I was really looking forward to Velma on HBO Max. I've never been a big fan of the Scooby-Doo franchise, although I enjoyed the two live-action movies to a reasonable extent. My kids have caught a kind of retro-Scoob enthusiasm and have watched many of the cartoon incarnations of the mystery-solving gang. (That said, this new series certainly is not for young eyes and I won't be sharing it with them any time soon.)

No, I mostly wanted to like Velma because I like the idea of reimagining the series with a grittier, more adult tone, and the outrage from the conservative far-right over the racial changes to the main characters made my anticipation that much more delicious.

I honestly didn't care that there is no talking dog in the series. As a prequel story, it makes sense that Scooby wouldn't be there yet.

But the series finally dropped, after months and months of foaming rants from the same irate people who think casting a dark-skinned Disney mermaid is akin to hiring Mel Gibson to portray Martin Luther King Jr. Sadly, despite my high hopes, my reaction to the series is best described as "meh."

I don't care that Velma (voiced by series creator and producer Mindy Kaling) is now bi-curious (no big surprise there) and of Indian descent. I don't care that Shaggy (or, rather, Norville) is black, or that Daphne is a red-headed Asian. I don't mind the various diversity groups that are represented in the larger cast -- mixed-race and same-sex couples, among others -- but after a while it seems like they were just checking boxes to, you know, prove they could.

It doesn't help that the future Scooby gang is here made up of troubled teenagers who aren't particularly likable. And, while Fred Jones has always been the least interesting member of the group, his portrayal here as a whiny, entitled and helpless rich boy who never hit puberty is so exaggerated that it completely overshoots the potential joke and simply feels ridiculous.

It's also a little over the top -- and perhaps a concession to Kaling's vanity -- that Norville starts the series with a deep, abiding love for Velma. Daphne develops a crush on Velma. Even Fred, who has no time for Velma at the onset because she is neither popular nor beautiful, has an epiphany on the worth of smart women and develops a massive crush on her.

Worse, though, is the humor, which just isn't very funny. All of the sins, real or imagined, of the show could be forgiven if it were well-written, but it's not. It's mean-spirited at times. It's too adult for kids (mostly for language, sexual references and a gratuitous shower scene in a girls' locker room) but too sophomoric for grownups. (And, in case you're thinking I just don't like politically incorrect or occasionally mean-spirited cartoon humor, please know that I love Family Guy.)

Besides Kaling, the show features Glenn Howerton as Fred, Sam Richardson as Norville, Constance Wu as Daphne, plus an assortment of additional voice actors including Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Kari Wahlgren, Melissa Fumero and Gary Cole.

All that said, I'm glad I watched it and satisfied my curiosity. I didn't hate it with the same passion of myriad internet commenters, I just found it kind of dull and far less ambitious than it could have been. I also am not sure why all the internet's vitriol is directed at Kaling, who is credited as one of several executive producers as well as its main star, but is not credited as a creator, writer or director. It seems like maybe Kaling is shouldering an unfair portion of the blame. (For the record, the series was developed and partly written by Charlie Grandy, whose prior writing credits include The Office, The Daily Show, The Mindy Project and Saturday Night Live.)

It also seems like the series is likely to get a second season, despite the general rage and gnashing of teeth of so many internet warriors. I won't look forward to more Velma with the same level of anticipation as the first season got, but I suspect I will probably watch it to see if they fixed any of its problems and made a better show. I hope they do.