The problem is, they're specifically trying to slap the fans in the face to create outrage marketing. Millions of fans going online and complaining their IP is ruined. Which generates new people to go look at the IP. This worked a decade ago. But it isn't working anymore. The public caught on to the trick. But the Hollywood idiots in their bubble are always 5-10 years behind. And they won't realize it's failing until they mess up a dozen times.
Some people suspect that this was Mindy Kaling's pet project with a self insert, and she had ties to the executive producers, but it could not get green lit until somebody they attached it to an existing property that had a built in audience. That is why the product feels so disjointed, it was probably meant to be something else entirely but it could not be made unless it wore the skin of Scooby Doo so it would be less likely to fail. As a fan of the old classic Scooby Doo series, I think this is a travesty of the original series, and like so many other properties it creates a sequel to something it has clear disdain for.
Does Mindy Kaling have the ability to not self insert? The Office, Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever... are all just idealized/dramatized versions of herself.
That's exactly what it was. This is a big problem right now. People can't get their bullshit green lit, so they latch onto something established like a parasite and turn it into their passion project and this NEVER works out.
Original Scooby Doo teached us that the REAL monsters wheren't actual monsters, but regular people that didn't have any standards, that undertone resonated with the audiance, even after so many years.
What makes people dislike race (and for that matter gender-) swapping is not that the characters don't look like them anymore, but because experience says when raceswapping is actually a selling point of the show, it is going to be bad.
That, and that fact that race-swapping is racist. Try doing a remake of "Blade" with a white guy race-swapped into the Wesley Snipes role and people will notice the racism in a heartbeat.
For instance, take "Rings of Power" versus "House of the Dragon." The former focused a hefty portion of its advertising campaign specifically on talking about how diverse the show's casting was, while the latter focused primarily on advertising...you know...the show itself. Obviously there were still a handful of people shrieking about wokeness purely based on the fact that there were different races/genders in the story, but by and large most of the GoT fandom seemed perfectly fine with its casting, characters, story, etc. While far from perfect, HotD was still a solid show that didn't need to coast by on trying to shame people into praising it by labeling them as some kind of "ist" if they didn't do so, and as a result the audience wasn't being primed to dislike the characters by virtue of perceived social/political agendas before it even started. Meanwhile, despite everything but its special effects generally being very poorly done, RoP has consistently tried to push the narrative that it's only being hated on for its diversity, and that's the narrative they seemed to be prepping before the show even aired with the focus of their promotional methods. And it's the same case with "Velma" here - it feels like they were actively trying to focus attention on its diversity just so any critics and failures on the show's part could be shoved into an "ist" box if it wasn't received well.
@@VenathTehN3RD yeah exactly. Diversity is good overall but it shouldn't feel forced. And it feels forced when they shove it down your throat about how diverse it is and forget to work on the actual product, relying on the shield of"you're -ist" if you don't like this. 😬
This, like all other modern reboots is about changing the culture to one that is "woke" and nothing else. That's why Hollywood keeps making this garbage despite constantly losing money.
I don't think the showrunners even realize they are being used as an blunt instrument to destroy Western culture and history, to subvert all of our cultural icons and mythologies.
@@inthefade Continuously giving these people the "benefit of the doubt" will never stop them. This movement has been going on far too long, and far too consistently, to still believe it's anything but deliberate...
Yep, none of the characters are likable and I'm not sure I get the point of race swapping the characters if they're going to be so unlikable. I also don't get the point of the gore, the original didn't have any actual deaths in the entire series, it was just people being scared away from a location for plot to happen.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade see, I think she's criticizing race swapping. I see her criticizing progressive tropes a lot here, sort of highlighting the level of hypocrisy that has accumulated in more progressive work
@@clairehann2681 After Marvel executives saw the rough cut of Multiverse of Madness, they had to rewrite the script they had shoved into Raimi's hands in a panic for the inevitable reshoots, because they had wanted Portal Girl to be sassy & sarcastic but instead she came off as annoying & hateful. This is the same reason why Indy 5 is being recut to exclude as much Phoebe Waller-Bridge as possible, because she was so annoying in every one of her scenes.
Original Scooby Doo topics: - They were a team - Despite their flaws they always worked hard to stay togheter and stay friends - They had a nice loving and charismatic Mascot - The stories were simple, yet always had valuable lessons for you to learn about it. This "modern" show managed to fail at doing all of these topics above :I
I'm a 2D animator that works in cartoons and I recall being told by our mentors that if we ever got to direct or work with a big IP, that we should always pay attention to the fanbase and never bite the hand that feeds the project. Seems like writers, directors and animators these days throw all that out the window
I have worked in the cartoon industry since 2004/5, and followed it all my life studying it closely (sci fi too... BIG scifi fan), and am dismayed at what has happened. Shows I work on are all cynical and bitter. Been three years of solid cynical shows. Even the cute kid shows are a bit off putting with adult messages in them. Love my career, love doing what I do... and most of the people around me are great, but somehow bitter, cynical shows get to the top. Love the animation industry and have been blessed to work with great people, but I would love some solid classic style IP's with just 'let go and be silly' as the centre. Its as if the people who are the creative decision makers are bitter and cynical... We see a bit of narcissism in the shows, from the creators. I get the impression that when we are working on a show now, we are working on something that is a projection of someone's personality as much as a product for entertainment.
Yeah the first video game of The Walking Dead was essentially an animated cartoon with different characters but it was faithful to the TWD world and it was a huge success as a result.
@@maarkaus48 yeah it's been the same for me. It used to be exciting working on a new project but now it's like they're all the same with that bitterness and hatred ingrained in with overly politicised heads running it. I had the opportunity to work with amazing guys like, Robert Alvarez and, John Pomeroy and they were probably my best days in the industry. Now there's these new faces everywhere and while they play nice with you, you can tell that they are just horrible people and that filters into their projects you work on.
@@GaigeStorm I hear you. I am from the end of hand drawn animation crossing into digital, and I have worked with some amazing 'old guard' people like Charlie Bonafachio and some others, at Nelvana and other places. I learned so much just watching them work. Honestly, I would stand behind a former disney animator and just watch them work... the way they broke down and thought through a shot... Sometimes they would bring in things they did on Treasure Planet, and my jaw would drop on the floor. To them it was just work. To me it was art. I borrowed the work and photocopied it, and squirrelled it away. Still have it in a trunk. This particular stuff was a rejected scene of the 'Cyborg' pointing with his arm. A simple gesture, but with full cloth movement and follow-through... Beautiful, all the energy and thought was right there. Light hearted people make light hearted work. Bitter angry people do the same. and at the end of the day what would we rather watch? Bitter hate burns itself out eventually, as do those who shovel it. We putout what comes from our hearts and over time its evident. I try to be one of the good ones, as an almost silent protest. Keep on truckin, and ride it out...
@@maarkaus48 that story reminds me of a similar situation I had with, John Pomeroy who also worked on Treasure Planet, minus getting some awesome works. He was teaching us how to use our shoulder to do large cursive lines and it was mesmerising just watching him pump it out with ease. I eventually got a hang of the technique and nearly all the great stuff I learned, I got from, John. The way he does X-sheets was really good to learn as well, Tom Bancroft also taught us the same way. Even to this day he still does his animation on paper and while I got into animation when it was fully digital, I learnt the old ways through him and even myself, sometimes go to paper when I don't my graphics tab with me on a day off and the team needs something to do quick scenes.
When I logged in to HBO Max yesterday this Velma crap was front and center. Then this morning I get an email that HBO is putting up pricing by 1$. I only joined to watch House of Dragons. Thanks for making the decision so much easier for me with Velma, HBO.
I used to laugh at those old government propaganda adds that went like... You wouldn't download a car would you? Then why would you illegally download music?... ME: Yes I would download a car if I could and Hollywood doesn't deserve our money .yes given an opportunity, I'll steal from the rich ALL DAY EVERY DAY with no remorse and I'll sleep like a baby doing it.
Yes please make a greenlit series. Add in some research on why shows now got greenlit as I also have no clue what they are thinking and why they make decisions to lose money.
Sounds like it could be an interesting segment. Especially if it was something you would have green lit that ended up bad. I'd love to here the producer reasons why you'd give them a shot.
The best Scooby spin off I ever saw was the random cross-over with Johnny Bravo (for those with long memories) It was hilarious as Johnny tried his best to get with Daphne but she wasn't having any of it but Velma was lusting after Johnny B. It was a classic and I wonder how many people remember that one.
@@erikrandan7294 It cracks me up all the time. Johnny Bravo was such a fun cartoon; the dumb blonde himbo always failing to get the girl - should work now for "modern audiences" er..........
@Jamal Johnson Yes and no, because he was always the butt of every joke, never got what he wanted. He acted badly but it never paid off - like Pepe le Pew! All people saw was his attempts to get "the girl" they wilfully ignored that he never won and was often attacked (brutally sometimes) for his actions.
@Jamal Johnson the whole character of johnny was to made fun of that attitude. There were even times where he was actually nice and the women liked him only to fall back on his misogyny and losing.
Your point about a brand having a built in group of people who don't like it is nothing short brilliant. People need to realize that there are people who aren't going to like your stuff. Chasing after that group by altering the existing brand and alienating the existing audience, is nothing short of psychotic. Great work as always Chato. Cheers and G-d bless.
This was another example of just shitting all over the spirit of the original, then shitting on pretty much everything else. It was so bad, Disney could have done it
I feel bad for the animation house where they got this done, because I am certain someone raised their hand at some point asking if this was the real script or not.
@@Segaton Yeah, but they can't really put it on their resume...imagine a movie or next sereies..."from the animation team who brought you Velva"...Skip!
I honestly can't stop watching BECAUSE of how bad the script is. It's like watching someone deconstruct themselves in real time. Like watching a train wreck unfold in slow motion. I'm looking forward to next week's release. I've not laughed so hard in a long time. It's the sheer stupidity of it all ... and that they think they've actually created something good here, that they think they're decent writers, that their plot is "next level". It's kinda sad, really.
Whenever I see a total perversion of an established story I'm reminded of my high school drama teacher: he was a smart man, but bored by having played, directed and seen the popular stories already. He was obsessed with retelling stories such as Midsummer night's dream, "but totally different". It was mostly harmless gender- or time-period swapping mixed with just weird things just to be weird, such as formless costumes to make mutants out of characters from greek plays. It was a lazy inversion of the plays, but it had some goofy energy and love for the essence of the stories to make it somewhat endearing. But, if you take this basic modern art-school mindset, and mix it with mediocre intellect and activist training, you get basically every reboot from the past 7 years. "we're just inverting expectations!" "This person used to be nice, but now is bad", "This group used to be friends, but now they snipe at eachother", "This used to be aimed at kids, but now its aimed at adults!". These writers must think themselves to be geniuses.
A big clue that they were fundamentally indifferent to the source material is this: why not make Shaggy into an Arab 😊Druze? Someone who both loved the material and was committed to diversity would have done that as an homage to Casey Kasem! I doubt they even know he was a Lebanese Arab.
These inept, bumbling, self-important "new writers" are on a mission! They have come down from their Lofty Ivory Towers as cultural messiahs, intent on saving us poor plebeians from ourselves.
You have to read "Asterios Polyp" if you havent. Theres a character that's just as youre describing your teacher. To a T. You'll enjoy tfo it. I promise you (:
I really like the idea for a series about scripts and pitches, though it would require the actual old scripts (can those be obtained freely?) so we could see what the execs were seeing when they had to make a decision about the shows.
You nailed it. There are two questions a producer should ask when delving into an existing franchise: "What was its appeal?" and "What were the barriers to entry?" Obviously, keep the stuff people liked and try to add stuff to make it more accessible. I honestly don't understand why today's Hollywood doesn't get it (looking at you, Live Action Cowboy Bebop...)
Yep, I do think that reconsidering the race of the characters is reasonable. I mean in the late '60s when the original was being created you didn't have as much freedom to choose different options other than white if you wanted a show that would appeal to the mostly white folks that had the money advertisers were after. But, to make them so horrible and make the ones that weren't race swapped even worse was a massive mistake that the studio execs should have seen coming.
I was a kid when the original Scooby came out. As cartoons went back then, it was ok. It was funny and silly and had some slightly scary scenes that would all turn out to be from mundane causes. Scooby was the main character and that was fun. No Scooby, no fun.
A new segment called Green Light, Red Light where you rate newly released shows by looking only at the first episode (Proxy for the Pilot) and only from the Network Exec viewpoint. It would be nice to see considerations for production values, direction and script. It would be nice to see if it would pass your muster.
This is spot on. I've seen too many "re-imaginings" that clearly lacked any respect for the source material and new movies that don't respect the genre and concepts of world building and consistency.
This trend of taking a franchise that people love and making it something spiteful and awful has been in trial for years now. I can’t think of a single instance where it’s been more successful than the original. So how much longer do we have to endure this trend before producers and creators start to realise that it’s not a good idea?
until people can publicly speak negatively about woke products and call it out for what it is. As it stands now, I suspect most people in Hollywood are afraid of being cancelled so they don't dare speak against anything the wokerati come up with. Because yeah, they need a paycheck.
I'm sure they've already started, and were probably saying this stuff before the show even debuted. But Velma had already been race-swapped to be Chinese in a previous iteration. I think there was a Hispanic Velma, too, at one point. But those versions were still made for kids and weren't full of sex and violence, so there wasn't as much backlash.
Scooby isn’t in it because they couldn’t figure out a way to use the character for propagandist purposes. These people are evil while also uncreative and dumb.
The answer as to why these people want to piss off modern fans is simple. These fanfiction writers have nothing creative to offer. They want to self insert themselves, ruin the originality, and bait the die hard fans into bad reviews so the writers can blame isms and cities on the fans and look like victims. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Also, awesome you brought up Mask of the Phantasm. That movie contains one of the greatest moments in cartoon history: The Birth of Batman.
Modern writers cannot write stories about friends, because they have no friends, they have "allies". They cannot write about relationships, romantic or otherwise, because they have none of this, they have "fuck buddies" and "hook-ups". They cannot write stories that have soul, or passion, or emotion, or anything that makes human's human, because they have none of this and they cannot experience it. They are the grey people of our nightmares and fevered dreams, that distort and destroy everything around them that they didn't and couldn't create, they are a cancer.
I would love a "would I have greenlit this show" series. You could cover older shows, both beloved shows that started out shaky, or ones that started strong but fell apart, etc. There are a lot of possibilities there, looking at the first couple episodes of not only new, but classic shows as well from the lens of an executive. Being a normie myself, I find it really interesting to hear your perspective.
Agreed. Try to find the original pilot of various shows and attempt to look at then as if they were proposed and you didn't know how they worked out in the end. Maybe add in "would I have renewed this after season one?"
Scooby Doo has been successful across the generations because the characters & pitch are simple. Up to date versions are still being aired, along with the original series that is still doing the rounds, so the format is far from dead in the water. They could have pushed a more Adult themed Scooby & got old school fans & young adults alike on board, but instead we got a show that reminds me a lot of Star Trek - Lower Decks, which was also a show that nobody wanted or asked for. For the record, Velma has always been the brains of the operation, & I refuse to believe that she would ever lower herself to a shit show such as this.
My pitch would be, Velma is a special forensic agent investigating paranormal crime scenes. She would individually contact the rest of the team throughout the season to help her understand clues based on their adult persona. To tie it all up, introduce a clairvoyant connection to Scooby to the members of the gang that helps in figuring out the crime. Make it funny by having the connections be misleading until the end. They would be then be brought together in the ending monologue, like the reveal in the original, but in the narrated writing of the case report. That’s a show I would love to see.
This series is the kind of thing that would be made as a joke 10-20 years ago "Look at this edgy version of a wholesome family favorite, all the sex, all the swearing and gore baaaby!" I can almost picture this being a Stiller show skit.
Except on *Robot Chicken,* when a joke stops being funny, they move onto the next one. This just goes on and on and on, and never actually starts being funny.
It’s like somebody thought of an idea that would’ve been funny if it were a *MADtv* sketch when the movie came out, and they said “let’s make that a series.“
It seems that they went out of their way to crap all over the premise of the show as well as the original characters. What I don't get is how anyone thought this would work? Isn't there anyone with functing brain cells overseeing productions before they are pooped out like this?
They all live inside the same insular little bubble with the same snarky views that look down on anything normal and beloved by the masses. They can't conceive that this garbage will be seen as anything but cool and progressive because it takes a dump on the past. You can anticipate claims that anyone that doesn't like this is obviously a white supremacist, misogynist, anti-LGBQ troll incel. Because these goons have actually convinced themselves that this nonsense excuse is true. And they will cling to it until reality finally crashes in and washes them away.
Original Velma was gay and dorky, kinda adorable in how she yearned for Daphne's attention and even had some voyeuristic moments. The new one is just a psychopath.
I vote for a recurring "green light" segment. Also, I think it's safe to say that any new properties based on old IP should just be avoided at this point, send a message to them that they will have to work harder to make their trash.
I hope that this product is a left over of a horrible few years. And that most others like it are cancelled. But knowing Hollywood, I am certain we see more of this level come out. And yes, it is obvious the writer HATES the old fans, HATES the IP and probably HATES anybody but herself. This is a project written not from Love, but from Hate. And may it die down soon enough.
For me, it isn't a hope that the product will be a left over, it's destined to be forgotten. The plot is horrendous, the jokes are crass & unfunny, and the characterizations of the mystery gang are nonexistent. In the future, I'm sure there will be more properties akin to this that will be greenlit because of the current political climate of the age (as stuff like that sells I'm afraid) and the fact that most "writers" are willing to take the easy way out instead of putting the work in to make their stories great. As you said, its ABUNDTANTLY CLEAR, and has been since the first trailer dropped, that the showrunners hated the fans along with the IP, which begs the question of why they wanted to write it in the first place, but that's an answer we'll never get I guess. (P.S.: Let's all Love Lain :)
The different tone is what was wrong with multiple life action cartoon adaptations. Look at Faith the Winx saga, being all dark and edgy, while fashion and a lot of bright colors were iconic for that show. If they wanted it to be dark and gloomy, they should have tried W.I.T.C.H. Same for Death Note. The appeal of Death Note was the cat and mice game between 2 genius boys. Netflix had none of the tension and mystery, but put in a lot of gore and action.
You hit the nail on the head. Almost every single animated show and most live action shows made in the last 5 years are: 1.) Unrealistically diverse 2.) Edgy and irreverent
"Edgy" in what way? Colored hair? They all seem depressingly tame imho. The Subject Matter is _never_ edgy, only a few zingers to get it covered more in other media.
I think it depends on what type of cartoons talking about, adult or kids? Sticking with just American adult cartoons but I would say the most successful franchise all have the same over top pushing boundaries comedies in their own way. From The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, American Dad, Archer, Rick and Morty, Futurama and Bob's Burger as some of the longest running shows still running. I would agree main cast is not that diverse but they all expanded the diversity of their cast over the years. And Irreverent has been a big part of making fun of anything and everything with nothing being out of bounds. I don't think they were trying to be edgy but they were trying to be different. I would say these shows been most successful today prove your point not being very true. I think the real issue is lack of originality and not copying what is already been done is getting harder as writers run out of ideas. They have gotten lazy like Velma that they just target demographics rather than focus on actual writing.
"What did they see in the pitch?" They saw all those checkboxes. That's the basic problem with today's shows. Story and characters are way way down the list behind checkboxes, sticking it to old fans, and making fun of old characters.
People need to understand, hollyweird is not failing to make successful and enjoyable shows, they are purposely succeeding in destroying the things we loved
Gen Xers and millennials are the most nostalgic generations. Why you may ask? Many of them grew up in the '80s and '90s when TV shows and movies were actually good. Before all this silly rubbish that the guy in the video is talking about invaded the media.
@@cryptodino3roberts712 Exactly, the original Hannah barbera cartoons are still there. They have adult humour, without gore or raunchy mean spirited cynical dialogue.
Hi Chato! I think the "Greenlit or Not" series would be an interesting insight into why some show ideas make it and other's don't. I'm sure there are plenty of shows that never got to see the light of day. It might have sounded awesome to us as viewers but not to a network exec who is looking at it through a very different lens and vice versa. Hope you end up moving forward with the idea 😁
My 10 year-old granddaughter has watched the original Scooby- Doo shows on DVDs since she was 5. After watching a single episode of the "new" Velma she said the show is not Scooby-Doo and it's stupid. Apparently, kids are smarter than lame show runners and woke writers these days. To quote Tolkien "Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made." This quote seems to sum up the modern screen writers. They cater to the woke mob, which only represents a small, yet boisterously loud, minority of people.
As formulaic and basic as the original concept of Scooby-Doo was, the reason I always found it great was because it was just a group of really good friends going on a road trip doing what they love and solving mysteries. They didn't fall to the Hollywood troupe of fighting or mean or teen drama. Just a group of really good friends who loved and supported each other on a road trip and solving mysteries. This is the reason why I never got into Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. It just has a ton more stereotypical Hollywood teen drama troupe and I felt, some of the worse characterizations of said characters. Let alone HBO Max Velma. This is an atrocity a billion times worse then Mystery Inc. Scratch that, a hundred trillion times worse.
Yes! Exactly. Everyone praised Mystery Inc, so I watched it and I disliked it for the same reasons you mention. It felt like forced drama just so you can have drama. I honestly didn't see what all the hype was about. I like the IDEA of Mystery Inc., having a longer mystery/story that connects multiple episodes. But otherwise I honestly wasn't impressed.
@@commandershepard9920 It’s ok, I’m not a big fan of Mystery Inc myself. But I can give it some positives, like it’s mature storytelling and character development. It’s just not my cup of tea. But unlike Mystery Inc, “Velma” has no positive qualities. All the characters are unlikeable and were changed to random people. It’s very immature and really has no reason to exist. Also, Fred just sucks. His character is just “rich boy who can’t do anything”.
@@tarabotelho6692 Oh yeah, it's all relative. I would watch MI over Velma any day of the week. Everyone I know hates Velma, whereas MI different people have different opinions.
@@cryptodino3roberts712 And when did I say it was bad? Regardless of if you want to accept it or not, Mystery Inc was when they started push Scooby-Doo down stereotypical teen drama path, which Hollywood love. I don't mind more characterization but I do mind characterising characters down the road a billion other teen dramas have gone done.
I love your videos - thanks for doing them! I think we can learn about what makes this show tick by just paying attention to pop culture. Jerrod Carmichael, the recent host of the Golden Globes was widely criticized for not being funny all over social media. The defense that I've seen, from Black Americans, has been that Carmichael was funny because his jokes made white people uncomfortable. My theory is that these shows like she hulk and Velma deliberately try to target white and old Americans to make them uncomfortable and angry about the change(s). It's like being addicted to negativity - the more negative your reaction, the more satisfied they (the creators) are. It also helps to support victimhood. it's a sickness. The goal was never to make a show that would be liked and appreciated by old fans of the franchise - exactly the opposite.
There was a comic book mini-series, Scooby Doo Apocalypse, that would have been absolutely awesome to animate. Believe it or not, it even made Scrappy cool. It was that good.
The initial pitch of degrading Fred was probably what got it Green Lit IMMEDIATELY. The rest of it was likely written from the writer Woke “Dream Board”, where they took everything that earn them Points, and just slapped it on the rest of the script!
Hey, a semi-regular feature “Green Light/Not Right” would be fun! You could pick a television season at random and tell us if you’d have green lit the series or not, or what alterations you’d be asked for in to green light the debut or new season of that show, especially, in that latter case, where it’s a season of significant change, like Petticoat Junction without Bea Benedict, Happy Days after Ron Howard bailed, or pick a show once the kids had grown. If also request a semi-regular cancelled too soon series, detailing what shows you think were canceled too soon and what, if anything, you’d be done to eek more life out of them. Maybe also in each show at least one series you think was cancelled too late, and when you would’ve dropped the hammer. Anyway, thanks for being here. Enjoy every episode
There's a crossover special in Supernatural where they get in the show via magic. (spoilers ahead) Sam & dean hunted actual ghosts and saw actual kills. So when they and the gang had to solve the case of an *actual* ghost, they almost lost their marbles because they couldn't come to terms with it. Shaggy fractured his arm, velma questioned her scientifc approach/atheism, fred had his hair all frazzled and he was genuinely scared. They all were on the brink of an existential crisis. Then, Sam & dean decide to trick the gang into thinking it WAS just a real estate agent in a mask, so they can keep their innocence to all that's dark in the real world. (not to mention that dean tried to hit on daphne and it didn't work partly because the gang was too naive, partly because it felt like there's no place for such advances in the scooby universe) THAT IS EXACTLY where the limit of the scooby do universe is and that episode genuinely showed us that edge by pushing past it so we see how the universe falls apart and coming right back into the familiar.
I was never a Scooby Doo superfan, but I watched it back when it was a Saturday morning cartoon. Back when all we had was 3 networks in the US, and Saturday morning was glorious with the cartoons. I may also have watched reruns on a UHF station in the afternoons. It was clearly a kids show, and that is how I remember it. This show pisses me off big time. I totally get your perspective from a network executive. I vote yes for a "greenlight or not" series of videos. That would be entertaining and educational at the same time.
Too many man/woman/nb-children around without any ounce of taste or good judgement lurking around. They know theyll eat up any IP you present them because thats how they define their personalities. Its sad and pathetic, and in a sense a very predatory behaviour from TV execs.
One of the things about the original series is that the characters were extremely simple - they really were one-note. Fred was the confident leader, Daphne was supportive, Velma was smart, and Shaggy and Scooby were scared. That was all there was to them. But, this also meant that if you're doing an adaptation, those are the ONLY things you need to capture about them. So long as you capture those things, it doesn't matter if Fred is the straight man or a trap-obsessed goof, if Daphne is a team mom or a flake, if Velma is dismissive or credulous, etc. It doesn't matter what race or sexuality they are. This should be one of the easiest properties to adapt as a result. All you need is those basic character traits and a mystery plot, and you can add whatever you want and you're golden. There's a TH-cam fan adaptation that does a really good job of this, and it takes all of the characters is very different directions than any other adaptation. The degree to which this fails is...remarkable.
True, mostly execs and directors make the casting choices but I just finished a screenplay and the casting and accents are mandatory for the tone and jokes. We shall see.
I'd just like to point out that to me it does matter what skin colour or sexuality a character has when you adapt a specific source material. I mean I accept little twists if they're reasonable but in general such changes are repulsive to me. If someone would make a remake of Matrix and make Morpheus Chinese, I'd find him.
The original was pretty simply, simple characters with no apparent backstory beyond what would become a Pup Named Scooby Doo. Plots were pretty much the same every episode with just enough details swapped to have something that was technically not the same as the other ones. And it was a fair amount of fun, which is really all that it was intended to be. I doubt anybody involved at any stage of the development thought they were creating high concept art with it. But, it was fun and it has had a very long run from the late '60s to doday because it is fun to watch.
@@Michal235 TBH, I think that only really matters when something about their ethnicity or socio-economic status is relevant to the plot or essential characteristics of the character.. The characters were all white in part due to when the show was created and the fact that it didn't much matter. The characters were flat and their other attributes apart from their personality type didn't really play much of a role in what happened. This isn't like taking James Bond who was written as a very specific class with a very specific nationality and making him a black woman for no particular reason. Much of what defines Bond as Bond comes from his socioeconomic status of origin to the point where even making him a Scot was a bit of an issue at first until Ian Fleming saw the portrayal and signed on to the idea.
I love the idea of a recurring "Would I have greenlit this?" video feature. Even for shows I wouldn't personally be interested in, it's interesting to hear what the redeeming qualities (or lack thereof) might have been from the perspective of someone who just wants the show to be successful, regardless of how that is achieved.
Chato - it was refreshing to hear your review on Velma. I just finished the first episode last night....just a few hours ago, really. As I was watching it, the whole thing confused the heck out of me, and I said to my wife who I thought was paying attention, "Melissa, is it just me, or is everyone on this show really, really angry?" Of course, she said, "I wasn't watching." So, since last night I've been wanting to know if anyone else found it to be just angry - and not just Velma - everyone seemed to be just terrible people, and no one seemed likeable or happy. Maybe I'm losing it, but wasn't Scooby Doo funny? Wouldn't fans of Scooby Doo dial in to see the "old gang" and laugh at the corny jokes, like we did when we were eight? I kept waiting for the levity and the silly jokes but found myself getting more and more depressed the longer I'd watch it. Anyway, I couldn't discuss it with my wife, so I'm glad to hear someone else have the same general reaction that I did.
I have to shout out Scooby Doo - Mystery Inc. which managed to reinvent the series in a way that worked, actually told a story and did something interesting with the brand. For a 'kids cartoon' that our kids wanted to watch, it was not the painful experience some other reanimated cartoon corpses have been.
I actually enjoyed Mystery Inc as a new take on the old formula. Good cast, consistant writing and a "bigger picture" that tied everything together. It wasnt the travesty many made it out to be, and still felt like Scooby.
I think Battlestar Galactica is the ultimate example of deviation from the original whilst being successful. The managed it because it was so damned good and it wasn't made for "modern audiences"
Can get away with it because the original BG really wasn't that good. This is what concerns me about the Babylon 5 reboot - the original is really good. They did play a bit with the continuity adopting some of the original series as canon (prior conflict, design of the traditional Cylons, the construction of the spacecraft). I have to admit I never watched a lot of the original BG so it might have been better than I thought.
The critical difference is that BSG reboot was made by people that LIKED the original, or at least the outlines of the story and the characters, even if they thought it was low budget and cheesy. These people, and too many others, didn't like the original IP, knew that their crap couldn't be green lighted on its own, so they attached it to an existing IP simply to get it made.
@@TimoRutanen I guess it was commercially successful but IMO it was tree hugger sewage. The original was quite happy to "run the gun boat up the river and shoot shit out of the natives", in TNG they were more likely to attend marriage counseling sessions with them.
You're expanding my vocabulary with almost every new video. Had to google "feminist glaciology" this time. At a glance, it seems like a potentially interesting topic. EDIT: Regarding "Would I Have Green-Lit or Not...?," yes, absolutely! I'd love to see what aspects of a show would catch your attention as indicators of potential and which would be cautionary flags.
Thank you for speaking the truth, and exposing the issues that have been very obviously thrust into the “scooby-doo” universe over the past few years. I have grown up with the gang and their mystery solving, and the appeal of them is that they are lighthearted, fun and family friendly. Even the live action movies, while made for a slightly older audience than the cartoons, was still easy viewing because entertainment was prioritised, compared to the ultra-progressive and extremely distasteful themes and characterisations that are promoted in the modern “child friendly” scooby related shows. All audiences want are fun and entertaining stories that also stay true to the hearts and minds of the original characters and ethos of the show when it was designed all those decades ago. Thank you for this very necessary review, and the current executives would do well to follow your advice!
If these writers insist on reimagining legacy characters, just create new characters, do the work of world building, create fascinating back stories, give the characters individual motivations...but Hollywood isn't ready for that conversation.
The only things the creators, producers and HBO appreciated about the existing property was it's brand recognition, because it's clear from how none of the characters look like they originally did outside some slight clothing references, behave like they did or even interact with each other the way they did that they couldn't care less about anything actually related to the original IP.
My curiosity made me give this show a chance without immediately hating on it(I watched it secondhand). There was one joke that I thought they nailed with Norville looking at a computer about weed and I thought he said something about how he was researching how weed isn't so bad if used correctly, and I had to rewind it to make sure because it was a genuine laugh they got out of me and I wanted to make sure the show earned it, but I was sadly mistaken when it was an article about how weed was bad and what Norville said was something about him simping over Velma instead. The show almost had me with a real joke, but was actually just doubling down on the one thing people hated about Shaggy in the mystery incorporated show, with his forced simping over velma when she clearly didn't show the affection back. All well, I'll still give this show a full shot, but wouldn't be surprised if it gets canceled mid season and it gets pulled from the service entirely (that would give the show a mercy actually)
I like the old originals, got the DVD collection. Yes as you say the are not very complex or intelligent, story and characters wise. But they are a fun time. And that is all that matters. Same reason I also got a lot more dvd boxes with older series. They knew how to make a series that basically did just fine and worked. And that is all we needed.
Thanks again for giving us your professional opinion. Watching yours and Critical Drinker's reviews helps remind me that the oldies are definately the goodies, especially with all the garbage over the last 10+ years. I've occasionally watched a newer movie/show but only if the reviews are good. There is just so much that has been so much produced the last 90 years for movies/T.V. and games there's over 30+ years so I have plenty of enjoy while Hollywood/Disney/Cable and the AAA Games burn themselves down to the ground over this Social Justice B.S. Can't wait to see what springs up out of the ashes though! Anyway thanks for taking the bullet for many of us, so to speak, and watching this mess! Who knows you might stumble upon a gem in all of this sh##, so you never know! Bsy too!
Making a modern Scooby Doo is super easy. Think Veronica Mars, but with the Scooby gang. They're not friends yet. The entire first season would be their tentative interactions around a murder that manages to draw all of them in for various reasons. If you asked any of them, they'd never admit they were friends, but when push comes to shove, their actions speak differently, and Scoob always finds a way to touch their cynical hearts. Don't even label it as anything Scooby Doo. You don't want to give people expectations either way. Spring it on them as time passes and let them realize after they've watched half of the amazing pilot that all of the main characters are named after Scooby Doo characters. Scooby just has to be a really smart and lovable dog that smooths over the rough interactions of the rest of the team with his soulful antics. And for the love of God, don't make Shaggy a stupid stoner, because some fruit is so obviously low hanging that it's cliche. Also, it's actually a bit problematic to race swap most of the characters. Turn any black and now you're implying black people are innately involved in crimes, which is stupid. Turn any asian and they're suddenly a stereotype (with, perhaps, the exception of Fred). You might be able to do it with a latino character or two, but depending on the city you set the show in you're running dangerously close to the black problem again. I think race swapping the Scooby gang is one hell of a trap that you can just as easy avoid with the shield of "established IP."
They've done it. Check out the Mystery Incorporated channel!! So far there's only a pilot and they need funding for the next episode - but it shows promise.
@@MegaMagicdog I went and watched it. Nope. They're trying too hard to push the characterizations from the cartoons. Forcing words like "zoinks" and "jenkies" while having your characters color coded and themed is great for a cartoon, for any number of reasons. For a live-action series, that's a big no. Its hokey. The same for the legitimate demon summoning. One, it's not taking itself seriously, while the narrative is doing the exact opposite. Murder and demon summoning is heavy, while the tone they were achieving was playful. Also, Magic is a non-starter. Anything can be covered over with a wave of a wand, furthermore, it opens plot holes. Eventually something will happen where the audience calls the bluff and says: "but you had this rule before, why can't the characters just do this magic and fix all of that?" You'll find that with good writing, the rules of our reality are more than enough to fuel mysteries aplenty, which is why I said "Veronica Mars" but with the Scooby gang. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying throw everything about the cartoon away. Plenty can be kept, but it needs repackaged. Like the Mystery Machine. I see no reason why that can't be a thing, but it needs a plausible reason to be so outlandish beyond the 70s. Have one of the characters be into the car and mod scene. Probably Daphne. She's into blowing her Blake family money on her car habit and is secretly a very skilled mechanic. (Which could be how she meets Fred, because he's a badass at anything physical, and he races underground for various people when he's not knocking heads or training or something.) Her garage is filled with sports cars with no back seats, but the only thing big enough to fit the entire gang is the crazy van mod she's done. This does tons of work for that character. Makes her competent and useful, while opening the door to story avenues. Velma needs a bit of an overhaul. She's super smart, so why not a professional bad girl? She does pen testing (where she breaks into buildings and tests security for money) among other illicit work for people both good and bad, which is how she knows about the hacker that goes by Shaggy. Shaggy's dad owns a Blues club called Scooby Doo-Wop. Which is why Scooby has the name he does. I have half a mind to write the first script myself.
I always wanted an adult Scooby-Doo, like the gang comes up against an actual serial killer. This has probably made that further from a possibility. Such a shame.
As a Former Network executive what do you think about the theory that this show was not originally meant to be Scooby Doo and that they just attached the IP to it to get it made?
Actively pissing off existing customers isn't limited to Hollywood. Gillette did something similar with their "A Best a Man Can Be" ad. That didn't work out well for them either. The most charitable interpretation is that it is outrage marketing run amok.
More than anything I'm excited to see the way HBO Max spins how big of a success this is. Fully prepared to hear that this has been renewed for multiple seasons.
The people who write and then green light this total money losing rubbish are so out of touch with the real world and real people they really believe the garbage they write. Please keep it up and continue to lose money. I love it.
I like the Marketing 101 lesson you threw in there. Whether one is selling corn flakes or a tv show, the basic principles are the same. Love your channel!
"I'm sure Oberlin College along with teaching a course on feminist glaciation also must have one on intersectional Scooby-Doo. " This line has better writing than all of Velma and a better joke too!
![[ ออกกอง ] วัยหนุ่ม 2544 โลกหลังลูกกรง..ทัวร์กองถ่ายหนังใน "คุกของจริง" | JUSTดูIT.](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vB--aOkZCpw/mqdefault.jpg)
Never sacrifice the fans you have for the fans you don't.
Appealing to a phantom audience has never paid off lol
@@ΑναστάσιοςΠαπαζαχαρίου they pay with phantom money and give phantom good reviews.
@@Ezberron I'm really curious about the money part, there is no way that crap makes money so who's actually funding it 😂
In other words, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
The problem is, they're specifically trying to slap the fans in the face to create outrage marketing. Millions of fans going online and complaining their IP is ruined. Which generates new people to go look at the IP. This worked a decade ago. But it isn't working anymore. The public caught on to the trick. But the Hollywood idiots in their bubble are always 5-10 years behind. And they won't realize it's failing until they mess up a dozen times.
They fired Henry Cavill. Kept Ezra Miller. And green lighted this show. Congratulations HBO.
I like how that Zaslav guy is turning things around.
congratulations HBO you PLAYED yourself
Actually, Cavill quit because he saw where the show was going and wanted no part of it.
Miller is going to get fired. They are just pretending he has a future so it doesn't impact The Flash's box office.
@@jeffrybassett7374 he's talking about Cavill as Superman
Some people suspect that this was Mindy Kaling's pet project with a self insert, and she had ties to the executive producers, but it could not get green lit until somebody they attached it to an existing property that had a built in audience. That is why the product feels so disjointed, it was probably meant to be something else entirely but it could not be made unless it wore the skin of Scooby Doo so it would be less likely to fail. As a fan of the old classic Scooby Doo series, I think this is a travesty of the original series, and like so many other properties it creates a sequel to something it has clear disdain for.
I guess it could've been worse. Could've been "Little House on the Prairie." Imagine what Kaling would've done with THAT.
Does Mindy Kaling have the ability to not self insert? The Office, Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever... are all just idealized/dramatized versions of herself.
The mystery to me is how someone as seemingly untalented as Mindy Kaling keeps getting work in Hollywood.
Bingo. Money down, that's EXACTLY what probably happened.
That's exactly what it was. This is a big problem right now. People can't get their bullshit green lit, so they latch onto something established like a parasite and turn it into their passion project and this NEVER works out.
Original Scooby Doo teached us that the REAL monsters wheren't actual monsters, but regular people that didn't have any standards, that undertone resonated with the audiance, even after so many years.
Great point I didn't make that observation consciously but the influence of that is powerful
Dr. Carl Sagan praised the show for encouraging people to have healthy skepticism towards the paranormal
"teached" ????
@@LadyAxe13 taught
Now the real monsters don't wear masks. They hide behind media puff pieces and make kids cartoon shows.
What makes people dislike race (and for that matter gender-) swapping is not that the characters don't look like them anymore, but because experience says when raceswapping is actually a selling point of the show, it is going to be bad.
That, and that fact that race-swapping is racist. Try doing a remake of "Blade" with a white guy race-swapped into the Wesley Snipes role and people will notice the racism in a heartbeat.
It's pointless to race swap in animation in particular. At least with in person there's mores access to talent.
yes, like that terrible vikings sequel
For instance, take "Rings of Power" versus "House of the Dragon." The former focused a hefty portion of its advertising campaign specifically on talking about how diverse the show's casting was, while the latter focused primarily on advertising...you know...the show itself.
Obviously there were still a handful of people shrieking about wokeness purely based on the fact that there were different races/genders in the story, but by and large most of the GoT fandom seemed perfectly fine with its casting, characters, story, etc. While far from perfect, HotD was still a solid show that didn't need to coast by on trying to shame people into praising it by labeling them as some kind of "ist" if they didn't do so, and as a result the audience wasn't being primed to dislike the characters by virtue of perceived social/political agendas before it even started. Meanwhile, despite everything but its special effects generally being very poorly done, RoP has consistently tried to push the narrative that it's only being hated on for its diversity, and that's the narrative they seemed to be prepping before the show even aired with the focus of their promotional methods.
And it's the same case with "Velma" here - it feels like they were actively trying to focus attention on its diversity just so any critics and failures on the show's part could be shoved into an "ist" box if it wasn't received well.
@@VenathTehN3RD yeah exactly. Diversity is good overall but it shouldn't feel forced. And it feels forced when they shove it down your throat about how diverse it is and forget to work on the actual product, relying on the shield of"you're -ist" if you don't like this. 😬
It isn't about pleasing fans or bringing in "modern audiences" - It's about demoralising viewers...
The show was nothing more than stroking Mindy Kaling's ego.
This, like all other modern reboots is about changing the culture to one that is "woke" and nothing else. That's why Hollywood keeps making this garbage despite constantly losing money.
Ah, a fellow Yuri Bezmenov fan :)
I don't think the showrunners even realize they are being used as an blunt instrument to destroy Western culture and history, to subvert all of our cultural icons and mythologies.
@@inthefade Continuously giving these people the "benefit of the doubt" will never stop them. This movement has been going on far too long, and far too consistently, to still believe it's anything but deliberate...
-Is it difficult to create pitch meeting scenarios?
-No, it's super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Pitch Meeting scenarios are tight!
wow wow wow.. wow
Pitch Meeting Notaglic Memories.
@@TimoRutanen wow. just. wow.
I hate those videos
I think when a writer lacks an affable, outgoing personality, and they try to write a sassy character, they often confuse sass with meanness.
Yep, none of the characters are likable and I'm not sure I get the point of race swapping the characters if they're going to be so unlikable. I also don't get the point of the gore, the original didn't have any actual deaths in the entire series, it was just people being scared away from a location for plot to happen.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade see, I think she's criticizing race swapping. I see her criticizing progressive tropes a lot here, sort of highlighting the level of hypocrisy that has accumulated in more progressive work
@@clairehann2681 - That might be a pretty good PR response if she had the self-awareness that the show is trash.
It’s straight up meanness 😮
@@clairehann2681 After Marvel executives saw the rough cut of Multiverse of Madness, they had to rewrite the script they had shoved into Raimi's hands in a panic for the inevitable reshoots, because they had wanted Portal Girl to be sassy & sarcastic but instead she came off as annoying & hateful. This is the same reason why Indy 5 is being recut to exclude as much Phoebe Waller-Bridge as possible, because she was so annoying in every one of her scenes.
Original Scooby Doo topics:
- They were a team
- Despite their flaws they always worked hard to stay togheter and stay friends
- They had a nice loving and charismatic Mascot
- The stories were simple, yet always had valuable lessons for you to learn about it.
This "modern" show managed to fail at doing all of these topics above :I
I'm a 2D animator that works in cartoons and I recall being told by our mentors that if we ever got to direct or work with a big IP, that we should always pay attention to the fanbase and never bite the hand that feeds the project. Seems like writers, directors and animators these days throw all that out the window
I have worked in the cartoon industry since 2004/5, and followed it all my life studying it closely (sci fi too... BIG scifi fan), and am dismayed at what has happened. Shows I work on are all cynical and bitter. Been three years of solid cynical shows.
Even the cute kid shows are a bit off putting with adult messages in them.
Love my career, love doing what I do... and most of the people around me are great, but somehow bitter, cynical shows get to the top.
Love the animation industry and have been blessed to work with great people, but I would love some solid classic style IP's with just 'let go and be silly' as the centre.
Its as if the people who are the creative decision makers are bitter and cynical...
We see a bit of narcissism in the shows, from the creators. I get the impression that when we are working on a show now, we are working on something that is a projection of someone's personality as much as a product for entertainment.
Yeah the first video game of The Walking Dead was essentially an animated cartoon with different characters but it was faithful to the TWD world and it was a huge success as a result.
@@maarkaus48 yeah it's been the same for me. It used to be exciting working on a new project but now it's like they're all the same with that bitterness and hatred ingrained in with overly politicised heads running it. I had the opportunity to work with amazing guys like, Robert Alvarez and, John Pomeroy and they were probably my best days in the industry. Now there's these new faces everywhere and while they play nice with you, you can tell that they are just horrible people and that filters into their projects you work on.
@@GaigeStorm I hear you.
I am from the end of hand drawn animation crossing into digital, and I have worked with some amazing 'old guard' people like Charlie Bonafachio and some others, at Nelvana and other places. I learned so much just watching them work.
Honestly, I would stand behind a former disney animator and just watch them work... the way they broke down and thought through a shot...
Sometimes they would bring in things they did on Treasure Planet, and my jaw would drop on the floor. To them it was just work. To me it was art.
I borrowed the work and photocopied it, and squirrelled it away. Still have it in a trunk. This particular stuff was a rejected scene of the 'Cyborg' pointing with his arm.
A simple gesture, but with full cloth movement and follow-through... Beautiful, all the energy and thought was right there.
Light hearted people make light hearted work. Bitter angry people do the same.
and at the end of the day what would we rather watch?
Bitter hate burns itself out eventually, as do those who shovel it.
We putout what comes from our hearts and over time its evident.
I try to be one of the good ones, as an almost silent protest.
Keep on truckin, and ride it out...
@@maarkaus48 that story reminds me of a similar situation I had with, John Pomeroy who also worked on Treasure Planet, minus getting some awesome works. He was teaching us how to use our shoulder to do large cursive lines and it was mesmerising just watching him pump it out with ease. I eventually got a hang of the technique and nearly all the great stuff I learned, I got from, John. The way he does X-sheets was really good to learn as well, Tom Bancroft also taught us the same way. Even to this day he still does his animation on paper and while I got into animation when it was fully digital, I learnt the old ways through him and even myself, sometimes go to paper when I don't my graphics tab with me on a day off and the team needs something to do quick scenes.
When I logged in to HBO Max yesterday this Velma crap was front and center. Then this morning I get an email that HBO is putting up pricing by 1$. I only joined to watch House of Dragons. Thanks for making the decision so much easier for me with Velma, HBO.
@The Rotten💯 A 👏Men 👏
They realized they'd need to cover some losses XD
Same, was so annoyed seeing that pop up, I mean, they cancelled BATGIRL but approved this…awful…
Hbo went from The Wire and The Sopranos to this shit hahaha
I used to laugh at those old government propaganda adds that went like... You wouldn't download a car would you? Then why would you illegally download music?...
ME: Yes I would download a car if I could and Hollywood doesn't deserve our money .yes given an opportunity, I'll steal from the rich ALL DAY EVERY DAY with no remorse and I'll sleep like a baby doing it.
I think we might actually be living in the "Biff Wins" timeline.
Are you kidding me? Biff was in the fccking white house for four years
How. No flying cars
@@cryptodino3roberts712 in the biff wins timeline, the society was a corrupt, wicked, evil everywhere version of the present day
I would be interested in a "would I have approved this script" type of show. I always appreciate your input as a former network executive.
FOR SURE! ^_^
Yes please make a greenlit series. Add in some research on why shows now got greenlit as I also have no clue what they are thinking and why they make decisions to lose money.
Better yet, a "Here is how I would've reacted to this show in the pitch room if I was hammered on gin & retiring the next day:"
Sounds like it could be an interesting segment. Especially if it was something you would have green lit that ended up bad. I'd love to here the producer reasons why you'd give them a shot.
Yup.
The best Scooby spin off I ever saw was the random cross-over with Johnny Bravo (for those with long memories) It was hilarious as Johnny tried his best to get with Daphne but she wasn't having any of it but Velma was lusting after Johnny B. It was a classic and I wonder how many people remember that one.
One of my favorite bits from that episode...
Velma: My Glasses! I cant see without my glasses!
Johnny" My Glasses! I cant be seen without my glasses!
@@erikrandan7294 It cracks me up all the time. Johnny Bravo was such a fun cartoon; the dumb blonde himbo always failing to get the girl - should work now for "modern audiences" er..........
@Jamal Johnson Yes and no, because he was always the butt of every joke, never got what he wanted. He acted badly but it never paid off - like Pepe le Pew! All people saw was his attempts to get "the girl" they wilfully ignored that he never won and was often attacked (brutally sometimes) for his actions.
@Jamal Johnson Manly!
@Jamal Johnson the whole character of johnny was to made fun of that attitude. There were even times where he was actually nice and the women liked him only to fall back on his misogyny and losing.
Your point about a brand having a built in group of people who don't like it is nothing short brilliant. People need to realize that there are people who aren't going to like your stuff. Chasing after that group by altering the existing brand and alienating the existing audience, is nothing short of psychotic. Great work as always Chato. Cheers and G-d bless.
This was another example of just shitting all over the spirit of the original, then shitting on pretty much everything else.
It was so bad, Disney could have done it
I feel bad for the animation house where they got this done, because I am certain someone raised their hand at some point asking if this was the real script or not.
at the end of they still need to put food on their plates....
@@Segaton Yeah, but they can't really put it on their resume...imagine a movie or next sereies..."from the animation team who brought you Velva"...Skip!
Guaranteed you're talking Korean sweat shop. I doubt any animator on this had time to think about what they were drawing.
I honestly can't stop watching BECAUSE of how bad the script is. It's like watching someone deconstruct themselves in real time. Like watching a train wreck unfold in slow motion. I'm looking forward to next week's release. I've not laughed so hard in a long time. It's the sheer stupidity of it all ... and that they think they've actually created something good here, that they think they're decent writers, that their plot is "next level". It's kinda sad, really.
@@Diree it's a guilty pleasure.
When I saw the first trailer for this, there was no doubt it would be an awful mess.
Considering their vitriolic words towards straight, white men, it was inevitable.
Didn't need to see a trailer, it's a remake in the modern era. It was guaranteed to be a pile of excrement. :)
A heated mess. A mess where heat is applied to it, so what once was a little messy is even messier.
And Sadly, you were right.
Modern day feminism is not about equality, it's about misandry.
Velma has been "I Am Not Starfire"-d.
Whenever I see a total perversion of an established story I'm reminded of my high school drama teacher: he was a smart man, but bored by having played, directed and seen the popular stories already. He was obsessed with retelling stories such as Midsummer night's dream, "but totally different". It was mostly harmless gender- or time-period swapping mixed with just weird things just to be weird, such as formless costumes to make mutants out of characters from greek plays. It was a lazy inversion of the plays, but it had some goofy energy and love for the essence of the stories to make it somewhat endearing.
But, if you take this basic modern art-school mindset, and mix it with mediocre intellect and activist training, you get basically every reboot from the past 7 years. "we're just inverting expectations!" "This person used to be nice, but now is bad", "This group used to be friends, but now they snipe at eachother", "This used to be aimed at kids, but now its aimed at adults!". These writers must think themselves to be geniuses.
A big clue that they were fundamentally indifferent to the source material is this: why not make Shaggy into an Arab 😊Druze? Someone who both loved the material and was committed to diversity would have done that as an homage to Casey Kasem! I doubt they even know he was a Lebanese Arab.
Very insightful comment!
These inept, bumbling, self-important "new writers" are on a mission! They have come down from their Lofty Ivory Towers as cultural messiahs, intent on saving us poor plebeians from ourselves.
You have to read "Asterios Polyp" if you havent. Theres a character that's just as youre describing your teacher. To a T. You'll enjoy tfo it. I promise you (:
Just hate filled angry people with zero talent
“Zoinks Scoob!!! Like man, who could have seen this coming?…”
“ I ron’t roe, maybe reverone hehehe” worse Scooby impression, sorry.
I didn't so much read this post as HEAR it. Nice job.
@@peterbrazukas7771 thank you!
Rutroh
I really like the idea for a series about scripts and pitches, though it would require the actual old scripts (can those be obtained freely?) so we could see what the execs were seeing when they had to make a decision about the shows.
Try "Pitch Meeting" here on TH-cam. I'm sure you gonna laugh a lot.
You nailed it. There are two questions a producer should ask when delving into an existing franchise: "What was its appeal?" and "What were the barriers to entry?" Obviously, keep the stuff people liked and try to add stuff to make it more accessible. I honestly don't understand why today's Hollywood doesn't get it (looking at you, Live Action Cowboy Bebop...)
Yep, I do think that reconsidering the race of the characters is reasonable. I mean in the late '60s when the original was being created you didn't have as much freedom to choose different options other than white if you wanted a show that would appeal to the mostly white folks that had the money advertisers were after.
But, to make them so horrible and make the ones that weren't race swapped even worse was a massive mistake that the studio execs should have seen coming.
Mad props for actually making it through this show, Hanna and Barbarra are rolling in their respective graves
You raise a good point: Never sell your properties unless you maintain total creative control. Joe and Bill would be horrified at this.
I was a kid when the original Scooby came out. As cartoons went back then, it was ok. It was funny and silly and had some slightly scary scenes that would all turn out to be from mundane causes. Scooby was the main character and that was fun. No Scooby, no fun.
By the time I was born, Scrappy-Doo had already taken over and the adults had pretty much been pushed out.
Wait a minute: They made a Scooby Doo show WITHOUT Scooby Doo? Huh?
He's a male dog, of course he would be excluded. Sexist pig.
Not exactly. They made Big Mouth cosplaying as a Scooby Doo show.
I think you meant "Ruh Roh!"
That's like planning to make an Indiana Jones show, but without Indiana Jones... Disney Cough cough
At this point I realize there's no point in trying to figure out how it is that the blue hairs think because they never make any sense whatsoever
A new segment called Green Light, Red Light where you rate newly released shows by looking only at the first episode (Proxy for the Pilot) and only from the Network Exec viewpoint. It would be nice to see considerations for production values, direction and script. It would be nice to see if it would pass your muster.
This is spot on. I've seen too many "re-imaginings" that clearly lacked any respect for the source material and new movies that don't respect the genre and concepts of world building and consistency.
Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made.
This trend of taking a franchise that people love and making it something spiteful and awful has been in trial for years now. I can’t think of a single instance where it’s been more successful than the original. So how much longer do we have to endure this trend before producers and creators start to realise that it’s not a good idea?
Until they're down off their high horse, or when the money runs dry.
Until people start throwing actual rotten tomatoes at them like in cartoons.
until people can publicly speak negatively about woke products and call it out for what it is. As it stands now, I suspect most people in Hollywood are afraid of being cancelled so they don't dare speak against anything the wokerati come up with. Because yeah, they need a paycheck.
@@Plisken65 🤣🤣🤣
They don't care about the money.
It's all about "The Message".
They did _A Pup Named Scooby-Doo_ in the late 80s that was different, but still cool and funny.
Great show from Tom Ruegger who later made Animaniacs for WB.
Fully expect the woke producers and grifters to double down on slandering Velma critics as "racist misogynist etc-phobes."
I'm sure they've already started, and were probably saying this stuff before the show even debuted. But Velma had already been race-swapped to be Chinese in a previous iteration. I think there was a Hispanic Velma, too, at one point. But those versions were still made for kids and weren't full of sex and violence, so there wasn't as much backlash.
And lo and behold...
Don't know. Something tells me they're the racists, but I just can't seem to put my finger on it.
Default strategy
Someone has declared it transphobic already…
Scooby isn’t in it because they couldn’t figure out a way to use the character for propagandist purposes.
These people are evil while also uncreative and dumb.
The answer as to why these people want to piss off modern fans is simple. These fanfiction writers have nothing creative to offer. They want to self insert themselves, ruin the originality, and bait the die hard fans into bad reviews so the writers can blame isms and cities on the fans and look like victims. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Also, awesome you brought up Mask of the Phantasm. That movie contains one of the greatest moments in cartoon history: The Birth of Batman.
Modern writers cannot write stories about friends, because they have no friends, they have "allies". They cannot write about relationships, romantic or otherwise, because they have none of this, they have "fuck buddies" and "hook-ups". They cannot write stories that have soul, or passion, or emotion, or anything that makes human's human, because they have none of this and they cannot experience it. They are the grey people of our nightmares and fevered dreams, that distort and destroy everything around them that they didn't and couldn't create, they are a cancer.
This. Absolutely true, and the implications for the future of western culture are terrifying.
Wow. What a good way of putting it.
You're 100% correct in your Comment Mr G. It's a much cheaper & nastier world that we have to live in nowadays. 😞Me: 59YO / Male / Australia
Nailed it!
Nicely put 💯👍🏾
I would love a "would I have greenlit this show" series. You could cover older shows, both beloved shows that started out shaky, or ones that started strong but fell apart, etc. There are a lot of possibilities there, looking at the first couple episodes of not only new, but classic shows as well from the lens of an executive. Being a normie myself, I find it really interesting to hear your perspective.
#metoo, is a reallly cool idea to see under his experience what shows will eh considered good or not
Agreed. Try to find the original pilot of various shows and attempt to look at then as if they were proposed and you didn't know how they worked out in the end.
Maybe add in "would I have renewed this after season one?"
Scooby Doo has been successful across the generations because the characters & pitch are simple.
Up to date versions are still being aired, along with the original series that is still doing the rounds, so the format is far from dead in the water.
They could have pushed a more Adult themed Scooby & got old school fans & young adults alike on board, but instead we got a show that reminds me a lot of Star Trek - Lower Decks, which was also a show that nobody wanted or asked for.
For the record, Velma has always been the brains of the operation, & I refuse to believe that she would ever lower herself to a shit show such as this.
My pitch would be, Velma is a special forensic agent investigating paranormal crime scenes. She would individually contact the rest of the team throughout the season to help her understand clues based on their adult persona. To tie it all up, introduce a clairvoyant connection to Scooby to the members of the gang that helps in figuring out the crime. Make it funny by having the connections be misleading until the end. They would be then be brought together in the ending monologue, like the reveal in the original, but in the narrated writing of the case report.
That’s a show I would love to see.
This series is the kind of thing that would be made as a joke 10-20 years ago "Look at this edgy version of a wholesome family favorite, all the sex, all the swearing and gore baaaby!" I can almost picture this being a Stiller show skit.
We already have a show like that, it's called Robot Chicken. But it mostly plays as a parody of those shows.
It really feels like a Tarantino/Rodriguez "mock trailer"
Except on *Robot Chicken,* when a joke stops being funny, they move onto the next one. This just goes on and on and on, and never actually starts being funny.
It’s like somebody thought of an idea that would’ve been funny if it were a *MADtv* sketch when the movie came out, and they said “let’s make that a series.“
Basically if it was the 90s she'd have a skateboard and say 'cowabunga' a lot.
It seems that they went out of their way to crap all over the premise of the show as well as the original characters. What I don't get is how anyone thought this would work? Isn't there anyone with functing brain cells overseeing productions before they are pooped out like this?
They all live inside the same insular little bubble with the same snarky views that look down on anything normal and beloved by the masses. They can't conceive that this garbage will be seen as anything but cool and progressive because it takes a dump on the past. You can anticipate claims that anyone that doesn't like this is obviously a white supremacist, misogynist, anti-LGBQ troll incel. Because these goons have actually convinced themselves that this nonsense excuse is true. And they will cling to it until reality finally crashes in and washes them away.
no
If thare are some things are so far in production you can't pull. Its a case of them biting the bullet and juat getting what money they can from it
I'm guessing money laundering. Why else would you produce something so foul that it won't be making any real money?
I would imagine it would be easier and less embarrassing for the producers to just throw their money in a fire.
Agreed! Aren't these shows just Tax write-offs?🤑
@@Plisken65 dont start with that nonsense
They're destroying everything we love
Original Velma was gay and dorky, kinda adorable in how she yearned for Daphne's attention and even had some voyeuristic moments. The new one is just a psychopath.
Can't believe how shafted Scooby-Doo was with all this. He and Shaggy should sue.
🤔 My money is on Putin and I think he would have gotten away with it to if it wasn't for that pesky Bear. 😏👍
"Would I have green lit and why" would be an incredible series.
Please do consider it!
I'm not depressed I'm just grumpy about today's so called entertainment
for all those afflicted with un-interrogated nostalgia, please log into prime video and watch the pilot episode of knight rider. that will cure you!
You can find good stuff just look
@@cryptodino3roberts712 I did a d ended up watching reruns of ALF😊
I vote for a recurring "green light" segment. Also, I think it's safe to say that any new properties based on old IP should just be avoided at this point, send a message to them that they will have to work harder to make their trash.
Chato, please do a a “Green Lit” series. Bless your soul, good sir and thank you for your insight.
Big yes to the "would I have greenlit it" section of our regular programming.
I hope that this product is a left over of a horrible few years. And that most others like it are cancelled. But knowing Hollywood, I am certain we see more of this level come out.
And yes, it is obvious the writer HATES the old fans, HATES the IP and probably HATES anybody but herself.
This is a project written not from Love, but from Hate. And may it die down soon enough.
For me, it isn't a hope that the product will be a left over, it's destined to be forgotten. The plot is horrendous, the jokes are crass & unfunny, and the characterizations of the mystery gang are nonexistent. In the future, I'm sure there will be more properties akin to this that will be greenlit because of the current political climate of the age (as stuff like that sells I'm afraid) and the fact that most "writers" are willing to take the easy way out instead of putting the work in to make their stories great. As you said, its ABUNDTANTLY CLEAR, and has been since the first trailer dropped, that the showrunners hated the fans along with the IP, which begs the question of why they wanted to write it in the first place, but that's an answer we'll never get I guess.
(P.S.: Let's all Love Lain :)
Nostalgia for old content never felt so good 👌🏼
The different tone is what was wrong with multiple life action cartoon adaptations. Look at Faith the Winx saga, being all dark and edgy, while fashion and a lot of bright colors were iconic for that show. If they wanted it to be dark and gloomy, they should have tried W.I.T.C.H.
Same for Death Note. The appeal of Death Note was the cat and mice game between 2 genius boys. Netflix had none of the tension and mystery, but put in a lot of gore and action.
"Would I have Greenlit?" would be a GREAT idea. I'd watch every episode.
You hit the nail on the head. Almost every single animated show and most live action shows made in the last 5 years are:
1.) Unrealistically diverse
2.) Edgy and irreverent
"Edgy" in what way? Colored hair? They all seem depressingly tame imho. The Subject Matter is _never_ edgy, only a few zingers to get it covered more in other media.
that why anime taking over
I think it depends on what type of cartoons talking about, adult or kids? Sticking with just American adult cartoons but I would say the most successful franchise all have the same over top pushing boundaries comedies in their own way. From The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, American Dad, Archer, Rick and Morty, Futurama and Bob's Burger as some of the longest running shows still running.
I would agree main cast is not that diverse but they all expanded the diversity of their cast over the years. And Irreverent has been a big part of making fun of anything and everything with nothing being out of bounds. I don't think they were trying to be edgy but they were trying to be different. I would say these shows been most successful today prove your point not being very true. I think the real issue is lack of originality and not copying what is already been done is getting harder as writers run out of ideas. They have gotten lazy like Velma that they just target demographics rather than focus on actual writing.
@@nobodynoone2500 Now with more sexual deviants and race swaps, like the other 400+ productions of last year? Such daring edgyness huh?
Maybe degenerate is a better term
"What did they see in the pitch?" They saw all those checkboxes. That's the basic problem with today's shows. Story and characters are way way down the list behind checkboxes, sticking it to old fans, and making fun of old characters.
Scooby Doo was no Johny Quest, and I took it for granted as a kid, but over the years it became iconic and I respect it for that.
You mean Johnny Quest is no Scooby-Doo right? It was decades ahead of it anyways…..
@@noobie1890 the original Johnny Quest pinnacle of HB cartoons. I am very old though
@@djlewis5149 holy shit, I had absolutely no clue it was originally released in ‘64…..
I feel like I’ve should’ve seen this on ME-TV by now
Thank you for acknowledging my feelings about the Rings of Power. I feel seen and appreciate you.
The real entertainment is watching networks throw themselves under the bus.
People need to understand, hollyweird is not failing to make successful and enjoyable shows, they are purposely succeeding in destroying the things we loved
Not really all the original stuff still exisits
Gen Xers and millennials are the most nostalgic generations. Why you may ask?
Many of them grew up in the '80s and '90s when TV shows and movies were actually good.
Before all this silly rubbish that the guy in the video is talking about invaded the media.
@@cryptodino3roberts712 Exactly, the original Hannah barbera cartoons are still there. They have adult humour, without gore or raunchy mean spirited cynical dialogue.
The first 5 min were basically BAD soft-core porn. Green lite or Not and why , yeah I'd enjoy that .
Thanks for throwing some love towards Mask of the Phantasm. For me, it's a perfect movie and prospective film makers could learn a lot from it.
Hi Chato! I think the "Greenlit or Not" series would be an interesting insight into why some show ideas make it and other's don't. I'm sure there are plenty of shows that never got to see the light of day. It might have sounded awesome to us as viewers but not to a network exec who is looking at it through a very different lens and vice versa. Hope you end up moving forward with the idea 😁
My 10 year-old granddaughter has watched the original Scooby- Doo shows on DVDs since she was 5. After watching a single episode of the "new" Velma she said the show is not Scooby-Doo and it's stupid. Apparently, kids are smarter than lame show runners and woke writers these days. To quote Tolkien "Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made." This quote seems to sum up the modern screen writers. They cater to the woke mob, which only represents a small, yet boisterously loud, minority of people.
YES! I'd love a mini series for you about whether you'd greenlight certain shows and give your reasoning why.
As formulaic and basic as the original concept of Scooby-Doo was, the reason I always found it great was because it was just a group of really good friends going on a road trip doing what they love and solving mysteries. They didn't fall to the Hollywood troupe of fighting or mean or teen drama. Just a group of really good friends who loved and supported each other on a road trip and solving mysteries. This is the reason why I never got into Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. It just has a ton more stereotypical Hollywood teen drama troupe and I felt, some of the worse characterizations of said characters.
Let alone HBO Max Velma. This is an atrocity a billion times worse then Mystery Inc. Scratch that, a hundred trillion times worse.
You are mad wrong about scooby doo mystery inc. That was how to do actual depth to scooby doo. Or watch the movie scooby doo on zombie island
Yes! Exactly. Everyone praised Mystery Inc, so I watched it and I disliked it for the same reasons you mention. It felt like forced drama just so you can have drama. I honestly didn't see what all the hype was about.
I like the IDEA of Mystery Inc., having a longer mystery/story that connects multiple episodes. But otherwise I honestly wasn't impressed.
@@commandershepard9920 It’s ok, I’m not a big fan of Mystery Inc myself. But I can give it some positives, like it’s mature storytelling and character development. It’s just not my cup of tea. But unlike Mystery Inc, “Velma” has no positive qualities. All the characters are unlikeable and were changed to random people. It’s very immature and really has no reason to exist. Also, Fred just sucks. His character is just “rich boy who can’t do anything”.
@@tarabotelho6692 Oh yeah, it's all relative. I would watch MI over Velma any day of the week. Everyone I know hates Velma, whereas MI different people have different opinions.
@@cryptodino3roberts712 And when did I say it was bad? Regardless of if you want to accept it or not, Mystery Inc was when they started push Scooby-Doo down stereotypical teen drama path, which Hollywood love. I don't mind more characterization but I do mind characterising characters down the road a billion other teen dramas have gone done.
I love your videos - thanks for doing them! I think we can learn about what makes this show tick by just paying attention to pop culture. Jerrod Carmichael, the recent host of the Golden Globes was widely criticized for not being funny all over social media. The defense that I've seen, from Black Americans, has been that Carmichael was funny because his jokes made white people uncomfortable. My theory is that these shows like she hulk and Velma deliberately try to target white and old Americans to make them uncomfortable and angry about the change(s). It's like being addicted to negativity - the more negative your reaction, the more satisfied they (the creators) are. It also helps to support victimhood. it's a sickness. The goal was never to make a show that would be liked and appreciated by old fans of the franchise - exactly the opposite.
Old white Americans have a victim mentality, they're "uncomfortable and angry" about bad TV shows lol... Mainstream media is garbage, what's new...
There was a comic book mini-series, Scooby Doo Apocalypse, that would have been absolutely awesome to animate. Believe it or not, it even made Scrappy cool. It was that good.
I saw an art image from that and it looked awesome
The initial pitch of degrading Fred was probably what got it Green Lit IMMEDIATELY.
The rest of it was likely written from the writer Woke “Dream Board”, where they took everything that earn them Points, and just slapped it on the rest of the script!
Love your insight, Paul. Thank you for sharing, as always. We are all better informed with your work, sir.
Robot Chicken cornered the market on adult deconstructions of Scooby Doo 20 years ago.
Hey, a semi-regular feature “Green Light/Not Right” would be fun! You could pick a television season at random and tell us if you’d have green lit the series or not, or what alterations you’d be asked for in to green light the debut or new season of that show, especially, in that latter case, where it’s a season of significant change, like Petticoat Junction without Bea Benedict, Happy Days after Ron Howard bailed, or pick a show once the kids had grown.
If also request a semi-regular cancelled too soon series, detailing what shows you think were canceled too soon and what, if anything, you’d be done to eek more life out of them. Maybe also in each show at least one series you think was cancelled too late, and when you would’ve dropped the hammer.
Anyway, thanks for being here. Enjoy every episode
There's a crossover special in Supernatural where they get in the show via magic. (spoilers ahead) Sam & dean hunted actual ghosts and saw actual kills. So when they and the gang had to solve the case of an *actual* ghost, they almost lost their marbles because they couldn't come to terms with it. Shaggy fractured his arm, velma questioned her scientifc approach/atheism, fred had his hair all frazzled and he was genuinely scared. They all were on the brink of an existential crisis. Then, Sam & dean decide to trick the gang into thinking it WAS just a real estate agent in a mask, so they can keep their innocence to all that's dark in the real world.
(not to mention that dean tried to hit on daphne and it didn't work partly because the gang was too naive, partly because it felt like there's no place for such advances in the scooby universe)
THAT IS EXACTLY where the limit of the scooby do universe is and that episode genuinely showed us that edge by pushing past it so we see how the universe falls apart and coming right back into the familiar.
I was never a Scooby Doo superfan, but I watched it back when it was a Saturday morning cartoon. Back when all we had was 3 networks in the US, and Saturday morning was glorious with the cartoons. I may also have watched reruns on a UHF station in the afternoons. It was clearly a kids show, and that is how I remember it. This show pisses me off big time.
I totally get your perspective from a network executive.
I vote yes for a "greenlight or not" series of videos. That would be entertaining and educational at the same time.
Too many man/woman/nb-children around without any ounce of taste or good judgement lurking around. They know theyll eat up any IP you present them because thats how they define their personalities. Its sad and pathetic, and in a sense a very predatory behaviour from TV execs.
@@Ramekink kids are a bit smarter than you think . teens even more so
One of the things about the original series is that the characters were extremely simple - they really were one-note. Fred was the confident leader, Daphne was supportive, Velma was smart, and Shaggy and Scooby were scared. That was all there was to them. But, this also meant that if you're doing an adaptation, those are the ONLY things you need to capture about them. So long as you capture those things, it doesn't matter if Fred is the straight man or a trap-obsessed goof, if Daphne is a team mom or a flake, if Velma is dismissive or credulous, etc. It doesn't matter what race or sexuality they are.
This should be one of the easiest properties to adapt as a result. All you need is those basic character traits and a mystery plot, and you can add whatever you want and you're golden. There's a TH-cam fan adaptation that does a really good job of this, and it takes all of the characters is very different directions than any other adaptation. The degree to which this fails is...remarkable.
True, mostly execs and directors make the casting choices but I just finished a screenplay and the casting and accents are mandatory for the tone and jokes. We shall see.
I'd just like to point out that to me it does matter what skin colour or sexuality a character has when you adapt a specific source material. I mean I accept little twists if they're reasonable but in general such changes are repulsive to me. If someone would make a remake of Matrix and make Morpheus Chinese, I'd find him.
The original was pretty simply, simple characters with no apparent backstory beyond what would become a Pup Named Scooby Doo. Plots were pretty much the same every episode with just enough details swapped to have something that was technically not the same as the other ones. And it was a fair amount of fun, which is really all that it was intended to be. I doubt anybody involved at any stage of the development thought they were creating high concept art with it. But, it was fun and it has had a very long run from the late '60s to doday because it is fun to watch.
@@Michal235 TBH, I think that only really matters when something about their ethnicity or socio-economic status is relevant to the plot or essential characteristics of the character.. The characters were all white in part due to when the show was created and the fact that it didn't much matter. The characters were flat and their other attributes apart from their personality type didn't really play much of a role in what happened.
This isn't like taking James Bond who was written as a very specific class with a very specific nationality and making him a black woman for no particular reason. Much of what defines Bond as Bond comes from his socioeconomic status of origin to the point where even making him a Scot was a bit of an issue at first until Ian Fleming saw the portrayal and signed on to the idea.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade watch scooby doo mystery inc. It also is a better attempt at adding depth to scooby doo
I love the idea of a recurring "Would I have greenlit this?" video feature. Even for shows I wouldn't personally be interested in, it's interesting to hear what the redeeming qualities (or lack thereof) might have been from the perspective of someone who just wants the show to be successful, regardless of how that is achieved.
Chato - it was refreshing to hear your review on Velma. I just finished the first episode last night....just a few hours ago, really. As I was watching it, the whole thing confused the heck out of me, and I said to my wife who I thought was paying attention, "Melissa, is it just me, or is everyone on this show really, really angry?" Of course, she said, "I wasn't watching." So, since last night I've been wanting to know if anyone else found it to be just angry - and not just Velma - everyone seemed to be just terrible people, and no one seemed likeable or happy.
Maybe I'm losing it, but wasn't Scooby Doo funny? Wouldn't fans of Scooby Doo dial in to see the "old gang" and laugh at the corny jokes, like we did when we were eight? I kept waiting for the levity and the silly jokes but found myself getting more and more depressed the longer I'd watch it.
Anyway, I couldn't discuss it with my wife, so I'm glad to hear someone else have the same general reaction that I did.
Hostile IP Takeover Strategy:
1. Desecrate franchise.
2. ???
3. Profit!
I have to shout out Scooby Doo - Mystery Inc. which managed to reinvent the series in a way that worked, actually told a story and did something interesting with the brand. For a 'kids cartoon' that our kids wanted to watch, it was not the painful experience some other reanimated cartoon corpses have been.
it really helps when the producers love the source material
@@bobbyologun1517 Failing that understand what made the source material appealing to the audience.
I actually enjoyed Mystery Inc as a new take on the old formula. Good cast, consistant writing and a "bigger picture" that tied everything together. It wasnt the travesty many made it out to be, and still felt like Scooby.
@@erikrandan7294 how does knowing the characters are canonically 15 shape your view of, say the baby carrot running gag
Yay, I loved it too! It came out when my kids were kids so I saw it and I couldn't believe how funny it was.
I think Battlestar Galactica is the ultimate example of deviation from the original whilst being successful. The managed it because it was so damned good and it wasn't made for "modern audiences"
And it was diverse 😅 They even gender swapped Starbuck.
Can get away with it because the original BG really wasn't that good. This is what concerns me about the Babylon 5 reboot - the original is really good. They did play a bit with the continuity adopting some of the original series as canon (prior conflict, design of the traditional Cylons, the construction of the spacecraft). I have to admit I never watched a lot of the original BG so it might have been better than I thought.
The critical difference is that BSG reboot was made by people that LIKED the original, or at least the outlines of the story and the characters, even if they thought it was low budget and cheesy. These people, and too many others, didn't like the original IP, knew that their crap couldn't be green lighted on its own, so they attached it to an existing IP simply to get it made.
Star Trek TNG did a pretty decent job at a successful reboot too.
@@TimoRutanen I guess it was commercially successful but IMO it was tree hugger sewage. The original was quite happy to "run the gun boat up the river and shoot shit out of the natives", in TNG they were more likely to attend marriage counseling sessions with them.
You're expanding my vocabulary with almost every new video. Had to google "feminist glaciology" this time. At a glance, it seems like a potentially interesting topic.
EDIT: Regarding "Would I Have Green-Lit or Not...?," yes, absolutely! I'd love to see what aspects of a show would catch your attention as indicators of potential and which would be cautionary flags.
Look up "What Radicalized You, James Lindsay."
He reads the actual published paper on "feminist glaciology".
Spoiler: it's pure garbage.
@@1SpicyMeataball beat me to it.
In current times, we don't have to wait for the show to air to know that it is indeed bad.
And this is an undeniable fact.
Thank you for speaking the truth, and exposing the issues that have been very obviously thrust into the “scooby-doo” universe over the past few years. I have grown up with the gang and their mystery solving, and the appeal of them is that they are lighthearted, fun and family friendly. Even the live action movies, while made for a slightly older audience than the cartoons, was still easy viewing because entertainment was prioritised, compared to the ultra-progressive and extremely distasteful themes and characterisations that are promoted in the modern “child friendly” scooby related shows. All audiences want are fun and entertaining stories that also stay true to the hearts and minds of the original characters and ethos of the show when it was designed all those decades ago.
Thank you for this very necessary review, and the current executives would do well to follow your advice!
If these writers insist on reimagining legacy characters, just create new characters, do the work of world building, create fascinating back stories, give the characters individual motivations...but Hollywood isn't ready for that conversation.
The only things the creators, producers and HBO appreciated about the existing property was it's brand recognition, because it's clear from how none of the characters look like they originally did outside some slight clothing references, behave like they did or even interact with each other the way they did that they couldn't care less about anything actually related to the original IP.
Great Review! You're 100% correct with the points you make of this show!
the “Venture brothers” did an episode that deconstructed Scooby Doo in a brilliant way. Look it up if you want great parody.
R.I.P. Venture Brothers. They just took way, way too long in between seasons.
@@jmchez my favorite adult toon show
My curiosity made me give this show a chance without immediately hating on it(I watched it secondhand). There was one joke that I thought they nailed with Norville looking at a computer about weed and I thought he said something about how he was researching how weed isn't so bad if used correctly, and I had to rewind it to make sure because it was a genuine laugh they got out of me and I wanted to make sure the show earned it, but I was sadly mistaken when it was an article about how weed was bad and what Norville said was something about him simping over Velma instead. The show almost had me with a real joke, but was actually just doubling down on the one thing people hated about Shaggy in the mystery incorporated show, with his forced simping over velma when she clearly didn't show the affection back. All well, I'll still give this show a full shot, but wouldn't be surprised if it gets canceled mid season and it gets pulled from the service entirely (that would give the show a mercy actually)
Thank you again for putting into words what so many of us are screaming incoherently about.
I like the old originals, got the DVD collection. Yes as you say the are not very complex or intelligent, story and characters wise. But they are a fun time. And that is all that matters.
Same reason I also got a lot more dvd boxes with older series. They knew how to make a series that basically did just fine and worked. And that is all we needed.
Thanks again for giving us your professional opinion. Watching yours and Critical Drinker's reviews helps remind me that the oldies are definately the goodies, especially with all the garbage over the last 10+ years. I've occasionally watched a newer movie/show but only if the reviews are good. There is just so much that has been so much produced the last 90 years for movies/T.V. and games there's over 30+ years so I have plenty of enjoy while Hollywood/Disney/Cable and the AAA Games burn themselves down to the ground over this Social Justice B.S. Can't wait to see what springs up out of the ashes though! Anyway thanks for taking the bullet for many of us, so to speak, and watching this mess! Who knows you might stumble upon a gem in all of this sh##, so you never know! Bsy too!
Making a modern Scooby Doo is super easy. Think Veronica Mars, but with the Scooby gang. They're not friends yet. The entire first season would be their tentative interactions around a murder that manages to draw all of them in for various reasons. If you asked any of them, they'd never admit they were friends, but when push comes to shove, their actions speak differently, and Scoob always finds a way to touch their cynical hearts. Don't even label it as anything Scooby Doo. You don't want to give people expectations either way. Spring it on them as time passes and let them realize after they've watched half of the amazing pilot that all of the main characters are named after Scooby Doo characters. Scooby just has to be a really smart and lovable dog that smooths over the rough interactions of the rest of the team with his soulful antics. And for the love of God, don't make Shaggy a stupid stoner, because some fruit is so obviously low hanging that it's cliche. Also, it's actually a bit problematic to race swap most of the characters. Turn any black and now you're implying black people are innately involved in crimes, which is stupid. Turn any asian and they're suddenly a stereotype (with, perhaps, the exception of Fred). You might be able to do it with a latino character or two, but depending on the city you set the show in you're running dangerously close to the black problem again. I think race swapping the Scooby gang is one hell of a trap that you can just as easy avoid with the shield of "established IP."
I'd green light that.
They've done it. Check out the Mystery Incorporated channel!! So far there's only a pilot and they need funding for the next episode - but it shows promise.
@@MegaMagicdog I went and watched it. Nope. They're trying too hard to push the characterizations from the cartoons. Forcing words like "zoinks" and "jenkies" while having your characters color coded and themed is great for a cartoon, for any number of reasons. For a live-action series, that's a big no. Its hokey. The same for the legitimate demon summoning. One, it's not taking itself seriously, while the narrative is doing the exact opposite. Murder and demon summoning is heavy, while the tone they were achieving was playful. Also, Magic is a non-starter. Anything can be covered over with a wave of a wand, furthermore, it opens plot holes. Eventually something will happen where the audience calls the bluff and says: "but you had this rule before, why can't the characters just do this magic and fix all of that?" You'll find that with good writing, the rules of our reality are more than enough to fuel mysteries aplenty, which is why I said "Veronica Mars" but with the Scooby gang.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying throw everything about the cartoon away. Plenty can be kept, but it needs repackaged. Like the Mystery Machine. I see no reason why that can't be a thing, but it needs a plausible reason to be so outlandish beyond the 70s. Have one of the characters be into the car and mod scene. Probably Daphne. She's into blowing her Blake family money on her car habit and is secretly a very skilled mechanic. (Which could be how she meets Fred, because he's a badass at anything physical, and he races underground for various people when he's not knocking heads or training or something.) Her garage is filled with sports cars with no back seats, but the only thing big enough to fit the entire gang is the crazy van mod she's done. This does tons of work for that character. Makes her competent and useful, while opening the door to story avenues.
Velma needs a bit of an overhaul. She's super smart, so why not a professional bad girl? She does pen testing (where she breaks into buildings and tests security for money) among other illicit work for people both good and bad, which is how she knows about the hacker that goes by Shaggy. Shaggy's dad owns a Blues club called Scooby Doo-Wop. Which is why Scooby has the name he does.
I have half a mind to write the first script myself.
I like "would I have green lit or not" That's a great idea.
I always wanted an adult Scooby-Doo, like the gang comes up against an actual serial killer.
This has probably made that further from a possibility. Such a shame.
As a Former Network executive what do you think about the theory that this show was not originally meant to be Scooby Doo and that they just attached the IP to it to get it made?
Actively pissing off existing customers isn't limited to Hollywood. Gillette did something similar with their "A Best a Man Can Be" ad. That didn't work out well for them either. The most charitable interpretation is that it is outrage marketing run amok.
More than anything I'm excited to see the way HBO Max spins how big of a success this is. Fully prepared to hear that this has been renewed for multiple seasons.
The people who write and then green light this total money losing rubbish are so out of touch with the real world and real people they really believe the garbage they write. Please keep it up and continue to lose money. I love it.
I like the Marketing 101 lesson you threw in there. Whether one is selling corn flakes or a tv show, the basic principles are the same. Love your channel!
"I'm sure Oberlin College along with teaching a course on feminist glaciation also must have one on intersectional Scooby-Doo. "
This line has better writing than all of Velma and a better joke too!