Episode 17


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Will James and Mike eventually cover the DCAU tie-in video games, and why can't Batman suffer brain damage? Those questions and more are answered before five more episode of Batman: The Animated Series are reviewed, those being "Baby-Doll," "The Lion and the Unicorn," "Showdown," "Riddler's Reform" and "Second Chance."

The above is from: http://www.worldsfinestpodcast.com/episodes/wfp_017.mp3

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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS WOOT IM SO HAPPY! WOOT THE NEXT PODCAST IS OUT WOUT, OH YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok every body shut up now I am going to listen to the best podcast ever now............ Oh ah oh ah.................

The joker email was a reply to THE BATMAN EMAIL!!!!!! :doh: My life is forever ruined forever I will now grow up to be a hobo.......

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Pre-Episode Banter

Yeah, can't wait till Christmas. Must be weird having to go all over the place for Christmas parties. I just go up to my grandparents', get presents, and my parents handle the shopping for the rest of our family. I got it easy.

We have to do analyze movies for psychology and my friends just did theirs on the Saw movies today. They seem a bit interesting, but really not for me.

Oh yeah, I did read a little bit of your review for 'Doomsday'. I agree with a lot of your criticisms, but I still think the animation rocked hard. I love the designs (except for Lois). But you're right about a lot of the voice-acting (yeah, Anne Heche, ugh).

'The New Frontier' is gonna rule though.

Oh, I did see 'Ring Toss', but I actually thought it was slightly weaker than a lot of the team-ups. The Penguin thing just sort of bogged it down for me. Love seeing Hal Jordan animated though (though he'll be better in 'The New Frontier'!).

The show does have great animation and designs (nothing wrong with anime influences, 'Teen Titans' is a great example), but it still pales as far as writing and music is concerned.

I actually like the new Robin.

Oh, we've already seen Flash and Green Arrow. I guess you must have missed those.

E-Mails

:D about my e-mail.

Bat-nudity. Heh.

I wouldn't go on to the video-games. You might as well go and do the DCAU comics then. Just stick to animation.

This film you're talking about is freaking me out.

I like that explanation for Joker's waiting in 'Harlequinade' a whole lot too.

Episodes

Baby-Doll: It's okay, but a lot of her actions don't seem to make sense to me, and it could have focused more on development for her than on her really annoying antics. I understand the depth Dini was going for, and the ending is spectacular, but I feel that they could have made what led up to her big encounter in the mirror make a bit more sense. It's still LOADS better than her next episode with Killer Croc. Ugggh.

Baby-Doll's acting situation is sort of similar to that of Simon Trent in 'Beware the Gray Ghost', always seen as fitting a certain role and never being able to get a part he really want.

Never thought about Batman upstaging her in attracting the children, cool observation.

You know a lot of the B:TAS crew worked on 'Tiny Toons', so that's probably why there are similarities.

Personally, I prefer 'Fire From Olympus' to 'Baby-Doll'...

Yeah, they were supposed to be Gilligan and the Skipper. Awesome awesome reference.

The Lion and the Unicorn- BORING. Sorry, but showing that Alfred used to be a badass doesn't in any way change my already high regard for him, and his dull colleague in no way helps his character. The backgrounds are bland and repetitive, Red Claw is stupid, and I HATE terrorist stories. Especially in Batman.

I guess we're in disagreement. I don't like it at all. All of the little things you are talking about are fairly neat, but as a whole I just think it's dull.

I do like the opening scene in the cave though.

You know there's no Alfred in 'Batman Beyond'. Maybe that was contributory to his abandoning the mantle besides the whole gun thing at the beginning of the episode.

Whoa coincidence.

Showdown- AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME episode. Jonah Hex. Great animation. Amazing voice-acting. Hilariously good dialogue. Great atmospheric music, both in the Western style and in the slightly bittersweet ending. This episode is so so so so so so so so good. Any episode that can simultaneously be a fun light-hearted adventure and create sympathy and add a dimension to a really horribly egotistical villain is brilliant in my book.

Awesome about that interview. I may check it out.

What's really cool for me about this one is that it's one of the few episodes I never watched as a kid (and I saw almost EVERY episode as a kid). I probably watched this one last out of the entire series, and it was such an awesome surprise.

Riddler's Reform- Best Riddler episode and a pretty great stuff. The animation is great as usual and a lot of the puzzles are brilliant. It also conveys the character's insanity better than any other episode.

Now I totally side with James that it's great animation, but sorry, 'Feat of Clay pt 2' does the best shadow work on Batman EVER. I've never seen such wonders done with Batman's design like in that episode.

Yeah, I think the only riddles that compare are the one with the telephone booth change in 'What Is Reality?'

Wait, you have a gripe with the animation Mike? The animation RULES!

Second Chance- Probably top 5 for me and best episode in this podcast. I'd probably take it over the original Two-Face. The animation, voice-acting, and all that are great as usual, but there a couple of things that stand out especially. First of all, Two-Face is finally sympathetic again. Second, the music is PERFECTION. Second only to 'A Bullet For Bullock'. And I love that it all takes place in real time; no trips to the Bat-Cave or anything, all takes place in one night. And incredibly touching too.

I don't think they need to explain things like history between Two-Face and the Penguin. Not everything needs to be spelled out. I rather like that they gave some history in that it shows that there are events that go on behind the scenes, and I could care less about the bird not matching up with the number 2. Did going to see Hugo Strange relate to the number 2? I don't think so, so it's happened before.

'Face to face to face' was already used in the original by Rupert Thorne, in case you didn't remember.

Oh yeah, I LOVE the direction. That facial expression on Dent when the shadows are cast over his other half at the end just adds SO MUCH to the scene.

And anything with rain is awesome. Rain always looks great in animation.

Mike are you SERIOUS?!?!?! The animation was WAY better than the usual B:TAS episode. It's basically fact! The use of shadows in every scene, the fact that Batman's design avoids looking too clunky, the timing in a lot of the movements, it's all great.

Psychology was great as usual, and all completely accurate.

Yeah, James is right, this is the first time since 'Two-Face' that we hear Harvey's voice. I don't think there was any Harvey in 'Trial'.

I think Dick's final line was good. I feel that Dick was intentionally using a cliche to lighten things up, and the episode deserved to end on a happy note. For me, it no way undermines the seriousness earlier.

Nah, even Batman would be grateful that Robin saved him. I mean, Robin disobeyed in 'Robin's Reckoning' when he went out on his motorcycle, but Batman didn't yell at him at all, and you guys loved that episode. Come on, it's good.

Scores

Baby-Doll: You- 8 and 6 / Me- 6

The Lion and the Unicorn: You- 7 / Me- 4

Showdown: You- 9 and 8 / Me- 9

Riddler's Reform: You- 8 and 7 / Me- 8

Second Chance: You- 7 / Me- 10

Great job. Can't wait till next time!

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Here are those links I promised:

James and DW review Saw IV.

James reviews Superman: Doomsday.

Desmond Reddick interviews Joe R. Lansdale (writer of the BTAS episode "Showdown") in Dread Media, episode 13.

And, as a special "treat," here's that horrible, horrible Batman "fan" film I ranted about during the intro. As I told James when I sent him the link, watch this only if you want to waste 28:27 of your life that you will never, ever get back. This is the biggest piece of shit I have ever seen; the filmmaker clearly doesn't get a damn thing about the character. So, yeah, watch at your own risk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUAXIMoZuBM. (Oh, I made a mistake during the show when I said Batman was tied to a chair; he's actually chained from the ceiling.

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For somebody who's seen so many Batman fan films, I actually bought a DVD of a good chunk of them at Wizard World recently, yeah, I can understand why you wouldn't like The Death of Batman, I can see why a guy would come to the reason Batman would kill himself like that. He's trying to protect the little guy, and the fact that he ended up destorying the life of the little guy was too much to take. Yeah, not a great explination, but you can kinda see it. Maybe. :unsure: If you want good fan films, Bat in the Sun Productions is a good place to go. Patient J is one of my favorites. It's trying to explain the Joker and Batman's relationship, and Harley is delightful. He's done Batman Beyond: Year One, Batman Legends, and there was another one I forget. He has generally good quality fan films.

The trailer for Grayson, too, oh my gosh. If they made that into a movie, I could die. My life would be complete. Yeah, Batman's dead, and the film would be a total hero cluster fuck, but it's SOOOOOO good. Really. Three thumbs up. :yes:

If you want a site that has a huge collection of Batman fan films, scripts, trailers and the like, www.batmanfanfilms.com has a ton.

P.S. Fast Times at Hero High is hilarious as well. :D

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Oh, one other thing. Batman: Dead End? Really? Really? You guys like that one? Really? It seemed so pointless. Yes, it was pretty, but it was reduced to a simpleton beat 'um up with aliens and the predators (which makes so much sense. :huh: {Yes, I know there's some comics about Batman meeting the aliens, but I have never read it, so have no idea how that works.})

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Dead End isn't great when it comes to storytelling, that much is true. But the visuals, costumes, camera work, intensity and cliffhanger ending combine to make it a wonderful short film.

As for Batman killing himself (RE: The Death of Batman)... no. Batman would not kill himself because he accidentally ruined someone's life. I mean, he accidentally created the Joker, thus ruining that guy's life and lives of thousands of others. If that didn't drive Batman to suicide, sending an innocent man to jail wouldn't.

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Dead End isn't great when it comes to storytelling, that much is true. But the visuals, costumes, camera work, intensity and cliffhanger ending combine to make it a wonderful short film.

Can't agree with ya there, Mike, specifically because there is no story. It's the reason I don't like Cats. Yes, it's pretty, and the dancing is great, but I don't want to spend $50-$60 bucks on something that doesn't have a plot, or, in Dead End's case, five minutes of my life. The fact that they spent so much money on something that really doesn't say much is rather disappointing. They don't even explain why the aliens are even there. It's just bang pow the end. (That's why I debate "intensity." A random sock-em-up doesn't really impress me much.) That's why the "cliffhanger" ending doesn't work for me. Granted this is coming from someone who has never seen any of the Alien movies (I don't like horror.), but I had no understanding of the villians, and therefore, didn't care about the outcome. But to each his/her own.

As for Batman killing himself (RE: The Death of Batman)... no. Batman would not kill himself because he accidentally ruined someone's life. I mean, he accidentally created the Joker, thus ruining that guy's life and lives of thousands of others. If that didn't drive Batman to suicide, sending an innocent man to jail wouldn't.

I didn't say that it was a good line of reasoning, and the thought of Batman being knocked out by a tazer is absolutely ridiculous. But I understand the logic of somebody who's knowledge of the character is probably only limited to the live action movies. I don't agree with the conclusion the filmmaker comes up with, and it's extremely lazy on their part to make a fan film with someone who hasn't taken the time to research the depth of the character (Ah, the joys of the youtube movie maker.), but I can understand why they would think it. They're wrong, but I don't see it as being entirely out of left field. Right field, absolutely.

Abrupt subject change, there's another on my DVD that's fun. It's a Dr. Laura parody called Supertalk. First off, the cinematography/camera angles of the most of the time first person view of all the callers (You see mostly their arms, and never see their faces, basically.) is really interesting. My favorite is when "Diana" calls about trying to get her co-worker "Clark" to notice her. Dr. Flora says, "Dress more provocatively. At work, it's easy to lose your sense of femininity." Wonder Woman looks at her bathing suit and goes, "I really...can't dress more provocatively at work." It's fun. Ok, I'll be going now. :D

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Regarding The Blitz/ Blitzkreig. Blitzkreig was the overall style of fast-movng warfare that the Germans used during the 2nd world war. The Blitz is the term used to describe the specific bombing of the civilian population of Britain by the Nazis. The Blitz has become the common vernacular in the UK for this period of the War, Blitzkreig has a seperate meaning, even if it is the origin of the term.

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Regarding The Blitz/ Blitzkreig. Blitzkreig was the overall style of fast-movng warfare that the Germans used during the 2nd world war. The Blitz is the term used to describe the specific bombing of the civilian population of Britain by the Nazis. The Blitz has become the common vernacular in the UK for this period of the War, Blitzkreig has a seperate meaning, even if it is the origin of the term.

Thanks for clearing that up. Considering I fancy myself an expert on WWII history, I really should have known that. :doh:

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Regarding The Blitz/ Blitzkreig. Blitzkreig was the overall style of fast-movng warfare that the Germans used during the 2nd world war. The Blitz is the term used to describe the specific bombing of the civilian population of Britain by the Nazis. The Blitz has become the common vernacular in the UK for this period of the War, Blitzkreig has a seperate meaning, even if it is the origin of the term.

Thanks for clearing that up. Considering I fancy myself an expert on WWII history, I really should have known that. :doh:

Thats OK, I don't expect any of you chaps to know that there was a war going on before December 1941. :P

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Regarding The Blitz/ Blitzkreig. Blitzkreig was the overall style of fast-movng warfare that the Germans used during the 2nd world war. The Blitz is the term used to describe the specific bombing of the civilian population of Britain by the Nazis. The Blitz has become the common vernacular in the UK for this period of the War, Blitzkreig has a seperate meaning, even if it is the origin of the term.

Thanks for clearing that up. Considering I fancy myself an expert on WWII history, I really should have known that. :doh:

Thats OK, I don't expect any of you chaps to know that there was a war going on before December 1941. :P

Haha! Nice one!

They were too busy dancing the Charleston to notice that eve us Canadians were going over there in droves!

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