Velma is not a Scooby-Doo series and for good reason

When working on drafting a ranking of the Best first episodes of Scooby-Doo series, one show that came up was Velma.

Released in early 2023, the show was quickly panned by everyone who watched it. Whether you were a Scooby-Doo fan or not, the series honestly ended up being disliked by almost everyone who watched it.

Since its premiere, the show eventually got renewed for Season 2 (how?!) and ended up being the talk of the internet for a good part of the year. In particular, it drew the disdain of many long-time Scooby-Doo fans.

That's why upon doing my research, I wanted to share why the show shouldn't even be included in the conversations about the Scooby-Doo franchise at all.

Velma should not be apart of any Scooby-Doo conversations.

Let me start by saying that I've only seen clips of Velma and will not be watching any episodes. I am a huge Scooby-Doo fan and lover of the franchise. I've watched episodes from every single series and have watched some of the movies so it's clear I have a lot of love for Scooby and the gang.

The major reason why I don't think Velma should be included in anything is due to the show not featuring Scooby. How could you want to add something to the Scooby-Doo world without featuring the titular character? While the reasoning was that the show was "more adult," that doesn't necessarily check out.

Given that there is a comic series called Scooby Apocalypse, we know that people are hungry for some adult-themed Scooby-Doo content. As great as the franchise is, there are sometimes more adults watching than kids. Giving it a more adult-centric spin or a theme change is one thing, but not having Scooby at all is downright blasphemous.

Additionally, Velma doesn't bring anything new to the table. In watching all the first episodes of the Scooby-Doo series, I found that each series built on the last. There were certainly elements that carried over, yet each series tried something new. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, yet that's what makes the franchise so great.

Little tweaks are what's key when it comes to adding new series into the Scooby-Doo canon. It might be a small change in a character, the animation style, or just a revamp of an older idea. Either way, fans will eventually warm to it or at least, learn to appreciate it. As for Velma, it just feels like an utter betrayal of everything we've come to know and love about the Scooby-Doo formula.

Ultimately, the vitriol sent towards Velma is deserved and proves that not everything needs to be rebooted, revamped, or changed to fit with a "modern audience." If anything, all of the pushback proves that Scooby fans are loyal and know their characters. We don't want a prequel, following Velma but rather, we want another season of Mystery Incorporated.

Maybe that last bit was personal but there is absolutely no reason why this show couldn't exist outside of Scooby-Doo. What purpose does it serve? No one wanted or asked for a Scooby-Doo prequel since we already have A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. There are so many original ideas out there and that's what Max went with? It's frankly embarrassing and in a way, it proves just how passionate and beloved Scooby-Doo is.

Did you watch Velma? If you didn't, make sure to let us know your favorite Scooby-Doo series!