Round 15: Holy Bad Episodes Batman!

[Batman Fan]

With the Superman polls over and the "Best" DCAU episode decided, it's time to get back to the worst with the B:TAS Semi-finals! 8 episodes you voted for, but only one will come out as the worst. Vote now!

The Chosen Ones:
Round 1: Two's A Crowd
Round 2: The Prometheon
Round 3: Monkey Fun
Round 4: Warrior Queen
Round 5: Superman's Pal
Round 6- Superman Semi-final: Superman's Pal

Round 7: Be A Clown
Round 8: I've Got Batman In My Basement
Round 9: The Underdwellers
Round 10: Moon of the Wolf
Round 11: The Mechanic
Round 12: Paging the Crime Doctor
Round 13: Make 'Em Laugh
Round 14: The Terrible Trio

[Dens Maris]

The Terrible Trio still pains me to this day. Oogh...

[Aldrius]

What the hell is Paging the Crime Doctor doing there? >__>

I think "I've got Batman in my Basement" is the worst on that list.

[Silly McGooses]

What the hell is Paging the Crime Doctor doing there? >__>

I think "I've got Batman in my Basement" is the worst on that list.
I voted for BimB too, I love Paging the Crime Doctor, I don't know why that one gets the hate...

[Wing Zero]

Underdwellers gets my vote. I can't sit through that episode, it really bores me to no end. At least with the others I can find something to hook my mind onto, yes even I've got Batman in my Basement just for the sheer amusement of seeing the kids hole up Batsy in a normal looking home.

[Anarky]

Paging the Crime Doctor is a great ep
I liked The Terrible Trio as well

Of these, I'd say I've Got Batman in my Basement is the worst because I just don't like children. This ep was like Home Alone with a really lame fencing duel in the climax.

[Sirkenz17]

I, too, went with IGBIMB. Of all the episodes in the series, this is the only one that left me feeling numb.

And I like Make 'Em Laugh.

[Cortez2301]

"I've got batman in my basement" ? Definitely not one of Bruce Timm's favourite either.I got come up with a better intro for penguin.This episode sucked so bad.

[Caswin]

I voted for BimB too, I love Paging the Crime Doctor, I don't know why that one gets the hate...It "got the hate" because it happened to be in a round full of great episodes, and just got deemed the least great - requiring two rounds to do so, no less. It doesn't deserve to be here, and as a result, in my final analysis, I'm going to pretend Cat Scratch Fever found its way in there somehow.

Anyone who objects will be operated on with a laser.

Now that we have that settled, this particular go has a twist to it - having heard time and again from various users that there's no such thing as a bad Batman episode, I’m going to pretend that they’re all good and re-review them as such. This is where my two-plays’ worth of acting experience pays off. By all accounts, I make a good minor character...
---
The Mechanic – third of the three big “backstory” episodes, and this near the heart of it all: The Batmobile, with a strong supporting character to boot. And who doesn’t love the Penguin? … Don’t answer that… (A momentary lapse. His game face stays.)
-
Be A Clown is more or less the Mayor Hill episode. That man needed character development badly, and here we get just about the only source. It’s like The Lion and the Unicorn, which of course wasn’t a thoroughly wasted opportunity. Oh, and Joker had some great scenes – who could forget that birthday candle? Or the roller coaster fight? Heck, the deathtrap? I just have this to say: “Time for a little Bat magic!” (Involuntary wince; maybe he should have thought before speaking. It passes.)
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Good old The Underdwellers. This show didn’t have enough eyepatches. It also didn’t have enough Alfred. This made a valiant effort to remedy both. We get the best Alfred sequence this side of The Forgotten, and… uh… that bell scene was pretty cool… (Floundering like one of those alligators, he abruptly moves on.)
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Cat Scratch Fever advanced the Batman/Selina Kyle relationship. This was good. It had Batman punching through the ice to grab the villainess’ heel. This was cool. It also had Isis. Everybody loves Isis. (Okay, got a good handle on things, halfway through…)
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The Terrible Trio is wildly reviled. For shame! It had quite a car chase, the final snowmobile fight ranks among the best in the series – or it should, at least – and the scene at the beginning with them working as a competent team wasn’t followed up on at all, making them possibly the blandest villains ever, and (Down, boy! Caswin gathers himself… almost done… these are good episodes, remember…)
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Make 'Em Laugh. Hehehe. It had the Condiment King. Nothing with a villain as cool as The Condiment King in the first act can be that bad, can it? (Nervous chuckle. He’s starting to crack.)
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Moon of the Wolf just had to be good. It had a werewolf. And a cool scene with Bullock. Oh, and the ending was good. It even had puns. Everyone loves puns! Animation errors, too, so the Bat-logo can light up like a little flashlight on Batman’s chest so everyone can see him! Milo has super clothes-changing powers! The whole thing is like Tyger, Tyger but worse! Wrecking balls! Stupid writing! Yay! Hahahahahaaa WHEEEEE! (He breaks loose. You had probably best run at this point… oh, wait, no, he seems to be back in control, returning to the stage. Sorry, broke narration-character for a moment. Moving on... one more...)
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I've Got Batman In My Basement. It was a Batman episode. (Beat.) It had Penguin. (Beat.) … Screwdriver? (Sweat. Twitch. Glaring at audience. Forget what I said earlier - run.)
…I’ve got Batman in my Basement… and maybe he can save me from this review! No – he’s not real, is he? Well, I guess I’ll make him real! I’ll make stories of my own - and people will review them! And they’ll be good! Well, maybe the stories won’t, but they’ll have to say good things, because it's Batman, and the advertising people will not be denied! $_$
Heeheehee!

SIX MONTHS LATER

“I've Got Batman in my Basement… on ICE!”

(There is chaos all around the world. People riot. Buildings implode. Forget Batman – this looks like a job for Superman. Unfortunately, he doesn’t exist, either. As a result, it would appear that I’ve Got Batman in my Basement destroyed the world. This is so impressive that I simply can’t bear to give it my vote for the worst episode ever. Moon of the Wolf has my backing.)

[enigmatic_one]

I don't get why everyone hates I've got Batman in my Basement! I know people find the kids annoying, but when I first saw the episode (one of the first B:TAS episodes I saw, incidentally) as an eight year old boy, I really identified with them (which I'm assuming was the goal of the story). I could relate to the main guy (who's name escapes me), making it seem almost as if it was I who had Batman in my basement - one of my greatest fantasies as a child. Sure it was corny and at times tacky, but to me it represented the possibility of my own dreams coming true, my hero needing me for help. I'll never forget that day so long ago, sitting in front of my television, itching to join the fight. So whenever you bash IGBimB, know that somewhere, there's a little boy out there somewhere with a big grin on his face, thinking it's the best show ever.



On that note, of course I voted for it! The Penguin? I mean, come on!

[Revelator]

I could relate to the main guy (who's name escapes me), making it seem almost as if it was I who had Batman in my basement - one of my greatest fantasies...

Sounds kinky...
I always thought "I've got Batman in My Basement" sounded like an S&M porno. God knows, the episode would have been better that way.
I watched IGBIMB as kid too, with my little brothers, were around 8 and 6 at the time. And we all had trouble relating to Sherman--because we all thought he was a dork. I think even as kids we felt that it took away from Batman's mystique to have him be saved by kids--any who weren't Robin anyway.

[D.A.V.E.]

Coming Soon:

I've Got Batman in the Basement, The Musical

(Soon, the universe and reality falls apart into eternal chaos.)

[The Penguin]

Personally, I think it's become popular to hate "Basement" maybe it's because I like The Penguin, but I don't think it deserves worst. episode. ever.

I have never been able to stand The Underdwellers.

[Brainiac]

Personally, I think it's become popular to hate "Basement" maybe it's because I like The Penguin, but I don't think it deserves worst. episode. ever.


First of all: Penguin, nice avatar!

And along the lines of IGBIMB, I'd have to agree. It's not great, but it's not the worst ever.

In fact, from that list I'd go with "Moon of the Wolf." I literally can't sit through it. I could even sit through "The Underdwellers" (which is pretty bad), but this one is just terrible!

I'm also really surprised to find "Paging the Crime Doctor" and (to a lesser extent) "Make 'Em Laugh" on that list. I knew a lot of people hated the latter, but "Paging the Crime Doctor"? It's bad? Really? I always liked it!

On a separate note, I'm surprised "Two's a Crowd" was included on the worst STAS list. I always loved that episode.

-Brainiac

[Cortez2301]

Personally, I think it's become popular to hate "Basement" maybe it's because I like The Penguin, but I don't think it deserves worst. episode. ever.

I have never been able to stand The Underdwellers.NO PENGUIN IS in
MY TOP 10 BATVILLAINS.Its just that episode sucked bad.It belongs in the 60's series.

[Caswin]

It belongs in the 60's series.Actually, I think it would genuinely work better there - that show's writers could've milked the comic potential. No screwdriver/umbrella duel, though... I liked that duel. :(

[Batman91]

Wow,I'm suprised to see "Make Em Laugh" and "Mechanic" in the list,there not fantastic,but I wouldn't call them bad episodes at all.Anyways as far as my pick goes I think "Be a Clown" wasn't a very good episode so thats what I voted for,I was also thinking about "I've got a Batman in My Basement" but "Be a Clown" was pretty bad.

[TheGrayGhost]

On a separate note, I'm surprised "Two's a Crowd" was included on the worst STAS list. I always loved that episode.

-Brainiac

You're kidding. That episode was really good. It is becoming increasingly hard to take these types of polls seriously. That's why I usually stay away from these "best" and "worst" polls.

Two's a Crowd is the one where Parasite is recruited to help Superman, right?

[Caswin]

You're kidding. That episode was really good. It is becoming increasingly hard to take these types of polls seriously. That's why I usually stay away from these "best" and "worst" polls.

Two's a Crowd is the one where Parasite is recruited to help Superman, right?It is - the only reason it's there is because the polls run down every episode, and Two's a Crowd was deemed the least excellent of round one. (Note that in the semifinals, no longer stacked against the likes of Last Son of Krypton and The Way of All Flesh, it got no votes.)

[enigmatic_one]

And we all had trouble relating to Sherman--because we all thought he was a dork.

Ahhh, well that explains it: See, I was(/am) a dork!

On a separate note, look for the B:TAS porn series coming soon to a a rental store near you, including "I've Got Batman in my Basement" and "Sorry, Mr. Wayne is Tied up at the Moment"