Batman: The Animated Newsletter 
Weeks of November 21 - November 27/28, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some "low-key coarse language and occasional griping"

THIS ISSUE'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "WHY THE @%$#*@ ARE THEY MAKING AN ONGOING HARLEY COMIC 
SERIES?"
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IN MEMORY
Another member of the BATMAN voice-actor alumni passed on November 11, 1999. Craig "Gookie" 
Crumpton supplies us with this news:

*****

Mary Kay Bergman, aka Shannen Cassidy, was reported dead on November 11, 1999. Speculation of her death ranges from suicide to death from sudden illness. Mary Kay Bergman is one of the most prfilic voice actresses today; she has appeared in dozens of animated series and movies. 
She was an amazing talent. She played Batgirl in BATMAN: SUB-ZERO; she played Daphne in the two recent SCOOBY-DOO movies; she voiced almost the entire female cast of SOUTH PARK; She did voices for MEN IN BLACK and THE PHANTOM MENACE as well. If anyone watched IRON GIANT, you would notice her name in the credits. She had a great ear for impressions. She could talk like Gillian Anderson or Meg Ryan for example, and you would swear it was the genuine article. We'll provide you with more information as it becomes available to us. She was only 38 years old.
We're all sorry to see you go Mary Kay.

MARY KAY BERGMAN 1961-1999

*****

For more information, or if you'd like to leave a message to her in her guestbook, visit her site at the following address:

http://klaxon.simplenet.com/wackyvo/index.html

Another Universe.com also has put up an obituary to the late Mary Kay Bergman. The URL is:
http://www.anotheruniverse.com/TV/features/bergmanobit.html
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SPECIAL PETITION
We all know that a BATMAN BEYOND score CD was released this past August. Fans were thrilled to be getting this, but were also peeved that the "regular" Batman/Superman shows have been overlooked. Who here would buy a BTAS/STAS CD set if one were ever made? Remember, the one BEYOND CD handled only 13 episodes in 40 minutes; BTAS has 109 episodes and STAS has 54 - that means it would be a multi-CD set, to be sure. Who would buy this? I DEFINATELY would!
Our friend RIDDLERWB has supplied us the following e-mail address. E-mail the people at RHINO RECORDS and demand a BATMAN and/or SUPERMAN score CD!

drrhino@rhino.com 
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UPCOMING NEW EPISODES
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 new episodes for BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and BATMAN BEYOND.

'MINDGAMES'
Batman Beyond #23
Air date: December 4, 1999
A young girl with eerie psychic powers mentally contacts Batman and begs him to save her from the nefarious clutches of a secret organization known as "The Brain Trust."

'LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)'
Superman #44, 48
Air date: Fall of 1999
This two-parter features the final showdown between Superman and Darkseid in which he strips Superman of his memory and adopts him as a son in an effort to take over Earth. This is being touted as the FINAL Superman episode EVER. However, I must say that I've read a synopsis of the episode, and it's a doozie.

For synopses of all other upcoming second season BATMAN BETOND episodes, check out of BTAN at this address:

http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)

THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES airs Mondays thru Saturday; BATMAN BEYOND also airs on these days. Check local listings each day for what show is on at what time.

http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/cmp/episodes.html
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/
http://www.ktla.com/backstage/programming/kids_framed.frm

THIS WEEK:
Mon 11-22-99: Batman #78 Showdown
B-BEYOND #13 Ascension

Tue 11-23-99: Superman #46 Absolute Power
NO SECOND EPISODE TODAY

Wed 11-24-99: Batman #75 Catwalk
NO SECOND EPISODE TODAY

Thu 11-25-99: Superman #43 New Kids in Town
B-BEYOND #05 The Winning Edge

Fri 11-26-99: Batman #107 Chemistry
B-BEYOND #14 Joyride

Sat 11-27-99: Batman #96 The Ultimate Thrill
B-BEYOND #17 Lost Soul

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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CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BTAS/BEYOND on YTV)
(courtesy of our friends at YTV)

-To find the episode guide and airing schedule of BATMAN and BATMAN BEYOND on YTV then please go to http://www.ytv.com and click on the YTV GUIDE icon at the bottom of the screen. To check out the schedule then click on BATMAN or BATMAN BEYOND in the time grid and it will have the schedule for the current week.

BTAS will air at 7:30am on weekday mornings (in all time zones), and BATMAN BEYOND will air at 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. YTV has the rights to show all 109 BTAS episodes. They also have the rights to air the first 26 episodes of BATMAN BEYOND (all of season 1 and the first half of season 2).

THIS WEEK:
Mon 11-22-99: BTAS #37 Robin's Reckoning (Pt. 2)

Tue 11-23-99: BTAS #47 Birds of a Feather

Wed 11-24-99: BTAS #58 Blind as a Bat

Thu 11-25-99: BTAS #43 Day of the Samurai

Fri 11-26-99: BTAS #15 See No Evil

Sat 11-27-99: BEYOND #21 Hooked Up (?)

Sun 11-28-99: BEYOND #22 Rats! (?)
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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 either of these sites for the schedule:

http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
http://homes.acmecity.com/animation/saturday/352/schedule.html 

To see the 52 episodes that the CARTOON NETWORK does show, go to this link:

http://www.toonzone.net/brian/eplists/batman-cn.html
 
NOTE: The schedules at Brian Cruz' site are currently unavailable; if anyone knows of any other place where people can get listings for BTAS on the Cartoon Network, please e-mail us!
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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: Due to the loss of the WGN, editor Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton has been virtually unable to review any new episodes. Until he can once again, we'll be having someone substituting for him. 
Thank you to Justin Chen for this review!

NOTE: DAMN! I made a mistake again! Last week's column was NOT submitted by Justin Chen, but by Zanna...geez, I need to keep awake while I write this...I'm sorry, Zanna - please don't beat me up (again)...*CRINGES*

<BATMAN BEYOND>
RATS! 
Written by ???
Directed by Curt Geda 
Animation by Dong Yang, Koko 
Original Air Date: November 20, 1999 
Rating: ** out of 5 

I'd say the new season's been off to a good start, with some great episodes (Lost Soul, Hidden Agenda) and the rest, which are still very watchable. Unfortunately, streak of quality couldn't last forever, and "Rats" is the one to break it. 

This one's another teen-trouble sort of episode, starting with Dana, Chelsea, and Max having one of their little chats together. As they talk, a news report comes on, exposing the "hidden shame" of Gotham - Giant Mutant Rats! (Does this sound ridiculous to you? It did to me.) Anyway, Terry makes his way onto the scene, only to receive a cold reception from Dana because he missed their last date. Terry's "Mr. Wayne" reasons don't fly with her. She storms off, and Max expresses her sympathy for Terry's situation. Dana walks to her car, but then notices a white rose in her seat. Along with it is a note, which reads "I'll be there". 

Terry comes home that night and receives a phone call from Dana, during which his little brother Matt does his now-annoying "Dana and Terry" routine. "Flowers can really change a girl's mind", she tells him, and Terry agrees to meet her at Rhino's Famous Chili. She puts on a very nice dress and heads off to the door. We see Mr. Tan for the first time on the show. He's the protective type, and expresses some concern over her being with Terry. 

While on his way to the restaurant, Terry receives a call from Bruce to go fight Mad Stan. Stan's a new character who simply comes out of nowhere in this episode. From what I can tell, he's some type of psychotic anti-technology person, but that's about it. His origins aren't explored one bit in this episode, although it does make for a pretty good fight scene (which is about the only good one). 

Meanwhile Dana is sick of waiting for Terry at the restaurant; she storms off. Another white rose catches her eye, and she walks over to pick it up. Suddenly she's surrounded by - guess what - giant mutant rats! She tries to run, but trips over some debris on the ground and is knocked unconscious. When Dana awakens, she finds herself on a bed of roses and in the company of some short guy that looks like a cross between a bat and a beaver...which I guess is supposed to mean he's like a rat. His name's Patrick, and he's been stalking Dana for quite some time now from his subterranean home. He sees how unappreciated she is above and wants her to stay in the sewers with him. Dana's not too receptive to this idea, though. Patrick goes on to show her some hybrid plants he developed that don't need sunlight. Dana does ask him for some food, and Patrick heads off to Rhino's Chili to get some. 

In between here and then end, we see a sequence with Mr. Tan going off on Terry about how Dana never came home last night. Dana also makes an attempt to escape the sewers, but only ends up hurting herself. However, we do see tons of radioactive waste dumped in the sewers, giving off an eerie green glow. 

Terry sees giant rats attacking the chili restaurant and manages to follow Patrick back into his sewer home as Dana fails to escape confinement. Patrick sees that she is unwilling to stay, and gets extremely angry. We learn Dana isn't his first victim, and she asks of their fate. 

"What happened to the others?" 

"They don't make fun of me anymore."

He sics his rat army on her, but Terry manages to grab her just in time. Dana sets some objects on fire and joins Batman in fighting off the creatures. As they fly off, she drops the torch she's made into the toxic waste. The resulting explosions totally obliterate Patrick's world and his mutant rat friends. As fires shoot from below ground in a nice visual sequence, Terry flies Dana to safety. Later, as rescue workers put out the blaze, Terry approaches Dana near the ambulance. Dana ends up much more appreciative of Terry. 

Enough of the summary...why the rating? Giant mutant rats...ugh. I would have vastly preferred the story concentrate more on simply the outcast stalker, rather than throwing in the rodents. 
I don't see how they improved the episode in any way. Quite a few eps lately have been dealing with teen issues (Splicers, Earth Mover, Hidden Agenda, Once Burned). Enough is enough. And Mad Stan...the action was nice, but that's about all he was good for. And Patrick...so he was ugly and looked like a giant rat. We never learn much about his past or about his amazing plant hybrids. We probably never will either, since he apparently died in the explosions. 
This ep was NOT worth getting out of bed for, and poised to become the "Heroes" of season 2.