- "Ready for a story about super heroes? 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? Follow me."
- ―Eric Morden
| "Pilot" | |
|---|---|
| Series Doom Patrol Season 1, Episode 1 | |
| |
| Air date | February 15th, 2019 |
| Writers | Jeremy Carver |
| Director | Glen Winter |
| Producers | Tamara Becher; Greg Berlanti; Jeremy Carver; Marcus Dalzine; Chris Dingess; Dermott Downs; Geoff Johns; Jennifer Lence; Carl Ogawa; Daphne Raves; Neil Reynolds; Sarah Schechter; Glen Winter; Joanie L. Woehler |
| Starring | Diane Guerrero; April Bowlby; Alan Tudyk; Matt Bomer; Brendan Fraser; Timothy Dalton |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous — |
Next "Donkey Patrol" |
"Pilot" is the premiere episode of the Doom Patrol live action television series, which is based on characters featured in comic books published by DC Comics. The episode was directed by Glen Winter with a teleplay written by Jeremy Carver. It premiered on the DC Universe streaming service on Friday, February 15th, 2019.
Synopsis[]
Cliff Steele during his glory days.
A mysterious figure from the 1940s known as Doctor Eric Morden, the Nowhere Man, narrates the tale of four bizarre individuals who all came together under the care of a benefactor known as Niles Caulder and became the Doom Patrol. One member of this group is Cliff Steele. Cliff was once a wealthy and successful race car driver who was trapped in a bad marriage and had a young daughter named Clara. Cliff supposedly "died" during a tremendous wreck on the track, but even though his body was destroyed, his brain survived, and was placed into a robotic body by Niles Caulder.
Cliff recuperated at Caulder's isolated mansion estate, Doom Manor, where he met several other beneficiaries of Caulder's work. One is Larry Trainor - a former test pilot whose body was burned in a fiery crash and now has to wear special bandages around his body. Larry's accident mutated him to the point that he now housed an electrical energy being inside of him that could escape during times of stress and cause havoc. To keep his mind at peace, Larry now practice horticulture.
The other member of the Caulder household is Rita Farr. Rita was a silver screen starlet from the 1950s. While shooting a film in the Congo, she fell through a dock into the murky water below. She was exposed to some type of underwater element that transformed her on a physiological level. Now whenever Rita feels stress, her body begins to dissolve into a protoplasmic blob creature.
Years pass, and Cliff, Rita, and Larry continue to live in privacy at Doom Manor, none of them seemingly aging at all due to their unique biological properties. Cliff has the most difficult time of things, as it takes years of physical therapy just to be able to conduct mundane tasks. Cliff's memories are also somewhat scrambled and his recollection of how things played out at the time of the accident is less than accurate. Cliff eventually learns that Caulder lied to him about the state of his family. Cliff's body was not destroyed on the race track as he had thought. The Steele's were in an automobile accident on the way home from an event. Cliff's body was mutilated in the crash, and his wife was beheaded. His daughter Clara however, was still alive.
In the modern era, the Doom Patrol accepts a new member into the group. This is Kay Challis, also known as Crazy Jane. She suffers from multiple personality disorder and has sixty-four distinctive personalities inside her head, each one possessing a different super-power. One of her more dominant personalities is known as Hammerhead.
Crazy Jane and Robotman hit the streets.
Niles Caulder, also known as The Chief, goes on a trip to investigate some new bizarre occurance. He warns his charges that they are not to leave the estate. At Crazy Jane's urging however, they all decide to go out into the nearby town of Cloverton. They drive in Larry Trainor's lead-lined "Doom Bus".
Jane and Cliff sit on a park bench and observe the people around them. Larry Trainor goes to a bar and orders a beer. Rita Farr goes to a 1950s' themed restaurant to relive her glory days. Rita becomes stressed when she learns that rumors exist suggesting that Rita Farr left the Hollywood limelight to become a hardcore porn actress. Her face begins to melt, and this causes her additional anxiety, which intensifies the effect, transforming her into a giant blob monster that spills out onto the street. When Robotman and Larry Trainor realize what is happening, they try to help, which only succeeds in placing them into the public spotlight. They finally manage to contain Rita and get back to Doom Manor.
When The Chief returns, he chastises them all for disobeying his orders about leaving the estate. Cliff is still enraged at Caulder for lying to him about his family. The Chief tells him the truth about what happened, and states that he wanted to wait until the time was right to reveal the truth to him.
Later, the mysterious Mister Nobody, who doesn't seem to completely exist in this reality, communicates with Niles Caulder.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Also Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Riley Shanahan | Robotman |
| Matthew Zuk | Negative Man |
Guest Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Julie McNiven | Sheryl Trainor |
| Julian Richings | Heinrich von Fuchs |
| Kyle Clements | John Bowers |
Co-Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Alan Heckner | Bump Weathers |
| Sydney Kowalske | Clara Steele |
| Ashley Dougherty | Giselle |
| Katie Gunderson | Kate Steele |
| Monique Yvette Grant | Waitress |
| Juan Hernandez | Valet |
| Todd Allen Durkin | First assistant director |
| Peter Leake | Director |
| Daniel Baldock | Bartender |
| Quinten Johnson | Cop |
| Orelon Sidney | News reporter |
| James Fuertes | TV Tom |
| Jwaundace Candece | School bus driver |
| Caleb Williams | School bus kid #1 |
| Alton Williams | School bus kid #2 |
| Thomas Williams | School bus kid #3 |
| Vailana Antonucci | School bus kid #4 |
| Bryan Murphy | Edward |
| Amanda Martins | Wardrobe gal |
| Durrell Lyons | Focus puller |
| Justin James Boykin | Bus boy |
Notes & Trivia[]
- This series is rated TV-MA. It contains strong language, violence and nudity. Viewer discretion is advised.
- The Doom Patrol was created by writers Arnold Drake & Bob Haney and artist Bruno Premiani. They first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 in June, 1963, which was a comic book adventure anthology series published by DC Comics. This issue introduced the characters of Niles Caulder, Cliff Steele, Rita Farr, and Larry Trainor.
- The character of Eric Morden, aka Mister Nobody, was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani. He first appeared in Doom Patrol #86 in March, 1964. He first became Mister Nobody - the Virtual Man in Doom Patrol, Volume 2 #22 in May, 1989 in the fourth chapter of the "Crawling from the Wreckage" storyline.
- Kay Challis, also known as Crazy Jane, was created by writer Grant Morrison and artists Richard Case and Carlos Garzón. She first appeared in the first chapter of the "Crawling from the Wreckage" storyline in Doom Patrol, Volume 2 #19 in February, 1989.
- This is actually the second live-action appearance of the Doom Patrol. They first appeared in the fourth episode of the Titans TV series, "Doom Patrol". It should be noted that the two programs do not necessarily take place in the same continuity. In the Titans episode, Niles Caulder is played by Bruno Bichir. In the Doom Patrol series, he is played by Timothy Dalton.
- The main setting for this episode is the town of Cloverton in the U.S. state of Ohio. This is where Doom Manor is located.
- The original accident that destroyed Cliff Steele's body took place in Florida in 1988. He came online in Niles Caulder's laboratory in 1995.
- The airplane crash that burned Larry Trainor's body took place in California in 1961.
- Rita Farr was shooting her adventure film in the Republic of the Congo in Africa in 1955.
- This episode is production code number T50.10101.
- Actor James J. Fuertes is credited as James Fuertes in this episode.
Differences from the comics[]
- In the original comics, Cliff Steele's body was destroyed during an accident on the race track. This is provided as a false memory in the TV series, which later reveals that he "died" in an automobile accident with his family.
- In the original comics, Larry Trainor was heterosexual. In the TV series, he is a homosexual, who had a male lover in the United States Air Force. The concept of alternative lifestyles was not explored in comics from the 1960s.
- In the original comics, Rita Farr has the power of size alteration. She could compress her mass to become only a few inches tall, or she could expand her body to become a giant. This power also worked as a localized affect, meaning she could make her hand super-big while the rest of her remained normal sized. On the TV series, Rita Farr transforms into a blob monster.
- In the comics, Larry Trainor and Rita Farr went by the code names of Negative Man and Elasti-Girl. Negative Man actually refers to the energy being that comes out of Larry Trainor's body. The name is not used in this episode. Also, Rita Farr is not referred to as Elasti-Girl in this episode. This is likely done to avoid confusion with the character of Helen Parr, aka Elasti-Girl, from The Incredibles animated film projects.
- In the comics, Rita Farr gained her powers by inhaling strange vapors given off by a dormant volcano. In this episode, she swallows some strange glowing element that is underwater.
- On the TV series, none of the main characters, including Niles Caulder, seem to age over the course of several decades. Rita and Cliff's lack of aging is easily explained as a by-product of their conditions. We never see Larry Trainor's face, so it is unknown as yet whether he has aged at all. The Chief appears to have aged very little over the course of twenty years.
Allusions[]
- Cliff Steele wears a leather jacket with metal shoulder clamps in this episode. This is similar to the jacket that he wore during Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol, Volume 2.
- Cliff Steele wears a Motörhead t-shirt in this episode. Motörhead is an English hard rock band that rose to prominence in the late 1970s.
- Rita Farr's clothing towards the end of the episode is a red and white combination, which is the same color scheme as the original Doom Patrol costumes from the 1960s.
- The scene where Crazy Jane ("The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter") is painting in the rain is taken directly from her introductory appearance in Doom Patrol, Volume 2 #19.
Unanswered questions[]
- What the f@$k is with the donkey? Stay tuned! This question is answered in the aptly named second episode, "Donkey Patrol"!
See also[]
External Links[]
References[]
1940s | 1948 | 1950s | 1955 | 1980s | 1988 | 1990s | 1995 | Africa | Aircraft | Automobile accidents | Bartender | Bio-conversion | Bus | California | Child | Cloverton | Crash landings | Crazy Jane | Doom Bus | Doom Manor | Doom Patrol | Driver | Female topless nudity | Flashback | Florida | Nazis | Ohio | Paraguay | Photographer | Police officer | Profanity | Race car | Radiation emission | Reporter | Republic of the Congo | Robotman | Robots | Scientific experimentation | South America | Superhuman strength | Transformation | United States Air Force | Villager | Waitress | Wheelchair