The Review: Doom Patrol Season 1

Doom Patrol 9/10

This will have spoilers. How do I even begin to describe Doom Patrol? I first heard about this show about a year ago and had zero desire to watch it. I have heard of the comic and knew there was a robot dude and that was it. I knew nothing of the other characters or anything. But CK watched the first three episodes and really liked it so I gave it a try and I'll be damned if it isn't up there with Legion as one of the best superhero series. There was only one aspect of the series that stopped me from giving it a 10/10 and I'll get to that.

This is about a team of heroes that isn't really a team so much as a bunch of various misfits with special abilities. None of them get along with each other and can barely control or understand the things that they can do. By the way, if you are going into this thinking this is a cute show it is not. There is cursing, gore, and a donkey that farts messages. See? I can not explain why you should watch this other than to say if you like the suggestions I make in series and movies then you should check this one out. I know that we are filthy with superhero shows right now like The Boys and The Umbrella Academy but this one is very different than those and better than Umbrella Academy which kinda shit the bed during the second season.

This show has villains and characters that you would never expect to exist or be put on television. There is Beard Hunter who has a scene that will make you gag. There is Animal Vegetable Mineral Man. My Nobody. A roach and vengeful rat. An actual gender queer street that is more progressive than any human you have ever met named Danny. Flex Mentallo who uses the ability to Flex to use his abilities. He literally gives the entire street of Danny an orgasm by accident. And a hallway full of butts with teeth. Like, for real butts just running down a hallway eating folks. Shit was weird and I was all about it. The main villain, Mr. Nobody, actually narrates the show and sometimes the team can hear him and yell back.

This guy Niles known as The Chief has gathered this group of special people. There is Jane who also goes by many names because she has 64 different personalities and they all have a special ability. Some are strong, some shoot fire, some are actual fire, some teleport, some run away from fights, and some act like a woman in a Lifetime movie about first dates. When there was an episode that shows what it looks like in her head it is terrifying and awesome. Jane's story as it unfolds is sad as fuck. Not depressing but sad to see what she went through to get to where she is. She would like to chill in the Underground with her other personalities but they are like “Nah. You stay up there and we'll pop out every once in a while to help.” Jane story carries the most emotional weight out of everyone in this series which is hard considering how many characters have a lot as well. Sun Daddy and Hammerhead are my favorite transformations she has.

Rita Farr is a Hollywood actress from the 1940's I believe who was horrible and didn't care who she hurt to be famous. One day while filming a safari movie she complained about not being able to act during a scene because a guy had one arm and it grossed her out. They fired him and during the scene she fell off the dock into the water and some weird energy enters her body. After she is brought out she slowly starts turning into slush making everyone freak out and vomit. She stays with The Chief and rarely leaves the house. During a rare outing she ends up turning into a city destroying blob before sadly saying she wants to go home. As the season continues she begins to accept that she did a lot of horrible shit to become famous and reconcile this with herself. She also learns to control her power better at one point instead of turning into slime she just stretches. Rita has a very bubbly personality but is always tense just underneath, constantly having to gather herself and sigh when dealing with difficult situations. She does not want to be a hero. She wants to stay hidden which is the opposite of her previous lifestyle.

Larry Trainor is a former Air Force pilot who while flying an experimental plane blows up as a weird energy entity enters his body. He walks from the wreckage burned to a crisp but alive. He radiates, uh, radiation and stays wrapped up like a mummy. This guy is miserable and rightfully so. He has a gay lover and they have to keep the shit secret mega secret. You know how folks get about gay dudes these days, let alone in the military. Back then it was pretty much a death sentence. He also has a unhappy wife and two sons at home he is hiding this all from. The energy being tries to get him to reconcile all of this and Larry just rages against it. Even when he is on Danny the Street where everyone is accepted for who they are he struggles. I enjoyed his story but his stubbornness and how long it lasted ended up bothering me to the point where he finally got his shit together is more more “Finally!” and less “Yay!”

Cliff Steele is a race car driving, wife cheating on, womanizing, terrible father. During one race he spots his wife grabbing his friends junk and talking to him when he crashes his car and dies. He wakes up being worked on by The Chief and freaks out which is natural. It has been about 30 years after he died and he is now in the body of a robot. Cliff is not a smart dude and fucks up a lot thinking he is doing the right thing. There are a lot of things he has to come to grips with like not being able to eat anything. Not feel anything. Not have the sex. Having the world think he is dead. He tries to go and see his daughter and the entire time I was thinking “Please don't. You gonna fuck this up!” He somehow ends up being close to Jane who doesn't even let people touch her. There is a scene where he apologizes to her for going to the Underground and finding out more about her and places his hand on her shoulder and she doesn't launch him across the room. He is the funniest team member but not on purpose. Just his reactions to crazy shit that happens made me crack up.

One of the most surprising additions to this team was Cyborg. I know the character from the Teen Titan comics from back in the day and from the cartoon. This happy go lucky “Booyah!” shouting guy. Thankfully that was not him in this. He thinks he is responsible for the death of his mother that caused him to be saved by his father by implanting him with robot parts. He starts off fighting street level crime but wants to do more. He is helping the team search for the Chief and is the most organized one in the house. He wants team briefings and plans instead of just running into danger. His relationship with his father is terrible since he doesn't trust him which I get. Most of the father figures on this show are terrible. I loved the look of this character which put the Justice League movies version to shame. No need to have this floating face with CGI body. He wore bomb ass track suits and sneakers with robot hands when needed and chest parts when shown. Oh, and a hand cannon.

True story about the dude that plays his father, actor Phil Morris. I doubt he would even remember this but I went to Fairfax High and during my worthless English class in 1995 or so he and J. Michael Straczynski came to our class to speak. I can not tell you anything they said but I believe they came a few times to talk. If I had known that this was the same guy that played Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld I would have bugged the shit out of him. He was on a bunch of shows I watched growing up but I couldn't place his face in the setting of my boring ass class.

This show was a very welcome change of pace after finishing The Umbrella Academy and being unhappy with how the season progressed. It helped that I didn't know anything about this show or the comics before watching since I had nothing to compare it to. Even with everything I have written I have not covered half of the stuff that happens this season. I didn't even mention the cave woman. That shit was a whole 'nother level of crazy. If you want to watch something that you actually have to pay attention to and isn't just all action with no payoff then I seriously suggest you give this show a try. It is available on DC and HBO streaming services.

Diane Guerrero as Jane

April Bowlby as Rita Farr

Alan Tudyk as Eric Morden/Mr. Nobody

Matt Bomer and Matthew Zuk as Larry Trainor

Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan as Cliff Steele

Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder/The Chief

Joivan Wade as Victor "Vic" Stone/Cyborg

Click here for previous The Review.