"Batman Beyond: Season One" DVD Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

The future is here. The first 13 episodes of Batman Beyond has arrived on a two-disc set.


http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/beyond/releases/dvd/seasonone/t-coverfull.jpg (http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/beyond/releases/dvd/seasonone/)

Synopsis: Terry McGinnis was just an ordinary teenager...until his father was mysteriously murdered. Suspecting foul play at his father's company Wayne/Powers Corporation, Terry meets Bruce Wayne and learns a secret identity hidden for decades. Now too old to battle injustice, Wayne refuses to help. So Terry does what any brash young kid would do: steal the Batsuit and take matters into his own hands! Vowing to avenge his father's death, Terry dons the high-tech suit: tricked out with jetpacks, a supersensitive microphone and even camouflage capabilities in search of his father's assassin. Get in on the action from the beginning of a new partnership between an ex-crimefighter and his apprentice. Own it on DVD March 21st, 2006.

Extras Include:
-Audio Commentary on key Batman Beyond episodes.
-Inside Batman Beyond: Every Batman fan wishes they could sit at a table with it's creators of the series. Well, now here's a chance for that to take place with a few surprises.
-Music Only Track: Music of The Knight: Bruce Timm intro's the music from five key scenes of Batman Beyond as you choose which one you would like to hear with dramatic music only.
-Trailers

Please post all discussions, comments, etc, about the DVD here! Please discuss the episodes featured on the DVD in the proper talkbacks, links provided below:

#13. Ascension (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49473), #12. Disappearing Inque (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=24836), #11. A Touch Of Curaré (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49157), #10. Shriek (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48955), #9. Spellbound (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48691), #8. Heroes (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32968), #7. Meltdown (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=162871), #6. Dead Man's Hand (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48411), #5. The Winning Edge (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48404), #4. Golem (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48114), #3. Black Out (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=158730), #2. Rebirth, Part 2 (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45711), #1. Rebirth, Part 1 (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45711)

Discuss This DVD!

Note #1: If you don't plan on viewing this product, then please refrain from posting. We appreciate and encourage discussion, but one line posts of "This is a waste of money, I'm not buying it," "it looks cool, but I won't bother buying it," "this show sucks and so does the DVD," etc, are unnecessary. We'd like to see actual discussion and real comments from those who purchased these releases, or actually intend to, not pointless and insulting remarks. We will issue warnings if we believe it necessary.

[Sirkenz17]

Purchased this and Justice League about an hour ago. I haven't listened to the commentaries yet (I've only just finished watching the first three episodes), but the transfer and sound are awesome.

EDIT: I'm gonna give this set ****1/2, the last half taken away because of fewer extras than I would have liked. Still, that's not saying very much coming from my mouth.

[J-Ranger]

I'm a little frustrated since I was only able to pick this up. My local Best Buy and Futureshop only had this set. They said that they won't get JL S1 until Thursday afternoon the earliest. So far I am on "Dead Man's Hand" right now as I type and I am enjoying the set. The quality is very nice, the menus are alright but I was expecting a liitle more. I have yet to listen to the commentaries or watch the extras. I probably won't be able to get on that till tommorrow.

[Kylewayne]

Got Batman Beyond, but not JL s1. I waatched a few eps and all I have to say is I do not regret purchasing it! I so love! It was as if I was watching it for the first time =D

[Simpler Simon]

Bought the set this afternoon. Love the packaging (so small!!), yet I can't help but feel the set should be a few dollars cheaper now. Teen Titans S1 and The Batman S1 have basically the same number of eps and they're about $7 cheaper. Do the production of bonus features really jack the price up that much?

-I liked the roundtable discussion as they didn't sugarcoat the show's origins, namely that the execs wanted a Batman that appealed to younger kids. I'm also surprised that they bothered to mock up a 'booth' for the discussion instead of filming it at an office like Mystery of the Batwoman. With all the care gone into producing the talk, it's too bad it was only seven minutes.

-The commentaries were good. Nothing matches the Critters commentary, but these were nice.

-Havent really dug into the isolated score featurette. I watched one clip (inque escaping the hostage situation in "Disappearing Inque") and the score didn't really do anything for me on that one. Hopefully the other scores will give me more to savour.

[jimmymiro12]

I got this and JL season 1 but I dont get that until my birthday but it will be worth the wait.


JIm

[psifreek28]

Bought the set this afternoon. Love the packaging (so small!!), yet I can't help but feel the set should be a few dollars cheaper now. Teen Titans S1 and The Batman S1 have basically the same number of eps and they're about $7 cheaper. Do the production of bonus features really jack the price up that much?

-I liked the roundtable discussion as they didn't sugarcoat the show's origins, namely that the execs wanted a Batman that appealed to younger kids. I'm also surprised that they bothered to mock up a 'booth' for the discussion instead of filming it at an office like Mystery of the Batwoman. With all the care gone into producing the talk, it's too bad it was only seven minutes.

-The commentaries were good. Nothing matches the Critters commentary, but these were nice.

-Havent really dug into the isolated score featurette. I watched one clip (inque escaping the hostage situation in "Disappearing Inque") and the score didn't really do anything for me on that one. Hopefully the other scores will give me more to savour.

The reason for the slightly higher price on BB season 1 as opposed to the similar TB and TT box set's is that on top of the extra special features, WB has the oppurtunity to pull out a couple extra bucks from Beyond because it is in the "Classics" line, meaning older people will be buying it aswell. As opposed to TB and TT which is "Kid's Collection" meaning it's low cost has to be child/parent accessible.

[FunTurtle]

Okay, I just got BB and JL Season 1 to my house and watched the crap out of em...DCAU greatness all around...one disappointment though.
The Batman Beyond music featurette, where they only play the music over the show...how can you show a scene from Disappearing Inque and NOT show the part where Bruce goes to save Terry and puts on that Bat Armor?...that was some of the most B-A music I've heard on that show (the other being Terry and Bruce fighting side by side in Out of the Past, something about remixed BTAS stuff gets to me.) When I heard that music track feature was going to be on the DVD, I was sure that segment was half the reason it was being done.
Aside from that, great set (although disc 3 and 4 of the JL set were loose in the box when I opened it...no harm done though.) :sweat:

[Hero Supreme]

just watched rebirth. blight rocks, if they ever revisit future dcau, i would love for him to be the focus. i had forgotten how good season 1 BB was.


also, is there going to be a poll for this dvd?

[Hades]

Unfortunately it was either Tales from the Crypt or Justice League, so I chose TftC.

With that said, this set is awesome. I can't wait to have the chance to watch it (I got Oblivion as well, so I'm not sure what to start first), and I'm happy that for the first time, Season 1 is back in proper order!!

Anyone know when Season 2 is coming?

[Bird Boy]

Mr. Freeze's eyes on the Special Features menu for Disc 2 lead to an easter egg. I recommend that you all check it out.

It never fails--no matter how hard I look for those things, I never find them on the DC releases. The TT DVD release was loaded with it and I never even once saw it. Next time I'm combing every inch of the damn screen. :p

Cool egg. I seem to recall the "Creamed Spinach" title from somewhere before, forget where though. Neat to hear it though...

Oh and a polls been added. Sorry about that!

-BB

[Wolf Boy2]

Season one of BB was AWESOME!!! Rebirth was an awsome epic. Meltdown was classic. The Winning Edge (with Bane) was also great. This was a very strong opening for a great show.

My only complaint about BB is that the Sons of Batman (from Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns) were never in the series. I found it a little hard to swallow that there would be hundreds of Joker imitators but no Batman imitators. Imagine if there had been viglante gangs of Batman imitators killing and maiming all over Gotham. That would've created a cool plot of Terry having to prove that he was the genuine Batman and not an SOB (no pun intended, lol).

[J-Ranger]

I just finished getting through the entire DVD, extras and all, and I am very pleased. This was a very solid set and it reminded me of how much I loved BB when it was on the air. The commentary on Rebirth was exactly what I thought it would be and it put a smile on my face throughout the episode. The commentary on Shriek was very enlightening and a LOT better than I thought it would be. The music extra was alright. I can't wait to get onto the JL S1 set as soon as my local store gets it in.

[LazyReaper]

I got this delivered early in the morning along with JL: Season 1 and I finally got around to watching all of the extras on this set. I have to say that I'm very very impressed. The commentaries for both shriek and rebirth were great to listen to, and so was the featurette of them discussing the show. The music featurette was about the only extra where I'm a bit mixed on. While some of the tracks are great, (ie. Spellbound), there were others where I just yawned through, trying to make it to the end of the clip.

I completely agree with whoever said that the episode of Disappearing Inque should've had the end battle as the highlight rather than the start of the episode. I thought that would've been the most obvious choice, but I guess not.

I also did accidently stumble onto the easter egg with Mr. Freeze's eyes, and it was a very good surprise. I'm glad we got to hear that extended version of the theme song (plus, the video they had cut to it was pretty good too).

Overall though, I give this set 5 out of 5 stars. I've been waiting for Batman Beyond to be released on dvd for forever, even more so than the original B:TAS cartoons, so this set was definitely a highlight for me today.

[psifreek28]

i was a tad surprised by BB's transfer quality, it seemed lower than TNBA which was almost pristinely crisp...im assuming it's because these transfers were from the original release...and subsequent season will get better.

anyways...Saw rebirth for the first time in ages! WOW what a great episode!
And another WOW what a great intro!

I Love this show.:D

[JSmith]

Can't get over how beautiful these shows look. The last series before it all went digital. It's just breathtaking to see these designs on film. And the experiments they did with color on this show really paid off. The music was better than I remembered and the stories still hold up almost 10 years later. For such a small set the extras were really nice. Great to see there is at least one easter egg so far. Just floored by the overall quality of these dvds. I got the JL set too, but it is nowhere near as strong as BB. Want more soon!!!

[Silly McGooses]

You know what? I never realized what an excellent show this was. For some reason I never liked it much. I'm re-watching it now and I think it's great!
****1/2 stars
Extras are a little slim, but I like the thing with the music. Wish they did that on one of the Batman sets. That show had the best music.

[Toddman]

There were two moments from "Rebirth" part 1 that I found particularly entertaining...

The first was unintentional, but while viewing the episode w/commentary, I thought it was hilarious that just as the guys were discussing how the show was not as kid-friendly as planned, Terry is literally slamming a door in Matt's face.

The other moment probably was intentional, even though I never noticed the significance of it until just now. In the opening scene to "Rebirth", before the main title rolls, just as Wayne takes of the mask, throws away the gun and sulks away, the scene dissolves to the Batcave, and the first thing we see is... a dinosaur. I had never picked up on the symbolism before (even though I'm sure many of you probably did long ago), and I thought it was a very nice touch.


Toddman

[John Cage]

Great dvd set. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% with the extremely slim box, but the unique, and appropriate design, makes up for it. The extras are pretty nice too -- the Inside Look was well done, and I love the music only segments. Hope they do this on future sets.

Have a good day.
John Cage

[A.J]

Great dvd set. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% with the extremely slim box, but the unique, and appropriate design, makes up for it.

Have a good day.
John Cage

Ok ok, gotta ask: How thin or slim is the box? more than the STAS box sets? :confused:

[Silly McGooses]

It's like...half as slim as the S:TAS boxes. It doesn't go with the rest of the DVD boxes stylistically either. Oh, well. It's what's on the DVD that counts.

[Simpler Simon]

Great dvd set. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% with the extremely slim box, but the unique, and appropriate design, makes up for it.

I found the box was incredibly hard to pull out if you slipped it in the wrong way. The spine art needs to be facing out for the tray to slide out smoothly.

[LazyReaper]

Personally, I just love the slim boxed package that they went with. I don't have any room on my dvd shelves anymore with all the tv shows and movies that I already own, so I've had to resort to converting them to thinpak versions. This set just goes great with the rest of my collection and saves me the trouble of repacking it smaller.

[Jimmy 345]

I despise the new packaging. Why they didn't just go with the same cases as the pervious sets is beyond me. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Having to remove the first disc to use the second is a pain in the place where the sun don't shine.

[Bird Boy]

I despise the new packaging. Why they didn't just go with the same cases as the pervious sets is beyond me. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Having to remove the first disc to use the second is a pain in the place where the sun don't shine.

It's really not that hard to do. I've also had no problem simply removing the bottom disc without popping out the first. It, along with many others, saves much needed shelf space. I'm all about space conservation and I always thought the digi-pack, single tray fold outs were a bit excessive (like the 24 sets--those things just keep on rolling when you open it up).

But yeah, I can see how it will anger some. Like how complaints on flippers because they have to get up and flip it over in the DVD player, I don't think it's a valid excuse to complain simply bceause it takes an extra second to watch what you want. If the discs aren't being damaged in any way, then the packaging is cool with me.

-BB

[Hades]

I despise the new packaging. Why they didn't just go with the same cases as the pervious sets is beyond me. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Having to remove the first disc to use the second is a pain in the place where the sun don't shine.

Or why didn't they use thinpacks like they did with Tales from the Crypt Season 3?

Oh, and what the heck is up with the no chapter stops???????? They finally started to give us chapter stops, but went right back to NONE for this set, and I'm sure JL is the same way. Is there a second volume rule?

[Tommunist]

With the glut of TV and movie DVD releases coming out this year, coupled with the pending releases of both Blue Ray Discs and HD DVD in new packaging, store shelf space is at a premium.
I don't care for the double "disc on disc" style packaging myself, but appreciate the slimmer form factor. The design scheme and overall look of the packaging is still consistent with previous DCAU box set releases.
As long as the discs aren't being bounced around in the package, this is the least of our worries.
If I'm not too mistaken, I believe the recent Warners chat at the home theater forum mentioned more space efficient packaging for multi disc sets, but I've (often) been wrong before! :)

[Anarky]

hey, thin is in
i'm lovin the hella slim packaging
i'm running out of space as it is (need a new storage ctr soon)
Gargoyles Season 2 Vol 1 has the stacked-disc, I like it

so far, i've only scratched the surface, I watched the 2 commentary eps on disc 1

if you haven't already, try to buy the Batman Beyond soundtracks (Season One & Return of the Joker). I've been listening to both the week prior to the release

I find it interesting that the creators developed the villains from random sketches. I always viewed Batman Beyond as DC's spin on Spider-Man:

there are parallels in their perosnal lives but the villains are closely mirrored:

Derek Powers/Blight: Norman Osbourne + Carrion
Inque: Venom symbiote
Spellbinder: Mysterio
Shriek: The Shocker
The Stalker: Kraven the Hunter

anyway, hope we see Season 2 before yr's end. Can't wait to watch "Dead Man's Hand", "A Touch of Curare'", "Meltdown", "Spellbound", "Heroes", & "Ascension"

I'd like to know why they never brought back Blight on the series (i know he re-appeared in the BB comic). If they ever green-light a BB DTV I'd love to see a Sinister Six-type story f. Blight, Inque, Shriek, Spellbinder, Curare', & The Stalker:eek:

[Bird Boy]

Or why didn't they use thinpacks like they did with Tales from the Crypt Season 3?

If they're the same style of Thin Paks as Futurama/Family Guy, then that'd requrie two of them and it'd be thicker than the slim stack they used. The dual layer digi-pak is the width of one Thin-Pak.


Oh, and what the heck is up with the no chapter stops???????? They finally started to give us chapter stops, but went right back to NONE for this set, and I'm sure JL is the same way. Is there a second volume rule?

Due to most of BB/JL being on the single disc releases, they just reused the same transfers which, of course, had no chapters. They'll be back in future volumes I believe.

-BB

[Wonderwall]

Ive seen all the special features and commentaries today( and I found the easter egg without before reading it here which is a first for me ), but Ive only seen Shriek which is a better than I remembered( which isnt bad cuz I always liked it ). So tomorrow will be less JL, more BB. Its great to have these shows, so awesome.

[Hades]

Due to most of BB/JL being on the single disc releases, they just reused the same transfers which, of course, had no chapters. They'll be back in future volumes I believe.

-BB

Not true. The Batman Beyond the Movie set had chapter stops. In fact, I think each episode had about 5 of them.

[Spider-Man]

Not true. The Batman Beyond the Movie set had chapter stops. In fact, I think each episode had about 5 of them.
But the single disc releases from last year had no chapter stops. I assume Bird Boy was just talking about those ones. I can live without the chapter stops myself. It's not a big deal.

[A.J]

:eek: Awesome release. Kudos to WHV for giving us such a superior set.

The pros:
-New box design. Saves lot of space, excellent colors, art and very practical.
-13 episodes compressed in 2 disks is a nice touch and good deal.
-Not too expensive, not too cheap for what we get
-Transfers are awesome
-Commentaries are kind of limited but very good
-The episodes themselves are the best here.

The cons:
-No chapter stops :mad:
-Kind of limited extras

Final rating: **** 1/2 stars.

Heres hoping we get season 2 vol. 1 or the complete season 2 sometime soon. Please add chapter stops WHV! :)

[psifreek28]

The Batman Beyond episodes feel sooo new to me.

something i always wondered was who was terry's catwoman-like character...was it inque? or was it ten? And after seeing Dead Man's Hand again after some 6-7 years...it is def. Ten. As much as i love Ter/Dana, im a huge Terry/Melanie shipper.

And it's interesting that bruce and co...keep referring that Batman Beyond big mission was to make batman more kid friendly...but this show is sooo dark. The main titles make it hugely evident. Even the ideas behind some episodes...Corporate Sabotage,Teenage Student wanting to have payback against his school tormenters,Murder, Terry falling for a villain, Lots and lots of things. Def love this show!!

The commentaries are great! Cant get enough of them...
Hearing all the stuff they got to say bout Batman Beyond, makes me hope they do commentary on Epilouge.

Also am i the only person who is kinda having a little added joy watching Bruce and Terry's relationship as it develops knowing the outcome of epilouge? so many things connect to it soo well.

[Silly McGooses]

Not true. The Batman Beyond the Movie set had chapter stops. In fact, I think each episode had about 5 of them.
Yep, it definitely did. I remember those. It doesn't really matter to me because when I watch the episodes, I watch the whole episode. I don't do a lot of partial watching.

[Wonderwall]

Wow I always remembered how terry and Bruce's partnership started and how it eventually became in ROTJ and Epilouge, but I only remembered bits and pieces of how it was in between. Terry was alot more defiant, Bruce more irritable. There are two scenes that I thought display this nicely were in Dead man's Hand and Spellbound. In Dead Mans Hand where they have their argument in the Batcave and in Spellbound,"Wayne, you alive?""Very funny." That line had me laughing so much.

[Bird Boy]

Not true. The Batman Beyond the Movie set had chapter stops. In fact, I think each episode had about 5 of them.

They sure did, but only a few of those transfers were reused on this release. It's easier for them to completely remove the chapters than it is to include them on every one.

Also of note: as recently discovered with BTAS: Volume 3, I decided to test BB: Season 1 and JL Season 1 and they both send out a Pro Logic signal. Assuming your receiver will decode it, you should get some cool, faux 5.1 going on.

-BB

[John Cage]

It doesn't go with the rest of the DVD boxes stylistically either.

I like the fact they moved away from the tradition DC Classic Collection look for Batman Beyond. It doesn't seem appropriate for the show, and would've only been done for the sake of conformity (and I'm sure there'd be more people online complaining about it too). That said, I'm okay with it for Justice League, but I wouldn't mind something a little different for JLU.

Have a good day.
John Cage

[Zakkour]

are there any english subtitles on this DVD set? the JL one doesn't have them:mad: . i find this lack a bit downgrading for the sets (to me a least).

anyway, even if there isn't english subtitles i will probably still by this set this weekend (i love this show :D ) but i just wanted to know.

Sam.

[Silly McGooses]

Nope, there are no English subtitles. Very frustrating. WB has a total lack of consistency in the subtitles/languages department.

[Hero Supreme]

music of the knight was a lot cooler than i expected. it really makes me appreciate the techno tunes.

[Batmex]

Nope, there are no English subtitles. Very frustrating. WB has a total lack of consistency in the subtitles/languages department.

Heck my ONLY disapointment is the lack of spanish audio(my native tongue):sad:

And yes the score only scenes rock specialy "Vietman" and the "Freeze Betrayed" :D

[A.J]

Heck my ONLY disapointment is the lack of spanish audio(my native tongue):sad:



I agree with you. I cannot understand why they stopped including the spanish subs! Now I am gonna have the JL single releases with the spanish audio tracks but the mighty full season set with the english track only. WTH? Plus I have STAS Vol. 1 and BTAS Vol. 1, 2 and 3 all with spanish tracks but the remaining releases wont! They wouldnt have included them in the first place if they were gonna do that to spanish speakers. BB had an awesome dubbing in spanish. I cant believe I wont get it :mad:

[MilkManX]

Got mine from Amazon yesterday. I watched all the special features and the episodes on disc 1. This show was soo good. I forgot how cool it was. I never got to see "Meltdown" and for my money it is up there with Heart of Ice. Tragic and brooding. The essence of Mr Freeze was captured for one more time. The other episode that had me rollin was "Black Out" when Bruce was wearing the Grey Ghost goggles and Hat! Hilarious!! I cant wait till season 2~!

[Batlaw]

Love it! (how can you not?)
I bought BB S1 and two JL S1. I dig the packaging except for the "staggered" disk placement? but no biggie.
The shows look and sound great!
I'm pretty pleased with the special features but still think there needs to be more personally. I thought the "round table" panel for BB was pretty good overall (def. better than the JL S1). And the commentaries so far have been decent as well.
I so desperately want the rest!:D BB like STAS and TNBA, for me its the later seasons/episodes that I missed out on originally. Cant wait!

[A.J]

You know what? I didnt like that guy who made the interviews with b.t and the crew. Very annoying if you ask me. My sister said he looks like that Gostbusters giant marsmallow! I know thats cruel but at least I think the questions he asked were not that important, not that deep really and sort of irrelevant. Sorry, I just really think he could do better :o

[Bird Boy]

You know what? I didnt like that guy who made the interviews with b.t and the crew. Very annoying if you ask me. My sister said he looks like that Gostbusters giant marsmallow! I know thats cruel but at least I think the questions he asked were not that important, not that deep really and sort of irrelevant. Sorry, I just really think he could do better :o

Who, Hillhouse? I don't know how you can compare that guy to the Ghostbusters marshmallow...or at all. That's like comparing a sofa to a lamp.

In any case, I didn't think he did too bad. I don't know what kind of "important" questions he could have asked that he didn't...the featurettes are really just there to discuss how the series came about and whatnot. Generic questions that you find on most sets of any shows, really.

I dug the new round table type stuff though. They're really upping the production values on these special features.

-BB

[Silly McGooses]

Entertainment Weekly gave this set a "B"

[A.J]

Who, Hillhouse? I don't know how you can compare that guy to the Ghostbusters marshmallow...or at all. That's like comparing a sofa to a lamp.

-BB

You are right BirdBoy but somehow my sister considered it that way. Oh well, she is a fashion designer, God only knows what was on her mind :D

In the other hand I just think that for a almost 10 minutes round table they could have talk about more stuff we didnt know about. Glen barely talked & Dini barely said something as well! Maybe they try to be too sporadic or something. Anyway, I like what we got, keep the hard work WHV, I know you can do even better.

[Maxie Zeus]

I like Hillhouse. He comes across as one of us. Okay, that's possibly more insulting than comparing him to the StayPuft guy, but there it is. But I like him because he's fun and enthusiastic and brings a lot of energy to the interviews. I'm glad he's back, both here and on the JL set.

The roundtable set up is a good choice, even if it does keep reminding me of "The McLaughlin Group."


JM: Issue one: The Tomorrow Knight! In 1998 Warner Bros. commissioned a new "Buffy-ized" Batman from the producers of the hit cartoon series! Bruce the Timminator! On a scale of one to ten, with one being the negation of all that is holy and ten standing for metaphyiscal perfection, how would you rate the success of the show?

BT: Well, I--

JM: WRONG! The answer is one seat in the Senate, five seats in the House!

[J-Ranger]

I dug the new round table type stuff though. They're really upping the production values on these special features.

-BB
I agree, it brings a whole new professional level to the extras. I hope they continue with it. It also gives us fans a more relax vibe setting when the producers are just sitting around a cool set talking about the show.

[kashpoing]

Great set , I love all the episodes and I forgot how fluid the animation is , inque is espacially so. The featurete is soso and I havent messed with any other special features. I have no problem with the slimness of the case but It let go of the second disk and scratched it wich irked me ,I also ripped the box ever so slightly getting it open, I think it would look pretty cool if the other seasons are done in the same color pallete. I'm gonna hold out on JL S1 until June 20th and have one huge DCAU marathon. Cant wait till the other BB sets and I give this one 4 and a half stars for great content but untrustworthy package.

[Anarky]

a little retro-continuity:

in "Spellbound", Mr Deakins was the curator of the Princess Audrey Gown Gallery, most likely the same Princess Audrey introduced in Justice League's "Maid of Honor"

retcon rawks:zim:

[Doomsday]

I don't know if anyone found the easter egg in this set yet but its on the second disc on the special feature section. Move right and you will be on Mr. Freeze's eyes. The extra is what Timm did to make sure that the guys he usually makes the music be able to do the job for Batman Beyond.

[Simpler Simon]

a little retro-continuity:

in "Spellbound", Mr Deakins was the curator of the Princess Audrey Gown Gallery, most likely the same Princess Audrey introduced in Justice League's "Maid of Honor"

retcon rawks:zim:

Seriously? Would it have been a reference to Audrey Hepburn before then?

I gotta watch that again...

[BlueRocketBoy]

Seriously? Would it have been a reference to Audrey Hepburn before then? Well, the poster on the wall depicting a woman wearing a "Princess Audrey" gown has dark hair, so it seems reasonable that Hepburn might have been an influence. But I think, within the DCAU, you could easily say it was Audrey of Kasnia (and that the woman in the poster is a model or mannequin).

[BlueRocketBoy]

I'd forgotten how great this series (at least season one) was. I sat down and watched the entire 13-episode set over the last couple of days, and I was hooked -- all the great animation, design and voice acting carried over from the previous series, as well as a fresh (but still solid) take on the music. It's ironic that, while this series was planned to be more kid friendly, it often comes across just as dark, cynical and/or mature than B:TAS did.

While I know some of the subsequent episodes weren't as strong, I'm really looking forward to the next BB set.

[Ullar]

I just watched this set and I have 1 question. Why is the CObra guy on the box and menu yet never in seaon 1?

[shabbyblue]

I find it interesting that the creators developed the villains from random sketches. I always viewed Batman Beyond as DC's spin on Spider-Man:

there are parallels in their perosnal lives but the villains are closely mirrored:

Derek Powers/Blight: Norman Osbourne + Carrion
Inque: Venom symbiote
Spellbinder: Mysterio
Shriek: The Shocker
The Stalker: Kraven the Hunter

Yup, I picked up on this a long time ago when the show originally aired, especially when I saw the "Terrific Trio" episode. They couldn't have been a more blatant ripoff of the Fantastic Four, and that's when I started recognizing the parallels to the Spiderman universe. The Stalker/Kraven similarity was another obvious parallel. Your Derek Powers/Blight similarity to Osbourne is the only one I have a hard time seeing. Putting Spiderman aside, I always saw Powers as more of a futuristic Lex Luthor type of character instead. But that was before I started recognizing the Spiderman parallels in the show.

[Bird Boy]

I just watched this set and I have 1 question. Why is the CObra guy on the box and menu yet never in seaon 1?

The big metal armored guy isn't in this season either. The Kobra ("Zander") doesn't show up until season three and the metal guy ("Krul" of the April Moon Gang) shows up in season two.

There was a very low amount of promo model sheet art for BB I think, so they probably didn't have a lot to choose from. Hopefully they'll commission others to draw some new stuff...

-BB

[Stu]

Yup, I picked up on this a long time ago when the show originally aired, especially when I saw the "Terrific Trio" episode. They couldn't have been a more blatant ripoff of the Fantastic Four, and that's when I started recognizing the parallels to the Spiderman universe. The Stalker/Kraven similarity was another obvious parallel. Your Derek Powers/Blight similarity to Osbourne is the only one I have a hard time seeing. Putting Spiderman aside, I always saw Powers as more of a futuristic Lex Luthor type of character instead. But that was before I started recognizing the Spiderman parallels in the show.
As far as Heroes go, there's a difference between a homage and a rip off. It's no secret that Timm is a big Fantastic Four fan and this show presented him with an oppertunity to pay tribute to them, and make an interesting foil for Terry because they were worshipped as heroes, whilst Terry clearly wasn't.

The rest are a little more difficult to explain. It's also rather ironic that Terry himself is similar to Spider-Man.

[shabbyblue]

As far as Heroes go, there's a difference between a homage and a rip off. It's no secret that Timm is a big Fantastic Four fan and this show presented him with an oppertunity to pay tribute to them, and make an interesting foil for Terry because they were worshipped as heroes, whilst Terry clearly wasn't.

The rest are a little more difficult to explain. It's also rather ironic that Terry himself is similar to Spider-Man.

True... I worded it poorly. It is definitely more of a respectful homage. In recognizing the similarities between Spiderman and Batman Beyond, I think Timm definitely used this show as an opportunity to subtly do his own version of a Marvel/Spiderman cartoon. It's a much more dynamic show than BTAS, with Terry's acrobatic/flying skills in the suit. And you made me suddenly realize the parallel between Terry's father dying and Peter's Uncle Ben. That never registered with me until now.

[Tom Servo]

Other than owning the uncut ROTJ, the BB series is unknown to me. I purchased the set after reading many of the replies, the interesting episode reviews, the heavy involvement of Kevin Conroy and its apparent intensity and moodiness. I am up to "Meltdown" now, finished yesterday, and for the most part have enjoyed the show. It is a bit tough to have Bruce Wayne involved and yet not in the middle of the action. I really enjoyed "Rebirth", the fight in the Batcave with Inque in "Black Out" and seeing Fries again in "Meltdown". "Golem" was a bit slight and there was almost too much of the annoying geeky kid.

I have to say, and this may sound odd, but I am having a tough time getting past the overwrought, blaring rock score. I have been a film score fan since the late 70's, with over 700 score albums in my collection, so I certainly appreciate the myriad of ways a series or film can be scored. But I LOVED the classic, romantic orchestral approach in BTAS. For me it provided most of the emotional content, since I was not a Batman fan beforehand. So now, in BB, the heavy metal approach in the music keeps me from really connecting emotionally at times, especially when that garish electric guitar stars wailing incessantly. I hope I will grow accostomed to it!

[Yojimbo]

a little retro-continuity:

in "Spellbound", Mr Deakins was the curator of the Princess Audrey Gown Gallery, most likely the same Princess Audrey introduced in Justice League's "Maid of Honor"

retcon rawks:zim:

This is one of the things I enjoyed with this set. You think of connections revistied in the JL series. I was surprised there was this much in the first season.

Since Deakins was an auctioneer, the poster could have simply depicted a model wearing a piece from Audrey's collection.

Then there was Inque questioning Terry in "disapperaing Inque".
"Who is he? Your father? Grandfather?"

On a side note, after watching Inque episodes, it reminded me of the season three one "inqueling" where Bruce is gone visiting an old guru friend in the Himalayas. We all know it is the Master, after watching "dead reckoning".

Curare, I'm thinking may have been from the Himalayas region, as well. After reading up on Blue Lama after Karkull noted her in the "Dead reckoning" episode. Lamas are Himalayan priestess. So since she's got blue skin, and Curare's got blue skin, they are probably from the same area.

As for the commentaries, I thought overall, they had more quality to them. Timm and co. are getting better. The panel discussion could have been longer, but the length was probably tied to the set's budget.

Liked the set. Can't wait until December for the second, hopefully.

[jimmymiro12]

Interesting view Kenshin and I very much agree with you but I think we will probably get another set in the summer. I say this because when the other BTAS sets came out the first one was July the second I belive was January and the third was the summer. I feel comfident that they will have it rapped up by December but I am wondering if they will split it up. Like have season 2 (first half) then have season 2 (second half) in december.

I hope they don't split the second season apart because it is like a season of btas and it has like at least 25 episodes so hopfully they will do it right..


jim

[Bird Boy]

Interesting view Kenshin and I very much agree with you but I think we will probably get another set in the summer. I say this because when the other BTAS sets came out the first one was July the second I belive was January and the third was the summer. I feel comfident that they will have it rapped up by December but I am wondering if they will split it up. Like have season 2 (first half) then have season 2 (second half) in december.

I hope they don't split the second season apart because it is like a season of btas and it has like at least 25 episodes so hopfully they will do it right..


jim

Season two will more than likely be split into two sets, the first of which will release in December. WHV has already announced their DCAU pairings for the rest of the year, with only the second half of December's batch unknown--which is more than likely BB Season 2, Volume 1.

-BB

[Gl_link]

Is it me or did paul dini look angry during the featuret?

[Yojimbo]

Is it me or did paul dini look angry during the featuret?

Probably because he didn't get to sit next to Bruce Timm.

[Anarky]

Yup, I picked up on this a long time ago when the show originally aired, especially when I saw the "Terrific Trio" episode. They couldn't have been a more blatant ripoff of the Fantastic Four, and that's when I started recognizing the parallels to the Spiderman universe. The Stalker/Kraven similarity was another obvious parallel. Your Derek Powers/Blight similarity to Osbourne is the only one I have a hard time seeing. Putting Spiderman aside, I always saw Powers as more of a futuristic Lex Luthor type of character instead. But that was before I started recognizing the Spiderman parallels in the show.

Well, when I was reading Spidey (early-mid 90s) the Green Goblin wasn't much of a factor. Venom was the #1 baddie at the time, probably followed by the demonized Hobgoblin.

When I compare Derek Powers to Norman Osbourne, I focus on the aspect that they're both seedy industrialists driven mad by their powers...and have issues w/ their respective sons. Perhaps Norman's story was updated in the Ultimate series but I'm only familiar w/ the OG continuity (up to a point). In case you don't know, Carrion was an obscure Spidey-villain. He possessed a touch of death. All that he touched withered & died, just as Blight stated in "Meltdown" when he took on Mr Freeze.

But since BB is within the DCAU, first reaction is to draw the Luthor comparison.

[Batman49]

Well unlike a lot of people here, I liked the slim case and the art on the case. I have a lot of dvds so having slimmer cases helps me save some space. I've watched the extras and they were good. I plan to watch the commentaries soon. I appreciated the bluntness of their answer to how the series came about. They really worked their magic on what could have been a disaster.

[kashpoing]

Season two will more than likely be split into two sets, the first of which will release in December. WHV has already announced their DCAU pairings for the rest of the year, with only the second half of December's batch unknown--which is more than likely BB Season 2, Volume 1.

-BB
Why would they split it up I think theres only 26 episodes , they could just use the same box as JL S1 with four discs.

[BlueRocketBoy]

Why would they split it up I think theres only 26 episodes , they could just use the same box as JL S1 with four discs. So far, the amount of discs for a particular show don't seem to change set to set. Based on that pattern, it's reasonable to assume BB will remain at 13 episodes per set to remain consistent -- and to make more money over the long run.

[A.J]

Funny thing is we are actually not getting a season set per season yet in order to get each individual season as a whole (with BB season 1 being the only one so far for the clasic collection).Think of those shows with 4 seasons of 13 episodes each (a la Teen titans and the Batman). We are stuck with volumen releases for the clasic collection instead which makes things kind of not in order. JL is getting 2 season set releases and JLU is probably getting 3 season sets releases...what a mess between volume and season releases!! LOL

[Bobbywoodhogan]

- - **warning spoilers ahead** - -

What a first season. Terry McGinnis was introduced as the new Batman and was very cool plus we got to see the original Batman's last mission and reason(s) for retirement.


How great was this first season the 1st appearance of Inque was good and the defeat of her with Mr Freeze's gun was an excellent touch. Loved Meltdown with the return of Mr Freeze, Heroes is often bashed but I found it to be quite comical, Shriek was introduced as a cool new villain, The Royal Flush Gang (in their best incarnation animated IMO) were cool, Thw Winng Edge which tied up what happened to Bane was very interesting and Curare (a member of the League of Shadows was introduced), this was another character i thought was cool. But the best part about Season 1 was Derek Powers/Blight, he was a brilliant villain; a kind of psychotic, Super-powered Lex Luthor.

[Bird Boy]

Why would they split it up I think theres only 26 episodes , they could just use the same box as JL S1 with four discs.

To keep the releaes even. Same reason STAS was split up into three volumes of 18.


Funny thing is we are actually not getting a season set per season yet in order to get each individual season as a whole (with BB season 1 being the only one so far for the clasic collection).Think of those shows with 4 seasons of 13 episodes each (a la Teen titans and the Batman). We are stuck with volumen releases for the clasic collection instead which makes things kind of not in order. JL is getting 2 season set releases and JLU is probably getting 3 season sets releases...what a mess between volume and season releases!! LOL

JL and BB are in season set releases. The reason BTAS/STAS wasn't was because of the uneven number of episodes, so it couldn't be evenly split.

All the episodes are still in order, so there's really no confusion to be had. Just the wait inbetween releases sucks. :p

-BB

[Simpler Simon]

Season two will more than likely be split into two sets, the first of which will release in December. WHV has already announced their DCAU pairings for the rest of the year, with only the second half of December's batch unknown--which is more than likely BB Season 2, Volume 1.

-BB

Do we know it won't be a superfriends release paired w/JLU? That hasn't gotten a release in awhile.

[Bird Boy]

Do we know it won't be a superfriends release paired w/JLU? That hasn't gotten a release in awhile.

It could be, they haven't announced anything aside from JLU. It's either Superfriends or BB...though I honestly think it'll be BB. I could be wrong, however...but just saying.

-BB

[Trevor Balena]

It could be, they haven't announced anything aside from JLU. It's either Superfriends or BB...though I honestly think it'll be BB. I could be wrong, however...but just saying.

If it was Superfriends, wouldn't it have been announced with the rest of the "Year of Superman" stuff? After all, Superfriends has Superman in it, just like Justice League does, and the JL/JLU sets were part of the press release...

[Spider-Man]

I thought this was a really great set for such a low price. I don't even mind the package that everyone seems to be complaining about. If I had any complaints is that the roundtable was a bit too short. I really hope they up these roundtable discussions to twenty minutes or so. Some of the participants barely got a word in. I also hope we see some of the earlier designs for the shows in the next set. I was really pleased with the set and I'm really looking forward to the next season set. I hope we see it before the year is out.

[Duke]

If the future's bright, why is everything so dark? Anyway, Stu rings in with his review of Batman Beyond: Season 1. (Click the picture)

http://news.toonzone.net/images/2006-03/splash_batmanbeyond.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=9856)

[Mercy Drive]

Title's bound to confuse people at first glance the show is getting renewed.:p

[TRUE]

I finally bought this gem today. Pretty neat set

[unknown hero]

If the future's bright, why is everything so dark? Anyway, Stu rings in with his review of Batman Beyond: Season 1. (Click the picture)

http://news.toonzone.net/images/2006-03/splash_batmanbeyond.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=9856)

When I first saw this I thought "Hooray! New BB eps!":sad:

Anyway, the first season was a great setup for BB by being able to forge a fresh story around new characters. There were alot of memorable scenes such as the muted sound scene in "Shriek". Great show.

[Freeze55]

I just bought all three sets at once from Best Buy and the strange thing about this set: I got two disk 1s and no disk 2. :confused: Anyone else have this happen?