I have seen the first five episodes now and I agree with Lacy that the series stands well on its own, independently of the comics. No prior knowledge of the characters is necessary, as Veronica meets Archie and Betty for the first time in episode one. Reggie and Dilton did appear, as did Chuck and Ethel, and Midge has been mentioned a couple of times.
The original comic stories were not always humorous, sometimes concentrating on teaching a life lesson. At first I thought that it may be a sign of the times that in Riverdale, even popular Archie comics characters were being portrayed as amoral or immoral, with even Archie having the most illicit of affairs. In the past, I sometimes wondered whether many Americans realised how valuable the Archie comics were as a representation of American culture. On an online forum for a course I was studying years ago, a student took the opportunity to make an absurdly generalised attack on American culture. I almost instinctively replied that I preferred to think that Archie and Jughead were more typical.
Possibly not all Americans will be flattered that after all of their country's achievements, anyone could think that Archie comics were the best representatives of their culture. However, I cannot think of any other medium that for such a long time has mirrored contemporary American culture while at the same time having main characters that tried to do the right thing for its own sake. One example that stuck in my mind was a strip in which Archie tried to help a squirrel, leading to one disaster after another. In the end, Archie sat sadly contemplating how everyone hated him, until a squirrel brought him an acorn. Archie comics could also teach social skills. In one strip, while Archie shovelled snow out of his jalopy, Reggie mocked him and asked why, in spite of himself being superior to Archie in looks, sporting ability, intelligence and grades, Archie could be so popular. After clearing his car, Archie replied "I don't know, Reggie. Can I give you a lift?"
I may have been mistaken about the Riverdale series marking the death of that ethos in the Archie universe, though. In episode two, Reggie blacked Archies eye but, in episode five, he showed genuine concern for Archie and Archie behaved unselfishly towards him, showing that as in the comics, in spite of their constant squabbling and rivalry, they were still friends when it came to the crunch.
