Kaleidoscope: A cool but underwhelming attempt

Eric Garcia’s newest series does well at giving Giancarlo Esposito a backdrop to show his acting talents, but much is left to be desired.

With the new year comes new attempts to make a defining project that sets the tone for the year. The start of the new year has brought fresh ideas to the table, one of which was the ambitious new (hopefully) limited series from Eric Garcia, the writer behind cult classics such as Matchstick Men and Repo Men. Kaleidoscope stars Giancarlo Esposito, Paz Vega, and Rufus Sewell as part of its main cast. It features an interesting watch order concept that could have audiences coming back to the series for a different viewing experience each time — if it wasn’t for the series’ underwhelming story and characters.

Kaleidoscope is an interesting series, a story of a heist and revenge with pretty much every cliche when it comes to these movies. The cast is filled with character archetypes seen in every heist movie. The leader/planner, the tech wizard, the driver, the one who loves weapons, and the heel. Garica’s story benefits from Esposito’s acting range, which the latter shows off every chance he gets. While normally it’s a special treat to see an experienced and talented actor show their chops, in Kaleidoscope it's easy to see that Esposito’s acting is saving a rather dull script. It then becomes more of a curse as you have to watch everyone else in the cast not be able to keep up with (or act as well as) Esposito. The only two exceptions in my eyes are Paz Vega in the role of Ava Mercer, and Tati Gabrielle, playing the character Hannah.

The intriguing aspect of this project was that the episodes are written to be a semianthology style of viewing. There is no “correct” order of watching the episodes, with the exception of “White,” which is written to be the last in the series.

My watch order was Green, Yellow, Violet, Orange, Blue, Red, Pink, and White. I believe this list felt like the standardized watch order, as the plot and storylines played out more or less how typical films of the genre do. In my order, the series started before the heist where I was introduced to the characters and how they were all connected. Episodes Yellow through Blue dove into the characters' backgrounds, and their roles in the heist, and established the awkwardly written romantic interest and the love triangle. The latter half of the episodes took place after the heist and built up the suspense to find out what actually happened to set up the ending, but the lackluster finale, and some hastily dropped storylines made all the build-up and reveal underwhelming.

You can see the influence that Steven Sodenburgh’s Ocean’s 11 has had on the heist genre throughout the series. This is seen with a large ensemble cast, twists and

fake outs, catchy music, schemes to trick the security systems, and relying on a good actor that can narrate the heist and its stakes. Esposito’s iconic tenor is felt throughout the series, but sadly that smooth molasses of a voice tells a rather lackluster story.

Another downside was that the rest of the ensemble fell short, and their characters' storylines were left hanging or lacked substance. The most noticeable was Rosaline Elbay’s character Judy Goodwin. She played the tech expert who was also the wounded bird and tortured soul, and at times was in over her head. The series was seemingly setting up the character to have the most significant growth and be the catalyst for the twist. However, the character reassured herself (and the audience) that her borderline abusive husband isn’t a toxic idiot, and her character arc was dropped to be just the center and object of a love triangle. Which made her seem incapable of making the obvious smart and moral choices. Turning what could have been an intriguing character into just a disappointing mess.

Kaleidoscope has some great moments and takes on the heist genre. It featured a nuanced storyline with morally grey characters and an interesting twist that made me say “huh — neat.” I felt I was being told why I should care instead of feeling an interest naturally. Having no official order for the episodes is an interesting idea, and I wonder if viewing the episodes in a dif-

HBO’s new adult animated show takes a good thing and makes it trash

At the time of writing, Velma has 6 of 10 episodes left to air.

DAVEY

I am not sure who pitched a Velma Dinkley prequel set before the formation of Mystery Incorporated, but I am sure they had the best intentions. Sadly the end result is best described as a dumpster fire (and I don’t use this term excessively). The show has opened to some horrible ratings and received a similar backlash via social media. I thought I would give it the benefit of the doubt, and seeing as I love many of the Scooby-Doo interpretations, what could possibly go wrong? HBO heard me ask that question and created a television show that deserves to be canceled (unlike other shows they have axed).

Velma (2023) is the story of high schoolaged Velma Dinkley (voiced by Mindy Kaling) who is trying to clear her name/ solve the murders of teenage girls from her high school. She is also given another mystery in the form of her missing mother, and viewers learn that the trauma of having a missing mother has prevented Velma from solving any current mysteries. Along for the ride are Daphne, Fred, and Norville

(formerly Shaggy). The titular character has complicated relationships with each of them, and so far it is hard to see how the gang will one day form. The show takes what many fans of the franchise love only to throw dirt on it in hopes of coming across as edgy and funny. While there are moments that make me curious as to where the show will lead viewers, the majority of the time I spent cringing and pressing pause.

To start with the positives (and there aren’t many) some of the writing is funny. A line that stuck with me is Velma claiming “all my money is tied up in streaming services.” Which is the only time that the show pokes fun at the viewer and laughs with them instead of at them. This highlights a problem — that this show simply hates its audience — but to be completely honest, I don’t think it even knows who their target audience is. Too grimy for kids, and too “let's make fun of adults who love animation” for adults that love animation! Most of the good writing doesn’t go to Velma, but instead is given to supporting characters which would be okay if Velma didn’t ruin the effect by shooting back with a bad quip.

The other two positives in the show are supporting characters Daphne (voiced by Constance Wu) and Norville (voiced by Sam Richardson). This version of Daphne is a drug-dealing, self-defence master who challenges Velma’s outlook on the society around her. Norville is a character that lends actual comedic relief. Another bright side to Velma is that the animation is so well done; it makes me sad to see it being used by an undeserving project.

My biggest bone to pick with the series has to be the titular character Velma. While I do not believe Mindy Kaling should be the one who takes all the blame for this show, ferent watch order would bring out more mystery and make me more drawn into figuring out what has happened. Ultimately I wasn’t left wanting to rewatch the series, but instead, I rewatched a classic (and better) heist film: Ocean’s 11

It’s not terrible — Kaleidoscope had its moments, but it lacked a lot of what would make it a good series. It fits perfectly in the mid-to-okay tier, with some great monologues and voice-over from Esposito.

Score 6.5/10

I believe as a producer she deserves some of it. Kaling has become a parody of herself as of late, with many of the characters she writes or portrays becoming extensions of herself in some way. Once again I have no clue who the target audience is for this show or character. She is a woke detective…who also makes fun of the #MeToo movement. Yes, this really happened in a scene, and yes I yelled at my TV.

Perhaps these glaring character flaws shine brighter than normal due to horrendous pacing and writing that can’t decide what it wants to say. Before you begin to even guess who the culprit is, the mystery has been solved and unsolved multiple times within the episode in an effort to keep viewers guessing. With good writing and crafted pacing the mystery has potential to keep me around, but with the lack of these things I cannot stomach another episode again.

Velma cannot be saved by good animation and fun secondary characters. It leans too heavily on the titular character who is an unlikeable protagonist (not the fun kind either) and makes fun of its audience too much. Save yourself a bad twenty-five minute episode and give this show a miss.