Doom Patrol (2019) s04e11 – Portal Patrol

As penultimate episodes go, Portal Patrol is a doozy. The team has found themselves stranded in the time stream, so it’s good Joivan Wade got his Cyborg upgrades because he has to make them a little pod to survive. The current stakes are saving the world and April Bowlby (who doesn’t appear this episode), so when they discover holes in time where they might be able to regain their missing immortality, everyone heads out on assignment.

Now, the opening titles spoil a big guest star—Timothy Dalton. Former series regular slash ostensible lead, who’s been dead for seasons at this point, and everyone’s still trying to work through the traumas he’s inflicted. Brendan Fraser (and Riley Shanahan) meet Dalton in the past when he’s on an outing with recurring guest star Mark Sheppard. Except they’re in 1948, so neither Dalton nor Sheppard knows Fraser. And Fraser’s left trying to reason with a fascinated Dalton and a drunk Sheppard. Outstanding acting from Fraser, Dalton, and Shanahan. The body work this episode’s terrific.

Diane Guerrero and Matt Bomer (and Matthew Zuk) find themselves in the more recent past, in the Doom Patrol mansion. Guerrero’s on a combination “dying of old age” and just getting some of her PTSD resolved arc, so she’s drawn to all the old VHS tapes of her (now missing) personas. Meanwhile, Bomer and Zuk confront… Bomer and Zuk. Bomer’s current alien symbiote star child goes to find the former alien symbiote star child, and Bomer gets into an argument with it. Of course, he does.

But Guerrero runs into Dalton, and they sit down for one last session; she’s out of time, he’s fascinated but also worried about the future knowledge.

Speaking of future knowledge, Wade—who sends out an SOS to the time stream, which seems like how you’d bring back a now deceased special guest star, but isn’t—Wade has a heck of a little arc.

Michelle Gomez journeys into her own past, where she briefly encounters Dalton (despite them being renowned nemeses, I’m not sure the show ever gave them a sustained scene) before running afoul of other people she doesn’t like–really good Gomez performance.

Everyone’s really good, of course. Dalton’s so good.

It ends up being Guerrero’s episode, with Fraser, Bomer, and Gomez sharing the B slots, then Wade getting the C. Watching Guerrero in this episode, I had the odd sensation of remembering when she wasn’t good on the show and wondering how that period plays in the greater context of the show. For the someday rewatch.

But for now, there’s one more Patrol to go, and they’re in excellent shape for it.

Big shoutouts to the script (credited to Chris Dingess) and then Chris Manley’s direction. Portal knows what it’s doing.

Doom Patrol (2019) s03e04 – Undead Patrol

It took me a second to realize returning guest star Jon Briddell is not Robert Carradine. It took another second to remember the last time Briddell was on the show—they quickly remind the audience, but it was still the first season; it’s been a while. The keyword there being but. Or butt, as it were.

Briddell’s back with another scheme to destroy the Doom Patrol, with the team not in the best shape to deal with the threat. They’re recovering from their trip to the afterlife and coping with an unexpected and unknown houseguest. Ostensibly time-traveling Michelle Gomez has finally arrived in the mansion—she’s been on her way there since the season premiere end credits scene—and the team has questions for her. Gomez, however, doesn’t have any answers. Time travel gives you amnesia it turns out (something ever-welcome guest star Phil Morris confirms). All she remembers is she wants to talk to Timothy Dalton.

Too bad he’s dead.

So April Bowlby keeps an eye on Gomez—Bowlby’s pretty sure they’ve met even if Gomez is cagey about it—and they try to figure out what around the mansion might give Gomez some clues into her identity. Gomez doesn’t appreciate the help, which leads to Bowlby bitching to a surprisingly unsympathetic Matt Bomer. They hash out that hostility in an absolutely fantastic scene, juxtaposed against Diane Guerrero getting life advice from Brendan Fraser (and Riley Shanahan). Mostly it’s just Fraser (and Shanahan) bullshitting, but it’s an outstanding conversation performance. Shanahan doesn’t have an action sequence, just a fantastic “talk with his hands” sequence.

The team’s got Joivan Wade fiddling with the time machine, which is where Morris shows up for an impromptu argument. Wade confronts him with the things he learned from his dead mother last episode, and Morris has a volatile reaction. The show does just shoehorn Morris in—how does he get to the mansion so fast; he’s got to have a STAR Labs transporter—but it’s a great little scene thanks to Morris’s phenomenal performance.

However, all of this angst is just the beginning because Mark Sheppard needs the team’s help. And in return, Gomez might get the chance to talk to obviously dead Dalton, who Sheppard reveals is dead but not comic book TV show dead. The show hinted at Sheppard’s return at season premiere end credits cutscene along with Gomez’s, but it didn’t seem like he’d be back so soon. It ends up being a very good outing for Sheppard, as unexpected events foul up everyone’s plans.

There are a lot of laughs and a lot of gross-out gags in those unexpected events, with the show ending up with three profoundly, delightfully disgusting moments. The grossest might not even be the most visually icky. It’s an absolutely inspired episode, with great performances from the main cast. Even Guerrero, in part thanks to the plot.

It’s one heck of an episode.

Too bad he’s dead.

It’s one heck of an episode.

Doom Patrol (2019) s03e01 – Possibilities Patrol

I’m very jealous of the folks who are going to marathon “Doom Patrol” without a break between seasons two and three. This episode is last season’s finale, only delayed because of Rona. It took me a while to catch back up. I didn’t forget the big things, but I did forget the community theater production of Our Town was actually Our Town Patrol. And April Bowlby would be mocking herself and her friends to regain some sense of professional accomplishment.

But the dramatic resolve in the first scenes—wrapping up the show’s game of chicken with the network, while well-acted and compelling, lack the resonance they’d have if I were still nail-biting over the turns of events.

However, it’s “Doom Patrol,” so pretty quickly, the acting and angst take over, and there’s no time to dawdle. There’s a lot going on. Not to mention Diane Guerrero’s cliffhanger doesn’t finish until most of the way through the episode. It’s probably the actual A-plot. The rest of the episode, which has the team regrouping and reacting to their battle against Abi Monterey’s imaginary but real monster demon at the mansion, is the calm after the storm. Especially since Guerrero’s arc is big stakes every second, as the Underground in her mind gets more hostile and anyone surviving seems more and more impossible.

In the mansion, Brendan Fraser’s trying to get his metal body back into shape enough he can visit his daughter. There’s a lot of good voice acting from Fraser this episode, but not a lot for Riley Shanahan to do in the suit. Not so much easing into the new season but easing out of the previous, including some potential character departures. Matt Bomer’s only got so long he can put off his promise to the alien being inside him, which involves them going off solo. Only Bomer’s worried about Bowlby, and he’s also bonding (a little) with Monterey.

Meanwhile, Joivan Wade’s trying to fix Fraser & Shanahan while fretting on girlfriend-turned-justified-villain Karen Obilom. Dad Phil Morris stops by to offer some sage advice; it’s only a scene, but it’s enough to remind of Morris’s incredible performance on the show.

And everyone’s really pissed off at Timothy Dalton, with Fraser & Shanahan finally getting to have it out with him once and for all. While everyone also takes Monterey’s feelings into account.

A lot is going on, as always with “Doom Patrol,” and by the second half of the episode, the show’s on a very firm footing. Once the music hits its sublime—Clint Mansell and Kevin Kiner’s scoring is so good—the show doesn’t really need it, and it’s just extra, the way it’s supposed to be, like the episode isn’t making up for lost time.

Best acting in the episode is Bowlby, who’s the protagonist of most of the mansion plot. Then there’s some great Fraser voice work. Bomer’s real good. Dalton’s got a hilarious bit in the epilogue. Monterey seems like she’s going to get more than she does. Same with Guerrero, who shares a lot with the other personas in the Underground.

There are also a couple big surprises at the end of the episode, forecasting season three.

“Doom Patrol” is back.

Hallelujah.

Doom Patrol (2019) s02e09 – Wax Patrol

So “Doom Patrol” didn’t just have to cut an episode off season two because of the Covid-19 and wrap it up here, they also don’t have their season three renewal in yet… so essentially Wax Patrol is playing chicken with the network.

Going to be a bummer if they don’t get renewed.

The episode, which has the gang teaming up like superheroes for once to go and save Abi Monterey and Timothy Dalton—without understanding what they’re getting into—and having to work through some of their personal issues from the season. For Joivan Wade, the personal issue comes in the form of Phil Morris, who both is and isn’t playing his regular role as Wade’s dad. Morris hasn’t been around much this season but he’s real good here. Real good.

Meanwhile, April Bowlby works through her stuff with a personification of her childhood ideals, which doesn’t work out. Donna Jay Fulks’s voice work is fine as the CGI friend, but it means Bowlby doesn’t get to act opposite anyone, just do effects sequences with—presumably—a tennis ball placeholder or whatever they use now.

Robotman (Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan) gets the funniest nemesis—Jesus (Joshua Mikel)—and if the characterization is from the Grant Morrison Doom Patrol comic it means DC let him do a foulmouthed bro thug Jesus while not letting do Rick Veitch do a wholesome magician Jesus. Which gets the eyebrows twitching until the funny starts. It’s still bullshit if they let Morrison do it, but whatever; DC Comics and Warner Bros. are long past the saturation point of bullshit.

Except this show, obviously. They should definitely renew this show.

Diane Guerrero gets a big arc with a flashback reveal to what Samantha Marie Ware was up to in the seventies before the Guerrero persona started playing the Guerrero part. They really should go back to last season’s handling of Guerrero’s “parts” but anyway, lots of reveals, lots of really unfortunate acting, particularly from Carter Jenkins as her beau. I mean, I get they didn’t want to get anyone who would so obviously outact Guerrero, but they should’ve gotten someone who could keep up.

Or maybe it’s Chris Manley’s directing.

But the whole Guerrero and Jenkins is really manipulatively done and kind of the ickiest the show’s gotten with Guerrero this season. Not sure why they thought it was a “save of the best for last” thing.

Matt Bomer gets moved aside fast to make room for Monterey, who’s got a pretty darn cool arc for barely being in the episode.

“Doom Patrol”’s second season has been outstanding—this artificially truncated episode is probably the weakest of the season and for obvious, external reasons—but playing chicken with a renewal (on two giant cliffhangers) isn’t cool in 2020. It hasn’t been cool since like 1994 and even then only because the shows came back.

Doom Patrol (2019) s02e08 – Dad Patrol

It’s another packed, season-relevant big plots (though even the season’s B plots have big moments too) episode, with unlikely pairings—Matt Bomer and Diane Guerrero go on a mission together for maybe the first time ever solo while Robotman (Brendan Fraser voicing a truly magnificent physical performance from Riley Shanahan) shows daughter Bethany Anne Lind around the mansion. Fraser’s performance is good too but the stuff Shanahan comes up with is truly astounding. It’s a “getting to know you” arc, with Lind proving far more entertaining than her previous appearances suggested.

Guerrero and Bomer are off trying to get Guerrero’s childhood stuffed animal out of a torture well on the torture farm where she grew up. All of the other personas (all of them portrayed by different actors now, which is also weird because since Guerrero’s outward appearance doesn’t change when her personality does, she’s clearly the one who’s the little kid grown up… it doesn’t matter; it’s just annoying, sorry). All the other personas are scared to get the bear, including newly returned popular wholesome girl Samantha Marie Ware. Guerrero’s got to prove herself to core little girl persona Skye Roberts. Bomer’s helping. He’s got some flashbacks involving his family but it’s a stop-start C plot here.

Meanwhile, Joivan Wade and April Bowlby are investigating a very hurriedly established—too hurriedly established—murder. It appears they both know the culprit and it’s going to lead to some hard decisions for both, though there are also psychological things at play. Decent character development stuff, not an A plot.

Though the other A plot—Timothy Dalton taking Abi Monterey out for one last hurrah before he’s finally got to stop avoiding her whole imaginary prehistoric world-killing fire-monster friend. Guest star Mark Sheppard is around to try to get Dalton to hurry up with accountability thing while Monterey’s having a big day of her own.

Great small part from Lynne Ashe.

The Fraser stuff with Lind is probably the most amusing stuff in the episode, while Monterey’s arc the best executed overall. Monterey’s always been good, but I don’t think it was until this episode—when she’s finally got time alone—I realized how good. Especially given she’s acting in so much makeup. She does really well with it.

Doom Patrol (2019) s02e07 – Dumb Patrol

And now here’s where “Doom Patrol” asks for permission to be silly. It’s kind of been goofy before, but this episode—where the heroes find themselves trying to give in to their worst ideas at all times—gets silly. Even stranger is how effectively the “new” Diane Guerrero works as straight woman to the crew. Last episode surprise reveal Samantha Marie Ware took over the “driver’s seat” as far as Guerrero’s characterization and the new persona is this serious, thoughtful hippie-type. Sure, Guerrero’s regular persona is in the Underworld (her mind where all the personas live) and there’s something really ominous going on, but on the surface… new Guerrero’s a good foil.

Not quite a great performance or anything, which puts her behind everyone else at this point in the show, but a good foil. I don’t use positive adjectives for Guerrero often, not even describing her place in the plot. It’s a nice break and exactly the right kind of foil for the silly.

The silly has Joivan Wade, Karen Obilom (he brought her to Doom Manor, which is absolutely adorable), and Matt Bomer trying to fight their bad idea impulses while trying to save the day. See, guest star Mark Sheppard (who’s so good at this point it’s amazing how ineffectual he was at the start) sent a box to Timothy Dalton and the gang opened it instead. Because Dalton and Robotman (Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan) are both on their own side adventures, separate from the main plot.

The Sheppard-related A plot (seemingly) doesn’t figure into the bigger season stuff going on but it gives the show a bit of a breather, to drag things out in C plots (for Dalton and maybe Guerrero) while still amusing and getting in some character development.

The funniest stuff—not silliest—is April Bowlby, who goes to study local beekeeper Avis-Marie Barnes for her part in the community theatre and discovers a kindred spirit. Of sorts. And gets in some rather good character development.

There’s almost a full “Doom Patrol” music montage—I guess I hadn’t noticed Season Two doesn’t do them, which is too bad; this one seems truncated but it’s still good. Nice work from composer Kevin Kiner.

Doom Patrol (2019) s02e06 – Space Patrol

I thought last episode was good, this episode’s even better. In fact, it might fully realize translating comics to film, with Dorothy (Abi Monterey) running as far away from dad Timothy Dalton as she can. Keep in mind dad Dalton has various space ships sitting around the property, which surprises the other characters a little too much. Dalton and Robotman (Brendan Fraser, who gets to do the hard scenes this episode and make them work, and Riley Shanahan has some giant steps to take) have to track her down, leaving Matt Bomer in charge at the mansion.

Now, Bomer’s bent out of shape because of the recent family troubles and he doesn’t really want to entertain returning astronauts Mariana Klaveno, Derek Evans, and Jason Burkey—they want to see Dalton–but then it turns out Bomer and Klaveno have a whole bunch in common. So Bomer gets a great character arc here. Klaveno’s great too. Kristin Windell’s going to do some strong direction throughout, between the big effects location and the various performances—we’ll get to Diane Guerrero in a second here—there’s something really nice about the Bomer and Klaveno arc, giving him someone not on the team to interact with is good.

Same thing goes for Joivan Wade and Karen Obilom, who spend the day swapping stories about cybernetic enhancements.

April Bowlby’s got an arc with the community theatre, which gives Bowlby some good material while still just being the C plot.

So then the other big plot is Guerrero. Things are in trouble down in the Underground, which is the place where Guerrero’s personalities hang out and stuff—now, this season they’ve got Guerrero playing even less of the personalities, which is whatever—and there’s a big political thing going on. The most interesting part—besides it being directed for horror but not played for it (it’s not bad, just like, why does it look like Rob Zombie’s Halloween)—is finally realizing Jackie Goldston is playing “Secretary,” not Miss Harrison, the only persona where Guerrero does a good job.

There’s great final twist and cliffhanger. “Doom Patrol”’s got some fantastic momentum this season.

Doom Patrol (2019) s02e05 – Finger Patrol

I’m not great at tracking the “Doom Patrol” creatives but I remembered Chris Dingess was working out and Shoshana Sachi was one of the good writers, so I had good feeling going into Finger Patrol and it does not disappoint. Maybe the most surprising part is how well things work out for Joivan Wade and Karen Obilom, with Wade… good in the arc? In fact, he carries some of their scenes now. It’s a really fast improvement.

The Wade and Obilom arc starts as Wade and Robotman (Brendan Fraser voicing, Riley Shanahan perambulating) go to visit Wade’s dad Silas Stone (wonderful to see in his first appearance this season) and then Wade decides he’s got to resolve the Obilom situation. Meanwhile Fraser has decided it’s time for them to become a crime-fighting duo, which goes horrifically, comically wrong. Because, of course.

Back at the mansion, Timothy Dalton is positively gleeful daughter Abi Monterey is playing with Diane Guerrero’s child-like personality. It comes right after a truly terrible scene with Guerrero having it out with Dalton about their past; it should be good, it seems to be well-written, and you can see Guerrero… trying… but every time it could connect, it doesn’t.

It’s rough. So rough the obnoxious child personality is a welcome break.

Is it a good idea for Guerrero and Monterey to play given their incredible abilities and inability to control them? Probably not, but Dalton is a terrible father.

Speaking of terrible fathers, this episode seems to be a resolution—for the time being—to the John Getz as Matt Bomer’s son subplot, which has Bomer and April Bowlby (who gets a very good C plot about trying out for community theatre) going to help Getz and the other men in the family clean out a house. Shocking and upsetting revelations abound.

It’s a really good episode with truly distressing finales for most of its arcs; Dingess and Sachi’s structure is phenomenal.

Doom Patrol (2019) s02e04 – Sex Patrol

At some point someone working on “Doom Patrol” decided they weren’t messing around and gave Alan Mingo Jr. a truly devastating speech about transgender people’s humanity—to Joivan Wade—and it’s a wow aside in the episode. Sex Patrol goes all the way from hilarious to terrifying to, well, titillating but when Mingo delivers that monologue… everything else stops (in just the right way).

Mingo is back because Danny the Street is in trouble and they called out to all the for Danizens (Danny the Street is so well done I’m just going with it). Mingo—along with gone since last season but still as scantily clad and wholesome as ever Devan Long—shows up at the mansion, interrupting Timothy Dalton trying to lie to Abi Monterey about things being okay, and get the literal party started.

Monterey, despite being an almost life-long Danizen herself, never got to go to a Danny party and she really wants to stay up for this one, which gives the episode it’s fantastic “Hours til Bedtime” device. So good. Not sure if it was writers Eric Dietel and Tanya Steele who came up with it but it’s perfect.

The episode mostly follows Monterey and her attempts to stay up late without Dalton finding out. Only she’s got a terrifying invisible monster friend who’s telling her she needs to start a lot of real trouble, which leads to a very difficult arc for Monterey. Her casting is really working out for the show.

But while the narrative follows Monterey it’s because the bigger plot line needs to have some surprise value for maximum effect. See, April Bowlby needs a big favor from Long and neither of them really understand the ramifications of him granting her request. But it leads to a fantastic, action-packed finale….

Right before the appropriately terrifying, absolutely heartbreaking cliffhanger. Because it turns out the real plot line of the episode—and the season so far, actually—is how the entire team are bad dads. Except Wade. He’s just on his way toward it. And Bowlby. Though she’s got the bad dad in her too.

The hopeful part is it’s about why they shouldn’t be bad dads. But it also might be too late.

So good. And also frequently hilarious because of the Robotman (Brendan Fraser talks, Riley Shanahan walks) ecstasy subplot.

Not a typo.

Doom Patrol (2019) s02e03 – Pain Patrol

Samira Radsi directs a positively unnerving episode here, doing both social awkwardness in the extremes and then, you know, traditional inter-dimensional evil who was Jack the Ripper—is Red Jack (Roger Floyd, who looks like a cross-between Hellraiser and Stanley Kubrick’s Phantom of the Opera) a Redjac from “Star Trek” reference? Cute. The most likable thing Grant Morrison’s done.

Anyway.

While Timothy Dalton and April Bowlby are trying to rescue Matt Bomer from Floyd—the way the episode picks up from the previous episode’s cliffhanger, which itself had been a C plot throughout, is really smooth. “Doom Patrol: Season Two” has a very nice assuredness about it. This episode’s script—Tamara Becher and Tom Farrell—is excellent as well. Things have come together quite reliably.

Okay, except Diane Guerrero, who has an intervention subplot with the other personas and it’s terrible because the acting is so bad but it’s just the show. Like. It’s worth waiting through the bad for the good.

Enough about her. Well, in a second—she’s on the bus with Cliff the Robotman (Brendan Fraser voicing, Riley Shanahan moving) and Fraser has gone to confront his daughter Bethany Anne Lind. See, the episode opens with Dalton having to tell Fraser to stop swearing in front of Dalton’s daughter, Abi Monterey, which sets Fraser off. Guerrero’s asleep on the bus. Done.

So Fraser’s trying to work up the courage to talk to Lind but doesn’t have Guerrero around to consult and it’s going to turn out he really, really needed to consult someone. It’s an excellent Robotman episode in terms of character development and sort of exploration—yeah; Fraser’s arc this episode is a character study. It’s real good.

Is it as good as the Dalton and Bowlby have to save Bomer, who’s Floyd got hanging over a bunch of people dying from Bomer’s exposed radiation? Maybe? But the action horror movie plotting—interspersed with wholesome (well, eventually) flashbacks to Bowlby and Bomer first becoming friends—really works.

Of course, I haven’t even gotten to Joivan Wade, whose still in Detroit trying to do things on his own. This time it means hooking up with Karen Obilom and discovering she’s full of surprises and secrets. Obilom doesn’t exactly carry the scenes, but she’s good enough—even when Wade’s faltering—the scenes get through. Though the timeline on Wade is really confusing at this point as far as his initial recovery and time superheroing.

There’s even a Nick Cave song at the end. It’s all so good.