Friday, December 2, 2022

Doom Patrol 4: Immortality Against Time

I'm ecstatic and then some that Doom Patrol: Season 4 lands this Dec 8 on HBO Max. Its trailers promise more over-the-rainbow surrealism, which is right up my alley, and thanks to the prior three seasons, the concept has collected quite a few fans even beyond its DC comic-book blueprint.

This season will touch upon themes and schemes related to a puzzling, "immortality" project, time travel, 12 Monkeys dystopia and something about jellyfish and downtrodden ghosts. The flamboyant cast is geared and steered to tickle each of these wacky nooks and crannies along the frayed way: Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan as the foul-mouthed Robotman; Timothy Dalton as the tormented Dr. Niles Caulder; Abi Monterey as his sweet, hybrid daughter, Dorothy Spinner; Diane Guerro as personality-twirling Crazy Jane; Joivan Wade as the bliss-seeking Cyborg; Mark Sheppard as the bunny-employed Willoughby Kipling; Matt Boomer and Dwain Murphy as the symbiotic-Keeg-wrought Negative Man; Michelle Gomez as the temper-bottled outsider-fitting-in, Madame Rouge; John Briddell as the diabolical, rotting-dead Darren Jones; and last but not least, heart-throbbing favorite, April Bowlby as the limb-springing/face-drooping Elasti-Woman, now in a temporary, leader-by-default role. Oh, and to up the eccentricity, Madeline (Twin Peaks/Californication) Zima's gadgety Casey Brinke (aka Space Case) hops aboard to insert some garish, Doctor Who-ish complexity, and for the psychological end, Timeca Serreti's Doctor Janus does a swell job screwing with the team's past perceptions. 

The previous, interconnecting plots often swung sideways, which has proven a huge part of the series' appeal. Doom Patrol is as dream-like as it's crass, as pensive as it's comedic. It's a top-shelf, ricocheting gift, strengthened by its superb quirks, which will no doubt make Season 4's eternal time-sliding super-favorable, in particular if those feral, ass-monsters (aka were-butts) reappear (and they will, albeit zombie-fied). And what of the scene-changing Danny? I'd bet a shiny, red dime on "his" spectral return, as well. 

Yep, I'm big-time anxious to see how it all rolls, and that's because I know my kooky, ol' chums will ensure such and at full, Dali-esque throttle, at that. 

Doom Patrol restarts Dec 8. (What a spirited way to usher the Christmas season, eh?)

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