Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of December 6 - December 11/12, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some "low-key coarse language and occasional griping"
THIS ISSUE'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "I JUST FLEW
IN FROM METROPOLIS, AND BOY, ARE MY ARMS TIRED."
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ANNOUNCEMENT
It's that time of year again! As the
year...decade...century...millenium (Y2K! Y2K! Beware!) comes to a close, it's
only natural to do a "year's best" poll. Just like last year,
we're giving you fans out there the opportunity to vote for the best/worst of
1999 in a wide range of categories. In of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED
NEWSLETTER we'll supply the virtual voting card, and all you gotta do is
submit your answers back to us by New Year's Eve to be included in the poll.
Results will be posted in the first issue of the New Year, due out on January
3 or 10th - we haven't decided yet.
Don'tcha feel special?
Don'tcha just wanna go out and vote RIGHT NOW!?
Don'tcha just hate how I keep saying "don'tcha"?
Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
-slightly more hyper than usual
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SPECIAL PETITION
We all know that a BATMAN BEYOND score CD was released this past August.
Fans were thrilled to be getting this, but were also peeved that the
"regular" Batman/Superman shows have been overlooked. Who here would
buy a BTAS/STAS CD set if one were ever made? Remember, the one BEYOND CD
handled only 13 episodes in 40 minutes; BTAS has 109 episodes and STAS has 54
- that means it would be a multi-CD set, to be sure. Who would buy this?
I DEFINATELY would!
Our friend RIDDLERWB has supplied us the following e-mail address.
E-mail the people at RHINO RECORDS and demand a BATMAN and/or SUPERMAN score
CD!
drrhino@rhino.com
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UPCOMING NEW EPISODES
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 new episodes for BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and BATMAN BEYOND.
'REVENANT'
Batman Beyond #24
Air date: December 11, 1999
After a series of unexplainable events, all the kids in Terry's
class think that the ghost of a dead student is haunting their high school.
But Terry is skeptical, and he eventually proves that Willie Watt, a former
classmate who has developed psychokinetic powers, is causing the eerie
occurrences.
'LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)'
Superman #44, 48
Air date: January 2000
This two-parter features the final showdown between Superman and
Darksied in which he strips Superman of his memory and adopts him as a son in
an effort to take over Earth. This is being touted as the FINAL Superman
episode EVER. However, I must say that I've read a synopsis of the episode,
and it's a doozie.
For synopses of all other upcoming second season
BATMAN BETOND episodes, check out of BTAN at this address:
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES airs Mondays
thru Saturday; BATMAN BEYOND also airs on these days. Check local listings
each day for what show is on at what time.
THIS WEEK:
Mon 12-06-99: Superman #39 World's Finest (Pt. 1)
B-BEYOND #09 Spellbound
Tue 12-07-99: Superman #40 World's Finest (Pt. 2)
NO SECOND EPISODE TODAY
Wed 12-08-99: Superman #41 World's Finest (Pt. 3)
B-BEYOND #03 Black Out
Thu 12-09-99: Batman #108 Beware the Creeper
NO SECOND EPISODE TODAY
Fri 12-10-99: Batman #102 Old Wounds
NO SECOND EPISODE TODAY
Sat 12-11-99: Batman #86 Holiday
Knights
B-BEYOND #24 Revenant
<-------NEW!!!!
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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CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BTAS/BEYOND on YTV)
(courtesy of our friends at YTV)
-To find the episode guide and airing schedule of
BATMAN and BATMAN BEYOND on YTV then please go to
http://www.ytv.com
and click on the YTV GUIDE icon at the bottom of the screen. To check out the
schedule then click on BATMAN or BATMAN BEYOND in the time grid and it will
have the schedule for the current week.
BTAS will air at 7:30am on weekday mornings (in
all time zones), and BATMAN BEYOND will air at 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
YTV has the rights to show all 109 BTAS episodes. They also have the
rights to air the first 26 episodes of BATMAN BEYOND (all of season 1 and the
first half of season 2).
THIS WEEK:
Mon 12-06-99: BTAS #61 Shadow of the Bat (Pt. 2)
Tue 12-07-99: BTAS #52 Mudslide
Wed 12-08-99: BTAS #65 The Worry Men
Thu 12-09-99: BTAS #53 Paging the
Crime Doctor
Fri 12-10-99: BTAS #66 Sideshow
Sat 12-11-99: BEYOND #13 Ascension
Sun 12-12-99: BEYOND #?? NO EPISODE???
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
"Yabba Dabba Doom"
(courtesy of Brian Cruz)
THE CARTOON NETWORK was able to get the exclusive
rights to 52 episodes of the classic BTAS, as well as both animated movies.
BTAS airs Monday-Friday at 6pm (ET) and then repeated again at midnight. If
our schedule listings is not complete or up to date then please go to either
of these sites for the schedule:
To see the 52 episodes that the CARTOON NETWORK
does show, go to this link:
NOTE: The schedules at Brian Cruz' site are
currently unavailable; if anyone knows of any other place where people can get
listings for BTAS on the Cartoon Network, please e-mail us!
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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
All of Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton's reviews
of the new-style BTAS episodes and BATMAN BEYOND can be found via these links,
which link to "Two-Face's Tower of Tranquility and Terror":
NOTE: Due to the loss of the WGN, editor Tim
"TWO-FACE" Leighton has been virtually unable to review any new
episodes. Until he can once again, we'll be having someone substituting for
him.
Thank you to Justin Chen for this review!
NOTE: DAMN! I made a mistake again! Last week's
column was NOT submitted by Justin Chen, but by Zanna...geez, I need to keep
awake while I write this...I'm sorry, Zanna - please don't beat me up
(again)...*CRINGES*
<BATMAN BEYOND>
MIND GAMES
Written by Alan Burnett
Directed by Butch Lukic
Animation by ???
Original Air Date: December 4, 1999
Rating: **** (Out of 5 stars)
On a dark and stormy night, Batman patrols the
skies above Gotham. Max is on the radio link with him as he studies for a
history test. "Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton..." he mumbles.
After Max cracks a joke about Clinton being the fun one, a vehicle is struck
by lightning and crashes towards the ground. Batman rescues it easily, and the
occupants are a large man, a woman, and a small girl. The people assure him
that they're okay, and head off.
The next day at school, Terry sees the same girl
enter his classroom during the test. She tells him that she refuses to go and
needs his help. Strangely, no one else can see her. Terry makes a fool of
himself responding to her, but she finally vanishes. Later, Terry explains
this to Bruce, and he is quite puzzled. Then in the Batcave, the girl once
again appears in front of Terry. "Talk to her," Bruce tells him. The
girl somehow produces an image of a hotel room, while the same man and woman
from the night before. Terry notices stitched lettering on a sofa. The man
notices that the girl is doing something and begins heading towards her. Terry
moves towards him, and the vision disappears. The letters-- G.P.T., stand for
Gotham Park Towers, and Batman is off.
The rest of the episode mainly focuses on Terry's
search for the young girl. Terry and Max pull a "couple" trick to
slip into the hotel, where he manages to find out the room number. He
encounters the large man and throws him out the window, but amazingly after a
multi-story fall, he gets up and simply walks away.
Bruce is able to scan Terry's memories to ID the
girl, who was reported missing earlier. Terry also has a chat with the parents
of the girl, who reveal that she has special telepathic abilities, and she was
supposed to have been sent to a school for the gifted. It was all a lie
though, and she was really kidnaped by an organization called the Brain Trust.
It's a secretive society based somewhere in Europe, and they set up a fake
school to lure children away from their parents and into their evil hands.
From then on it's a race against time to save the girl from those who want to
take her away.
So what was good about the ep? A lot. I really
enjoyed this one more than the last few episodes like Once Burned and Rats.
The paranormal angle was relatively fresh, and the action scenes were very
well done, although they're really intense in this one. Watch it and you'll
see what I mean. Plus, some of the scenes were actually pretty creepy in an
X-Files sort of way, such as Batman's battle with a telekenetic villain. This
ep didn't suffer from a rushed pace either, thanks to scenes with the missing
girl's parents and Terry's search of the school. Max was actually well
integrated into this episode, although her on screen appearance is again
limited and still doesn't know who the man behind Terry is.
Also, I believe an subtle message about the
problem of missing kids was thrown in. While Bruce scan's Terry's mind, Terry
says "I can't believe all these kids are missing." Bruce replies,
"Believe it." Additionally, Terry takes the time to watch over his
little brother as he sleeps at home for just a bit before he heads off to
rescue the girl.
While the ep concludes nicely, the possibility of
further conflicts with the Brain Trust remains open. This season has
introduced a number of potential returners, such as the female government
agent from "Joyride" and Mad Stan from "Rats". The true
powers behind the Trust are never revealed, and I'd like to see Terry tangle
with them someday. Overall, great episode.
By Justin Chen, aka The Overseer
