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Doom Patrol

Started by Alberon, February 07, 2019, 06:10:34 PM

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Small Man Big Horse

I liked it, and the Larry subplot was beautifully carried off, but unfortunately the rest didn't quite do it for me, Cliff fucking off at the end disappointed and while the Jane / Vic stuff was interesting enough I have the same issues with you when it comes to The Bureau of Normalcy. It was still a strong episode, but for me wasn't quite up there with the best.

Small Man Big Horse

I loved this episode and think it might be my favourite yet. It was great to have the team together for a change, well, minus Vic but that wasn't a problem as his side of things was great too. Thinking about it I think that's been a very minor issue for the series as I think it's at it's best when they're all together and they've been separated all too often, but hopefully we'll get to see more of them working as a team next year. And now the Ant Farm storyline has been resolved hopefully we'll get a lot more Mr Nobody in the final three episodes. Oh yeah, and Flex! It'll be interesting to see how they bring him back again, I've doubts it'll be this season but could be very wrong.

Ant Farm Keyboard

The Larry stuff appeared to be repetitive, but the payoff at the reveal was great. Sure, they might have stretched the story a little too much when they had the parallel action thing over two episodes, and the Ant Farm definitely needed keyboards. However, I love that they're telling a big story while having individual episodes that have a distinctive tone and style. If the current Star Trek show was able do that, it would be great.

It's also doing a better job of balancing stuff than the other Grant Morrison related show currently airing, Happy!. I don't know much about Morrison, but Happy! (where he's apparently provided an original plot for the second season, as the comic books provided material only for the first season) tends now to be a little too weird for the sake of being weird, with too many disjointed segments that often fail to coalesce. Here, they seem to get the weird, offbeat energy, and channel it into a more traditional narrative, without trying to cram every idea Morrison had.

Mister Six

You probably won't like Morrison's Doom Patrol, then - it's all ideas, all the time.

Like SMBH, I think that was one of the best of the season - funny, pacy (despite only taking place in four or so locations) and with a devastating ending. That was definitely Flex in the other cell, wasn't it? The Man of Muscle Mystery! I look forward to seeing him onscreen (although sadly it looks like they've had to ditch the Charles Atlas ad origin story, I assume to avoid the litigation that buggered up Flex and DP reprints for decades).

My only complaint is that the realisation of the Ant Farm was so mundane. In the comics it's warped and terrifying and full is bizarre imagery - and I can see why that might have been too expensive to pursue fully, but I would have liked to see them channel a bit of that. We haven't had a decent dose of Morrison-esque derangement since the Decreator story and it would have been nice to have a bit more of that here to add a little flavour to the episode. A roomful of carnivorous arses was not enough!

Ant Farm Keyboard

Quote from: Mister Six on May 05, 2019, 03:58:11 AM
You probably won't like Morrison's Doom Patrol, then - it's all ideas, all the time.

Doom Patrol has never been published in France, and I'm not a big comics reader, but his stint on the series was apparently after the characters had already been established (or re-established), with their relationships more or less developed, so I think he had a structure and a context on which to develop his wacky ideas and experimentations, and it was also 30 years ago.
The second season of Happy! has a few too many sequences intended to shock people and push boundaries. Some of them are great, but it's also at the expense of plotting and characters, especially as directors such as Brian Taylor or Joseph Kahn also favor elaborate set pieces. This week, we had for instance a whole segment about Happy having sex with another imaginary friend, which was very funny and weird in its own way, but had nothing to do with the rest of the episode, while the whole Blue plot is moving forward at a snail's pace.

That's why, regardless of its actual flaws, including cutting some of the original material due to budget reasons or some of the more interesting visual ideas, I feel the Doom Patrol show is doing quite a good work as it balances the original Morrison contributions you mention with some more accessible stuff, allowing people not to get lost in the overall mythology or overwhelmed by Morrisonisms. Other shows fail at finding this kind of balance, including one in which Morrison is directly involved.

Mister Six

Not seen season two of Happy yet, so no spoilers!

But I wouldn't argue with the notion that the Doom Patrol show is expertly balancing the wilder ideas with great characterisation and plot development. It's a masterful adaptation in the way it takes the odd and, as you say, makes it palatable for a more mainstream audience.

Morrison's Doom Patrol comics actually replaced all but two of the main characters (Cliff and the Chief stayed, while Joshua, the black dude who oversaw the superhero care home earlier in the season, became a supporting, rather than main, character) and created new dynamics and character arcs. And he did them well, too, but the focus was more on weirdness for weirdness' sake - which neither he nor I think is necessarily a bad thing - than the show.

I do think the series' present balance could tip more towards oddity every now and again though. A completely deranged Ant Farm, as was seen in the Doom Patrol comics, would have been great, especially after several weeks of relative normality: https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Doom-Patrol-1987/Issue-43?id=41855

Small Man Big Horse

Man I love this show, that was another belter of an episode and they handled the whole Flex Mentallo origin story / amnesia issue beautifully, Rita and Cyborg were less fun but I loved the twist, and can't wait to see next week's now, if this had been released in one go I know I'd be binging on the next two episodes tonight. Brendan Fraser's bad acting in that soap was hilarious stuff too, and I really liked how they tied in Larry with Flex's story, the show's on fire right now and I'm convinced it'll be equally fantastic over the two final episodes of this season.

Bazooka

How is Brendan Fraser in this?

Mister Six

Quote from: Bazooka on May 11, 2019, 02:48:44 AM
How is Brendan Fraser in this?

He's great.

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 10, 2019, 09:43:52 PM
Man I love this show, that was another belter of an episode

Hmm, I dunno, it felt a bit perfunctory to me. Rita's remaining bit of mysterious backstory gets splurged in a long speech so (a speech that was only compelling because Bowlby sold it so well)  she can get on with being a hero; Larry in the Ant Farm gets revisited so we can check off him and the Negative Spirit being fully reconciled; Cliff (who seems to be stuck in wacky and annoying mode - was he like this before Admiral Whiskers? Did I just not notice?) apologises to Jane so they can get over their big fall-out. Mr Nobody's little speech at the end felt like an acknowledgement that this had dragged on too long and needed quickly wrapping up.

All the Flex stuff was great (excellent casting, although I really want a HERO OF THE BEACH halo to appear at some point) and the direction was strikingly lovely, but this was a bit of a disappointment.

Only two episodes left! Not sure how this season doesn't end on a cliffhanger, or at least without a lot of dangling threads that will have to be picked up in season two.

Also we didn't get Flex's origin did we? As in, how he "walked off the page" of that advert. But I imagine we'll see Wally Sage and get more information about that next season.

Mister Six

Another storming episode. The spontaneous orgasms thing was just a panel in the comics - glad the writers saw the comic potential in that.

Also interested to see them borrowing Morrison's reveal about the Chief. Wonder if they'll give him a redemptive death next episode, or actually have him back as a semi-regular next season? Depends on whether Dalton wants to stick around, I suppose. Could go either way - this is a weird, niche little show, but he seems enthusiastic about it in interviews, and he was happy to do three seasons of Penny Dreadful.

Whatever happens, I'm guessing the Bureau/Ant Farm will be the main antagonists - no pun intended - next season, since we've still yet to have Flex's origin or see him get revenge for Dolores. At least, I'm hoping he'll stick around, as I like the character and actor. Would be great if they mixed in a little bit of the Flex Mentallo miniseries and did a meta thing with dark, "gritty" mourning Flex (representing shows like Titans) giving way again to brighter Flex... But that's probably too much to ask for and would be a distraction from everyone else.

Small Man Big Horse

I loved it too, I was a bit disappointed that Flex wasn't in it once they left Danny The Street but otherwise it was a fantastic episode. My only other complaint was that I wish the deaths had been a bit more varied rather than the same three being repeated over and over again, but I guess they have a limited budget. As for the Chief, I'm hoping he'll survive as Dalton's so good, but I wouldn't have an issue with him being just a head in a tray. It'll be interesting to see how season 2 turns out given how many of Morrison's stories they've already used up, but I guess there's still a good few they can draw on.

Ant Farm Keyboard

The orgasms scene was a thing of beauty, and it showed that they could take advantage of Danny the Street more than shown in the earlier episode.

"I'm powerful enough to control this entire streaming service if I wanted to."

Mister Six

I wonder if they re-recorded that with "this entire network" and "this entire Blu-ray player" for other media? I suppose they don't intend for it to be accessible on anything other than DC Universe and (outside the US) Netflix, though.

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 19, 2019, 03:13:33 PM
It'll be interesting to see how season 2 turns out given how many of Morrison's stories they've already used up, but I guess there's still a good few they can draw on.

They've barely scratched the surface. The Underground, Darren Jones vs Danny the Street, and the Decreator are the only direct adaptations they've done, and in all of those they cut out bits and pieces that could be repurposed elsewhere. They also had a snippet of Flex and Dolores from the Ant Farm arc, but almost all of that (including Flex turning the Pentagon into a circle) is still up for grabs. They haven't even done The Painting that Ate Paris - probably the most iconic Morrison story - or Mr Nobody's magic bus, although those two would require Mr Nobody to go through some pretty dramatic changes (which seem more feasible now we know a bit more about his history).

And even beyond that, there the Rachel Pollack run, which has tons of good ideas (Coagula, the transgender lesbian superhero, was way ahead of her time and would perfectly fit the zeitgeist now), and all of the 60s Drake stuff, the pre-Morrison Kupperberg run, as well as the various 2000s/2010s revivals, and Gerard Way's current storylines.

There's enough to draw on for the rest of time, basically, if they continue at the rate they're currently on.

I suppose the bigger question is what will replace the search for the Chief. Will it be about the team helping the world as the Chief tries to earn redemption? Will he even make it that far? I imagine Flex's revenge on the Ant Farm, will be a big part of whatever is coming.

Regardless, I'm glad the Beard Hunter is safe. I wonder if we'll find out what he saw this season or in the next?

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Mister Six on May 19, 2019, 08:10:44 PM
I wonder if they re-recorded that with "this entire network" and "this entire Blu-ray player" for other media? I suppose they don't intend for it to be accessible on anything other than DC Universe and (outside the US) Netflix, though.

They've barely scratched the surface. The Underground, Darren Jones vs Danny the Street, and the Decreator are the only direct adaptations they've done, and in all of those they cut out bits and pieces that could be repurposed elsewhere. They also had a snippet of Flex and Dolores from the Ant Farm arc, but almost all of that (including Flex turning the Pentagon into a circle) is still up for grabs. They haven't even done The Painting that Ate Paris - probably the most iconic Morrison story - or Mr Nobody's magic bus, although those two would require Mr Nobody to go through some pretty dramatic changes (which seem more feasible now we know a bit more about his history).

And even beyond that, there the Rachel Pollack run, which has tons of good ideas (Coagula, the transgender lesbian superhero, was way ahead of her time and would perfectly fit the zeitgeist now), and all of the 60s Drake stuff, the pre-Morrison Kupperberg run, as well as the various 2000s/2010s revivals, and Gerard Way's current storylines.

There's enough to draw on for the rest of time, basically, if they continue at the rate they're currently on.

I suppose the bigger question is what will replace the search for the Chief. Will it be about the team helping the world as the Chief tries to earn redemption? Will he even make it that far? I imagine Flex's revenge on the Ant Farm, will be a big part of whatever is coming.

Regardless, I'm glad the Beard Hunter is safe. I wonder if we'll find out what he saw this season or in the next?

Well I was referring to only the Morrison run rather than any of the others, but you are indeed right, not sure what I was thinking above!

Mister Six

Because I'm a boring cunt and I have the books to hand, here are the stories from the first two bumper Morrison books (there are three bumper books total) that haven't been used in the show yet:

* The Scissormen and the invasion of Orqwith
* Red Jack, the butterfly collector
* Dorothy's out-of-control imaginary friends and her red shoes
* Cliff's brain vs his body vs Monsieur Mallah and The Brain
* Rhea's transformation and the reality war
* The secret history of Flex Mentallo
* The Pentagon's secret
* The Shadowy Mr Evans
* Mr Nobody's Magic Bus

And that's without even counting all of the weird and wonderful subplots, side characters and random ideas Morrison squeezes into all of that - the two separate Brotherhoods of Dada, The Sex Men, the weird curator of the uncanny, the fella who disappears if he sees his own reflection etc etc.

Add in the original content from the show's writers and you've probably got another three seasons at least. And there's still another bumper volume to go, though all I remember from that is the Candlemaker and the nanobots.

Mister Six

Wayhey, a daffy and unpredictable end to the season! SPOILERS AHEAD




Glad I predicted the Dorothy twist, and look forward to her being integrated into the show next season. A bit of a waste of The Painting That Ate Paris, mind you, although I suppose they could come back to that one next season if they wanted (might seem a bit pointless though).

Not clear why Niles was so desperate for immortality if he'd not aged from the Victorian era up to the 1930s or whenever it was that he gave Rita the whatever-it-was. Feels like something that should have been explained, if only in the most cursory fashion.

Danny the Brick is from one of the post-Morrison runs (the Arcudi one?) so presumably they're looking a little further afield for their stories now - although they've got plenty to go on from Morrison alone. Presumably Danny knew about the plan and they didn't risk Danny's life without consent. Bit harsh in any case.

Delighted to say that I have no idea where the show is going from here. Presumably the Chief is going to be making amends to some extent, but other than that...? I would like to see a bit more conventional superheroing/world-saving, Decreator style, among the character work, though.

Still! Filming on season two begins next month, apparently, so everything is underway. Just eight-ish months to wait!

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Mister Six on May 25, 2019, 03:59:39 AM
Wayhey, a daffy and unpredictable end to the season! SPOILERS AHEAD

I loved it to pieces, it's just so beautifully mad and creative and weird and I'm going to miss it so much, it's easily been the highlight of my tv week since it started and there's been a lot of great stuff on elsewhere.

QuoteDelighted to say that I have no idea where the show is going from here. Presumably the Chief is going to be making amends to some extent, but other than that...? I would like to see a bit more conventional superheroing/world-saving, Decreator style, among the character work, though.

I agree with you there, for once I've enjoyed the origin stories aspect of the show but now they're a team I hope it's a little more action based, as long as that action is strange and fucked up and unpredictable. I hope we get more of Flex next year too, I missed him not being in it this week (which felt a bit odd as we last saw him on Danny) but otherwise I've no complaints.

QuoteStill! Filming on season two begins next month, apparently, so everything is underway. Just eight-ish months to wait!

That's good to hear, though it's going to be a long eight months, especially as most of the genre shows I love have either aired this year (The Magicians, Game Of Thrones) or aren't going to be back until 2020 (Doctor Who). Still, hopefully Good Omens will be fun, and some other stuff that's not on my radar will pop up.

Mister Six

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 25, 2019, 11:07:46 PM
I hope we get more of Flex next year too, I missed him not being in it this week (which felt a bit odd as we last saw him on Danny)

Danny's paper said that Flex had helped all of the Dannyzens to escape the chaos. Presumably he and they are out in the real world for now.

He still has some unfinished business with the Bureau of Normalcy, and they're presumably still around despite the Ant Farm being shut down, so I'm guessing he'll be back next season. I'd like to see him becoming a regular, but I guess with Dorothy (and Danny the Brick?) on the team now maybe that would make everything a bit cramped.

QuoteThat's good to hear, though it's going to be a long eight months, especially as most of the genre shows I love have either aired this year (The Magicians, Game Of Thrones) or aren't going to be back until 2020 (Doctor Who). Still, hopefully Good Omens will be fun, and some other stuff that's not on my radar will pop up.

Happy is good stuff, if you haven't seen that. And Legends of Tomorrow is great fun - and has a silliness and irreverence that are similar to Doom Patrol - but skip straight to the second season (and grit your teeth a bit - it doesn't quite reach its stride until the third season, although the last half of the second season is better than the first).

Ant Farm Keyboard

I had read conflicting reports about the status of season 2, especially given what's happened to Swamp Thing, but the Doom Patrol logo makes an appearance in the announcement clip for the HBO Max streaming service. Which strongly suggests that it's renewed.

Mister Six

Oh, thank god. Will hopefully get a wider audience now, too.

Alberon

It looks like the DC streaming service material will be available through HBO Max but it will continue in its own right. I can't see how that will work, ultimately.

Comic Con is around the corner so I'd expect we'll find out a lot more then about Doom Patrol's future.

Ant Farm Keyboard

DC Universe is both a streaming service and a library that features almost every back issue of the original comics, similar to Marvel Unlimited. AT&T may allow DC Universe to be a separate subscription for people who want to read the comics, while producing the shows with HBO Max in mind. That was apparently the main reason for which Swamp Thing was canceled. AT&T expected something more mainstream, like the eighties show, and they weren't willing to bankroll something that was darker with an emphasis on body horror. Doom Patrol had time to get some word of mouth, so it could be more of an asset for the main streaming service.

Mister Six

Quote from: Alberon on July 11, 2019, 02:45:11 PM
It looks like the DC streaming service material will be available through HBO Max but it will continue in its own right. I can't see how that will work, ultimately.

Comic Con is around the corner so I'd expect we'll find out a lot more then about Doom Patrol's future.

There's a DC Universe panel with Dianne Guerrero in attendance, so I imagine we will.

Mister Six

Quote from: Ant Farm Keyboard on July 11, 2019, 03:53:31 PM
DC Universe is both a streaming service and a library that features almost every back issue of the original comics, similar to Marvel Unlimited. AT&T may allow DC Universe to be a separate subscription for people who want to read the comics, while producing the shows with HBO Max in mind. That was apparently the main reason for which Swamp Thing was canceled. AT&T expected something more mainstream, like the eighties show, and they weren't willing to bankroll something that was darker with an emphasis on body horror. Doom Patrol had time to get some word of mouth, so it could be more of an asset for the main streaming service.

Pretty sure the reason Swamp Thing was cancelled was the tax rebate fuck-up that led to it going overbudget to the tune of $40 million.

Ant Farm Keyboard


Small Man Big Horse

That's fantastic news, and hopefully now HBO Max are showing it too it'll reach a wider audience.

Small Man Big Horse

Just thought I'd bump this as the show is now legally available to view in the UK via the Starzplay site / app - https://www.starz.com/gb/en/series - apparently you can sign up for just 99p for the first three months, and there's a free trial as well in case you've any doubts.

Mister Six

Hooray! Avidly awaiting season 2.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Mister Six on April 09, 2020, 07:36:01 PM
Hooray! Avidly awaiting season 2.

Likewise. Unfortunately shooting wasn't completed before they had to stop for the Coronavirus, but I'm hoping there's not too much left to do when they finally return.

Mister Six

Coronavirus has gone too far this time.