing with their namesakes besides the clothes they wear and the names they have. Some changes and differences are expected but they need to share SOMETIME in common with their original incarnations. Because as it, the Velma characters have *nothing* in common with the original characters. They are not the same characters, just characters masquerading as the Scooby Doo gang.

[@ZeSgtSchultz]

Honestly, I havent heard one person who genuinely likes most of this show, the best I'd heard is admiration for the art team during the hallucinations.

[@ripandtear6323]

love how scooby is in background being separated from the gang just like show where scooby is not in it

[@Windwalker88]

Haha thanks for pointing it out. Made me laugh more then the entire show did

[@BlairMountainNetwork]

Aaawe... 🥺 My ADHD brain kept staring at the background of the gang setup (since he said he was moving & had no prep for this vid) & it is kinda brilliant. ~ I am very appreciative of this summary since I'm no fan of Mindy's work but being 🌈Lesbian, I had just wanted the show to do well, cause... been able to relate to 🧡Vemla since forever!!! But I doubt I will watch this now since I believe this video sums it up.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

Gotta give respect to Scott for being civil, courteous, and level-minded in criticizing an awful, mean-spirited, and disrespectful Scooby-Doo adaptation.

[@hcmandude]

they shat on his favorite franchise and he still pointing out the stuff he found good, he was the right to shout imo but his heart is just pure gold. bless

[@donpenrod8981]

I am 48 years old and Scooby has been my favorite cartoon my whole life. I've bought every iteration of What a night for a Knight (within reason). Since you asked, this show was written for Mindy and her ( I presume ) echo chamber. You can NOT lift someone up by pushing someone else down. They made Daphne a drug dealer and "Norbert" with exactly 0% "Scoobert". Yes, I know about Scoobi.

[@MonarchsFactory]

I'm interested in the potential comparison between this version of Velma and a character like Daria, because it feels like it should be similar on some level. Like, I can understand the appeal of doing a take on her that's the smart cynical high school girl who's snide to anyone she doesn't think lives up to her standards, which in her mind is basically everyone... But again, Daria as a show consistently explored that as being a really negative character trait for their protagonist to have, even if it was funny to sit back and witness the snark, and I'm just not convinced that this writing team have the chops to handle that character concept, or those surrounding it, with the nuance necessary.

[@MonarchsFactory]

Also WHERE'S THE DOG??

[@melskunk]

Plus, Daria was from the 90s. As he said in the video about the whole thing feeling very early 2000s, maybe this whole style just isn't going to land like it did twenty years ago

[@marocat4749]

Also daria in the last episode is her being called out on her biases. Lovingly but still. Andhonestly in hindsight the show did always tease that darias perspective is very biased by her attitiude there and that she thinks she is that , but really she isnt. But part of being a teenager to have etragatedd bias there that cloud everything. Not saying its bad, it takes a bit coming on term with growing and thats part of it, the bad is never gropwing out of it. I think daria does take her serious and valid, but also, she isnt as mature as she thinks she is and heavily bias. And edgy, and phases, and thats fine for a teenager. Honestly thats brilliant, its fun to be with hr and its also as much her unreliable narrator perspective of a teenager wher the others are a bit extragated.

[@marocat4749]

Yeah and daria is a good narative of a honestly edgy teenager and hr point, but also, she is taken serious. Daria is really earnest. Yes its fun but its an earnest taken serious edgy teenage girl and hr flaws. Thats why people like her. The humor helps of course.

[@sevenstevearmy]

I think the best description I've seen is that this not a show made in good faith. This is not a good faith interpretation. It's made to be talked about and hate watched rather than enjoyed. That's just something I saw and pretty much agree with.

[@shroomyk]

I don't know about others, but my high school experience was that I came in as a nerdy/smart freshman who also kinda disliked everyone else because I thought they were vapid sheep. Then as we all moved into Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year, discovered everyone smoked weed at least once in awhile, and that I even had some stuff in common with the popular pretty girl who used to bully me in middle school. Once we started talking in art class, she thought I was actually pretty funny (I was otherwise very quiet and shy). It was cool how you could see people maturing and blending more as they talked to and got to personally know one another. The show could redeem itself by having cliques and hatred dissolve between characters; being replaced by a universal appreciation of cannabis and true crime -- as the overall arc. It's a beautiful message too.

[@Deinorius]

That would be a good way. Problem though so far the beginning of the show would only seem to be a joke and should we really take this seriously? You could do this in a movie to an extent because the duration makes it work but in a series you can't make the show look like this way and then make a complete turnover. I'm not talking about just the story itself, it's about everything we get to see in any level. Let's say people enjoy a show for what it is, independent of the quality. It's Stranger Things as a mystery series, then it becomes Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Both great work but not compatible. I would feel betrayed!

[@ride-playerbb2818]

Weed is the key to world peace. That's my takeaway on this

[@timogul]

Warner Bros: "We need you to make an adult animated show that crashes SO hard that we can declare adult animation dead." Mindy Kaling: "I got you, fam."

[@wrmsnicket]

See, I do think Velma is purposely an unlikable protagonist *to start with.* The revelation moment you mentioned in episode 2 seemed really out of place for a writer’s room that’s content to keep the characters stagnant. It’s possible that all the characters may change throughout the show. We only notice Velma changing because we’ve spent the most time with her. Honestly, I think it would be a smart idea for the show to critically examine the flaws they’ve given their lead. Because there are a lot of people that unironically behave like her without seeming to realize how they come off. Of course, the nature of the humor and plot progression in the show seems to have absolutely no nuance. So it may not be likely that anyone who needs that kind of advice would even take it from a show they’ve probably soured on. So I can’t really say how good a decision it may have been in the grand scheme.

[@motxmod]

Especially since apparently the show was already greenlit a second season and a sad trend as of late when supporterss and now creators (given recent announcements with the Amazon LotR show) saying "it gets better in the second season". If you're going to put all the quality into the second and later seasons, why leave the first one so barren? I know shows need time to build up especially when there's an ongoing plot but no one will be willing to get at the supposed golden nugget if they have to shovel through hours of shit first.

[@marcusclark1339]

problem there is the show doesn't see a issue with her we do cause we're smarter than the writers on this, they think she's fine as she is which shows their nepotism

[@MarangTamburiki]

When a woman says the show does not feel female-positive all the while being written by a person who says she is all about women empowerment, tells you how self-absorbed the show is. Like, it really wants to insult you because it wants to trigger something in you and when you respond to the trigger either the show or the writer(s) will then say: "See?! You can't take our joke, therefore you are a hateful & spiteful person, and someone who is unaccepting of diversity!" 😥😓

[@TrueEnergizerBunnies]

Velma is clearly a self insert of the creator of the show. And this show is a reflection on her as a person and how she views the world which is extremely sad because she must see the world as a horrible disgusting place and have really nothing going on in her life and is probably a really pushy nasty person that is hard to be around.

[@anothercleverusername992]

I'm genuinely sad that Scott didn't enjoy this show. I'm not a Scooby-Doo fan, and wasn't as a kid, so I had no skin in the game... Scott not being afraid to share his hype for the show was really cool though, and I had hoped that it was going to be great, JUST for him, if for no other reason...

[@Dalton_Boardman2000]

It makes he hate the show more honestly. You literally could not force yourself to enjoy it even if you wanted. It's so contradictory to what it thinks the audience likes.

[@jbearclowater]

That "420 is code for adults still into cartoons" joke is so confusingly weird to me. I think it's trying to lampshade the idea that adult who like cartoons are immature, which kind of works as a lampshade because it IS a cartoon aimed at adults, but it comes across as so mean-spirited that it feels less like a lampshade and more like accidental irony. Like Scott points out early in the video, lampshading only works if you have a critique, but this joke doesn't have that.

[@shr00m7]

I seem to always end up asking myself the same question for these previously established properties...why did they want to make this? Because it always seems like the creators were forced to make it instead of being really passionate about it. I too was kinda hopeful about this show because I really like everything I've seen from Mindy Kaling. And I even liked the idea of a more grown-up and darker Scooby series.

[@connorsullivan1855]

I had the same general feeling. For me it was, what new ideas are they bringing to table, and I think the problem was their new idea was to make a subversive version of Scooby Doo, but there really wasn't much to subvert with the franchise. Scooby Doo has a really simple concept that has been around for over 50 years, so a lot of previous shows and movies have already subverted or revised most of the cliched and outdated elements. They made Daphene more independent. They gave Fred a personality. They reference the old cliches of the orginal series constantly. They have had verisons with and without super natural elements. They have made jokes implying that Shaggy is a stoner stereotype. Hell, the first live action movie has Scrappy Doo as the villian, as a reference to how much everyone hated the character. By the time they made Velma, I think the writers were really stretching to find things to be subversive about, so we ended up with jokes directed at the audience and mean spirited characters, that don't feel new and interesting but just unrelated to the orginal verisons of the characters.

[@wesleywyndam-pryce5305]

yep. why did they make this? money.

[@jamcalx]

It like taking something classic with its own core characters and hallmarks just to "SUBVERT THE STATUS QUE/EXPECTATIONS" is often A BAD THING! They could have created something totally new in the "parody of mystery solving shows" genre and a lot people would have had less issues.

[@torytellstales]

The "Velma Remembers the Other Velmas" video brought back my sanity after months of people constantly going back and forth between hating and liking the Velma show. I totally wouldve loved if Scooby had come back as some Eldrich Horror to judge Velma!😂❤

[@Ziggy9000]

This reboot is basically Mindy Kaling's personal bad fan-fiction. She's literally a self insert because Kaling herself said she identified with Velma. So I think Velma is supposed to be likable since Kaling claims to be fan of the old show. Personally I would have preferred a totally new IP that pays homage to Scooby-Do rather than a reboot.

[@jay96yagami27]

"Perhaps we should've treated it harsher" - Thanus

[@jay96yagami27]

Fr tho it's such a shame what happened to this shoe it could've been very cool, but I wasn't and that sucks badly we can only hope they listen the criticism and course correct the show in the future

[@army103]

I think a lot of people get stuck in the mindset that race/gender/sexuality/attitude swapping is inherently bad simply because so many reboots in recent years that have tried it have been such duds. The truth is that any drastic changes to an existing character can potentially work for audiences...it just has to be done well, and be part of an overall good project. Changing a character's cultural background can have a significant impact on the story, or give us a new and interesting perspective on events, for instance. But in so many cases (Velma included) the changes don't seem to be creatively woven into the narrative, but instead are done for the sake of diversity and diversity alone. When that's done and the show itself isn't well-written/well-received, the swapping is often blamed because it's just the most obvious target, the thought process being that the show drastically changed the characters, the show is bad, therefore changing the characters was bad. With inspired, high-quality and creative writing, anything can be made to work; but if all you have is a gimmick and nothing to back it up, there's a good chance your gimmick is going to become a scapegoat.

[@sydguitar99]

It feels like they were planning on creating a completely different show but they wanted some IP they could use to pad the stats and so they chose Scooby-Doo as the sacrificial lamb

[@dreamlandnightmare]

If that's the case, they definitely chose the wrong "sacrificial lamb."

[@TheNamelessOne-o4v]

The show is for the person who wrote it. They can now watch HBO Max and see that the things they used to joke about in 7th grade are now there. They don't care about anyone else or what they think.

[@LochNessHamster]

The Scooby Doo show that I've always wanted to see is one that takes place like 15 years down the line. The cast are all split up and grown, and have gone on to do their own things, but reconnect after over a decade apart - which is conceptually very similar to the first live action movie and also Zombie Island, but I would want to go further with it. Fred is a single dad with a six year old daughter, just being the best and most wholesome himbo Dad he can be. Daphne is a successful careerist who never had time for a family, either going further with the talk show host dynamic or maybe a fashion designer. Velma continued solving mysteries on her own and became a PI. But Shaggy - he's the same person he always was, for better or worse. All of his friends have moved on with their adult lives, but Shaggy never had much ambition to be anything but Shaggy, and an ongoing theme would be Shaggy trying to find his place in the world. I wouldn't want the show to be too cynical or deconstructive about it. That doesn't belong in a Scooby Doo show. But I would want the show to also not be afraid to get a little serious and tackle some more nuanced and mature aspects of life, while still being family friendly. Oh, and as for Scooby? I have no idea. I don't know if he'd still be alive, and we just don't acknowledge his age. Or if he's passed and there's a Scooby Jr. now (or perhaps a grown Scrappy Doo who's trying to escape his past as an insufferable pup). I just know I'd want Scooby (or whoever) to be the glue that holds them together and keeps things grounded in a light hearted tone that never forgets that it's a Scooby Doo show, despite dealing with some harder subject matter.

[@chaosart7597]

I respect you enough to tell you, you do not have to keep trying to find good pieces in this show

[@eandecomics]

I have been seeing terrible reviews all weekend long, but your review was the one I was waiting for. It's the only one I was going to pay attention to. I now know everything I need to know. Thank you.

[@jasonninja55]

This is exactly how I felt.

[@gemmamoon5998]

Exactly! I don’t want to give bad productions money, so I’ve been waiting for this as my definitive signal as to whether I should watch

[@foodini666]

do you watch youtube videos on an opinion on how to wipe your a## too? watch it and make your own opinion. its 20 minute experiment.

[@user-pv1qk4so6s]

This. Scott felt the only person I listen to for this type of stuff that was keeping an open mind going into it.

[@eandecomics]

@foodini666 comment not necessary. If you want to troll and insult people on the internet, do it somewhere else. Not interested, and not participating.

[@Stayner]

19:40 Rip Headphone users. the worst part is that at the same time the light of my office dimmed a little.

[@ShayLaLaLooHoo]

Thank you for the heads up 💕 I appreciate it!

[@DestructionatorWitch]

I wish I had even just a half of this man's optimism...

[@EAKugler]

I hate when things that are bad are hated on by disingenuous bad people. It makes it so much harder to legitimately discuss how bad something is without being lumped in with those people, or having your opinion discounted entirely. WB is just such a mess right now, I would wager that Mindy and company came up with an original idea, and some exec had an idea for an 'adult' Scooby show minus Scooby, and they got put together for the greenlight.

[@vanessathomas9641]

I feel this way with She-Hulk, it's funny though cuz they hate it for being all woke and feminist or whatever, and I hate it specifically because it isn't any of those things even though its clearly trying to be, well that and just the general poor quality of the show.

[@Mega-Brick]

Agreed. That's why I feel it's important to also compliment it - that at least proves, to some people, that you're not approaching it with bad intentions.

[@hootle4641]

This show doesn't even try to pretend like it isn't the embodiment of Mindy Kaling's narcissism and exists for her fragile ego.

[@minturewarehouse]

Agreed about the club names scene. That was about the only honest laugh they got out of me. It had potential.. 😢

[@ShakingHandsMedia]

Hey guys. For what it's worth, your Whisper of the Heart video is not just a personal favorite (it is), but I believe it's the best video you've ever put out. For an avalanche of reasons. Actually, I don't even believe it. It just is your best video. It is more than just a video and is something of a companion piece now totally linked to rewatching the film itself, which I do often. If it's worth even a fraction of a thing, that video is the one.

[@WeirdWonderful]

And one final note, Velma should not try to pretend it is any sort of deep commentary on anything, when it constantly shows underage teens either naked in the showers, or showing off their t&a to other people in public, on screen. The show can't stop sexualising literal teenagers in highschool but wants to lecture us about how creepy guys are etc. When it's basically just inches away from commiting a literal crime, and can't even use the Big Mouth defense of "we made all these minors look just enough like not real people to where focusing our entire show on them having sex is somehow okay".