Batman TAS confession

[doctormistermaster]

While we're on the subject of the series, does anyone else think Conroy's vocal performances were better in the early days of B:TAS than they are now? His voice in the Arkham games seems a little more phoned in and less emotive than the older stuff. As far as modern Bat-voices go, I think Greenwood and Badder are better, though classic!Conroy will always be my favorite.

Also, I'm just kind of curious what people mean when they say the show is "fair for it's time" or "hasn't aged well." Obviously, like any show, it has its fare share of unwatchable clunkers ("I've Got Batman in My Basement," *cringes*), but the best episodes still remain as timeless to me as they ever did. I'm probably blinded by the rose-colored glasses, but to me the writing still seems as good or better than most of what we've gotten in the comics the last few years.

Conroy's voice is still great but he is getting to old to play a younger Bruce as seen in the Arkham games. I feel very similar in regards to Hamill's Joker.

I think people are stating that the animation hasn't really held up compared to modern animated series. As a fan of animation I can totally understand the critique as it lacks some of the fluidity that modern viewers expect. However I believe that is part of the show's charm and even is used as part of the narrative artifice as the show recalls film noir which was a genre/mode of B-film production.

Some people are voicing narrative concerns but this seems to be a reflection of age as the show was intended for a younger audience. My nephew and niece both love the show whenever I put it on for them, even in the few moments where I roll my eyes. I haven't shown them some of the darker episodes that constantly appear on people's lists of best episodes, I can't wait until they are ready to watch Robin's Reckoning as it is my personal favorite. They respond equally well to Batman Brave and the Bold which makes me think that they have great taste in cartoons.

[Carabas]

Conroy's voice is still great but he is getting to old to play a younger Bruce as seen in the Arkham games.

How do you mean?

[doctormistermaster]

How do you mean?

I guess it is somewhat subjective but to my ear Conroy's voice has started to show signs of aging. I am not particularly well versed in the technical terms associated with vocal register but it is possibly a change in timbre or pitch which happens naturally with age. I think that his voice is still great and suited for the character but he is starting to sound more appropriate for a middle aged Batman.

[SiegePerilous02]

Conroy's voice is still great but he is getting to old to play a younger Bruce as seen in the Arkham games. I feel very similar in regards to Hamill's Joker.

I think people are stating that the animation hasn't really held up compared to modern animated series. As a fan of animation I can totally understand the critique as it lacks some of the fluidity that modern viewers expect. However I believe that is part of the show's charm and even is used as part of the narrative artifice as the show recalls film noir which was a genre/mode of B-film production.

Some people are voicing narrative concerns but this seems to be a reflection of age as the show was intended for a younger audience. My nephew and niece both love the show whenever I put it on for them, even in the few moments where I roll my eyes. I haven't shown them some of the darker episodes that constantly appear on people's lists of best episodes, I can't wait until they are ready to watch Robin's Reckoning as it is my personal favorite. They respond equally well to Batman Brave and the Bold which makes me think that they have great taste in cartoons.

I think Arkham verse Batman is middle aged anyway, so I still view Conroy's voice as being the appropriate age range. His delivery is a little more flat than it used to be, at least to me.

The lack of fluid animation in a lot of episodes does make it look dated in some respects, I agree. But not many modern American made cartoons have the level of atmosphere that B:TAS had, or such a unique style. I'm sure many anime films and TV series have surpassed it, but a lot of stuff on the Western front looks too similar to each other.

Narrative wise, eh, depends on the episode. Some have plot holes you can drive a truck through, while others are tighter than most entertainment aimed at the teen/young adult crowd. Plus, I honestly think the show in general has much better dialogue than any of the live action films, and is especially able to convey themes in more subtle ways than the exposition heavy dialogue of the Nolan trilogy.

[ViewtifulJC]

I rewatched the whole series pretty recently.

The darkness is the first thing you notice. Famously drawn on black paper, the "dark deco" art style combined the Tim Burton gothic "timelessness" (where blimps and black-and-white TVs sat alongside computers and modern-day firearms) with a cinematic film noir flair and a shot of Fleischer's Superman. The music, mostly conducted by Shirley Walker(an assistant to Danny Elfman) and a real live orchestra, also took cues from both Elfman's Batman score and gangster films of the 1940s. This immediately grounded the show in a darker aesthetic than its contemporaries.

On top of being more overtly violent than previous superhero shows to date(this is one of the first US cartoons to have realistic firearms), it also dealt with more serious subject matter, treating their conflicts with a more well-rounded psychological depth than the average 22-minute action cartoon. Drug use, split personality disorder, the aftermath of dealing with watching your parents killed, police corruption, and all sorts of taboos for children programming were all up for grabs. This is also reflected in the multi-dimensional rogues Batman often faced. Mr. Freeze wasn't just a gimmicky bad guy of the week, but a man with specific sympathetic motivations. The Mad Hatter isn't just a colorful rogue, but someone brought down by relatable human flaws like romantic frustration. In the dark world of Gotham City, there's a depth to the best episodes, the creators realizing its the characters that drive the conflicts and not the other way around.

But all the great music cues and sharp economical dialog would be for naught without proper actors to bring it to life, and much thanks has to go to voice casting director Andrea Romano. The actors all recorded together in one studio(opposed to the industry standard of doing them separately) which allowed the actors to really play off each other. Enough attention has been paid to the now-iconic voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as the Batman and the Joker respectively, but there's rarely a bum note in ANY of the characters, all the way down to the bit players. The universally great performances go a long way towards us buying into the various dramas and adventures.

-The first season of 65 episodes is wildly inconsistent, where great stories are followed by absolutely awful ones and everything in-between. The mini-movie like structure of the show means there's little continuity or long-term story arcs, and they have to hold together by the integrity of their own specific narratives. Some do it better than others. A few reasons I think resulted in the fluctuating quality:

1. AKOM. The show was animated by a variety of studios, AKOM being a factor in a dozen of them, and outside their last couple like Joker's Wild, they're by far the most incompetent animators of the bunch. Directors would sigh in despair knowing whatever they storyboarded would be animated by AKOM. They were fired after a particularly cruddy episode, and thus weren't a part of the second and third season.

2. A lot of scripts were taken from outside sources, people who didn't necessarily fit in with the style the producers wanted. That's where you get junk like "I've Got Batman in my Basement" that seems it came from a completely different show.

3. Not a single good episode has Sean Catherine Derek's name on it, the original story editor of the show. "The Cat and the Claw" "Cat Scratch Fever" "Nothing to Fear" "P.O.V.", "Prophecy of Doom", and "The Forgotten". All bad, all with one constant element. Sean Catherine Derek was all about social activism, Batman helping the homeless and Catwoman being all shrill feminism and animal protection, and not really a good fit for the gritty action show the producers wanted. Sean wasn't around for too long.

-All hail Paul Dini! He wrote the most episodes, many of which were some of the best the show ever had. He was equally adapt at screwball comedies as he was character studies and lurid melodramas, and wasn't afraid to mix them together to deliciously devastating effect. The Joker and Harley are perhaps the best, most recurring rogues on the show, and Dini's deft scripting endured them to us while never letting us forget they were the bad guys.

-For a show mainly dealing in the style of 1940s film noir, as its best it seems equally adept at a variety of genres. Indiana Jones adventure serials, 1950s suburban melodrama, 1950s sci-fi B-movies, whatever the hell Critters was.

-The New Batman Adventures changed art styles to fit into the even slicker, even more streamlined style of the then-currently being produced Superman animated series. This lead to generally smoother animation quality across the board, but the character redesigns were hit or miss. Some seem mostly the same(Harley is exactly the same), others never seemed better(I vastly prefer TBNA's designs of Batgirl, the Scarecrow, and The Penguin who no longer looks like that awful Burton character), others seem like big mistakes(The Joker being the most prominent one, removing his expressive eyes and red lips damages a lot of his appeal). Batman's voice is more "serious" than usual to off-set the younger light-hearted Robin and Batgirl that show up. Those two are actually rather good characters and I enjoyed having them around, instead of being annoyed by the obvious attempt to appeal to younger audiences. Many of the series best, darkest, and/or funniest episodes are included in these 20+ episodes, with the advances in staging and animation that comes with years of progress and experience. I'm cool with it.

-Like I said earlier, The Joker and Harley are really the big stars of the show. Batman's great obviously, his characterization and look like a perfect distillation of 50 years of stories, but in most stories he's not really the protagonist of these things, not the one who drives the stories. Joker and Harley appear a lot, and when Dini's writing them they are always an absolute highlight.

-The other popular rogues are various degrees of success. Mr. Freeze has never been better, of course, and stars in two of the show's strongest outings "Heart of Ice" and "Deep Freeze". Two-Face is the star of my favorite episode, and makes some great appearances in "Second Chance", "Almost Got 'Em", and "Judgement Day". He's also got a fantastic character design, keeping the cool yin-yang visual but without the silly half-burned suit thing. Some characters have a couple of great episodes to start with like the Mad Hatter, before lesser scripts make them into juvenile one dimensional baddies. Others like Catwoman have a parade of awful stories to star in like "Cat Scratch Fever", "Tyger Tyger" and "The Cat and the Claw" before she gets a great definitive showing in "Catwalk". Others, like the Riddler, have no great episodes despite having an awesome character design and limitless charisma. The plots they made for him always seemed a bit lacking for a character of his ability.

-I kinda wished Roxy Rocket caught on, she had a really bubbly fun-loving personality that I could have used more of.

-This show is pretty great

[ViewtifulJC]

as for the best episodes...

25. Vendetta: Killer Croc kidnaps his old enemies and frames Bullock.

Vendetta’s a rather solid episode, a little noir thriller with a hint of horror movie elements by way of its antagonist, much like On Leather Wings. And like that one, if the main antagonist isn’t that interesting, his fanatical powerset both necessities the intervention of a fantastical hero like Batman and provides a rather cool third-act set piece battle. This time its in a sewer, with Croc’s strength and natural way around the environment contrast against Batman’s gadgetry and ingenuity. Nicely animated, well-written, great atmosphere, and its resolution hints at some development in the antagonistic relationship between Batman and Harvey Bullock.

24. House & Garden: A killer cactus victimizes wealthy bachelors.

While most episodes go for 1940s old Hollywood, this one is 1950s Douglas Sirk melodrama with sci-fi b-movie twists. The first geinuely good usage of Ivy(besides being buddy to Harley’s antics), we finally see her as more than just an interesting visual. When she says she wanted a family, that she finally found everything she wanted, we believe it, both because of Pershing’s sincere vocal performance and how we align with Batman. Batman wishes for a world without evil, where every human life matters, and genuinely wishes his rogues to break away from their criminal obsessions. Like Heart of Ice or Mad as a Hatter, Dini sketches out a sympathetic core for Ivy, making her a more well-rounded character, and not just a gimmicky monster-of-the-week.

23. On Leather Wings: Batman tangles with a Jekyll-and-Hyde man-bat creature

The debut episode of the series, and if wasn’t immediately followed by a string of mediocre ones, you’d think the creators already had the show all figured out. The dark deco style, its Elfman-esque score, its inventive third act set pieces, its strong characterization and voice acting, sharp direction; yes this is the ideal episode of the Batman Animated Series.

22. Second Chance: Harvey Dent is kidnapped from the hospital...but by who!?

A clever whodunit who returns to one of the series’ most fascinating rogues. No spoilers here, but special mention must go to the great opening chase sequence, a triumph of storyboarding and Kirkland’s ever meticulous direction.

21. Legends of the Dark Knight: A group of kids tell stories about what Batman is REALLY like

Batman: The Animated Series was my first real introduction to the Caped Crusader, but its merely one interpretation of the character among many. “Legends of the Dark Knight” pays tribute to some of those prior influences, first with the pop Dick Sprang/Superfriends set piece filled with giant instruments and clumsy music cues, and then Frank Miller’s seminal Dark Knight Returns, excellently storyboarded by Darwyn Cooke. With the final “modern” Batman shows up, you can see how Bruce Timm and his team have found a balance between the two extremes. For many, that makes it definitive, but as this episode shows its only one narrator’s telling of this great character’s many adventures.

20. See No Evil: An ex-con steals an invisibility suit and tries to kidnap his daughter.

This is a good episode to point out the relative sophistication of this show compared to its contemporaries. What we have is a realistic drama between an ex-convict and his estranged wife over the possession of their child. Its well-acted and well-written, the man wisely balancing between possessive asshole and caring father, the woman strong-willed enough to stand up to him and any of his bullying. Of course, this is all blown up to fantastical proportions with the invisibility suit and great car chase sequences, but its that relatable human drama that drives all the action. The best episodes never forget it’s the characters that make us care.

19. Robin's Reckoning: Robin's origin in flashback, told as he and Batman track the man who killed Dick's parents.

The first half, the Emmy-awarding winning half, is really good, one of the best in the series. Great animation, a strong script, some of the best staged action sequences, and one of the classiest death scenes you’d ever see when Grayson’s parents fall to their doom. It develops both Dick and Bruce by showing their similarities, but also their differences. And I’m not gonna lie, Dick hugging that elephant as he leaves gets me every time. Unfortunately, this is a 2-part episode for whatever reason, so the second part has 20 minutes of Batman and Dick chasing after Zucco with worse animation, and with Zucco just being some hood, its just not very interesting. The strength of the first episode gets it in the top 25, though.

18: Perchance to Dream: Bruce Wayne gets the life he always wanted?

The best episode dealing with exploring Batman’s psychology. Kevin Conroy is fantastic, playing three different characters (Bruce, Thomas, and Batman), talking to himself but completely selling every moment. It contains some of the happiest and heart-breaking moments in the series when Bruce is relieved to know he isn’t Batman, and he never was. The dream reveal is foreshadowed if you look for them, like the jewelry store being unreadable or the old Mad Hatter theme in places. I would put this episode higher, but I always felt the interesting part of the episode was in the first half, then it kinda devolved into an inevitable chase and action scenes that aren’t all that.

17. Heart of Ice: Mr. Freeze sets out for a cold dish of revenge

Do not fret at the ranking of this consensus favorite! I am not cold to its charms, but merely have plenty of other episodes I enjoy even more. That is how good this series is! Mr. Freeze is turned from a z-list joke into a sinister yet sympathetic character, where the main conflict derided from the character’s understandable motivations. It’s a strong script, and much of its power has to go the sound team, not only for Freeze’s sad theme, but for the monotone metallic malice of Freeze’s voice, equally capable of pitiless asides and eloquent soliloquies that bookend the episode. It also shows how wrongheaded that “I AM VENGEANCE” speech is; Batman isn’t vengeance, that’s Freeze’s MO. Batman is Justice, and we get to see those conflicting ideologies play off each other over the right way to handle the real bad guy in this story. Still, as good as it is, something about it always seemed a bit off. Perhaps because it’s quite a bit similar to the Two-Face episode, but truncated without the players of Grace and Bruce. Maybe its that convenient flashback to his origin with the security camera with the impossible placement and editing.

16. Never Fear: The Scarecrow invents a way to make your fears disappear.

The New Batman Adventures redesigns are hit-or-miss, but the Scarecrow came out lookin’ like a champ in his best episode. Not only for his spooky new look, but the clever flip on his usual schemes: instead of Crane giving people fears, what if he took them all away? What if all the limits you placed on yourself suddenly seemed to disappear in your mind? We get to see a Bruce Wayne unleashed, taking down crocodiles with his bare hands and damn near killing people. This episode goes a long way towards justifying Robin’s existence, in that he’s that colorful bit of light to keep Batman from falling into the abyss.

15. Catwalk: Selena Kyle is tempted back into a life of crime.

After a pair of downright terrible Catwoman episodes that had her switching between shrill animal activist and parody-level feminism, Paul Dini cuts down to the core of the character. She sympathizes with the caged animals, as she herself has been declawed and has to fit in with high society. But she’s a bad girl at heart who can’t live without the thrills of breaking the rules, and soon she’s back to fun cat puns, effortless acrobatics, and sensual energy. Like its focal character, this great episode gracefully bounds between its plot points and set pieces, packed with humor and solid characterization.

14. Deep Freeze: A megalomaniac tycoon offers a deal with Mr. Freeze

Yes, I liked the second Mr. Freeze episode even more than the more acclaimed first. The stakes are much higher this time in a more ludicrous but hilarious way, where a stand-in for Walt Disney kidnaps Mr. Freeze with the robots from Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky to his underwater wonderland in hopes he’ll grant him Freeze’s immortality in exchange for reviving his wife. But while the spectacle is raised to doomsday levels, the heart of the conflict is still alive, naturally expanding on Freeze’s Nora tragedy in a way that makes sense to the character. Its one of the best episodes at putting us on the villain’s emphatic side, as opposed to the cold hand of justice that Batman deals out.

13. Avatar: Ra's Al Ghul seeks the ultimate power of an ancient demonic queen.

The Demon’s Quest is epic, but more than a little pretentious and a bit long-winded. Avatar condenses its Spielbergian adventure grandeur into a more palatable episode. Indiana Jones map montages and James Bond death trip escaping gadgetry sit alongside beautiful femme fetales and ego-maniacal would-be world conquerors, taking Batman out of his gothic element and showing off his pulp serial hero roots to giddy effect.

[ViewtifulJC]

12. Beware the Creeper: The Creeper Strikes!

Freakazoid invades the Animated Series to infectiously fun effect. What happens to Jack Ryder is horrific, but its looney tunes music cues and wacky atmosphere plays it(and the show) for laughs, and you can’t help but join in.

11. Joker's Favor: The Joker calls in a favor from a helpless little nobody.

Paul Dini’s first Joker script shows why he’s one of the best writers of the character, in that he’s in complete control of balancing his cruel, comedic and chaotic aspects. The Joker hounds this loser of a character for little reason but because he annoyed him on the highway, a long-gesturing 2-year gag simply because it brought amusement to him. Charlie is the first in a long line of Dini’s lovable losers, average joes with relatable problems stuck in crazy situations, that make them easy to root for(or at least hope Batman gets him out of this mess). Harley is introduced here and makes a strong impression, the perfect henchwoman to Mr. J and his schemes. Special shoutout to the Temple of Doom style set piece at the end, there.

10. The Man Who Killed Batman: Sid the Squid kills the Batman!

Now of course with the name of the show being “Batman: The Animated Series”, we the audience know he isn’t dead, but by keeping him off-screen for so long, its great fun to see all the various reactions to his supposed death. Especially by the hands of another of Dini’s lovable losers, Sid(the Squid). The weird fasciation The Joker has with Batman is touched upon here, who’s absolutely disgusted that somebody got to off the Bat before he did. His eulogy about Batman’s death is one of the greatest moments in the series, I really can’t overstate how perfect Mark Hamil is in this role. One of the funniest episodes they ever made.

9. Growing Pains: Robin assists an amnesiac stray

This episode contains some of the series’ best action moments, boosting inventive uses of the various props of the world, speed lines to emphasize motion, direction that shows the viewer the distance between characters and the geography of the world, and its expert staging. But what really puts this one in the top ten is the nuanced and powerful gravitas on display through its economical storytelling. Its sharp dialog and short montages say a lot more about Tim and Annie than any melodramatic proclamations can do. We are made to believe Annie is a living, breathing human being, which makes the gut punch of an ending hit that much harder with a level of maybe unanswerable ethical quandaries. We feel Robin’s connection to this person, but is Clayface wrong to take back what’s rightly his? Its an interesting moral limbo many of Batman’s contemporary action cartoons lack the ability to show, much less with the grace and power of this episode.

8. Critters: Giant animals attack Gotham!

Maybe the most universally hated episode of the series, and I love it. And hey, I get it. This is the one where Batman and co fight giant insects grown by hillbilly engineers. There’s not much in the way of characterization, but just lots and lots of spectacle. But holy goddamn, what a spectacle it is. Joe R. Landsale’s script is peppered with hilarious tongue-in-cheek reactions, the characters fully aware of the bizarreness of this episode contrasting against their typical gothic noir stylings. Its absolutely compelling television, with one unpredictable turn after another, right up until the farmer’s kung-fu yell as he fights Batman, to jetpack Batman fighting off giant chickens, and the amazing climax involving a rocket silo and Batman manning an armored vehicle with a complete dead-pan expression. I’m not saying every episode should be like this, but I love that got we one.

7. Harley's Holiday: Harley gets out of Arkham and begins her new life.

The last in the trilogy of Harley Quinn’s screwball comedies, and the best. No Joker or Ivy, this is totally the Harley show, exploring her own reformation (or lack thereof). At this point, Dini can write hilarious Harley hijinks in his sleep, but its not just all the sharp lines of dialog or clever gags that puts this episode so high on my list. Behind its wacky exterior in a character examination on par with any of Dini’s more “serious” outings like Heart of Ice or Mad as a Hatter. As all the dominos that lead to Harley’s inevitable downfall fall over with tanks and gangsters and dudes dressed up like giant bats, you start to question how “crazy” Harley really is. In a world like this, what the heck is “normal”? Add in some of the best direction and animation in the series, and perhaps my absolute favorite scene of the series, and you got a hell of an episode.

6. A Bullet for Bullock: Somebody's trying to kill Harvey Bullock, and he and Batman gotta find out who.

“A Bullet for Bullock” goes a long way towards showing us why Harvey dislikes Batman so much. Bad relationships, lousy apartment, and his weight and social skills(or lack there of) makes everything a struggle. Then we got this pointy-ear freak with his mansion and James Bond gadgets, barking orders to guys with a badge and disappearing mid-conversation. Without really drawing attention to it, it puts you directly in Harvey shoes and makes you emphasize with him. This episode goes full-on 1940s noir atmosphere, with the ever-present snow, shadowy figures, and this absolutely wonderful jazz score.

5. Read My Lips: A mad ventriloquist and his dummy mastermind a gang of thieves.

This one’s pretty much got it all: a great villain who’s as threatening as he’s psychosally screwed up, sharp witty dialog, smooth animation, another fantastic score, moody visuals to perfectly illustrate its 1930s gangster cinema atmosphere. From top to bottom, its just about everything Batman: The Animated Series does well in one package.

4. Over the Edge: Batgirl is killed in action!

“Bruce Wayne, stop where you are!” Gordon yells, chasing Batman and Robin with a hail of bullets with his police force. It’s the series’ most captivating opening, the dreaded what-if episode when loved ones are killed and friends turn against one another. Boosting some of the best direction, writing, voice acting, and animation of the series as well, “Over the Edge” is an apocalyptic roller coaster that intelligently deals with the themes of death, responsibility, and loyalty. A beautifully executed drama that showcases the Animated Series at its best, using a death of a supporting cast member in a serious way to reflect our greatest fears.

3. The Laughing Fish: The Joker tries to copyright his mutated fish.

The Animated Series goes over 50 years of Batman history and cherry-picks all the best parts. This one is more direct, taking two classic Joker stories “The Laughing Fish” and “Joker’s Five-Way Revenge”, streamlining them, and keeping all the greatest moments, including the Joker’s classic office confrontation and Batman vs a shark! All the elements of production are perfectly aligned here; Dini’s fantastically funny and clever script, Timm’s stylish direction, the smooth animation, the slimy discordant score, and of course, Hamil and Sorkin’s pitch-perfect performances as Joker and Harley. A great example of the Animated Series’ ability to modernize past Batman stories into a fresh, smart way, and perhaps the definitive story of the Caped Crusader's greatest rogue.

2. Beware the Gray Ghost: Batman comes face to face with his childhood hero

A great, ultimately touching episode that takes on a new life the deeper you look into it. Bruce Wayne is contrast against two main characters here, Ted Dymer, the Mad Bomber, and Simon Trent, the Gray Ghost. In the Gray Ghost, young Bruce Wayne saw a hero, someone to look up to and inspire him to do great things, and when the world took his parents it was the Gray Ghost who inspired him to turn tragedy to triumph. Ted Dymer, on the flip side, is obsessed with the past in a purely destructive ways, using his past inspirations for destructive, selfish purposes. This whole episode jumps up a notch when you realize The Gray Ghost is totally The Shadow, a pulp hero that inspired the creation of The Batman, and then an even more interesting level when you notice that Simon Trent is voiced by Adam West from the Batman ’66 fame and Ted Dymer is voiced and looks exactly like Bruce Timm. So what you have here is Batman teaming up with his hero, which is also The Shadow that inspired his real creation, who is also the old campy Batman he grew up watching, fighting the creator of this very TV show! Crazy stuff, but on all levels, it works to reclaim and redeem the past for inspiring all that’s good about the present.

1. Two-Face: The downfall of Harvey Dent, and the rise of Two-Face.

Possibly the biggest tragedy in Batman’s rogue gallery is Harvey Dent. What separates him from Freeze is that we’ve spend more time with Harvey Dent before the accident. We know he’s a true blue good guy, a fiancée who truly loves him, friends like Bruce Wayne who really care about him, so we’re invested in him. And that’s why it hurts so much to see the city of Gotham twist him into one of its biggest monsters, Bruce and Grace and the audience can only watch in horror as the Dent they know disappears. The importance to make the Two-Face gimmick work(and something I think Nolan’s The Dark Knight, despite its many virtues, I think didn’t dedicate enough time to) is that Harvey already HAD a dark side before the scarring, a split personality that while maybe a bit obvious shorthand in the form of Big Bad Harv(it’s a 22-minute kids action show, kind of hard to focus on his abusive father), makes his turn into Two-Face more believable. He was always fighting this darkness; the accident only exacerbated it to fantastical levels. A lurid melodrama perhaps, but few episodes in the series can match its Greek tragedy weight or dramatic power.

[sunofdarkchild]

I'm glad someone else appreciates 'Growing Pains.' I like the occasional episode where the good guys don't necessarily win.

But no 'best of' list is complete without 'Almost Got Him.'

[doctormistermaster]

I think Arkham verse Batman is middle aged anyway, so I still view Conroy's voice as being the appropriate age range. His delivery is a little more flat than it used to be, at least to me.

The lack of fluid animation in a lot of episodes does make it look dated in some respects, I agree. But not many modern American made cartoons have the level of atmosphere that B:TAS had, or such a unique style. I'm sure many anime films and TV series have surpassed it, but a lot of stuff on the Western front looks too similar to each other.

Narrative wise, eh, depends on the episode. Some have plot holes you can drive a truck through, while others are tighter than most entertainment aimed at the teen/young adult crowd. Plus, I honestly think the show in general has much better dialogue than any of the live action films, and is especially able to convey themes in more subtle ways than the exposition heavy dialogue of the Nolan trilogy.

I could see him being a middle aged Batman in the Arkham Games but the character model doesn't look very old to me. But it has been a while since I last played and should look again.

I apologize if it sounded as if I was being negative about the animation style as it was the opposite of my intent. I think that the less fluid animation was likely an formal choice even if it was dictated by production methods. For example, I think TNBA has much more fluid animation yet it does not have the same self conscious stylization of B:TAS. I am a huge fan of animation as a medium and I much prefer more traditional modes of animation which is why I particularly love B:TAS.

The narrative issues really don't bother me personally but it was something presented in various other comments so I thought it warranted address. As I said I think people are expecting as "mature" story telling devices as presented in the comics and live action films. I think that often B:TAS surpasses these other medium's attempts at maturity, but my standards of maturity seem to vary quite radically from those who associate the concept with explicit material.

[Alastor]

I'm glad someone else appreciates 'Growing Pains.' I like the occasional episode where the good guys don't necessarily win.

Heh, 'Growing Pains' is probably my least favorite episode right after 'I've got Batman in my basement' and 'The Underdwellers'. I predicted the reveal at the end of the episode because the twist felt really obvious to me. The fact that 'Holiday Knights' aired before 'Growing Pains' and 'Sins of the Father' was rather anti-climactic as well. Imo, there were better episodes that did not feature a happy ending, such as 'Heart of Ice', 'Avatar' and 'Catwalk'.

[ABH]

Yeah, I think "I've Got Batman in My Basement" might be the true, universally hated, BTAS episode, but then we all have different tastes. (I actually really like "Tyger, Tyger".)

[Mr. Mastermind]

The show is still good, but it's not the Sorpranos of cartoons like some people hype it up to be. The highlights are definitely worth watching though.

[ABH]

The show is still good, but it's not the Sorpranos of cartoons like some people hype it up to be.

Maybe not, but then what is? I mean, if we were to expand to all cartoons (not just action), then I'd probably say that Looney Tunes is the greatest cartoon series of all time. But for action cartoons, only, looking at quality and overall fan-reaction, what is the "Sopranos of cartoons"?

[ViewtifulJC]

I've Got Batman in My Basement has gotta be in the bottom ten. Like I said, there are plenty of terrible/mediocre episodes, especially in the first season/batch of 65 episodes. But, including the TNBA, there are at least 50 stories I would put in the darn good ***/**** rating range and well-worth watching for any Batman fan. Episodes that show all the wonderful dark deco look, the great music choices, the perfect vocal performances, the concise and economical dialog, the sophisticated mini-movie storytelling, the intelligent staging and storyboarding, etc.

In addition to the 25 I posted above:
Almost Got 'Em
Bane
The Clock King
The Demon's Quest
Double Talk
Feat of Clay (mostly for part 2 tho)
Fire from Olympus
Harlequinade
Harley & Ivy
Heart of Steel
His Silicon Soul
Holiday Knights
Joker's Millions
Lock-Up
Mad Love
Make Em Laugh
Mask of the Phantasm
Mudslide
Mystery of the Batwoman
Riddler's Reform
Showdown
Time Out of Joint
The Ultimate Thrill

Special shoutout to the Superman animated series episode where he pretend to be Batman for a (k)night(Knight Time) and the lovely confection of incidents that is "World's Finest", the first DCAU team-up between the two.

[SiegePerilous02]

I could see him being a middle aged Batman in the Arkham Games but the character model doesn't look very old to me. But it has been a while since I last played and should look again.

I apologize if it sounded as if I was being negative about the animation style as it was the opposite of my intent. I think that the less fluid animation was likely an formal choice even if it was dictated by production methods. For example, I think TNBA has much more fluid animation yet it does not have the same self conscious stylization of B:TAS. I am a huge fan of animation as a medium and I much prefer more traditional modes of animation which is why I particularly love B:TAS.

The narrative issues really don't bother me personally but it was something presented in various other comments so I thought it warranted address. As I said I think people are expecting as "mature" story telling devices as presented in the comics and live action films. I think that often B:TAS surpasses these other medium's attempts at maturity, but my standards of maturity seem to vary quite radically from those who associate the concept with explicit material.

Oh no worries, I didn't think you sounded negative. Hope I didn't sound antagonistic. I too prefer 2D animation when it is done really well, like the Clayface or Ra's al Ghul episodes, among others. The AKOM episodes look like crap, but the TMS ones still look stunning.

Yes, I think B:TAS is more mature in its own way than many of the other adaptations. In fact, I think some forms of entertainment aimed at younger audiences can be more mature than adult oriented outputs, especially when they're not as concerned with featuring excessive gore, sex, drug use and profanity. The pathos and tragedy of things like Annie being "killed" by Clayface, the Joker torturing Tim into insanity, the final fates of Freeze and Talia as seen in Batman Beyond, and Harley's endless cycle of abuse with the Joker had more of an impact on me than anything from the comics or live action films. I don't think I've ever seen another kids action cartoon be so downright nihilistic as this one was at times.