TV Show of the Week: Doom Patrol

I have stated it before, but I will state it once more; DC TV shows are far better than their films. Arrowverse is outstandingly superior to that of the DCEU. (Note: The Dark Knight Trilogy is not included within the DCEU, but is within a league of their own – with The Dark Knight possibly being the greatest superhero film of all time, with Spider-Man 2 a close second).

DC has recently released their own streaming service, DC Universe, where exclusive TV shows and films will be placed there to be watched for a fee. Well, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+ are having a slice, it makes sense DC to want to take part – because that’s where the majority of our content is watched nowadays, but that’s a different discussion. The first show was Titans, but it was quickly accompanied by Doom Patrol, a different feeling show.

There’s a character that breaks the fourth wall because he’s almost omnipotent, and therefore serves as the narrator/enemy of the series. Doom Patrol follows the lesser known heroes, from the first few moments of the first episode, this was no an ordinary DC product. It has a vague whiff of not taking itself seriously, from the few moments of absolute absurdity; at times comedic moments. I was starting to wonder if DC couldn’t do comedy, but it seems they do.

However, due to the absurdity of certain situations within the show, it does have the notion of being a niche show, only for a select few and not for the masses. Whether that is the case or not, the fact that DC has essentially launched their streaming service with a show pretty much vastly different from their nitty-gritty stuff, that is the very reason why they do TV shows better than films.

The only way I can wrap my head around this show being the way it is, is by discussion another show. Legends of Tomorrow has progressively increased the absurdity for comedic value from season to season, and season 4’s episode 9 hit a new level of absurdity – singing puppets, Fairy-God Mother’s robbing a bank, one character being turned into a cat – I couldn’t stop laughing throughout. It’s a show so different from Arrow, yet perfectly fits within the Arrowverse as a whole. Whilst of course Legends of Tomorrow and Doom Patrol are two very different shows, they do carry the same atmospheric feel, but on a different level to one another. Legends of Tomorrow doesn’t take itself seriously on a family-friendly basis, whereas Doom Patrol doesn’t take itself seriously on a more adult basis. Hopefully that clears it up for you. If it doesn’t, I’m not sure how best to describe it better.

Doom Patrol does its best to differentiate from other DC properties, and therefore is a strong recommendation by me, and does give a clear representation of how they want to differ from other streaming services. Doom Patrol is an entertaining ride, and one you’d probably become addicted to until the final closing moments of the series.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)