Rating:  -
If you miss good cartoons, try this series. You won't be disappointed.
The third season branches out to give Batman's sidekicks a little more screen time and, for the most part, this is an good thing. I wish Batgirl appeared in more episodes, as the commentary seems to imply. She only appears in one of the first episodes and then, again, in the last episode. The DVD is well put together. The commentary seems a little tired...one gets the feeling that they ran out of interesting things to say. The cartoon is super though. We'll definitely invest in season 4.
Rating: -
Originally spawned by the Tim Burton films (e.g. that Batmobile is obviously an animated version of the one in the Burton movies), this Batman lives in a Gothic horror-inspired Gotham City with dark alleys, bizarre architecture, and an extremely active underworld. Unlike Burton's lackluster films, however, this Batman is interesting, a master of martial arts, and a sharp detective. Just like he is meant to be! Further, the extended Batman (and DC comics) universe is well-used in this series (in fact, in one episode (Batgirl Returns), Batman himself doesn't even appear). The great thing about an extended series like this is that rivalries and relationships get a chance to develop.
There are lots of episodes to like, and lots of new plotlines for Batman fans to add to their pool of lore. Of course, we have the bad-good characters of Catwoman and Talia Al Ghul, both with their crushes on Batman warring with their basic natures (and, in Talia's case, loyalty to her father). We have the usual array of traditional villians - Joker, Two-Face, Killer Croc, and Penguin, among others. We have the love-hate relationship between Robin/Dick Grayson and Batman/Bruce Wayne. We have Commisioner Gordon and his daughter Barbara (who becomes Batgirl in this season). We even have a special DC-universe guest star, one you'd never guess would show up in a Batman story! (I will not reveal his identity, although other reviews do, because it was such a pleasant surprise for me when I saw the episode). These all add up to a rich viewing experience full of Batman lore that is sure to satisfy the hard-core Batman fan, while at the same time being well-written so that anyone can sit down and enjoy an episode.
Not all the episodes are to the same quality, of course. The animation isn't as full or rich as most prime-time style cartoons (like the Simpsons). There are few extras on the disc. However, these are relatively minor quibbles, and the Batman animated series is definitely the best non-comic-book way to experience Batman, especially for the casual fan.
Rating: -
This is a hard decision, but I have to say that this volume is better than the other two. Barbara Gordon gets introduced as Batgirl for the first time, and we meet new villains! Ra's Al Ghul, Baby-Doll, Scarface, Bane, Lock Up, are Maxie Zeus and introduced in these 29 great episodes. Mr. Freeze, The Riddler, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, The Mad Hatter, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, The Clock King, and Red Claw return! This is clearly a better volume than the previous because it concludes "Batman: The Animated Series," and has cool extras. Some people, however, think that the extras (special features) are bad because they're mainly commentary. Well, I hope you buy this totally awesome 4-disc set.....packed with 609 minutes of action!!! Some episodes descriptions to get you interested are the following: Ra's Al Ghul needs Batman's help to find his daughter Talia, Batman's villains hold a trial against him, Scarface frames Catwoman, the Joker steals an atomic bomb, Red Claw plans to fire misils at London, a Batman Robot made by H.A.R.D.A.C. causes troble, Two-Face is kidnapped on his day of surgery, and Poson Ivy is blamed for the poisoning of many rich and single men. Buy this volume! If you loved THIS Batman series when you were younger (1992-1997 on Kids WB), this is the 4 disc-set to relive your childhood with a show for all ages! Buy this! You won't regret it! Buy it! Buy it!
Here are the episodes the DVDs include. In parenthesis are the villains who appear in the episodes. However, just because a certain villain appears in a certain episode - that doesn't mean that he or she is the one that causes trouble in that episode and that he or she is the one that Batman ends up fighting!
DISC 1:
* Shadow of a Bat: Part I (Two-Face)
* Shadow of a Bat: Part II (Two-Face)
* Blind as a Bat (The Penguin)
* The Demon's Quest: Part I (Ra's Al Ghul)
* The Demon's Quest: part II (Ra's Al Ghul)
* His Silicon Soul (Batman Robot)
* Fire from Olympus (Maxie Zeus)
DISC 2:
* Read My Lips (Scarface)
* The Worry Men (The Mad Hatter)
* Sideshow (Killer Croc)
* A Bullet for Bullock (Mysterious Person Who's After Bullock)
* Trial (The Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, The Mad Hatter, Scarface, etc.)
* Avatar (Ra's Al Ghul)
* House and Garden (Poison Ivy)
DICS 3:
* The Terrible Trio (Three Troublesome Men)
* Harlequinade (The Joker & Harley Quinn)
* Time Out of Joint (The Clock King)
* Catwalk (Catwoman & Scarface)
* Bane (Rupert Thorne & Bane)
* Baby-Doll (Baby-Doll)
* The Lion and the Unicorn (Red Claw)
DISC 4:
* Showdown (Ra's Al Ghul)
* Riddler's Reform (The Riddler)
* Second Chance (Two-Face & ???)
* Harley's Holiday (Harley Quinn ONLY)
* Lock-Up (Lock-Up)
* Make 'Em Laugh (The Joker ONLY)
* Deep Freeze (Mr. Freeze)
* Batgirl Returns (Catwoman)
SPECIAL FEATURES:
* "Gotham's New Knight" -- Show creators talk about Batgirl.
* Audio commentary on "Read My Lips."
* Video commentary on "House and Garden."
* Audio commentary on "Harlequinade."
* Trailers/Previous.
* Spoken Languages: English, French, Spanish.
* Subtitles: English, French, Spanish.
Rating: -
So here I am again! Yep, ranting about the DC AU. You can't say your Batman colection is complete until you own this one. This set includes Shadow of the Bat, another cool two-parter which marks the first appearance of Batgirl. No, I didn't forget about Twoface. He's in that one too. His Silicon Soul, which is an epilogue to Heart of Steel(See Volume Two.) This one is memorable because Batman has to face a cyborg created by Hardac, an AI who wants to replace all humankind with robots and rule the world yada yada yada and all that other stuff supervillains rant about. Deep Freeze, in which Batman and Robin must stop Mr. Freeze and a crazy old guy from freezing Gothum. Love the way this one ends. Really causes you to care more for Freeze. Oh, and this set is filled with Ra's al Ghul episodes. The Demon's quest, one of the best two-part episodes of all, in which Batman and Ra's face off for the first time. I think there are two other one shot episodes that feature Ra's in this set. Showdown and Avatar. This set also includes The Trial, in wich some of Batman's most powerful adversaries team up to judge him for "making them the freaks that they are today," well at least that's the way they see it. I like DA Vandorn's take on it a bit better.(Watch the episode. You'll see what I mean.) Blind as a Bat is another goody. Many Tv shows make blind folks like myself look weak and helpless, but I love how Batman just gets right back on his feet to stop his foe in this episode. He really does an excelent job at adapting to this problem. Yeah, he gets picked on a bit, but he doesn't give up. If you haven't seen this episode, you'll see what I mean. Man, I wish I could review this series episode by episode. This series rocks! So buy the set, folks. You'll enjoy it. Seriously, you will. So add it to you're shopping cart. I dare ya! No, I triple dog dare ya! C'mon, Flick couldn't resist that one in A Christmas Story, and neither can you!
Rating: -
This box collection is actually my favorite so far. I guess by this time I had things to do and I couldn't wathc the show anymore but that makes it all the better cause there were like 9-10 episodes that were new for me. The storylines manage to keep the seriousness it always had but still gives you those graet comedic episodes.
DISC 1-
SHADOW OF THE BAT PART 1 AND 2-good one with commish getting kidnapped.
BLIND AS A BAT-good one with some really cool bat technology.
DEMON's QUEST PART 1 AND 2-I never really like the character of Razagul, but I think that this is his best episode, pretty good one.
HIS SILICONRE SOUL-Hardac is back.
FIRE FROM MOUNT OLYMPUS-this is one of the weirder episodes ever with a guy who thinks that he is zeus reborn, sound like commadeus?
DISC 2
READ MY LIPS- Awesome Scarface episode.
THE WORRY MEN-not a particularly strong one.
SIDESHOW-good crock circus episode.
A BULLET FOR BULLOCK-GREAT episode, you will be laughing at the ending all day long!!!!!!!!
TRIAL- wonderful, ensemble episode in the vein of "almost got 'em".
AVATAR- great fantasy episode.
DISC 3
HOUSE AND GARDEN- invasion of the body snatchers.
THE TERRIBLE TRIO-classic batman storyline, you will never see this kind of stuff in any tv cartoon show.
HARLIQUENDE-48 hours-batman and harley style.
TIME OUT OF THE JOINT-great clock king comeback!!
CATWALK-good scarface again, but ending was very depressing.
BANE-good sci-fi stuff.
BABY DOLL-weird episode, kinda scary, not one of my favs though.
THE LION AND THE UNICORN-great showcase for alfred, really good.
DISC 4
SHOWDOWN-not gonna lie to you, this is a VERY weird episode, but I liked it.
RIDDLER"S REFORM-very cool riddler episode.
SECOND CHANCE-great 2-face.
HARLEY'S HOLIDAY-great showcase for her.
LOCK UP-weird oz type guard gone crazy.
MAKE EM LAUGH -classic joker.
DEEP FREEZE-someone else wants to be like Mr. Freeze.
BATGIRL RETURNS-good team up of the women of this show and a pretty good ending to one of the best television shows in history.
So a SWEET dvd package, these aren't the type of special features that are endless like lord of the rings or nothin but 1 extra episode and 29 in total is the best thing I could have asked for.
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