Mr. Mxyzptlk

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Posts posted by Mr. Mxyzptlk

  1. Good lord, I'll wager anything that Pokemon Trainer is going to be one of the most abused characters in the game. A separate stamina gauge for each Pokemon? Christ.

    They don't each have a different stamina gauge actually. It's clear from a lot of the videos up on Youtube.

  2. As mentioned above, the ship was designed to fit Jor-El, so both the baby and mother could have gotten in there.

    Yeah, but maybe the ship's life support system was designed only for one person, or maybe Kal-El's needs for the voyage couldn't be met if so much room was being taken up by his mother or something. I don't know.

  3. I've always perceived Mike as the harsher critic. I know for the first few episodes he would always give harsher grades, I know for a fact that there have been quite a few recent episodes of the show that Mike has given lower grades to. I don't know; even if we're not talking harshness, it's seems more Mike's than James' style to be more technical anyway, and so for him to give the series a boost, I don't know, it just sort of took me by surprise.

  4. I NEED THE SUPERMAN THEME PLEEEEAASEEEE!!!!

    Pre-Episode Banter

    Oh well...

    Agreed that S:TAS is under-appreciated.

    E-Mails

    Oh, so that's why there's no S:TAS theme.

    One of my personal favorite themes is the theme to 'The Adventures of Batman and Robin'.

    There's actually another easter egg on the third S:TAS volume (it's a hidden commentary if either of you care for them).

    Oh Mike, the B/S theme is so awesome.

    If you want to get the 'Killing Joke', buy the Alan Moore collection book and get a whole bunch of other awesome comics in the same package.

    I missed that 'The Batman' episode, unfortunately.

    I still suggest that you don't do 'Static Shock'.

    Ah, there's the S:TAS theme. Listening to it right now, I'd say it might just surpass the B:TAS theme it's so beautiful.

    The Last Son of Krypton

    Awesome awesome stuff. I'm like the first part, but the second part, even though I hate Jason Marsden's voice, has one of the most musically and visually well-done scenes in the entire DCAU, the scene where Clark flies through Smallville. Part three is awesome, the best of the three, because the animation is awesome (it really seems like TMS, but apparently it's Koko without the help of Dong Yang, which is pretty weird) and we get a lot of Lois/Luthor spotlight, especially the ending with Luthor's and Superman's first confrontation.

    I really like the decision to do the origin personally. It's a nice change of pace from B:TAS, and it really adds to the structure of the series, with was much more rooted in continuity as opposed to B:TAS, which was completely episodic.

    Completely agreed about part 2; it was just way too rushed. I still love that flight scene.

    Bruce Timm actually talks about being initially hesitant to add Brainiac to the mix.

    I love the new animation. Even though it was more simplistic, there is still so much detail to everything (especially in part three and episodes animated by Bruce Timm). Oh yeah, I love what they did in giving Krypton its own distinct feel.

    My rankings on animation is that 1 is good, 2 is either really good or pretty bad, and 3 is incredible.

    The other really prominent Brainiac episodes are 'Stolen Memories' and 'Ghost in the Machine', so those would be the ones to check.

    I guess you're also upset that Christopher MacDonald plays really old Superman in 'Batman Beyond'.

    Bizarro's dog was named Krypto, so that's a cool little reference.

    Maybe the police were still hunting for him elsewhere looking in the same general area or thought that he died when he fell out of the building or something. Maybe they got there, but then turned around after waiting so long. I don't know.

    I always thought that it was because of the yellow sun, which is more ideal than the red sun for Kryptonians to thrive and survive; did they ever explain that at least partially?

    Maybe Lara couldn't fit in the ship.

    Back to the animation, the first one I think is a bit jerky apart form the ending, which, as you said, is excellent, and episode two is about the same with only a couple of bad moments and and the flying scene is still awesome. The third is still untouchable. You see, parts 1 and 2 were done by the exact same two studios, so I guess they changed teams. The third episode only used one of the two studios and it was somehow better than the other two.

    Everyone was awesome except for Jason Marsden, who's voice is so unbelievably annoying.

    NOO!!! Bud Cort plays Toyman in S:TAS and in the last season of JLU; Corey Burton had to fill in for JL's 'Hereafter'.

    Nice way to pick up on that bad writing from Lana Lang.

    Oh yeah, I forgot that Jason Marsden went on to do Snapper. He was much better for Snapper than for Clark.

    Mike, 'she's hot' is one of the best moments of the S:TAS WFP episodes already. So so funny.

    Younger Kents. That phrase sounds really nice for some reason. Anyway, yeah, I agree that younger Kents are better than older Kents.

    Oh yeah, this is the first appearance of Kaznia. How many more times as it popped up? 'Re-Birth' (BB), 'Maid of Honor' (JL), 'Hawk and Dove' (JLU), and I think one or two more.

    I love Clark Kent in this show; easily one of the best portrayals of the character.

    Scores

    You- 8 and a 7 / Me- an 8.5

    Oh yeah! I'm so excited about S:TAS. Great quote and the next five episodes are all awesome (except for 'Feeding Time'!

  5. Superman: The Animated Series is a criminally underrated / overlooked show in my estimation.

    Damn right.

    Pre-Episode Banter

    Strangely enough, my Batman-obsessed friend was actually happy when he heard of Heat Ledger's death. 'Dying right after playing the Joker! That has to be the perfect way to die, ending on a high note like that!' I don't share his sentiment at all though.

    I'm definitely going to download your video, James.

    E-Mails

    Even though I agree a bit with her about y'all being a bit nitpicky, I do appreciate that you go through everything (animation, voice-acting, story, music), instead of a lot of commentaries and reviews that only centralize on a few things.

    I definitely think and I'd even be willing to state it as fact that there is no way 'Teen Titans' can exist in canon, because it's full of anachronisms. If B:TAS existed before the big technological advances that were to take place in 'JL' and 'JLU', then there's no way that all the stuff that's possible in 'Teen Titans' can possibly take place before B:TAS, and the fact that it's so illogical (and intentionally so) means that there's just no way it can exist in the same reality as the more realistic and serious Timm shows.

    I still hope y'all don't cover 'Static' and 'Zeta', because I'd have to take a long hiatus from the show. I don't like either of them and there's no way I'd be willing to buy them just for the sake of the podcast.

    Har har. 'Return of the Joker'.

    Agreed about 'His Silicon Soul', which is still an awesome episode.

    What I think about Burton vs West, I'd say that even though Burton's was closer to the darker Batman we all know and love, it still did a disservice to what it was trying to do. With the West series, you have to recognize the state of Batman in the comics at the time and the target audience.

    The Actual Show

    This episode is sort of playing out like a clip show.

    Yeah, definitely. That reel of clips from previous episodes. Great stuff.

    Re-Grades

    Hooray for 'Harley's Holiday'!!!

    Hooray for 'Harlequinade'!!!

    Well, I don't think 'Almost Got 'Im' is perfect, but oh well. Good for it.

    NOOOO!!!!! 'Fire From Olympus' is awesome.

    NoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo!!!!!!!!!1!!!!! 'Perchance to Dream' is one of the best episodes ever.

    YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! 'The Laughing Fish' is awesome. Hooray!

    Hooray for 'The Man Who Killed Batman'!!!

    I still don't think 'Baby Doll' is incredible, but good for it.

    YEeEeEeEeEsSsSsSsS!!!!!!!!!!!! 'Trial' is bad bad stuff.

    People only like 'Christmas With the Joker' because they try to pretend it's sort of deep or because they don't take it seriously or because of nostalgia factor. It is a bad episode.

    Only a 6.1? Actually I think that's a good grade given you're going by averages. Thinking about it as a whole I'd probably give it higher, but given that B:TAS was easily the most inconsistent DCAU series, 6.1 really is a good score.

    Really? There are a lot of 'Justice League' episodes I'd give really low.

    Mike, that's the last thing I'd expect for you to give it a 7.

    Wasn't expecting that to be the last quote, but I love it.

    This episode really got me back into the WFP, I just haven't had the time to listen lately. I'll probably return to the Sub-Zero episode at some point, but for now I'm heading over to the first episode for 'SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES'!!!!! So happy.

  6. Sorry I didn't get a post in on the last podcast; really busy with school to listen through it all. I'll try to get one in by this weekend and if I have the time come back to episode 19.

    Looking forward to the grades you chose to revise and what you believe to be the best moments of the series and the podcast up to this point.

  7. Something is wrong with my E-mail at the moment, so until it gets fixed, my favorite moment was Storm making a guest appearance in 'Moon of the Wolf', and I really enjoyed y'all pointing out some of the hidden references, like the license plate in 'Heart of Steel' and the Punisher in 'Trial'. More to come probably.

  8. Pre Episode Banter

    Too bad about your car James. I just rammed my mom's van into another car while parking and it's going to be a around a thousand dollars to fix so I more or less know how you feel.

    E-Mails

    I agree with Thomas about 'Ring Toss'. I really didn't enjoy it. Penguin got too much spotlight and we didn't get enough of Hal Jordan in action.

    Also agreed about how horrible 'Love is a Croc' is.

    Episodes

    Harley's Holiday- Love the episode. Excellent animation. Greatly enjoy the development for Harley. Oh yeah, and it's hilarious.

    Yeah, putting in the Joker would have ruined everything. Really bold choice on Dini's part to make it a Harley spotlight without the Joker.

    The 'You're Bruce Wayne!' line is one of my all-time favorites.

    I love the general with the tank, I don't care how much it defies logic.

    Batman's 'I had a bad day once too' is really what makes the episode for me though. Short but powerful, that's the way I like my Batman lines.

    I agree with Mike on the Ivy thing.

    Lock-Up- It's okay. A bit heavy-handed, but I really do like the idea of a prison guard gone mad. Probably about average.

    I'm actually really agreeing with Mike about targeting the politicians as opposed to just the villains.

    I don't really have much to say about this one, because it's such a 'blah' episode for me.

    Even though I like the ending, I do see Mike's point about how prison's the worst possible place to put him.

    Make 'Em Laugh- Meh. It's definitely funny at parts, namely when Batman takes down the Condiment King and that one joke with the Pack Rat dumping the money out of the cash register, but it's overall a stupid mess.

    There's only one Joker line that I thought was funny and it's all due to Hamill and not at all to the writing; it was his 'Let's cheer them up!' The delivery was excellent.

    It had to have been Joker in disguise. I used to think it wasn't, so the episode used to make me incredibly angry.

    Deep Freeze- Doesn't hold a candle to 'Heart of Ice'. Still pretty good, and the ending it awesome.

    This is only Freeze's second episode, guys!

    I hated Freeze in TNBA. 'Cold Comfort' was a dumb episode, but 'Meltdown' in 'Batman Beyond' was excellent.

    Boyle did own GothCorp though. I just sent an e-mail. Be sure to read it.

    Batgirl Returns- Fun, but really just another episode. Nothing special. Not much to say.

    I love your assessment of the ending, and I didn't remember that Ed Asner (or Roland Daggett) was actually going to shoot them. Pretty awesome.

    The deal with the college note is actually one of the few logical problems in an episode that actually bugs me.

    Scores

    Harley's Holiday- You: 8 and 9 / Me: 9

    Lock-Up- You: 4 and 5 / Me: 5

    Make 'Em Laugh: 2 and 3 / Me: 3

    Deep Freeze: 6.5 and 6 / Me: 7.5

    Batgirl Returns: 6 and 7 / Me: 6

  9. 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!

  10. But this review is even funnier:

    I just have to add another negative opinion to the batch, given how overrated the episode is. It's one of those episode that tries to tell you at every given moment that it's deep, profound, and completely transcending standard cartoon convention. My diagnosis: it tries too hard and fails to accomplish anything. From the beginning, Batman is acting completely irrational and contradictory to character. First off: how many times throughout the course of the series has Batman dealt with Arkham escapees and villains that just never seem to stay locked up? Plenty. But wait! The Penguin, one of Batman's most non-threatening foes, fails to get convicted! Oh the horror! How blatantly ineffective I am! Not to mention Batman must be, by this point, entirely self-aware of how impossible a one-man war on crime is. I mean, I thought the whole point was to do all that one man can to battle evil and set an example. Apparently not; Batman seems to just be figuring out the futility of a one-man war on crime which should have been obvious from the beginning. But let's move on. Another appointment in crime alley, and another scene that reeks of 'look at us! We're revisiting Batman's past and having him spout off exact historical quotes in order to make this episode appear to be intelligent! Look at the way those flowers get crushed! With a scene like that, you know this is a deep episode, even though there really is no purpose or significance to that moment aside from seeing a shocked/sad reaction on Batman's face that slightly fits into place with the rest of the episode, which is just Batman being depressed.' Yeah, rambling there. Anyway, moving along. Gordon gets shot. Oh the potential! Oh the--oh wait, it's just a cheap meaningless ploy to get Batman to suffer a nonsensical crisis. Now, we enter the bulk of the story, the part with the most character-defining moments the series has ever seen! Yes, it's what everyone's been waiting for: Batman sulking and spewing out pretentious garbage that doesn't really mean anything! Just look at how rational Batman's reasoning is here: 'I failed to do my job as Batman, and it caused my friend to get hurt. So instead of trying to do better, which would no doubt save more lives, I'll give up Batman and surely, no one I care about will get hurt ever again.' What are you talking about Batman? You're making no sense. Not doing anything is more effective when you just made it perfectly clear that your friend got shot because you didn't do enough? Wha? And then the big finale. How does Batman ever decide to reclaim his mantle after the oh so convincing reasoning that causes him to abandon it? He grows some braincells and realizes, 'Wait a minute. Gordon will surely die if I stop being Batman. Why did I ever think of giving up Batman in the first place? Oh yeah, to make sure none of my loved ones will ever get hurt. Well that sure backfired.' And then Gordon, about to get shot, right after Batman reemerges! I have no idea what's going to happen! Oh wait, yeah I do. Batman saves the day, as usual. And so Batman realizes he's inspired a kid to do the right thing in possibly the only really half-way decent part of the episode; too bad the majority of the episode wallowed in pretentious gibberish.

  11. I'll still never understand the love for 'I Am the Knight'. If all you have to do is pretend that a few cliches and a whole bunch of character irrationality are deep by throwing in famous quotations and depressed monologues to write an episode that everyone loves, then I could do it easily.

    What it is for me, is that we all know Batman's motivation for continuing on as The Dark Knight, but as a human being he must rethink his decisions sometimes. When his friend Jim Gordon is shot in the line of duty, he takes it like he failed him, just like how he feels for about his parents. Gordon is one of the few people who hasn't judged Batman, hasn't demanded his identity and never questioned his motives, he respects that and feels like Gordon is the real hero. Gordon feels the same way about Batman and only wishes he could be younger and be like him. We all know that he isn't quitting, but for a character who doesn't show much emotion when he's Batman, it is fun to see that side of Bruce go into Batman.

    That's all well and good, but his motivation to quite being Batman makes no since. 'I'm not trying hard enough, so I guess I'll quit trying all together. Surely then, none of my friends will ever be hurt again.' It makes no sense, and no one has ever been able to explain Batman's decision to me. And it doesn't help that all it takes is Robin telling Batman what he should already know (quitting Batman isn't going to help anyone, stupid!), and he's back to the job in predictable fashion. It's just a bad episode because the plot is COMPLETELY forced.

  12. I'll still never understand the love for 'I Am the Knight'. If all you have to do is pretend that a few cliches and a whole bunch of character irrationality are deep by throwing in famous quotations and depressed monologues to write an episode that everyone loves, then I could do it easily.