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Batman: The Animated Series - General Discussion

GHScorpiosRule
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BetterButter
BetterButter

Kevin Conroy, Voice of Batman, Dead at 66

Wiendish Fitch
Wiendish Fitch

I heard the awful news. I hate this year so much.  Adam West, Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson... you can keep them all. Kevin Conroy was, is, and always will be Batman to me. Bat

Athena
Athena

I was at a cafe where they put in the tip jars as A or B option and they had "Batman: Robert Pattinson" and "Batman: Ben Affleck". My brain went to "B:TAS Kevin Conroy." If you know you know. Als

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DisneyBoy

DisneyBoy

(edited)

I also loved him in the first three, but I don't have as much hate for the Mullet version as others seem to. I guess I always figured he would outgrow his bitterness. It's not exactly like Bruce was abusive or purposely tough on him. Dick just had an unusual adolescence and needed to figure out what the rest of his life would be. Makes sense, right?

Edited by DisneyBoy
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

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So, as I am doing my x number of marathon watching, I have to admit, I never, ever get tired of watching this show.

 

Nearly done with this season and two things:

 

One, someone on the writing  staff must love the late and beloved Omar Shariff, because the announcer at the auction for that clock that the Clock King stole was drawn to look just like him! And on a side note, there was that one episode in Superman: The animated series where Braniac kidnapped Lex, where the barber was drawn to look just like Floyd from The Andy Griffith Show!

 

And I found a continuity gaffe here. In "Shadow of the Bat", we meet the DA, who Babs is arguing with over her father's innocence. Janet VanDorn. Voiced by who I thought was Loretta Switt, but was Lynette Mettey. THEN, like six episodes later, in "Trial", we have Stephanie Zimbalist (daughter of the late beloved Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) voice her. BUT, the gaffe is this: she tells Gordon "as the new DA" blah, blah, and I'm all like, errr, Janet, you've been around for a bit now. Unless we are to assume that she was new back in "Shadow" and that this was the first time she and Gordon were having a conversation? Because I don't buy that. I will always be disappointed that her VanDorn and Alfred never had any lines together. Even if it could have been her calling Wayne Manor and Alfred answering the phone.

 

And for all that the creators and writers got everything right, I have to say I'm very disappointed that they got India wrong! In "The Demon Quest" R'as and Bats figure out the clues to where Talia and Dick/Robin have been taken is in India, and we get a bunch of mosque domes and what looks in the background to be the Taj Mahal, which is in Agra, not Calcutta, which is where they were supposed to be. No excuse for such laziness and shoddyness. 

 

But, all that said, this is a show I can watch over and over and over again and feel like it's the first time. You know? They got such wonderful actors for this show-not just for the main cast, but the guest stars as well.

 

And I will never accept or understand why Dick had to go darker or a darker path and why they made Bruce/Bats such a raging ASSHOLE in the following season which paired up with Superman.  Not to mention I hated the new stylized animation, which erased the wonderful animation and detail of the characters during the first three seasons.

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)

Mark Hamill indeed excelled as the Clown Prince of Crime. And in honor of the season, I always play Christmas With the Joker on YouTube. The writers deserve a medal for letting the Joker sing the infamous Jingle Bells rendition we all learned as kids:

Jingle bells, Batman smells,

Robin laid an egg,

The Batmobile lost a wheel

And the Joooker got awaaay!

Crashing through the roof

In a one horse open tree

Busting out I go

Laughing all the wheeeeeee!

Edited by Spartan Girl
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

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I'm putting this here in honor of the show's anniversary. The 24th, I think, and Paul Dini provided the original pilot and original score, which was lost, according to Bruce Timm in the first season DVD special features.  So they had the footage, but not the original score, so when they played it, it was with the score they ended up using for the series.  Below is the original pilot/score:

I really wish they'd used this for the show, but can understand why they "cleaned it up."

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readster

readster

9 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Thinking about the episode "Beware the Grey Ghost" makes me cry.

"So it wasn't all for nothing?"

 

I watched it the day Adam West passed away. So sad. 

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Twilight Man

Twilight Man

(edited)

Meanwhile, DC Comics is planning a mega-ultra collection for you to buy.

30 mostly awesome (and some not-quite-so-awesome) DC animated movies

Let's see:  Year One, Dark Knight Returns (both parts), Gotham Knight, Assault on Arkham, Under The Red Hood, Son of Batman, Batman vs. Robin, Bad Blood, (cough) Killing Joke (cough)

and the soon-to-be Batman & Harley Quinn (but no Phantasm, Sub-Zero, or Mystery of Batwoman, really???)

plus a bunch of Superman, a bunch of Justice League, and even the two animated Green Lantern films and the animated Wonder Woman movie.

The DC Universe Original Movies: 10th Anniversary Collection

(Like I said earlier, apparently they think the animated movies started back in 2007; Phantasm & Sub-Zero would like to differ)

Time to empty out your bank account; this collection is probably going to cost you.

Edited by Twilight Man
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Twilight Man

Twilight Man

Another day, another person who loves BTAS.

Of course BTAS is #1 Best on his list.

Although I also agree with several of his best (Spawn, Superman TAS, Justice League) and worse (Teen Titans Go, FF 78) choices

I do have a few disagreements (Super Hero Squad was silly, but it was fun, and it did attempt to recreate actual comic storylines (in a really silly way))

Finally, thank you for making this one webpage, instead of the usual multi-page slideshow click bait.

Oh, and, "Wild Thing" was not a Jimi Hendrix song (although he might have covered it at one point).

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

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YES!!! Loren Lester FINALLY gets to talk about his role as Robin and Nightwing in the special features!!!
And the movie is just as hilarious the second time around!??????
I will never see the song "Don't Pull Your Love" the same way ever again!!!????????
?????

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

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(edited)
2 minutes ago, Twilight Man said:

So what if Bruce Wayne lived back in 1890 and what if Jack The Ripper came to Gotham and ........... yeah, yeah, we all read the graphic novel ,

just show us the preview for the animated movie already!!!!

I saw the preview!!! When I popped in my bluray of Batman and Harley Quinn!???

I am NOT happy that KevinFUCKING!Conroy is NOT playing Bats!?????

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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Twilight Man

Twilight Man

(edited)

and now.............

Harley Quinn Day!!!!!

September 23, 2017 - (although "Joker's Favor", the first cartoon episode that featured our favorite psychopathic bubble-headed blonde, debuted on September 11th, but whatevs).

DC Comics are going to release several comics that week to celebrate the 25th birthday of their greatest break-out character since Batman himself.

 

But, it is not just comic book stores that will be celebrating Harley Quinn Day.

Several Barnes & Noble bookstores will feature special promotions and merchandise as well.

(Paul Dini himself will be signing autographs at Barnes & Noble in LA) but other B&N stores will have merchandise and banners.

Also Hot Topic will have special new merchandise and Six Flags theme parks will celebrate the special occasion as well.

and don't forget to ride Spin-sanity and the Crazy Train while you're there.

Edited by Twilight Man
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

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(edited)

Only ❤️?❤️KevinFucking!Conroy, ❤️?❤️❤️?❤️MarkFucking! Hamill, ❤️?❤️Loren Lester,

❤️❤️????❤️❤️Sam Heughan❤️❤️????❤️❤️

could make me cave, submit and create a Twitter account, something I've REFUSED to do for YEARS.??

Ahem.

That said, how does one embed a tweet? Because Loren Lester also tweeted a great message about the Anniversary. Thanks in advance @VCRTracking!☺️

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
Because I can't insert emojis from my PC!!??
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Eyes High

Eyes High

Vulture.com offers up an Oral History of BTAS.

My favourite part:

Quote

[Kevin Conroy]: In animation, you can’t actually kill anybody. Standards and practices won’t allow that. So whenever Batman beats anyone up or throws them off a cliff and they hit the ground, there’s always what’s called the “stay-alive moan” after so you know the character’s not actually dead. I’d land and they’d go, “Okay: stay-alive moan!” And I’d go, Ahhhhh. It always sounded slightly sexualized. So during one episode, I was doing the stay-alive moan and I went [sexual tone] “Ahhhh … Andrea …” And the place erupted. It just sounded like the most postcoital moment between Batman and [voice director] Andrea Romano. She howled and she said, “Okay, I’m taking that one home with me tonight.” It got to be a tradition: Whenever I would get in a fight, it would be, “Andrea …” It got to be kind of notorious.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

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21 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

Vulture.com offers up an Oral History of BTAS.

My favourite part:

 

22 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

[Kevin Conroy]: In animation, you can’t actually kill anybody. Standards and practices won’t allow that. So whenever Batman beats anyone up or throws them off a cliff and they hit the ground, there’s always what’s called the “stay-alive moan” after so you know the character’s not actually dead. I’d land and they’d go, “Okay: stay-alive moan!” And I’d go, Ahhhhh. It always sounded slightly sexualized. So during one episode, I was doing the stay-alive moan and I went [sexual tone] “Ahhhh … Andrea …” And the place erupted. It just sounded like the most postcoital moment between Batman and [voice director] Andrea Romano. She howled and she said, “Okay, I’m taking that one home with me tonight.” It got to be a tradition: Whenever I would get in a fight, it would be, “Andrea …” It got to be kind of notorious.

Conroy, Romano, Timm, and Noveck all talk and joke about this in the extended interview special features of JL: Doom,  or it might be in Batman/Superman: Public Enemies I think. It's hilarous to hear Conroy moaning "Aaaaahndreaaaaaa." Noveck also talked about how at Comic Con panels the one question ALWAYS asked: "Is Kevin Conroy going to play Batman? Is Kevin Conroy going to play Wonder Woman?" It's a great great interview.

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Twilight Man

Twilight Man

(edited)
On 10/6/2017 at 0:46 PM, Eyes High said:

So during one episode, I was doing the stay-alive moan and I went [sexual tone] “Ahhhh … Andrea …” And the place erupted. It just sounded like the most postcoital moment between Batman and [voice director] Andrea Romano. She howled and she said, “Okay, I’m taking that one home with me tonight.” 

Some people claim that Kevin started this "tradition" when they were working on the first animated movie "Mask of The Phantasm".  It makes the joke even funnier knowing that the lead female character in the movie was also named Andrea.  He (apparently) started this while doing the Stay-alive moan in a fight between Batman and The Phantasm 

Spoiler

who is actually Andrea herself (boy, do I really need to do this)

which makes the whole [sexual tone] even more hilarious.

 

Meanwhile, (back in Gotham City),

 

"So, we wanted to make an episode in which we would follow the gun that killed Bruce's parents as it got passed from one owner to another and then eventually to the man who killed Bruce's parents.

We were also working on an episode starring Nocturna (urggh, I remember her; that pseudo-vampire woman who (I think) briefly adopted J.T. and just made Bruce's life more complicated than it needed to be), only, in the episode, she's a real vampire, and she makes Batman into a vampire.

 

Fox Kids said NO".

Edited by Twilight Man
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

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Posting this here as well...

Soooo, did anyone watch this?

I never read the graphic novel, but based on the reviews, apparently the movie changed who "Jack" was. I saw it last night, and I really enjoy the look of the animation--very similar to B:TAS; sort of.

I would have enjoyed it so much better if Kevin!FUCKING!CONROY!!! had voiced Bats! ????????

Just what is the issue for WB? Is Conroy too expensive? Contrary to what Romano said about what the suits say, about wanting to have different actors for each movie, they've decided that Jason fucking O'Mara is their vision of Batman. Which, no. NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOO. ?????????????

I understand that Jack killed prostitutes, but him killing Sister Leslie and Strange made no sense. Strange was the red herring. And I know the movie wanted to do a GOTCHA! and make you think that Jack was Dent, but ended up being GORDON!, but I don't buy it. Why? Because the body type of Jack, when he fought Bats earlier, didn't match up; the hair color of Jack, didn't match up. And yes, I am anal retentive about this kind of stuff. The way it was set up, I thought for sure that Jack would end up being Dent, because of the way he set Bruce up. And the out of nowhere hatred he had for Bruce, when it was clearly stated that they were very good friends. That smirk he had when the judge agreed that Bruce should be denied bail.

And oooh, apparently the guys (based on their names and reviews) just loooooved the language used here: you know, like whore, slut, whatever did I see in a whore like you? I'm assuming, of course, because that is the only language that is different from any of the other movies.

I did giggle at the three orphans being the stand-ins for Dick, Jason and Tim(?). One was Dickie, the other, Jason. But the youngest, I don't know if we got his name.

And then having Barbara suddenly go cray-cray? Yeah, riiiiiight. When Bats discovered Gordon's sekrit room.

Selina was just stupid and it nearly cost her. 

Frankly, I thought Batman and Harley Quinn was SO.MUCH.BETTER. I don't understand why so many hated it or disliked it so much.

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readster

readster

Now that my son is older, we have been watching both Batman and Superman and Justice League series. He loves Mr. Freeze and we just finished Deep Freeze last night. He still loves it, but he does wonder why Free changed in season 4 and then everything with Sub Zero. He also loves Absolute Zero on Batman Beyond. So, the moral of the story is, Mr. Freeze was perfect from start to finish. In both voice acting and writing. 

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BBHN

BBHN

For those interested, check out this blog:

http://notblogx.blogspot.com/

While it covers a wide variety of comic-book related stuff (it started out as a look back at the 90s X-men), one of the things it also reviews is this show, along with other DCAU series. The main focus though is comparing certain episodes of the animated shows with their Adventures style comic book counterparts.

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MusubiMyHomie

MusubiMyHomie

(edited)
Quote

Bats was morphed into a raging asshole, who apparently didn't care for anyone or anything anymore except for catching/getting the bad guys. A TOTAL contradiction to who he was in the previous seasons.

"Old Wounds" was meant to be sort of an origin story for this grimmer new Batman. The dissolution of Bruce and Dick's partnership led to a more cold-blooded Batman during this era.

But the decision to make Bats even more cold-blooded ended up removing what I thought was the best part of Kevin Conroy's take on the character: the subtle differences between Bruce's voice in the Batsuit (Conroy has said in interviews that he envisioned it as Bruce's natural speaking voice) and Bruce's voice whenever he was in regular businessman clothes (not his natural speaking voice).

Quote

I FUCKING HATED how they totally changed Selina's look--from a tall, svelte, beautiful woman, whose green eyes we could see behind her mask, to this goth-like short, mutant, who had big white space for "eyes" and pasty vampire look.

Selina's blond, green-eyed look during the show's Fox Kids era was a demand from Warner Bros. execs to closely align Selina and the Penguin's character designs with how they looked in Batman Returns. 

Later on, as part of the massive redesign during the Kids' WB era, the animators reverted the Penguin's design to how he looked in the show's earliest concept art, a.k.a. the Penguin's much more dapper look (no long hair) in the comics. They did the same with Selina, who was a brunette in the comics and looked nothing like Michelle Pfeiffer, and she's still a brunette in the comics today.

Batman and the Joker suffered the most from the redesign. It drained them of the color that gave their previous designs so much oomph on the screen during the Fox Kids era. The Justice League Unlimited-era Batman was how I thought he should have looked during the Kids' WB episodes: the character design's still in line with the Superman: TAS character designs, but with some color in his cape like in the Fox Kids era, which keeps him from looking monotonous and dull.

I know way too much about Batman: TAS because I was obsessed with the show during its original airing, and I interviewed Mark Hamill, Paul Dini, Andrea Romano and a couple of other WB Animation folks for my college radio show and my college paper. It got to the point where I could tell which Asian animation studio worked on which episode just from the animation quality alone: TMS from Japan did all the ones with the best animation (example: "Feat of Clay, Part II"); AKOM from South Korea did all the shittiest-looking ones (example: "I've Got Batman in My Basement").

I've experienced Batman fatigue in the last few years because, as former Hawkeye writer and Sex Criminals creator Matt Fraction once said, "The older you get, the more you live in the world, it's impossible not to look at Batman through class and race. Batman is a rich white billionaire who beats up poor brown people and the mentally ill." But my admiration of The Animated Series still remains. It was that good of a show.

Quote

Melissa had a strength to her, and so did the actress from Subzero (forgetting her name).

In SubZero, she was voiced by Mary Kay Bergman, who did all the female voices on South Park and unfortunately committed suicide a year after SubZero's release. 

Edited by MusubiMyHomie
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