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Batman the Animated Series

00Beast00Beast
edited May 2012 in General Discussion Posts: 4,762
Is anyone else a die-hard fan of BTAS? I have been for several years now, it was one of the earliest incarnations of Batman that I ever saw, and thus, it is my favorite incarnation of the World's Greatest Detective. From the classics like "Heart of Ice" and "On Leather Wings" to the more obscure and estranged episodes like "Time Out of Joint" or "Baby-Doll", which ones are your favorites and least favorites? If you're a big fan of BTAS, why are you?

Comments

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited May 2012 Posts: 28,694
    TBAS both the early and late 90s runs were my childhood, and are the most prominent reasons why I am such a big Batman fan in general today. The two series had such a maturity and depth to them that was refreshing from other superhero type shows, like the 90s Spiderman where TV law permitted them from showing Spidey punching anyone. As for my favorite episodes, one that comes to mind is the episode where a few kids get together and each share their own image of what they think Batman looks like, and one of them in the Dark Knight Returns style Batman, my favorite Batman graphic novel.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,474
    I've never been into animation, graphic novels, comics, etc., but on my last day of my college semester last Friday, my die-hard Batman fan of a friend was looking at a graphic novel called Batman Noel, or something like that? Not sure what it was, but I was extremely impressed by the drawings. I've never had a problem with graphic novels, I might have to get into checking them out some time soon.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited May 2012 Posts: 28,694
    Creasy47 wrote:
    I've never been into animation, graphic novels, comics, etc., but on my last day of my college semester last Friday, my die-hard Batman fan of a friend was looking at a graphic novel called Batman Noel, or something like that? Not sure what it was, but I was extremely impressed by the drawings. I've never had a problem with graphic novels, I might have to get into checking them out some time soon.

    I highly recommend The Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One, definitive Frank Miller Batman graphic novels, and two of the best. Jeph Loeb (writer) and Tim Sale (artist) team up a lot and did two great Batman graphic novels, The Long Halloween, and Dark Victory. The mystery in The Long Halloween will have you crazed. Kingdom Come written by Mark Waid and drawn by the amazingly talented Alex Ross has Batman at an old age who has to have robotics hold his body in place from all he has put it through, and the novel is a mashing of big DC superheroes who fight evil superheroes on a large scale, and is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. Check out Alex Ross's work, he's mind boggling.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,474
    Sounds awesome. I really wish I had taken more interest in this a few months ago, when I could have stopped by my friend's room and borrowed almost any of those listed, I'm sure. Year One sounds very familiar, I remember reading something about it just a while back.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    @Creasy47, I just searched Batman Noel, and that artist is Lee Bermejo, I'd know his style anywhere. He drew the art for the amazing Joker graphic novel from just a few years back, written by Brian Azzarello. It is very Joker centered, and very gritty and violent, which is why I love it and its interpretation of Joker so much. There is a scene where Joker is taking a man along with him into a random house to kill a couple, and the man says "Who's house is this?", and Joker answers "Who cares." Chilling stuff.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,474
    Very creepy. Just goes to show that the Joker just does not care about what he does, or what the consequences are: he's just pure evil. Even the drawings of him in the novel were excellently drawn.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Creasy47 wrote:
    Very creepy. Just goes to show that the Joker just does not care about what he does, or what the consequences are: he's just pure evil. Even the drawings of him in the novel were excellently drawn.
    And they look so close to the The Dark Knight version of Joker, which was actually released after the art for Joker in the graphic novel was finished.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,474
    Wow, really? I did not know that, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7. Very cool piece of information. I'm just such a fan of the gritty, dark version of the Joker that I've seen in TDK, Batman: Arkham Asylum and City.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    TBAS both the early and late 90s runs were my childhood, and are the most prominent reasons why I am such a big Batman fan in general today. The two series had such a maturity and depth to them that was refreshing from other superhero type shows, like the 90s Spiderman where TV law permitted them from showing Spidey punching anyone. As for my favorite episodes, one that comes to mind is the episode where a few kids get together and each share their own image of what they think Batman looks like, and one of them in the Dark Knight Returns style Batman, my favorite Batman graphic novel.

    Yeah, that episode never really did it for me. I thought the kids were super annoying and the ending with Firefly was pretty lame if you ask me. Also, they just had to throw in a Joel Schumacher reference. I love Batman Forever, so I thought that reference was pretty tacky! Anyway, the TNBA (The New Batman Adventures) when Batgirl became more prominent, Dick Grayson became Nightwing, and Tim Drake became Robin wasn't up to speed with the original BTAS I thought. The series animation was better, yes, and the overall feel was sleeker, but I thought the episode stories were much weaker and lacked the original menace and brooding darkness which the BTAS from 1992-1995 maintained.
  • bondbat007bondbat007
    Posts: 1,407
    I raced home from school everyday to catch B:TAS on tv. An amazing part of my childhood. I met Kevin Conroy last year when he did a panal at C2E2 in Chicago and he has great stories and IS Batman to me
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    bondbat007 wrote:
    I raced home from school everyday to catch B:TAS on tv. An amazing part of my childhood. I met Kevin Conroy last year when he did a panal at C2E2 in Chicago and he has great stories and IS Batman to me

    AAAAHHHH!!!! I wish I had been there with you! AND I AGREE! Kevin Conroy IS Batman! There is no substitute!!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    00Beast wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    TBAS both the early and late 90s runs were my childhood, and are the most prominent reasons why I am such a big Batman fan in general today. The two series had such a maturity and depth to them that was refreshing from other superhero type shows, like the 90s Spiderman where TV law permitted them from showing Spidey punching anyone. As for my favorite episodes, one that comes to mind is the episode where a few kids get together and each share their own image of what they think Batman looks like, and one of them in the Dark Knight Returns style Batman, my favorite Batman graphic novel.

    Yeah, that episode never really did it for me. I thought the kids were super annoying and the ending with Firefly was pretty lame if you ask me. Also, they just had to throw in a Joel Schumacher reference. I love Batman Forever, so I thought that reference was pretty tacky! Anyway, the TNBA (The New Batman Adventures) when Batgirl became more prominent, Dick Grayson became Nightwing, and Tim Drake became Robin wasn't up to speed with the original BTAS I thought. The series animation was better, yes, and the overall feel was sleeker, but I thought the episode stories were much weaker and lacked the original menace and brooding darkness which the BTAS from 1992-1995 maintained.

    I thought The New Batman Adventures were much darker than that of the original animated Batman series. There were the grown up sexual references, the guns actually shot bullets and Batman actually got shot and bled, and though there is less a focus on Batman and more on the team, I admire the risk they took, and I think they pulled it off.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    @Brady: Yes, there was that focus on the more mature, but overall I thought that the original atmosphere of the gangsters wearing suits and hats, the whole '40s feel, really suited BTAS, and I liked the villains better as were. The new looks for Joker, Riddler, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Mad Hatter weren't as good as their BTAS versions, and some of the newer animations didn't feel right to me as opposed to BTAS. Still, it is one and the same series, just revamped a little bit, so I like it all!
  • Risico007Risico007
    Posts: 9,771
    Huge batman fan and it started from the animated series I loved it and honestly can't wait for beware the batman before people pounce on me batman has a slew of awesome villains that have never been used before so to have a series making a point of bringing these villains to life is very cool in my opnion. One of my favourite graphic novels I read at least once a year is batman year 100 which reminds me I should read it again
  • licensetoforumlicensetoforum
    Posts: 371
    BTAS is something I can still enjoy as a young adult. I just can't help but admire the in depth storytelling for what is supposed to be a kid's show. I also thought they did a good job with Batman Beyond.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    licensetoforum wrote:
    BTAS is something I can still enjoy as a young adult. I just can't help but admire the in depth storytelling for what is supposed to be a kid's show. I also thought they did a good job with Batman Beyond.

    Indeed, it's story-telling depth and maturity, even though I didn't catch it as a little kid, strikes me as more than impressive now. The psychology on episodes like "Nothing to Fear" and "Dreams in Darkness" seem fit for a Tim Burton Batman movie instead of a cartoon. Big points to Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett for dreaming up this legened of a show!
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    00Beast wrote:
    Anyway, the TNBA (The New Batman Adventures) when Batgirl became more prominent, Dick Grayson became Nightwing, and Tim Drake became Robin wasn't up to speed with the original BTAS I thought. The series animation was better, yes, and the overall feel was sleeker, but I thought the episode stories were much weaker and lacked the original menace and brooding darkness which the BTAS from 1992-1995 maintained.

    TNBA's problem is that their order number was too low. 24 episodes just wasn't enough for the writers to do anything. They should have had a 52 episode order, similar to STAS (Superman: The Animated Series) even the 65 episode first season order that BTAS had.

    If you've read The Batman Adventures (vol 2), it gave the series a lot more of a chance to breath, and did the show a great deal of justice (and Batman changes to his Justice League design halfway through, but nobody else changes).
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Agent007391 wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    Anyway, the TNBA (The New Batman Adventures) when Batgirl became more prominent, Dick Grayson became Nightwing, and Tim Drake became Robin wasn't up to speed with the original BTAS I thought. The series animation was better, yes, and the overall feel was sleeker, but I thought the episode stories were much weaker and lacked the original menace and brooding darkness which the BTAS from 1992-1995 maintained.

    TNBA's problem is that their order number was too low. 24 episodes just wasn't enough for the writers to do anything. They should have had a 52 episode order, similar to STAS (Superman: The Animated Series) even the 65 episode first season order that BTAS had.

    If you've read The Batman Adventures (vol 2), it gave the series a lot more of a chance to breath, and did the show a great deal of justice (and Batman changes to his Justice League design halfway through, but nobody else changes).

    Indeed, TNBA did have too few episodes, 24 was just not enough. Still, there were some really epic episodes, like "Holiday Knights", "Sins of the Father", "Never Fear", "Over the Edge", "Growing Pains", "Old Wounds", and "Judgment Day", to name a few.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    00Beast wrote:
    Still, there were some really epic episodes, like "Holiday Knights", "Sins of the Father", "Never Fear", "Over the Edge", "Growing Pains", "Old Wounds", and "Judgment Day", to name a few.

    Toss in "Joker's Millions", too. That one was great. "Old Wounds" and "Over the Edge" are probably my two favorites from that short, short series.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Agent007391 wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    Still, there were some really epic episodes, like "Holiday Knights", "Sins of the Father", "Never Fear", "Over the Edge", "Growing Pains", "Old Wounds", and "Judgment Day", to name a few.

    Toss in "Joker's Millions", too. That one was great. "Old Wounds" and "Over the Edge" are probably my two favorites from that short, short series.

    "Joker's Millions" was all right, but sometimes goofy and ridiculous. Also, there was a considerable lack of action compared to some other episodes in the series. Still, it had some great moments, like when Nightwing and Batgirl take out King Barlow's thugs in the Iceberg Lounge.
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