Worst B:TAS and TNBA episodes

[Joker85]

What do you think was the worst eppy of B:TAS and TNBA? There really aren't that many to choose from but I think for TAS "Moon Of The Wolf" gets my vote followed by "I've Got Batman In My Basement". For TNBA, it would have to be "Critters". This was one of the worst episodes of ANYTHING that I have ever seen. what do you think?:)

[Tim Drake]

BTAS Moon of the Wolf was pretty bad. The terrible trio was pretty bad too. For TNBA I have to agree that Critters was pure crap. That villain was far too 60' Batman for my taste.

[Mr. Eye]

I also hated Critters, The Terrible Trio and Moon of the Wolf. You can add The Firefly episode to that list for me. There's just a couple more that I didn't like, but I forgot what they are.

Mr. Eye

[BWDK]

I hate all of the eps listed below:

019 Prophecy Of Doom
012 I've Got Batman In My Basement
007 P.O.V.
039 If You're So Smart Why Aren't You Rich
048 What Is Reality
066 Sideshow
both Clock King episodes
104 Legends Of The Dark Knight (sorry but I can't see why this episodes is supposed to be "so great")
100 Critters

I know a couple of you will list "cat sratch fever" but I think that episodes was awesome :o

[Mr. Mayhem]

While Critters may have been a bit far fetched and sixties like, I still found it somewhat entertaining and funny. So many people think every aspect of Batman must be dark, dark, dark, and more dark. Dark is fine, but I'm also a fan of Batman the character and not just the dark. Therefore, with that stated I can proudly say I like the 60's Batman series.

Now Moon and the Wolf had terrible animation, but I still like it somewhat. It's a good episode to watch during the Halloween season. I like most all the episodes. Of course I like some better than others. It really depends on what mood you're in as to which episode you'd like to watch. So yeah, I like Love Is A Croc, Tyger Tyger, The Underdwellers, Terrible Trio (Why did everyone hate this episode), Lion and the Unicorn, etc. and most of those other episodes on the hate list.

Now there are three episodes I do rarely watch. Prophecy of Doom, Showdown, and Girls Nite Out. Prophecy of Doom was too boring. That's an episode I never could get into. Showdown had a good plot I guess, but I watch the show to see Batman and Gotham City. I don't want to watch Jonna Hex and some late 1800s' West. Girls Nite Out IS the absolute WORST episode I think there is. It was terrible. The way Batgirl and Supergirl meet, the way the villainess' form, the dimwitted Harley, the always annoying Livewire (Hate that girl), all of it. Some may like it, I don't. Sorry.

[DisneyBoy]

Frankly, I'll take any excuse to see Gotham's Gals all together, so long as the story isn't rediculous. From the few clips I've seen of Girls Nite Out, it seemed Ok. As for Critters, yes, it was beyond rediculous, but I still found it tollerable. Ever notice how there are always a few good aspects of every bad episode? In that one we got to see the "playboy" Bruce Wayne briefly, an aspect of his character that was missing in all of TNBA, expect "Holiday Knights".
Love is a Croc is the worst episode that emmediately comes to mind. Even so, it was neat seeing Batman and Batgirl in Croc's sewer home, and his initial breakout from court was pretty decent. Wait a minute...did Batman appear during the day to stop Croc during his escape? If he did, then I totally revoke any of the points I just bestowed on that scene. Baby Doll was sooo incredibly vomit! And, let's be real here: there's no way Croc could get two hookers or just plain desperate girls to hang out with. Wasn't the main point about his character that he was rejected from society?
Cold Comfort was originally my most hated TNBA episode because it turned Mr. Freeze into a cold-hearted monster we could never again feel sorry for and who could never be reunited with Nora. Seriously here, guys, we all expected Freeze and Nora to eventually be together again and find their happy ending. But now, he's just a head! They sacrificed Mr. Freeze, one of their best developped characters, for the sake of keeping him around! He didn't even make any other appearances for hevean's sake! And to make matters worse, they married off Nora to her Doctor!!! If not for Batman: Gotham Adventures #5 (a story in which Freeze saves Nora's new husband, who in turn lets Freeze escape because "He was Nora's husband, and she still loves him"), I would have no hope for him. Then to make matters worse, in BB "Meltdown" rather than reincarnating Nora so they can be together finally after "Victor has paied his debt to society", they suit him up just to get another fight out of him!
I also hated "Sin's of the father". The animation was lousy, it made Two-Face into a murdering thug with a face like a smashed mirror and introduced a new Robin because they wanted to make the show more appealing to tykes. What's his reason for putting on the sacred cowl? His Dad died. Oh, and how does he manage to be such an acrobat and fighter withouta single episode of training?

[Nightwing]

I agreed with Disney Boy up until not liking Cold Comfort and Sins of The Father.

I didn't like what they did to Mr. Freeze, as well as not being able to feel for him anymore, but I understand how his is suposed to be an immensely tragic character. And this episode kind of added onto that. I liked how he was in BTAS much much better, but I'm okay with Cold Comfort.

I despised Sins of The Father when it first aired. As the world's number one Dick Grayson fan, that would go without saying. But my narrow mindedness lightened up over time, and I learned a lot about Tim and found he's really a great character. He's very enjoyable. And I liked the animation.

ShowdownI don't know how many times I have to defend Showdown, but I don't care. ;) It was a great episode with some great characters, a great tie in to Ra's Al Ghul's time, and a really cool Batman and Robin (THE original duo!!!) vs. the Society of Shadows for a bit. So anyway, I wonder..... If this were a separate story, not told as a Batman episode, just a tie in, would those who don't like Showdown like the story of Jonah Hex?

I notice a lot of originaly told episodes such as P.O.V., Legends of The Dark Knight, If You're So Smart Why Aren't You Rich, and Baby Doll were listed as unliked. I absolutely loved these! For example, just because Baby Doll doesn't have a Gotham City worthy villain doesn't mean I won't like it. Yeah I want my Joker and Two Face stories, but I welcome ANY generically original and thought provoking story that Batman wants to tell me. Love Is A Croc, on the other hand, was a "croc". ;)

Critters is at the top of my hate list, but because it wasn't aired much, I couldn't develop a big enough hatred for it. Smart schedualers, very smart move. Heavy Metal on the other hand in Superman's fame was a pretty good episode, but they aired the crap out of it, making a lot of people hate it.

I liked Moon of The Wolf too, I just didn't like the bad animation. So I guess the top episode on my hate list for BTAS would probably be Cat Scratch Fever.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by DisneyBoy
introduced a new Robin because they wanted to make the show more appealing to tykes.

Mmmm. This was the producer's choice. I believe that in Batman Animated, Dini stated that in BTAS they wanted to make Robin younger, but that Fox wouldn't let them show a child (even a superhero) in danger. KWB went with it because they had laxer standards at the time.

Not everything one hates about the show can be laid at the execs' feet. Sometimes the producers screw up too. :rolleyes: (If you think this was a screwup, of course.)

Worst BTAS: "Cat Scratch Fever," or "The Forgotten" (though I know a lot of people like it). Basically, I've noticed that anything with Sean Catherine Derek's name on it is an episode I detest.

Worst TNBA: Probably "Critters." But I'm not partial to "Sins of the Father," either, or to "Girl's Night Out."

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

None, though some of the villains were so well-done and extensively explored in their debuts that later episodes involving them were somewhat anticlimactic. The Joker episodes work best repeatedly because they left him pretty mysterious in all the animation series.

After "Heart of Ice," I felt every Mr. Freeze episode after that were just a bunch of cliches and scenes ripped from that first great episode, and after the two part Clayface episode, every Clayface episode after that seemed to drive a point home that I felt was covered before. No Two-Face episode has come close to part one of "Two-Face" in terms of psychological depth.

[NewMaxFranklin]

The "Batman In My Basment," episode was horrible. The worst by far in my mind.

The worst TNBA episodes? There were a lot of disposable ones in that series. The firefly one, Critters, Animal Act, Cult of the Cat, wre there any good ep's involving Catwoman? None that I recall.

[BWDK]

I liked Animal Act, it had ties with "Robin's Reckoning" and Nightwing was the main character in this ep. I also liked CULT OF THE CAT, but Girls Nite Out was terrible, Critters was beyond terrible! :P

[optimal321]

Originally posted by NMaxFranklin
The "Batman In My Basment," episode was horrible. The worst by far in my mind.

The worst TNBA episodes? There were a lot of disposable ones in that series. The firefly one, Critters, Animal Act, Cult of the Cat, wre there any good ep's involving Catwoman? None that I recall.

Sure. The first one w/ Nightwing, You Scratch My Back was a cool ep w/ Catwoman. Of course, the cool part in this ep is Nightwing mostly, but it still has Catwoman.

As for one's i like and one's i don't like, i'll just say this: Each ep had some god parts in it. But my least fav is Critters.

[Govan]

Hmm...I've never seen "Critters"... Should I take that as a blessing? :)

Anyway, I didn't watch much of TNBA. When it moved to WB I kept forgetting about it for some reason, and when I did catch it, I didn't like the new look. For me it would be like taking the Simpsons designs and screwing with them. That's just the way I feel! We all have opinions here, folks :D

So anyway, I watched every TAS episode to death on TV when I was younger, and I have to say I didn't like "Baby Doll" (too gimmicky), "Cape and Cowl..." (ditto) and...um....that's about it. I really don't mind any of the others, although this might be because of the fact that I haven't seen any TAS episodes in about 5 years, and I've forgotten about the stinkers I hate. However, when I look back on it, I shouldn't have taken for granted the fact that such great animation was on TV.

Oh yeah, "Heart of Ice" was just crap...

...kidding, kidding!! It's one of my favorites :)

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I'll take any insults against "Heart of Ice" as fightin' words, bub!

[DisneyBoy]

I forgot to dispute two other things I read on this post, so bear with me, folks...

Mr. Eye, as far as that Firefly episode goes, I must speak up in favour of it. Not only did it introduce a very interesting and serious villain (verses say, Farmer Brown or the Werewolf), the animation was pretty good, and so was the story. Ok, you may not have found the cliche'd "Man goes after girlfriend after being rejected" story very interesting, but it wasn't the typical plot at all. Cassidy wasn't much a good girl (Remember how she came on to Bats -whore-ahem...can I write that here?) and her singer status was an interesting twist. I tink she was the first singer ever shown as a main character in Batman: TAS (or TNBA). It was also refershing to see Batgirl acting more her age (23?) and working at the Copshop. In TNBA, her character was supposed to have evolved, but sadly, it digressed (save Over the Edge). Plus, there were plenty of subtle characterisation...For example, Cassidy's manager seemed pretty interested in her. I would love to see Firefly return in Batman: Gotham Adventures after Cass and Frank (the manager) have hooked up, but you might find that story to reminiscent of TB+RA #1 and 2). The animation was very nice in that episode, espicially on the fire, and the story built up a lot of suspence. What's not to like?

As for Catwoman...man, what were you expecting? In B: TAS, Catwoman had a fabulous voice nice new outfit, and a realistic personality. Ok, I'll admit that Cat Scratch Fever wasn't the best episode, but it wasn't bad. It featured the legal reprecussions of Selina's excapades as Catwoman, something which is often disregarded or overlooked in "action" series. The episode also featured Batman's afections for Selina and vice versa, as well as her love for Isis. The plague idea was quite possible, but not very exciting which was where the ep. fell short. The animation wasn't great either, but it wasn't the only episode that featured that perticular sloppy style. If you want to see a great Catwoman episode, take a look at Catwalk , which not only re-animates Catwoman's first encouter with Batman in a more "Timm" style, it highlights her inner struggle with being a "good girl". Not only does she return to crime, but she does it for a mature reason (as odd as that sounds)...She can't deny who she is. Personally, I think Selina Kyle doesn't know who she really is, which is why she is so addicted to being Catwoman. It is her escape as much as Batman is Bruce's. As for The Cat and the Claw Part One and Two , the whole Red Claw story wasn't the greatest, but Bruce's interest in Selina and Catwoman's interest in Batman was very well explored, at least in the first part.

In TNBA, Catwoman got a less than flattering remake which I didn't enjoy nearly as much. Scratch my Back 's star was Nightwing, and to accomodate his debut, Catwoman was written as a much more slutty woman, interested in a man considerably younger than her. And the new Selina Kyle look- VOMIT!!!! In Cult of the Cat an attempt was made to bring her back to the normal Catwoman by making her choose between crime and being a "good girl", but the giant Tiger bit was very 70's and Catwoman once again threw herself at almost every member of the opposite sex. Remember the bedroom scene with Thomas Blake, and the fake kiss with Bats? Flirting with the gang was expected, but the suggestivity of her other actions just reduced her to a .. you know what! Even so, it could have been much worse.

So, as I was saying, she had a great, consistent voice (same actress all the way through), Interesting decent costumes, realistic personality (In B:TAS) and intruiging emotional and psychological struggles, great interactions with other characters (in B:TAS), nice fight sequences and several appearances. What were you expecting????? :)

[sun]

I've seen them all, could someone please discribe this hated "Critters" I didn't tape the New Batman Series, although some were ok. I 'll write more on this topic later...very good subject with lots of interesting responces. Question? was "Critters" the one with Poison Ivy and Bruce falling in love with some plant thing? Thanks...

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by oldtoonguy
I've seen them all, could someone please discribe this hated "Critters" I didn't tape the New Batman Series, although some were ok. I 'll write more on this topic later...very good subject with lots of interesting responces. Question? was "Critters" the one with Poison Ivy and Bruce falling in love with some plant thing? Thanks...

Farmer Brown creates giant animals that rampage through Gotham. Like the 60s show, but without the wit, camp value, and charm.

[sun]

Thanks Maxie for describing "Critters" You may know, the one of the original giant animal films, was "Them" 1952 or 3. Really worth seeing, giant ants take over LA sewer system...considered to be one of the best of its kind...."Critters" really was, as others pointed out, one of the worst, if not the worst of the New BATMAN. Kind of sad, that production values sunk so low. . I also think the one with the Poison Ivy plant person, falling in love with Bruce was pretty bad. I was still glad to see them though. It leas t it meant there was some hope. (in spite of their low overall quality.)

[Vin]

Wow, looking back, Batman: Gotham Knights (TNBA) was really full of sub-par episodes. Many of them were my least favorite episodes. However, I liked the new style of animation in it.

[Vin]

Originally posted by Vince
Wow, looking back, Batman: Gotham Knights (TNBA) was really full of sub-par episodes. Many of them were my least favorite episodes. However, I liked the new style of animation in it.

Out of them all, I think "Critters" was the worst. I also didn't like BTAS episode, "Batman in my Basement."

[Manhunter]

Critters-one word:"Batfolks"
The Terrible Trio-The shoddy animation ruined it
The Joker's Wild-Same deal
Cat Scratch Fever-ditto
Moon of the Wolf-get the point?

[Nightwing]

As a Nightwing episode, I've always loved You Scratch My Back, and had no idea people didn't like it. This is amazing news! I didn't like what was done to Catwoman mostly, but I think it fit the episode well. And Catwoman aside, focusing on our heros, I think it was an excellent episode, along side great animation.

Another point I'm unclear about is when fans consider one timers, who are one timers not by reason of bad writting but by the episode's circumstances, as villains. For example, I doubt the werewolf from MOON OF THE WOLF would be making any other appearances. So I don't really consider him a villain because he doesn't come off as that type of character (even though it was insinuated that he could come back). Although I admitt these days thanks to some TNBA and BB episodes, it's hard to tell the difference.

[DerekPowers]

actually, i like all btas and tnba eps, but there are ones that are just not too good or not as good as the others. imo, as many of you, "moon of the wolf" isnt one of my favorites. also, i was never too crazy about "the forgotten".

as for tnba, i didnt think "critters" was terrible, just not as good as the others. I also didnt like "love is a croc" and "torch song" too much, but other than that, no complaints.

BUT I REALLY STRONGLY FEEL THAT "THE DEMON REBORN" IS THE WORST EPISODE EVER, EVEN THOUGH ITS A SUPERMAN EPISODE, BUT IT MIGHT AS WELL BE A BATMAN EP. Ive expressed this opinion in the past only to be ridiculed (hehe well not really, but not anyone agreed w/ me). it was just bad, the plot, the timing, the dialouge, ALL THE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE COOL THINGS HAPPEN (for example, bruce and lois's first meeting since "worlds finest" and all we get is THE MOST CAMPY dialogue i think i ever heard in the animated bat/sups world). and dont even get me started on talias voice in that ep. and the animation was just plain horrible in certain scenes, again, see the scene w/ batman and lois, lois's body is all out of proportion. it was just such a disapointment. there really is no excuss imo for such a bad ep given the cool concept of the episode, i mean w/ that kind of story, it shouldnt be too hard to write a good ep. oh well, one rotton apple or however that saying goes.

anyway, would you all agree that out of the "bad" btas/tnba eps, and the "bad" batman beyond eps, the bad bb eps were even worse? i think the bad bb eps were sooo much worse than the bad btas/tnba eps, so i feel lucky about that. I mean the bad btas/tnba eps were bad, but in comparison to other cartoons, they were pretty good. what do you all think?

[sun]

The quality often seems to get worse, as the series gets older, Perhaps, creative talent looses interest. I do not know, you would have to ask them. But I think management, made some financial decisions which lead to poor shows. As has been pointed out, this is not always true, since there was some real posssibilities, as with the end of BB, but creativity and teamwork often wear thin after a while. Especially, if the team gets the feeling that their jobs are in dange, a la Pokeman, maybe they just felt, oh why put in the effort... The Demon Returns, did indeed left me wishing more effort had been put into it. (a lot more effort)

[nerdgirl]

Hi everyone!

I too love most episodes of BTAS and TNBA, but I agree that there are some stinkers. My unfavorites are below.

BTAS

"I've Got a Batman in My Basement"--Yuck! Batman, while chasing the Penguin, gets hurt and kids drag him into their basement! What a lame plot! I found the kids to be annoying as well. I avoid this episode like the plague!

"Prophecy of Doom"--Some guy in a bad toupee makes fake predictions, makes them come true, and starts a cult to swindle money from rich people. Another yucky episode with a lame plot! Its good at showing the evils of cults, though.

"The Terrible Trio"--Three bored frat boys put on animal masks and steal stuff. Yet another lame episode with really annoying villains in it! Blah!


TNBA

"Critters"--I absolutely agree that this is the worst episode of the new bunch. Farmer Brown creates huge animals to terrorize Gotham. This is lame indeed. However, it might work in the 1960s series (which I too just adore). Maybe I can revamp Farmer Brown in one of my stories and show them how it is really done!

"Torch Song"--A man gets mad at his singer grilfriend for dumping him and becomes Firefly. The idea actually has potential, but what spoiled it for me was Batgirl's incompetence (I really liked the BTAS, non-clutz version better) and Cassidy's terrible singing. It's OK otherwise.

"Love is a Croc"--Baby Doll, now working at a hotel, sees Killer Croc getting chrged on TV, feels sorry for him, and frees him. The ideas of mis-matched lovers and an abusive relationship had potential as well, but I found Baby Doll very annoying. At least Batgirl was better in this one.


Have a favorite day!

nerdgirl :)

[CarterHall]

I never liked any of the Baby Doll episodes. I thought that it was very sub par storytelling. Batman In My Basement was pretty bad too.

Moon Of The Wolf was a good story to me. It was a retelling of a pretty good 70's Batman story.

I didn't like Calling The Crime Doctor either. It wasn't even a Batman story. It was like a Matlock episode. A bunch of senior citizens running around.

The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy was a bit overrated in the beginning. It wasn't good Batman storytelling.

OK I've rambled a bit.....See Ya.

:cool: