Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of April 10 - April 15/16, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some "low-key coarse language and occasional griping"
THIS ISSUE'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "WHERE'S BATMAN/SUPERMAN ON NEXT YEAR'S KIDSWB SCHEDULE???"
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YAYYYYYY US!
On April 3, 2000 we welcomed in our 1700th subscriber! Whooo!!!!
Thank you to everyone for supporting us over the past 22 months! Here's to 22 more! (Really! It HAS been 22 months! This ain't just a Two-Face joke here, I swear!)
Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
-editor extraordinaire
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MAKE US LOOK LIKE FOOLS AND SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT!
Yep, you heard right! Ever since the issue #1, my hasty editing procedures have always left not just a few, but sometimes a whole horde of simple errors, grammatical problems, untrue facts, and whatnot. Just no typos - you've gotta be more creative than that! Here's
where YOU come in. If you can find any mistakes in this issue (we're not purposely making mistakes - any mistakes you find will be ones we were too blind to see), we'll print your name in the following issue in a special column. Sound fun?
Come on. Make us look like idiots. We dare ya. Grrrr.
-Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
the tremendously warped editor
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THOSE WHO POINTED OUT OUR FAULTS
BUCKY WEBB
-One minor error in our "Sneak Peek" review.
CRAIG "GOOKIE" CRUMPTON
-He pointed out too many mini-faults in our last issue. Note: A mini-fault one eighth the size of a regular fault.
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING...
New episodes are on the horizon! Here's what we can expect in the near future...
NO NEW EPISODES ARE ON THE HORIZON. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. REALLY.
For synopses of all other upcoming second season BATMAN BEYOND episodes, check out of BTAN at this address:
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES air Mondays thru Saturday; BATMAN BEYOND also airs on these days. Check local listings each day for what show is on at what time.
THIS WEEK:
Mon 04-10-00: Batman #95 Torch Song
B-BEYOND #26 Terry's Friend Dates a Robot
Tue 04-11-00: Batman #98 Mean Seaons
Wed 04-12-00: Batman #18 Beware the Grey Ghost
Superman #28 Father's Day
Thu 04-13-00: Superman #47 Obsession
Batman #99 Critters
Fri 04-14-00: B-BEYOND #31 Armory
Sat 04-15-00: Batman #101 Animal Act
B-BEYOND #33 Plague ---------------> NEW!!!
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
(BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and 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 Noon on weekdays (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).
YTV will be making some schedule alterations very soon. Thanx to WF's official newsman Mr. Eye, we were able to get a hold of some of them! And here they are...
THIS WEEK:
Mon 04-10-00: BTAS #56 Harley & Ivy
Tue 04-11-00: BTAS #53 The Mechanic
Wed 04-12-00: BTAS #51 The Man Who Killed Batman
Thu 04-13-00: BTAS #54 Zatanna
Fri 04-14-00: BTAS #32 Robin's Reckoning (Pt. 1)
Sat 04-15-00: BEYOND #19 Hidden Agenda
Sun 04-16-00: BEYOND #20 Once Burned
NEXT WEEK:
Check out
http://www.ytv.com for updated schedules for this week!
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
(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. Since April 3rd, BTAS has aired Monday-Friday at 5pm (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:
To see the 52 episodes that the CARTOON NETWORK does show, go to this link:
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":
The creative "team" for this column alternates between Zanna and Justin Chen, two loyal subscribers and great friends of ours here. Any other reviews printed here are written by editor Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton. Enjoy!
<BATMAN BEYOND>
THE EGGBABY
Story by Hilary J. Bader and Alan Burnett
Written by Hilary J. Bader
Directed by James Tucker
Animation by Koko, Dong Yang
Original airdate: April 1, 2000
My rating: **** (Out of five stars)
Ma Mayhem and her two sons have been stealing rubies all over Gotham. Batman is on their trail and he also has a new sidekick.
Terry's Family Studies class project involves caring for a computerized Eggbaby. This device simulates the needs and reactions of a baby and registers the care and attention its caregivers show the "Baby". Blade is his teacher-assigned family
partner. She has no maternal instincts or desire to care for the "Baby". Terry is forced to be the sole caregiver of this Eggbaby or fail the course. Much to Bruce's dismay, Terry must take his "Baby" along on his Batman patrols, even when chasing the
Mayhem gang.
This was a very funny and enjoyable episode. It doesn't have a dark edge or major dramatic plot, but its decidedly whimsical storyline was very entertaining. The writers had many opportunities to write in comical lines and they did so without dragging the
story to a screeching halt.
The scene when Bruce first hears the Eggbaby in the Batmobile was priceless.
Even a short scene was laced with humor, such as the scene where Batman hides the "Baby" in the dumpster and then must rescue it before the trash is hauled away.
Blade's part was written exactly as a self-centered high school queen would act. Terry's reaction to her lack of maternal participation was perfect. "I WANT A DIVORCE!"
Bruce got a significant amount of airtime and some great lines, too. The way he responded to Terry when Terry was looking for a babysitter was perfect Bruce. His references to things long past were funny when used on Dick Grayson and just as funny when he
uses them on Terry. Teasing Terry about the omelet was funny, too.
The action sequences were well done both in writing and drawing. It was amusing to watch Terry and his "Baby" get in and out of the various situations that occurred. Watching and hearing the Eggbaby's reactions was funny too.
Terry's facial expressions in the last scene back in the classroom were amusing and the scene was a good way to end the episode.
Just two points...
Batman has fought large, powerful criminals before, but this time, Carl and his mom seemed almost too strong for his power-enhanced suit to handle. Since this episode was played for laughs, and sometimes he was handicapped by carrying the Eggbaby, his difficulty
in fighting them can be explained, but it does stretch believability.
Is Batman's cowl a full-face cowl? It appears so, and yet, Batman's smile/teeth can sometimes be seen and in this episode, he sticks his tongue out (nice touch, by the way).
All in all, this episode is a delightful romp and well worth watching.
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<BATMAN BEYOND>
ZETA
Written by Robert Goodman
Directed by Dan Riba
Animation by Dong Yang, Koko
Original Air Date: April 8, 2000
Rating: **1/2 out of 5
DESCRIPTION: Batman hunts for a renegade military robot along with the government, until he discovers that it no longer wants to be a killing machine. Batman then has a change of heart and helps the robot escape.
HIGHS: Government covert-ops angle is cool, some good music.
LOWS: Rushed feel, shallow characterization, crappy animation.
The episode "Zeta" has only one purpose, to hype up a new series coming to the WB next season. Given this rather shameless goal, I wouldn't have minded if it was a good episode. Unfortunately, it fails in that respect.
It starts out with Terry's biology teacher acting strange. As she leaves campus, some construction workers pull out weapons and begin firing at her. The rather chubby woman displays surprising strength and agility by escaping into a nearby park. But as she runs
off, her appearance begins to change. She's no woman...she's a robot.
The robot's name is Zeta, and it is a highly advanced counter-terrorism synthoid that can produce a hologram of anyone it chooses to disguise itself. The "construction workers" are really NSA agents, and regard Zeta as renegade. The agents reveal just this
much to Commisioner Barb Gordon, and Terry overhears all this in cooperation with the Commish, in a throwback to the old days. Back at school, Max is at the computer accessing classified NSA data. Dana enters and asks her a question about another student. Max forgets that student's gender
but Dana dismisses it. But Max isn't really herself, Zeta has modeled his newest disguise after her. The real Max is being held hostage, but Zeta has taken care not to hurt her. Max discovers that Zeta no longer wants to be the killer it was meant to be, and takes pity on him.
When Terry finds them, he too changes his mind, and from there on helps Zeta escape the government agents.
This ep had the potential to be good. Imagine it: A hardcore killer on assignment witnesses life and love while disguised as his target. He can't bring himself to deprive his victim's family of someone they love, and decides to go against his creators and everything he
once stood for. Toss in an untrusting Batman and some high tech NSA spies, and it sounds like a recipe for success.
Unfortunately the episode never takes off, due to it's very rushed feel. I would've much rather SEEN Zeta carrying out his missions rather than just hearing him ramble on about them. Everything is resolved too quickly, from Max's rescue to Zeta's escape. And naturally,
a rushed ep leads to bad characterization. Zeta has no depth at all, when he gives up his weapons, it means very little, as he still has violence wired into him. Max actually hugs Zeta...if that was a last-ditch attempt to make him seem human, it didn't work. He just stands there with no
response. He might as well be a slab of rock. If this episode had been a two-parter (and yes I would've gladly given up some of these last ones for it) we could've seen the family that turned Zeta around, or more about the federal agents that are after them. As it is they serve as empty
suits to get beaten up.
I've also heard complaints about the animation lately, and after sitting through several eps of this "digital" stuff, I can say it pales compared to the older kind. The colors are all washed out, and the atmosphere looks too bright. Not to mention that Bats
has looked kind of weird in some season 2 eps. Even the season 1 bomb "Heroes" had slick visuals going for it, the bad ones now just plain suck. I wish TMS was doing the animation...they know how to handle CGI work. On the other hand, the sound was pretty good, in the scenes
where you are supposed to feel for the character, the music comes close to making that happen, even if the onscreen action doesn't.
This episode did get me thinking about Zeta, but in a negative light. More importantly we should wonder, are we losing Batman/Superman for this?
