I will not conceal that when I heard about Doom Patrol, my first reaction was "Oh again a series I do not want to see”. However, encouraged by warm words from people who have better knowledge about comics and their adaptation, I decided to give the show a chance. And good because Doom Patrol is in my opinion the best thing that has happened to the super heroic comics since the creators of Legion took us on the adventure of life.
Let's start with a technical note - theoretically Doom Patrol is a spin-off of the Titans series, which can be seen on Netflix. In the first season of Titans we have episode called Doom Patrol in which appear heroes, which we will follow in a separate series. I admit honestly that I endured 3 episodes of Titans, then I had the impression that I was watching the same show - neither a very bad nor a very good, in which the characters have three features of the character all together and the fight scenes are definitely too long in to long episodes. I started watching Doom Patrol without making up the episode in Titans, I do not feel the need to catch up, and I do not have the impression that I miss something important, more about the fact that this episode existed I learned after watching the first half of the season. So if you do not want to jump between platforms, then you can start the Doom Patrol without feeling that something extremely important for understanding the action has missed you.
Calling Doom Patrol adaptation of a superhero comic book shows either the poverty of the dictionary in case of talking about comics, or rather how in the world of comics the term super hero extended far beyond the framework of the story about people in leotards. The heroes of Doom Patrol, above all, are not heroes. At least not even by choice. Their more or less heroic actions are forced by circumstances, not by resolution or willingness to help the world. True, they have supernatural powers, but it does not necessarily mean that they can use them, or do they have such ambitions. Their lives are rather a series of more or less catastrophic events and cases that compels the small, but very traumatized "Doom Manor" community to act. They work reluctantly, chaotically and sometimes simply stupid. What is interesting, is watching their actions and efforts with much greater joy than usual. Perhaps because the series perfectly combines threads quite serious, with completely crazy and somewhat surreal elements.
What the series shows perfectly is the duality of the situation in which our heroes found themselves. On the one hand, they theoretically have super powers, or at least some powers that put them above ordinary people. In addition, despite the passing decades, they live without getting old, which is some kind of an advantage. On the other hand, their powers are to some extent a caricature of what the heroes usually do. Robotman - a former rally driver - on the one hand is incredibly strong and indestructible, on the other, it's just a brain in a metal can, which does not feel much, and certainly not physically. Rita Farr, known as Elasti-Girl, was the movie star who now has the power to stretch her body. However, it is not a beautiful process or a particularly useful one, and the heroine can turn into a huge meat blob of destructive nature at any moment. In turn, Jane's body has 64 personalities each endowed with a completely different character and super powers, and it does not say that the personality that would be most useful at any given moment will surely come out. The collection of these unfortunates is completed by Larry Trainor or Negative Man. The former military pilot, not quite reconciled with his identity, is a carrier of a strong energy source, with which he can not get along and does not know how to control it. This is how the team headed by Dr Niles Caulder looks, which, in his opinion, all his pupils should sit peacefully in the grand mansion and not go out into the unfriendly world. The situation gets a bit complicated when Caulder disappears, and Cyborg, well-known from other comic books and films, arrives to the estate, who with all his youthful hope for promotion to the Justice League encourages heroes to act.
The series showing the relationship of heroes with their super powers, at the same time shows us their more or less complicated life paths and characters. From the beginning, there is no doubt that these bizarre and often caricatural super powers did not reach the ideal people and that they were prepared for them. What, moreover, is probably their most interesting feature because how much you can look at people who are absolutely convinced that their goal in life is to save the world. Here, nobody wants to save the world, and if it does, it comes out a bit by accident. The series is not at all interested in traditional skirmishes with evil, it prefers us to take on crazy trips to the Nazis hiding in Paraguay or to have our group save the world from the great eye that is supposed to appear in the sky. And if you think that anyone knows what to do, you are wrong. Most of the time our heroes are suspended between the desire to escape and complete confusion. But in all this there are every emotionally real scenes - whether it is a look into their past or an attempt to reflect on how such autodetection of people who know that they do not control their body completely. Humor, absurd, and grotesque mixed here quite often with some life truths - so that neither one nor the other is too much.
There is also a lot of formal games. Especially the emergence of the omniscient narrator, who becomes a part of the story to a lesser or greater extent and who is perfectly aware of how the series looks and functions, adds an interesting element that even catches the television. Not often we see the series, where they tell the viewer that we are officially watching the series, and at the same time does not make this narration something completely cut off from the world presented. It is this element that most reminded me of the Legion. Not because Legion does something like that, but because it was also a huge part of pleasure that gave play to the form and language of the story. In general, such experiments perfectly show that nothing brings television to life like fun, not only a story, but also a way of telling stories. Series creators, especially comic book adapters, are not always brave enough. Here, a lot of people have remembered the Umbrella Academy and indeed, it is a bit similar, although I am tempted to think that Doom Patrol wins the pace of events a little - here everything happens quickly and you watch it very lightly. Especially, that the episodic nature of the season has been preserved, so although there is an element that connects everything, you can easily watch two episodes without feeling that they are only two chapters of a larger story. There are closed elements.
The series wins because of the cast. It is true that I belong to the group who believes that the employment of Matt Bromer to the role of a man in bandages is a scandal (Matt only puts the voice and plays himself in retrospectives) but I can forgive this decision because even the voice is a very good role. Although I do not hide it, it's a pity that an actor providing such aesthetic support is not on screen all the time. The Robotman is played by Brendan Fraser (he plays his character in retrospection again) and I am delighted that his career, which seemed a bit finished or subdued, begins to revive. I remember how much I liked him in numerous productions from the ’90s and I am happy that I can still watch him on the screen. I must admit that I adore April Bowlby as Rita Farr, despite her numerous character defects, her role immediately grew up on my beloved character. It is also perfectly - Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder and Alan Tudryk as his nemesis Mr.Nobody, this choice could not end badly. Dalton's wonderful voice makes us believe in all good intentions, and Tudryk was born to play incarnate chaos and an ironic narrator from behind the frame. Anyway, let it be known that Doom Patrol is a legitimate geek series. Where do we get to know that? One episode features Mark Sheppard, known for gracing all the noteworthy TV series with geek elements.
I will not lie - Doom Patrol is not a series for everyone. I think that some people will fall off somewhere in the area of diving to the donkey's throat, while others will not survive anything that happens before. However, if you like series, in which you are not able to tell exactly what will happen soon, and TV series that play with form and require from you a little more than just thoughtless looking at the screen from the top of the ironing, I highly recommend. Especially that when we swallow that this is a plot a bit different, we are awaited by a really great entertainment that neither bores nor tires, and above all, quite surprisingly offers scenes that go straight into the heart once in a while. I had a lot of doubts myself, and now I can only say that I really enjoy it. And I recommend that after Doom Patrol you should catch up with Legion. And then you will understand how boring are the ordinary superhero movies.
