“Doom Patrol — part support group, part superhero team — is a band of superpowered freaks fighting for a world that wants nothing to do with them.”

Rotten Tomatoes

This show is warm and inviting, funny and comforting. Like your favourite worn out jersey, a most comfortable couch, or a late afternoon stroll with a friend. It doesn’t take itself too seriously either.

The humour is both fast and biting, dark yet every so often endearing. Listen closely as the one-liners fly, especially when Cliff and Jane are having a moment.

The zaniness is apparent in the characters and the plots. I mean Danny is a street that communicates through banners and street signs and Mr Nobody, the uber villain, was trapped in a white painting. Then there was the journey through the donkey’s arse…

Back to the characters. Cliff is the bumbling idiot with the foulest mouth, the brain that was rescued and built into a robot. He is especially endearing when he is happy and lets out a high-pitched yell. His leather jacket and heavy metal-themed t-shirts frame his personality.

Then there is Rita with the grace of an actress from a black and white silent movie who struggles with the mundane, with not being famous. The 1950s styling is once again spot on.

Vic is Cyborg, a half human, half robot, a hothead who rushes in without thinking, but always with good intent. His camo pants/tracksuits and running shoes says it all.

Larry is the tragic closet case who needs to be wrapped in bandages to prevent himself from radiating others to death. His life-long struggle…

Jane is probably the most intriguing. She has multiple personalities due to childhood trauma, but the way in which they compete to be the primary, to be the one that goes ‘above ground’ is fascinating. They are played to great effect by one actress who, apart form minor changes in clothes, must embody each personality, each component that makes up the psyche of a frightened girl.

Which brings me to the incredible use of symbolism in the series. Jane’s subconscious is an underground train, and every personality has their own stop. Over the course of three seasons the recurring theme of puzzles is fascinating – her aggressor being made of puzzle pieces, the characters having to build puzzles, and the child being one big puzzle herself.

It goes without saying the acting, production values, limited focus photography and colour grading are all top notch. Yet it falls away when the script and characters are this delicious, this human.