The cultural phenomenon of Scooby-Doo has had many iterations since its inception in 1969. From an animated TV show and movies, to a live action feature starring Freddie Prinze Jr and Sarah Michelle Gellar, the Mystery Inc. gang and their trusty canine companion have been one of the most popular fictional teen crime-solving squads.
New animated series Velma, developed by comedian and television writer Charles Grandy and executive producer Mindy Kaling, explores how this group of misfits first became an unstoppable sleuthing team. Like most reboots, its previously all-white cast has been diversified: Kaling voices a South Asian Velma Dinkley, Constance Wu is an Asian Daphne Blake and Sam Richardson plays an African-American Norville “Shaggy” Rogers. At this point in the Mystery Inc. story, there’s nary a paw or Scooby snack in sight – sorry, Scooby fans.
Despite being blessed with a star-studded cast, the reboot has been met with mixed reviews: fans of Kaling’s work love it; some parts of the Scooby-Doo fandom are outraged, while others are critical of its content and character development. The new South Asian Velma has inspired haters to create racist and misogynistic caricatures on Twitter. Obviously, not all of these reactions are equally valid, but the mixed reception does call for an examination of reboots and what makes for effective autofiction.
I Write Reboots, Not Originals
Reboots have become quite the phenomenon among streaming services, due to the double benefit of being able to tap into a pre-existing, and often nostalgic, audience, while also engaging a new generation. They key to an effective reboot is staying true to what made the original great, while adjusting some aspects to fit contemporary cultural and social expectations.
Shows that have done this effectively include Netflix’s The Babysitters Club, Wednesday, and Heartbreak High. Examples of not-so-great reboots include Gossip Girl (which got…
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