Batman: The Animated Series

[Avaitor]

I'm not too worried about Abrams, it sounds like he won't have too big of a role. He generally works better as a producer as opposed to when he's actually behind the director's chair.

I'm more concerned about Timm, since it really feels like his judgement has gone off the deep end in recent years. He really needs someone with a clearer head to balance him out, like Dini or Alan Burnett. Hoping Brubaker will do just that.

[Dr. Insomniac]

To be fair to Timm, it's been a while since he's produced a TV show, and I remember GLTAS was well-liked. Making TV shows and making movies, even DTV movies, require different creative muscles. Think of how many really good TV showrunners make a movie, and it's either got holes in it or it's mediocre.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Had no idea where to put this since he's been in thousands of things, and his portrayal of Ra's was a mere drip in the bucket that was his career ranging from Sam Peckinpah films to Doctor Who radio plays, and of course all his countless villain roles in 90s cartoons, but RIP David Warner.

For a while, I've thought about how the cartoons of the 90s/early 00s were defined by having characters played by Warner, Curry, and/or Jay show up to terrorize the main characters. It was always that trifecta of classically trained actors. And now that Warner and Jay have passed and Curry retired from that stroke, that era's gone.

[Avaitor]

Warner's had a hell of a career, but Ra's al Ghul and The Lobe will always be among the first roles that come to mind for me.

And we haven't quite had something like that trifecta since, have we? Granted, there are a couple of actors who have done notable villain work from the 90's and since, like Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown and Keith David, but they're a little more sporadic in those roles and don't have quite the same background.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I guess Malcolm McDowell. He fits the same mold as them of being a Shakespearean actor playing cartoon villains on a regular basis, regardless if the cartoon's any good. Lena Headey too.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So yeah, in case anybody hasn't heard, Caped Crusader will probably a Hulu/Netflix/Apple show in the future because of WB's ongoing implosion. And while it's cool it's still coming out, WB abandoning a Batman series with Matt Reeves and JJ Abrams on it is one of the most confusing decisions they've made in the past few weeks.

[Avaitor]

I wouldn't be surprised if this comes back to HBO Max after Zaslav is (soon, hopefully) laid off. But this just shows how he and his crew undervalue not just animation, but entertainment as a whole.

[Dr. Insomniac]

To honor the occasion, Matt Draper released his list of Top 30 BTAS episodes.

[Dr. Insomniac]

God fucking damn it, Kevin Conroy's gone.

[Avaitor]

This one hurts.

Maybe we should do that B:TAS retrospective after all. I initially walked back from that idea since I already have a lot going on and struggle to find time to watch The Simpsons and Buffy.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I know it's always sad news whenever we hear of the passing of a beloved icon, but this one in particular hits me on an emotional level given how big a part of my adolescent years he was as "My Batman" be it in BTAS, Batman Beyond, or JLU, and even if I was mostly just lukewarm on them, I loved hearing him in the Arkham games as well.

This is going to sit with me for a while. Hopefully his family and loved ones manage to cope with the loss.

[Dr. Insomniac]

In hindsight, the comic of his DC published back in June feels like a self-eulogy now.

In case nobody's listened to it yet, Michael Rosenbaum did an interview with Kevin Conroy on his podcast a couple years ago.

[Avaitor]

Caped Crusader finds a new home- Prime.

[Avaitor]

With the recent passing of Michael Reaves, now's as good of a time as any to ask if there is interest in trying that weekly BTAS retrospective we mentioned before? Marqus and I are interested in giving it a shot if there's enough people who are willing to tag along. This will only be one episode at a time, maybe just an informal post on here how you feel about it, similar to what we did with YYH a few years ago.

[TheDisneyPlayhouse]

I wouldn't mind reading what you and Marcus have to say about the episodes of BTAS. I think it would be interesting