"Super Zeroes" Doom Patrol Recap: "Pilot"

Doom Patrol

DC Universe launched it's second original series this week. It's already got the grim and gritty "Titans," which as you know we've been recapping here on the blog. You may remember that the Doom Patrol was part of "Titans," but you don't have to have watched that episode to enjoy this. There's no mention of it at all. I really feel like "Doom Patrol" owes a debt to both "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Deadpool." I really never thought that I'd see a live-action Doom Patrol and I'm really glad that I have.

Episode 1: "Pilot"

Mr. Nobody: "Ready for a story about superheroes? Ugh. More TV superheroes. Just what the world needs. Be honest, have you hung yourself yet? Or what if I told you this was actually a story about super-zeroes? Losers, achingly pathetic meta human goose eggs. How about it? Ready to feel better about your own miserable lives for the next hour or so?"

A mysterious narrator tells us the story of Cliff Steele, Larry Trainor, Rita Farr, Kay Challis and Niles Caulder. They each are afflicted with something that makes them an outcast to society. Cliff was involved in an accident that destroyed his body leaving only his brain intact and in a robot body. Larry was a test pilot whose body houses a strange alien energy being. Rita was a 50's starlet who after falling into an African river and ingesting some strange dust can barely keep her body together. Kay has 64 different personalities all with their own super power. Niles or the Chief seems to be these misfits guardians, but is he being truthful with them? When the Chief goes on a "business trip", his charges sneak into the city against his wishes. When all hell breaks loose and they are exposed will the group band together to save the nearby town or flee?

Unconventional Family 

This was really good, you guys. I loved the "Titans" episode that featured the Doom Patrol, but I was worried that was just a fluke. I'm happy to report that it was not. 

The cast is great. I don't remember the last thing I saw Brendan Fraser in, probably a "Mummy" movie, but he's really great as Cliff. Fraser appears in the flesh in flashbacks, but for the most part he's in his Robotman guise, so he has to convey a lot of emotion just through his voice and he kills it. The same goes for Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor. He appears briefly in a flashback scene before his accident, but does voice work for the majority of the episode. The real breakouts for me are April Bowlby and Diane Guerrero who play Rita and Kay "Crazy Jane" respectively. Bowlby plays up Rita's '50's starlet airheadedness, but there are moments where this tartness slips through and it's clear that her regular persona is just a front. Guerrero who you may know from "Orange Is The New Black" has a hefty task portraying Jane's many personalities but the ones displayed in the pilot, she handles deftly. She's not quite Tatiana Maslany, but I can see her doing great things with this role.

Alan Tudyk of "Firefly" fame is the narrator and the team's chief antagonist, Mr. Nobody. Tudyk's narration is one of the highlights of the episode. It's snarky and funny, but it never veers into mean spiritedness which it could easily have done. Even if Nobody has nothing but disdain for the Doom Patrol, we the audience should not. We should be rooting for them and the show knows that. 

The plot of this pilot is pretty standard. We see backstories. Time passes. The misfits head to town and hijinks ensue. Standard, but very well done. There are things sprinkled throughout that the show can explore during it's 15 episode first season from the revelation of Cliff's daughter to Larry's sexuality. The pilot does have some pacing issues. The origins take up a good chunk of it's run time so the town visit, attempt to flee and decision to go back to save the town feel kind of rushed. That last bit where the team decides to ignore the Chief's request and stop whatever Mr. Nobody has planned for the town feels out of character for Rita and Larry. I get why Cliff would and why Jane would, but the other two? It feels a bit convenient.

That being said, I'm excited to see where this goes, what Mr. Nobody has planned, what the deal with that donkey is. DC Universe seems to have a winner here and I don't regret shelling out money for  another streaming service.

Grade: B+

Have you watched the pilot? Are you excited? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

FYI, "Doom Patrol" is not bingeable at this time. DC Universe is dropping one new episode every Friday.