Date: Sunday, January 24, 1999 1:28 PM
Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of Jan 25 - 30/31, February 1 - 6/7
Volume 2,
THIS WEEK'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: BRING BTAS BACK! KEEP BATMAN BEYOND,
BUT BRING BTAS BACK!
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another action-packed issue of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter"!
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE
"Gotham Adventures" inker TERRY BEATTY joins us with an interview by
co-editor Dick Grayson, who has also supplied us with yet another comparison of the
original BTAS episodes to the more recent TNBA episodes...who is the winner? Hmmm...Scroll
down to see! Laura Hysert finally rejoins us with another wonderful newsletter - hope you
enjoy!
NOTE:
Since it's Batman's 60th birthday this year, we've decided to give continual updates of
the events throughout the year-long "No Man's Land" event - there may be some
spoilers, so read with caution! This news is in the "NEWS" section.
ALSO TAKE NOTE:
Remember some months ago when I (Tim, that is) revealed those jerks who were sabotaging
the e-mail lists and impersonating subscribers and such? Well, I have been told that the
e-mail address given was the address for the server, thru which everyone there used it.
While I still believe I was still right in what I did, I have apologized to the person who
runs the server (the name I gave in the newsletter) and I suggest that if there are still
people out there harassing him personally about this, stop. He claims to know some people
behind this fiasco (just as I do, too) so if you still have questions for any reason, ask
him - but no hate mail, please. 'Tisn't nice. For all the new subscribers who have no idea
what this is about - it's not that important to ya, so don't be losin' any sleep over
this. :-)
Just thought I'd get that out in the open and settle this. Thank you for your patience.
- Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton, editor
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DC'S ANIMATED LEGACY
In early 1990, in the aftermath of the blockbuster "Batman" film, ideas began
to form about an animated Batman series. This task had been attempted in the past, from
the 60's to the 80's, but the series were, moreover, a disappointment. However, in
September of 1992, when "Batman: The Animated Series" debuted, it became a
financial and critical success - seen as the best non-comics interpretation of Batman in
history.
After 65 episodes, season two began in 1994 with a new name for the series - "The
Adventures of Batman & Robin". Like all other aspects of the Bat-mythos in that
year, things lightened up a bit - mostly due to Robin playing a heavier role in the
series. In 1995, the series passed away silently with 85 episodes, a feature-film, and 4
emmy awards under its Bat-belt.
In 1996, the BTAS team moved on to work on a series for DC's other major hero,
Superman. After 13 episodes, the season got off to a shaky start, but when it was paired
up with Batman in the fall of 1997, it got the exposure it needed and began to thrive. In
this year, Batman was renewed and 24 more episodes (including a number of crossovers with
Superman) were given the go-ahead.
Just as the 1998/99 season of Batman/Superman was drawing to a close, the WB team
surprised us once again with a new animated series - a futuristic version of Batman
entitled "BATMAN BEYOND". The season has just begun and it's already a hit! This
is the episode the WB team will be working on until the end of the 1999/2000 season. What
will follow? Rumor right now is...MORE BATMAN (the regular one)! Woohoo!
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BATMAN:THE ANIMATED ARCHIVES
The real nice people at TOONZONE (thanx!) have set up an archive section at their site,
storing back issues of BTAN. You can look back on past newsletters or maybe even print
them out, if you don't already. This has been very useful and got alot of positive
feedback from subscribers wanting copies of past newsletters. The URL is:
TOONZONE's BATMAN:TAN ARCHIVES
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/btan
If you're interested in information about the newsletter or are just plain curious
about some of our news, schedules, websites, etc... then please e-mail here:
btanarchives@hotmail.com
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NEW EPISODE(S)
This section will just basically give an insight into what the new episodes are about
and hopefully a synopsis of the episode. This section will feature both new Superman and
new Batman episodes.
'BLACK OUT'
Batman Beyond #3
Air date: January 30, 1999
The liquid-assassin by the name of Inque is out to knock off the new Batman - but who
sent her?
'IN BRIGHTEST DAY'
Superman #??
Air date: February 6, 1999
Classic DC hero Green Lantern makes his appearance on Superman.
'LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)'
Superman #??
Air date: ??
This two-parter, featuring the final showdown between Superman and Darksied, will be
the season finale, airing this May.
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)
This section of the newsletter highlights the schedule and times that WB airs The New
Batman/Superman Adventures. For most affiliates it airs Monday - Friday at 4pm (ET) and
Saturdays beginning at 8am (ET). WGN airs Batman/Superman Monday - Friday at 10am (ET) and
Sundays beginning at 8am (ET). There's a chance that your local WB channel airs it at a
differant time. To find out when, we recommend you follow this URL (provided by Toonzone):
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/stations/index.html
PS - Remember that "Batman Beyond" airs 30 minutes AFTER
"Batman/Superman" is over, because "Men In Black" has been squeezed in
between.
THIS WEEK:
Mon 1-25-99: Batman #033 The Laughing Fish
Superman #10 My Girl
Tue 1-26-99: Superman #18 Livewire
Batman #087 Sins of the Father
Wed 1-27-99: Batman #032 Robin's Reckoning (Pt. 1)
Batman #037 Robin's Reckoning (Pt. 2)
Thu 1-28-99: Superman #06 The Way of All Flesh
Batman #084 Deep Freeze
Fri 1-29-99: Batman #068 Trial
Superman #32 The Late Mr. Kent
Sat 1-30-99: Superman #27 The Prometheon
Batman #085 Torch Song
B-BEYOND #03 Black Out
NEXT WEEK:
Mon 2-1-99: Batman #91 Never Fear
Superman #24 Solar Power
Tue 2-2-99: Superman #33 Apokalips...Now! (Pt. 1)
Superman #35 Apokalips...Now! (Pt. 2)
Wed 2-3-99: Batman #96 The Ultimate Thrill
Superman #07 Feeding Time
Thu 2-4-99: Superman #04 Fun and Games
Batman #79 Riddler's Reform
Fri 2-5-99: Batman #74 Catwalk
Superman #15 Ghost in the Machine
Sat 2-6-99: Batman #102 Old Wounds
Superman #?? In Brightest Day ------NEW!
B-BEYOND #04 ????
Note: All episodes #86 and onward of BATMAN are considered THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES
while the original 85 are considered BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS) episodes.
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
"Yabba Dabba Doom"
(courtesy of Brian Cruz)
CARTOON NETWORK 'BATMAN' SCHEDULE
Mon 1-25-99: #58 Blind as a Bat
Tue 1-26-99: #59 The Demon's Quest (Pt. 1)
Due to the unpredictable airing schedule of Batman: The Animated Series on CARTOON
NETWORK we may not be able to keep track or schedule changes, episode changes and when the
animated movies air (either on TOONAMI or CARTOON THEATRE). To keep you most up to date,
go to this section of TOONZONE to keep updated with what's airing on CARTOON NETWORK and
when:
BATAMN:THE ANIMATED SERIES ON CARTOON NETWORK
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Bob Evatt)
Mr. Evatt is an experienced reviewer of the new BTAS episodes and has
much of his work shown at the Lazarus Pit website, and is now contributing to this
newsletter! His other reviews can be reached via this link:
http://effect.net.au/allan/lazarus-pit
NOTE: Mr. Evatt was unable to supply a review for this newsletter so Tim
"TWO-FACE" Leighton is filling in for him.
MAD LOVE
Written by Paul Dini & Bruce Timm
Directed by Butch Lukic
Animation by Dong Yang
Original air date: January 16, 1998
My rating: ****1/2
Award winning comic. Great characters. Awesome series. Etc. Sounds like the great
beginnings of a great episode huh? Well, you'd think...
Let me say that "Mad Love" was (and still is) my favourite comic book of all
time. After watching this episode, I feel like it did not do the comic complete justice.
I often complain about Harley's stupidity and pathetic roles in the more recent
episodes on the show - but not here. She was perfect. No probs here.
Batman was just as good, too, despite his respectively smaller role. That laugh of his
was really creepy. No probs here, either.
There were a few problems with the Joker - he wasn't genuinely evil in the scenes he
should've been, (such as when with Gordon), as portrayed in the comic. He never seemed
truly evil or crazy as portrayed in the comic...his voice seemed a bit too light at times,
too - but I can overlook this. There were plenty of great moments when he shone through.
The psychological element of the show was really well-done, nicely enhanced by Harley's
voice-over of the flashback scenes. This really brought about the chilling climax where
she's thrown out the window - I liked how they did that scene in slow motion, and there
was no scoring at all.
I was quite surprised with some of the things this episode got away with. The Harley
street-pizza scene, for one, the many scenes of blood for another, the "rev up your
Harley" scene for YET another. Even a nice Star-Wars jab is taken at the beginning of
the episode (which Mark Hamill, the voice of the Joker, is obviously connected to) - that
was a nice touch. Seeing Paul Dini drooling as Harley enters Arkham for the first time was
another subtle detail which was quite entertaining.
This episode had a lot going for it, and even the censors didn't get in the way.
So what did?
Well, the score wasn't as emotionally driven as I had hoped - it just kinda wavered in
the background. (I can't even really remember hearing either the Batman, Joker, OR Harley
themes in this episode - I know they were there, but minimally.) The main problem was, of
course, the timing. This episode was packed into just 20 minutes, even though large chunks
of the storyline (which, on the whole, I can handle well enough). I just found the amount
of time used between each seperate shot to be a bit too quick.
The scenes which were ommitted due to these time-restraints were the scenes of Harley
sleeping her way to a higher GPA in college, and a couple of Harley's dream sequences of
her future with the Joker. One very small scene (which is why I was peeved about it being
cut, cuz it was a really nice touch, explaining Joker's ego) was the scene were the
Penguin, Riddler, and Two-Face are taunting Joker in his mind while he realizes that
Harley may end up killing Batman before he does. Poison Ivy's cameo still made it into the
episode though.
Now, I bet everyone feels this way to some extent; I feel it detracted from an
otherwise excellent episode. Main complaint: Things happened so fast, especially in the
first act, and they couldn't really build up to anything to make the tension unbearable,
which should have been how the viewer felt when watching this episode!
I often wonder if this episode would seem any better - or worse - if I hadn't read the
comic yet. Personally, I think the comic was better, and to do the story perfect justice,
it should've been a two-parter. That would have solved all the problems - which is why the
episode "Trial" also suffered. Anyhow, I still give this episode a near-perfect
4.5 stars outa 5.
And now, I'm done ranting...until BTAS picks up with new episodes after 2000. (That's
another gripe unto itself.)
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