#velma series

[luna--dragon]

This exchange about the new Velma show is SENDING ME

[papa-m0thman]

I actually really like the idea of a Scooby Doo prequel centered around the Mystery Gang before they became friends.

Velma is your typical nerd who's interested in true crime. She started off solving small mysteries around her neighborhood, like where someone's missing cat went or who stole someone's bike. Then, some sort of really big mystery happens that the police completely overlook. Maybe students are ending up dead or missing or something like that.

She goes to the same school as Fred, Daphne, and Shaggy, but never talked to them due to personal assumptions. Fred is a popular jock, and a lot of his teammates bully Velma and force her to do their homework for them, so she doesn't trust him either. Daphne is a pretty rich girl who hangs out with a group of mean girls who also make fun of girls like Velma. Even though Fred's group and Daphne's group overlap, the two of them have never really spoken to one another before. Then, there's Shaggy who always shows up to school late, never knows the answer to teachers' questions, and sleeps through half of his classes.

Eventually, one of Daphne's friends get kidnapped. So, one night, she sneaks into the school to find some clues at the same time as Velma. Fred's there because he forgot his uniform, and Shaggy just likes hanging out at the school to do his homework in peace and quiet. They all team up for a while until security gets involved, and Fred helps them into a speedy getaway as the only one with his driver's license.

With Fred driving them home, the group decides to at least have a temporary team-up. Daphne and Velma have a shared goal, Fred likes having friends for the first time in forever, and Shaggy doesn't want to be the odd man out.

They get closer as they solve the mystery together. Fred isn't a jerk, and is super sweet and amazing at building all sorts of things, especially traps. Shaggy always brings the gang food he made, and eventually introduces them to his talking dog who may or may not be immortal. Daphne invites everyone to her house for sleepovers, helps Velma explore her style in a way that's still comfortable to her, and reveals her endless knowledge about every single person in the entire town.

The mystery gets solved, and the four stays friends. The End :)

[canaryinacoolmine]

Universal response to HBO's shitshow Velma

[copdog1234]

Also, I feel like the specific race swaps they did with the characters also feel like they're falling into stereotypes on the surface???

When we forget how they butchered the character personalities, when you think of Velma typically, you think of someone super smart and overachieving. Making her Southeast Asian makes her the "smart Southeast Asian character". When you think of Shaggy, you think of a stoner who's high all the time and loves to eat. Making him black makes him a "lazy POC character". When we think of Daphne, we think of the hot damsel in distress character who needs to be saved by Fred (which is not her whole character, none of these are, but if you're shorthanding it, then yeah). Making her east asian makes her a "lotus blossom character". Leaving Fred white, makes the last one worse.

Like, if we're gonna race swap, why not make the characters races that don't perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Keep Shaggy white, make Velma black, make Daphne Southeast Asian, make Fred East Asian. Boom, you're automatically making the race swaps more interesting and not perpetuating stereotypes commonly seen on TV and you don't have to change the character's personalities at all! Wow.

And don't get me started on how ugly the current designs for the characters for this show are. They don't Look Good or coherent

[jesus-can-see-you]

They're so right having a talking dog in a adult show is a horrible idea because talking animals are for kids right?

Right....?

[yoshimickster]

The main problem with Velma, is that the female leads personalities are overtly Flanderized, and the male leads personalities are overtly bastardized, two different extremes that make all four characters unlikable.

[ordinaryschmuck]

Alright, last time ever that I’ll talk about Velma. I promise.

Because I’ve been extra salty towards this show all week, and I don’t want to take it further than that. Talking nothing but bad stuff about this show for the entirety of its run is exactly what the writers want. They want us to hate watch it so we can talk about each new atrocity the show brings up week after week, and call us haters or anti-woke propagandists. When, in reality, they don’t give a FUCK about any of that. They don’t care about other races, genders, or sexualities. They just WANT you to think they do. Know how I can tell? Because I’ve SEEN genuine attempts of representation.

THIS is a genuine attempt of representation. Matt Braly, the series creator of Amphibia and a Thai-American, felt like Thai culture was underrepresented in media. So, he not only made his main character and her Thai, but he also dedicated subplots and entire episodes showcasing the culture he wanted to represent.

THIS is a genuine attempt at representation. Dana Terrace, series creator of The Owl House and open Bisexual, wanted a main character that was explicitly bi to finally help kids feel like they’re seen. To help give the representation SHE always wanted.

But when I look at Velma? None of it hits the same.

This isn’t a genuine attempt for representation. This is Mindy Kuling turning a character into a self-insert to make herself look smarter than everyone else and the most important person in a narrative. Truth is, this Velma is nothing more than a sociopath, narcissistic dipshit who thinks she’s better than everyone else but is actually more aggravating than endearing.

So...Good job representing YOURSELF there, Mindy.

And this?

This isn’t representation. This is a shield.

A way to protect the show from any criticism because it couldn’t possibly be bad. They have gay characters! Gay characters are good in everything!

Except that is the LAST reason you should include gay characters! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE more LGBTQA+ representation in media. What I don’t love is obvious attempts to pander to audiences just to avoid criticisms. And keep in mind, this is NOT the first attempt a creator wanted to make Velma gay.

James Gunn wanted to make her gay in the live action movie, but WB said no.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated (the GOAT of the Scooby-Doo franchise) wanted to make Velma gay, but could only imply it because Cartoon Network didn’t greenlit Steven Universe yet.

THOSE are genuine attempts to make Velma gay, to represent people because the creators of both products agreed that it was the least they could do.

But making Velma and Daphne a thing just to protect a show is nothing more than shallow and inconsiderate of the hard fight dozens of people put up with for the sake of representation.

And, honestly, I’d be a little more forgiving if the writing in Velma was good. But it’s not.

Within the first minute, this show features...

Cockroaches having sex...

And fifteen year olds taking a shower to make a joke about how over-sexualized a series’ pilot can be.

First of all: FUCK YOU FOR MAKING ME FIND THIS SCREEN SHOT FOR A POINT!

Second: You lose every ounce of credibility that you actually care about people when one of the first moves you make in your series is to sexualize minors for the sake of a joke.

A joke that doesn’t make sense at that. Point me to a series pilot that’s over-sexualized. If you get more than ten, I’ll say you have a point. I won’t say that sexualizing minors to make it was a good thing, but I’ll at least say that, “Yeah. You’re right. So many pilots do this. SO STOP DOING IT!”

That’s the level of writing Velma has. And it’s why they have their “representation” to protect themselves. Meanwhile, you want to know the level of writing you’ll find in The Owl House and Amphibia?

Villains who prove that the most dangerous people are the ones who make the rules.

Jokes that are actually funny.

Likable main protagonists who are kind and caring to the people around them.

Protagonists who have heartfelt relationships with other great characters, to the point that it breaks your heart to see them leave each other.

And on top of that, actually good representation. But here’s the thing: The representation isn’t only genuine. It’s a bonus. Something great to add onto everything else the writers and the creators do right.

What it isn’t is an attempt to protect a show from what it does wrong.

And that’s it. That’s the LAST time I’ll ever talk about Velma. I really mean it this time.

Talking about this show past it’s premier is already more attention it deserves. And if you were smart, you would not only stop watching, but stop talking. The best attention to give something you hate is NO attention.

If you really want to waste time, waste it by watching something good, like The Owl House and Amphibia. They may be kids shows, but they have more maturity than a single second of Velma.

[picturejasper20]

As others have said, instead of hatewatching Velma series and giving it more views, watch something like Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated.

[lunarspiral1127]

So, I refuse to watch Velma, but I heard a rumor about the show turning Scooby into a black girl that Shaggy dates, which is really REALLY messed up. But, I found this on Twitter.

So, this might be a false rumor, which is a relief. Like turning Scooby, a talking dog, into a black woman for Shaggy to date is wrong and a whole new low. And, this show has sank into so many lows.

[skiplo-wave]

[mat2modblog]

Oh look the first dark Scooby-Doo show with the first LBGTQIA+ Velma

It’s the single best Scooby-Doo show ever.

It was cancelled after two seasons.

Also A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is the first prequel, followed by that one flashback in the live-action movie.

Mindy Kaling’s Velma show can’t claim any of these things.

Also Norville is Shaggy’s real name people, this isn’t news. In the  Mindy Kaling Velma show he just hasn’t got his nickname yet... That’s really one of the few actual criticisms (as in not merely the whinging and buzzword-slinging of conservative extremists) I can’t agree with.

[luna--dragon]

Don't you just love it when a kids show from the 2010s can explain talking animals in a unique and serious way, but the adult spin off premiering this year didn't even try?

[likeamaya]

HEAR ME OUT

velma show SUCKS big time but…

i couldn’t stop myself from getting attached to fred.

he started off as a spoiled rich douchbag and ended up being, in my humble opinion, the most likable character.

it’s not like he’s genuinely rude, unlike mindy velma. he simply doesn’t know any better because of his parents.

and i really liked his “himbo trying his best” arc.

he is an actual sweet dork, it’s his parents that were sick, both for abusing him his whole life, trying to make him the spit image of his father, and also, well, the whole “mother removing brains of people to replace mine because i am not good enough for her” thing.

so, i just want to say that this show can’t be saved but fred… he has become my special number-one little guy :)

[hikiclawd]

some shaggy (norville) doodles because the velma show pissed me off with his characterization (everyones characterization is shitty but his really upset me)

rant incoming : i get that the (presumably nonblack) writers didn't want their only character that was changed to be black to be a pothead but making him completely anti drugs is such a dumb decision, and i cannot stress this enough ; HIS PERSONALITY IS TERRIBLE. he's every other black nerd you see on the internet and he retains NONE of his original personality from what we can see, and his crush on velma does nothing to make him likable; and simply having shaggy there without scooby is also a terrible decision since a lot of their writing is meant to play off of each other, so one without the other is jarring.. idk.

ALSO THEY CAN RIP STONER SHAGGY FROM MY COLD DEAD CARPAL TUNNELED HANDS

[idontevenremember5minutesago]

The only thing that the Velma show did right is bring all the Scooby doo stans on here to the spotlight.

I had no idea the fandom on here was so big! Where the hell have the rest of you been and why haven’t we been partying together?

[scooby-doobert]

but yeah one valid criticism about the velma series that i've been seeing is about the sexualization of minors, which i'm gonna be honest is really exaggerated and unnecessary throughout the first two episodes. but i kinda already expected it because the purpose of the series is to be an 'adult reboot' and you know adult cartoons try too hard to be full of swearing and sex and drugs and whatever

adult cartoons in general never really appeased me, i think they try too hard to be mature and end up being really immature instead, like a preteen swearing excessively and desperately talking about sex because they're trying too hard to be adults yk what i mean?