Doom Patrol Season One Discussion: Cockroach Love

[Meredith Quill]

This is the original standalone Doom Patrol thread, now moved to its spiffy new home!

[Lantern7]

I don't know if I'm going to be subscribing to DC Comics' streaming service. However, I reckon that I'm qualified to start a thread on the comic book history of the Doom Patrol, a.k.a "The World's Strangest Heroes."

As you can see on the Doom Patrol Wikipedia page, there have been many iternations of the team. I've read the adventures of the original team in Showcase format (black & white omnibuses). Core concept: genius in a wheelchair (Dr. Niles Caulder, aka "The Chief") recruits an adventurer whose brain has been implanted in a robot body (Cliff Steele, aka Robotman), an irritated test pilot who is able to release a "negative man" from his bandaged body (Larry Trainor),and an actress who was exposed to exotic gases and gained the power to grow and shrink her body (Rita Farr/Elasti-Girl). Basically, they fought weird villains and menaces to mankind. Rita was romantically pursued by Steve Dayton, a millionaire who invented a helmet that gave him psychic powers, and they eveneutally wed. Also joining the team: a slick green-skinned with the ability to change his shape to any animal imaginable (Gar Logan/Beast Boy).

The kicker of the original team was that they actually got killed . . . as in "not a dream, not an imaginary story." Dr. Caulder and the core trio sacrificed their lives to save a small fishing community. And those deaths stuck. Okay, it turned out Cliff's brain was saved, but that was nine years after Doom Patrol #121.

The other really noteworthy version came about when Grant Morrison took over the book that was launched after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Basically, it boiled down to "Grant Morrison doing Grant Morrison things," bringing the exotic to the mainstream. One character was Danny the Street. His name was Danny. He was a street. A sentient street. A transvestite sentient street, with masculine stores dressed all frilly, that could pop up anywhere on Earth. What else? Let's see . . . the hermaphrodite Rebis, a fusion of Negative Man and Negative Woman (long story); an ape-faced girl (Dorothy Spinner) able to bring her nightmares to life; and Crazy Jane, a woman with 64 personalities . . . and thanks to a "gene bomb," each and every one had their own superpower. Their adversaries were even more "out there," like the Brotherhood of Dada (supplanting the Brotherhood of Evil), the Beard Hunter (who had a special mad-on for the Chief) and the return of The Brain (disembodied brain) and Monsieur Mallah (a gorilla whose intelligence was increased by the Brain; he also had a French accent), who had a startling turn to their relationship. Well, startling for that time, anyway

Currently, Doom Patrol is the oft-delayed titles from Young Animal, an imprint  developed by Gerard Way, the headman of My Chemical Romance (and writer of The Umbrella Academy, another comic making the jump to subscription television). To be honest, I haven't read it, but I understand it's a batshit book.

Anybody else hear of the team? Or at least see them on Teen Titans (the cartoon), Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and the shorts from DC Nation?

[RandomWatcher]

https://io9.gizmodo.com/brendan-fraser-is-robotman-on-dcs-doom-patrol-1828507321

[rmontro]

Doom Patrol is great source material.  Frankly, I would have preferred a movie, but a TV show will give them plenty of time to flesh out the characters.

It looks like we're entering into an era where there are going to be dozens (maybe hundreds) of streaming services, and we're going to have to pick and choose what TV shows we most want to see.  I'd like to see Doom Patrol, but I don't see myself subscribing to a DC streaming service.

[MarkHB]

First look at the main cast in costume. Also, we now know who the main villain will be. If you go to the linked page at Just Jared, there are a lot more pics.

[BetterButter]

‘Doom Patrol’: Timothy Dalton To Star As The Chief In DC Universe TV Series

[Trini]

Doom Patrol (and Harley Quinn) press release: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2018/10/03/dc-universe-kicks-off-new-york-comic-con-world-premiere-of-titans-with-surprise-doom-patrol-and-harley-quinn-scoop-287413/20181003wbt01/

Quote

DOOM PATROL

· Prior to the Titans world premiere, Brendan Fraser (Crash, The Mummy, Gods and Monsters) took to the stage to share some updates directly from the set of Doom Patrol. Fraser is starring in the series as the voice of Robotman, and he will also portray Cliff Steele in flashback scenes.

· Fraser revealed that Matt Bomer (White Collar, American Horror Story, The Normal Heart) has also joined the Doom Patrol team. Bomer will provide the voiceover performance for the character of Negative Man, and he will also appear as Larry Trainor in flashback scenes. Bomer further surprised fans with a special video greeting from the Atlanta-based set, exclusively for those in attendance at NYCC.

· Matthew Zuk has been cast in the role of Negative Man, and he will provide the physical performance of the character on set in costume. (Riley Shanahan was previously announced as the actor providing the physical performance of Robotman in costume.)

· In addition to Fraser and Bomer, Doom Patrol stars Joivan Wade as Victor Stone/Cyborg, Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder/The Chief, April Bowlby as Elasti-Woman, Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane and Alan Tudyk as Mr. Nobody.

[Lantern7]

CBR abridges the history of Doom Patrol.

[MarkHB]

Happy Holidays!

 

New character posters available here... and a premiere date is confirmed for February 15!

[Trini]

Yeah; Cyborg's comic look is just really hard to pull off in live-action.

The posters are nice, though.

[Trini]

4 hours ago, Trini said:

Yeah; Cyborg's comic look is just really hard to pull off in live-action.

I mean, the Smallville (low budget) version just completely did away with the robotic exoskeleton; and the Justice League film (high budget) version went all CGI with mo-cap. This version (only the third in live-action) is the first to try with practical effects*; so I'm not going to judge too harshly. Although, Cyborg isn't the first character in live action to have flesh + metal components to his/her look.

*(If I'm using that term correctly)

Edited December 21, 2018 by Trini

[MarkHB]

3 hours ago, Trini said:

*(If I'm using that term correctly)

"Practical effects" or prosthetics; take your pick in this case :) . 

[Trini]

Duurrr - "prosthetics". I knew there was an obvious word I was blanking on!

[MarkHB]

So, for those who never saw it, here's a featurette for the Titans episode that introduced the Doom Patrol:

 

And here are three new character promos that DC Universe has released:

 

 

Crazy Jane wasn't in the Titans episode...

[MarkHB]

Still no promos for the other team members, but we do have the first two episode synopses under the spoiler tag.  Also, DC Universe has posted slots for 15 episodes!
 

Spoiler

 

Episode 1: Pilot (Anticipated 2/15/19)

In the series premiere episode, the team – tired of being stuck in Doom Manor – decides to visit the local town while The Chief is away. However, this seemingly harmless field trip leads to some grave consequences, including an encounter with the mysterious and powerful Mr. Nobody (series star ALAN TUDYK).

 

Episode 2: Donkey Patrol (Anticipated 2/22/19)

Following Mr. Nobody’s capture of Niles Caulder and the destruction of Cloverton Ohio, The Doom Patrol investigate the mysterious albino donkey and discover it is a door to another universe, one where Mr. Nobody is in control. Cyborg aka Vic Stone (series star JOIVAN WADE), a part man/part machine hero from Detroit who has his own complicated relationship with Niles Caulder, joins the search.

 

[MarkHB]

Trailer!  Tudyk looks great!

[MarkHB]

Extended trailer!

And so...

Episode 1: Pilot (2019.02.15)

Quote

The team, tired of being stuck in Doom Manor, decides to visit the local town while The Chief is away. However, this seemingly harmless field trip leads to some grave consequences, including an encounter with the mysterious and powerful Mr. Nobody.

[steelyis]

Two things:

One, after watching this pilot I finally understand what Josh Trank tried to do with his Fantastic Four movie.

And two, Doom Patrol should have been the opening shot in DC's streaming service's gun.

Even Titan's Doom Patrol episode didn't prepare me for how much I would love the pilot and every character in it.

It was smart to replace Bruno Bichir who played Chief in the Titan's episode with Timothy Dalton. Dalton elevates whatever he's in, and this pilot is no exception.

Brendan Fraser is great as Robotman. The last thing I saw him in was Condor, and while I liked his performance there, I was struck by how much charm and range he showed in this pilot. Most impressive is how well both came across in his voice acting, which isn't easy to do.

April Bowlby brings her pitch-perfectness from Titan's Doom Patrol episode to the pilot.

I'm not sure how I feel about Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor. I know I like Larry and his relationship with Rita, who it appears can make him do anything, and it's really frickin' cute! But he didn't stand out so much in the pilot.

Maybe all you folks who watched Orange is the New Black already knew this, but Diane Guerrero is fucking amazing!

Mr. Nobody should narrate everything.

Edited February 16, 2019 by steelyis

[starri]

Yeah, that makes DC Universe worth paying for.  

[diebartdie]

I really loved this pilot episode! I was unprepared for how raw it is though, wasn't prepared fr naked Brendan Frasier ass, wasn't prepared for all the f-bombs, I just wasn't prepared! Heck, I saw all the trailers and thought it looked cheap and stupid, I was expecting something horrible like Inhumans but no! This show seems like it might be great!

[MarkHB]

For those who haven't seen it yet or didn't subscribe to DCU, DC has released the opening titles (real ones!)

[Latverian Diplomat]

I really enjoyed the Titans episode they were in, but I thought this was also really good despite the changes. I missed the lighter "hangin' with the Doom Patrol" vibe of the Titans episode though. 

One change I didn't care for, I find Crazy Jane more annoying than intriguing. MPD is not a trope I enjoy, and so far her "personas" have mostly been just one amped up emotion (e.g., anger, sadness). Her acting was fine, the character is just not well conceived, IMHO. Maybe Jane will work better as the show develops.

Alan Tudyk's narration, including the fourth wall breaking, was very fun.

[starri]

1 hour ago, Latverian Diplomat said:

I really enjoyed the Titans episode they were in, but I thought this was also really good despite the changes. I missed the lighter "hangin' with the Doom Patrol" vibe of the Titans episode though. 

I think the heavier mood fits the source material better.  I mean, the classic 60s Doom Patrol was all about angst.

All of them broke my heart, but Larry's story, about having always felt like a monster because his orientation, spoke the most to me personally.

[Latverian Diplomat]

1 hour ago, starri said:

I think the heavier mood fits the source material better.  I mean, the classic 60s Doom Patrol was all about angst.

Sure, but it was such a breath of fresh air at that point in Titans, I appreciated it. And heavier though it may be, this episode still has enough humor, (even dark humor) to strike a better balance than most of Titans did, IMHO.

[tennisgurl]

I am kind of raising an eternal eyebrow at the whole DC Streaming verse (would every freaking company stop making their own site?!) thing, but I had to check this one out, and damn it, I might have to invest in it for this one. Its just the right kind of weird comic book wacky mixed with angst and dysfunction and interesting stylistic choices that I love. I mean, I can totally get behind a show that ends with "When Your Strange" as a magical donkey farts out the shows probable arc words. Oh yeah, thats my jam. 

Plus, it has an awesome cast! Some classic actors, some actors who I am always happy to see I know from around television, and of course, the weirdly welcome Branden Fraiser character actor comeback!

Love the bad guy as the narrator, and all of his fourth wall breaking, meta hilarity. "There they go! The four of them, our band of lovable losers, off to become the fighting force that no one saw coming except for everybody"

Edited February 21, 2019 by tennisgurl

[MarkHB]

Episode 2: Donkey Patrol (2019.02.22)

Quote

Following Mr. Nobody’s capture of Niles Caulder and the destruction of Cloverton, Ohio, The Doom Patrol investigate the mysterious albino donkey and discover it is a door to another universe, one where Mr. Nobody is in control. Cyborg aka Vic Stone, a part man/part machine hero from Detroit who has his own complicated relationship with Niles Caulder, joins the search.

[crazymadness]

Well, that was pretty excellent all around.  I'm liking this a lot more than Titans.   I have no idea where they are going with this or why anything is happening, but count me as down for the ride.

[themadman]

Why is Cyborg so short? I looked up IMDB and the actor is only 5'8" which is fine for a normal man, but for Cyborg, it seems a good 5-6 inches shorter than it should be.

[UNOSEZ]

I'm interested in seeing where this baby thing goes with Rita...  Also it seems like maybe Cyborg has been lied to by at least his father and who knows maybe chief as well... Either way I liked the character... This team needed someone who at least had an idea of what they were doing.. And hes that... I also like the idea of him almost being a minor league hero telling chief that in a few years he'll be ready for the Justice League... This probably won't happen.. But what if that baby that Rita was so scared to look at is one of the parents of either Jane or Cyborg?...  A famous white lady probably couldn't be saddled with some mixed race child... Not in the 50's.. The scandal would have ruined her.. Dunno if the show would go that route.. But until it is explained that's my head cannon 

[starri]

You know, on just about any other show, Mr Nobody's fourth wall breaks would annoy me, but for some reason they completely work here.

[steelyis]

If Doom Patrol and Legends of Tomorrow ever teamed-up the world would explode from their combined insanity.

"Rita opened her mouth even though she had nothing to contribute." Mr. Nobody is fucking savage!

It's weird to see how chill Chief is with Victor and his dad; he's like an entirely different person when he's around them.

I'm starting to understand Larry's passiveness.

Speaking of passive, Rita and Larry ignoring the fight between Jane, Cyborg and Cliff and going outside to avoid them was kind of messed up. Hilarious, but messed up.

I loved the way Brendan Fraser said, "What the fuck?" when the talking cockroach vanished into the vortex.

8 minutes ago, starri said:

You know, on just about any other show, Mr Nobody's fourth wall breaks would annoy me, but for some reason they completely work here.

The writing helps, but Alan Tudyk really knows how to sell it without going too over the top.

[BaggythePanther]

7 hours ago, steelyis said:

If Doom Patrol and Legends of Tomorrow ever teamed-up the world would explode from their combined insanity.

"Rita opened her mouth even though she had nothing to contribute." Mr. Nobody is fucking savage!

It's weird to see how chill Chief is with Victor and his dad; he's like an entirely different person when he's around them.

I'm starting to understand Larry's passiveness.

Speaking of passive, Rita and Larry ignoring the fight between Jane, Cyborg and Cliff and going outside to avoid them was kind of messed up. Hilarious, but messed up.

I loved the way Brendan Fraser said, "What the fuck?" when the talking cockroach vanished into the vortex.

The writing helps, but Alan Tudyk really knows how to sell it without going too over the top.

I’d love a LoT/DP team up. They’re both the “become heroes by fixing your own fuck ups” kind of superheroes. But I’m sure the Arrowverse will never mix with the DC streaming service.

What was that talking cockroach? That scene was funny, but is there anything more to it than that?

Also, I want Alan Tudyk to narrate my life. I’m not a huge fan of narration but I enjoy hearing his narration throughout the show and that almost never happens.

ETA: I loved Cyborg telling Baby Doll The Flash isn’t that fast.

Edited February 24, 2019 by BaggythePanther
Forgot to mention Cyborg shading the Flash

[Trini]

Little bit about the visual effects of the show: Encore VFX Helps Re-Imagine the ‘World’s Strangest Superheroes’

[MarkHB]

On 2/23/2019 at 9:56 PM, BaggythePanther said:

What was that talking cockroach? That scene was funny, but is there anything more to it than that?

It turns out that Ezekiel, the cockroach prophet of doom (voiced by Curtis Armstrong), is a Jeremy Carver original. He wanted to use a similar character on Supernatural but they wouldn't let him, but DC said it would fit in fine on this show.

[tennisgurl]

On 2/23/2019 at 12:44 PM, steelyis said:

If Doom Patrol and Legends of Tomorrow ever teamed-up the world would explode from their combined insanity.

That would be so amazingly insane, the universe might actually implode, while a talking cockroach cheered on the implosion. But then they would fix it, because thats how they role.

Seriously, if this show didnt have me before, it would have had me at talking doom cockroach. Its like this show is pulling together all of DCs weirdest characters and situations, and have put them all into this one, oddball little corner of the universe. Its just what I would want from a Doom Patrol show.

" Grant Morrison fans, Reddit trolls with DC subscriptions, and the three new fans who stuck around after the donkey far." I am absolutely loving the fourth wall breaking of Mr. Nobody. So sassy! Mr. Nobody losing it over Cyborgs origin story was the best! But, if there more to the store? Is his dad lying about what happened? Also, whats up with the energy being that lives inside of Larry? 

I am not familiar with this version of Cyborg, but I like him so far. Kind of cocky and rushes into things too fast, but is well meaning and empathetic as well. 

The power to make words into literal weapons is an awesome power. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by tennisgurl

[steelyis]

46 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I am not familiar with this version of Cyborg, but I like him so far. Kind of cocky and rushes into things too fast, but is well meaning and empathetic as well. 

I love that he's not mopey or edgy. He's not as cheery and brash as Teen Titans or Teen Titan Go's Cyborg, but he's surprisingly well adjusted. How great would it have been if the Cyborg in the Justice League movie was more like this Cyborg?

[Unclejosh]

Despite the lack of size, I though the Cyborg in this was better than the one in Justice League to be honest. I am sure a lot is the writing but he seemed more charismatic and had better presence to me.

[MarkHB]

Episode 3: Puppet Patrol (2019.03.01)

Quote

The Doom Patrol set out for Paraguay where they discover the Nazi doctor who created Mr. Nobody and the connection between The Chief and the two villains.

[diebartdie]

That wasn't in the brochure but...ok...I guess....

[Catfi9ht]

I didn't know anything about this show prior to watching it other than it was the inspiration for The Umbrella Academy so I went into this show with no opinion. When I saw that it was developed by Jeremy Carver, my heart sank. I hated his show direction in Supernatural and Being Human so after the credits, my anticipation and expectations for this show were poor.

However, I'm glad to have been proven wrong. I thought this show had just the right touches of zany, adventure, and nuance which I wasn't expecting. I'm not sure if Carver's writing is better because there's source material or that it's not horror. Plus, I thought the writing was more mature (i.e. experienced) than The Umbrella Academy. Even though there have only been three episodes, I like the backstory for each of the characters so far and their unique struggles with identity seem thoughtful.

I really like Brendan Fraser as an actor. He's super charismatic to me and think he's doing a fantastic job with Cliff's character. As mentioned numerous times above, Alan Tudyk's voice work never fails to entertain and I always look forward to everything he does.

I'm looking forward to which crazy train the show will board next.

[Keywestclubkid]

Love this show 

[tennisgurl]

Oh my God, this show is ridiculous and I love it. Let it be said now that here, in the year if our Lord 2019, we got the live action debut of Animal Vegetable Mineral Man! In an episode that also included Nazi puppet shows (and the heroes literally tearing through the whole thing and its hive mind mooks), driving a bus halfway to Paraguay from Ohio, and where a major plot element is a magic farting donkey with a whole dimension in its ass. Heh, ass. I see you, show.

Not being able to feel petting a cute kitty would be awful. Poor Cliff. I am really enjoying seeing the backstories of the characters, it really adds a lot to why they are the way they are. Oh Larry. He was rather selfish both towards his wife and his boyfriend, but I can understand why he was so afraid, being a queer person in the military in the early 60s, and why thought he didnt have options. And I do want to know why the energy being is inside of him and so invested in him, because he/it/whatever did screw him over pretty bad. 

Cyborg is just trying so hard to run this place like a traditional super team, and just no one else is going with it. "I bet Aquaman never loses the keys."

"Somewhere, nowhere close to Paraguay"  

[MarkHB]

I will say that, when Fuchs-Zoltar asked them "Did you like my puppets," it immediately struck me that he was also talking about the workers at Fuchtopia... and the show proved me right.

[Unclejosh]

If that guy was able to create what appeared to be humanoid puppets that he was able to send his conscious through, then why cant something like that be done for Cliff. Surely that would be better than his current situation.

[MarkHB]

16 hours ago, Unclejosh said:

If that guy was able to create what appeared to be humanoid puppets that he was able to send his conscious through, then why cant something like that be done for Cliff. Surely that would be better than his current situation.

The workers? I didn't mean they were actual puppets, I meant they were people he was mind controlling. I don't think that would be a superior solution for Cliff.

[Unclejosh]

Oh ok. I thought they were robots.

[BaggythePanther]

Crowley! I was so excited to see Mark Sheppard. I didn’t realize until reading a few comments on YouTube that Mark’s character was a ripoff of Constantine, but I can see it.

The talking (singing?) blue horse head was amazing and I had to agree with Larry that the horse seemed more reliable than Kipling.

 I liked Rita’s interactions with Eliot. I hope we get to see more of her backstory soon.

[steelyis]

13 hours ago, BaggythePanther said:

Crowley! I was so excited to see Mark Sheppard. I didn’t realize until reading a few comments on YouTube that Mark’s character was a ripoff of Constantine, but I can see it.

Constantine would have fit in nicely, too.

13 hours ago, BaggythePanther said:

The talking (singing?) blue horse head was amazing and I had to agree with Larry that the horse seemed more reliable than Kipling.

That singing horse head was both amazing and hypnotic, and I also would believe every word out of its mouth.

[MarkHB]

If you listened carefully, what the horse said was actually in the rhythm and meter of the song.

[MarkHB]

Episode 4: Cult Patrol (2019.03.08)

Quote

Willoughby Kipling conscripts the Doom Patrol into helping him avert the end of the world by stopping a nihilistic cult.