Velma has not garnered a lot of positive press ever since HBO Max aired its first two episodes earlier in January. Among those who appear to be unimpressed with the show thus far is well-known voice actress Grey DeLisle, who has voiced the iconic redheaded Daphne Blake in multiple Scooby-Doo projects for over two decades.
On January 21, it was confirmed that HBO Max's Velma was the lowest-rated animated series by IMDB standards. DeLisle insinuated that she is not a fan of the show, or perhaps, that it serves the show right for not having her return as Daphne.
On her own personal Twitter account, DeLisle tweeted the caption, "JEEPERS!!! #velmadinkley" over a picture of the titular character with the caption, "Velma becomes worst-rated animated TV series in IMDB history." DeLisle used the word "jeepers" because it is Daphne's iconic catchphrase, which has been used in Scooby-Doo projects for years. She usually said it whenever she was pointing out something worthy while investigating mysteries with the gang.
Up until the release of Velma, DeLisle had taken the role of Daphne in every Scooby-Doo project following the tragic passing of Daphne's previous voice actor, Mary Kay Bergman. DeLisle first voiced Daphne in Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase in 2001 and has since voiced the character again in dozens of projects, which include various Scooby-Doo series, specials, and movies. Velma is the first Scooby-Doo property not to feature DeLisle's voice as Daphne since Sccoby-Doo and the Alien Invaders in 2000.
DeLisle's tweet can be left up to interpretation as to why she called attention to Velma's bad press since it started airing episodes in mid-January. Is she showing her disdain for the new reboot with her not being involved in the project? Is she showing relief that her talent would not be associated with this "experimental" reboot of the classic Scooby-Doo franchise? Is she surprised that a franchise she's been involved with for so long is getting such harsh critique with its latest re-telling? Does she think her absence has something to do with it? Velma's harsh response from the fans thus far is something DeLisle wants to call attention to.
Whether she's unhappy not to be involved in this iteration of Shaggy and the gang or not, it's possible that DeLisle dodged a bullet on this one because, despite having the same characters and being a mystery, Velma isn't really a Scooby-Doo show. That goes beyond the fact that everyone's favorite crime-solving dog isn't in the show. The Scooby-Doo characters are much different from the ones viewers grew up with. Instead of finding criminals dressed up as scary monsters, the show revolves around the gang trying to discover the identity of the town's serial killer. Plus, it seems to be focused a lot more on romance. There's nothing wrong with that; there's nothing wrong with a franchise veering into a new direction. This show just doesn't feel like Scooby-Doo. It feels like an entirely new show that coincidentally has the names of Scooby-Doo characters.
Velma is now available on HBO Max.
Source: Grey DeLisle/Twitter