Season one of HBO's Max's animated train wreck Velma wrapped up last night and never redeemed itself after its vile opening episodes.
The show premiered in January and quickly made headlines as one of the most hated shows in television history, insulting audiences with bad writing and disrespect for the original cartoon.
After watching all ten mean-spirited episodes, I can only hope creator and actress Mindy Kaling never helms an animated series again.
It's hard to capture all the reasons this show is one of worst ever on television, beating even She-Hulk for that prize. But, here are the top five reasons it is despicable.
1. Hatred of white people: Every single episode includes insults and attacks on white people. The character of Velma, in particular, relentlessly sneers about white skin.
2. Hatred of men: The show is filled with contempt for men. Male characters in the show are all either dumb, weak, or perverted. When not complaining about white people, the main character spends an inordinate amount of time attacking the male sex.
In Episode 7, for example, Velma disguises herself as a man and preposterously comes to believe that men can do whatever they want without consequences.
3. Hatred for the original characters: The character of Velma is influenced by the show's creator, Mindy Kaling. So why did Kaling create a version of Velma that is self-hating? Velma not only despises the people around her. She loathes her own looks and personality to a degree that leaves a viewer feeling more uncomfortable than amused.
The rest of this reimagined gang is also repugnant. Fred is a moron. Daphne is a drug dealer and Norville (the new Shaggy) spends much of his time being ordered around by Velma.
4. Hatred of decency: The original Scooby Doo cartoon had a sweetness and innocence. In Velma, any sweetness has been replaced by vulgarity and degradation. Minors are sexualized, characters are perverted and interactions are reduced to the lowest common denominator.
In the final episode, Fred's mom - who is the villain - is killed by Norville. Fred and Norville are horrified, but Velma just twerks in front of the dead body victoriously. It is a moment that summarizes the show's nastiness.
5. Hatred for the audience: Besides insulting the original source material, the show insults its audience. At one point, Velma literally mocks "adults who still watch cartoons."
If the writers believe adults shouldn't watch cartoons, why did they sign-up to write a cartoon for adults? That line is just part of the general sense of contempt for viewers embodied by the show as a whole.
Can we stop hiring people who hate animation to work on animated shows? pic.twitter.com/RmZpuigWXc
— TheNCSmaster (@TheNCSmaster) January 13, 2023
There are more "hates" I could add to the list, including hatred of beauty and hatred of a coherent storyline, but you get the idea. Watching this show every week requires aspirin and a warm compress for the headache afterwards.
There are rumors that HBO MAX may greenlight a second season of this abomination. Are they insane? With a current audience score of 7 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, I doubt there will be any audience left next time around.
