The Batman - not a great series, but an important one!?

[Daphne Blake]

I checked out earlier, the design of Mr. Freeze and I must admit he looked pretty cool

 

[Road to Gotham]

My Season by Season Grades.

One: C.
Two: C+.
Three: D.
Four: B-
Five: C-

 

[DerekPowers]

I don't know if i'd say its "important", but I enjoyed/enjoy it.

As far as rating the seasons:

Season 1: Meh, it was okay. It had great animation, but too many mindless episodes. There were some decent episodes along the way, but it really didnt get good until the 2-part finale.

Season 2: Best season, definately.

Season 3: I missed some of the episodes, but from what I saw I enjoyed it. I dont know why its so hated.

Season 4: Good story telling, but the show lost its unique vibe and feel with the change in animation and designs.

Season 5: Meh, its getting stale, and the JLU take on things isnt doing it for me. Plus, the animation is also not so hot.

Random thoughts about the series:

Loved the original opening, but hate the new one.

Hate the fact that Yin just dissapeared. It really bothers me actually since she was such a major character, and was likeable.

Mixed feelings about the swirly skies added in season 3.

I think the show lost something special it had in season 3 and even more in season 4 and 5. Seasons 1 & 2 feel like a different show, imo. And as much as I cant believe i'm saying this, a lot of times when I watch more recent eps, I actually miss season 1 !!!

 

[creativerealms]

Since others have done this already i will.

Season One: The weakest season IMO, most episodes were crap, a few were average and the finally was Great. 4.5/10
Season Two: A huge improvement, one episode would be dull or bad and the next would be great. More episodes this season stood out, the villains were used better. This season has my favorite Joker episode (Laughing Bat) and just some good episodes most of the way though 8/10
Season Three: Underrated. i admit not as good as season two and yes Batgirl did annoy me but there were still more good episodes in this season then in season one. 6.5/10
Season Four: Every episode was well done and well written, it fealt almost like a different show. Even the episodes that were not great were still good. "Strange New World" is IMO one of the best written episodes of any cartoon ever. 9/10
Season five: So far a disappointment, the JL members have a problem with a lack of diverse personalities. Most JL members seem to be the same. Yet the episodes have been fun for the most part 7/10

So 4, 2, 5, 3, 1 IMO.

 

[Wolf Boy2]

In 2004 I was totally disconnected from the DCAU. I knew about Justice League being on because I'd seen the merchandise, but I don't have cable so I couldn't watch it.

When I heard a new Batman show was coming out, I watched it pretty religiously (though I assumed it was a prequel to BTAS). The episode that really hurt the show (for me) was the Mr Freeze episode, where I discovered that it was not a BTAS prequel. But by that point I was already buying DVDs of the Timm DCAU.

Season 1 is my favorite, for nostalgia if nothing else. And despite the PC cleanliness of it, season 1 had a dark aura that the later seasons didn't have. I didn't like it as much in 3 and 4 because of the partners. Not that I mind partners (I don't) it's just that the curent Batman voice sounds to young to be a mature, fatherly Batman.

I was dissapointed when they used the STAS cast in season 4. It was so fanwanky and I was hoping for something different. I actually like getting different voices in different versions. I'm a big fan of Jeremy Sisto in "New Frontier" as he sounds about the way I'd have expected the 1939 Batman to sound.

Every season had standout episodes, though Season 1 is my favorite for its atmosphere.

 

[Beyond Batman]

I particularly enjoyed The Batman and I'm really glad the show wasn't a cookie cutter modernized version of BTAS.

 

[ROBOTRON]

Random thoughts about the series:

Loved the original opening, but hate the new one.

Hate the fact that Yin just dissapeared. It really bothers me actually since she was such a major character, and was likeable.

Original opening rocked...I can't figure out why they went to the Hawaii 5-O opening.

Yes, Yin was missed.

Chief Rojas dismissal was appreciated...I hated his character.

Way too many Penguin appearances...why?

 

[Wonderwall]

Way too many Penguin appearances...why?

For the girls

 

[Daphne Blake]

For the girls

Don't you mean for the 'chicks'?

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Hate to derail my own thread further... but:

Season 1 -
For me its the love/hate season. Loved the feel and look to some of the episodes, and the animation is an abolute treat for the eyes. But stories were weak(despite a great 2-parter) 6/10

Season 2 -
I was now used to the designs and voices and could begin to enjoy the show for what it was - good stories, even better atmosphere and animation. In fact i became a really big fan! 8/10

Season 3 - A definite step down. Loved the new batgirl and season finale but thats about it - great animation pulled through the weaker episodes such as 'Brawn'. 6/10

Season 4 -
Great season all round - character designs were improved and the stories were highly engaging. It truly felt like each story lived up to its full potential. Good robin and of course... martian manhunter 9.5/10

Season 5 -
So far, the most dissapointing season - wont make final judgement until its over but... first time i ever noticed weak animation on the show - weak stories didn't help the matter. Some of the choices this season simply shock me... but as a fan i stick by it.


Now my main point when i started this thread was to see if people felt this was an important series, as it showed people how to move on from Batman:TAS and worked hard to do so?

 

[Avaterian]

Now my main point when i started this thread was to see if people felt this was an important series, as it showed people how to move on from Batman:TAS and worked hard to do so?

2 Questions

Why (of all the comic characters out there) was The Batman chosen to be a TV series?

What was the reason for the show's existence?

An opinion....

The Batman was released too soon.

The audience had two Batmen on the tv screen. It wasn't confusing to me, but if the cartoon makers want another Batman related show they should have waited for the DCAU to have their's completed. Having two animated Batmen was competitive, and somehow, "front stabbing" to the former fan's who weren't even mourning the DCAU cave dweller.

I read, not sure, that the presence of The Batman show restricted what the other, in another show, in another continuity, could have available.

I read, again not sure, this was done to separate them and not to confuse the viewers .

So, dark knight 90, I did not think it was an important series to move on since I had to watch a "handicapped" Batman allowed fewer privileges and access because of some company decision.

Now the (many) episodes of The Batman I have experienced, not out of a necessity, were... fine. Different style, different cast, history, and direction that works too. What I disliked was The Batman wasn't Batman but a blank character.

He didn't stick to his own self burden/drive. The Bat-life was a sticky-note gum-stepped chore. Bruce may call himself The Batman but is so loose he appears soulless and dry.

The Batman made his predecessor look better.


Again, I don't know why the show was released, but it seemed pointless, competitive, contradictory, gimmicky, forgettable, and lacked strong characters.

There are probably many viewers that consider The Batman great- their choice, not mine. It lacked quality and respect and became sensory-candy.

My critical response is not to be a high-negative rant to you or the show. Just giving my response that presumably didn't go to far.

 

[sdp]

I loved The Batman since it premiered, I wasn't expecting BTAS 2 like most people. The show worked because it tried to distance itself from BTAS and go a different direction. Many of the villains re-designs worked and i loved most of the new characters like Chief Rojas, Detective Yin, and Bennett. I kind of hated when it started becoming more like BTAS because instead of trying something different it mostly felt like BTAS "lite", even if the episodes were good. All seasons had a few stinker episodes but overall I enjoyed every season. I thought Season 1 worked great even with some of the sillier villains in some episodes. Season 2 felt kind of slow but had such a great development between Yin and Batman which they stupidly ignored for the rest of the series . S3 was great because of batgirl, I loved her and made up for some weaker episodes. S4 had great episodes but like I mentioned it felt like BTAS lite which took away a bit. I have only watched very little of S5 but they don't seem bad. The DTV unlike most people I didn't like it very much. Would have loved to see that second Hush DTV that was canceled.

I hated the Penguin ugh..The Joker was great but definitely overused.
Overall I thought it was a great series and could have gone for another season.

 

[dark knight acolyte]

In ranking the seasons, I'm trying to keep in mind the show tried to be unique and simple and appeal to a younger audience. Sticking with the season-by-season rankings (though it is a bit off-topic), I'd rank as follows:

Season 1: Disengaging at best. The best stories were vanilla and the worst felt pointless. Not a great start, and really, IMO, not entertaining. 4/10 only by virtue of its attempt to try something different.

Season 2: Really turned it up! I genuinely fell in love with their take on "The Riddler" and the episodes were both well-crafted and engaging! A night and day stunning turnaround. The sole standout season earned my respect with an 8.5/10

Season 3: It fell off of the quality of season 2 a bit, but it was still engaging. Batgirl didn't annoy me as much as she did others.6/10

Season 4: I felt the quality was right on line with s. 3. Robin was introduced and the show quality seemed to translate directly from one season to the next. 6/10

Season 5: Haven't watched. (I watch them as a DVD release).


So, my rankings:

Season 5 is to be determined.

1. Season Two
2. Season Four
3. Season Three
4. Season One

 

[David64]

I liked The Batman when it first started. It was hard for me to get used to it at first, but it grew on me in time. Things really got good in Season 3.