On January 12, 2023 the famous franchise, Scooby Doo, released a new TV series, Velma, created by Charlie Grandy and produced by Mindy Kaling. The new series has made several changes that have fans questioning the producers. While some fans embrace these changes with open arms, others believe it will be the nail in the coffin to the popular franchise. From the poor writing to the major character changes, Mindy Kaling has been placed on the hot seat, and the media everywhere can not stop talking about it. However, as the reviews for Velma keep getting worse, the demand for the show has… increased?

Here at the Pegasus News we strive to serve the students of Eureka College, so we took this argument to the students. In a poll of 25 students: 6 students plan to, or have seen Velma, 5 students do not plan on watching it, and 14 students have not even heard of it. 

One female student (unnamed) watched the last half of an episode with her little brother, who was already watching it. Growing up, she really enjoyed watching Scooby Doo, so she figured that she would watch it with him. She explained that the show was underwhelming and kind of boring to her. She explained that she would not likely return to watch more because of what she previously stated as well as the fact that she is not a big fan of cartoons. 

A different student (unnamed) who had watched three episodes had a lot stronger opinions on the series. They stated, “I was very sad to see that Scooby Doo was not present in the series. The dog connects all the characters together, and without him it didn’t feel the same. It’s likely because of nostalgia reasons that I feel this way. The plot was exciting, but I feel like it could have been better written. I have watched a lot of things that Mindy Kaling has been part of, but I don’t feel like this is at the level that a lot of her other work is at. One of her far better pieces is The Sex Lives of College Girls, Which I would rate a ten out of ten.”

The meddling kids and their talking dog debuted on September 13, 1969 in their mystery machine. Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby, Where Are You featured a dynamic cast of characters including: Fred Jones, the strong leader of the group who loves setting up a good trap. Daphne Blake, the cute clutz who would often play the damsel in distress. Velma Dinkley, the brain of the group who is always losing her glasses. Shaggy Rogers, the “hippie” who is always scared, but even more hungry. And lastly Scooby Doo, the talking great dane who loves scooby snacks. Once the characters were first seen on screen they stayed true to themselves, not changing much at all. The franchise has been ongoing since then with several new series, films, games, and shorts. 

As said before there really has not been much change in the characters from the show’s initial debut. Small changes to note would be Fred and Daphne showing interest in one another, Shaggy becoming vegetarian and potentially a weed smoker, Velma having a crush on Shaggy, and overall characters slowly leaning from their initial characteristics. For example at times Fred may be portrayed as being a bit more dumb than in early episodes. However, in the most recent TV series, Velma, several changes were made that have fans questioning the producers.

Velma decided to leave out the staple character of the series, Scooby Doo. The reasoning for this is because the series is credited to taking place before the others. This is actually not the first time we have seen a prequel to the series. On September 10, 1988 A Pup named Scooby Doo was released as a prequel to the original series, and it showed the gang as pre-teens. In this version Scooby was still present obviously, just in puppy form. The second significant change is Shaggy’s name. This change is actually an interesting choice. While many were bothered by it some viewers may have remembered that in the series A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Shaggy’s birth name, Norville, was referenced. Each character in the series has gone through dramatic changes. Shaggy is now African American, fairly smart, and depicted as a very vulnerable guy. Velma is a lesbian Indian who suffers from panic attacks because of her dead/missing mom. Daphne is a bisexual Asian with two moms. Fred is still Caucasian, but he comes off as very dumb and a “late bloomer”. Several of these changes could be attributed to the wave of woke culture over media, but that is only one theory. Most of the backlash coming from the series does not stem from any of these changes though. Rather most of the negative reviews originate from the “poor writing” of the series as well as the excessive R-rated scenes.

All this being said it is not surprising that with these changes Velma is getting a lot of attention on social media right now. Velma currently has a score of 42% on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of only 6%. IMDb on the other hand gives Velma a 1.3/10 stars. Negative reviews, like that of Gwen Ihnat, explain that everything went horribly wrong. Specifically Ihnat explained the problem as being, “the pointless nudity, the gratuitous violence and gore, and plot points that spin like a top to go absolutely nowhere”. Even though all the negative reviews say otherwise, one reviewer, Aaron Perine, says that, “the demand for Velma has increased 127% this week”. In his review he explains that Kaling is attempting to honor Scooby Doo by letting other characters embody the spirit of these iconic franchises. Kaling got this idea from Into the Spider-verse. It is not hard to find reviews on either side, but it is clear that nobody is sure how to react to this new series. 

So, is Velma another staple in the Scooby Doo series, or will it be a liability to the franchise. As controversial as the show is right now it is best to make your own opinion on it. Velma can currently be found on HBO Max.