Yes, They are Dead, Boys and Detectives...But That's Not All

 

One would think with a show name like "The Dead Boy Detectives" the title would point out everything needed to understand the show.

However, there is a great deal more going on.

Because of weird contracty things, this show is a spin off of series airing on two different networks. It combines some of the best elements of both.

The characters were introduced in Max's Doom Patrol.

However, with the DC Movie and Television universe being rewritten, its development channel hopped over to Netflix allowing a connection to the TV series based on the comic book the characters originated in- Sandman.

The show has the high speed, whole lot of crazy happening vibe of Doom Patrol.

However, it also has the everything is real mythology (and supernatural) aspect of Sandman. Nicely, it has a very distinct set of rules for supernatural things, which are always important for the arcane and paranormal.

It packed a great deal in only eight episodes.

True to its title, just about every episode is some supernaturally connected detective tale which the gang needs to solve. There's also an overreaching arc with some powerful foes, although there's a mix of which one could be said to be the main problem of this season with many surprises and turns as things progress.

The cast is fantastic, bringing real emotions and believability to all the wild goings on.

There is a very literary "Holmes and Watson" relationship between the main two, who, yes, are ghosts. Edwin who died in 1916, is stuffier, brilliant and tries to be more stoic.  Charles died in the Eighties, and while intelligent lacks Edwin's book learning and powers of observation. However, he is more street smart, and physically capable.

I could try to continue the analogies, but aside from "Mrs. Hudson is a heavily tattooed, goth, butcher named Jenny," it kind of ends there.

The boys have other allies which join up with them as the season continues. Their first case in the show is to help, Crystal Palace (yes, Anabelle, I know) -an amnesiac, psychic and former demonic possession victim who joins the merry gang, proving her self useful in mundane and spiritual ways. There's also Niko, an overly perky Manga and Scooby Doo fan with her own supernatural problems who maintains continuous optimism about people (and things). The pluses and minuses (and how the former outweigh the latter) of that optimism are central to her character arc. Jenny joins in as the one adult mixed in with the gang too. Everyone's romantic life is a complete disaster, but that's fine as the show focuses more on friendships and their importance, which usually leads to more complex and interesting interactions than straight romance does. This is true for normal people, never mind a mix that included ghosts, minor gods, and transformed sea mammals.

The individual cases are well handled and diverse, and the over reaching story builds as the episodes pass to a wild climax. As a bonus, since the main protagonists are already ghosts, character death is less of a concern than it normally would be.

There's a mess of other ghosts, random demons, varied level dieties and random freaky things. (Who are also often people.) There is a wicked witch (who is terrifying and a hoot), a magic store owner who used to be a walrus, some foul mouthed fairies, an awesome and mellow guy who lives in a giant fish, afterlife bureaucrats, the cat king and his subjects, a crow living as a boy, a couple of cameos by the Endless and a tour of hell. (Which is always intriguing in any version of the DC universe. It was smart of them to make Hell much more confusing, claustrophobic and terrifying when seen from a human's perspective than from the perspective of the powerful entities of Sandman.)

Come on! What more could one ask for?

I'm really hoping for a second season...

If only to know more about the guy in the fish. I love that guy.