Everyone knows this episode is a backdoor pilot for a Dead Boy Detective Agency series, right? I have to admit, this episode whetted my appetite for such a series. But... apparently the actors here have been recast. I doubt we'll be so fortunately as to get the equivalent of Timothy Dalton replacing the Chief's actor from the 'Teen Titans' pilot. Any such Dead Boy series doesn't strike me as having much potential without Ty Tennant, Sebastian Croft, and Madalyn Horcher. They're just so perfect in their roles here. And presumably the new series will have to incorporate Abi Monterey, as Dorothy leaves with the agency here.
The mains are good, as we get more explanation into the lives of Cliff, Jane, and Vic. My only gripe is that the whole thing with Vic starts up the whole "Silas screwed him up" subplot again. I'd like to see Vic do something not related to that subplot. The Roni thing looked promising last season, but it's been subsumed into the STAR Labs/Silas subplot with is Vic's main plot. It still sticks out like a sore thumb with everyone else's subplots. Everyone else has personal issues, and Vic has... daddy issues. *sigh* Move on, folks: I'm getting the impression the production staff doesn't know what else to do with Vic, so they keep going back to this well.
Mainly the episode was good because of the little bits. The Dorothy/Crystal interaction was surprisingly touching, as was Danny the Ambulance and Dorothy's reaction to the Agency. ("Don't be dotty.") I'll be sad to see her go. She was more the focus of the season 2 weirdness, rather than reacting to the weirdness that happens to the team apart from her. Here Dorothy got a chance to show off her reaction, and it added a new dynamic to the character.
I also liked how Matts Zuk and Bomer got a chance to do more here than just be a personification of the show's "it's not bad being gay" subtones. I don't think the "Spirt leaves Larry" aspect was made very clear, but at least it gives Larry something to _do_. The bit where he gave advice to Edwin was about as much as I'd rather see, although the bit where Crystal hit him over the head was cute, too.
There was also bit where Larry wrapped his dead teammates' corpses in bandages and propped them up at the dinner table. I don't see Larry being so... strange before. I think that previous writers, and the production staff, have forgotten that Larry is more than just a gay man and has family issues. He's also the strangest of the strange group that make up the Patrol. Cliff is the everyman, Vic is the wannabe superhero (and superteam leader), and Rita is stuck in the 50s and lack of knowing what her "real" identity is. The strangeness of wrapping corpses up in bandages and putting them at the dinner table is so... Doom Patrol-ish. But I couldn't imagine but Larry doing it.
Overall, "Dead Patrol" was a neat little peak into each member's psyche. Or a revisit to their issues, in the case of Vic. And a decent setup for the Agency series, although I'm not big on them bring reality-warper Dorothy into the fold.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
The mains are good, as we get more explanation into the lives of Cliff, Jane, and Vic. My only gripe is that the whole thing with Vic starts up the whole "Silas screwed him up" subplot again. I'd like to see Vic do something not related to that subplot. The Roni thing looked promising last season, but it's been subsumed into the STAR Labs/Silas subplot with is Vic's main plot. It still sticks out like a sore thumb with everyone else's subplots. Everyone else has personal issues, and Vic has... daddy issues. *sigh* Move on, folks: I'm getting the impression the production staff doesn't know what else to do with Vic, so they keep going back to this well.
Mainly the episode was good because of the little bits. The Dorothy/Crystal interaction was surprisingly touching, as was Danny the Ambulance and Dorothy's reaction to the Agency. ("Don't be dotty.") I'll be sad to see her go. She was more the focus of the season 2 weirdness, rather than reacting to the weirdness that happens to the team apart from her. Here Dorothy got a chance to show off her reaction, and it added a new dynamic to the character.
I also liked how Matts Zuk and Bomer got a chance to do more here than just be a personification of the show's "it's not bad being gay" subtones. I don't think the "Spirt leaves Larry" aspect was made very clear, but at least it gives Larry something to _do_. The bit where he gave advice to Edwin was about as much as I'd rather see, although the bit where Crystal hit him over the head was cute, too.
There was also bit where Larry wrapped his dead teammates' corpses in bandages and propped them up at the dinner table. I don't see Larry being so... strange before. I think that previous writers, and the production staff, have forgotten that Larry is more than just a gay man and has family issues. He's also the strangest of the strange group that make up the Patrol. Cliff is the everyman, Vic is the wannabe superhero (and superteam leader), and Rita is stuck in the 50s and lack of knowing what her "real" identity is. The strangeness of wrapping corpses up in bandages and putting them at the dinner table is so... Doom Patrol-ish. But I couldn't imagine but Larry doing it.
Overall, "Dead Patrol" was a neat little peak into each member's psyche. Or a revisit to their issues, in the case of Vic. And a decent setup for the Agency series, although I'm not big on them bring reality-warper Dorothy into the fold.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
