Mindy Kaling ruins Scooby Doo

[atomheartbevo 89666]

3 hours ago, Celery Man said:

Yeah probably spider man is the biggest Marvel superhero and is the best direct comparison. And i much prefer Spider-Man to Batman. I’m probably biasing my “cultural importance” measure too much for older stuff as well - in my lifetime DC is second tier to marvel outside of the Dark Knight trilogy.

Spider-Man and Superman are comparable - both super-powered superheroes, both are fairly moral upright Boy Scout types, both live low-key "normal" lives for the most part.

Batman and Iron Man, both are rich playboys with lots of toys, both are non-super powered heroes, both very intelligent, both willing to bend the rules and have no qualms with killing, both with daddy issues.  Black Panther could be swapped with Iron Man as well, although like Superman, he's got a higher calling.

Batman has the best villains though.

[atomheartbevo 89666]

6 hours ago, Stringer said:

The treatment of Scooby Doo as some sacred cow is strange.

It is extremely odd, since most of the people bitching have probably A) not watched Scooby Doo since they were kids and B) probably never watched all of them or the movies (including the live-action).

1960s/1970s Scooby Doo (and Jetsons and Flintstones and the others in that range) are not blatant toy commercials like so much of the 1980s cartoons were for the most part, but they were still not some kind of fucking Masterpiece Theater.

6 hours ago, Stringer said:

As far as Harley Quinn, there’s a cartoon on HBO Max that is batshit insane and is often really funny. It’s honestly surprising with the violence and cursing that DC just let’s it go. 

DC is still struggling to find an identity, and with the live action, but outside of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, I'd argue that DC found their footing and their strength with their animated series - there's been some really good ones, including based on comics I read as a teen (Killing Joke, etc.).

5 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

Maybe that’s what  Kaling was going for here, but it sounds like it didn’t land. I’ve already got too much to stream and I don’t give a fuck enough about Scooby Doo to put this in the que, unless it were getting Andor level reviews.

At this point I feel like Kaling's Scooby Doo suffered the fate of some of the DC movies - it can't decide what it is going to be - was it going to be a TV-14 teen-centered sendup of the Scooby Doo shows and movies, or should it have edged on over into R territory, complete with nudity and a little more gratuitous violence.

But we are basing all of this on two episodes...

[Celery Man 20949]

I meant comparable in terms of importance and cultural footprint - again, I think I'm biasing too much for what was true when I was a little kid and I did forget about Spiderman, who would have been #3 behind Superman and Batman. But Marvel has leapfrogged DC in a huge way over the past 25 years. 

[Rimbo 25934]

5 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

should it have edged on over into R territory, complete with nudity and a little more gratuitous violence

[Brothahorn 10087]

4 hours ago, mininghorn88 said:

Scooby Doo is/was a kid’s cartoon to watch on Saturday mornings. I would think that it was not written or produced to be critiqued by adults, acting and viewing it as adults. When was the last time you got up on a Saturday morning, got a bowl of cereal, and planted yourself in front of a TV to watch cartoons for an hour or so before you went outside to build a fort in the woods, ride your bike, play army or cowboys and Indians with your friends until it was time to come in for the evening?

It is/was great viewing for a kid.

Last Saturday. 

 

I mean the kids were with me, but I enjoy it as much as they do. We'll watch Scooby, Space Ghost, all the old HB shows.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Brothahorn

[Rimbo 25934]

1 minute ago, Celery Man said:

I meant comparable in terms of importance and cultural footprint - again, I think I'm biasing too much for what was true when I was a little kid and I did forget about Spiderman, who would have been #3 behind Superman and Batman. But Marvel has leapfrogged DC in a huge way over the past 25 years. 

Superman is, and always has been, huge, no matter how bad the last twenty years have tried to fuck that character up.

Batman owned the 1960s (the TV show) and 1990s (starting with The Dark Knight comics, following through with the Tim Burton movies, and ending with The Animated Series). No doubt about that. And the Christopher Nolan trilogy didn't suck.

But Spider-Man has been massive his entire career. From live-action shit-shows to all of the many animated series to all 3 retroactively-MCU'd series to the fucking daily newspaper comic... You can argue with a straight face that Spider-Man is larger than all of them, though I personally think Super-Man holds the title by a very thin thread.

The Hulk has been massive (no pun intended) for decades, simply because of the 1970s TV series. Anything X-Men related was massive in the 1990s.

I mean... Batman and Super-Man absolutely dropped the ball in the 21st century. Other than the Nolan trilogy, the last time DC produced anything worth a fuck, the World Trade Center still stood. Prior to that, the WB animated series kept the life in the franchises that Burton and Alexander Salkind made into blockbusters.

But to pretend that Marvel was hiding in the shadows during all this time... naw, man. Spider-Man and the X-Men alone just needed their big hit movies... and then they got 'em.

[henrygandorf 29191]

if you say you don't think mindy kaling has ever done anything funny, then you're saying you don't like the office.  she was one of the main voices in the room, especially during the more formative early seasons, along with greg daniels, mike schur, novak, lieberstein (toby), etc.  if you don't like her character, that sounds like a personal problem - she's barely in it.

after the office, she created the mindy project, which was very good for 2-3 seasons and decently funny for another 1-2 seasons.

both of those shows were old school sitcoms that had 16-24 episodes per season.  that's some heavy lifting you rarely see anymore, and she did a lot on mindy project - she was basically like tina fey was on 30 rock.  that's not easy.

then she created champions, which i only watched 1.5 episodes of, but was hot garbage, and got cancelled.  she also did a season of four weddings and a funeral, which was ok (the wife really liked it).  She wrote a movie, late night, which i thought was good not great.

most recently she created never have i ever (never seen it), the sex lives of college girls (s1 is decent, haven't watched any of s2 yet), and now velma, which looks terrible and not something i would be interested in anyway.  it's a reimagined prequel of a really old children's cartoon.  it's the textbook definition of ignorable.

the bottom line is she fucking works, basically non-stop.  some people think she's too woke, others think she's not woke enough, which means probably neither is really accurate.  i could give a shit either way.  you can like or not like her or her projects.  but if you don't think she's ever done anything funny, then your taste sucks shit.

[atomheartbevo 89666]

13 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I meant comparable in terms of importance and cultural footprint - again, I think I'm biasing too much for what was true when I was a little kid and I did forget about Spiderman, who would have been #3 behind Superman and Batman. But Marvel has leapfrogged DC in a huge way over the past 25 years. 

True - Iron Man/Avengers was basically B-team status until the first Iron Man movie (which came in second for the year in box office, behind The Dark Knight).

It's still amazing what Marvel pulled off.  I can't decide if it was the casting or the overall arcs/threads that was running through the movies.  Feige deserves so much of the credit, but they nailed so much of the casting (and only one major recast with War Machine, and for the better).

8 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

I mean the kids were with me, but I enjoy it as much as they do. We'll watch Scooby, Space Ghost, all the old HB shows.

I watched some Johnny Quest with my 10 year old, and he was amazed when Johnny was running around with a machine gun.  He thought that was the coolest thing ever.

[Bateshorn 9927]

@henrygandorfNever have I ever is fucking excellent. Very, very funny. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Bateshorn

[henrygandorf 29191]

12 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

Re: Kaling.  She’s an interesting producer, and like many show runners, she’s hit or miss.  As an on screen talent, she’s like Seth Rogan: if you are centering a project on her, that’s usually not a good thing. She’s a second or third, not a lead.  Sometimes actors don’t have “it.”

when has that ever happened?  she's the main character in mindy project because she created, produced, and wrote the show.

[Bateshorn 9927]

@henrygandorfThat’s my point: I don’t personally find her a lead. If she’s got the financing to showrun herself, good for her, but it doesn’t change the fact, imho, she’s not a particularly compelling star. Not bad, just not must see either. The Mindy Project is hit or miss. As you point out, she works a lot, so I guess that’s to be expected, but I think her strength is behind the camera. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Bateshorn

[HamsterHookah 112]

12 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

if you say you don't think mindy kaling has ever done anything funny, then you're saying you don't like the office.  she was one of the main voices in the room, especially during the more formative early seasons, along with greg daniels, mike schur, novak, lieberstein (toby), etc.  if you don't like her character, that sounds like a personal problem - she's barely in it.

after the office, she created the mindy project, which was very good for 2-3 seasons and decently funny for another 1-2 seasons.

both of those shows were old school sitcoms that had 16-24 episodes per season.  that's some heavy lifting you rarely see anymore, and she did a lot on mindy project - she was basically like tina fey was on 30 rock.  that's not easy.

then she created champions, which i only watched 1.5 episodes of, but was hot garbage, and got cancelled.  she also did a season of four weddings and a funeral, which was ok (the wife really liked it).  She wrote a movie, late night, which i thought was good not great.

most recently she created never have i ever (never seen it), the sex lives of college girls (s1 is decent, haven't watched any of s2 yet), and now velma, which looks terrible and not something i would be interested in anyway.  it's a reimagined prequel of a really old children's cartoon.  it's the textbook definition of ignorable.

the bottom line is she fucking works, basically non-stop.  some people think she's too woke, others think she's not woke enough, which means probably neither is really accurate.  i could give a shit either way.  you can like or not like her or her projects.  but if you don't think she's ever done anything funny, then your taste sucks shit.

I already know you think my tastes suck (e.g. Parks and Rec thread), but count me as someone who passes on anything Mindy Kaling. Mainly my bias is from when I was a consultant for a household name, big tech company pre-Covid.

Before Covid these big tech firms would pay for celebrities to come in and do corporate gigs for big events (corporate kick offs, annual customer conferences, etc.)

I’ve seen some really good ones, like Jerry Seinfeld workshopping what would show up his Netflix special at WorkDay Rising, but have also seen some horrible ones— like Mindy Kaling. Maybe she was just cashing a check and mailing it in, but she was seriously unfunny in every interaction.

Edited January 17, 2023 by HamsterHookah

[Beau Vine 54228]

21 hours ago, Loop 1604 said:

Mindy Kaling was never funny. Like not even funny on the Office. 

[henrygandorf 29191]

3 hours ago, HamsterHookah said:

Maybe she was just cashing a check and mailing it in, but she was seriously unfunny in every interaction.

spoiler alert - they're all just cashing a check and mailing it in.

she's not a comic, so i wouldn't expect her to be funny in that venue.

[crash_davis 23113]

Black Ariel? Latino Cinderella? Rainbow Coalition Shaggy? Is nothing sacred?

Next, they'll probably remake Beauty and the Beast and have some woke, books reading, Ivy League educated chic like Emma Watson play Belle!!!!!!!

 

As a kid, when we watched these shows, we didn't think of any of these characters' races. They were just shows to entertain us. Back then, our parents used these shows as an hour of free babysitting. Hell Scooby Doo had the SAME fucking plot in EVERY episode. And we still watched that shit. Kids didn't and won't think about the actors races, or political messages, or plot holes. They'll just watch the shit simply because it's only television/big screen and they get to watch a movie/show. The only people getting pissed triggered adults.

 

[atomheartbevo 89666]

1 minute ago, crash_davis said:

Kids didn't and won't think about the actors races, or political messages, or plot holes. They'll just watch the shit simply because it's only television/big screen and they get to watch a movie/show. The only people getting pissed triggered adults.

Me: Watching some shitty cartoon movie, looking up the Rotten Tomato scores and seeing it in the low teens.

My Kids: HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS WAS THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER!

[crash_davis 23113]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

Me: Watching some shitty cartoon movie, looking up the Rotten Tomato scores and seeing it in the low teens.

My Kids: HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS WAS THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER!

I am guilty of the same. Adults are responsible for ruining childhood for kids.

[crash_davis 23113]

While I'm on the soapbox, how many of us and our friends growing up watched Fat Albert? I watched the fuck out of it. I don't remember any of my friends who watched it ever saying that their parents forbade them from watching it. Same with The Jeffersons and Welcome back Kotter (Puerto Rican Jew, by God).

And now, many of those "friends" would probably forbid their kids from watching Fat Albert, or the other shows because (fill in the blank). 

[Eskimohorn 5635]

Black Ariel? Latino Cinderella? Rainbow Coalition Shaggy? Is nothing sacred?
Next, they'll probably remake Beauty and the Beast and have some woke, books reading, Ivy League educated chic like Emma Watson play Belle!!!!!!!
 
As a kid, when we watched these shows, we didn't think of any of these characters' races. They were just shows to entertain us. Back then, our parents used these shows as an hour of free babysitting. Hell Scooby Doo had the SAME fucking plot in EVERY episode. And we still watched that shit. Kids didn't and won't think about the actors races, or political messages, or plot holes. They'll just watch the shit simply because it's only television/big screen and they get to watch a movie/show. The only people getting pissed triggered adults.
 

Take it to the Cloak Room, grandpa

[Bateshorn 9927]

[crash_davis 23113]

4 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

Take it to the Cloak Room, grandpa

Here's the original post.

"Velma on HBO Max is just getting trashed by every critic that’s seen it! With a less than 50 Rotten Tomatoes and 1.5 IMDB scores it’s a certified bomb. Apparently the reviews are so bad they turned off comments on the trailer. Velma is now Indian and a lesbian, black Shaggy, Asian Daphne, and no Scooby Doo… It looks like they’re trying really hard to include one of everything! What could go wrong? Anyone seen it?"

 

And I didn't realize pointing out that what was entertaining for us as kids would now be considered "woke" propaganda shit is CR.

[Bateshorn 9927]

I will agree that kids will watch anything and not GAF.  The amount of total trash direct to dvd/streaming content for children is unbelievable. Just unwatchable dreck and littles will eat that shit up. 

[HamsterHookah 112]

Force your kids to watch VeggieTales only until they are 16

[cactusflinthead 27598]

[WBT 20571]

21 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

And now, many of those "friends" would probably forbid their kids from watching Fat Albert, or the other shows because (fill in the blank). 

Mushmouth and Dumb Donald were poor role models?

[crash_davis 23113]

4 minutes ago, WBT said:

Mushmouth and Dumb Donald were poor role models?

As a kid growing up in rural, borderline farming Houston suburb and never having been to NYC or any major city besides Houston, I loved Fat Albert, Welcome Back Kotter, and The Jeffersons. It took me to a world I never got to experience.

[henrygandorf 29191]

3 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:

Take it to the Cloak Room, grandpa

[Beau Vine 54228]

4 hours ago, crash_davis said:

As a kid, when we watched these shows, we didn't think of any of these characters' races.

Really?  You don't think that any black kids wondered why none of the cartoon characters looked like them?

[Lhorn 4913]

I’m Asian and didn’t think a bit about why they didn’t look like me.  Still enjoyed it. 
 

Edit - except for the Japanese soldiers in the Bugs Bunny cartoons who were btw hilarious. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Lhorn

[Coelenterate Fuccboi 13091]

On 1/15/2023 at 1:42 AM, tx 3 putt said:

Doesn’t look that horrible to me. People, especially white people hate change. 

Though I agree with you, take your pick of any classic black sitcoms, recast it under the same title, but with white people, and get your popcorn ready.

[Lhorn 4913]

Reminds me of an episode of Strangers with Candy where the school production of Raisin in the Sun featured all white kids in the lead roles and the black kids were cast as trees. 
 

[atomheartbevo 89666]

6 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

 

[demos 3003]

[bolverk 29672]

18 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

 

[cactusflinthead 27598]

26 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

Noticed it too. 

Flying under the radar like we have since the beginning.

[bolverk 29672]

4 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

Noticed it too. 

Flying under the radar like we have since the beginning.

"There's no point to any of this. It's just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know, a quarter-pounder with cheese, those are good. The sky about 10 minutes before it starts to rain. The moments where your laughter becomes a cackle, and I sit back and smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt."

[atomheartbevo 89666]

11 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

Noticed it too. 

Flying under the radar like we have since the beginning.

And I’d argue that we were probably the generation that watched the original seasons the most, since they were constantly in the rotation from when we were little kids, and the following generations had more access to cable TV and home video game consoles and started moving away from Saturday morning cartoons.

Edited January 18, 2023 by atomheartbevo

[cactusflinthead 27598]

Just now, atomheartbevo said:

And I’d argue that we were probably the generation that not so only watched the original seasons the most, since they were constantly in the rotation from when we were little kids, but the following generations had more access to cable TV and started moving away from Saturday morning cartoons.

I can't argue with that. It was one of the certainties of Saturday morning. Boomerang gave me a chance to share it with my daughter and she was hooked. Scooby was one of her favorite toons. She collected all the old ones. Liked the newer ones and even liked the live action movies.

I asked her about this and she gave me a look of disdain that made me instantly bust a laugh. 

Yep, that's what I figured.

[0xdeadbeef 1651]

47 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

They Hate us, cause they Ain't Us. 

[henrygandorf 29191]

getting left off the chart is a little on the nose for me.

[0xdeadbeef 1651]

 

Ouch

[hornmpa96 2618]

Yep - The original Scooby series and the pre-Scrappy versions were must see TV on Saturday morning in the late 70s/early 80s. I introduced both of my kids to Scooby and the gang when they were young and they loved the shows as well. 

I finally got around to watching the first 2 episodes of Velma and it’s not terrible. However, it often felt as if they were trying too hard with respect to some of the jokes. I certainly didn’t think this show would merit 4 pages of discussion.

[ultimaton 2981]

6 minutes ago, hornmpa96 said:

Yep - The original Scooby series and the pre-Scrappy versions were must see TV on Saturday morning in the late 70s/early 80s. I introduced both of my kids to Scooby and the gang when they were young and they loved the shows as well. 

I finally got around to watching the first 2 episodes of Velma and it’s not terrible. However, it often felt as if they were trying too hard with respect to some of the jokes. I certainly didn’t think this show would merit 4 pages of discussion.

Well most of that was about Superman

[Baboontyme 2812]

Probably will surprise absolutely none of you that I have a Scooby Doo tattoo. I got it when I was 16 in Daytona Beach. It has aged wonderfully. Anyway, I agree, fuck Scrappy. 

[GoPokes83 2240]

 
Ouch

Outstanding!!

[Eskimohorn 5635]

Here's the original post.
"Velma on HBO Max is just getting trashed by every critic that’s seen it! With a less than 50 Rotten Tomatoes and 1.5 IMDB scores it’s a certified bomb. Apparently the reviews are so bad they turned off comments on the trailer. Velma is now Indian and a lesbian, black Shaggy, Asian Daphne, and no Scooby Doo… It looks like they’re trying really hard to include one of everything! What could go wrong? Anyone seen it?"
 
And I didn't realize pointing out that what was entertaining for us as kids would now be considered "woke" propaganda shit is CR.

Here's the original post.
"Velma on HBO Max is just getting trashed by every critic that’s seen it! With a less than 50 Rotten Tomatoes and 1.5 IMDB scores it’s a certified bomb. Apparently the reviews are so bad they turned off comments on the trailer. Velma is now Indian and a lesbian, black Shaggy, Asian Daphne, and no Scooby Doo… It looks like they’re trying really hard to include one of everything! What could go wrong? Anyone seen it?"
 
And I didn't realize pointing out that what was entertaining for us as kids would now be considered "woke" propaganda shit is CR.

If you’re with your buddies talking classic Hill Street Blues and one of them starts in on wokism, its taken a political turn from your discussion on who wins between Buntz vs Sipowicz.

[bolverk 29672]

1 hour ago, Baboontyme said:

Probably will surprise absolutely none of you that I have a Scooby Doo tattoo. I got it when I was 16 in Daytona Beach. It has aged wonderfully. Anyway, I agree, fuck Scrappy. 

Nothing more to be said. That was when the dream died.

This is gospel. 

/end thread

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

7 hours ago, 0xdeadbeef said:

 

Ouch

 

6 hours ago, GoPokes83 said:

Outstanding!!

 

Critical Drinker is often pretty good. His reviews of old classics (Predator, Demolition Man, Road House, etc) are very good. Make sure to check out his second channel as much of the "Drinker's Extra Shots" retro reviews are there.

Edited January 18, 2023 by MagicSoccerSpray

[UpperWestside 6163]

Scooby Doo is my all-time favorite cartoon. I enjoyed watching it and a Pup Named Scooby Doo as well as a kid. They were both awesome. I have not heard really anything good about this version focusing on Velma. I’m a hard no on watching it. Some things you just need to either stick with the formula that has worked or just don’t touch it. This seems like one of those mishaps.

[UpperWestside 6163]

On 1/16/2023 at 3:50 PM, Brothahorn said:

Last Saturday. 

 

I mean the kids were with me, but I enjoy it as much as they do. We'll watch Scooby, Space Ghost, all the old HB shows.

That’s awesome man! If I ever get around to having kids then Saturday mornings are reserved for cartoons for at least two hours with Scooby Doo, Johnny Quest, Duck Tales and The Jetsons in the lineup. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by UpperWestside