Batman: The Animated Series

[Avaitor]

And now Boyd Kirkland died.

He was one of the show's best directors, and made some great episodes of not just BTAS, but Evolution as well.

Looks like I need to have another mini-marathon right now. "Beware the Great Ghost", "Harley and Ivy", "Perchance to Dream", and either "Second Chance" or "I Am the Night". I'll also add "On Angel's Wings" from Evo if it's still on YouTube

I'd add Subzero to that if I owned it. Actually, I think it's on Netflix, so I can.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

He's the guy who directed my favorite episode in the entire series, along with many of my favorite BTAS episodes in general. May he rest in piece.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Oh damn, what a loss. As soon as I saw the name I knew exactly who it was. This is a true shame.

[gunswordfist]

And now Boyd Kirkland died.

He was one of the show's best directors, and made some great episodes of not just BTAS, but Evolution as well.

Looks like I need to have another mini-marathon right now. "Beware the Great Ghost", "Harley and Ivy", "Perchance to Dream", and either "Second Chance" or "I Am the Night". I'll also add "On Angel's Wings" from Evo if it's still on YouTube

I'd add Subzero to that if I owned it. Actually, I think it's on Netflix, so I can.

Oh damn....I just came here to talk about how I watched I Am The Night (and Almost Got 'Im) again a few days ago and loved it. That's some sad news.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I just re-watched Perchance to Dream, and it was indeed a brilliant episode. I really loved how it used a dream-world to explore Bruce's psyche. Though, I have to admit that the ending of the episode kind of reminds me that I have to judge this show on a surreal level sometimes rather than on a common sense level (don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing in any way, but just something that I have noticed about the series in general). In this case the Mad Hatter was willing to give Bruce the illusion of the perfect life that he wanted to keep him out of his, which was a great twist in a surreal way, but at the same time it makes me wonder why he would be willing to go that far when he had Batman in the perfect position where he could just kill him (and we've seen before that Mad Hatter is far from one of the most "honorable" villains that Batman has ever faced), or at the very least remove his mask to learn of his identity. That said, ignoring that little aspect of the episode, the rest of it was brilliantly constructed. It sure is a shame that we lost such amazing talent in the passing of Boyd Kirkland. He was truly one of the greatest minds in the animation industry of our time.

[Avaitor]

I don't think the Hatter was that clever to think about killing Batman when he had that chance. That or he was able to read Bruce's mind, and thought that teasing him like he did would be far more cruel than just offing him.

I'd also mention that it's a kids show and just trying to kill a character would be taboo, but then I remember the Joker and Bane's existence, as well as "Over the Edge", and realize that this isn't the case.

Still, it's an enjoyable episode, and if Mad Hatter killed Batman, we wouldn't have it. He had the opportunity to, but I don't think we're supposed to dwell on that.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I always thought that Hatter was more about control than anything else ever since we saw his origin. So that's why it never seemed odd to me that he would rather control Batman's mind instead of kill him. Jarvis wasn't exactly the most rational thinking character, anyway.

As for the identity, as weird as it is, I think he just doesn't care about it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Its true that he never seemed to care about Bruce's identity, but as for not wanting to kill him, I think its only fair to point out that he has tried to kill Batman in future episodes (well, its not ever directly stated, but its pretty heavily implied), in how there are certain times when he controls other people and tries to have them act to "eliminate" Batman, so while I'm sure he would prefer to control someone else over kill them (even Batman), I don't quite think that he's at all opposed to the idea of killing if that's the better option for him.

I'm not saying that it really hurts the quality of the episode, though. Naturally, I already acknowledge the fact that BTAS had a ton of restrictions to deal with as it was being broadcast as a kid's show (even though it was meant just as much for older audiences, and in the case of some episodes it was meant more for older audiences than the kids themselves), but in some cases I do think that the show could have written some parts a bit differently to make certain aspects of the show seem more likely. I'm not saying that Mad Hatter should have killed Batman (that would just be stupid, even if it was allowed), so I think you kind of misread me on that part, Avaitor. What I meant was that the episode probably could have benefited by giving a tad bit more of an explanation as to why he would have preferred to go through such a complex method to try and get control of Batman's mind. I don't mean a lot of exposition, because that would be a bad thing as well, but just a slight amount to make it a bit more convincing. That said, Hatter was always one of Batman' more minor villains for a reason, so I find it easier to look past his shortcomings as a villain since he's clearly not meant to be one of the great minds of the series among the bad guys, anyways.

[gunswordfist]

I just re-watched Perchance to Dream, and it was indeed a brilliant episode. I really loved how it used a dream-world to explore Bruce's psyche. Though, I have to admit that the ending of the episode kind of reminds me that I have to judge this show on a surreal level sometimes rather than on a common sense level (don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing in any way, but just something that I have noticed about the series in general). In this case the Mad Hatter was willing to give Bruce the illusion of the perfect life that he wanted to keep him out of his, which was a great twist in a surreal way, but at the same time it makes me wonder why he would be willing to go that far when he had Batman in the perfect position where he could just kill him (and we've seen before that Mad Hatter is far from one of the most "honorable" villains that Batman has ever faced), or at the very least remove his mask to learn of his identity. That said, ignoring that little aspect of the episode, the rest of it was brilliantly constructed. It sure is a shame that we lost such amazing talent in the passing of Boyd Kirkland. He was truly one of the greatest minds in the animation industry of our time.

I think Mad Hatter only wanted Alice's boyfriend dead at that point (I think?) but once I think of it, having Batman on nothing but a operation table and that dream helmet or whatever is not to bright. What was the Mad Hatter going to do? Stand there for the rest of his life and let Batman dream until he dies of old age....erm I mean dehydration?

[Foggle]

I consider the new Batman games to be a spin-off of/sequel to TAS, and I'm also posting this here because you should watch this trailer even if you don't like video games.

Anyone else's pants tighten during it?

[Aurora]

My biggest complaint with this series is how episodic it was. Not much, continuity exist besides the obvious ones. It defiantly, could have benefited a little from longer story arcs that'd last a couple of episodes. Having said that thought it's still an amazing show, and I always watched religiously as, a kid. I can't believe how many things went over my head back then, that I understand now though. 

Also while, it's heavily criticized for "selling out" I love the "New Adventures". I never understood why many said it was a weaker series. In terms of character designs.....yeah, I can see why to some extent. I also didn't like some of them. But, the stories were just as, strong if not even superior to some of the earlier ones.

Come at me haters! 

[Avaitor]

I don't think TNBA deserved a lot of the hate it got, either. Sure, it had some fairly weak scripts, but it's not like the original's track record was any bit perfect, either. A handful of the episodes would fit in with BTAS just fine (they were dropping the noir aspects around the time Robin joined full-time, anyway), and I think that "Over the Edge" and "Mad Love" stand up to the best of the series.

The redesigns are a bit hit or miss, however. I don't mind Batman's and actually really like Batgirl's, but Joker and Catwoman's didn't work for me, and Mr. Freeze looked a little too sleek for my liking. I'd get more into each one, but it's been a while since I pulled out volume 4, so my memory is fading a little there.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I also like TNBA. Sure the redesigns are hit and miss, and some episodes are weak, there's a lot of good in there.

[gunswordfist]

So during the last two days, I've been watching Volume 3 disc 1. During the Ra's Al Ghul 2 parter  (which I finally got to enjoy for the first time since I didn't appreciate the show as a kid.) I realized that I missed a disc or 2 again. Oh well, I benefit either way. Anyway, I barely remember the episode from years ago but the whole Batman mustn't walk in front of Ra's part is something I definitely didn't forget. I did forget that Ra's was an tree hugging terrorist until I read some article or something about 3 years ago.

[Spark Of Spirit]

As Avaitor knows, I've been watching the DVDs again.

I know some people like to bring up that the series wasn't always episodes like Heart Of Ice or Two Face, but in my mind... The show is very rarely boring. Even episodes like Night Of The Ninja I can still get some enjoyment out of, even if it isn't top tier. The only episodes (I'm smack in the middle of volume 2) I have outright skipped was Be A Clown and I've Got Batman In My Basement. They are awful, awful episodes, but outside of them I have gotten at least some enjoyment out of about every other episode.

IMO, it really does deserve the #2 spot on our list and claim of best action show. There's rarely ever an outright miss.