I watched two episodes of Doom Patrol and gave up, so this is not a complete review of the season. If it gets better, please let me know, but I’m throwing in the towel. I just don’t wanna waste my time.
I entered into this show with a positive bias because The Doom Patrol was awesome in their cameo appearance on Titans. And I really enjoyed DC Universe’s Titans! That was a pretty good series.
The main problem with the Doom Patrol is that the story arc doesn’t move forward at a good pace. It moves backwards. This series is stuck in “backstory mode” and can’t seem to get itself out of its funk. For every step they take forward, the writers decide to take two steps back into the past. Amateur writers tend to get suck backstory mode. But these ARE NOT amateur writers who are producing these scripts. So, I don’t get it!
All that’s happened in the first episode with the main story arc, is that their professor and their local town went missing. There is a little scene where the Doom Team gets to play hero, but it was still pretty lame. There’s really no hard turning point that forces are heroes into action. They kinda mosey into action reluctantly. And just when you think they are about to do something cool – they don’t. And I guess that’st he theme of the script, because it just moseys forward.
Now, don’t’ get me wrong, the backstory is important but it should never be in the driver’s seat. Guardians of the Galaxy does it great. It keeps backstories short and simple enough so the audience understands character motivations. But till this day, we still haven’t really seen an extensive backstory on Rocket, Groot, or Gamora. Could you imagine Guardian of the Galaxy spending 60 minutes on the backstory of our heroes, before moving the main story arc forward? That would be freaking lame. This is what Doom Patrol does. They did it for two hours!
It doesn’t matter if this a series. Storytelling always needs to be tight and efficient or it gets boring.
Then, things in Doom Patrol gets a little too creative. The narrator of the series is the bad guy, who is known as “nobody,” who uses flashbacks to get into heroes heads, and toy with their emotions. So, once again, more flashbacks!
What makes it worse is that every single character is unlikable and pretty much the same. They are all lost, trying to find themselves, trying to find their identity and their place in the world. They are all having Shakespeare moments, asking themselves “to be or not to be, that is the question…”
Lame! Or Should I say zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…….
I don’t want to keep giving Doom Patrol the uppercut. I dunno, maybe I’m triggered and being too critical. But the director seems to mistake raunchiness for creativity. There are sex scenes in here, with nudity. They don’t need to be in there. They don’t need to be graphic. I thought the DC Streaming Universe is supposed to be
I have a feeling critics are going to love Doom Patrol because they love drawn out dialogue, sex and violence in the name of art, and characters that are always trying to find themselves. If critics actually knew what they were talking about, Top Gun and Tom Cruise would have won Oscars.
I’m much different. I just want to be entertained and Doom Patrol, so far, has failed.
GRADE: D
UPDATE: JUST WATCHED EPISODE 3
I took a gamble here and watched Episode 3 was surprised.
The script for this episode was much better than the first two. At least, the story advanced. At least, we got to see Jane and Cliff use their fighting skills, something that should have happened in the first ten minutes of Episode One. And at least, the story was entertaining rather than boring. And at least, there’s less voiceover, which is a good thing.
Lots of “at least” there. Should I have said, at last?
But Doom Patrol still isn’t great.
I understand what they’re trying to do here. They are trying to make Doom Patrol a bit edgier than Deadpool, maybe something for adults. In this Episode, it actually begins to work, unlike in the First two Episodes, where the Directors throwing bricks all day.
On a side note, Negative Man, aka Larry Trainor, the guy dressed like a mummy is not a closet gay in the comic. Making him gay was purely a Social Justice Warrior move that was unnecessary. Can writers stop trying to be inclusive and just for once, keep things canon. I’m not sure who’s trying to push the agenda. DC? Writers? The Director? I hate this trend. Just create a new character who is gay.
The Directors and Writers seem to be getting their legs under them. Hopefully, as the season goes on, they can redeem themselves and the characters can stop being lost souls.
GRADE for Episode 3: B
Steve Young
