James Harvey
01-26-2002, 02:21 PM
Well, the much anticipated Static Shock episode "The Big Leagues" guest starring Batman and Robin, and featuring the Joker has finally aired on Kids'WB! and fan reaction has been strong. Not only that, director of the episode Dave Chlystek provides some final commentary on the episode.
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/21.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-21.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a>One of the questions that fans had on their minds was "why the original B:TAS-style Batwing"? Dave Chlystek was able to provide an answer:
"I will take the blame for the Batwing sequence, you are correct, Bats and Robin probably couldn't have leaped out of the Batwing like that, but I thought it looked cool, so took artistic licence with it. You have to admit, it did look cool (I actually wanted the cockpit to glow that red color for Static's scene, but the animators chose not to do it that way. Oh well, you can't have everything). " said Chlystek.
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/10.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-10.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a>"As for the Batwing itself, again, I liked the old design and went with it. It's cool to see the fans appreciated this as well."
Fan response was very positive for the Commissioner Gordan and Harvey Bullock. Dave Chlystek commented on the cameos: "I put the cameos of Gordon and Bullock and the pic of Harley in for the simple reason that I like them! And it had been a long time since we saw either Bullock or Gordon."
Below are comments from fans who post at <a href="http://forums.toonzone.net">Toon Zone Forums</a>. Check them out:
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/19.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-19.jpg width=100 height=74 align="left"></a><a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/20.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-20.jpg width=100 height=74 align="left"></a>"'The Big Leagues' is animated well, as is the Static standard. I had mixed feelings about the music... the hip-hop fight music seems to have improved a bit over last season (then again, I've got to admit that I had only seen four episodes of Static before now). Joker's themes (not based on previous music) fit his character all right. But when the Batman theme kicks in during the final fight--ugh! I don't know what happened, but his music sounds like a bad MIDI file, or something from a game on the original Nintendo system! It's so bad it made me cringe. But "The Big Leagues" comes together reasonably well. It's not a masterpiece that bat-fans will salavate over for years, but it won't offend these fans either." -- The Mad Hatter
"That was pretty good actually. The Joker and Batman worked better than I thought. I didn't like Robin's voice though. Favorite Quote: Static-"Can I help?" Batman-"Probably not."" -- JL Man
"Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. Like the long cape on Robin, and the B:TAS Batplane!!! That was pretty cool (and unexpected...) Would like to see them use Robin again in some way, but I doubt it'll happen... crossing my fingers for a Young Justice episode on JL..." -- Trent Lane
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/22.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-22.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a><a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/23.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-23.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a>"I thought this was a good episode. I was worried about how Batman and the Joker would be handled in Static, but my concerns were quickly put to rest. Batman was as in-character as ever, and so was the Joker, who was particularly menacing (love how they kept his ROTJ design here). Robin had the most changes to him (his head is too narrow!) and his new voice was slightly annoying, but I'll get used to it. The only thing that dissapointed me was Batman's hip-hop theme, which was just...wrong. This was the first Static episode I ever saw, and I hope the other episodes have great stories and animation like this one! Of course, Batman's appearence probably helped it out greatly...but the point is, it was an excellent episode, and I'm glad I woke myself up to watch it!" -- Blight
For more comments on the episode, go <a href="http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17941">HERE</a>. Stay tuned for more Static Shock News here at TZN!
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/21.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-21.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a>One of the questions that fans had on their minds was "why the original B:TAS-style Batwing"? Dave Chlystek was able to provide an answer:
"I will take the blame for the Batwing sequence, you are correct, Bats and Robin probably couldn't have leaped out of the Batwing like that, but I thought it looked cool, so took artistic licence with it. You have to admit, it did look cool (I actually wanted the cockpit to glow that red color for Static's scene, but the animators chose not to do it that way. Oh well, you can't have everything). " said Chlystek.
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/10.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-10.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a>"As for the Batwing itself, again, I liked the old design and went with it. It's cool to see the fans appreciated this as well."
Fan response was very positive for the Commissioner Gordan and Harvey Bullock. Dave Chlystek commented on the cameos: "I put the cameos of Gordon and Bullock and the pic of Harley in for the simple reason that I like them! And it had been a long time since we saw either Bullock or Gordon."
Below are comments from fans who post at <a href="http://forums.toonzone.net">Toon Zone Forums</a>. Check them out:
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/19.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-19.jpg width=100 height=74 align="left"></a><a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/20.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-20.jpg width=100 height=74 align="left"></a>"'The Big Leagues' is animated well, as is the Static standard. I had mixed feelings about the music... the hip-hop fight music seems to have improved a bit over last season (then again, I've got to admit that I had only seen four episodes of Static before now). Joker's themes (not based on previous music) fit his character all right. But when the Batman theme kicks in during the final fight--ugh! I don't know what happened, but his music sounds like a bad MIDI file, or something from a game on the original Nintendo system! It's so bad it made me cringe. But "The Big Leagues" comes together reasonably well. It's not a masterpiece that bat-fans will salavate over for years, but it won't offend these fans either." -- The Mad Hatter
"That was pretty good actually. The Joker and Batman worked better than I thought. I didn't like Robin's voice though. Favorite Quote: Static-"Can I help?" Batman-"Probably not."" -- JL Man
"Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. Like the long cape on Robin, and the B:TAS Batplane!!! That was pretty cool (and unexpected...) Would like to see them use Robin again in some way, but I doubt it'll happen... crossing my fingers for a Young Justice episode on JL..." -- Trent Lane
<a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/22.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-22.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a><a href=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/23.jpg target=_blank><img border=0 src=http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/bigleagues/t-23.jpg width=100 height=74 align="right"></a>"I thought this was a good episode. I was worried about how Batman and the Joker would be handled in Static, but my concerns were quickly put to rest. Batman was as in-character as ever, and so was the Joker, who was particularly menacing (love how they kept his ROTJ design here). Robin had the most changes to him (his head is too narrow!) and his new voice was slightly annoying, but I'll get used to it. The only thing that dissapointed me was Batman's hip-hop theme, which was just...wrong. This was the first Static episode I ever saw, and I hope the other episodes have great stories and animation like this one! Of course, Batman's appearence probably helped it out greatly...but the point is, it was an excellent episode, and I'm glad I woke myself up to watch it!" -- Blight
For more comments on the episode, go <a href="http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17941">HERE</a>. Stay tuned for more Static Shock News here at TZN!