Doom Patrol Episode #1

Streaming On DC Universe

Can an unlikely team of misfits save the DC Universe? Possibly. Depending on who you talk to (including tons of rumor mill websites that get most information incorrect), the young streaming service is either struggling to find an audience or winning over new viewers every day. I’m one of those new viewers that hopped onboard back in November of last year. At the time, Titans and DC Daily were the only original programs. The rest of the service was filled with a rotating menu of DC related films, television shows, animated films and series, and a nice selection of comics to read as well as news and interactive forums. In either case, I believe that Doom Patrol might seal the deal with more subscribers.

Early last year, it was reported that a spin-off series of Titans featuring the characters introduced in the episode Doom Patrol would get their own series. By July, it became official. April Bowlby (Elasti-Girl), Matt Bomer (voice of Negative Man), and Brendan Fraser (voice of Robotman) would be joined by newcomers Diane Guerrero (Crazy Jane) and Joivan Wade (Cyborg). Timothy Dalton would have a recurring role as the Chief, who was originally played by Bruno Bichir in the Titans episode. The bodies of Negative Man and Robotman would be portrayed by Dwain Murphy and Jake Michaels, respectively.

The first episode was released on February 15, 2019 with more episodes to follow every Friday just like DC Universe did with the release of Titans. This first episode is narrated by another character that is introduced to the series, Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk). Without giving too much away, it appears that Mr. Nobody will be the primary antagonist for this series’ first season.

The episode is essentially one big origin story for most of the characters. We get a glimpse at the creation of Robotman, Negative Man, and Elasti-Girl as well as a description of Crazy Jane’s powers. Noticeably absent from the episode is Cyborg, who will apparently play a larger role in later episodes. I hope that he eventually crosses over to Titans, as these shows take place within the same universe.

The show has an offbeat quirk to it that was first introduced in Titans. These misfits shouldn’t work as a team but somehow they do. You don’t need to watch the Titans episode where most of these characters are introduced to enjoy them in their own show, but it’s a nice introduction to just how oddball this crew really is.

The episode moved along quickly and held my interest. While the characters are definitely oddballs, the humor that connects the links of the story often gives way to deeper drama. If you’ve seen Titans, this series is definitely lighter (at least based on the first episode), but it’s a lot more adult as well. The language is much stronger and there’s more “exposure” during intimate scenes as well. I’m only mentioning this in case anybody is thinking about letting their children watch this series. The violence level is yet to be determined, but even if it’s only as violent as Titans, you might want to wait until showing this series to your kids.

I really enjoyed the pilot episode. It’s ending was wide open and will no doubt lead into the second episode. There’s plenty of humor in the show but there’s also plenty of danger and drama as well. The Chief loves his family, but he expects them to play by his rules. When they don’t, things can get out of hand. I believe that this dysfunctional family atmosphere might be just intriguing enough to attract new subscribers.

If you aren’t a subscriber to DC Universe, you need to check it out. Along with Titans, Doom Patrol, and DC Daily, the streaming service plans to add even more original programming including shows featuring Swamp Thing, Stargirl, and Harley Quinn (an animated series). They also have weekly contests and are continually asking their subscribers for input. As a result of this input, the service recently added thousands of comics to the DC Universe and made a few technical changes as well. It’s nice to know that they are listening to their subscribers and their fans.

One other bit of news! CyPhaCon approved my media pass, so I’ll be in attendance this year and will be writing a full review of the event once it is complete. Keep an eye out for announcements about that event and other conventions as well.

As always, thanks for reading. I’ll be posting again very soon!