Line #129 Trivia/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries


1	* ActingForTwo: Creator/KevinConroy usually voices Thomas Wayne in flashbacks, and Thomas and Bruce Wayne talked to each other in "Perchance to Dream". His Bruce Wayne and Batman personas also conversed with each other in the same episode.
2	* AllStarCast: The Japanese dub cast includes many of Japan's most prolific voice actors: Creator/TesshoGenda (Batman), Creator/MegumiHayashibara (Batgirl), Creator/AkioOtsuka (Two-Face), Creator/MasashiEbara (Clayface) and the late Creator/RokuroNaya (Scarecrow), among others.
3	* BreakthroughHit: The show served as one that put Alan Burnett, Creator/PaulDini, and Creator/BruceTimm on the map.
4	* CastTheRunnerUp:
5	** Creator/KevinConroy initially auditioned for the role of Detective Harvey Bullock. Conroy didn’t expect to be cast as the titular character, however.
6	** Creator/TimCurry had originally been cast as the Joker, but had to drop out for various reasons and was replaced by Creator/MarkHamill. Curry eventually guest starred in "Be a Clown" as a Robot Clown and in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "Final Cut" as Mutro Botha.
7	** Creator/MarkHamill himself subverts this. He originally wanted to audition for one of the main villains, with the Joker being his top pick, but Tim Curry had already been cast in the role. He was also considered for Mr. Freeze, but that role went to Creator/MichaelAnsara, so Hamill instead voiced Ferris Boyle in Freeze's debut episode "Heart of Ice". After Curry dropped out, Hamill auditioned and was cast, though initially, he had to redub at least "Christmas With The Joker" because animation had already begun.
8	** Creator/JohnGlover auditioned for the role of the Joker as well before the casting of Hamill. Glover would eventually go on to voice the ComicBook/TheRiddler in the series.
9	** Creator/DianePershing [[https://lrmonline.com/news/how-an-illness-gave-diane-pershing-the-voice-of-poison-ivy-on-batman-the-animated-series/ almost]] didn't get the part of ComicBook/PoisonIvy. According to Bruce Timm, singer Melissa Manchester was originally cast in the role, but things weren't working out in her performance, and so Pershing, who had been cast in a minor role, replaced her.
10	* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: In [[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE14RiddlersReform Riddler's Reform]], an antique store owner mentions a stolen Ming vase from the 3rd Century. The Ming were founded over a millennium after the 3rd century.
11	* CreatorBacklash: Despite the series' acclaim and legacy, there were several episodes that were either promising misfires, or outright duds, and were regarded as such by the shows team. They gave their thoughts on several of these episodes [[http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/btas/backstage/animato/ in an issue of Animato Magazine]];
12	** [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE13IveGotBatmanInMyBasement "I've Got Batman In My Basement,"]] which named the [[BatmanInMyBasement relevant trope]], is regarded by the production team as one of the worst episodes in the series.
13	--->"I think that if we hadn't gotten Alan Burnett to come over, we would have had a lot more shows like this one," noted director Frank Paur of the producer who stepped in to take control of the show's script process first season. Paur also disliked arming Batman with a screwdriver, but had his hands full wrestling with an as yet unsatisfying storyboard crew. "I had to get rid of most of these boards and start from scratch," he said. "It was very time-consuming. Our schedule was so tight, that small things got by." Noted producer Bruce Timm, "I can't even watch that show. It's the epitome of what we don't want to do with Batman. Strangely enough kids like it. The script came in and it was terrible. Normally, I tell the director to do what he can to make it interesting, and nobody could figure out a way to make it interesting. The storyboard artists didn't care, and it shows."
14	** While the episode was based on a good story from the comics and having decent animation, "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE31TheCapeAndCowlConspiracy The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy]]" was considered a misfire, namely for its lackluster gimmick villain, and Batman having no real motive to play mind games with him.
15	--->"I tried to kill this show, but they didn't let me," said director Frank Paur. "We had a lot of storyboard artists who wanted to rebel on this one. The best metaphor is kicking a dead horse. It arrived dead and no matter how hard you kick it, it ain't going to give you a ride."
16	** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE6TheUnderdwellers The Underdwellers]]" was likewise considered a dud, namely for censorship problems, bad story elements and very OffModel animation.
17	--->"It was my first episode as director, and there are still things in it that I cringe at," said director Frank Paur. "Usually when we get an episode, we get to use a lot of discretion and change things. I wish I had been able to spend more time on that script. Another problem at the time, was that we had storyboard people who made things difficult. I found myself going back two or three times to fix scenes. They didn't quite understand we were shooting for a higher standard. So there was always a constant drain on my time. That whole opening sequence of the kids playing chicken with the train should have been cut. That was what we had to contend with at the beginning of the season. We had these little public service announcements worked into the scripts, a concept we nixed real quick." "It's [[Creator/StudioJunio Junio's]] weakest episode," said producer Bruce Timm. "We almost didn't use them after that. It was the first one that came back that really looked totally unlike our show. It was very Japanese. But I'm glad we did use them again, they've done great work. BS&P took a lot out of this show. Originally, the kids were to be victimized by the Sewer-King, but he was not allowed to be mean or tortorous to any of them. The impact is watered down. If we were doing it today, we probably would have decided not to do the show."
18	** "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE17LockUp Lock-Up]]" was also considered a failure, due to its awful script, blatant plot holes and bloopers (Batman changing into his costume out in the open, not letting us figure out how he escaped), and slow, aimless scenes.
19	** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriese19ProphecyOfDoom Prophecy of Doom]]" was already considered a very average episode, but its criticism was mainly singled out for its terrible animation by Creator/{{AKOM}}.
20	--->"If that whole end sequence with the spinning worlds in the observatory had gone to Junio or any other studio, it might have come off, but it went to AKOM," said Bruce Timm. "They just weren't able to pull off that level of animation." "That broke my heart," said director Frank Paur. "I designed those planets using a circle template. How hard is it to animate circles? It was done by hand, and if we had done it now, it would have been done on computer and would have looked spectacular. When I knew the show was going to AKOM, a studio I'd had a long history with, I knew they weren't going to be able to pull it off. Admittedly, it was a tough sequence, but they should have been able to do it."
21	** While not considered a "bad" episode, Bruce Timm was not satisfied with the episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE48WhatIsReality What Is Reality?]]", although he ironically complimented AKOM's work on it.
22	--->"Virtual reality is too science fictiony for our show. While it may be conceivable that it will work for this show in four or five years, Batman transforming himself into a black knight and flying around on a chessboard is unfathomable to me. Strangely enough, it's one of AKOM's better shows. They pulled off all the special effects really well."
23	** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE55TheMechanic The Mechanic]]" was also considered dissatisfying, save for some nice action and some of AKOM's better animation.
24	--->"This was one of those stories in development hell for a long time," said producer Bruce Timm. "We needed scripts. I think it's a stinker, but it has some of AKOM's better animation in it." Noted director Kevin Altieri, "It was the first show that AKOM laid out itself. It's not as good as their "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE4TheLastLaugh The Last Laugh]]", but had far fewer retakes (almost 80% of "The Last Laugh" needed retakes.) I think they were threatened that they might lose the work, so they put their A-Team on it. It actually is a script that is similar to the '60s series, but when you do do something like this comedy, you must remember that even though the script may be goofy, you have to show that the characters are living it. When Earl drops the tires on Penguin's henchmen, he thinks Batman's dead and he's crying."
25	** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE3NothingToFear Nothing to Fear]]", despite having some of the series' best moments and nice animation work by Dong Yang (whose only glitch was straightening the Scarecrow's crooked posture), was considered to have bad pacing, a cliche way of beating Scarecrow, and an all around mediocre script.
26	--->"It was written by Henry Gilroy, who had never written cartoons before," said producer Bruce Timm. "He was a film editor here and always wanted to get into writing. At the time we didn't have a story editor, so we gave it a go. When he turned in his first draft, which wasn't bad, we had hired our first story editor, Sean Derek. We immediately came to loggerheads over this show. Some of the dialogue she changed wasn't changed for the better."
27	** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE8TheForgotten The Forgotten]]" was another misfire, mainly for being a message show put forth by the original story editors.
28	--->"I didn't want to do this show from the very beginning," said producer Bruce Timm. "Sean Derek was big on doing shows with social messages. And my big problem with message shows, is that you can't solve the world's problems in a half hour cartoon. If you raise the issue of homelessness, what can you do? It makes the episode look very exploitive, because you're just using the problem as an exotic background. You can't discuss the problem on any meaningful level in a 22-minute action cartoon. So I put in the dream sequence with Bruce in the barracks where these multitudes of people are looking to Bruce for a handout, and he doesn't have enough money for them all, and they're surrounding him and suffocating him. It's not enough for him to put a band-aid on the problem at the end, by offering the two guys a job. It just doesn't work." BS&P undercut the script's essential message, as director Boyd Kirkland explained: "There was a sequence at the beginning where Batman is wandering around the city, trying to find out why people were disappearing. It was staged with homeless people hanging around on sidewalks: families, mothers and kids. They made us take all that out of the boards. They said it was too much for kids to see that maybe a woman or a family can be out on the streets. They specifically asked that we only show men as homeless."
29	** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE16TheCatAndTheClawPart2 The Cat and the Claw: Part 2]]" was considered a dud, namely for its many plot holes, a crappy villain, and downright abysmal animation by AKOM.
30	--->"The whole end sequence was geared around the explosions, and they were some of the worst you'll ever see," said producer Bruce Timm. "We retook all of them two or three times. They were still awful, but we ran out of time and had to air them."
31	** Bruce Timm really came to regret the Joker's redesign in ''The New Batman Adventures'' revamp; they liked the concept of the "grinning skeleton," but felt it was followed on too literally and robbed the Joker of his wide range of expressions. The third design made for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' was made to fix that problem, blending the minimalist attempt of TNBA with the more classical look they had in BTAS.
32	** Bruce Timm has stated that he considers "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE6TheTerribleTrio The Terrible Trio]]" to be not just the worst episode of ''Batman: The Animated Series'', but the worst episode of the DC Animated Universe in general.
33	* CreatorsFavoriteEpisode:
34	** Creator/KevinConroy's favorite episode was "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE30PerchanceToDream Perchance to Dream]]".
35	** Creator/MarkHamill's favorite is "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE2ChristmasWithTheJoker Christmas with the Joker]]".
36	* CreatorsPest:
37	** The reason ComicBook/TheRiddler didn't appear very much is because the creators felt that he was hard to write for and made plots too complicated.
38	** The creative team didn't much care for Bane, viewing him as being very flat. It didn't help that since he was a recently debuted character in the comics, the executives more or less forced them to center an episode around him to bring him into the cartoons and give him more publicity for merchandizing. To their credit though, despite the dislike, Bane's episodes are considered perfectly fair to the character (the only major change being slightly dumbing him down, but he was still wickedly clever and dangerous).
39	* TheDanza: Harley Quinn, real name Dr. H'''arleen''' Quinzel, is voiced by Creator/ArleenSorkin, who was also creator Paul Dini's inspiration for the character.
40	* DeletedRole: [[https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-02-11-1994042215-story.html This article]] mentions that comedian Kevin Meaney recorded dialogue for a character in an episode of the show, but it got scrapped.
41	* ExecutiveMeddling: The executives required many changes to be made to the series for reasons based on both decisions of what was [[MoralGuardians appropriate]] for a kids show and what was [[MoneyDearBoy likely to get the biggest profit]].
42	** The very successful Creator/TimBurton series of Batman films were one of the main impetuses for the creation of this series, and executive's hoped to capitalize on their success. The design for the Penguin was based on the design of the character as it appeared in the then-current and highly successful ''Film/BatmanReturns'', which cast Creator/DannyDeVito as a physically deformed and emotionally scarred man with fingers fused into a flipper-like arrangement, as opposed to the comic counterpart, who (although only about 5' tall and sporting a prominent aquiline nose) was a still just a regular man.[[note]]Of course, in spite of his physical appearance, the Penguin ''is'' written as a civilised criminal in a tail coat and top hat. He just happens to also look a little freakish (though nowhere near as much as the film version does). It's ambiguous where his name comes from; probably a combination of his obesity and deformity and his clothes (which is sort-of the same as in the comics). The important thing is how he acts, and if anything this one is even ''more'' civilised than the comic book one.[[/note]] Catwoman was likewise turned into a blonde woman to match Creator/MichellePfeiffer's character, as opposed to her darker-haired appearance in the comics. Both characters were returned to their original comic appearance after the series was revamped into ''The New Batman Adventures''. It's also likely why in dialogue in "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE28DreamsInDarkness Dreams in Darkness]]" and in a file in "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE41JokersWild Joker's Wild]]", the Joker is identified as "Jack Napier" (the Joker's name in ''Film/{{Batman\|1989}}''), though as with the changes with Penguin and Catwoman, this was [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] into an alias.
43	** Several episodes were actually improved because [[MoralGuardians concern over the detail on-screen in some scenes]] forced changes to the animation, giving them much more emotional power. Dick Grayson's parents falling from the trapeze showed his parents swinging off screen, with a frayed rope swinging back in and everyone gasping in shock. If they showed any more, it would not have been as effective. "[[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE12OverTheEdge Over the Edge]]" contains another instance. Apparently, when Batgirl is thrown off of City Hall to her death we were originally going to see a police car pull up and then her body would land on the hood. When this was deemed too extreme, Timm redesigned the sequence as though the viewer was in the back seat of the car when the impact occurred. This has the effect of making things far more disturbing. Similarly, "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE49IAmTheNight I Am the Night]]" originally wanted to show Robin getting shot on camera. The network made them change this, so they picked Gordon and did not actually show the shooting. They all agreed this made the scene more powerful.
44	*** In fact, whenever Timm and Dini had to do something like this, they maintain that their policy was to make the scene a million times worse [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor while following the changes to the letter]].
45	** After the first season (production wise), Fox Kids demanded Robin be featured in every episode. This necessitated a title change, with the show being rebranded ''The Adventures of Batman and Robin''.
46	* FakeAmerican:
47	** Creator/TaraStrong, who voiced Batgirl in ''The New Batman Adventures'', is Canadian by birth, although her parents are American.
48	** Rupert Thorne is voiced by the late John Vernon, who was also Canadian born.
49	* FakeBrit: The late Creator/EfremZimbalistJr, Alfred's (second) voice actor, was American.
50	* FriendshipOnTheSet: Despite voicing archenemies, Creator/KevinConroy and Creator/MarkHamill were friends in real life, with Hamill even stating he often agreed to return as the Joker in several projects Conroy was in ''because'' he enjoyed working with him -- and like with the death of his ''Franchise/StarWars'' co-star Creator/CarrieFisher, Hamill was devastated by Conroy's passing, to the point of [[https://www.gamingbible.com/news/mark-hamill-finished-joker-following-kevin-conroy-passing-099294-20230119 retiring from his role]], feeling he couldn't play the role without Conroy as Batman.
51	* GayPanic:
52	** Supposedly, the creation of Harley Quinn was to still any fears that ComicBook/TheJoker might have a bit of a crush on Batman. The fact that he completely ignores the attractive woman throwing herself at him to focus on his obsession with Batsy-poo, and Harley and Poison Ivy's implied LesYay, actually made the situation ''more'' ambiguous.
53	** Creator/PaulDini and Creator/BruceTimm later clarified this. Harley was originally created due to a plot which would have involved the Joker attacking a police gathering by JumpingOutOfACake. The writers thought the network would object to the scene (given the sexual nature of the "girl jumping out of the cake" trope in real life), so they decided to give the Joker a female sidekick who could replace and impersonate the real dancer inside the cake. However, this all ended up moot as the network actually ended up okaying the original idea for the Joker to be the one to hop out.
54	* IronyAsSheIsCast:
55	** The Penguin squawks out a grating accompaniment of ''I, Pagliacci'' in "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE47BirdsOfAFeather Birds of a Feather]]". His voice actor Music/PaulWilliams is actually an acclaimed singer/songwriter with notably smooth, melodious vocals (as can be heard in the Penguin's speaking voice).
56	** Notorious "playboy billionaire" ChickMagnet Bruce Wayne/Batman is played by Creator/KevinConroy, who later came out as gay.
57	* KidsMealToy: Taco Bell sold a set of five kids' meal toys in 1997 under the show's ''The Adventures of Batman and Robin'' retool. There was a pull-back Batmobile, the Bat Signal flashlight, The Batman On Ice popsicle mold, the Batman and Robin's Botanical Trap terrarium, and the Mr. Freeze Slate Shooter water squirter.
58	* MethodActing: An interesting example with the artists themselves. To maintain the noir atmosphere of the production, much of the art, including the animation itself, was drawn on black toned paper with white pencils rather than the more traditional method of black graphite on white paper.
59	* NoExportForYou: Several of the later episodes were not released in Japan, for example only '''two''' episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TheNewBatmanAdventures'' made it to air.
60	* NoOriginStoriesAllowed: While the series overall didn't shy away from revealing other aspects of Bruce Wayne's past, one of the rules imposed on the series by Bruce Timm was that there would be no origin story episode explaining how Bruce Wayne became Batman, since he felt that Batman was already such a well-established character and that the story had already been retold so many times, that making yet another origin retelling was just unnecessary. At most, the series occasionally alluded to the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne in nightmares and hallucinations experienced by Bruce, and it wouldn't be until the ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' adaptation of ''ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything'' that we'd even see what the Waynes' killer Joe Chill looks like in this continuity.
61	* TheOtherDarrin:
62	** Alfred was voiced by Creator/CliveRevill in the first three episodes (in production order) "On Leather Wings", "Christmas With the Joker" and "Never Fear". From "The Last Laugh" onward, he was voiced by Creator/EfremZimbalistJr when Revill left to fulfill a theater commitment.
63	** A number of villains also were recast for ''The New Batman Adventures'' series including Scarecrow, Baby Doll, and Killer Croc. Penguin and Bane were recast in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMysteryOfTheBatwoman'' film.
64	** Excluding ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} went through three actors during the course of the series -- Creator/MelissaGilbert in the original episodes, Creator/MaryKayBergman for ''Sub-Zero'', and Creator/TaraStrong (with whom Bergman was close friends) for the revamped episodes in ''The New Batman Adventures''.
65	** Renee Montoya was voiced by Ingrid Oliu during the first season, and Liane Schirmer for the rest of the series, as well as her appearances in ''Sub-Zero'' and ''The New Batman Adventures''.
66	** The transition from ''B: TAS'' to ''TNBA'' also saw Lucius Fox goes from Creator/BrockPeters to Mel Winkler.
67	** Janet Van Dorn was voiced by Lynette Mettey in "Shadow of the Bat". In "Trial", she's voiced by Stephanie Zimbalist, the daughter of Efrem Zimbalist Jr, who voices Alfred.
68	* TheOtherMarty: Creator/TimCurry was originally cast as the Joker and recorded the first episode, but he was replaced by Creator/MarkHamill early on who retained the role. Reports indicate a number of possible reasons, Curry either injured his voice in the process, got bronchitis when time came for pick-ups or he was already multiple cartoon villains at the time (''WesternAnimation/PeterPanAndThePirates'', ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'') and the execs wanted a new voice.
69	* OutOfHolidayEpisode: The ChristmasEpisode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE2ChristmasWithTheJoker Christmas with the Joker]]" originally aired on November 13, 1992—weeks before the Christmas season even started.
70	* OutOfOrder: "The Cat and the Claw" two-parter is actually the 15th/16th episode in production order, but it was broadcasted as the series premiere. This is why it's the first episode on Creator/{{Max}}.
71	* PlayingAgainstType:
72	** At the time, Creator/MarkHamill playing the Joker was this, since he was known for playing the heroic [[Franchise/StarWars Luke Skywalker]], but it worked so well that he now plays villains more or less full time.
73	** A big-time case for the Joker's Swedish voice actor, Per Sandborgh, who is best known for his somewhat goofy and friendly voice leading to him voicing mostly affable and nice characters. This was also the first time he voiced such a major character, mostly having done side roles up to this point.
74	** Up until this series Creator/DianePershing had primarily played heroines and/or damsels. Poison Ivy, a sexy yet [[AxCrazy murderously insane]] FemmeFatale bombshell with a sensual, breathy voice to match was quite the departure. Kudos for being considered her definitive voice by many.
75	** While Michael Pataki had played serious roles in live-action, his voice-acting output were primarily comedic - most notably as George Liquor in ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' and ''WebAnimation/TheGoddamnGeorgeLiquorProgram''. Sewer King, the VillainOfTheWeek in "The Underdwellers", is by contrast a much darker character; a vile, abusive child slaver with a palpable air of menace to him.
76	* PredecessorCastingGag: Downplayed. In "Beware the Gray Ghost", the titular television hero who inspired a child Bruce to become Batman was voiced by Creator/AdamWest, the first actor to play Batman on television in [[Series/Batman1966 the 1966 series]].
77	* PromotedFanboy: Creator/MarkHamill was cast as his favorite character. By ''sheer enthusiasm''. Bonus points for becoming one of the most famous portrayals of said character, if not ''the'' standard by which all other portrayals are measured by.
78	* RealitySubtext: In a short story penned for ''ComicBook/DCPride2022'', Kevin Conroy stated that he drew a lot of inspiration for his portrayal of the dual lives of Bruce Wayne and Batman from his troubled family life and his experiences as a closeted gay man surrounded by homophobia and the AIDS epidemic in the 80s and 90s.
79	* RecastAsARegular:
80	** The first role Creator/MarkHamill recorded for the show was a one-off appearance as Ferris Boyle, the villain of Mr. Freeze's origin story. He was later invited to audition for the role of the Joker after Creator/TimCurry had to pull out, and the rest is history.
81	** Creator/GeorgeDzundza made his debut voicing the one-shot characters G. Carl Francis and Thomas Jackson, the two employees at Gotham City's Office of Copyrights that Joker tried to bump off in “The Laughing Fish”, before being cast as the recurring antagonist (s) Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist and Scarface. Humorously, Francis’s timid voice and personality, and to an extent, his design, are very similar to Wesker’s, while Jackson’s voice sounds similar to Scarface’s.
82	* RecursiveAdaptation: Two episodes from ''The New Batman Adventures'' era were adaptations of stories from the show's comic book tie-in ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures''.
83	** "Holiday Knights" is an adaptation of the Holiday Special one-shot. Aside from certain bits of dialogue being changed (both to make the language more appropriate for television as well as reasons that are less clear), one of the biggest discrepancies from the original comic version is that Mr. Freeze's story is omitted, primarily due to it being inconsistent with what the character had been through since ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndMisterFreezeSubZero'' and what would happen to him in the episode "Cold Comfort".
84	** "Mad Love" is adapted from the one-shot of the same title. Like the original comic, the episode serves as an OriginsEpisode for Harley Quinn, one of the most notable divergences from the source material being that it leaves out the aspect of Harleen Quinzel being implied to get her degree by [[SextraCredit sleeping with her professor]].
85	* {{Retronym}}: The first few seasons never had the title displayed in it's opening sequence, but was universally just called ''Batman: The Animated Series''. The third season had a new opening sequence and given the name ''The Adventures of Batman and Robin''. ''The New Batman Adventures'' had another new sequence with concurrent clips and is technically a SequelSeries but often treated as a {{Revival}}. All three incarnations are generally talked about as one continuous show called ''Batman: The Animated Series''.
86	* RoleReprise:
87	** In the French dub, Alfred and the Penguin are voiced by Creator/JacquesCiron and Creator/PhilippePeythieu respectively, reprising their roles from the ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries''. Also, in the French dub of ''The New Batman Adventures'', Claire Guyot is the voice of Batgirl, reprising her role from ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''.
88	** In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, the Joker is voiced by Darcy Pedrosa, who had voiced the character in ''Film/Batman1989''.
89	* SerendipityWritesThePlot: Initially, Nora Fries was supposed to be dead from the start, due to Boyle shutting down the cryogenic tube keeping her alive. ExecutiveMeddling vetoed actually establishing that. This spurred Mr. Fries' later arc desperately trying to find a cure for Nora on finding out she was alive and Grant Walker [[PragmaticVillainy had maintained her body in a cryogenic tube]] [[DealWithTheDevil to encourage Fries to replicate the suit for him]], going to extremes such as kidnapping the Commissioner's daughter but also forcing Batman to abandon him when retreating with Nora's body. [[spoiler:The arc still ends in tragedy, that Nora is cured but she is led to believe Victor is dead and remarries. Victor's body decays in the meantime, causing him to jet-rocket over the MoralEventHorizon. He at least gets closure in ''Batman Beyond'' where he spends his last moments apologizing to the new Batman and saying, "You're the only one who cared" before saving his life from a collapsing building]].
90	* StarMakingRole:
91	** As far as voice overs go, playing the Joker made BTAS the show that put Creator/MarkHamill on the map.
92	** It also gave Creator/TaraStrong her first major leading role.
93	* SurprisinglyLenientCensor:
94	** In the original script for the episode "Harley and Ivy", the Joker said to Harley and Ivy, "haven't you been busy little beavers"; Fox actually let this through, but the team chickened out at the last second and changed the word to "bees."
95	** The creators were also surprised that Fox let them use the "What're ya gonna do, [[KinkySpanking spank us]]?" joke.
96	** The creators were also surprised when the censors didn't object to Batman's response to finding out Mr. Freeze's TragicBackstory being a low-key "My god...".
97	* ThoseTwoActors: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill struck up a lifelong friendship while working on the series, and would sometimes be cast in paired VA roles in other ''Batman'' media (John Grayson and Tony Zucco in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', the Phantom Strange and the Spectre in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'') even if they weren't playing their old characters, just to honor the dynamic they had together. While Hamill would vacillate over the years on whether or not he'd stop voicing the Joker, he admits that the possibility of working with his friend again always brought him back; after Conroy's passing in 2022, he retired as the character for good.
98	* UnfinishedEpisode: A few unmade episodes are known:
99	** "The Midnight Hour" was based on an 80's Teen Titans comic with Nightwing but altered. Batman is captured by a drug lord who will auction him off at midnight, the highest bidder would have the honor of unmasking and murdering Batman before the criminals of Gotham. Robin would have to use the detective skills Batman taught him to find where Batman is and save him. It's unknown why this was unmade, seeing as how it gave Robin a starring role, something the network had been constantly asking for.
100	** "Mind Games", an episode where Hugo Strange, in disguise, would have lured Bruce, Dick, and Alfred to a clinic where he wipes their memories of their secret lives as crime fighters, allowing the villains to go on a crime spree. With the help of Leslie Thompkins they rediscover their identities and Batman and Robin go out to stop Strange and get their memories back. The ending would've had Hugo Strange lobotomized, somewhat similar to his fate in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman''. Interestingly enough, this basic premise was used for the GrandFinale arc to ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures''' original run.
101	** One unmade episode that has yet to be named was about Batman infiltrating Blackgate Prison to stop a crime boss called Mr. Big who runs a vast criminal network from within the prison, only it turns out to be a trap and he is nearly executed in the electric chair, only to be saved by the Riddler, saying that "as long as he can help it, a few lowly jailbirds won't defeat the Dark Knight."
102	** Another one included Robin being forced to become more responsible and save Batman's life as Poison Ivy's toxin slowly kills him.
103	** Another episode involved Bruce Wayne and a bunch of rich people being hypnotized by a magician called The Mad Maestro, though it is possible this episode was retooled into "Prophecy of Doom".
104	** Another would have had The Mad Hatter using baseball caps during a 'ball cap day' at a baseball game to brainwash everyone there, putting Batman into an insane ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' scenario.
105	** Another unmade episode concerned a friend of Bruce Wayne's turning out to be a sadistic hunter who captures big cats and lets them loose in his private reserve to hunt and kill them. Catwoman finds out, only to find herself become one of the targets for his latest hunt.
106	** An adaptation of the classic story ''Night of the Stalker'' (where Batman mercilessly stalks a gang of robbers through the woods for killing a couple in front of their son) was planned but never filmed. Show artist Darwyn Cooke later used the idea for a short story called "Deja Vu" in his issue of the ''Solo'' anthology. Cooke has noted the line "Heh. That Starks. What the character." after Starks throws both him and Batman off a cliff seemingly to their deaths was actually written by Bruce Timm during the brainstorming sessions for the idea.
107	** Another episode was to be called "The Life of a Gun" which had been written by Tom Ruegger was to be about Batman finding a gun that had been used in a robbery and tracing it's history, we were to have been given a life cycle of the gun from it's creation to the day it was sold and used in the robbery, and in the end it was to have been melted down and made into a tombstone, it was ready to be made but in the end Fox decided to cancel it.
108	** David Wise wrote an episode which got killed for being "too dark" where Batman gets ambushed by a paramilitary group and gets hit with a gas that turns him psychotic, resulting in Robin needing to help him by going to the Joker (and having to break into Arkham to get to him, upon which entering the Joker does a MindScrew which causes Robin to throw up), the climax would feature Batman facing all the villains in an abandoned sports stadium and revealing a bomb strapped to his chest and taunting the villains to come and get him.
109	** Martin Pasko wrote an episode called ''The Count and the Countess'' that very nearly got made, and is even listed in some early episode guides published in the tie-in comics, but it was apparently delayed by an incompetent animation studio and was replaced by ''See No Evil''. Many theorize this would have been the episode featuring the comic villainess Nocturna, a vampire, but the Fox censors shot the story down as it involved Batman becoming a vampire and craving human blood.
110	** Paul Dini was a huge fan of ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' and even talked to Creator/NeilGaiman about Sandman and Death appearing in an episode, the concept involved a huge action packed opening in which most of the villains beat the hell out of Batman and nearly kill him. Batman would encounter Death, but Sandman talks his sister into letting Batman live and then shows Batman the impact he has on people, especially in their dreams and the nightmares of criminals. Neil Gaiman approved of it and gave it his blessing, but it went unmade for a variety of reasons including: the Vertigo/DC split, no action outside of the first act, being too cerebral for a "kid's show", producer Alan Burnett didn't want to do too many stories about the supernatural, and the fact that Sandman was a comic for adults and they could easily be accused of promoting adult material to children. [[http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2006/06/several-answers.html Link]]
111	** There was also going to be an episode about Catwoman teaming up with ComicBook/BlackCanary, but [[ExecutiveMeddling the network killed the concept because Robin was absent in the episode and Batman himself wouldn't be prominent enough.]] Her design was still used in the show for a recurring background character and it was still used for her appearance in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''.
112	** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'' was originally going to be the end of the series, which explains why Joker seemingly dies at the end. In addition, ''Mask of the Phantasm'' was originally going to be a two-parter called "Masks," featuring ''ComicBook/BatmanYearTwo'''s villain Reaper, with Batman's origin being a standalone episode called "Vigil", which would have been told mostly from Alfred's point of view.
113	** An episode with the Riddler taking over a newly constructed skyscraper, planning to steal the riches from it's vaults. He challenges Batman to come get him, forcing Batman to brave the security system, now reprogrammed to be lethal by the Riddler.
114	** An episode in which a criminal mastermind called the Architect (who would have predated the proper Batman villain known as Architect by about 15 years) being locked in the 'Hard Timers' wing of Blackgate Prison, only to escape when the walls are blown up by his henchmen. Architect escapes into the icy waters of Gotham Harbor and never resurfaces. Batman would go underwater to discover the Architect has a secret submarine base near Gotham.
115	** A story where Two-Face would begin a crime spree in which he steals a trio of items and destroys one of them, keeping the other two. He would capture Batgirl and use her as bait to lure Batman and Robin to his hideout, where he planned to kill one of them.
116	** An episode in which Bruce Wayne would personally oversee a deposit of Wayne Industries' files in an underground storage facility, only to be attacked by Clayface and a group of armed thugs. Bruce, unable to change into Batman, uses the darkness an a connecting cave filled with bats to convince the lowlifes that Batman is among them so he can escape and return as Batman before they get away.
117	** An episode in which a modern-day pirate gang led by 'Blackbeard' would attack and rob various ships. When an entire ocean liner is taken, Batman follows them to the 'Graveyard of Ships' in the Sargasso Sea, where he discovers the pirates plan to use the liner as a base.
118	** An episode in which the Scarecrow poisons Gotham's water supply and meddles with the TV and Radio transmissions to make the entire city afraid of Batman, Batman must try to restore order while avoiding rabid mobs of civilians and police. It's likely that this episode was retooled into "Dreams in Darkness".
119	** Dini also conceived a story about Poison Ivy seducing ComicBook/SwampThing, but it turned out that the latter character was [[ExiledFromContinuity off-limits due to rights issues]]. Eventually the same idea ended up being used by others in the unconnected ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'' series.
120	** Dini also thought of doing a team up between Ra's Al Ghul and Poison Ivy, but it was shelved when the show staff moved on to work on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''. Coincidentally, this team up would be shown happening in the ''ComicBook/Injustice2'' comics.
121	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Has its own page.]]
122	* WordOfGay:
123	** Paul Dini [[WordOfGay has confirmed]] that Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy were in a physical relationship while together, [[HideYourLesbians even though they could never explicitly confirm that on the show]].
124	** Clayface was in a relationship with his friend Teddy Lupus, which was confirmed by show director Kevin Altieri.

Context Trivia / BatmanTheAnimatedSeries