Batman: The Animated Series

[Daikun]

A bit of recent sad news: The voice actors for Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow have passed away.

[Foggle]

R.I.P.

[Lord Il]

Damn, I always feel kinda sad to hear of news like this. V/As, screen actors, musicians, all artists of different media encountered in the past  - doesn't matter, the impact is the same. But with the work they've done, they're indeed immortalized forever.

[gunswordfist]

A bit of recent sad news: The voice actors for Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow have passed away.

R.I.P.

[Avaitor]

So this happened.

Damn, I want that poster.

[Avaitor]

I've been thinking, and I have to say that it's a bit of a missed opportunity that DC has never made a series of paperbacks collecting most of the original Batman comics which inspired episodes of the show. This obviously would've made more sense to have been released back in the day, but even now, I think DCAU fans who aren't super familiar with the comics would be interested in something like this.

I do remember reading that something similar was done with some of Carl Barks' Scrooge stories for DuckTales fans a few years ago, and you'd think that there would be more of a market to do this for B:TAS. As well as similar ones for S:TAS and Justice League.

[Dr. Insomniac]

And which comics would they use, for example? Since I'm not sure if fans of Heart of Ice will want an old comic about Mister Zero.

[Foggle]

There were DC Comics before the New 52?

[Avaitor]

And which comics would they use, for example? Since I'm not sure if fans of Heart of Ice will want an old comic about Mister Zero.

Well no, there's no reason to put in an older Mr. Freeze comic, since Paul Dini basically invented the Mr. Freeze people care about. But some stories that come to mind include-

Detective Comics #457- ?There Is No Hope In Crime Alley!?, which "Appointment in Crime Alley" is inspired by
Batman #251- ?The Joker?s Five-Way Revenge!?
Detective Comics #475- ?The Laughing Fish!?, both of these were the basis for "The Laughing Fish"
And of course, "Mad Love"

There's gotta be plenty more, and the odd origin or two which hold up well enough to be worth including.

There were DC Comics before the New 52?

Yep, Infinite Crisis!

[Avaitor]

Hey, remember when Spark did episode-by-episode recaps of King of the Hill? And remember when I promised I'd try to tank each season of the DCAU shows? Well, I'm going to try to combine two and two together (or not) and do similar recaps for each B:TAS episode. I'm going to do this two discs at a time, so I should hopefully be done with these after 8 posts. And I'll probably just skip the movies, since those are easier to talk about at full length.

Volume 1, Disc 1-

"On Leather Wings"- Just read this. I really should try to bring this series back, huh? I'll try in the near future. To quickly recap (even more than usual), this is a solid first episode, if far from the series' best. Still, it's hard to really knock it.

"Christmas with the Joker'- Confession time- I have a bit of nostalgia for this. This is one of the handful of episodes that I distinctly remember watching and enjoying from childhood. And I still kind of like it. That said, as a first episode for the Joker, this doesn't really work at all. His humorous sensibility is down, but it's basically like he treats everything as a joke. This is a problem because while everything may be a joke to the Joker, he takes his crimes seriously. Not without a laugh, mind you, but it'll take a while for the character to be perfected.

"Nothing to Fear"- This is considered by some (including EK) to be the first really good episode of the show, and while I wouldn't put it among the best, I do agree with the mentality. This one delves into Bruce's mental being, particularly his grief over the murder of his parents, which is wonderfully used while we're introduced to the Scarecrow. And yes, the "I am the vengeance" scene is one of the best sequences of the show.

"The Last Laugh"- This is another one I have nostalgia for, and while I don't think it's terrible, this is an even weaker Joker episode than the previous one. A damn silly one, too. But eh, I laugh a couple of times here, and unlike some of the worst episodes, I don't cringe at all. I'd have to give it a thumbs down, but it isn't really the pits.

"Pretty Poison"- Alright, here we go. The first origin villain story we see unravel over the show, and it's a pretty decent episode, too. It's also a great idea to have Harvey be Pam's date in the episode. This will come back later in the show with some great bits. Also, Tom Ruegger (yes, Mr. Animaniacs) wrote this one. While he has story credit on other episodes, this is one of the few teleplays I can find that he wrote while I go over the episodes, and it's quite better than the stories he contributed to.

"The Underdwellers"- This one is, yeah, pretty stupid. The Sewer King's a lame villain. The kids were a lame addition. Alfred's dialogue to that one kid in particular was lamely written. This is a lame episode.

"P.O.V."- The Rashomon method has been done countless times in animation, and while this isn't one of its strongest usages (Ed, Edd n' Eddy and Powerpuff Girls still have the best to my tastes, not to mention "A Firefightin' We Will Go"), I think it works well here. The three characters used, Bullock in particular, are well-defined during their stories, as the Batman myths shared across the show are present here. No two people agree on what he's truly like.

Volume 1, Disc 2-

"The Forgotten"- Honestly? I've forgotten about this one.

"Be a Clown"- Our third Joker episode, and it's another weak one. I'd say it's the weakest so far, actually. While I give the episode kudos for attempting to give Mayor Hill some development, his relationship with his son (who I never recall seeing again, btw), comes off as one-sided and half-assed, even after the resolution, while the son's story with the Joker is equally uninspired.

Also,

Two-Face- The first two-parter, and wow, what an episode. The first part is the episode most consider to be the superior one, which delves into Harvey's psyche in an extraordinarily rich matter, not just for a "kid's show", but in a way that the best dramas on TV would kill to make. It also wisely cuts down on Bat-time, letting Harvey have the story and make the audience acquainted with him before his change. Part two is still strong, as Two-Face is fully introduced into the show, and we go back into Bruce's world, as he wrestles with his new-found grief over what happened to his friend. Of course, we don't spend TOO much time on psychological issues, and there's plenty of super hero stuff for the kiddies, but it's all handled well. I think the episodes lose a little luster on repeat viewings, but it's hard to deny their impact and overall quality.

"It's Never Too Late"- While the previous episodes bordered on becoming a little too heavy for a kid's show, this one is basically an anti-drug PSA written for an audience which should be too old for Saturday morning cartoons. I think this one is well-meaning, but it doesn't have the punch to feel like a dynamite B:TAS episode. Not a bad episode at all, but hardly a classic.

"I've Got Batman in My Basement"- Unlike the last episode, however, I don't have to mince words with this one- it sucks. And I think kids knew that it sucked when they first saw it, too. I don't even like the Penguin usually, but he deserved a better debut than this. Easily one of the worst.

"Heart of Ice"- And then we go from one of the undisputed worst to one of the undisputed best. A perfect way to end this post, actually, and hopefully I don't have to get into why this one is such a masterpiece.

I'll try to do the next part soon!

[talonmalon333]

Great post, Avaitor. I really like how Harvey is introduced before his origin episode.

Heart of Ice might be in my top 3 favorite episodes of the entire series.

EDIT: Also what happened in I've Got Batman in My Basement? That seems to be a unanimously hated episode on this forum, but I don't even remember what happened in the episode. Maybe my memory intentionally blocked it out?

[Spark Of Spirit]

The beginning of BTAS had a lot of people pulling for it to go in separate directions. Episodes like "The Underdwellers", "Be A Clown", and "I've Got Batman In My Basement" is of the current mentality of the industry that kids can't relate to an adult character and need to be related to with other kids. Eventually the staff got the hand of things and realized that the less gimmicky direction was the way to go.

Great job, Avaitor. Every segment you cover immediately brings the episode back into my head once more. I agree with you about the Penguin, but I actually think Catwoman had it the worst in this show when it came to character episodes. She really deserved better than a lot of what she got.

[talonmalon333]

I think the saddest thing they did to Catwoman was her character design in New Adventures. I honestly think that was even worse than the Joker's new design.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I actually think the Riddler had the worst redesign. I mean, his original design is perfect but the new one made him into a total joke of a character and took away that air of arrogance he had.

[talonmalon333]

Looking at the Riddler's new design again, I see what you mean. I think they make up the top 3 worst, Catwoman, Riddler, and the Joker.