Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Week of May 24 - June 5/6, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some "low-key coarse language and occasional griping"THIS ISSUE'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "DON'T STOP MAKING 'GOTHAM ADVENTURES' AND
'SUPERMAN ADVENTURES'!!!!!"
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another issue of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter".
Enjoy!
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SPECIAL NOTE:
Note that starting with this issue, #29, we will be going back to a bi-weekly
format, since new news is a lot more infrequent over the summer months. See you
again in June!
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NEW EPISODE(S)
This section will just basically give an insight into what the new episodes are
about and hopefully a synopsis of the episode. This section will feature both new Superman
and new Batman episodes.
THE LOSS OF THE WB ON WGN: Beginning this fall, the WB will no longer be
carried on WGN-TV’s national feed to avoid conflicts with other WB affiliates. WGN-TV will continue carrying the prime time WB in the Chicago area. If you’re
outside the Chicago area and know of no other way to pick up the WB, you may call them at
(818)977-5000 for more information. This is taken from the info section of the WGN
website, http://www.wgn.com . Thank you for Peter
Destructo for pointing this out.
KidsWB will soon be shown on a new channel called "WeB" - I
know little about this - but if you can get that channel, I'm pretty sure the WB shows
would be on.
'THE DEMON REBORN'
Superman #44?
Air date: ??
BATMAN'S FINAL CURRENT-DAY ANIMATED APPEARANCE! This episode features Batman and
Superman teaming up to take down Ra's Al Ghul, who has plans to send the world back to its
natural, pre-human state. WOOHOO! THE BAT IS BACK! Airs in May or September.
'LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)'
Superman #48, 49?
Air date: ??
This two-parter features the final showdown between Superman and Darksied in which
he strips Superman of his memory and adopts him as a son in an effort to take over Earth.
Now it seems this won't air until September! Argh!
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)
This section of the newsletter highlights the schedule and times that WB
airs The New Batman/Superman Adventures. For most affiliates it airs Monday - Friday at
4pm (ET) and Saturdays beginning at 8am (ET). WGN airs Batman/Superman Monday - Friday at
10am (ET) and Sundays beginning at 8am (ET). There's a chance that your local WB channel
airs it at a differant time. To find out when, we recommend you follow this URL (provided
by Toonzone): http://www.toonzone.net/brian/stations/index.html
PS - Remember that "Batman Beyond" airs 30 minutes AFTER
"Batman/Superman" is over, because "Men In Black" has been squeezed in
between.
Mon 5-24-99: Superman #33 Apokalips...Now! (Pt. 1)
Superman #35 Apokalips...Now! (Pt. 2)
Tue 5-25-99: Batman #83 Make 'Em Laugh
Superman #13 Two's a Crowd
Wed 5-26-99: Superman #16 Action Figures
Batman #85 Batgirl Returns
Thu 5-27-99: Batman #67 A Bullet for Bullock
Superman #30
Bizzaro's World
Fri 5-28-99: Superman #04 Fun and Games
Batman #79 Riddler's Reform
Sat 5-29-99: Superman #45 Knight Time
Batman #104 Legends of the Dark Knight
B-BYND
#06 Shriek
NOTE: Air date schedules for dates following the last date shown here
were not avialable at the time of the delivery of this issue. Check out the TOONZONE
or OFFICIAL BTAS/STAS sites for updates.
All episodes #86 and onward of BATMAN are considered THE NEW BATMAN
ADVENTURES while the original 85 are considered BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS)
episodes.
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
"Yabba Dabba Doom"
(courtesy of Brian Cruz)
THE CARTOON NETWORK was able to get the exclusive rights to 52 episodes
of the classic BTAS, as well as both animated movies. BTAS airs Monday-Friday at 6pm (ET)
and then repeated again at midnight. If our schedule listings is not complete or up to
date then please go to TOONZONE for the complete episode schedule at:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
NOTE #1: CARTOON NETWORK will be having a BATMAN 'SUPER-CHUNK' on May
29th. The 3 hour BATMAN Super-Chunk will be from 4pm-7pm (ET). The 'SUPER-CHUCK' means
that we'll have three hours worth of BATMAN episodes.
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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
All of Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton's reviews of the new-style BTAS
episodes and BATMAN BEYOND can be found via these links, which link to "Two-Face's
Tower of Tranquility and Terror":
MAIN PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BTAS PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFaceText/bats.html
NOTE: Thanks to all who noticed my blunder in my "A Touch of
Curare" review in - thanks for making me feel...well...INEPT. :-)
(Just kiddin'.)
<BATMAN BEYOND>
ASCENSION
Written by: Robert Goodman
Directed by: Yukio Suzuki
Animation by: Dong Yang
Original air date: May 22, 1999
My rating: ****
Blight's condition is deteriorating rapidly, and he's going
insane. This episode focuses on how Blight tries to save himself, but fails; we
follow him through his descent into madness.
His skin-suits are barely last 24 hours - and he only has two week's
worth of material left. Not wanting to take the chance of revealing his condition to the
public, he puts his son, Paxton Powers, in charge of Wayne-Powers Industries. But
that is the least of his worries - during a conference, Blight's skin melts away to reveal
his glowing radioactive body; he's been revealed to the world. The rest of the
episode focuses on Blight trying to alienate himself from the world - but his son, and
Batman, are always hot on his heels.
Great episode. This episode is a landmark episode, for two
reasons: Batman learns that Blight and Derek Powers (the man who killed his father) are
one in the same, and Blight learns that Batman's father was killed by him. (Of
course, Powers has killed many people in the past, so that doesn't really give away
Batman's identity). We also get to see Bruce <i>and</i> Terry doing lots
of sleuthing; it looks like Terry is finally growin' up. The animation is also quite
impressive - then again, to make Blight look good, you need lots of special glowing
effects to pull it off nicely.
The episode ends with Blight sinking into the bottom of Gotham Harbour -
obviously, not dead. We will just have to wait for him to resurface. I wonder
if he and Mr. Fixx will have a little get-together down there, hm?
Good episode, a perfect cliffhanger to end the season.
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE
BATMAN BEYOND IN THE UK. WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT???
(by Mick Ramsey)
Finally after reading to all the hubbub about Batman Beyond it arrived
on English shores direct to video on Monday, May 17th, eager to discover what Warner Bros.
had in store for us. I handed over my hard earned cash £9.99 ($16.00US), which I thought
was a bit steep for a 40 minute video, but what the hey - it's Batman. After driving
through rush hour traffic I finally got home and settled down to watch the Batman of the
21st century.
The opening scene with Bruce Wayne at the hanger thwarting
Bunny’s kidnappers was a great start. Seeing Bruce Wayne in what is basically a
glorified Nightwing costume was a bit unusual (where did they get those ears from?) but
this opening sequence was superb.
Roll the titles.
The opening titles had some nice looking 3D effects especially the old
Bruce Wayne bust swinging in which was pretty cool - though I’ll admit I had to
laugh at the go-go scene!
Cut to a new Gotham,
First appearances reminded me of the Neo-Tokyo from Akira! And
unfortunately this is were it started to go wrong for me. Too much of the animation was
manga based like a lot of today's animation trying to look futuristic, and the motorbike
chase with the Jokerz was again straight from Akira. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy
manga and I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised as a lot of todays comic
artists are Manga influenced, but one of the things that has always appealed to me about
BTAS was its individual look and style, mainly thanks too people like Bruce Timm. I hoped
some of his style would somehow translate into a futuristic Gotham and futuristic Batman.
Warners may have been better of leaning towards the "Blade Runner" elements of
the show rather than manga.
OK, the really bad points.
I found Terry McGinnis extremely annoying, but not as annoying as the
"rockin" music, please, give it a rest. McGinnis was very reminiscent of Dick
Grayson pre-Nightwing with teenage angst seeping from every pore of his body and just
basically getting on everyone’s nerves. I can already see his little brother
fitting in as a future Robin.
Everything seemed to be moving along just a little too quickly once
Terry met Bruce. I think Warners may have been better off slowing the pace down and making
this a 3 parter.
Villains:
Derek Powers seems to be an intriguing villain as Blight although the
similarity to Lex Luthor is painfully obvious.
Mr. Fixx seems to be there to make up the numbers although I thought
George Takai (Mr Sulu from Star Trek) did a good job with the vocals.
I think I’ll reserve judgement on the Jokerz gang for the time
being although the Joker on the "Subway" was spot on with how the gang members
should be.
Good Points:
It was great that Bruce Timm was voicing the Jokerz leader - nice one Warners!
One of the saving graces was the inclusion of Bruce Wayne in all of
this, Kevin Conroy stole the show along with Ace (the Bat-hound).
I can now understand why people are so annoyed about the next BTAS movie
being cancelled in favour of Batman Beyond. BB is NOT Batman, and from what I have just
seen never will be especially as Re-Birth is being touted as one of the better episodes of
Batman Beyond.
BRING BACK THE BAT !!!!!!!!!!
My rating 2 1/2 out of 5
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EDITORAL #1
(by Laura Hysert, aka "Phoenix")
Ms. Hysert was unable to submit an editorial for this newsletter...but
fear not! She will return very soon. Be patient, my children.
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EDITORIAL #2
(by Michael Mandeville)
batboym@wtp.net
Greetings. In this editorial I have broken it into labeled parts so you
can understand it more (Yeah, right. Like that will ever happen):
ADVERTISEMENT On Kids' WB!:
"How Super is Superman" They ask The Flash if he has ever
heard Superman say "Ouch." Flash says "No." Well, I have. He says it
in every episode (No offence Superman vewers)
IT WAS "A TOUCH OF CURARE":
It WAS A TOUCH of Curare, just like I thought. And just to clear this up, it's pronounced
Curare, Cure-rar-ay. Like Poke-ay-mon don't pronounce Pokemon like they do on the
advertisements (Poke-E-mon or the ever popular, Poke-E-man, that one drives me nuts).
GIRLS' NIGHT OUT
When I started writing my editorials, I had a little chat with Tim
"Two-Face" Leighton, the editor. He informed me that quote: "A hot girl
doesn't make an episode a good one, did you see 'Girls' Night Out'? Yuck." I beg to
differ: Well does everybody think Girls Night Out is a bad episode? I mean, I don't really
like the plotline or the way Batgirl was suddenly zapped back into teenage-hood. For
instance, here's a part of the script:
The Penguin is in his club on the phone and says: "Yes, I need chainsaws, hedgeclippers, weed killer, and a bottle of aspirin down here right away." He hangs
up as Supergirl and Batgirl walk in, "We're closed. Besides, you're both to young to
come in here."
Reaction: Oh Yeah!?! Batgirl is about twenty-three! And besides, Barbara Gordon and Dick
Grayson went in together before.
THE POLL:
The Backstreet Boys, Cleopatra, 'N Sync, The Barenaked Ladies, what do all of these names
have in common? They're all music groups who have worn enough makeup while hosting the
Kids' WB! weekend lineup to either replace Hover Dam, or build life-size replicas of The
Sears Tower, The Empire States Building, and The Statue of Liberty combined.
Brian Cruz's WB Carttons Page (located in the Site Links section) has a
poll that asks "What do you think of Kids' WB! using musical groups to host their
weekend lineup?" Here are the current results:
13% - Great idea! The ratings will go through the roof!
15% - An amusing Idea that I occasionally enjoy.
13% - Doesn't bother me / Don't care
25% - Dumb, but I can ignore it.
34% - How pathetically desparate for viewers can they get?
How pathetically desperate can the WB get for viewers and ratings? Pretty darn desperate
if you ask me. The Backstreet Boys' hosting was cool (not to mention that THAT was when
'Over the Edge' premiered). And the music video at the end (which I didn't get to see) was
awesome too (Maybe).
The WB's ratings started going up.
Enter 'Cleopatra'. A group of three young girls hosting the lineup. And the WB's ratings
started going down. They kept about even until Batman Beyond when the ratings shot
sky-high. "It's time for another music group." They thought.
Enter Boyz II Men, a music group of young boys trying to find a new member. And the
ratings stayed crawling high because of Batman Beyond. "It must've started climbing
with Boyz II Men." The WB thought, "Let's bring in a more famous group!"
Enter 'N Sync. A group trying to get into the WB stage to perform. And
the ratings continued to crawl up because of Batman Beyond.
Enter The Barenaked Ladies. The best and funniest music group to host!
Although I wonder, how many kids didn't get to watch Kids' WB! that weekend because there
parents herd the advertisement from the other room: "It's Naked Day! Watch Barenaked
Ladies here on Kids' WB! this weekend!"
Batboy [Beyond]
batboym@wtp.net
PS - It was "A TOUCH of Curare", not torture. TOUCH.
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections, where I get to boggle the
minds of all our readers! *EVIL LAUGH* This trivia is all animated-related in some
form, and can deal with ANY aspect of the show or comics based on the show. Remember,
answer the questions WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE ANIMATED CONTINUITY. Now have fun - let's
see how well you do! Answers are provided below.
I'm stuck for a topic again this week. So here we go, more
mindless questions about BTAS. (Am I losing my edge? Gawd, I hope not! I haven't even hit
my prime yet! Is this a grey hair I see? NOOOOOOOO!)
131. Name the only theatre-released Bat-movies that came out while
"Batman: The Animated Series" was making new episodes.
A: BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO
B: BATMAN RETURNS
C: BATMAN FOREVER
D: BATMAN & ROBIN
E: BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM
132. On BTAS, some Bat-villains have had more than one voice actor
providing their voice. Which of these dual-voice Bat-villains appeared in a Bat-movie at
some point in time?
A: THE JOKER
B: TWO-FACE
C: THE PENGUIN
D: MR. FREEZE
E: BANE
133. Which of the following characters on BTAS has NOT had more than one
voice actor provide their voice?
A: BATGIRL
B: ALFRED
C: BATMAN
D: THE SCARECROW
E: None of the Above
134. According to the order of original air date, what episode that
included a villains FULL NAME in the title was the first to air? (By "full
name", I mean that words like "The" and "Mr." most be
included. "Harley", "Ivy", "Riddler", etc, are not
full names, but "Harley Quinn", "Poison Ivy", and "THE
Riddler" are.
A: ROBIN'S RECKONING (Pt. 1)
B: BATGIRL RETURNS
C: THE CLOCK KING
D: TWO-FACE (Pt. 1)
E: CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER
135. Which of the following characters literally has
a...uh...impregnable fortress?
A: BATMAN
B: NIGHTWING
C: MR. FREEZE
D: POISON IVY
E: LOCK-UP
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #131: C, D, E
Answer to #132: A
Answer to #133: E
Answer to #134: C
Answer to #135: D
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LITTLE FACTS
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
Here is a section that just points out various little facts that we have
noticed while watching BTAS and STAS countless times. If you have anything to contribute,
feel free to do so! Enjoy!
CONBTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
1. George Takei, the voice of Mr. Fixx on "Batman Beyond", appeared in the
season finale of "The Simpsons" this year, on May 16.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by "Kelly Tindall")
2. The name of the ship captain who appears in "World's Finest" and most recently "A Fish Story" is called Bibbo. This is a reference to the universe of Lobo, in whose comics appeared a character
called Bibbo. Both Bibbo the ship captain and Lobo were both voiced by Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond).
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