Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 15
Duration: 50 minutes (per episode)
Doom Patrol: Season 1 (DVD) – Series Review
With series as Titans and Krypton, it’s clear that DC still has a lot of live-action content in store for us. It seems that the giant publisher switched its priorities from making movies to making new and original series. While series such as The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow far passed their prime, new influences seem to spice things up again. We thoroughly enjoyed the adventures on Krypton, and we loved the adult content in Titans. During one of Titans’ episodes of the first season, we saw a band of misfits that were all shunned by the world. They were living together in a mansion, because one could not obtain the shape of her body, the other was heavily disfigured and one was reminiscent of the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. While it originally seemed like a tie-in with Titans could be possible, Doom Patrol changed some items, such as the lack of Beast Boy and a totally different cast member playing Chief, meaning it would go its own way.
Doom Patrol revolves around a band of misfits that live together with their caretaker, Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton), aka Chief. This man has seemingly found the ticket to eternal life, as many of those under his care have been so for more than half a century. We get to meet different personalities in the mansion, but there’s one thing they all have in common, namely, they can’t return to our normal human society. The group consists out of Rita Farr (April Bowlby), Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer) and Jane (Diane Guerrero). All these characters have their own set of special abilities, but even then, they rather spend time inside the mansion, as their old lives have been forfeit forever. Nonetheless, the group gets lured out of their cage, after a trip downtown results in something odd, as an unknown enemy, Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk), swallows the city whole. Not only has Jane jumped inside the gaping hole that sucked in the city, Niles also went in headfirst. This means that the rest of the group has to work together in order to beat this mysterious foe, as well as get everyone back together.
There is no other way than to describe the flow of the series as totally fucked up. The series flashes back and forth between the different characters’ pasts and presents, all while being narrated by the villain, which is also audible for the characters from time to time, then add an overarching plot of an evil cockroach and a rat that’s out for revenge, and you’ll have yourselves a very absurd superhero series. Of course, even with the aforementioned in play, it’s all about Mr. Nobody, who has abducted Chief. You’ll see some progress of the story, even when the team tackles seemingly loose cases in their vicinity. Other than that, the series is well portrayed, and many pieces of the puzzle will fall into place after a few episodes, showing the past lives of the inhabitants of the mansion. Not all questions are answered, but the series has been renewed, so we hope to see a few revelations during the next season.
Acting performances in this series are simply amazing. We have Timothy Dalton playing the head of the family of ‘freaks’, but also cast members such as Brendan Fraser, Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Alan Tyduk, Matt Bomer and the slightly less known Joivan Wade shine brightly. Timothy Dalton might not get as much screen time as some of the other lead cast members, he sets a very qualitative tone for this first season. Brendan Fraser, who was arguably most known for the entire The Mummy franchise, and George of the Jungle, does a great job voicing Robotman//Cliff Steele in this new DC series. Diane Guerrero has had a very iconic role in Orange Is the New Black, but she shows that she has a lot more in store for the viewers by playing Crazy Jane, who houses more than sixty different personalities. April Bowlby was most known for the portrayal of Kandi in Two and a Half Man, and she also showed to the world she could do much more by setting a perfect performance for the 50s inspired actress Rita Farr. We could go on and on about the cast, and how positive they put down their performances, but the series would have nothing to stand on, if it wasn’t for the great narration and acting of Alan Tudyk, who plays the nefarious Mr. Nobody.
For a series that lacks a certain background, the DVD box of Doom Patrol comes with barely any special features. You’ll get some deleted scenes, a dragged-out gag reel and a small feature that tells you more about the creation of the series. Sadly, the latter only spans around four minutes, which is next-to-nothing.
Conclusion
Doom Patrol: Season 1 was a fairly strange experience for us, but a good one nonetheless. The series is trippy and in no way comparable to Titans in terms of progression, storytelling, and atmosphere, but it certainly fits in the superhero genre. If you like a certain absurdism, the paranormal, and a whole lot of cursing, then Doom Patrol might just entertain you for a while.
Doom Patrol: Season 1 (DVD) - Series Review,
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