Doom Patrol is an American web television series based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name that premiered on February 15, 2019, on DC Universe. The series features Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), Elasti-Woman (April Bowlby), Negative Man (Matt Bomer), Robotman (Brendan Fraser), and the Chief (Timothy Dalton) as the members of the titular Doom Patrol and also stars Joivan Wade as Cyborg and Alan Tudyk as Mr. Nobody. Although Bowlby, Fraser, and Bomer reprise their roles from the DC Universe series Titans, the two shows are set in separate continuities.
Filming began in Georgia in late August 2018, and the first season consists of 15 episodes. In July 2019, the series was renewed for a second season which is set to premiere in 2020 on both DC Universe and HBO Max.
Premise
The show follows Cliff Steele / Robotman, Rita Farr, Larry Trainor / Negative Man, Kay Challis / Jane as they are called into action by Victor Stone / Cyborg when their mentor Niles Caulder / the Chief is kidnapped by the supernatural super-villain known as Mr. Nobody.
Cast and characters
Main
Diane Guerrero as Kay Challis / Jane: A member of the Doom Patrol with 64 distinct personalities, each displaying a different super power. Skye Roberts plays a young Kay in flashbacks. Some of Jane's personalities include Hammerhead (an aggressive woman portrayed by Stephanie Czajkowski), Pretty Polly (a woman named after the eponymous song portrayed by Hannah Alline), Penny Farthing (a cockney woman portrayed by Anna Lore), Silver Tongue (a woman whose vocalizations are used as a weapon and is portrayed by Chelsea Alana Rivera), Lucy Fugue (a woman with electrokinesis portrayed by Tara Lee), the Secretary (a pessimistic woman portrayed by Jackie Goldston), the Weird Sisters (a 3-in-one personality portrayed by Monica Louwerens), Miranda (a former primary personality of school-age portrayed by Leela Owen), Black Annis (a personality aggressive to men portrayed by Helen Abell) and Dr. Harrison (a woman who can persuade anyone to do anything she wants).
April Bowlby as Rita Farr: A member of the Doom Patrol and former actress, who developed the power to stretch, shrink and grow after being exposed to a toxic liquid.
Joivan Wade as Victor Stone / Cyborg: A half-human, half-machine superhero, struggling with his duality, who calls the Doom Patrol into action.
Alan Tudyk as Eric Morden / Mr. Nobody: A living shadow able to drain the sanity of others after being experimented on by ex-Nazis in post-war Paraguay. He also tends to break the fourth wall and narrate at certain points.
Matt Bomer and Matthew Zuk as Larry Trainor / Negative Man: A member of the Doom Patrol and former pilot, who crashed into negative energy and is now wrapped in bandages from head to toe. Bomer voices the character and appears as Trainor in flashbacks and his present day burnt body, while Zuk physically portrays Negative Man when wrapped in bandages.
Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan as Cliff Steele / Robotman: A member of the Doom Patrol and former NASCAR racer whose brain was transplanted into a robotic body after an accident destroyed his own. Fraser voices the character and appears as Steele in flashbacks, while Shanahan physically portrays Robotman.
Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder / the Chief: The leader of the Doom Patrol and a leading doctor in medical science who specializes in finding those in need who are "on the edge of death in need of a miracle". Dalton is listed amongst the main cast but credited as special appearance.
April Bowlby as Rita Farr: A member of the Doom Patrol and former actress, who developed the power to stretch, shrink and grow after being exposed to a toxic liquid.
Joivan Wade as Victor Stone / Cyborg: A half-human, half-machine superhero, struggling with his duality, who calls the Doom Patrol into action.
Alan Tudyk as Eric Morden / Mr. Nobody: A living shadow able to drain the sanity of others after being experimented on by ex-Nazis in post-war Paraguay. He also tends to break the fourth wall and narrate at certain points.
Matt Bomer and Matthew Zuk as Larry Trainor / Negative Man: A member of the Doom Patrol and former pilot, who crashed into negative energy and is now wrapped in bandages from head to toe. Bomer voices the character and appears as Trainor in flashbacks and his present day burnt body, while Zuk physically portrays Negative Man when wrapped in bandages.
Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan as Cliff Steele / Robotman: A member of the Doom Patrol and former NASCAR racer whose brain was transplanted into a robotic body after an accident destroyed his own. Fraser voices the character and appears as Steele in flashbacks, while Shanahan physically portrays Robotman.
Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder / the Chief: The leader of the Doom Patrol and a leading doctor in medical science who specializes in finding those in need who are "on the edge of death in need of a miracle". Dalton is listed amongst the main cast but credited as special appearance.
Recurring
Julie McNiven as Sheryl Trainor, Larry's wife and the mother of his childrenKyle Clements as John Bowers, Larry's secret lover who also served in the Air Force. Tom Fitzpatrick portrays the character as an old man in the present.
Phil Morris as Silas Stone, Victor's father and a scientist who rebuilt him as a cyborg
Curtis Armstrong as the voice of Ezekiel, a talking doomsday prophet cockroach
Alec Mapa as Steve Larson / Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, a tourist who undergoes Von Fuchs' enhancement procedure and is turned into a mismatched fusion of animal, vegetable and mineral
Charmin Lee as Elinore Stone, Victor's mother and Silas's wife
Alimi Ballard as Joshua Clay, a metahuman caretaker of the original Doom Patrol which he was an original member of
Tommy Snider as Ernest Franklin / Beard Hunter, a metahuman bounty hunter who targets bearded men.
Jon Briddell as Darren Jones, an agent of the Bureau of Normalcy, an organization which once experimented on Larry after his accident
Devan Chandler Long as Flex Mentallo, a metahuman superhero that can alter reality by flexing his muscles
Guest
Julian Richings as Heinrich Von Fuchs, the Nazi scientist whose experiments changed Morden into Mr. NobodyKatie Gunderson as Kate Steele, Cliff's cheating wife
Alan Heckner as Bump Weathers, one of Cliff's pit crew who has an affair with Kate, and later raises Clara after she is orphaned
Chantelle Barry as the voice of Baphomet, an oracle in the form of a female horse.
Mark Sheppard as Willoughby Kipling, an occult detective, chaos magician and member of the Knights Templar
Lilli Birdsell as Mother Archon, Elliot's mother and the high priestess of the lost city of Nurnheim
Ted Sutherland as Elliot Patterson, an 18-year old man who is the key to the Cult of the Unwritten Book's attempt to summon the Decreator, an interdimensional entity who will destroy the world
Will Kemp and Dave Bielawski as Steve Dayton / Mento, leader of the original Doom Patrol. Kemp plays the younger Mento and Bielawski plays the older Mento.
Jasmine Kaur and Madhur Jaffrey as Arani Desai / Celsius, a member of the original Doom Patrol. Kaur portrays the younger Celsius while Jaffrey portrays the older Celsius.
Dennis Cockrum as Sydney Bloom, a film producer of Bloom Studios who Rita tries to get cast in one of his upcoming movies
Lesa Wilson as Rhea Jones / Lodestone, a member of the original Doom Patrol
Alan Mingo Jr. as Morris Wilson / Maura Lee Karupt, a former agent of the Bureau of Normalcy-turned-crossdressing cabaret singer on Danny the Street.
Pisay Pao as Slava, an immortal primitive woman with whom Niles falls in love.
Bethany Anne Lind as Clara Steele, Cliff's daughter who survived a fatal accident in 1988, and was believed to be the only survivor of her family. Sydney Kowalske plays a younger Clara Steele in flashbacks.
David A. MacDonald as Daddy, Jane's sexually abusive father.
Haley Strode and Susan Williams as Dolores Mentallo, Flex's wife. Strode plays the younger Dolores while Williams plays the older Dolores.
Ed Asner as Hospital Patient, an old man who is actually Mr. Nobody in disguise.
Victoria Blade as Millie, Eric Morden's ex-girlfriend.
Episodes
*** SPOILERS ***
1 "Pilot"
In Paraguay 1948, third-rate criminal Mr. Eric Morden takes part in an experiment run by former Nazi scientist Heinrich Von Fuchs that transforms him into a metahuman. In Florida 1988, NASCAR driver Clifford Steele is caught in a car crash, but is saved by Dr. Niles Caulder, who transfers Cliff's brain into a robotic body seven years later. Also living with Caulder are Rita Farr, a 1950s actress who was exposed to a toxin while filming that turned her into plastic, and Larry Trainor, a former United States Air Force test pilot who was exposed to negative energy in the early 1960s. In the present, the group have lived together for many years in "Doom Manor" with Jane, a young woman with 64 super-powered personalities. Jane convinces the others to go into the nearby town of Cloverton, Ohio while Caulder is away. Rita becomes upset and turns elastic, unintentionally wreaking havoc until Cliff stops her. Caulder urges them to flee with him, as their actions will attract the enemies he has been hiding from. He, Jane, Rita, and Larry leave, but they return to help Cliff protect Cloverton. Caulder is confronted by Morden, who opens a vortex in front of the team.2 "Donkey Patrol"
Morden takes Caulder into the vortex, and Jane follows, after which the vortex devours Cloverton. Realizing the futility of trying to live in the regular world, Rita retires to the Manor to wait for Caulder's return, and Larry tries to leave town, but the negative energy being inside him will not let him. Victor "Vic" Stone, a half-man, half-machine friend of Caulder's as well as Detroit's well known superhero Cyborg, sees news footage of Cloverton's destruction, and travels there to investigate. Morden's donkey spits out Jane. Back at Doom Manor, Cliff is unable to interrogate Jane about her experience because she is cycling through her personalities. As Cliff learns about Jane's condition, Vic triggers one of her violent personalities and she attacks him and Cliff. Rita begrudgingly agrees to go into the gateway via the donkey's mouth, and Larry and Vic are sucked in as well. On the other side, Morden tortures them with fantasies to thwart their search for Caulder, but Larry's energy being intervenes and the team, as well as the entire town of Cloverton, are spit back out. Vic's father Silas asks him to come home, but Vic refuses and decides to join the team.3 "Puppet Patrol"
Vic goads the others into a road trip to Paraguay, hoping that by learning what happened there in 1948 they can find Caulder. While trying to gain some control over the negative energy being, Larry recalls his estrangement from his wife Cheryl and lover John Bowers after his accident. The team discovers that Caulder was present when Von Fuchs changed Morden into Mr. Nobody, and that Von Fuchs is still alive, only to be killed by one of Jane's personalities. They return to Doom Manor on a jet provided by Silas. At Fuchtopia, a man named Steve undergoes Von Fuchs's enhancement procedure and is transformed into a metahuman.4 "Cult Patrol"
Occult detective Willoughby Kipling comes to Doom Manor seeking Caulder's assistance to prevent the end of the world, only to find him gone, so he convinces the team to help him instead. Guided by Kipling, they abduct a tattooed, 18-year-old man named Elliott who is the key to the Cult of the Unwritten Book's attempt to summon the Decreator, an interdimensional entity who will destroy the world. Kipling sends Cliff and Jane to a priest whose stigmata are a gateway to the lost city of Nurnheim, but before Jane can sew the wounds closed, she and Cliff are drawn through the gate and captured. The high priestess of Nurnheim sends otherworldly assassins to retrieve Elliott, and Vic, Larry, Kipling, and Rita are unable to stop them. The cult begins the ritual, and a giant glowing eye appears in the sky.5 "Paw Patrol"
Mr. Nobody releases Caulder from captivity so the two can work together to stop the Decreator. Mr. Nobody travels to 1977 and uses one of Jane's personalities, Dr. Harrison (whose power is persuasion), to create a Cult of the Rewritten Book, which will create a counterpart to Elliot that can oppose the Decreator. Back in the present, Cliff and present day Jane escape Nurnheim with instructions left by Dr. Harrison. Meanwhile, Caulder, Kipling, Vic, and Larry find Elliot's counterpart, a dog, which Kipling uses to summon the Recreator, who brings back everything previously disintegrated by the Decreator. Just before Caulder leaves, Mr. Nobody freezes time and self-destructs Vic's arm cannon. In the past, Caulder rescues Jane from a mental institution in which she was being tortured, and promises to keep her safe. Unbeknownst to Caulder, Mr. Nobody tells Jane to find the Doom Patrol.6 "Doom Patrol Patrol"
Victor's father Silas arrives to repair him. Jane's investigation leads her, Larry, and Rita to an old superhero team called the Doom Patrol; consisting of Steve Dayton / Mento, a millionaire with psychic powers whom Rita dated in 1955; Arani, a woman with elemental control of fire and ice who claims to be Caulder's wife; Rhea, a woman with electromagnetic abilities; and Joshua Clay, a man who fires kinetic energy blasts. The current team learns that Caulder assembled and led the original Doom Patrol, but they disbanded after being defeated by Mr. Nobody. Steve, Arani, and Rhea are also revealed to be old and mentally ill, with Joshua as their caretaker. A medicated Steve has projected an illusion that they are young and running a school for super-powered children. He subjects Jane, Larry, and Rita to delusions of painful events from their pasts before Rita is able to calm him down. Meanwhile, back at Doom Manor, Vic hacks into Cliff's daughter's social media account for him after Cliff discovers that she survived the crash that destroyed his body and killed his wife.7 "Therapy Patrol"
The team struggles with their personal demons. Rita struggles to figure out her true identity. Larry's energy spirit forces him to revisit his affair with John. Vic discovers that online dating is difficult for Cyborg. Jane struggles to connect with her personalities. Cliff confronts his daughter's adoptive father Bump, only to realize the scenario is a hallucination. Cliff decides the team needs a group therapy session, and they reluctantly begin to share in turn: Rita is having an identity crisis, Larry is lonely and laments pushing John away after the accident, and Vic blames himself for his mother's death. Cliff and Jane hurt each other's feelings, and Cliff has a breakdown caused by Admiral Whiskers, a rat convinced by Mr. Nobody to seek revenge against the team, who caused his mother's death.8 "Danny Patrol"
Cliff and Rita seek out Jane, who is under the control of Karen, a perky but unstable personality with the power to make people love her. In their search for Caulder, Larry and Vic come across a sentient, genderqueer, teleporting street named Danny, which is being hunted by the Bureau of Normalcy. Larry remembers his own experience with the Bureau, which experimented on him in the 1960s after his accident and gave him the first glimpse of his negative energy spirit. Former Bureau agent Morris Wilson has become a drag queen named Maura Lee Karupt who helps keep Danny going by sustaining a party atmosphere. She faces off with her former partner, Agent Darren Johnson, to stop the Bureau's persecution of Danny. Jane and Karen fight for control of her mind, but soon Jane snaps, leaving her catatonic while her consciousness is dragged into the Underground.9 "Jane Patrol"
A catatonic Jane is confronted by her many other personalities in the Underground, who want her to restore order and resume being the dominant personality. With the help of Driver 8, Jane chooses to remain catatonic and try to figure out what is wrong with her. Back in Doom Manor, the team argues about how to help Jane until Larry's negative spirit sends Cliff's consciousness into the Underground. He is soon subdued by two of Jane's aggressive personalities, Hammerhead and Driller Bill, and locked in a cell next to Karen. She is let go, and Penny Farthing leads Cliff through Jane's memories. Cliff and Jane face her biggest fear, revealed to be Jane's abusive father, who appears as a giant monster made of puzzle pieces. Jane's cathartic rage destroys him, and she and Cliff leave the Underground. Jane awakens in Doom Manor.10 "Hair Patrol"
The Bureau of Normalcy tasks The Beard Hunter to locate Caulder. In 1913, Caulder and his partner Alistair are investigating a strange creature for The Bureau of Oddities. Alistair is seemingly killed by wolves. Caulder breaks his leg while fleeing, and is rescued by a primitive woman named Slava. Caulder falls in love with her, and discovers that she is immortal and controls the creature. Caulder stays with Slava for years, but Alistair reappears and says that the Bureau of Oddities is now the Bureau of Normalcy, with the new mission of killing any oddities they find, including Slava. Caulder kills Alistair to save Slava, and returns to the Bureau claiming she does not exist. In the present, Mr. Nobody offers Caulder the chance to save the team and be released if he reveals Slava's location, but Caulder adamantly refuses. The Beard Hunter infiltrates Doom Manor and consumes some of Caulder's facial hair from the sink drain as means to track him. Vic and Rita find and interrogate him, but he is able to get free and overpower Vic. Later, The Beard Hunter tracks down an effigy of Caulder, and Slava's creature appears and attacks him.11 "Frances Patrol"
The team faces their shortcomings. Jane laments that they are unable to save Caulder. Cliff, accompanied by Rita, arrives at Bump's memorial service to reconnect with his daughter Clara. There, Cliff realizes how important Clara's adoptive father had been to her while he was gone and decides to affirm his love by retrieving a watch, treasured by Clara, from Frances, the massive alligator that killed Bump. Larry and John revisit their love affair through a shared dreamscape, as the negative spirit pushes Larry to reconcile with an aged John in the real world. Vic worries about his cybernetics' operating system Grid, over which he seems to be losing control as the cybernetics are slowly expanding throughout his body. Following the clue previously left behind by Danny the Street, Vic and Jane pursue a man called the "Hero of the Beach" who goes by the name of Flex Mentallo. Vic is captured by the Bureau of Normalcy during the search.12 "Cyborg Patrol"
Silas arrives looking for a missing Vic, who the team soon realizes has been taken by the Bureau of Normalcy. Determining that Vic is being held at the Ant Farm, Silas devises a plan to rescue him, and enlists the others to help. At the facility, Vic is tortured and Grid reboots twice, further disorienting him. Silas and the team infiltrate the Ant Farm with Jane and Larry posing as agents of the Bureau bringing in Cliff as a prisoner. Darren and his team surround and subdue the team with specialized weapons, Silas having tipped them off in exchange for access to his son. Vic is furious at what Silas has done, but Silas's "betrayal" is part of the rescue plan. Rita, who has been hiding in her elastic form inside Cliff, sets him and then Larry free. Karen emerges in Jane, and uses her power to escape before Jane reemerges. They free all of the Bureau's other prisoners, creating enough chaos for them to flee. Silas and a confused Vic argue, and Vic beats his father senseless. Mr. Nobody appears, having orchestrated Grid's reboots, and taunts Vic that he has just killed his own father.13 "Flex Patrol"
The team returns home with Flex Mentallo, who is suffering from memory loss. Silas is alive but in critical condition. In 1964, Flex is captured by the Bureau of Normalcy. Larry has a chance to help him escape, but is too afraid of the consequences. Flex is continually tortured but resists cooperating, until the Bureau threatens to harm his wife. In the present, Cliff, Jane, and Larry try to restore Flex' memories and abilities, eventually deciding to reunite Flex and his wife. When Dolores disintegrates in front of him during their reunion, Flex unleashes his powers in his agony, causing an electrical outage over a large region. Rita deals with her guilt over the suicide of a young actress who conceived a baby with a film producer after Rita arranged their meeting, and was left alone to care for it. With Rita's support, Cyborg decides to reinstall Grid, stay with his injured father, and leave the team. Larry decides to give a new chance at life to the negative spirit and releases it, but he is left slowly dying in the process. The negative spirit, however, returns to Larry. Mr. Nobody acknowledges that the team is ready to face him.14 "Penultimate Patrol"
In 1946, Morden's girlfriend Millie leaves him after he is fired from the Brotherhood of Evil, calling him a nobody. In the present, the team's search for the Beard Hunter brings them to Danny the Street. Though afraid of Mr. Nobody, Danny reveals that Caulder is being held in a dimension called "the White Space". Vic apologizes to a recovering Silas for his attack, but Silas confesses that he altered Vic's memories of his accident. Vic's mother also survived the explosion, but Silas could only save one of them, and chose Vic. Flex transports the team to the White Space, where they each find themselves reliving the day their respective tragedies occur. Mr. Nobody offers to let them live out their lives differently if they give up their search for Caulder. They refuse, and Vic shows up and atomizes the villain. A year later, the team has become the next Doom Patrol, but they are caught in a time loop in which they keep dying. Mr. Nobody reveals this to be an illusion, and that they are all still in the White Space. He coerces Caulder to reveal the secret that Caulder is responsible for the events which gave each of them their powers.15 "Ezekiel Patrol"
Caulder recalls the events that led to the creation of each of the Doom Patrol members and the personal toll it took on him. The team goes their separate ways and attempt to integrate into society, but are summoned to Doom Manor by Danny, who has been kidnapped by Mr. Nobody. Caulder reveals why he did what he did: he was desperately searching for the means to extend his own life so that he might protect his troubled, super-powered daughter as long as possible. The team steps through a painting to rescue Danny and Caulder's daughter, who has enlarged Ezekiel and Admiral Whiskers. The two creatures have forced Mr. Nobody out and are on a rampage. The team executes Vic's plan: Rita convinces Mr. Nobody to continue his narration, which exerts control over Ezekiel and Whiskers, and the team allow themselves to be devoured by Ezekiel. Larry unleashes a nuclear blast, killing Whiskers, trapping Mr. Nobody and the Beard Hunter in the painting and reducing Danny from a street to a brick, but the others are protected by being inside Ezekiel. Back at Doom Manor, Vic slices open Ezekiel's abdomen and they step out, including Caulder's daughter, Dorothy Spinner.The Verdict
I'll start off saying that Doom Patrol was a pretty wild ride. I went into this from knowing next to absolutely nothing about these characters, outside of their cameos and appearances in the original Teen Titans animated series and in the other DC Universe live-action series, Titans. I admittedly read very little about them since they were part of what my favorite Amalgam comic series (X-Patrol) was based off, but that knowledge is limited to bare bones information at best just to see what the differences and comparisons were to X-Force, who they were mashed up with to create that series.
It should be noted that Doom Patrol exists in a separate continuity from Titans, despite using the same actors for Cliff, Rita, Larry, and Niles for their one episode appearance in that show. It's never specifically explained but something I had to gather as the season went on. Otherwise, it would have been a glaring omission to have all of this stuff going on and the Titans (or at least their allies in the Justice League that are referenced but never shown in that series) weren't involved in some capacity. It would come across as the same issue as the first season of Supergirl, whereas Superman is always mentioned but never seen until the second season where they finally got the legal rights worked out and actually cast someone to play the Man of Steel.
Characters
Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder / The Chief
Right off the bat, Niles Caulder is established as the "Professor Xavier" for this group of freaks and misfits by taking them into his care to live in his home and serving as a therapist of sorts to these individuals who somehow survived the traumatic events that gave them each of their powers. The good doctor is abducted by Mr. Nobody by the end of the first episode and the rest of the season follows the Doom Patrol's efforts to follow the breadcrumbs that Mr. Nobody leaves behind to rescue him.
It's a darn shame that we don't get much to go on about the Chief until Episode 10, where most of his dealings with the Bureau of Oddities Normalcy that led to him meeting the Bigfoot-like creature named Slava and falling in love with her.
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| The beauty that is Pisay Pao. |
FYI Slava was played by the amazingly beautiful Pisay Pao (Z Nation). That was one hell of a transformation, that's for sure.
The "good doctor" isn't so good when it's revealed in Episode 14 that Caulder staged all of the events that led to each of the members of the Doom Patrol to acquire their powers and/or become horribly disfigured. It was allegedly all for researching means to extend his own life for he can continue protecting his daughter.
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| Abigail Shapiro will portray Dorothy Spinner in Doom Patrol Season Two. |
His daughter was shot from behind in the last episode, but she will be played by Abigail Shapiro in the upcoming second season.
That being said, I think Caulder should have been upfront with all of the members of the Doom Patrol right off the bat. He made them all into what they are today, but they would have continued with all of the internal trauma and mental anguish that they were coping with in their lives regardless. All of those "freak" accidents merely brought those issues to the surface instead of internalizing them. I genuinely believed that he was a good person from the start of the series to the end; it was just that his methods were questionable at best, despite having good intentions.
I'm glad that this version of Caulder distanced itself from the Doom Patrol's portrayal in Titans as he just came off as a senile old man that this group of freaks were taking care of since they didn't have anywhere else to go. That wasn't interesting at all - at least for me anyway. The "good doctor" with a "maniacal edge" was a better take on this character here. I'm hoping we get to see more "methods to his madness" in the second season when he has more time to explain himself.
See what I did there?
Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele / Robotman
Like I said in my review of Marvel's Runaways Season Three, I thought it was pretty crazy that the two stars of Bedazzled have returned out of obscurity in the superhero genre. Elizabeth Hurley appears in that season as the titular antagonist, Morgan le Fey, while Brendan Fraser appears in a main role for this television series as Robotman. And here I thought both of those actors were blackballed from Hollywood or something at this point.
Fraser was a naturally good fit as Cliff Steel, bringing both Fraser's charm and humor to the character. When I commented on the Doom Patrol's cameo in Titans, I said that I felt that all of them represented a particular theme of body horror in some capacity. I still feel the same way here to an extent, even though it's not as extreme as it was in the first season of Titans. The viewers are still treated to the horrors of being separated from one's body - more importantly, their flesh - and merely existing as a brain inside an iron shell.
April Bowlby as Rita Farr / Elasti-Woman
Going into this, I was expecting a more "superheroine" version of Rita Farr instead of the puddle of goo that she would reduce herself into at the sign of any and every emotional instability. I was thinking she was going to gain some sort of control over this ability and become a Giganta/Ginormica of sorts. This iteration of the character was fine. Rita is so consumed with her past as an actress that even she doesn't know who the "real" Rita Farr is anymore after playing this role for so long of this prim and proper lady. The majority of this season is spent with Rita stepping off the stage of lies that she has been living so long and coming to terms with who she is when she's not being an actress.
I thought they only scratched the surface on Rita's psychology issues with her appearance and inner turmoil and I would love to see her character get some more development in the second season.
Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor / Negative Man
One of the biggest knocks against a lot of DC Comics' CW Arrowverse properties is how much they force LGBTQ themes and characters into their narratives. For Doom Patrol, I didn't feel that Larry's homosexuality was forced at all. I dare say that he has one of the most interesting journeys out of the main cast throughout the season. In his past life, Larry shuns his wife in favor of his tryst lover in an affair with one of his Air Force companions. After the accident that saw him permanently bonded and tied to an alien energy being, he ironically alienates both of his mates after seeing no means to be "normal" again. The season follows Larry's journey to not only understand himself, but his understanding of the alien being living inside him that allows him to relive the past within his own mind and come to terms with his homosexual identity and his mistakes in the past.
Much like his own homosexuality, the energy being within Larry is a part of him and doesn't take away anything from what makes him human, just like the various oddities and/or mutations that make up the rest of his fellow members of the Doom Patrol. Out of all of the DC Comics-related television shows that I have seen, I think Doom Patrol has handled that subject manner in a way that didn't feel forced nor distasteful.
Diane Guerrero as Kay Challis / Crazy Jane
I was skeptical about this character at first but really fell in love with this idea as the season went on. DC Universe could easily do a show entirely about Crazy Jane and exploring all of her 64 personalities, but I'm content with the surprise of the sheer randomness of which personality is going to come out to play at any given time. Jane is a damaged individual, easily portrayed by her multiple personalities that come out to "protect" her, but Diane Guerrero really makes this character her own with her performance with her range and versatility to make all of them stand out.
Look no further than the video below for a sampler platter of what Crazy Jane brings to the table.
Jane and Cliff end up bonding due to Jane's lack of a trusting father figure in her life while Cliff is torn up over being separated from his own daughter. Cliff comes on a little too strong at times, but by the end of the season, Jane warms up to him (along with the other members of the team) much more than she did initially.
Jovian Wade as Victor Stone / Cyborg
I liked Cyborg's introduction into this series. I have to say that he was handled here better than his origin in Young Justice Season 3, which was ironically airing at the same time on the DC Universe streaming platform. He was the only "established" hero among the members of the Doom Patrol that they could aspire to be like. When it was revealed that he wasn't as squeaky clean as he came across upon the surface, it opened up a welcome amount of depth to this character - at least for me. He wasn't the emo whiny teen like he was in Young Justice Season 3. Here, he is the one who urges the Doom Patrol to take action and solve the mystery of Niles' disappearance, even when the team is reluctant to take any action if any at all. He serves as a great moral compass for the group, even when he finds himself in fear of his own technology taking over his entire body.
Alan Tudyk as Eric Morden / Mr. Nobody
Mr. Nobody is an unique antagonist in the sense that he's able to break the 4th wall and speak to the audience and comment on the ongoing narrative of the series from each episode as he serves as the narrator at the beginning of most episodes. I'm familiar with Alan Tudyk's work from the short-lived Powerless TV series that was set in the DC Comics universe as well, despite not tied to the films nor any of their live-action television shows at that time. He has a knack for playing these off-the-wall or rather unconventional characters and it really shines through his portrayal of this character. Mr. Nobody sees everything we, the viewers, see throughout each episode but he goes the extra mile by spreading breadcrumbs along the way to manipulate the Doom Patrol's actions (and more specifically their emotional state of being) to lead them to their final confrontation by the end of the season.
Totally off-topic, but Alan Tudyk is really shining as one of the shining stars for DC Comics-related television. From his portrayal of Van Wayne in the short-lived Powerless to his performance here as Mr. Nobody in Doom Patrol to even voicing The Joker and Clayface in the DC Universe exclusive Harley Quinn animated series, Tudyk is definitely a standout actor for the brand. He's no stranger to working with DC either, with his past of voicing Green Arrow for the Injustice: Gods Among Us (and its sequel Injustice 2) video game and for Identity Crisis and Young Justice.
Let's just face it. If you have a DC Universe account, then you're going to be hearing his voice a LOT. And that's absolutely not a bad thing.
Action
For the VERY few fight sequences that this series has, they are straight up brutal. I shouldn't be surprised in that aspect as this show is under the same production umbrella as Titans.
The Von Fuchs versus Jane and Cliff immediately comes to mind just from how brutal and visceral that fight scene was.
Narrative
It's hard to describe this series as the Doom Patrol's quest to rescue Caulder is swept underneath the rug so many times throughout the 15 episodes that it's not even the focal point of the season most of the time. Between each of the members of this team of misfits, they have their own emotional baggage that they are dealing with either mentally or physically in most cases that spirals out of control into a bigger problem that the group collectively has to deal with for the duration of an entire episode. That would range from Jane's ongoing struggle with any of her 64 personalities that could manifest at anytime, Larry's own self-loathing over his own homosexuality, Robotman malfunctioning or frustrations of being disconnected from his daughter, Rita's moments of weakness with her emotional stability that reduces her body into a puddle of goo, or whatever other roadblocks that Mr. Nobody lays in their wake as he purposely leads and guides them through the path towards reuniting with Caulder by the end of the season.
The best way to enjoy this show is just savor each episode one at a time. I binge-watched it over the course of an entire week earlier this year, but that was after the holidays without much else to do on my plate. I wouldn't go as far saying as each episode should be treated as a one-off, like most of the Arrowverse's "villain of the week" formula, but I suggest you just be ready for anything here. One episode has them fighting Nazis, then another has the team having a group orgasm in the middle of town, while another has them fighting a Godzilla-sized talking cockroach. This show seems to go everywhere and I love it for the randomness at times (especially after Flex Mentallo and some of the other minor/recurring characters are introduced), but having the maturity to know when to reign that content in and know when to be serious when it matters most.
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| "I think I flexed the wrong muscle..." |
I will say one thing about what this show is NOT though. If you're going into this show thinking that it's going to end with a big superhero team-up like DC's Legends of Tomorrow or Titans, then you're going to be disappointed.
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| You're looking in the wrong place is if this is the Doom Patrol that you were expecting to get here. |
Episode 6 ("Doom Patrol Patrol") focuses on the original iteration of Caulder's team of super-powered misfits, called the Doom Patrol. Mento (Steve Dayton), Arani (Caulder's "wife"), and Rhea, along with a man named Joshua Clay, consist of the team roster on this episode.
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| The "original" Doom Patrol with Niles Caulder. |
For those craving traditional superhero team-up goodness, this is your treat as this original Doom Patrol are even rocking matching uniforms to boot for their appearance on that episode.
While there's some moments that see the Doom Patrol work together and use their powers together in creative ways, the charm of their story is the emotional journey that each character undergoes individually before coming to terms to their places on the team - or better yet, as a family. Over everything else, I think that's the most powerful message that this series provides where no matter how fucked up your problems may be nor matter what you look like or have done, your friends are there with you to ride out that storm and pick up when you're down and don't have the strength to go on. Bonds like that are stronger than blood and create a family nonetheless.
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The portrait of the not-so-perfect superhero family. |
Watch It or Don't Bother?
Surprisingly enough, this is a superb take on this team of unlikely heroes and misfits. While there's not much action littered throughout this series, there's a lot of great character development that serves as the meat and bones for this series. I was so intrigued into learning more about these characters and their motivations that their search for Niles Caulder taking the backseat in more situations than not wasn't seen as a negative in my eyes. I can understand for others that would be a problem though as most viewers aren't going to be that forgiving. In this unique situation it works for this series as these are a group of characters that are not widely recognized, despite their minor appearance in Season One of Titans.
One of the best things to come out of the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event was the acknowledgement that this series exists in their shared universe, despite the fact that it exists in their version of the multiverse post-Crisis. The sad news is that Warner Bros. Media are more inclined to do more DC Comics-based shows like The Flash and Arrow rather than tackle subject manner more akin to this series and the cancelled Swamp Thing.
Even if you don't have a DC Universe streaming account, take a shot in the dark and check this out. I have seen it running for $10-20 brand new in Wal-Mart on DVD and Blu-Ray.
