DC-Universe - Doom Patrol: just what the world needs… A great first episode

By Mulder, 17 february 2019

Doom Patrol is a show of B list superheroes who don’t actually fit into the status quo in terms of beauty, strength or social responsibility of making an improvement but just living. the show’s first episode or pilot explains one by one the origins of this singular characters and it was completely unexpected to hear those stories from an outsider from that group, from the very own villain of the show, Mr. Nobody portrayed by Alan Tudyk.

The opening sequence has a lot of details that brings you into the characters’ own stories, from Robotman origins, Elastiwoman powers, the 64 personalities of Jane, the former career and tragic accident of Negative Man, to the core of Cyborg’s power. The musical background gives a thrilling feeling like is the intro of a horror movie but it changes to a brighter look when Mr. Nobody is heard as the narrator of this story and tells every kind of snarky thoughts off of his mind.

Ready for a story about superheroes? *sighs* More superheroes, Just what the world needs. [...] What if I told you this actually is a story about superZEROS? The Doom Patrol is indeed a group of underrated characters that weren’t even considerated to be on the spotlight before. They were relegated to comic books until now, 56 years after their first appearance in 1963. It begins in 1949 with the introduction of Mr. Morden, and how he became a real “Nobody” as he calls himself.

One by one, Tudyk’s character tells the audience the sad story behind every member of the Doom Patrol’s origin after his own origin. The focus in this episode is on Cliff Steele a.k.a. Robotman (Brendan Fraser) and follows him as he learns about his new self and his “real” origin. But just when everyone has found stability, they meet (again?) this person; the most unstable person is the perfect one to turn around their current and kind of boring situation. Jane arrives at the manor and became the changing factor, winning its inhabitants over for a field trip to town.

Needless to say, the consequences of their little getaway were in the National news, as expected. Ready to be feel better about your own miserable lives for the next hour or so? It’s hard to say so, because of the emotional burden shared with the members of this team. But not everything end up in a bad way, they bond more in a few hours away than in the lifetime they’ve had spent living together, and the hour long show accomplished a great milestone: leaving the spectator wanting to know and watch more of it.

The critics are going to hate this, but what do they know? Being introduced in Titans and sharing a Universe with a “gritty and dark” show wasn’t going to be an easy task, but in here, DC and Warner improved the narrative style and changed the tone for Doom Patrol. With two shows in one universe, the next step is having them crossover and if it happens sooner or later, I bet it’s going to be amazing.

Based on DC characters originally written and drawn by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, DCU Doom Patrol streams new episodes weekly on Fridays, only on DC Universe.

Synopsis
Doom Patrol reimagines one of DC’s most beloved groups of Super Heroes: Robotman aka Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), Negative Man aka Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), ElastiWoman aka Rita Farr (April Bowllby) and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), led by modern-day mad scientist Niles Caulder aka The Chief (Timothy Dalton). Each member of the Doom Patrol suffered a horrible accident that gave them superhuman abilities, but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found their purpose through The Chief, coming together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence. Following the mysterious disappearance of The Chief these reluctant heroes will find themselves in a place they never expected to be, called to action by none other than Cyborg (Joivan Wade), who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of superpowered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them.

Doom Patrol
Based on Doom Patrol by, Bob Haney, Bruno Premiani
Developed by Jeremy Carver
Starring Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Joivan Wade, Alan Tudyk, Matt Bomer, Brendan Fraser
Composers : Clint Mansell, Kevin Kiner
Executive producers : Jeremy Carver, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter
Cinematography : Christopher Manley
Editors : Harry Jierjian, Brian Wessel
Production companies : Berlanti Productions, Jeremy Carver Productions, DC Entertainment
Warner Bros. Television
Distributor ! Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Original network : DC Universe
Original release February 15, 2019 – present
Running time : 60 minutes

Written by Dolores Angelica Marquez Salazar (Lola)