Batman: TAS Starts At 'Batman' (1989)?

[D-Mono]

Just a thought. In "Beware the Creeper" Joker says to Batman:
"You broke my face and got 7 years bad luck." Also, Jack Ryder mentions in his broadcast that it was 7 years ago that the Joker was born. Now, while I'm not too sure of exactly when this episode was written, I am guessing around 1996-97, and, if so, 7 years previous would be roughly 1989-90. So, are we to believe that TAS semi-follows movie (well, the first 2, at least) continuity? Since the show did begin in 1992, and Catwoman, if I remember correctly, debuted in the show's first episode, this theory would also fit. So, am I onto something here, or not? :D
Also, about Gotham in general: I understand why they gave the place a very gritty, almost '50s look, but I really don't understand why they only had black and white TV sets. Sure, artistic liscence and all that, but in a time where robots like HARDAC could be created, one would except colour TV. ;)
D-Mono.

[Joker85]

I don't think so, considering that both the Joker and the Penguin died at the end of the 1rst 2 films. I do think that character designs and backstories could have been drawn from the first 2 movies. Like the Penguin and Catwoman have the same look and design as their movie counterparts. And the Joker backstory is the same, but as far as being the same continuity, I doubt it.

[svendawg]

Originally posted by D-Mono
Just a thought. In "Beware the Creeper" Joker says to Batman:
"You broke my face and got 7 years bad luck." Also, Jack Ryder mentions in his broadcast that it was 7 years ago that the Joker was born. Now, while I'm not too sure of exactly when this episode was written, I am guessing around 1996-97, and, if so, 7 years previous would be roughly 1989-90. So, are we to believe that TAS semi-follows movie (well, the first 2, at least) continuity? Since the show did begin in 1992, and Catwoman, if I remember correctly, debuted in the show's first episode, this theory would also fit. So, am I onto something here, or not? :D
Also, about Gotham in general: I understand why they gave the place a very gritty, almost '50s look, but I really don't understand why they only had black and white TV sets. Sure, artistic liscence and all that, but in a time where robots like HARDAC could be created, one would except colour TV. ;)
D-Mono.

Taking them in reverse order:

- So as to never make the series look dated, Timm and Dini utilised what they called "fusion technology" - that is, they took elements of eras that they liked and put them all together. Hence, black and white broadcasts alongside VR headsets, and police zepplins with jet aircraft. (Source: Batman Animated)

- DC comics works on a 10-year cycle, with no dates really meaning anything any more; everything in the modern era dates back to Superman's debut and is given times of +1 year, +2 years, etc. For example, Robin - Dick Grayson, that is - shows up in the +3 year, as chronicled in Batman: Year Three. It's much easier than tying everything to specific dates. So real-world dates like 1989 have no specific meaning any more, other than to say that, as of this moment, Superman debuted 10 to 11 years ago, and Batman a couple of months later.

Marvel does the same thing with all of their origin re-workings, desperately trying not to tie characters down to a specific time period. The best example I can think of is Iron Man, whereas now Tony Stark is involved in a generic South East Asian conflict as opposed to the Vietnam war. Specific dates are just too much trouble to deal with otherwise, and the DC Animated universe is smart enough to realise that. One of the few dates I recall hearing is Terry mentioning that Bruce and Talia teamed up against Ra's in 2009; if you figure Batman Beyond has a long reissue life, that line could sound kind of silly in 10 years.

[optimal321]

Yeah, i had always just thought that the "seven years bad luck" thing was sort of a tribute to the show being on the air for seven years.

And, like it was already said, BTAS doesn't follow the movie continuity. And it doesn't really have set year dates.

[D-Mono]

Thanks for the help, and your thoughts. About Joker and Penguin dying - that's why I said "semi-follows movie continuity". :)
D-Mono.