Batman: The Animated Series

[NikeBoyRM]

I loved this cartoon. This, at least based on my amateur knowledge, is the starting point of the character design style that has become so closely associated with WB's DC animation. It is neat for me to look at how the designs have evolved since this series.

I think it would be the perfect mode to begin a new MOTU Animated Series, like these ones:

[mightybuck]

don't worry, harry, i liked the forgotten as well. i might have it in my top 20 somewhere. "might" because it's really hard to rank the episodes of such a great show.

[flutterina]

My husband and I were both HUGE fans back in the day. I'd forgotten about it until one of our friends mentioned he bought it on DVD. Of course we just had to borrow it and I'll be darned if it didn't make me feel like a kid again. All these great memories of my childhood came flooding back. I remembered being in daycare playing with the action figures and the great adventures we had! Between the five of us we had the whole collection. After we finished the DVDs we went out and bought Mask of the Phantasm because my husband never saw it. Awesome franchise! Whenever I picture Batman's voice in my head it's always Kevin Conroy, and kudos to Mark Hamill for creating an amazing Joker!

[HarryCanyon]

Sorry but scrolling through. Did you guys NOT see this? Lalaland records - There are two BTAS soundtracks of orchestral already available! I picked up volume 2 at their booth. Worth EVERY DAMN PENNY:


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The Forgotten? Really? Was it the social message? Because...ugh. hahaha

don't worry, harry, i liked the forgotten as well. i might have it in my top 20 somewhere. "might" because it's really hard to rank the episodes of such a great show.

Yes The Forgotten has always been my fave episode since i was 11 and i love the music in that episode, so memorable. I also like the fresh story to it including the hilarious one-liner Alfred made and the villain is quite funny as he reminds me of Pat Ryan Jr. from The Toxic Avenger and Street Trash, he played the corrupted mayor in Toxic Avenger and thought of the same thing when i saw that episode.

So what are your fave episodes?

[Dr Kain]

So obviously I own all of the DVDs to BTAS. I also own The Batman and I was looking at my shelf the other day and though, "Why do I own this series? It wasn't bad, but whenever I want to watch Batman, I go to TAS, so why am I keeping these?"

As such, I think I am going to take them to my local video store this weekend to sell off.

[Drakken]

If anyone is interested in the soundtrack for Batman: The Animated Series, La-La Records has rereleased the first set they did along with a second volume with 4 CD's.

[mightybuck]

So what are your fave episodes?

heart of ice is always going to be my absolute favorite. mr. freeze has been my favorite batman villain hands down for as long as i can remember. and plus it's just an all around great episode. i also really love:

see no evil - even though i'm just going down the list on wikipedia, i have to say this is my second favorite. the rest of these continuously shift around depending on my mood.
beware the gray ghost
feat of clay part
the clock king
the cape and cowl conspiracy
the man who killed batman
read my lips
time out of joint
showdown
growing pains
over the edge
mad love
world's finest

[Wonder Bread He-Man]

My fav portrayal of Batman

[Burtonnut]

Mine too. One of my favorite episodes is Mad as a Hatter because I'm an Alice in Wonderland fan (plus it's written by Paul Dini).

[Voice_Guy]

I hate getting older, this isn't making me feel any better. That said, I hope that they do something special with the anniversary.

[Dr Kain]

Isn't there already a topic for BTAS?

Anyway, yes, this show is awesome and no Batman how after it has been able to top it. The Batman pretty much blew chunks outside of Seaosn 4 and a couple of episodes from Season 2. And while The Brave and the Bold put The Batman to shame, it had some really dreadful episodes.

[NikeBoyRM]

The greatest serie about Batman!

...already 20 years!...

[Dr Kain]

The greatest serie about Batman!

...already 20 years!...

Yep, it makes sense as I was 10 when they show came out and now I am 30.

[Burtonnut]

I was four years old when it came out.

[Rhanen]

Best compendium of Batman interpretations. Pity then it got replaced by "The Batman", which I was so hyped waiting for it till I saw the first episode.
BTAS favs for me are:
_"The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy"
_"Beware of the Gray Ghost"
_"Almost Got 'Im"
_"Baby-Doll"
_"Legends of the Dark Knight"
However, its hard to think of an episode I did not like.

[Burtonnut]

Baby-doll is a good episode too. Is it weird for me to say that I felt bad for the villain in this one?

[Dr Kain]

There were a few episodes I did not like. However, some of my favorites are:

The Forgotten
Off-Balance
Beware the Gray Ghost
The Demon's Quest 1 and 2
The Laughing Fish
Perchance to Dream
Almost Got 'Im
Showdown
The Man Who Killed Batman
Legends of the Dark Knight
Over the Edge

[Thatman]

Merged the threads.

Almost Got 'Im is my favorite episode of the run, hands down. There were very few I didn't care for.

I actually still prefer TAS to TNBA, even though that later show was more streamlined, and the writing was often a bit better, and the animation generally smoother. The 85-ep. run of BTAS (along with MOTPhantasm and Sub-Zero) are my favorite incarnation of Batman outside of the comics. I think it thoroughly defined the property - and I still hear those characters' voices in my head when I read the comics.

[krosfyah]

Best compendium of Batman interpretations. Pity then it got replaced by "The Batman", which I was so hyped waiting for it till I saw the first episode.
BTAS favs for me are:
_"The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy"
_"Beware of the Gray Ghost"
_"Almost Got 'Im"
_"Baby-Doll"
_"Legends of the Dark Knight"
However, its hard to think of an episode I did not like.

There were some episodes of The Batman that were great, Artifacts was very close to Batman TAS quality.

Batman TAS remains in my mind the standard to measure all action toons. thankfully IMO Young Justice measures up to that standard VERY nicely.

[Dr Kain]

Merged the threads.

Almost Got 'Im is my favorite episode of the run, hands down. There were very few I didn't care for.

I actually still prefer TAS to TNBA, even though that later show was more streamlined, and the writing was often a bit better, and the animation generally smoother. The 85-ep. run of BTAS (along with MOTPhantasm and Sub-Zero) are my favorite incarnation of Batman outside of the comics. I think it thoroughly defined the property - and I still hear those characters' voices in my head when I read the comics.

I love Almost Got'Im.

In fact, I decided to celebrate by watching several episodes, which started with "The Cat and the Claw Part 1" since that was the series premier. You know, a lot of series tend to spend several episodes before they get used to a specific animation design for the show, but this show feels like they knew what to do from beginning to the end, as there are hardly any animation errors even in the early episodes. Not sure how many more episode I am going to watch, but I am about to watch "Read My Lips," which I haven't seen since buying the DVD. If I recall, that is a Scarface episode, but I'm not sure if it is the first or second apperance of him.

[Wonder Bread He-Man]

Me and some friends reminised the other day :

-The last laugh (pretty cool with the garbage boat and Capt Clown)
-Eternal Youth (gasp.....Alfred actually leaves the house , anyway another good one
-Appointment in Crime Alley (sad
-Two-Face pts I and II (I shouldn't even have to mention them really , a must)
-The Clock King (pretty cool)
-P.O.V. (Bullock and Montoya gets suspended , interesting to see from the perspective of the different characters)

[Dr Kain]

I love the music to The Last Laugh, almost as much as I do to The Forgotten.

[mbaker]

This was the series that literally revolutionized action cartoons. setting the standard that all other cartoons would follow. This series worked on both levels. Kids enjoyed this for the action while adults enjoyed this for the artistic, and writing qualities. Many tried, but few matched it's level of quality. Happy birthday, Batman! Your still one of the best.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I believe universally Heart of Ice is considered the greatest Batman TAS episode ever made. But selecting the best episodes is like shooting fish in a barrel, you can't miss.

When it first came out in 1992 I was 14 years old and really big into the Burton Batman and this just made the love of Batman even greater. I consider Mask of the Phantasm probably the greatest Batman film ever made, live or animated. It had the best Batman(Kevin Conroy) and the best Joker(Mark Hamill).

I have to go by season for my list:

On Leather Wings
Pretty Poison
Two-Face: Parts I and II, especially I
Heart of Ice
The Cat and the Claw: Parts I and II, especially I
Beware the Gray Ghost
Feat of Clay: Parts I and II, especially II
Dreams and Darkness
Perchance to Dream
Robins’s Reckoning: Parts I and II, especially I
Night of the Ninja/Day of the Samurai
Heart of Steel: Parts I and II, love ‘em both equally
Almost Got ‘Im
Off Balance – First appearance of Ra’s Al Ghul and Talia
Zatanna
Harley and Ivy
Shadow of the Bat: Parts I and II, especially II
The Demon’s Quest: Parts I and II, Love ‘em both
Avatar
Bane – Probably the best representation of Bane, ever.
Showdown
Harley’s Holiday
Deep Freeze
Batgirl Returns
Over the Edge
Legends of the Dark Knight

It's almost unfair how great this show was. It was like watching a movie. Without it we don't have Superman TAS, Batman Beyond, Justice League, JLU, pretty much the whole DC Animated Universe.

[HarryCanyon]

Merged the threads.

Almost Got 'Im is my favorite episode of the run, hands down. There were very few I didn't care for.

I actually still prefer TAS to TNBA, even though that later show was more streamlined, and the writing was often a bit better, and the animation generally smoother. The 85-ep. run of BTAS (along with MOTPhantasm and Sub-Zero) are my favorite incarnation of Batman outside of the comics. I think it thoroughly defined the property - and I still hear those characters' voices in my head when I read the comics.

Me and some friends reminised the other day :

-The last laugh (pretty cool with the garbage boat and Capt Clown)
-Eternal Youth (gasp.....Alfred actually leaves the house , anyway another good one
-Appointment in Crime Alley (sad
-Two-Face pts I and II (I shouldn't even have to mention them really , a must)
-The Clock King (pretty cool)
-P.O.V. (Bullock and Montoya gets suspended , interesting to see from the perspective of the different characters)

This was the series that literally revolutionized action cartoons. setting the standard that all other cartoons would follow. This series worked on both levels. Kids enjoyed this for the action while adults enjoyed this for the artistic, and writing qualities. Many tried, but few matched it's level of quality. Happy birthday, Batman! Your still one of the best.

I believe universally Heart of Ice is considered the greatest Batman TAS episode ever made. But selecting the best episodes is like shooting fish in a barrel, you can't miss.

When it first came out in 1992 I was 14 years old and really big into the Burton Batman and this just made the love of Batman even greater. I consider Mask of the Phantasm probably the greatest Batman film ever made, live or animated. It had the best Batman(Kevin Conroy) and the best Joker(Mark Hamill).

I have to go by season for my list:

On Leather Wings
Pretty Poison
Two-Face: Parts I and II, especially I
Heart of Ice
The Cat and the Claw: Parts I and II, especially I
Beware the Gray Ghost
Feat of Clay: Parts I and II, especially II
Dreams and Darkness
Perchance to Dream
Robins’s Reckoning: Parts I and II, especially I
Night of the Ninja/Day of the Samurai
Heart of Steel: Parts I and II, love ‘em both equally
Almost Got ‘Im
Off Balance – First appearance of Ra’s Al Ghul and Talia
Zatanna
Harley and Ivy
Shadow of the Bat: Parts I and II, especially II
The Demon’s Quest: Parts I and II, Love ‘em both
Avatar
Bane – Probably the best representation of Bane, ever.
Showdown
Harley’s Holiday
Deep Freeze
Batgirl Returns
Over the Edge
Legends of the Dark Knight

It's almost unfair how great this show was. It was like watching a movie. Without it we don't have Superman TAS, Batman Beyond, Justice League, JLU, pretty much the whole DC Animated Universe.

Nice list, i like those episodes too and in some states the show was aired near prime time and had a major following of not just kids but also junior high/regular high school students and adults as it was beloved and became Fox's number 1 animated show ever.



Who remembers when the pilot episode "On Leather Wings" first aired August 1992? i did and it blew me away. Beastmaster himself was terrific as Kirk Langstorm and his transformation was amazing.