BATMAN - THE ANIMATED SERIES TV SERIES V. 4(1997):
THESE ARE CULLED FROM
"THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES" series!!
After reading the reviews on IMDb, I have very low expectations
for this!!!
These sets are NOT in chronological order!!! So if you
want to watch them that way, I've put the air dates on
them so you can jump around and watch them that
way!!
As for the actors, Kevin Conroy is the best ever voice
actor for Batman, ever(IMHO)!! Also great here is Bob
Hastings as Commissioner Gordon & Efram Zimbalist Jr.
as Alfred! They have replaced Loren Lester with Matthew
Velencia as Robin, as he has moved on to being Nightwing!!
Just a side note here, this series is really quite risque
for a children's show!! Cases in point: "Mean Seasons"
& "Critters"!!
DISC 1:
EPISODE 1: HOLIDAY KNIGHTS(Sept. 13, 1997):
Harley and Ivy are out after some holiday fun, with Bruce
Wayne!! They take him out after a party to do a little shopping,
which he ends up paying for!! All this while he's under the
influence of a potion that Ivy concocted!! Of course, not knowing
who they're dealing with, Batman shows up to ruin their plans!!
And since we've already had three of the main villains in the
Baman lore, why not throw in a fourth!!! Joker swears to off
a bunch of people before midnight on December 31, as he's
vowed to not kill anyone for a whole year starting on the
first!!
Guest starring in this is the great Mark Hamill(Star Wars) as
the Joker, as well as Ron Perlman(Hellboy) as Clayface! A
EPISODE 2: SINS OF THE FATHER(Sept. 20, 1997):
Two face is out after "Shifty" Drake, and grabs his son to find
him!! Batman intercedes, and he ends up taking the kid in to
help him out!! And here we have the introduction of the new
Robin, Tim Drake!
Guest starring here is Richard Moll(Night Court) as Two-Face!! A
EPISODE 3: COLD COMFORT(Oct. 12, 1997):
Mr. Freeze is back, and he's pulling jobs that just don't make
any sense!! He destroys fossils which compose a dinosaur, a
painting of Gotham, ect!! The reason: to repay Gotham for
his condition!!
Guest starring here is Michael Ansara(Broken Arrow, Star Trek:
TOS episode "Day Of The Dove", Star Trek: DS9 episodes "Blood
Oath" & "The Muse" Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback"!!
Also was in Babylon 5 episode "The Geometry Of Shadows")!! A
EPISODE 4: DOUBLE TALK(Nov. 22, 1997):
And here we have back for another stupid episode, Scarface &
the Ventriloquist!! He gets out of jail with the help of Bruce
Wayne, who also gives him a job at Wayne Enterprises!! Unfortunately
the rest of his gang is missing him and the "boss", and are pressuring
him to come back!!!
This has Billy Barty(Willow, Legend, Circus Boy, Roustabout, Harum
Scarum)!! A-
EPISODE 5: YOU SCRATCH MY BACK(Nov. 15, 1997):
Catwoman, for what ever reason, is "helping" Nightwing to
stop some smugglers! What's in it for her, and why is Dick
so Hell bent on one upping Batman!!
Stick with this one and you'll be pleased with the episode!! A
Guest starring as Catwoman is Adrian Barbeau!!
EPISODE 6: NEVER FEAR(Oct. 1, 1997):
So, here we have a returning villain in The Scarecrow!! So, people
in Gotham are acting really weird, not doing normal things at all,
showing no fear!! Wonder what his plan is!?! A
DISC 2:
EPISODE 7: JOKER'S MILLIONS(Feb. 21, 1998):
Joker's back, which means that Mark Hamill is back!! First things first,
what an opening!! No build up, just straight to the action!! Turns out
the big joke's on Joker: He's broke!! That is, until he gets a letter in the
mail!! The most notorious criminal in Gotham has died and willed all
his ill gotten riches to The Joker!! We all know something's up!! In this
we also get The Penguin!! You'd think that he'd help out his old friend
Harley out of Arkham, but noooo, he's decided to get a new henchman!
He's got more troubles than that, the IRS is out after him, and he's found
out that the whole riches thing is a sham!! A
EPISODE 8: GROWING PAINS(Feb. 28, 1998):
Robin runs across a runaway girl!! He feels the need to help her out!
Seems there's a guy out after her and he's really, REALLY big!! And
he also appears to be a thief!! Looks like it's Clayface!!! This is pretty
sad!! A+
EPISODE 9: LOVE IS A CROC(July 11, 1998):
Baby Doll is back!! Another one of those characters that really
needed to be kept in someone's head!! A woman with an affliction
that keeps her from growing!! She sees Killer Croc on TV and decides
that he can help her get revenge on those who've made fun of her
all her life!! This is really juvenile!! A-
EPISODE 10: TORCH SONG(June 13, 1998):
This is about love gone really wrong!! A dude who works for a singer
and has a thing for her gets really upset when she tells him to take a
flying leap!! His thing is fire!! And he goes by the moniker of Firefly!! In
the series Gotham, Firefly is a girl!! A
EPISODE 11: THE ULTIMATE THRILL(Sept. 14, 1998):
A woman who used to be a stunt double for a lot of actors and loves nothing
more than to get a thrill by doing dangerous things robs a bunch of wealthy
people on a dirigible then jumps out of it at 3000 feet! She alludes
the police and Batman, leaving Batman to limp back to base!! She needs
to dump the ill gotten goods to The Penguin, who appears to be in cahoots
with her!! After her first bout with Batman, she just can't get enough of him,
much to his chagrin!! A
EPISODE 12: OVER THE EDGE(May 23, 1998):
Scarecrow's back, and he's brought mayhem to Batman and the crew!
He's made everyone think that Batman's the bad guy!! And the police,
as well as everyone else, is out after him, Robin and Nightwing!
This has cameos by Harley, Mad Hatter, Riddler, and the Ventriloquist
and Scarface!! Bane also shows up here!! Another great episode!! A
DISC 3:
EPISODE 13: MEAN SEASONS(Apr. 25, 1998):
Hmmm, seems like someone is jealous of the new styles coming
out in Gotham!! Revenge is the name of the game here!! Another
depressing, but good, episode!! A
EPISODE 14: CRITTERS(Sept. 19, 1998):
A dude who's creating growth hormones that are working a little
too well!! He gets into a lot of trouble, is told to stop the experiments,
and is plunged into ruin!! A year later, he comes back to Gotham with
a bevy of giant insects to wreak havoc on Gotham!! And this is just
the beginning!!
The first, and probably only, HOLY here!! Robin says "Holy Cow"
as the city is being overrun by, of course, cows!! LOL!!!
This is by far the weakest link!! B-
EPISODE 15: CULT OF THE CAT(Sept. 18, 1998):
Catwoman bites off a little more than she bargained for when she
steals a golden cat from a cult of cat worshipers!!
Adrienne Barbeau(Maude, Escape From N.Y) guest stars as Selina/
Catwoman!!
A weird "what are the odds"!! I happened to pause the dvd for a
minute, and in the plume caused by an explosion aimed at Batman
and Catwoman is a face!!!! Cool!! A
EPISODE 16: ANIMAL ACT(Sept. 26, 1998):
This is another pretty weak episode, where someone's using animals
to steal stuff!! The Mad Hatter makes an appearance here!!
Guest starring Roddy McDowell(Planet Of The Apes)!! A-
EPISODE 17: OLD WOUNDS(Oct. 3, 1998):
The back story on what ever happened between Batman and
Robin!! Of course Joker's at the bottom of all this!! An excellent
episode!! A+
EPISODE 18: THE DEMON WITHIN(May 9, 1998):
At an auction, Bruce brings Tim with him, where he meets a really
off-beat dude!! His name is Klarian, and he gets into a bidding war
with another interesting dude, Mr. Blood, who's Klarian's "uncle"!
It appears that Klarian is a warlock!! And he REALLY wants the
branding iron that he lost in the auction!! This is another of one
those episodes that I feel is weak due to the fact that it relies on
magic, sorcery and the like which takes the Batman series out of
the realm of possibilities and straight to the "never could happen"
realm!!! B
DISC 4:
EPISODE 19: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT(Oct. 10, 1998):
A kid is telling a story about how his father was working in a music
store when The Joker breaks in to do some thievery!! So these are
suppose to be stories from the early days of Batman, and the really
weird thing here, the voices of Batman, Robin and Joker are all done
by someone other than the actual known actors!! This is really kinda
lame!! B
EPISODE 20: GIRL'S NIGHT OUT(Oct. 17, 1998):
Livewire is back in Gotham, and Batman's gone!! This leaves it up
to Batgirl to take care of things!! But she gets some unexpected help
from Supergirl!! But it just doesn't seem fair, so let's throw in Harley
and Poison Ivy!! And then there's Penguin!! Cute! A
EPISODE 21: MAD LOVE(Jan. 16, 1999):
Commissioner Gordon goes into have his annual dental check-up
and instead of a dentist, he is greeted by The Joker and Harley!
Batman breaks up the party just in time, but the two get away!
And he's vowed to kill Batman in a brilliant all-time greatest plan!!
This re-tells how Harley and Joker first got together!! Ultimately,
Harley is the one who goes after Batman!!
This was actually the last episode of the series!! A
EPISODE 22: CHEMISTRY(Oct. 24, 1998):
It looks like the love bug as finally bitten Bruce!! But when we look
deeper, it's really just chemistry!! And it looks like Poison Ivy is
behind the whole thing!! It's Robin and Batgirl who break the whole
thing open!! A
EPISODE 23: BEWARE THE CREEPER(Nov. 7, 1998):
While doing a TV special on The Joker and the story of his origin, who
shows up but The Joker, along with his henchmen and Harley! This
brings Batman and Robin to the fray! While they battle the clown
prince, the newsman gets thrown into the same vat that Joker was
thrown into, and he comes out as a new hero/criminal, The Creeper!!
This is by far the funniest episode of all the Batman shows, movie
TV or serials!! A
EPISODE 24: JUDGMENT DAY(Oct. 31, 1998):
This episode starts out with The Penguin, Killer Croc & Two Face!!
Shortly thereafter, Penguin is visited by "The Judge", a dude dressed
as, of course, a judge who comes along saying it's judgement day and
proceeds to beat the snot out of him!! He then goes after Croc, The
Riddler & Two Face!! Just who is this dude and what's his play??!!
This guest stars all of the normal voice actors for the main villains,
as well as Malachi Throne(It Takes A Thief, Star Trek: TOS episodes
"The Cage" & "The Menagerie" Part I & II, Star Trek: TNG episodes
"Unification" Part I & II, and Star Trek: TNV episode "In Harms Way",
as well as Babylon 5 "The Coming Of Shadows" and the original
Batman TV series as False Face)!! A
SPECIALS:
DISC 1:
INTERACTIVE ARKHAM ASYLUM:
INTRODUCTION:
A synopsis of what/where/who/why of Arkham!! With input
from Bruce Timm(Executive Producer), Dan Riba(Director),
James Tucker(Storyboard Artist), Paul Dini(Writer/Producer),
Alan Burnett(Producer), Andrea Romano(Voice Director)!
CLAYFACE:
All about the Clay one!! With input from Bruce Timm(Producer),
Dan Riba(Director), James Tucker(Storyboard Artist)!
HARLEY QUINN:
One of my favorite "villains" from Batman!! Input from Alan
Burnett(Producer), Bruce Timm(Producer), Paul Dini(Writer/
Producer), Eric Radomski(Producer), James Tucker(Storyboard
Artist)!
THE JOKER:
THE villain of Batman!! Input from Bruce Timm(Producer), Alan
Burnett(Producer), Paul Dini(Writer/Producer), Dan Riba(Director)
Andrea Romano(Voice Director), Eric Radomski(Producer)
MR. FREEZE:
The coldest of them all!! With input from Paul Dini(Writer/Producer)
Bruce Timm(Producer), Dan Riba(Director), Andrea Romano(Voice
Director)!
THE PENGUIN:
Unlike Penguin in Gotham, this one is very true to the comic books!
With the input from Bruce Timm(Producer), Andrea Romano(Voice
Director), Alan Burnett(Producer), James Tucker(Storyboard Artist),
Eric Radomski(Producer), Dan Riba(Director)!
POISON IVY:
The plant lady! With input from Andrea Romano(Voice Director), James
Tucker(Storyboard Artist), Alan Burnett(Producer), Dan Riba(Director),
Paul Dini(Writer/Producer), Bruce Timm(Producer), Eric Radomski(Producer)!
RA'S AL GHUL:
The mystic of Batman! He, along with his daughter, want to save the world
in most unorthodox ways!! With the input from Bruce Timm(Producer),
Paul Dini(Writer/Producer), Dan Riba(Director), Alan Burnett(Producer)!
THE RIDDLER:
The one with all the answers!! With input from Alan Burnett(Producer),
Bruce Timm(Producer), Dan Riba(Director), Andrea Romano(Voice Director,
Eric Radomski(Producer)!
SCARECROW:
This is one of the lesser villains to me!! With the input from Paul Dini
(Writer/Producer), Bruce Timm(Producer), Alan Burnett(Producer), Dan
Riba(Director), Andrea Romano(Voice Director)!
TWO FACE:
A good guy gone soooo wrong!! With the input from Alan Burnett(Producer),
Paul Dini(Writer/Producer), Dan Rima(Director), Bruce Timm(Producer), James
Tucker(Storyboard Artist)!
VENTRILOQUIST & SCARFACE:
The dumbest of all the villains, this is one they could have done without!!
With the input from Bruce Timm(Producer), Dan Ribe(Director), Eric
Radomski(Producer), Andrea Romano(Voice Director), Alan Burnett(Producer)!
Glaringly absent here is CATWOMAN!!!!!
DISC 2:
The only special features on this disc is a commentary on the
episode "Over The Edge" with Bruce Timm(Producer), Paul Dini
(Writer/Producer), Glen Murakami(Art Director) & James Tucker
(Storyboard Artist)!
DISC 3:
Again, the only special is a commentary on the episode "Critters"
with Bruce Timm(Producer), Paul Dini(Producer), Dan Riba(Director)
Glen Murakami(Art Director) & James Tucker(Storyboard Artist)!!
DISC 4:
Sadly again, the only special on this disc is a commentary on
the episode "Legends Of The Dark Knight" with Bruce Timm
(Producer), Paul Dini(Producer), Dan Riba(Director), Glen
Murakami(Art Director) and James Tucker(Storyboard Artist)!
I really wish they had done a commentary on "Beware The
Creeper" or "Judgement Day"!!
From an IMDb.com customer
If this series supposed to be an improvement over Batman -
The Animated Series, I, for one, think it failed terribly. The
character drawing is lousy... (Catwoman, for instance, looks
awful...) But what really annoyed me is that it made Batman
look like a sort of wimp who just can't take care of himself
in a battle, without the help of two, even three sidekicks. I
mean, he's Batman, for God's sake! I know the comic books,
I know that Nightwing and Batgirl are supposed to be Batman's
allies, besides Robin, but still... making Batman say that he
needs help from them... What, he can't handle a few punches?
In BTAS, he could face a dozen adversaries without any
problem... He's getting old? Come on...
And another thing: I really don't think that Batman would
allow a kid like Tim Drake to go into battle that soon, without
years of hard training. One, it's irresponsible (and Batman is
everything, but irresponsible), and two, it's not what happened
in the comics, if we are to remain faithful to them.
Batman - The Animated Series made history, with its animation,
its stories and its characters... That really was a legend of Batman.
The New Adventures series turned the legend into just another
Batman flick. - lupescu81