02.06
How does one even start to describe a show like The Brave & The Bold? If you aren’t familiar with the Silver Age of comics, the Superfriends, or the old Adam West Batman show, then I can’t imagine how anyone could explain to you what it’s like. The best way would be that it’s about campy superheroes of all kinds of shapes and sizes cracking one liners and doing battle with the forces of evil. Just imagine those old 80s action cartoons only with great writing and execution and instead of the headache inducing cliches, you get a fresh and original take on everyone’s favorite bat-obsessed hero.
First of all for those of you “purists” out there who have never seen this show, let me just say this: The Brave & The Bold is not Batman: The Animated Series, and that is a very good (no, it’s GREAT) thing. While BTAS is considered by many as the best action cartoon (or just show) off all time, B&TB is not trying to be that show. Instead it is written as an epic adventure with a crazy cast of characters, perfectly crafted humor, and surprisingly strong writing. B&TB benefits so much from not having to outdo the great show from the 90s, that in many fans minds it is it’s equal for purely being high quality on it’s own merits without aping what has come before. High praise indeed.
It even separates itself from the older campy material by throwing in rather dark turns and some high quality performances you might not expect from a show of this type, making each episode a truly unpredictable experience. So what you get is an unpredictable mash up of everything that is great about superheroes, adventure shows, and comedy in one tight package. In summation, if you’re not watching this show, you really are missing one of the best shows of the past decade.
In these episodes you’ll see Batman team up with the Blue Beetle to rescue an alien world full of cute globs, fight against a giant planet controlled by Despero with Guy Gardner in a giant suit of Green Lantern armor, become a spirit and possess Speedy (Green Arrow’s sidekick) in order to save his body and stop the Gentleman Ghost, turn into a giant bat monster and kick the ever loving stuffing out of a giant warship and an evil ninja shadow clan, and travel to a parallel dimension to rescue the Red Hood (?!) from himself (!?)… And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
The adventures themselves are spectacular, but what really works is the fact that Batman rarely goes through them alone. Every partner (ranging from Deadman to Aquaman) Batman teams up with is terrific in how they all vary tremendously from each other and have their own distinct personalities. Truthfully, this is as much their show as it is Batman’s show, and helps really make it unique from not only other Batman shows (barring one season of The Batman that was… pretty sub par) but most other action shows currently on the air. Personally, I think if you ever were a kid or have the spirit of adventure in your heart (No, I’m not apologizing for that cheesy line) then there really is no way you can dislike this show, and you should look into it ASAP.
This DVD set includes the first 13 episodes from the show’s first season. There are no actual bonus features, and the packaging is pretty much frills free. However, the entry price is low and EVERY SINGLE episode on here is worth the cost. Normally it would be hard to recommend something like this if it was a weaker show, but the amount of entertainment and replay value on this set is so high, that it really doesn’t matter. The video and sound quality is crystal clear, meaning the only negative against the set itself would be the lack of extras.
So what you’ve got here is a high quality show for a low price meaning that it’s pretty easy to see that I give this my fullest recommendation. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Just don’t expect anything extra other than the episodes on this set.
Originally posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010.