After the first look at Velma yesterday was revealed, including a nude woman and someone with their head cracked open, series creator Mindy Kaling took to Twitter to clarify some backlash the series was receiving about being too edgy. Mindy explained that the plots revolve around "legit scary mystery stories where [Velma]'s the protagonist" to ensure the audience that Velma would not be put in overly inappropriate situations just for the sake of doing it. Mindy also assured everyone that the story is intended to be authentic to high school life and that she is a real teen, presumably responding to criticisms that Velma would only be a one-dimensional racial stereotype rather than a real three-dimensional person. Mindy additionally shared that "her past isn't troubled, it's sPooOoKy!" A screenshot of her tweets have been posted above.
34 Comments
whackman
5/19/2022 11:09:14 am
So they're back to being teens again? Wonder why they don't stick to them being adults, gives them more to work with if they're trying to go more mature.
Reply
James Dixon
5/19/2022 12:38:08 pm
I actually feel like that's the opposite. Because when the Riverdale cast started playing adults, it went downhill.
Reply
5/19/2022 04:23:13 pm
I think it had been announced previously that this would take place during high school, but I can't remember for sure.
Reply
Mr Neither
5/19/2022 11:24:19 am
Basically, you've totally messed up and now we're trying to save face to avoid this series becoming an instant flop. For me they have one episode. If that is meh, I'll pass.
Reply
5/19/2022 04:24:04 pm
I'll definitely give it an episode before judging it. Honestly, I'm a bit of a completist so unless it's absolutely horrendous, I'll probably watch the whole series.
Reply
whackman
5/19/2022 11:25:28 am
I'm upset that we're still seeing shock value adult cartoons in this day and age. I mean, shows like The Great North, Close Enough, even Tuca and Bertie (among others) show you can do adult cartoons without shoving in a bunch of gore and other "shock" jokes. I was hoping that would be the direction adult cartoons were moving in, and I still have hope and that stuff like this will be the exception.
Reply
James Dixon
5/19/2022 04:29:56 pm
Mindy did actually want to do something with Ms. Marvel, but nothing came from that, so she turned to Velma, instead.
Reply
5/19/2022 04:31:09 pm
The "shock value" of them releasing this as the first image does worry me a bit, but I'm trying to remain optimistic. I haven't seen any of those shows you mentioned, but I have thought about checking out the Great North. I think it's admirable that those shows are setting out to show "adult" doesn't have to mean gore and inappropriateness, as that's one of the things I dislike about a lot of adult animation, tbh. It feels like a lot of it is just edgy for the sake of being edgy, which isn't something I enjoy.
Reply
Gibby Norton
5/19/2022 04:56:52 pm
I do hope you don’t think that Mindy Kaling is the sole person in charge of this show. You do know she answers to WB corporate right? I can hardly imagine from how much she has discussed making this about Velma that her first choice for a release image would be this.
Reply
5/19/2022 05:19:06 pm
Thank you so much for this really detailed and insightful post. I agree with you that it's best to remain optimistic and not jump to conclusions, like many people are doing. I was a bit surprised they released naked people as the first image, but it didn't cloud my view of the show. The only real concern it brought up for me, is what you mentioned yesterday in your other comment, about how I wouldn't want it to be overly edgy just for the sake of being inappropriate. It's not a serious concern, though, and I remain optimistic about the series.
James Dixon
5/19/2022 07:18:21 pm
No, Mindy isn't the sole driving force, but this is also Mindy Kaling. I don't pretend to know who she is, as I've never watched her in anything before, but she has made a name for herself in Hollywood.
Matt
5/21/2022 09:08:07 am
This is it, this is the best comment related to the show on any post. Thank you, Gibby Norton. Completely agree on all accounts
James Dixon
5/19/2022 12:40:09 pm
I just hope this accomplishes what it sets out to do. Everybody's obsessed with making Scooby-Doo edgy. They had that with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. But forbid we ever go back to that.
Reply
whackman
5/19/2022 12:46:28 pm
Like, what part of this is Scooby-Doo? A teenage girl murdered? Nudity? Graphic violence?
Reply
James Dixon
5/19/2022 01:08:52 pm
I totally agree. I feel the energy could be well spent with talents like Mindy Kaling doing regular Scooby-Doo, and reinventing that for both old and new audiences. But it's the same as Scooby Apocalypse, it had big comic book talents who only did this gore-ish nightmare version of Scooby-Doo. (Although DeMatteis interestingly did both that and Be Cool.) 5/19/2022 04:33:32 pm
I hope so too. I am not a fan of making Scooby-Doo edgy, and I'd argue there's a difference between darkness and being edgy. The dark tone really fit with Zombie Island and created the amazing atmosphere that so many fans have grown to know and love. That's why Return to Zombie Island didn't work, and that's why this won't work if it goes for the "edgy for the sake of doing it" type tone.
Reply
5/20/2022 03:47:56 am
The Velma series is still too mature for the Scooby-Doo Universe
Reply
Colin
5/20/2022 07:23:04 am
I just think it's inappropriate to do a rated-R type Scooby project while still making kid-focused material elsewhere. It worked for Adult Swim on franchises like Space Ghost and Birdman which were defunct, but Scooby is an active franchise.
Reply
5/20/2022 02:14:42 pm
That's a fair opinion, and I respect it even though I don't agree with it. One example that comes to mind of it being done successfully, at least in my opinion, is The Flintstones. Flintstones was actually originally created for adults when it first came out in 1960. However, they later realized that children enjoyed watching it too, so they shifted to more kiddish-plots in later seasons. You can sort of tell this by the fact that many of the episodes in the first few seasons are more violent, and also revolve around more adult plots, such as Fred and Barney trying to sneak out to wrestling matches to get a night away from their wives; and Fred thinking his wife has cheated on him. There's one episode in particular where Fred is so angry about his wife getting a job that he literally smashes a TV at a restaurant and is sent to jail. (As a side note, I'm a bit surprised that one (and a few other episodes) is on the Boomerang app, tbh). In later seasons, the plots were much more lighthearted and involved things like Fred running into Moby Dick or spending a night in a haunted house. It's a bit different I guess, since The Flintstones started out as an adult franchise and shifted to one for kids, but IMO it shows that it can be done. That's just my opinion, though, and I respect yours as well.
Reply
Colin
5/20/2022 06:10:44 pm
Right, but that's the opposite situation - an adult cartoon that they made more child friendly because kids were watching it. That's a good thing, as far as appropriateness for kids go. I guess the only other option if they were worried about kids would be to cancel it. 5/21/2022 10:24:53 am
Fair point. I'm keeping my mind open for Velma right now, but I would love to see another series in the style of Zombie Island! That would be a dream come true for me.
Becker
5/21/2022 12:43:37 pm
A comeback to the Innes era style of movies is maybe the one thing that would get virtually all fans excited. Too bad the executives at WB don't realize it, even when they make a literal sequel to ones of those films...
Becker
5/21/2022 12:44:13 pm
One of* 5/21/2022 01:00:18 pm
I’ve never understood that either. You wouldn’t have thought it’d be that hard to do some research to ensure the sequel stayed true to Zombie Island. Hopefully if they try again with another sequel someday, it will stay more true to the tone and continuity of the original. 5/20/2022 11:55:40 pm
The PG rating's the best way to keep Scooby-Doo clean
Reply
James Dixon
5/21/2022 06:34:39 am
The one thing about doing a mature Scooby-Doo is the fact that you can't sell it. How are you going to sell this overseas? You have to think realistically and, yes, maturely in what you're creating based on a CHILDREN'S CARTOON.
Reply
5/21/2022 08:44:04 am
What if Mindy Kaling spoke about the Velma series at Supanova?
Reply
5/21/2022 09:40:46 am
I've mentioned it before, but one thing that bothers me about WB is it can be overly US-centric at times. I know you and others have mentioned it's taken you forever to get theatrical films and specials that we've gotten here, SCOOB! and Where Are You Now being examples (I'm still not even sure if the latter of those has officially aired anywhere but the US). I wish they'd come up with a better strategy for where to air content like this internationally.
Reply
Becker
5/21/2022 12:41:30 pm
It's funny, because WB seems to be anything but US-centric when it comes to the shows lately. The last 3 Scooby series had all finished airing in the US later than most of the world. And particularly Be Cool and Guess Who got mugged off by Murica before the halfway point of the whole number of episodes. They would air an episode in US a year after it had already been out in half the world. Those two got wrecked hard. 5/21/2022 12:58:15 pm
“Murica” lol. I didn’t phrase my comment well, as you’re right about them airing series in other countries months (or in some cases a year) before we get it here until the US. It’s strange that other countries get the series so much earlier than the US, but for theatrical stuff and specials, other countries get the short end of the stick. From what I’ve gathered, that’s because some other countries don’t have a routine place to air some of the more obscure content like SCOOB! and Where Are You Now. I wish they could streamline everything so it airs at around the same time in each country.
James Dixon
5/21/2022 04:27:05 pm
If SCOOB had been released in theaters regularly, it would've come to the UK in a routine manner. But then COVID happened, and it's like WB didn't know what to do with it. Suddenly, SCOOB was put on an indefinite hold, however brief it was. 5/21/2022 04:40:52 pm
I would have thought COVID-19 would have made the process much easier too. I didn't realize Guess Who still hadn't finished airing there! That's shocking, particular given you got "Lost Soles of Jungle River!" a year and a half before the US (July 25, 2020 as compared to October 1, 2021). I hope you get the rest of the series soon. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWildwindVampire Categories
All
Archives
October 2023
|