Scooby Doo goes woke — and X-rated

Kids’ classic Scooby Doo now features an Indian lesbian, violent murders, gratuitous nudity and ‘sharp’ social commentary. What on earth were they thinking?

A scene from the Scooby Doo reboot Velma.

Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you? It’s the question haunting one of the weirdest and unnecessary reboots in recent memory.

When news broke last year that US comedy superstar Mindy Kaling was remaking that children’s classic about a bunch of meddling kids and their dumb dog solving mysteries, it’s fair to say most of the reactions ranged from “oh yeah” to “why?”.

Well, her answer to the world is Velma – an adult cartoon focused on the spec-wearing brainiac of the Mystery Inc gang.

So far, Hanna Barbera’s Great Dane and his Scooby snacks are nowhere to be seen in this retelling from Kaling.

Mutts are out and sex, guts, and a more diverse cast are in.

Velma (voiced by Kaling) is reimagined as an Indian lesbian (she was previously white and her sexuality unmentioned).

Daphne, the ginger glamour girl of the original, is now Asian-American and voiced by Crazy Rich Asians star Constance Wu.

Leading man Fred (Glenn Howerton) is now a spoiled, privileged mess of a young man.

And Shaggy (Sam Richardson), the loveable dope, is not even called Shaggy yet. He goes by the name of Norville.

In fact, it’s not-so-subtly hinted in this risque reboot that Shaggy won’t turn into the dog-owning hippie the world knows and loves until he starts taking illicit substances.

That’s what Velma is all about: making Scooby Doo a bit naughty.

The first episode opens with Daphne – a sex symbol if cartoons can be called that – in a risque nude scene in a shower, prompting one of the show’s few laugh out lines: “Isn’t it funny how all pilots have more sex and nudity than the rest of the series.”

The series features same-sex pashing, violent murders and “sharp” social commentary. There’s an underlying suggestion that the viewer should be shocked. But Velma just can’t get it together. It’s not particularly funny and it’s not pushing much of an envelope.

In a world of BoJack Horsemans and Adventure Times and Archers, the adult cartoon canon is awash with sharp, witty, and yes, sexually and racially diverse, hits.

So this reboot wants to make Daphne and Velma lovers? Cool. And the Scooby Doo cast are different ethnicities now? Sure thing.

But Kaling’s cartoon effort seems to totally rely on gratuitous sex and its diversity gimmicks to keep the viewer interested.

While much of the great LGBTIQ and racially diverse television of the past five years features sex and people of different ethnicities, it tends to derive its success from effective storytelling, wit and great acting.

The attempts at diversity in Velma can also feel strangely outdated and even a little offensive at times.

Does Scooby Doo, with or without the dog, really need to be remade for adults and woke ones at that?

The good old days.

And why can’t Kaling make it stick? After all, she is one of the great minds behind the Netflix hit, Never Have I Ever – a brilliant teen rom com about an Indian-American girl dealing with hot boys, difficult mothers, and grief.

Kaling’s teen hit is an example of how far diversity in mainstream TV has come in the streaming age. She’s yet again opened a door for a generation of young actors of colour, and a ripping story that transcends race and everything else.

Velma does not have the same effect. It may have been edgy 20 years ago, but not now.

With Kaling and her talented co-stars having so much to offer, we can hope that Velma will grow.

Is there anything worse than a “cool mum”?

We’ve had fad-obsessed fashionista Jennifer Saunders tormenting her poor mouse of a daughter in Absolutely Fabulous.

The all-powerful and radiant witch queen Jessica Lange was constantly lording it over her meek and mild offspring in American Horror Story: Coven.

The OC’s mother from hell, Julia Cooper (played by the marvellous Melinda Clarke), was always at war – and sharing boyfriends – with her teen daughters.

And then there is the diva of all divas, Catherine O’Hara in Schitt’s Creek, driving her children half mad with that outrageous, otherworldly accent and her many hijinks.

But if there’s any mum who’s more interested in having fun and being a boss, as opposed to “baking cookies” as Hillary Clinton infamously once said, it’s Netflix’s current number one show Ginny and Georgia.

Returning for the show’s second season, Brianne Howey is an absolute knockout as Georgia – the sexiest, funniest, smartest and most criminal mother you’ve ever met.

With a Southern twang that would put Blanche from the Golden Girls to shame, Howey completely elevates this teen soap with her performance as a woman with an abusive past who is willing to do anything for a better life.

She’s dynamic, sassy and beautiful – so what if she’s killed someone? This is the mother of the year.

Antonia Gentry, the Ginny of the show’s title, is a mopey teen who’s had about enough of her Ma.

As we enter this season, she’s running away from her dynamic Ma after finding out about the full extent of her dangerous past.

Gentry keeps up with Howey’s sparkling mum from hell the best she can, and their fights are explosive.

But sometimes you can’t help but wonder if this daughter should just stop moaning and just enjoy her incredibly fun parent.

Ginny and Georgia also boasts a great supporting cast.

Aussie heart-throb Felix Mallard is great in the show as the artistic, motorcycle-riding bad boy after the daughter’s heart, and Sarah Waisgass is hilarious as the kooky lesbian best mate.

And Jennifer Robinson (of Schitt’s Creek fame) is brilliant as Mallard and Waisgass’s more conventional, highly strung, mama.

But all the stars of Ginny and Georgia orbit around Howey.

She’s created one of the great soap characters of the past five years and it’s just pure snobbery keeping her out of this year’s TV awards shortlist.

Velma, streaming on Binge.
Ginny and Georgia, streaming on Netflix