Content Warning: The video I linked below and discussed is an animated horror film with Lovecraftian themes. If you do not like violence or horror, this is not for you. Maybe try “Hilda” instead.

Normally, when I hate a TV show, I stop watching it. Or I might pour my feelings into a blog post that people are welcome to ignore. But HBO’s “Velma” was a unique case. This show managed to attract so much ire – some deserved, and some very not deserved, that it led to the creation of a slew of hate posts and anti-fanart. Despite having little interest in watching the series, I felt compelled to after a friend spoke up about the onslaught of negative criticism the series had received.

“Velma” is the 12th iteration of the “Scooby Doo” franchise and features all of the main characters from the franchise as modern, troubled teenagers who make annoying meta references. Having watched the first season, my assessment of the show is that it’s not the worst ever, but it will probably be a disappointment for Scooby-Doo fans. The voice actors in the supporting roles did a good job, and some of the jokes were funny, but that’s about it. The fun of the Scooby-Doo franchise tends to come from watching these four unlikely friends (and their silly talking dog) solve mysteries together, and “Velma” didn’t have that.

I’m late to the party with this discovery (this video already has 16M views), but the parody animation “Velma Meets the Original Velma,” by Avocado Animation has provided some unique and interesting commentary on the series and how it fits in with the previous versions of the show.

For those of you who don’t watch the video, here’s a summary:

Velma is hanging out with her friends when Norville introduces them to a friendly-looking Great Dane named Scooby-Doo. The sight of this dog causes Velma to have flashbacks to what can best be described as a former life (reminiscent of the original Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the late 1960s). As she tries to run away from Scooby-Doo, he emerges from the shadows, speaking in a low voice, and explains his role to her. How once upon a time, he and the rest of the Mystery Gang had fun and solved mysteries together until one day, Velma became suspicious of Scooby’s awesome un-dog-like abilities. Having been discovered, Scooby murders his friends, but his is saddened that the fun had to end. So he brings them back in new forms. Except in every reboot, the Velma’s become suspicious of Scooby and remember their prior existance, and Scooby is once again forced to destroy the current universe to try and create a better one. Scooby laments that with each new creation, the universe looses more of what once made it special, as he just wants what they once had. He describes the “Velma” universe as the most disappointing yet, promising to get it better next time. And with that promise, he devours this latest version of Velma.

When I first watched this video, I thought, “Gee that was clever,” and went back to watching reruns of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelpha.” Then, in the middle of the night, I woke up and could only imagine that final confrontation between Velma and Scooby, where his disgust and disappointment with his creation is palpable, and his sentient creation can only tremble in fear as her creator deems her unworthy of life. I didn’t go back to sleep for a long time.

The idea of a powerful, godlike entity who can craft worlds willing to use his powers to bring back the same group of friends is equal parts disturbing and sweet. He “loves” them (in his way) so much that he mourns their loss and respawns them in the hopes that they’ll behave this time. But they never do.

It’s a chilling tale that encompasses the entire Scooby-Doo franchise, creating a horrifying origin story for the main character. “Velma” is about the titular character solving the mystery of who is killing the local “popular” girls in her community and uncovering a greater conspiracy, which isn’t all that interesting and adds little value to the franchise. Some of the comments under the video suggested that the show “Velma,” would have been so much more interesting if it’s storyline had mirrored the “Velma” parody animation. If the series had instead been about a new iteration of Velma, one who had regular flashbacks to alternate realities of herself with the same three people, who had to solve the mystery of what those flashbacks meant and what the strange, talking dog had to do with any of it. I’m envisioning a more horrifying version of “The Good Place,” except with Velma at the center, solving the mystery, and Scooby-Doo as the deity trying to stay one step ahead of her. That would have been a great show.

I think in any franchise, you’re going to have some additions that are stronger than others. There have been some incredible shows and specials throughout the years (with “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” being a particular standout), but there have also been a few turkeys. Last year I watched “Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays,” in hopes of adding another special to my list of must-watches, but it was so awful I almost gave up on the franchise (and yet I have heard no complaints about that movie). The live-action “Scooby-Doo!” movies were critically panned when they were released in 2002 and 2004, but that didn’t matter, because they live on as cult classics. My point is that I don’t think “Velma” is the absolute worst Scooby-Doo has to offer, even if it also isn’t the best.

And if “Velma” didn’t exist, then Avocado Animation would never have been able to grace us with one of the most unsettling, imaginative horror films I’ve seen in a long time.