Velma is Everything Wrong with Modern Writing

[@gregowen2022]

My handsome co-host today is Atlas. He's an excellent boy. Am I using him to get likes? Absolutely. I know what the internet wants.

[@keijijohnson9754]

Much like your usage of random clips from other films and shows, resorting in cheap ways to try to be relevant or funny doesn’t make you any less cringy, dude. It just makes you on the same level as the show you’re criticizing.😑

[@theblackoutexplorer2658]

I did click for cat

[@AleXavieR-l2t]

And it worked for me 👌

[@redrasegarden]

Good kitty 🐱 😊

[@saltdad5263]

i will mindlessly click on anything with a cute kitty on it, so i think your techniques are pretty effective.

[@weldsj8847]

There's something wrong with the people making these shows, but there is also something wrong with the people giving them the green light to make these shows.

[@gregowen2022]

Right? I thought the idea was to make good television so people would want to subscribe to HBO. Who thought any of this was going to play well?

[@MutatedPercent]

@gregowen2022 Just imagine the amount of good stories...or heck, actual masterpieces that the world never got to see because they never got greenlit or published. Now think about how HGS, She-Hulk, Thundercats Roar, TTG, and Velma all got greenlit....let that sink in...

[@SapphireKnight675]

@@MutatedPercent and survived after all other animated shows, even good ones were cancelled

[@dawnilotteofficial]

@@MutatedPercent There was a older version of Thundercats, but I feel like the newer version of Thundercats surpasses (Not the OLDER Thundercats) The Velma Show, and TTG by a long shot. I never even heard of She Hulk, is it not good? IMO

[@MutatedPercent]

@@dawnilotteofficial To put it short Comic She-Hulk ✅️ Disney She-Hulk ❌️

[@Dalton_Boardman2000]

Fact: Puss In Boots 2 is edgy and subversive by actually being a maturely written family film that's a much better use of your time than watching Velma.

[@lilypadrocks872]

Facts

[@jacktophono1]

That movie actually looks good. This wants to make me gouge my eyes out Edit: it was very good

[@liaminator4950]

Watched puss in boots today, supremely true

[@alfredpalm]

I loved puss in boots 2, surprised me so much to have a golden nug like that in this day and age

[@demoman4335]

Puss in boots 2 goes supremely hard

[@BarnJ]

The amount of projection from Mindy Kaling onto Fred is just *chef's kiss*. Mindy was born to super rich parents, went to an Ivy League college, and got hired onto The Office as her first real job. The fact that she was born with a gigantic silver spoon in her mouth and claims that white men just get handed everything in life is such an astonishingly oblivious take.

[@pittland44]

Here's a question: Is Mindy really that oblivious, or does she attack white men because she basically can't cope with how wealthy, privileged and easy her upbringing was, and the group she can attack is white men? Because I am reminded of Dr. Thomas Sowell's book "The Vision of the Anointed." In the book Sowell lays out the vision of the political left (which Mindy is clearly steeped in) and it says that there are heroes and villains and you want to be on the side of the poor, the benighted and the oppressed. The problem is that Mindy isn't benighted, she's a wealthy and spoiled brat, so the only thing she can do is attack the designated villains of our time (white men) and try and tear down people who've never done her any harm. There's also a weird element because every one of Mindy's characters (which are all just lazy, self inserts) all have this weird sexual obsession (dare I say fetish) for white men. Like she's disdainful of white men and thinks they have all the "privilege", but also wants them to find her attractive. Every time I see something by Mindy the only thing that comes to mind is what Bruce Banner says about Loki in the first Avengers: I wouldn't try and probe too deeply. That woman's brain is a bag of cats. Let me know your thoughts.

[@cherrycolareal]

​@@pittland44Exactly what you said.

[@wormybobcat3706]

@@pittland44seeing how she randomly kissed a guy mid conversation, without consent which is most probably sexual assault, then told her present assistant that she would fire them if they told anyone, I wouldn’t say the sexual obsession of her characters only applies to her characters.

[@Eye_Of_Odin978]

@@wormybobcat3706 Wait, are you serious? That happened in reality? Why am I totally unsurprised that Mindy would do such a thing?

[@wormybobcat3706]

@@Eye_Of_Odin978 honestly same, she talks about it openly on some show of sort too, so she doesn’t even care about getting caught, since she probably wouldn’t get any consequences. For someone who took part in writing and then played a character who was obsessed with the idea that men have too much power (and might also share that idea very well), she really did take advantage of men in the most disgusting way possible.

[@johnnylight0]

I love how being a "strong independent woman" is basically synonymous to being either a snarky sarcastic and degrading bitch to everyone, and/or a lesbian. No in betweens.

[@josephgover5072]

South park did it right

[@BishopShotgun]

@@josephgover5072 The thing is you're not supposed to write a character who is a 'strong woman' rather, a strong character who happens to be a woman. South Park took this saying and basically, like you said "did it right" and managed to parody common tropes without having to break the 4th wall.

[@justindixon1586]

Honestly people really think that like being critical and unpleasant is strong but if you wrote a male character like that they’d instantly call something about it. There’s a difference between asshole and strong that’s been really blurred by whatever atmosphere comes with writing people now

[@ericjohnson6120]

Strong Female Character = Toxic Masculinity + Vagina seems to be a common trope.

[@RoronoaZoro-ur6hr]

@@justindixon1586 , a good example of a power fantasy where a male is top tier badass of all time that’s a single strong independent male is in the first three God of War games whereas great examples of major badass that works well in the best teams ever are Zoro from One Piece, Batman from Batman Telltales video game series, Batman Beyond, etc etc whereas characters like Velma from Velma follows into neither of those categories regardless if she was a male or not it wouldn’t change on how she’s written in the series HBO Max wants us as the audience to like a character like her whenever we just don’t find any interest in her whatsoever.

[@Brizzle427]

I feel like Rick and Morty happened, got popular and now every show needs to be crude, meta and self aware.

[@moistfist1054]

Yeah, but Rick and Morty was funny.

[@solarflare9078]

@@moistfist1054 And it wasn't incredibly racist

[@adararelgnel2695]

What about south park? Offensive cartoons have been around a while

[@lemonscentedgames3641]

Simpsons spawned all these shows, its just that shows become stale and then something replaces it in the genre. Simpsons got replaced by south park/family guy which have been dethroned by rick and morty and now i think we are waiting for the next great adult animation show

[@johnindigo5477]

@@lemonscentedgames3641 inside job.

[@Klako-ls6yt]

Mindy Kaling subverted our expectations by doing exactly what we expected her to do.

[@aliceinamazon6057]

Amazing plot twist.

[@ellieofthebeast7952]

Oh no, she subverted expectations. The bar was on the floor, she's in the tunnels underneath superhell

[@LORDCAMEL0T]

If I see another childhood fictional character be rewritten for “a modern audience“ twerk I’m gonna lose it.

[@pancakeyumyum2323]

The 2016 PPG reboot still haunts me…

[@MK_ULTRA420]

"Best we can do is making Aku twerk."

[@denizkaragullu6239]

@@MK_ULTRA420 nvm I would LOVE to see it

[@MK_ULTRA420]

@@denizkaragullu6239 Monkey's Paw: Samurai Jack twerks too

[@denizkaragullu6239]

@@MK_ULTRA420 Yeah who says flat asses can't twerk!

[@NA86737]

Mindy Khaling started getting work almost immediately out of college and working on The Office if anyone should not be talking about privilege it's her.

[@gregowen2022]

Exactly. Her star status makes any plea for sympathy sound extremely tone deaf

[@thecod2345]

If Khaling had self awareness, the bare minimum is that she’d have the characters treat her with equal sarcasm that she treats them…yknow the dynamic that many have with overly sarcastic friends..? But no of course Velma must never be treated how she treats others, she’s treated the way Khaling wants others to treat her. The level of tone deafness would be comical but Khaling doesn’t really know how to do that.

[@HazbinCovenWitch]

Wait, did she play that chick that always hooks up with Ryan? I forget her name rn.

[@jasonhenry8067]

@@HazbinCovenWitch yes

[@HazbinCovenWitch]

@@jasonhenry8067 Thought so

[@Mehmehmeh746]

I like how just being nice is becoming cool again. People are tired of needlessly mean spirited media.

[@spiralplex8813]

What do you mean and how does that relate to the video and the show

[@thebread5384]

Facts though, they are some characters that are just toxix but ppl love them wholeheartedily

[@Mehmehmeh746]

@@spiralplex8813 Velma is mean spirited and gross and people are calling it out.

[@Corn_Pone_Flicks]

@@Mehmehmeh746 I'm not sure that equates to becoming nice.

[@vladpiranha]

In the 90s and early 00s, being a cynical asshole was fashionable. It should come as no surprise that the people who grew up in that era write stuff like this.

[@nyny1004]

As a black girl, I am so upset and embarrassed that animators (especially in hollywood) and directors continue to change main characters to either different races of color or black in order to perpetuate some kind of political message. It is honestly concerning, and it makes me feel worse about myself as it seems as though they don't believe original black characters are worth marketing. It's always changing (mainly) white characters into black characters, and then making them extremely subversive as you said, as well as very political. Honestly this show is horrible, but it's made worse knowing that this trend will likely never change. I really wish they would stop using race as a catalyst for their politics. Instead, can't we get original shows with these kinds of diverse characters WITHOUT focusing on race so hard? It's kind of cringey and has honestly stopped making me explore new media and movies anymore. If a character is originally white then keep them that way. They wouldn't do the reverse for a character of color because then they would be called racist, but it's okay the other way around? Let's stop the hypocrisy and bring cartoons and shows back to what they were before; entertainment and stories, not political ads. Add diversity with originality!... not copy and pasted stories. :( (Btw I realize that this element is not the main subject of the topic but it is one thing that jumped out at me from the beginning because of my own personal feelings)

[@MK_ULTRA420]

Shaggy, the implied stoner character who can run as fast as a Great Dane, is now black and somehow less chill. It takes effort to ruin a character that badly. He's not even eligible for God-Shaggy status, which is the real tragedy.

[@solarflare9078]

That's exactly the issue with these shows. Do they not realize that all it's doing is making a bigger divide than there already is?

[@pettybee3860]

You articulated it very well

[@qhilip]

Well said, exactly my thoughts

[@Graveyardlily]

Fr

[@Ziddz]

Even the critics hate this show. That really says a lot

[@gregowen2022]

It was so bad it caused brief internet unity!

[@Jvich]

The sad thing is , the concept for an adult scooby doo show could have totally worked if they had used their Mature rating to focus on horror rather than gross , crude humor. It really could have been something exceptional.

[@william3371]

Thanks. It honestly would have been better to advance the horror to maybe like an "elite episode" concept, covering the more dangerous cases than the team usually does. I think they could totally run with that, given how scary some scooby-doo episodes actually are. (I mean srsly, look up the cicada one 😬)

[@zionleach3001]

I'd actually watch that. Like alternative to Ash vs Evil Dead.

[@stevecrafter518]

@@istvankarolyfarkas6125wow a link to an actually relevant video instead of self advertisement for once Also yeah I would watch that

[@adampkalb]

The closest we got to that so far, was the Supernatural episode Scoobynatural.

[@polelix1023]

I think the closest one we get is Mystery Incorporated.

[@romanov3937]

What makes me upset is that not only are they dead-naming a character who canonically HATES his own name and not only did they remove Scooby-Doo from his own show for being too childish, but they turned one of the most "the power of friendship and teamwork can solve anything" himbo in cartoon history into a racist and narcissistic psychopath that everyone makes fun of for being rich and having a small penis.

[@zilesis1]

do you mean Shaggy? i haven't watched many of the newer iterations of the show, but when did they say he hated his name? or that he even had one? in the original 30 years of the show, i don't think they ever gave him a proper name

[@romanov3937]

@@zilesis1 In Canon Shaggy's real name is Norvile but he prefers to be called Shaggy.

[@zilesis1]

@@romanov3937 i'm guessing that was intiruded in Mistery Incorporated? i can't remember it ever being mentioned in the 60s original show, nor the 80s first reboot show

[@romanov3937]

@@zilesis1 Yeah pretty much in one of the newer, betters gens (The ones that aren't Velma)

[@sincerelynotme3522]

That's the one thing I hate the most. Shaggy hates being called by his government name because it reminds him of everything he's not. He prefers Shaggy and the only people who call him that are his parents or people who are significantly older than him. To call him Norville is like placing him in a box and forcing him to identify with something that just isn't him. To massacre my boy like this is unforgivable, don't even get me started on Fred.

[@lollllolll.]

Forget Velma, are we going to ignore the fact they tried to remove racism by making Shaggy the most racist black stereotype to ever exist this year? AND WE'RE NOT EVEN PAST JANUARY.

[@vincentthendean7713]

If you think Shaggy's racist, wait until you see "Scoobi"

[@SommerSen]

@@vincentthendean7713 that's a hoax, my boy

[@boosqueezy2418]

you’re not wrong

[@G.A.C_Preserve]

@@SommerSen what hoax, that's Scoobi with an i (I know that's just a hoax, but it's fun to say so)

[@ExeErdna]

They sat their and thought Norville's current character arc was a good idea. It's why their own side complains that black writers need to be on sight to prevent this.

[@danielpritchett7550]

We all just need to salute this man for his sacrifice of time he wasted of his life watching and reviewing this show so that we don’t have to. He is a true hero 🫡

[@gregowen2022]

And I thank you for watching! Together, we can beat back this crap

[@psychohuger3763]

@@gregowen2022 o7

[@soarinskya4034]

o7

[@monaschino]

I mostly hate what they done with Fred, because was honestly a character that I liked a lot in many iterations

[@RenagadeWolf14]

You can’t spell friend, without Fred. They did my man dirty.

[@dawnilotteofficial]

@@RenagadeWolf14 Fredin Jk

[@azazelgrigori9244]

Other than this trash, I feel like Fred’s become something of a dork. Really depends on the movie or show, but he’s a bit goofy.

[@lukarikid9001]

They turned him into a tumblr feminist strawman

[@r3cursion]

@@lukarikid9001 The best way to put it 💯

[@rook6591]

It's extremely weird that the creators of Scooby-Doo, Ken Spears and Joe Ruby, literally both died within months of each other in late 2020 before this went into production. Atleast they didn't have to see how their work was destroyed.

[@Zodia195]

Yeah I was thinking similarly how Hanna Barbera creators are rolling in their graves right now. This whole thing is a tragedy. As horrible as something like Guardian Spice was, at least it didn't take a beloved franchise and massacred it.

[@YouSuprised]

The same thing happened with Rings of Power in which Christopher Tolkien died, they changed the material. Hollywood is full of narcissism, wicked and even evil people.

[@unfortunatefortune7966]

A middle schooler could probably write a story better than a lot of these shows.

[@noylj1]

Not a current middle schooler.

[@cmtcomet]

yes, because most people learn about normal story structures by middle school. even having that would put it above most of these

[@SecretlyS-1337]

When I was in middle school, I DID write better fanfiction than this. It was stupid, silly, just generally absurd fantasy. Yet, between my old dinky writing and Velma, I would rather suffer the embarrassment of rereading my childhood self’s over the top affection for specific franchises for an entire day, over watching ten more minutes of Velma. At least my past self wasn’t obsessed with being edgy, snarky, sassy, nasty, and toxic to any community anywhere. At least they were made with passion and genuine enthusiasm… Velma, on the other hand? Pfft.

[@shinyy_mineyy]

I've seen better fanfics written by 12-year-olds on Wattpad better than this shit show

[@whitedragoness23]

You practically had a middle school write it. Or one with a brain of a undeveloped intelligent person

[@humrH2360]

When you find out who the producer is, it becomes a no-brainer. She was a producer for *_Thundetcats Roar._* In addition to that, her filmography is literally 3 more failed shows, with 2 quickly cancelled and the other one just plain sucking farts. Hollywood isn't just declining. It's rocketing towards bedrock, because it keeps rewarding failure.

[@psychedelicpayroll5412]

Hollywood is getting exactly what it deserves. It seems like suicide at this point though.

[@keyki9832]

Never heard of thundercats roar but I guess that’s a good thing

[@MicahRaburn]

@@keyki9832 Thundercats Roar was an attempt to reboot the franchise Teen Titans Go style, but somehow worse.

[@phakgamangmabonela3342]

@MicahRaburn I swear the writer is just piss cause she's just doing this out of spite

[@kootunesscrewy]

At least Thundercats Roar was kinda... enjoyable. And the writing wasn't that cringe.

[@Pillzpop]

I don't think there was a show who hated their target audience as much as Velma. Moreover, what they did to Fred's character was one of the saddest moments of character assassination I've ever seen.

[@bulborb8756]

If people ever did a list of the 10 worst show's of 2023, without question this show would be at the very top because Velma fails at getting anything right

[@DedicatedCaffeineUser]

I’m just relieved that they left Scooby out of this garbage fire at this point

[@servinginhellaimingforheav2446]

Atleast Shaggy and Scooby didnt exist

[@ilidot5892]

This wasn’t an assassination. This was a public execution

[@willybe6427]

I’m referring to Glenn Howerton as “baby carrot” from now to spite his participation in this abomination..

[@Throgmoyd]

One question comes to mind: WHO is this show FOR? I can't imagine any intelligent, self-aware, socially adept, compassionate individual enduring a minute of it.

[@TentenchiAMVs]

After watching the trailer once, I contemplated it and realized that the overarching problem is just that. One of the fundamental rules of entertainment (of any kind) is KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. These people didn't have an audience in mind, so they ended up just constantly contradicting themselves and offending just about every demographic you can think of. Why? Because they wanted EVERYONE to watch it. Not everyone is going to be interested in any series. But instead of accepting this and picking a lane, they tried to have it all. >_>

[@isaakvandaalen3899]

Perhaps that's the issue. Maybe there's an audience of stupid, self-absorbed, socially inept, entitled individuals who actually find the show relatable / enjoyable. Though I doubt it.

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

​@@isaakvandaalen3899 There is actually. Everyone who defends this show is just as spiteful, self-loathing, and sensitive as the characters themselves are.

[@isaakvandaalen3899]

@@AkameGaKillfan777 I'm not saying you're wrong, but I am saying that I am yet to find a single human being saying something positive about this show, besides its immediate creators / writers.

[@justaghostinthesea]

It's like they were trying to appeal to every single a side at once

[@imthatgirlagain]

What pisses me off is that the mystery gang already has themes that could easily be turned into adult animation without the needless subversiveness. How u gonna fumble the bag that bad

[@VioletOrbWeaver]

even if you, for some reason, absolutely needed to make a blatantly politicized adaptation of scooby doo (which is what velma is), the original show is a bunch of teenagers in an old van who pretty much exclusively bust the wealthy, famous, or otherwise powerful. you wouldn’t have to change anything to make it a political piece, just play up existing elements. instead they’ve made the evil, wealthy, powerful figure in the show not the villain of the week but fred for some godawful reason, despite the fact that his original character was pretty solely committed to taking down people like himself as he appears in velma.

[@gregowen2022]

It can only be that they were so high from smoking their own shit that they believed this was a great show

[@thecatmerchant]

They literally Scooby do this with everything and are losing billions because of it but carry on pushing their agenda. I just dropped another video exposing their trash.

[@SteamS01dier]

I mean there was already an extremely adult version of Scooby Doo, called Scooby Apocalypse.

[@jeremyallen5974]

I'll tell you how, you live in an age where saying "White man is so DUMB!" is enough to get people slapping their knees

[@coryakabueze4541]

What they done to Fred is unforgivable

[@gregowen2022]

It's indicative of how Hollywood writers see any white men who makes more than $50k a year. What a strange reality these people live in

[@abridgedbog7753]

@Chiptux totally not racists americans when they see shows shiting on white people: 🤭🥰😜

[@rafaelcastor2089]

@@gregowen2022 "More than 50k" lol

[@aceman0000099]

@Chiptux well TBF it does a little about racism but it's like swatting a fly on someone's face by slapping them.

[@l4leming]

@@aceman0000099 Try to get rid of a fly and gain a fight... and the fly still there.

[@justaghostinthesea]

What really irks me is that Velma is a fan-favorite character. I don't think anybody in the world is opposed to a show about Velma. It's such an easy thing to get right! They had all the cards they needed to make something awesome, and they tossed the entire deck into the shredder and then threw the shredder off the roof.

[@ZentaBon]

And off a cliff into jagged rocks and rough water

[@suesaul4727]

@@ZentaBon Into a bonfire! :)

[@Jumpyman_thegamerYT]

@@suesaul4727 And then ran over it with a tank.

[@lutymcshooty2556]

​@@Jumpyman_thegamerYTand then the tank shot it

[@Jumpyman_thegamerYT]

@@lutymcshooty2556 Then launched a thermo-nuclear bomb at that exact place.

[@adambritsch]

I hate when I feel like I’m listening directly to the writers. It seems like Velma’s writer just made a show about how she wished high school was for her.

[@gregowen2022]

Yes! These shows aren't for the audience anymore. They are for the writers

[@aceman0000099]

In 2040 there'll be shows where the characters say "I AM A WRITER I AM WRITING A SCRIPT FOR THIS SHOW THAT YOU ARE WATCHING RIGHT NOW OKAY" cue laughter track. In 2060 tv will be a live feed of the Hollywood writers office with the writer constantly looking at the camera and winking

[@kenstorm707]

That's exactly what it is. Not only did Mindy cast herself as Velma, but she cast a voice actor who she specifically has a crush on as Fred. And, lo and behold, Velma starts out having a big ol' crush on Fred.

[@thecatmerchant]

They literally Scooby do this with everything and are losing billions because of it but carry on pushing their agenda. I just dropped another video exposing their trash.

[@melinatedthinka8210]

I was thinking this smh lol

[@MrATPCO]

And what's seriously worse is, the simple fact that they knew all along it was a dumpster fire, but they've released it nevertheless.

[@joshgamingvlogs5203]

It checked the right boxes so it had woke armer

[@gregowen2022]

Absolutely, how could someone at HBO not raise an alarm about this? WB had the guts to cancel a fully produced Batwoman movie, but HBO didn't have the courage to can this when they screened it. HBO does a lot of things right, but letting stuff like this out the door makes you wonder what's going on over there.

[@solarflare9078]

@Tblazer It's sadly working, because there's actually people defending this trashfire. Not much, but the fact that there is some dumbfounds me

[@thecatmerchant]

They literally Scooby do this with everything and are losing billions because of it but carry on pushing their agenda. I just dropped another video exposing their trash.

[@COVID-1901]

Ain't no way WB looked at this and say "yeah this looks funny" and went to greenlit this show

[@MiaVilleneuve]

"We made a terrible show, but it's OK because we acknowledge that it's terrible" also applies to She-Hulk

[@araavila8862]

6:55 The thing is, there's a medical condition similar to this in real life. It's called prosopagnosia, it's when a person can't distinguish the difference between one person's face from other, it also makes it extremely difficult to recognize a face you just saw one or two times before. They could've used this in their favor; make Fred the unintentional jerk that says things like "Wow, I couldn't recognize you without your glasses" to Velma, it may sound somewhat rude but it's really just him expressing how wrapped his perception of others can be, and work it from there, I don't know, make Velma see a pattern of how he says similar things to other people and discover his condition, telling Fred and how she and the rest of the gang can support him, or something like that. This is just a nitpick, but even the little details can count when trying to connect with the audience.

[@ZorrotheArtist]

Nah, that’d be too complicated and sensible for the writers. It makes too much sense for them to take it in that direction. If anything, they’re gonna do the opposite of that.

[@araavila8862]

@@ZorrotheArtist You're right. One can only dream...If they actually manage to find balance in their show that would be really great. Some shows have done that. I guess we'll see

[@luluzin5022]

That's actually an interesting condition to work into a mystery-driven plot. Fred could be an unreliable witness to the murders because he couldn't identify the killer. But clearly, mystery is not the focus of this show. Besides, his condition isn't even real, they just wanted to expain that he is racist, sexist and a narcisist for the 100th time, in case you forgot.

[@ZorrotheArtist]

@@luluzin5022 I was gonna say after reading the first half “That’s giving far too much credit to the writers” but after reading the second half, yeah, that’s essentially what the writers are doing. “He’s white, rich, a man, and also all the -ists, HATE HIM.” - The Velma writers.

[@Allustar]

Nah, that’d make him even a little bit of a likable character. We can’t have that in shows like these.

[@emma_nutella58]

Didn’t know being a strong independent woman meant being a bitch to everyone you look down on, I feel lucky that I grew up with female characters that showed you can be feminine and nice or be a tomboy and still be a badass like ty Lee, Katara, toph, Starfire, sailor moon, poke girls from Pokémon

[@thePeridot]

Oh and The Crystal Gems from Steven Universe!❤

[@tentacledood5784]

@@thePeridot I'm happy you like them but as characters I'm not so sure they do that good of a job, at least not at the finale. But that's just my opinion.

[@donutbevil9669]

@@thePeridot Not really? At first, yeah, but that finale speaks otherwise.

[@thePeridot]

@@donutbevil9669 @Tentacle Dood Yes, I will not disagree with you there. But at least at the start, it feels like they are good role models and strong female characters. I also really liked Connie but that's just me.

[@xcrowx8140]

I like how most of them are from avatar the last airbender

[@LagMasterSam]

I've got an old man rant about this kind of stuff. This looks like a sign of the greater problem in society where people think you have to be totally irreverent towards everything to be cool, interesting, or funny. The deepest and funniest messages are irreverent, but they work by also genuinely respecting other things. At a bare minimum, they respect the truth. When something is "funny because it's true", it's showing the absurdity of the truth, but that requires taking the truth seriously at the same time. However, people now think that's even uncool, because it implies you're taking the absurdity of the truth too seriously. That's why we end up with all these cringey meta moments that are popping up everywhere. The writers are insecure about being perceived as too serious (even in their humor), so they have to make the people receiving the message know they are cool by being meta. People need to calms down and realize it's OK to actually take things seriously without worrying about other people thinking they're being too serious. Do I really have to say this to supposed adults? Apparently so.

[@edoboleyn]

I can’t give your comment the response it deserves, but I agree. Sincerity is terrifying. Mocking the real is far easier than grappling with it. Facing that challenge requires courage, particularly for artists and would-be artists.

[@craigbutler3282]

The Daphna and Velma being enemies to lovers thing was one of the first things I predicted about this show months back when the teaser dropped. It’s like they took the Scooby Doo fandom’s inside jokes and head cannons, and then cherry picked the things that they wanted to put into their show. It’s honestly tiring to see them rehash the Velma/Daphne relationship dynamic, but then demonize the stoner the Shaggy joke like the same audience didn’t also come up with it.

[@dewdrop8180]

I think Velma and Daphne were hinted to be romantically attracted to each other in moments from the older shows. I'm not sure though. I guess it's been around for a while.

[@gregowen2022]

Yes, it's very tired at this point. Honestly, if people are dying to see them together, there are websites for that. The whole thing was just lazy

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

@@dewdrop8180 They were supposed to be explicitly lesbians in the Live Action movie

[@rainbowprism6774]

Honestly,those concepts are kinda dumb IMO. I'm not one of those LGBTQ haters or homophobes (though I'm not a supporter either) but most depictions of Scooby Doo have Fred and Daphne as a couple,more often than not.

[@shanelogan630]

It was like a bad fanfiction that took life

[@IsThisUsernameAvailable]

It honestly pains me how much hate, resentment and disgust for the original source material I can sense coming from this show. Scooby Doo was a comfort show of mine while growing up, and of course, Velma was my comfort character. I was bullied a lot, I was a chubby shy girl that enjoyed reading a lot, I even had a similar haircut to Velma, what this show taught me as a kid was that there were people out there that would accept me for who I am, and that I could contribute in my own way no matter how I looked. Now, Velma went from being a kind, honest but sassy smart girl with a funny side to an angry degrading monster. No matter how much inclusivity and diverse characters you add to your show, if they are badly written walking stereotypes or unlikable people overall, no one will enjoy your project, especially when you mess with a beloved franchise that is Scooby Doo and turn it into this mess

[@glentor3]

Kaling turned her into the caricature of a bitter lesbian just to feed her rampant, untalented narcissism.

[@thetreatment498]

Your name and profile says it all. Says my reaction. I am absolutely with you girl. they destroyed our childhood. I loved the show. Probably *my* favorite, or maybe top 2-3. People used to compare me with Shaggy. Even now for my facial hair and height, and being chill when i meet up with new people. Now there is absolutely nothing that makes me look like him. He was one of my favorite characters. And no, not because of that whole meme "ultra instinct shaggy". It was because he was chill, he valued friendship and i related more with him than Freddy (and as a boy of course i would relate with one of the boys, you as a girl with one of the girls). What they did, that is totally not cool. This is simply wokeness and the leftist movement smashed in an old school series that had nothing to do with politics or sociology or anything of that matter. Sorry for the rant. Anyways hope you have a great day.

[@Corn_Pone_Flicks]

@@thetreatment498 Please, please, please STOP saying "such and such thing 'destroyed my childhood.'" Your childhood is OVER. It is in the past. The past cannot be changed. This is a shitty show that's happening NOW. It hasn't been sent back in time to replace the experiences you had THEN. It is no one else's responsibility to be custodian of your nostalgia.

[@zionleach3001]

"Unlikeable main characters" work when the writer and plot know the character is unlikeable. Not when it the story acts like Velma is in the right.

[@Ms.BimbaBob]

I hate what they did to my favorite characters: Velma was smart, have an interest in the sciences, most skeptical and the one who first think than do. She was the brain of the team. Now she's a sarcastic, unintelligent, selfish lesbian. Daphne was the sweetest girl, heartwarm, empathic, always fashionable, enthusiastic, and eager to help. she's rich so her father gave her and her friends the money to start off and buy their mystery car. But still she was the heart of the team. Now she's just a rich bitch egocentric with lesbian tendencies. Shaggy was funny, food lover, despite his fear, he always supported the team with a sense of humor and jokes, he knew how to defuse the situation. Shaggy and Scooby always united the whole team. Now he's some black dude who's fighting with drugs and freind zone. Fred (my favorite baby) was maybe less intelligent but brave, selfless, strong, a person who faces danger, a real leader of the team who is ready to defend it at any moment, have many interests such as traps, martial arts, wrestling, and weightlifting. And he never lost heart. He was the armor, the defender of the team. Now he's a rich maniacal, rasist, boy with full of anger and full of many issues.

[@MA-go7ee]

They basically took something wholesome and made it ugly.

[@G-LukeJA]

Tbf, it's not the first time Velma has had female interest. Everything else is cringe though

[@Alan-jk1yi]

And Scooby, the show's namesake, was actually given the best treatment by being left out of the show entirely.

[@LORDCAMEL0T]

Well said 🤧

[@dannygoblin5579]

See I would agree with you if you didn't list 'black' and 'lesbian' among all of the numerous flaws of the new characters. Those are pretty irrelevant to your analyses of these characters

[@reyfan011]

I feel for the animators that worked on this. They really worked their hardest on this and should be proud but their work is on a show that is being bashed for bad writing and direction

[@gregowen2022]

I just hope they got paid well, because you are right, they will never be able to talk about this show with pride.

[@thecatmerchant]

They literally Scooby do this with everything and are losing billions because of it but carry on pushing their agenda. I just dropped another video exposing their trash.

[@LucasLima-pi1ux]

@@thecatmerchant i think this is a bot

[@foxhound13]

They did a good job.

[@Jeuro38]

At some point I don't know whether you're guilty as well if you don't just leave such a nasty shitstorm of a project

[@mallorycarpinski1160]

Just remembering being told by my creative writing teacher in middle school, that you need to have a good "hook" to start you're writing, really try to get your readers' attention on the first page. And I'm thinking how a lot of the older classics don't do that but they're still great writing. As we get more and more influenced by making art that will sell, it just gets more and more about catching the viewer/reader/wallets attention as fully and immediately as possible. No wonder our kids feel like it's everyone else's job to keep them entertained even when they are being taught.

[@Zarastro54]

Funny thing is I’ve met and interacted with someone who talks and acts just like a pothead but legit didn’t do any drugs. Like people were actively surprised when they found out he didn’t smoke. They could have had a minor running joke about people assuming “Norville” smoked and he was like “nah.” They could do SOMETHING with that other than “I HATE drugs (pause for laughter).”

[@ZentaBon]

Haha I used to be like that, now I have taken up the habit.

[@Death2all546]

That’s already been a running joke across the entire franchise with Shaggy. Especially when a scene happens where it appears he’s doing drugs but it’s just food related. Iirc, one of the live action movies had him in the back of the van with smoke coming out of it. But it was just him cooking. The “I hate drugs” just felt like they were trying to do a joke like that but lacked any of the subtlety that made it funny.

[@jmurray1110]

Harvey birdman attorney at law did that better

[@CommonSense-iu6wz]

Subversive my eye vulgarity and being gross is what one uses when they lack the intelligence to be witty and or interesting what an insult to Hannah-Barbera

[@gregowen2022]

Spot on. The gross jokes are a crutch

[@steveconvertibles3352]

Those jokes worked for Hannah Barbera

[@ZorrotheArtist]

@@steveconvertibles3352 Difference is, those jokes could actually be pretty funny sometimes in the older shows, if the writers did it properly. And the gross stuff could even tie into the plot. Like in Mystery Inc, where even the stuff that’s meant to be gross even plays into the plot of the episode, like the green goo in I think it was the first episode, where when Shaggy and Scooby ate some of it the gang was like “What the fuck!?” and then they recognized that it was the food they ate earlier and then that’s one of the things to how they were able to solve the mystery. But the writers of Velma, how do I put this… Aren’t fucking funny, perchance? And they probably wouldn’t be able to do the same kind of stuff Mystery Inc does where they made the gross stuff tie into the plot. They just make gross for the sake of gross. They aren’t funny, they aren’t creative at all.

[@azazelgrigori9244]

Don’t you mean a crotch? “Boooo!”

[@azazelgrigori9244]

Steve, think of humor like the art of dance. In that there is a level of grace, subtlety, and flexibility needed. These traits can make the difference between being insync with music and attractive to the audience vs awkwardly trying to copy the moves you see in music videos with trained dancers and choreographers. Hannah Barbara had talented people working on set who’s goal was to actually entertain the audience. They knew what they were doing. Modern “writers” are often hired because they fit some sort of minority checklist and are politically motivated. Not only do they lack talent, but also proper motivation. As for why they’re hired in the first place, I think it’s because network ceos think this political nonsense is good for business. Politics eliminates the need for talent and creativity. Plus they can accuse critics of some ism. Wokeness is a scam that uses minorities instead of helping them.

[@victorfrankenstein4409]

The thing that really pisses me off is that this could have been something amazing. Picture this: Show maintains the mature rating, allowing for a more relatively serious plot and higher stakes. Setting takes place in early 1990's California, the gang is in their early-mid 30's and have went on with their lives. Fred and Daphne are a couple, Fred working as the head of a Home Security company and Daphne as the Governor of California (Maybe they have a kid or more). Shaggy and an elderly Scooby (Dog Years) have their own beach-side, vegan-friendly (Since Shaggy is a vegan) sandwich shop called "Scooby's Snax". Velma is a detective for the LAPD, though one who isn't taken too seriously by her colleagues. One day, Velma gets a call from Shaggy, inviting her to Scooby's Snax's five year anniversary party, doubling as an opportunity to catch up with the old gang since Fred and Daphne will be attending as well. Since her time with the gang is what makes her come across as a joke to her colleagues at the PD, she is reluctant, only accepting because a K-9 Unit passing by reminds her of Scooby and, by extension, his elderly age, her high intellect yelling to her that his time will be approaching some time soon. So she attends, the gang get together, catch up, party (standing out from the crowd with their old dance moves from the original show as the Hex Girls play their jams), overall having a good time. After they get separated to mingle with the other guests, Velma meets a familiar face (up for discussion). Once it gets late, everyone begins to head home, and Velma looks to say goodbye to her friends, starting with Fred and Daphne. However, she can't seem to find Scooby and Shaggy. Looking all over, she heads into the empty shop, where she hears whimpering from the office in the back. In there she finds the place trashed, and one Scooby-Doo lying on the ground, whimpering as there had seemed to be a big scuffle. Scooby tells her that ghoulishly masked men had came in and took Shaggy, and that he had been trying to get back into the mystery business, only to stumble upon something big. Sore and beaten, Scooby begs Velma to find Shaggy, find the ones who took him, solve the mystery. Velma is unsure of herself, no thanks to not having been given a real case in years. Scooby smiles, resting his head on Velma's lap as he closes his eyes. (In his doggy dialect ofc) "Of course you can, Velma. You've always been the brains of our team, if anyone can do this, it's you..." With those words of inspiration, Scooby passes in Velma's arms, exhaling his final breath. Tears in her eyes, they narrow as she makes a silent promise to her dumb, beloved dog. She will find Shaggy. She will find the ones responsible for this. She will solve this Mystery. To Be Continued... And after over an hour of thinking off the top of my head, I have written at the very least a decent premise for what a show called "Velma" could have been. New characters could be introduced, ones that have actual depth and personality while also possessing the diversity that modern audiences want to see. It could maintain the serious tone while making room for the natural silliness that comes with their world if the writers are good enough (and COMPETENT). It's that damn easy, relatively. But no, we instead have what is effectively a template for "How to make another zero-effort show" with Mindy's self-insert as the cherry on top. Fuck Mindy.

[@TheDkbohde]

That was actually better in every way.

[@vincentthendean7713]

Wait, isn't this just "Zombie Island" but older? Like didn't that movie pulled the gang getting back together after retirement? Iirc Daphne was a news caster and Fred her cameraman. Their ratings are down so they tried going back to their niche of mystery hunting. It's pretty lucky that someone just "happened" to need their help. They went to Velma who's a bookshop clerk to find out about this island. As they arrive from the airport, they met Shaggy and Scooby who just got fired from working in the TSA (Scoob's a sniffer) because they ate too much from the passenger's luggage. The whole gang's back together and they take a boat to a remote Louisianan island to solve the mystery of the haunting. It's considered one of the best Scooby-Doo film of all time and it has a pretty mature/horror theme while still straddling the PG/PG-13 rating.

[@victorfrankenstein4409]

@@vincentthendean7713 Zombie Island is and forever will be the best Scooby-Doo movie in my eyes. However, the only similarity between my pitched plot and Zombie Island is the gang being split up. My plot would center around Velma searching for Shaggy throughout the show (Season 1 at least). Daphne would likely provide some assistance being the Governor and all, but will likely be restricted for some reasonable excuse like a major city reconstruction project she has to head or something like that.

[@Beepboop6669]

Your idea sounds so good. I’m legitimately invested in this story and you just made it up as an example!

[@victorfrankenstein4409]

@@Beepboop6669 Much to my point. If Mindy and the rest of the dipshits behind this (and by extensions most other shows) would stop trying to cash in on Rick and Morty humor and focus on writing a coherent, enjoyable show, we could have had something like this.

[@dark67titan99]

Here’s what I hate about modern stories, any time you try to give actual criticism and feedback the writers immediately crew wolf, aka declaring that that one giving the criticism is one of the far right lunatics. And they’ll do the exact same thing for this.

[@JStryker47]

It's just like being called a witch in the middle ages. No proof is required and the angry crowd just immediately believes it, doesn't feel pity, fear, or remorse, can't be bargained with, can't be reasoned with, and absolutely will not stop, ever, even after you are dead.

[@disf5178]

It's true. They do. And they will... but it doesn't matter. It doesn't work. It's used up, and they're losing more for doing it.

[@jamesbond3w]

I think they already did. Or at least some of the 'woke' media outlets tried to blame the low scores as gating

[@gregowen2022]

You're right, and it's amazing watching the mental gymnastics they will go through to find any reason for the show's failure other than..... it was poorly done and wasn't entertaining or thought provoking.

[@disf5178]

@@gregowen2022 do you think the "defense"/manipulation is the canned corporate response (researched market strategy)..or the creative teams' who don't want to except failure?

[@TheEmbessyNetwork]

11:56 THANK YOU FOR SAYING THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD!! Lmao I've been watching reviews about Velma the last couple of days and that's the only thought that runs thru my head. It's like she had a hit writing for The Office and instead of expanding her writing experience with different characters with different depths, she just got comfortable and made every character she got her hands on after that THE SAME EXACT WAY! The worst part is that anybody who gave her constructive criticism was called all sorts of names instead of her just applying the criticism to her writing. Easier to lump in everybody as a "troll" than looking inward at your own faults...

[@gregowen2022]

I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing it! This show finally cemented it for me. She has not grown as a writer at all.

[@ExeErdna]

She basically "wrote" the same show 3 TIMES yet is gaslighting us like she didn't do that...

[@TheEmbessyNetwork]

@@ExeErdna ssshhhh! Don't let Mindy hear you say that; she'll come and get you!! 🤣😂 lmao

[@xheralt]

To paraphrase Syndrome from the Incredibles: *When everyone's subversive, no-one is.*

[@PhilospherDjPsychologist24]

love that it says its feminist right off the bat then shows a girls shower room

[@ianmoone7041]

Aren't they like around 15 too?

[@fohb7291]

And they are in high-school 💀

[@usernameluis305]

Take the hint- women are into that kind of stuff

[@PhilospherDjPsychologist24]

@@usernameluis305speak for yourself much? they would rather read smut, fan fiction, w/e. they would rather read about a girls locker room than watch it

[@gregowen2022]

Oh but it's ok because they pointed out to the audience that what they were doing was dumb. Soooooo clever. Ugh.

[@fatemakhan3843]

I'm very glad this show is getting all the sh*t it deserves. Mindy is the definition of privilege. She grew up in aupper 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.

[@Hinokassaudifan1]

The thing I find super funny is that she sends death threats. Velma. The nerd girl that most people love, now sends death threats. I think a single word is enough to explain this entire thing: "No"

[@moxxiedemongamer3019]

everything I HATE with Velma is everything WORNG with Modern Writing and self aware humor

[@gregowen2022]

right? It's gotten so lazy

[@lunawolf6288]

It’s only good when it done right if you haven’t check out Danny phantom

[@robosoldier11]

@@gregowen2022 I hate it more in the fact they use current popular IP. To use this type of humor in. It’s literally killing off beloved series. Maybe not outright but in so far as peoples appreciation for it. Cause now we have these tumorous modern iterations weighing them down.

[@thecatmerchant]

They literally Scooby do this with everything and are losing billions because of it but carry on pushing their agenda. I just dropped another video exposing their trash.

[@scratchy996]

Modern Writing is writing for the Modern Audience. If you don't like it, it means you are not modern, you are a boomer and everything is your fault !

[@brentparker7359]

What's funny is, the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" was sort of subversive in its premise, but in a subtler way. The show was inspired by/ripped off from the sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" in which Dobie was the main character and Maynard was his goofy beatnik pal. However, the main human character in the cartoon isn't Fred (Dobie), it's Shaggy (Maynard) and the actual main character is his dog. Scooby himself is a subversion of what you'd expect from a dignified, strong Great Dane - instead, he's a goofy coward. The thing is, they don't tell the audience any of this, they just do it. I never thought I'd associate “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” with subtlety, but here we are...

[@conyXcony253]

The best way I describe how I feel about Velma is trying to be satirical with its source material, but misunderstanding how to actually be satirical. The Harley Quinn show worked with this same format because you can tell it was written by people who are actual fans of DC who are glad to poke fun but also respect their source

[@justaghostinthesea]

This show so desperately wants to be the Harley Quinn show. Even the art style is reminiscent of it

[@ChristianFrates1997]

Lobo pre-dated Harley Quinn.

[@TheMuseLuci]

too many shows are basically riding on the fact that they are "soooo progressive" like "LOOK we made the girls openly GAY" we made them NOT white. look how open minded and progressive we are. and Mind you. THATS FINE. but that can't be the only thing carrying the show. have a gay indian velma. have a black shaggy. asian daphne. that's fine. BUT what else?? oh lets make the straight white male a misogynistic racist douche? yeaah... yeah lets do that. and if anybody criticize the show, they are just racist and homophobic.

[@Quandale.dingle.here.]

Im arabic and muslim and seeing the so called muslim representation hurts me inside considering how much fuck they don't give, they just wanna flex how much progressive and diverse they are like stfu

[@zyanjosepj3153]

Huh

[@AnimeLover4Life3395]

Exactly, all of those things are fine, but they are character traits and not strong enough to build a whole show on, not even a full episode. I don't care about the changed to race and sexuality, I'm mad that they butchered the characters killing any personality they had

[@TheAndrewj96]

@@AnimeLover4Life3395 Exactly. Some amount of the criticism being leveled at the show is coming solely from a place of racism, yes. There are tons of people who want every character in everything they consume to be white, and they’re all worthless assholes. But none of those changes are what make the show so bad. It’s the fact that they didn’t even try to make a good show. If you’re going to try to be progressive - and again, more power to you - _you have to know how to fucking write on top of that._ If you don’t put any effort into it, you’re only hurting your cause, because normal people notice that kind of shit regardless of how many minority characters there are.

[@MetaKnight964]

@@AnimeLover4Life3395 It's never a good idea to race swap a character with the exception of customizable avatars.

[@thomasobrien1841]

Bottom line: if both political parties can agree that your show is trash, you’re doing something seriously wrong.

[@JohnWall-lj1mx]

Nobody likes being preached to by a out of touch hollywood elitist that was born with the silver spoon the second they popped out of the womb

[@NASkeywest]

So Fred is the only character they didn’t race swap and they used him as the punching bag. Of course.

[@robertbeisert3315]

The least Mindy's ever had and the most I've ever had are hundreds of thousands of dollars apart. Rich parents got her into expensive schools, and then she walked straight into the writer's room. She is privilege personified, and yet she lectures me on privilege.

[@sj-kp1ks]

You forget. She is a Person of Color and so BY DEFINITION is oppressed. It doesn't matter how much money or power she has. She's OPPRESSED, damn it, and don't you dare think otherwise!

[@r.connor9280]

@@sj-kp1ks Oh, no she's pressed to find any good ideas

[@TheVagolfer]

Greg, I've seen several critics talk about this show, yours is the best. Good job.

[@gregowen2022]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@ArmaBiologica35]

Funny thing is other Scooby Doo media has also been meta, subversive and edgy like the first Scooby Doo movie for example, it's a silly movie but it does everything this new series wanted to do, but better. It's meta because it makes commentary on how silly it is that every villain is always a guy wearing a mask, Daphne always being the damsel in distress, how Scrappy Doo was a bad idea and how Shaggy is obviously always smoking weed. It's subversive because it starts with the gang breaking up, Scrappy Doo was the villain all along, the monsters were real and Daphne can actually defend herself. And it's edgy because... It's an early 2000's movie so that's part of the charm. The difference is that this is so reliant on meta humor that it doesn't really have enough of other substance of it's own to warrant meta commentary, it's subversive in every way that other modern shows are (Let's take something wholesome from your childhood and change into something completely different so that you'll be upset about it in social media, Haha!... Never seen that one before.) so it's not actually subverting anything and It's edgy humor is too juvenile that It's less about making parents angry and more about making you feel second-hand embarassment.

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

I don't think the creator of velma was a real super fan

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

Also the Scooby Doo movie was supposed to be R Rated. Shaggy was supposed to be a stoner and Velma and Daphne were supposed to be lesbians

[@gregowen2022]

Exactly! Scooby has been making fun of itself since Freddy Prinze Jr did Fred, but it knew how much and when. they had this amazing skill called subtlety. We have seen it work in the past on this very property, which just adds to how disappointing this new show is.

[@BingBangPoe]

The writers probably watched _Rick and Morty,_ _Big Mouth_ and _Family Guy_ and thought to themselves: "Hey! We can do that! We can be smart and quirky!" What saddens me the most is that underneath this massive pile of garbage there is a show there. The artstyle and animation are surprisingly well polished, the voice acting is (mostly) good, and the premise (investigating the murders) is actually interesting on a surface level.

[@MK_ULTRA420]

Idk anyone who likes Big Mouth other than supporters of Nick Kroll, who looks like a Whole Foods manager who stays buzzed on Kombucha all day.

[@Pfyzer]

True, they destroyed the premise by just having Velma to be the "what I say is true because

[@M3GRSD]

What saddens me is they destroyed Scooby Doo in their quest to be like the other shows...

[@faustsiftar7683]

@@MK_ULTRA420 I thought Big Mouth would be really obnoxious and hard to watch but when I started watching I finished it in like 2 weeks

[@gg836]

More like..."We want to do something like Harley Queen" but did not understood what makes that show great.

[@ghostface0927]

Not all heroes wear capes and you are definitely one of them. Just hearing you explain the show was physically painful and I can’t thank you enough for suffering through this show so I didn’t have too

[@gregowen2022]

Thanks for taking some time to watch! It's a win-win

[@draketheduelist]

When it comes to the endless vulgarity, Velma seems to have a textbook case of what I like to call "Rated R for Deadpool". The idea is that R-rated and Unrated media tend to have lower demographic appeal for self-evident reasons. As a result, if a work wants to make itself adult-rated specifically for one vision-driven reason (in the case of _Velma_ they probably wanted free reign for violence; you can't really have murder mysteries while tiptoing around the concept of murder wherein the bad guy gets arrested on twelve counts of "making people pay the ultimate price"...), then it won't be long before that media is vulgar for _all_ of the reasons. There's this "in for a penny, in for a pound" variant of the Sunk Cost Fallacy that dictates that the only way adult-rated media can make their cost back is to basically swing for the fences to get as much mass appeal as possible, creative vision be damned. Thus, violent works are suddenly dropping hard F-bombs like candy, showing off boobs like it gets them a tax write-off, doing enough hard drugs to put a Mormon family through college, and so on. Gotta' collect _all_ the mortal vices. Gone is any notion that adult content is some kind of garnish to the show meant to serve specific purposes, like sex in a romance or violence in a Western. No, vice _becomes_ the show. Which vice? _...YES!_ This is, of course, ridiculous. The only reason the _Deadpool_ movies did that was to be true to the hedonistic, crazed nature of the character. His brain tumor crossed with his immense healing factor makes his thought process wildly unpredictable, and _certainly_ inappropriate. It wouldn't make sense for _anything_ to be off limits. It's _understood_ that Deadpool is an antihero, if phrases like "with great power comes great irresponsibility" from the trailers didn't make it clear. He's a parody of the uptight straight-laced heroes that comics are normally all about. _Deadpool_ remembers what seems to be an increasingly lost lesson about comic relief: it has to _relieve_ the audience from something.

[@gregowen2022]

Holy shit that was well said. "Doing enough drugs to put a Mormon family through college" is definitely my new favorite phrase. But you nailed it. They think they have to go so hard, but it's empty and pointless. It's radio shock jock stuff.

[@UnityAgainstJewishEvil]

Yea you articulated this issue flawlessly. 👌

[@thecatmerchant]

They literally Scooby do this with everything and are losing billions because of it but carry on pushing their agenda. I just dropped another video exposing their trash.

[@madisonsellers1714]

It also helps that Deadpool was usually one of, if not, the *only* character doing these vulgar/graphic things in any given scene. The people around him were the straight men to his insane ramblings which helps space out the jokes and keeps them from being worn out to quickly. In these new shows, damn near everybody is trying to one up each other with over the top vulgarity which just makes the dialogue feel tacky before its even a quarter in. Not to mention that it removes any sort of character distinction in terms of dialogue. Velma talks the same as Norville talks the same as Daphne talks the same as any of the background characters.

[@brialapoint2608]

I get why. I had a mom that wouldnt let me swaer around her. I think the younger gen is tired of having the f bomb and other words censored

[@RabidMouser]

Just another reason to remind people of the Mystery Inc. show and how great it was as a Scooby Show cartoon.

[@gregowen2022]

Scooby Doo has a great history of really good content. Hopefully this doesn't retroactively soil any of it

[@solarflare9078]

I've found a Velma shill literally calling that show racist and bigoted once. I don't want to live on this planet anymore

[@olliegoria]

@@gregowen2022 Scrappy wasn't able to kill the franchise. I doubt this will

[@ryans413]

Just watch the 2002 and 2004 movies they were made for kids but had the adult jokes too that worked. Not this pile of trash

[@DarisT-qc1fw]

Who'd have thought that we'd end up in a time when none of our childhood memories are safe from these people.

[@ManMeetsGamez]

We used to have stories about a group of kids coming together despite a class divide in income, education, and parentage. I believe it was called Scooby Doo. This new era of media is designed to split us up. Velma and Daphne hating each other is total garbage. The entire premise of this show is below garbage actually and it is never going to be considered anything but fan fiction to myself.

[@danielreynolds4716]

So you changed Shaggy in to a unassertive, none threatening beta bro huh? yeah that seems to be the only black male mainstream entertainment is comfortable with #love my representation y'all

[@justindixon1586]

I mean for gods sake Wednesday got accused for racism cause the black characters were mean and bullies even though they were actual characters that got arcs at this point nobody can be happy in Hollywood or with critics 😂

[@azazelgrigori9244]

Idk about you, but I’d love to see a movie where they replace Shaggy Rodgers with Shaggy the reggae artist. Actually draw up his character, have him voice it, and let him make his own cover of the theme song. The very act will at least make people curious. And I bet he’ll love every moment of it.

[@lexquezon9009]

Huh? When was Shaggy ever assertive to begin with? Wasn't he that cowardly guy who got scared alongside Scooby during the original series?

[@sarafontanini7051]

@@lexquezon9009 yes except from what i can tell Norville's thing in this show ISN'T cowardice,mostly jsut jokes about how he hates drugs and wanting to smooch velma.

[@Hanmacx]

@@sarafontanini7051 Notvilles uncle (?) Looks like Shaggy If the show was clever they could have used that

[@dave-000]

These people sometimes make me feel like I'm the greatest writer of all time. Except I don't write, I only piece together shows in my head.

[@justaghostinthesea]

What is writing, if not piecing together shows in your head?

[@shagohad3]

Something I think the creators failed to understand is that, gay Velma isn't subversive and it never really was. She was straight for decades and in that time got a big lesbian following because she fit the stereotype. Then one of the Mystery Incorporated creators said she was gay for Hotdog Water. Then she was a lesbian in one of the newer movies. It's something that's always been associated with her character. If they wanted actually be clever, they'd have Freddy and Shaggy hook up.

[@Can_O_Crayola]

iirc, wasn't she always supposed to be a lesbian? I think one of her creators or something had intended her to be so, but the norms of the time wouldn't really support a tv character being openly gay, so she was left as straight over the years. Like it really isn't surprising at all, either way, so the whole subversive thing doesn't work like you said.

[@carlthebigman]

finally, I'm glad someone said this!!!

[@johnindigo5477]

lesbians are ok for tv, but two men?

[@Gamerblam]

Didn’t in Mystery Incorporated she liked tried to go out with Shaggy? Then they didn’t because Shaggy felt more attached and didn’t want to leave Scooby behind so it never went anywhere.

[@voidoflight2420]

@@Gamerblam Yeah, Shaggy picked Scooby over her and she ended up being in an implied relationship with Hotdog Water. The reason why they didn't actually take it further than an implication was due to Cartoon Network at the time I'm pretty sure.

[@cubist12]

Even the jokes that you mentioned that were funny? Those have been done to death in recent comedies - especially the 'oh, look at this uncomfortable situation interrupting this serious moment' scene. Just about every comedy has that.

[@DrGandW]

I never mind well trodden ground if it’s executed well enough, but the bar does rise if it’s overused.

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

I hate that as much as the cock block kiss

[@gregowen2022]

Very true, both of you. At this point it has to be executed perfectly to break through the noise. I wouldn't call either of the scenes I mentioned gut busters, but I did expel air form my nose. I like The Office, so I'm probably just biased toward that humor

[@jolly1559]

I felt like they were trying to do to the gritty kid's show reboot genre what Blazing Saddles did to the endless stream of cowboy movies, but it just came off like a wounded animal trying to bite at everyone who interacted with it.

[@gregowen2022]

Blazing saddles is a good point because it made fun of itself, too. Modern writers are too prideful to really poke at themselves and that's why so much of it isn't funny

[@austinmorrison6953]

Bear in mind shows like Inside Job are getting canceled but THIS is seen as okay to green light

[@theheroneededwillette6964]

Kind of shows how deranged the western entertainment industry has gotten with this social political obsession. They don’t care about the customer anymore, they only care about pushing their “message” even if it kills them.

[@gregowen2022]

After the trailer got ratio'd to hell, I would have thought someone with a brain at HBO would pump the brakes. What if they did?! what if THIS is the better version?!

[@ButterFlyGardenBlossom]

Yeah, Warner loves to give lots of attention and care to bad shows like Velma and TTG but cancel cool shows or those with lots of potential like Infinity Train and Ok KO.

[@jimmyjohnjoejr]

@@ButterFlyGardenBlossom infinity train sucked

[@ceebbees12345]

inside job's getting whAT

[@TakashiDemonServant]

It’s basically Mindy being herself.

[@BloodyBay]

At least the damage she could do was minimized as Taffyta (in Wreck-It Ralph) and Disgust (in Inside-Out). Can't say the same for the _rest_ of her performances. 😒

[@MrOverHeels]

I have a question, as someone who live far away from wokeness, what is it with modern screenwriter and their obsession to make strong female character really abrassive, mean, and unlikable. Do they see that as sign of strength?

[@ThePTurtle115]

Feminism is just the idea that women should have the right to be fuck boys too and be praised for it. It’s a projection on the men these women are dating. Assholes, jerks, chauvinists. And embodying that stereotype into themselves. So yeah. “The strong, independent woman who don’t need no man.” In essence, is essentially a complete and utter douchebag.

[@rokinjaguar]

I think originally it came from criticism that female characters were too mild and spineless. That the values usually associated with femininity (kindness, empathy, tenderness, etc) were the only traits given to female characters, so that they had no agency or personality of their own. Unfortunately, a lot of writers just make female characters mean and pushy and miss the whole point

[@blondbraid7986]

@@rokinjaguar Yes and no, while there certainly have been an overabundance of female characters being doormat damsels, there's also always been female characters being portrayed as overemotional and quick to anger (like Daisy Duck lashing out on Donald), usually played for laughs or to make the Audience sympathize with the male character. I think that while you make a good point, another big reason is that writers are too afraid that making a female protagonist botha competent AND also friendly and well liked by her peers will make the audience label her a Mary Sue.

[@justaghostinthesea]

Funnily enough, I'd say that Princess Peach in the recent Super Mario Bros movie is a great example of an ACTUAL strong female character. Because she's a badass, she's competent, and she's proactive. But she's also really kind, caring, and compassionate. It's a good balance of character traits.

[@tell-me-a-story-]

I think the want you to hate them beacause they like calling people sexist.

[@patrikioskoskinas3308]

I am a huge scooby doo fan, I jokingly watched the first episode with my roommate. 27 minutes and there wasn’t even a smile from either of us the entire time. The only thing it has to do with scooby doo is the character names and wardrobe, and even then they messed up Velma’s mothers name, which is Angie Dinkley

[@KumoriShichiyou]

This is like if somebody rolled up all the worst parts of Tumblr, Katamari style, and then hurled it at the Scooby-Doo franchise. And I say that as an avid Tumblr user.

[@Rikalonius]

The second I hear the word "adult" thrown out, I know that it actually means overly juvenile. Mindy Keiling is no better than the average person who enjoyed Porkey's, which is ironic, because those are the people she hates the most.

[@Queen1001N]

Your comment reminds me of a quote from C. S. Lewis. “Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

[@Rikalonius]

@@Queen1001N The irony is, my opinion on the matter is derived from Lewis' works.

[@tangroro]

The biggest problem with modern writing is lampshading, to a point where writers are aiming for "so bad it's good" story all the time

[@gregowen2022]

Yes, exactly. Shooting the moon is much more difficult to pull off than talented writers make it look.

[@paigemosher8697]

The fruit they pick is so low-hanging that it may as well be growing in a strawberry patch.

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

Really says how bad the show is when even Rotten Tomatoes and most other media outlets agree it sucks. Then again this show feels like what would happen if someone took Scooby Doo and made a Scream parody out of it, but badly.

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

Robot Chicken beat Kaling into the serious edgy parody of Scooby Doo in the 2000's

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

@@Thomasmemoryscentral Yeah, except that one was funny.

[@Drixenol86]

“The Emperor has no clothes”

[@gregowen2022]

Yes, it's pretty great watching these outlets finally realize they can't defend this crap forever. They admitted that Witcher spin-off was terrible. They admitted by the end of Rings of Power that it was bad. It's probably too late to save their reputations, but it's fun to watch them try.

[@solarflare9078]

Wow. When even Rotten Tomatoes, the wokest aggerate review site, hates it, you know the show absolutely sucks

[@j.c.denton2060]

I have never once heard someone say "I loved how subversive that was."

[@L337M4573RK]

The show is already bombing hard in the reviews (for good reason), the writers and creators are blaming the "toxic fans" and "racist/sexist/etc critics" (like we've seen SO many times before), and the show itself is nothing but "Woke" garbage. Not even the titular character comes off as likable in any redeemable way...and SHE is the one viewers are "supposed to get behind"? Even "Woke" Leftists (this show's "target audience") have deemed it as RACIST with regard to just how many NEGATIVE RACIAL STEREOTYPES are littered throughout each episode! If HBO Max had any sliver of shame left, they'd immediately CANCEL and REMOVE this show from every corner of its platform!

[@gregowen2022]

You can tell just how bad this show is that even reviewers and leftist can't try to defend it. The internet is experiencing a rare moment of unity where we all hate the exact same thing for the same reason, lol

[@DemonMage]

Mystery Inc was subversive. It was also, funny, deep, insightful and most importantly ENTERTAINING! This is the equivalent to Family Guy "prom night dumpster baby". But not nearly as socially biting.

[@Bennahr_Fett]

I can sit through this and not die as I feel like I've seen worse (believe it or don't). However, this epitomizes every contemporary issue we face in Hollywood. A corporate entertainment industry mired in discrimination hysteria, greedy suits at the top and young cathartic writers who have no other ambition aside from polluting rage and politics into everything they touch.

[@cybertramon0012]

You know what we’re good subversive Scooby Doo stories? Mystery Incorporated and Zombie Island. Zombie Island subverted the monsters being people dressing up by having them be actual zombies, and Mystery Incorporated had eldritch horrors and a parrot locked in max security.

[@explorinjenkins349]

Zombie Island was my jam. The fact that the zombies weren't the bad guys rocked too. I mean it was wild that one of the zombies was a confederate soldier, too.

[@DovahFett]

@@explorinjenkins349 Some of the zombies were murderous pirates too, if I remember correctly. One of the points of revealing that the zombies weren't the villains was to show that despite whoever they may have been during their lives and whatever they may have done, they did not deserve the miserable existence they had been cursed to experience by the werecats (who were also victims in their own right). It was a surprisingly nuanced plot for a children's film.

[@Allustar]

The thing I hate most about these shows is that they make these characters who were fine as is into shallow, unlikable assholes. There would be zero depth to them because they gotta have LGBTQ and “strong, independent” women. It’s like these writers have never talked to an actual woman before.

[@gregowen2022]

The Hollywood bubble is real and I don't think any real women live there. They think it's so interesting to corrupt childhood characters. meanwhile, everyone outside of LA couldn't be less interested

[@jonathanlindstedt8817]

One of the biggest issues I’ve noticed with it is it doesn’t know how to “show not tell” they keep regurgitating the same information over and over again instead of just showing it and moving on. One example of this is when the girl falls out of Velma’s locker with her brain missing, then Velma just yells “she has no brain!” Instead of leaving it at a tense moment they try throwing in a quick joke that completely disregards the scene and just reiterates something we already know.

[@Cartoonist113]

Aside from the meta humor which is a really low form of humor this is Ren and Stimpy apc all over again

[@THEDIVINEMISCARRIAGE]

execpt ren and stimpy was entertaining.

[@justindixon1586]

They did say to much meta especially there need to say “oh it looks like we’re doing the usual x when really this is happening” if You thought the joke needed that much explaining then why’d you do it

[@Saltedroastedcaramel]

@@THEDIVINEMISCARRIAGE They're talking about the Adult Party Cartoon hence apc.

[@Cartoonist113]

@@justindixon1586 exactly, an important rule of comedy is to never under any circumstances explain a joke before or after it’s told because that ruins a joke

[@ashuron291]

what this people understand for “Subversive” is doing what everybody else is doing believing they are being creative

[@jefferyandbob3137]

plus once a show establishes they're "subversive" they're even more predictable then a non-subversive show, not one thing in the trailer was something I didn't expect

[@gregowen2022]

Very true. Reminds me of when the Emo phase finally ran its course. You can't say "I'm not like the other kids" when you dress and act like all the other kids.

[@rafaelcastor2089]

"Subversive" is now just a trope for the most part, gotta love the irony

[@NathanielKempson]

One thing to say to this. The Mystery Incorperated series on kids TV years ago. WIPED THE FLOOR with this, i dunno, trash is too good a word to use, but you get the idea. It ACTUALLY did something new and intresting with the characters it was great.

[@oliviamiller1388]

Any single episode of Teen Titans Go different Seasons any episodes is better than Velma is during at any episode throughout the HBO Max Streaming Service for Velma!!

[@gregowen2022]

That's a solid point. That show was so stupid, but in a loveable way so it worked. It was fun. I even saw the movie they made. It was funny

[@JStryker47]

I've never read a She Hulk comic in my life, and barely paid much attention to the Scooby Doo cartoons as a kid, and even I could've done a WAY better job writing both of those shows. Love your kitty too, by the way.

[@gregowen2022]

Yes, a literal group of children could have written a better story for either of those shows. He's really the best!

[@reharl4953]

If you can't take a straightforward, genuinely interesting story and tell it well, you can always make absolute trash, say you did it on purpose, then point your finger at the audience for noticing.

[@Cavalieria]

I don't get why is it so hard for them to make their own media if they want to be represented. If they show they make ends up being a failure, its only them that can be blamed for delivering such a mess.

[@22Arcana]

Cause it takes talent and hardwork to make something new thats good? Cause leeching off of popular IPs is an easy way to get attention and they think that it somehow guarantees success so they can do whatever else they want as long as it vaguely resembles the original? And most of all cause their ego is so damn fragile that they can never admit to any failure and that its ALWAYS someone elses (namely us the fans/customers) fault?

[@benminer7071]

Because they know there’s going to be people defending it in the sake of diversity. And it gets traction from reactionary right wingers and those that defend it vs them start fighting and it goes viral.

[@gregowen2022]

The really telling thing is that none of these companies have given a faithful retelling of any African folk lore or history. They say they want to represent, but can't seem to tell a single story from a whole continent

[@Cavalieria]

@@gregowen2022 A shame really, because I'd really love to see a movie about some legendary hero from africa.

[@madensmith7014]

It wouldn't get any clout otherwise. They think they need to use established titles to guarantee a base number of viewers so that they wouldn't be in the red. They don't like taking risks on new stories where they don't know if people will watch it in the first place. Hollywood and American studios have learned the wrong lessons from all their films and cartoons that didn't make money.

[@shanelogan630]

I love the concept of kids shows and games we watched and played as kids evolve into more adult media, but this gives me little hope in that concept ever taking off the ground.

[@ChisomagaIhezie]

It has been done before and has failed.

[@Fullerbay]

For people who want a slightly more mature scooby doo show just watch mystery incorporated. Hands down the best Scooby doo series.

[@andieallison6792]

I saw a tweet saying that the humor between shows like Adventure Time and shows like Velma has to do with whether the script is written by writers or if the script is built off storyboards. And storyboarding allows for a greater capacity for humor and more visual gags so the humor is better because it's more well thought out.

[@boshwa20]

Welp. Time to rewatch Inside Job so I can know what a good adult show can be

[@FrozenDarkness4]

And now they canned it too:(

[@justyouraveragemartian783]

oh boy i sure do hope it doesnt get cancelled! and then it got cancelled. streamjng platforms love to kill quality and for what

[@agentmothman]

im still sad it got cancelled after only 1 season :((

[@boshwa20]

@@agentmothman 1 season? Didnt the second season just finish with a definitive ending?

[@ryanm.8720]

“No! This isn't how you're supposed to play the game!” - Netflix, probably

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

This is why I've gone back to cable and dvds. There's nothing worth subscribing on streaming services.

[@mr.critical5523]

I haven't seen the show yet... But I still know everything that has and will happen in this show.

[@gregowen2022]

I guarantee you absolutely do. It's so transparent you could grow plants inside it

[@Dunch0717]

They were like "okay, so we take Scoooby Doo. Remove Scooby Doo. Change every characters personality, and make them all unlikable in one way or another." They litteraly just used the names and nothing else. Its like taking a hardworking chefs perfectly cooked dish, removing all the stuff you dont like, covering it with salt, then flushing it down a toilet, and then making an unbuttered burnt toast sandwich and saying it tasts better.

[@dr.inkwell1070]

2:29 I love when youtubers do these perfect ouiji-board edits that riff off of/finish the youtubers sentences. It's probably actually my favorite thing about KZbin atm.

[@yuukovukovich9996]

My first tip-off is that the animation looks a LOT more like Family Guy or that stereotypical "adult cartoon" look than I thought it would.

[@LUNITUNZBackup]

I'm so glad you mentioned The Mindy Project, because as someone who actually liked that show a lot, I basically recognized every joke in here, would fit - with little tweaking - into that show, which makes this show suffer, basically. Also, I completely forgot that Mindy's name in The Mindy Project wasn't Mindy.

[@gregowen2022]

Thank you! I'm glad someone else sees it too. She only has a few jokes!

[@blahyoubleep]

Your comment about pacing in the beginning of this video is spot on. I've noticed nearly all of the contemporary cartoons that my kids watch on the weekends move at lightning speed.

[@p52893]

As a wee ladd I had comic books and a tricycle, but I grew up