“Critics, what do they know? They are going to hate this show.”
Comic book fans have been gifted with a bunch of superhero team ups, both on the big and small screens. I’m talking about The Avengers, Defenders, Justice League, various CW show crossovers. Even something for the people who like antagonists with Suicide Squad. Almost bringing us back to the days where we swiped the cold from our eyes, sat down in front of the t.v. on Saturday mornings with our favorite cereal of choice and watched our favorite stories unfold. Now, its more of a monthly event. Instead of turning
Within every varying team-up I just named, whether the characters are valiant or self-serving, what if you got together a team of unlikely protagonists? Doom Patrol was first introduced in the fourth episode of DC Universe’s other current live-action series, Titans. Many viewers regarded that episode as one of the best of the first season. People with thorns and warts alike. Their new found powers almost undercover each of the skeletons in their respective closets. Just turns out they are here to save the day – somehow.
What the first episode of Doom Patrol does from the very beginning is establish the character of Mr. Morden/Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk) who will be the main villain of the series. It gives him a brief origin story of a man who is power hungry enough to be subject to some Nazi experiment to turn him into something not of this world. The main purpose of Mr. Nobody is to interject some rather hilarious and self-aware banter as a narrator of the episode. Realizing that he is the villain makes it even better as he’s literally verbally loathing each of these unlikely heroes (and sometimes the show itself).
“Pilot” seems to weave in and out of each of the time periods with ease. The show perfectly captures the look and feel of colliding nuance that would be from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. Cinematographer Christopher Manley makes each time period feel authentic even though we spend pieces within them. This is important because if you notice, with most of the characters here – they are encased in time. As to how – it varies. There’s a different infliction with every character. A couple are just from a physical standpoint. However, it’s mostly visible and deep emotional wounds.
Every hero has an origin story, or in this case, a collection of people who have gone through unfortunate situations as an extension of their own personalities. You have Robotman/Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), Negative Man/Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), Elasti-Girl/Rita Farr (April Bowlby), and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero).
The heart of the episode is the story of Cliff Steele. When we first meet him as a hot-shot race car driver circa 1988, he’s pretty much an unlikable adulterer who indulges in excess in order to cover up his family disintegrating. Now as we unravel the mystery of the brain in the metal suit, we find out that his memories are fragmented. So, the story of his untimely end ultimately evolves throughout the episode. We are introduced to The Chief (Timothy Dalton) who brings the members of the Doom Patrol together because he sees a greater purpose for them. Sound familiar?
What brings you to have some sort of sympathy for Cliff is his relationship with his daughter and that she is still alive. Fraser is able to convey regret and sadness just using his voice. This is along the lines with Matt Bomer and Negative Man, however, his battle is very different. There’s a correlation between the invisible man/bandage appearance and how Trainor feels about himself. A hero fighter pilot in the 1960’s who held a secret about his sexuality in a time where that wasn’t accepted widely and unfortunately, frowned upon. His insecurities are preserved, and although you can see no facial expressions, you feel the burden in his voice.
Rita Farr was a famous actress from the 1950’s who got infected with waste and became Elasti-girl. We see from the scene as she was filming the movie, that she wasn’t always the nicest, and now, the profession that is so predicated on looks no longer fits her. As we go into modern time, when Crazy Jane is introduced, it’s as though she is the guide for these other characters in 2019. She has 64 different personalities that each have their own power, although we only kinda see three or four. I felt like we are just getting to know her, but I would like to see more of her story fleshed out in future episodes. I understand that you can’t get it all in an hour.
In watching this episode, there were a couple of classic homages to classic movies. The origin of Robotman was a throw back to 1987’s Robocop and Rita losing control of her powers was very in lieu of 1958’s horror classic, The Blob. The whole aura of Doom Manor and the theme of the outside world not being ready to embrace this team coupled with The Chief being in a wheelchair might be very X-Men like. Funny, considering it’s a DC property, but Doom Patrol takes a lot of what you know and molds it into it’s own story.
Writer Jeremy Carver and Director Glen Winter are both able to work together to make an enjoyable and intriguing first episode. Especially when it comes to the gang having their big day out on the town. Each character was able to shine and show the difficulties in trying to integrate into a society that will knowingly shun them. “Pilot” establishes humor, emotional strings, and a overall fun premise to start the 2nd DC Universe series. It will be interesting to see how each character evolves to overcome their struggles while coming together in a cohesive unit from villains that are on the way to meet them.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
Doom Patrol is now streaming on DC Universe.
