Velma

Velma manages to transcend the inherent eye-rolls that come with a reboot, delivering a fresh, winkingly silly take on Mystery Inc. The show is fast-paced and ridiculous.

With a “zoinks” here and a “jeepers” there, “Velma” looks out for the grownups and crafts something new and, yes, groovy from the familiar. It also sets a template for retooling other aging properties to entertain everyone from Gen X to Millennials. (Looking right at you, “G.I. Joe,” "Snorks" and “Jem.”) Because what they’ve baked into these Scooby Snacks definitely needs to be shared.

Velma is a supernatural spoof at its most beautifully chaotic.

The dialogue can be racy for a show about teens, but the animation, and 40-year-olds voicing the roles, help mitigate the creepiness factor. ... Although the animated backdrops are sharper and more textured, the visuals here seem less aimed at wowing 2023 audiences than evoking the ’70s cartoon, which they do quite ably.

“Velma” is doing a lot — possibly too much — but there are emotional beats and comedic gags that do land amid a saturated creative canvas, including arcs for the future Mysteries, Inc gang that combine existing backstory with eclectic “Velma” flourishes (a big Fred twist leads to some truly outrageous scenes in later episodes).

Velma is an often funny take on the classic Scooby-Doo series with plenty of risqué humor. But it’s unfortunate that most of what makes Velma funny is completely unrelated to the character who gets a starring role.

While the incredible animation and a talented voice cast keep things entertaining, Velma’s inconsistent tone and humor prevent it from unmasking a darn good show.

The animation is bright, poppy, and fun, the cast is game, and some solid gags do emerge from what’s been seen so far. But even if it could get over its tonal issues in a second season, it’s hard to hope that it’ll have a chance to do so.

Velma feels a little too pleased with itself to truly capitalize on the opportunity – a fun idea that sounds like a great way to reintroduce those meddling kids but that, finally, isn’t clever enough to get away with it.

The cast is terrific; Jane Lynch and Wanda Sykes are particularly good as Daphne’s parents, who are terrible cops. The problem is with the writing, which is so concerned with spitting out one hot pop-culture take after another that the convoluted and increasingly bizarre plots feel secondary to the meta humor.

For every solid crack (“Ranking hot girls is exactly how the Trojan War and Facebook started!”), there’s an observation that feels like a repurposed Twitter draft from some harried screenwriter’s folder.

Beyond the conceptual wow of half-century-old characters suddenly having definable traits, Velma plays out like any other prequel.

“Velma” consists of too much “Why not?” and too little “Why?” ... More than that, these characters are just really unpleasant to spend time with, and it starts at the top with Velma, whose selfish and misanthropic tendencies aren’t diluted by her moments of vulnerability. Daphne isn’t much better. ... Absent even a wisp of genuine reverence for the source material. ... The biggest mystery of “Velma” is why it needs to exist.

The real problem with Velma isn’t that its updates make Euphoria look like child’s play; it’s that its edginess comes at the expense of its own characters and punishes the audience for being invested.

This so-called origin story is off to a horrible start, and the few cheap laughs that you’ll find in the first episode don’t necessarily make it worth hanging around for 10 long, awful installments.