FOX's "Batman: The Animated Series" Discussion (1992-1995)

[TheLaughingMann]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

I highly doubt the studios would ditch capable technology, since it would mean never being able to preserve or resurrect their old catalogue again.

That's understandable. Heck, I think you can still get brand new VCRs from certain places.

I am glad to be watching this show in the proper viewing order, though. I think a lot of my episode watching was just cable TV rerunning old episodes. It's how I caught a lot of cartoons/anime back then.

Toonami had it bad. God, watching Dragon Ball and Z was a yearly endeavor.

[bongozoid]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

I am one of five people alive who thought Batman Beyond was of a comparable quality, especially since this series dipped a bit in quality in the final season.

Make that 6 ;-)

[TheLaughingMann]

Originally Posted by bongozoid

make that 6 ;-)

7.

[Moviefan2k4]

I liked "Batman Beyond" as well, to the point I'd love a live-action film based on it. Maybe a few years from now, Affleck could play the aged Bruce Wayne, passing the mantle to Terry after being crippled in battle.

[blurayfriend]

I vote BTAS is one of the best animated series of all time, WITH the exception of the last season/TNBA/re-designed episodes, which I never quite cared for and which seemed to have more in common with Pokemon than the noir character studies of the original version of the show.

[MD-Blu]

I know this won't happen but I would really enjoy if they released the complete series (B:TAS) on BD.

[matirocker]

Originally Posted by blurayfriend

I vote BTAS is one of the best animated series of all time, WITH the exception of the last season/TNBA/re-designed episodes, which I never quite cared for and which seemed to have more in common with Pokemon than the noir character studies of the original version of the show.

Episodes like ''Mad Love'', ''Over The Edge'', ''Growing Pains'', ''Judgment Day'', ''Never Fear'', ''Old Wounds'' and a few more stand side by side with BTAS best, in my opinion. People find the character design very off putting and that takes them away from the great episodes.

And about Batman Beyond, I think its quality is comparable to BTAS only in its first season. Starting in season 2, the network forced Timm and Co to make the show more oriented towards Terry and high school instead of Bruce Wayne. Silly move. The show never got as good as it was with season 1 , except for a few episodes like ''Out of the Past'', ''The Call'' and a few others. But overall, BTAS>BB

[Vlad Draculi]

Agreed as those are all great episodes. Don't forget the one where Superman had to dress up as Batman and "Legends of the Dark Knight". I enjoyed most of the redesign show, but yes, it did have its issues. It gave us some of the worst episodes of the franchise like "Critters" and the new designs for Riddler, Joker, and Mad Hatter were terrible.

[TheLaughingMann]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

Agreed as those are all great episodes. Don't forget the one where Superman had to dress up as Batman and "Legends of the Dark Knight". I enjoyed most of the redesign show, but yes, it did have its issues. It gave us some of the worst episodes of the franchise like "Critters" and the new designs for Riddler, Joker, and Mad Hatter were terrible.

Meanwhile, Justice League nailed the animated Joker wonderfully. Granted I loved the B:TAS design until it got revamped in the last season, when he came about in Justice League, my jaw dropped and I thought "Yes...yes...THIS...is a good lookin' Joker...".

[Dynamo of Eternia]

It is a great show. I'm actually currently collecting the DC Direct Animated Series/New Batman Adventures figures that they've been releasing. I got WAY behind on them, so I actually just recently dropped a few hundred bucks playing catch up on them.

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

and the new designs for Riddler, Joker, and Mad Hatter were terrible.

I didn't "hate" the redesign of the Joker, but it was kind of odd, especially the eyes. It's a design that IMO works better in still images than in animation.

They did improve the Joker redesign quite a bit in the flashback sequence in the "Batman Beyond Return of the Joker" film (in which the designs for the characters were still otherwise the later episode versions). They fixed his face quite a bit, especially his eyes. And that design carried over to the Justice League series.

Incidentally, while one could argue that the plot of the overall movie had it's issues, IMO one of the greatest things to come out of the whole animated series universe was that flashback sequence in the Uncut version of "Batman Beyond Return of the Joker." Don't get me started on the cut version that was initially released.

[Show spoiler](The Joker dying from tripping over an electrical wire while standing in a puddle... yeah like THAT is what would take him down after all of the times he lived through so many things well above and beyond that)

I do agree about the Riddler and Mad Hatter designs. It seems with The Riddler they were trying to somewhat emulate the look of Jim Carrey in Batman Forever. But I liked the initial animated series design of him SO much more. It's also kind of ironic since in the "New Adventures" episodes they went back to the more traditional human look of the Penguin as opposed to the more deformed Batman Returns-influenced design of the earlier Animated Series episodes.

[TheLaughingMann]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

It is a great show. I'm actually currently collecting the DC Direct Animated Series/New Batman Adventures figures that they've been releasing. I got WAY behind on them, so I actually just recently dropped a few hundred bucks playing catch up on them.




I didn't "hate" the redesign of the Joker, but it was kind of odd, especially the eyes. It's a design that IMO works better in still images than in animation.

They did improve the Joker redesign quite a bit in the flashback sequence in the "Batman Beyond Return of the Joker" film (in which the designs for the characters were still the later episode versions). They fixed his face quite a bit, especially his eyes. And that design carried over to the Justice League series.

Incidentally, while one could argue that the plot of the overall movie had it's issues, IMO one of the greatest things to come out of the whole animated series universe was that flashback sequence in the Uncut version of "Batman Beyond Return of the Joker." Don't get me started on the cut version that was initially released.

[Show spoiler](The Joker dying from tripping over an electrical wire while standing in a puddle... yeah like THAT is what would take him down after all of the times he lived through so many things well above and beyond that)

I do agree about the Riddler and Mad Hatter designs. It seems with The Riddler they were trying to somewhat emulate the look of Jim Carrey in Batman Forever. But I liked the initial animated series design of him SO much more. It's also kind of ironic since in the "New Adventures" episodes they went back to the more traditional human look of the Penguin as opposed to the more deformed Batman Returns-influenced design of the earlier Animated Series episodes.

Ugh, I remember that. But they had to do it cause in the uncut version,

[Show spoiler] him getting shot by a projectile from his "Bang!" gun in the chest was a bit too dark and mature. There was no blood, but the imagery surely was a bit much.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by TheLaughingMann

Ugh, I remember that. But they had to do it cause in the uncut version,

[Show spoiler] him getting shot by a projectile from his "Bang!" gun in the chest was a bit too dark and mature. There was no blood, but the imagery surely was a bit much.

Yeah, I get why they did it that way, it was just lame. LOL

[matirocker]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

Don't forget the one where Superman had to dress up as Batman

Well, ''Knight Time'' was from STAS, not BTAS, but yeah, that was a great episode, even if the 3rd act with Brainiac was a bit cliche and nothing to write home about.

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Incidentally, while one could argue that the plot of the overall movie had it's issues, IMO one of the greatest things to come out of the whole animated series universe was that flashback sequence in the Uncut version of "Batman Beyond Return of the Joker."

It's also kind of ironic since in the "New Adventures" episodes they went back to the more traditional human look of the Penguin as opposed to the more deformed Batman Returns-influenced design of the earlier Animated Series episodes.

What issues do you have with the movie? I think it's terrific, the best Batman movie only behind Mask Of The Phantasm.

Why is it ironic? They went back to a more faithful to the comic books style with Penguin instead of (probably) having told to recreate the Burton's movie style. Same with Catwoman, they made her brunette and short haired instead of blond and long like Michele Pfeiffer's.

[Vlad Draculi]

I never understood why they were forced to alter RotJ. There was nothing remotely different in there that hadn't already been done in Mask of the Phantasm.

[TheLaughingMann]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

I never understood why they were forced to alter RotJ. There was nothing remotely different in there that hadn't already been done in Mask of the Phantasm.

Me neither.

[blurayfriend]

Originally Posted by matirocker

Episodes like ''Mad Love'', ''Over The Edge'', ''Growing Pains'', ''Judgment Day'', ''Never Fear'', ''Old Wounds'' and a few more stand side by side with BTAS best, in my opinion. People find the character design very off putting and that takes them away from the great episodes.

And about Batman Beyond, I think its quality is comparable to BTAS only in its first season. Starting in season 2, the network forced Timm and Co to make the show more oriented towards Terry and high school instead of Bruce Wayne. Silly move. The show never got as good as it was with season 1 , except for a few episodes like ''Out of the Past'', ''The Call'' and a few others. But overall, BTAS>BB

Agree about BB, first season is great. Funny you mention the above TNBA episodes though, I always hated "Mad Love" simply because it does not hold a candle to the excellent comic version which predated it. That and "Old Wounds" suffer from the same problem- they have flashback scenes animated in the NEW style, which makes no sense since they depict Batman in the redesigned black and grey outfit despite the obvious animation changes.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

I never understood why they were forced to alter RotJ. There was nothing remotely different in there that hadn't already been done in Mask of the Phantasm.

A child getting viciously tortured by a psychopath and left with permanent psychological scars is a LOT darker than anything in Mask Of The Phantasm, especially since

[Show spoiler]said child flat-out MURDERS the Joker.

[L.J.]

Always liked the show really is one of the better animated shows. Now days enjoy watching it with my kids.

[TheLaughingMann]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

A child getting viciously tortured by a psychopath and left with permanent psychological scars is a LOT darker than anything in Mask Of The Phantasm, especially since

[Show spoiler]said child flat-out MURDERS the Joker.

Yeah, in re-watching it, I just realized how the Joker was dealt with. And man...I will say RotJ dabbled in some deep, dark moments. Even the Joker's identity in the episode was a bit mindblowing. I could see why they did edit it. But if you want to see how far the show could go...this was a good example. And I mean good.

Mask of the Phantasm is still the peak of any Batman animated adaptation I've seen, but I'd give RotJ a close second.

[Vlad Draculi]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

A child getting viciously tortured by a psychopath and left with permanent psychological scars is a LOT darker than anything in Mask Of The Phantasm, especially since

[Show spoiler]said child flat-out MURDERS the Joker.

I don't see how it is that shocking, honestly.