Batman The Animated Series

Ok, so favourite episodes time.

• Anything with the Joker at the centre. I know it's been said a million times before but having watched the first series again you really see exactly why Mark Hamill stole the show here. Although the writing and delivery is frequently very funny, I think that it's when you really get into the dark, gothic atmosphere when the Joker shines here. Christmas With The Joker, The Last Laugh and Be A Clown did it well but Joker's Favour and The Laughing Fish did it best. The atmosphere is these two is just perfectly dark and gothic and the Joker is very threatening and genuinley very creepy.

• It's Never Too Late. Again, the mature atmosphere, emotion and tone of this episode really draws you in and leaves you thinking "yeah, the guys who wrote this aren't out to bullshit us." On top of that, it had An Aesop about drugs and crime that was actually done quite well. In the early 90s guys, that's rare!

• Heart Of Ice. Do we need to discuss why? It brillianty turns a grimmicky c-lister into perhaps the most sympathetic, human and tragic character we've seen by this point. Not every supervillain is suitable for a sympathetic backstory, but they chose this one well and did it perfectly.

• Beware The Gray Ghost. Seriously, for anyone with a nostalgic affection for Adam West this is just brilliant. It'd have been easy for the writers to turn West into another joke figure here but there is clearly so much respect and celebration for him and his show that it's impossible not to get that warm feeling in your heart. It wasn't all for nothing Adam, most certainly not.

• Feat of Clay Part I and Part II. I always remembered these two from when I was a kid and for me they still stand out. Again the aesop about addiction was done pretty well and Clayface is a really threatening bad guy. I'll never forget that "death" scene nor the unbelievably freaky yellow-eyed "woman" at the end.

• Appointment in Crime Alley. Again I have a lot of nostalgia about this episode. More than anything else though what stands out is the soundtrack to the episode. In a show packed will fantastic music this one really sticks in my mind.

• Robin's Reckoning Part I and Part II. Once again, plenty of nostalgia for me. It also absolutely nails the correct atmosphere and tone as well as Dick and Bruce - their relationships, characters and motivations.

You see, this is why we need a Flash Animated Series.

Just started watching (or in some cases rewatching) the series, Within my first 10 minutes, I have come to the realization that this series has got some great reaction shots.

This is the highest-quality superhero writing for an ongoing medium, or at least, for recorded media (and probably the bulk of comics). If Christopher Nolan was writing Batman for a weekly CW drama, it still wouldn't be as nuanced and gritty as this.

I've seen two DVD volumes so far (one and three). The main thing I'm disappointed in is that I understand Bane is "the way he's supposed to be" in this series, but that translates to just "roided up luchador".

I just finished Volume three, and there are so many villain redemption stories. Not just stories sympathetic to the villains, but redemption stories. In the course of the four disk set, there were stories about Catwoman, Harley Quinn, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Two-Face all in various stages of ultimately unsuccessful rehabilitation.

^ I noticed that about Volume 3, and the end of the show in general. Literally three of those redemption stories are back to back, as well. If I remember correctly, it goes Riddler's Reform, Harley's Holiday, then Second Chance.

IIRC, Timm and Co never had any actual interest to introduce Bane. The stories and themes they favored came from the Bronze Age, and Bane was, AFAIK, included because of Executive Pressure. Dini barely had anything to say about him in the Batman Animated book, and Timm had to go with a Jack Kirby-inspired design to find any groove with him.

I'm sorry to say but... after it being my favorite cartoon as a kid, I think I'm experiencing the thing many other people feel about old cartoons. Whenever I watch reruns on the Hub, I just notice nothing but flaws.

That bites. I want to like this show. I think I'll buy the DVD box sets. Maybe its better if there aren't commercial breaks.

I think that in some ways, the flaws are part of what makes it great.

Maybe it's because I'm experiencing pretty much all of the episodes for the first time, but I'm not noticing many flaws.

Although again on the Bane episode, the scene where Batman asks "Who has five million dollars and wants me dead?" and Alfred reaches in his pocket and pulls out a newspaper with a headline simply reading "RUPERT THORNE" was pretty narmy. And then there was that shot where Batman gets thrown into a metal railing and it acts as if it was rubber, but that's cartoons for you.

I wish I had access to Volumes 3 and 4. Damn No Export for You, damn you all to hell!

But yeah, flaws. More prominent in the early days I think, when the animation wasn't as defined as it became. I think that every male character looks too big in some shots in particular. In "Pretty Poison" Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent's upper bodies look enormous at some parts.

edited 21st Feb '12 5:04:04 AM by TheBatPencil

I remember a flaw I've noticed. The extreme low angle on Batman posing for the lightning bolt in the title sequence is mostly okay, but I really wish there was more detail on his face or something. He's supposed to look stoic, but he looks sad, bored, or constipated.

Amazon will ship overseas. If you've got the budget, just import the american versions.

Although I wish I could find an online store that had better prices. $30 a box set is ridiculous.

edited 26th Feb '12 5:00:09 PM by MoeDantes

But there's still region coding to worry about; DV Ds from America and Canada won't work on DVD players in the rest of the world.

How is $30 ridiculous? That averages out to, what? A little over a dollar an episode?

Region coding is actually very easy to get around. Some players allow you to put in a code to disable it. Or else you can make a copy of the DVD and then make sure the duplicate doesn't have region coding. There are ways to do that.

I'd be more concerned about NTSC-to-PAL conversion, though there are ways to get around that too.

If you have a Mac, you have iDVD. The Macs in the labs at school would usually act as if iDVD was launching for the first time whenever I'd open it, and maybe it was special for an Education license, but they'd ask you "what region am I?" Region 0 (universal) was available.

Another option (though this may be skirting legality) is to use DV Dfab and rip an ISO, then watch the ISO with VLC. This completely bypasses both the region-coding and the PAL-NTSC issue (since computer monitors can handle everything).

On the issue of price, $30 wouldn't be too expensive if I was a hardcore fan. But I'm not—I just want to have it around so I can watch it when the mood strikes me. If I find the box sets for $15 or less, I'll grab them. But not more than that.

I got all the seasons on DVD. I have the Volume 4 dvd but barely ever watch it - I really don't like The New Batman Adventures except for select episodes.

Of the others, I can't even decide which set is my favorite. Each of them has at least one run of episodes that are some of my favorites.

On an unrelated note, I'd have to say my favorite minor villain on the show is definitely Temple Fugate.

"Well well well. The Batman. It's about time you got here. If you're wondering who I am, let's just say I'm a civic minded citizen with a lot of time on my hands."

This is how I'll always remember you: surrounded by winter,forever young, forever beautiful. Rest well, my love; the monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish best served cold...

edited 27th Feb '12 11:09:11 AM by RichReeders

I have failed you. I wish there were another way for me to say it. I cannot. I can only beg your forgiveness and hope that you can hear me somehow... some place... where a warm hand waits for mine...

Oh, we are doing random qoutes now?

"I didn't mean to!"

"Court is now in session! The Good People of Arkham Asylum vs. the self-righteous vigilante called Batman! Our prosecutor is ready, likewise our fair and impartial jury!"

"Hang him!"

"Shoot him!"

"Hit him with a rock!"

" And now, all rise for the most honorable, most benevolent, most merciful Judge Joker!"

"GUILTY!"

"I've been Shanghaied!"

"You killed Captain Clown. YOU KILLED CAPTAIN CLOWN!"

My fault, I didn't get the joke

To break the chain, I just want to say I hate Cold Comfort.

Dislike. Disdain. Disrepute. Dis-etc. It's not the wost episode of the series... maybe.. but it really ought to be.