"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Appointment in Crime Alley" and "Mad as a Hatter"

Batman: The Animated Series

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas! Sorry for the delay. I'm planning on getting back on a more regular schedule after the new year. I hope you enjoy this last B: TAS blog post of 2017!!

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Fear of Victory" and "The Clock King"

Batman: The Animated Series

This is another post where I don't really have anything deep and profound to say. I will say that we are reaching the end of the first volume of B: TAS DVD's, so that is pretty exciting. I also want to thank everyone for taking time out to read these. It means a lot and I hope you're enjoying them. Here we go.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Joker's Favor" and "Vendetta"

Batman: The Animated Series

Today is the perfect day to talk about the most lasting impact that B: TAS has had on the Batman mythos. I'm talking about Dr. Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn. Harley was first introduced in the first episode we are going to be talking about in this post: "Joker's Favor." I don't think that Paul Dini and Bruce Timm had any idea that Harley would become as popular as she has. People around the world idolize Harley and she has gone on a pretty incredible journey. She went from being Joker's girlfriend to leading her own solo series multiple times. Her current series is routinely one of the best selling comics out there, not just for DC but overall. She is also heavily featured in "Suicide Squad" and she has become a tentpole figure in the burgeoning DC Cinematic Universe. That incarnation of Harley, portrayed by Margot Robbie, has proved so popular that four upcoming movies feature her prominently. Well done, Harley.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Prophecy of Doom" and "Feat of Clay" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

I briefly mentioned the 1966 "Batman" television series last post due to Adam West's voice role in "Beware the Gray Ghost," but as we chat about another two-parter it seems like a good time to bring it up again. These definitely feel like homages to that classic show. The majority of those were two-parters with the Dynamic Duo being in some sort of danger at the end of part one. The B: TAS two-parters veered away from this, instead focusing on deeper character studies of some iconic Bat villains. Is that the case with the two-parter we are looking at this post? We'll find out. But first...

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "See No Evil" and "Beware the Gray Ghost"

Batman: The Animated Series

I don't have a lot to say when it comes to the two episodes that are covered in this blog post. I don't have any pithy observations of the show itself. So, I guess I'll just say that these are two pretty great episodes and it was a treat to re-watch them. 

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Heart of Ice" and "The Cat and the Claw" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

Before we dive into the next exceptional episodes of B: TAS, there was one thing I wanted to mention. I noticed it when watching "Two-Face". I even put it in my notes, but for some reason forgot to bring it up. Then, it appeared again in "Heart of Ice." B: TAS does these painted scenes, where the main figure is still, but there is motion somewhere else. In "Two-Face" there was a close up shot of Two-Face's face while he read, his eyes following the lines on the page the only movement. In "Heart of Ice," there is a close up of Freeze's face, his glowing red eyes blinking. It is a cool touch and it is something that really hearkens back to the old Max Fleischer "Superman" cartoons.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "It's Never Too Late" and "I've Got Batman In My Basement"

Batman: The Animated Series

Another thing that differentiated B: TAS from other animated series of the time was that it wasn't afraid to use guns firing real bullets. Other animated series of the time like X-Men and Spider-Man didn't use actual guns with bullets. The guards, police, etc used blasters. The fact that the thugs and gangsters that Batman is encountering on a nightly basis are firing on him with actual guns upped the ante and really reinforced the dangers that he was facing. This helped push the series to the next level.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Be a Clown" and "Two-Face" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

B: TAS was different from a lot of animated shows on at the time or before. It wasn't afraid to tell adult stories. It didn't try to dumb things down for it's audience. It told stories with legitimate pathos. It refused to tie things up with a neat bow in 22 minutes, or in some cases, 44 minutes. That's right, it also told two part stories and we've reached the first of those two parters in our B: TAS rewatch and it is one of, if not the best, of the bunch. But first...

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "P.O.V." and "The Forgotten"

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman was always the star of B:TAS. If I recall correctly, he appeared in costume in every single episode. I didn't check that, so feel free to take me to task in the comments if I'm wrong. He wasn't always the focal point of every episode though. The show did a great job of focusing on the ancillary characters in Batman's orbit, from his sidekicks, to his villains, to the police, to Bruce Wayne himself. The writers trusted that the audience would remain engaged as long as the stories being told were good ones. One of the episodes featured in today's post is a great example of that. The other doesn't feature Batman very much.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Pretty Poison" and "The Underdwellers"

Batman: The Animated Series

These two episodes are an interesting dichotomy. The first is in my top ten favorite B:TAS episodes of all time. The second is by far my least favorite and maybe one of the worst episodes the series ever produced. I don't think I've ever watched them back to back and doing so really made the faults in the second that much more glaring.

"I Am The Night" Rewatch: "Nothing to Fear" and "The Last Laugh"

Batman: The Animated Series

Welcome back! It's time to take a look back at the next two episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series." I should have said this before but going forward I'll be using the abbreviation B:TAS, which I'm sure you all would have picked up on, but just in case.

When I was thinking about the visual aesthetic of B:TAS, one thing I forgot to mention, is that making the choice to sort of mix the past and the present, the look of the show is pretty timeless. It doesn't feel dated watching the show now. When you look at "X-Men: The Animated Series", it doesn't age quite as well. The stories are great, but looking at the fashion, etc, it is very early 90's which is a little knock against it, even though I'm a huge fan.

These two episodes introduce a new villain and feature the return of a second after a very brief hiatus.

The Truth Is Out There X-Files Rewatch: Season Two

The X-Files: The Second Season

The second season of the X-Files premiered on September 16, 1994 and became a bonafide hit. It rose in the ratings every week and in total viewership. It climbed overall from 111 to 63 out of all shows on television at the time. That is not too shabby for a series that aired on Friday nights.

The second season also solidified a formula that would be relatively successful for the series moving forward. Mulder and Scully confront an unexplainable problem. They encounter roadblocks, sometimes thrown in their way by the very government they serve. The problem either resolves itself on it's own or with some help from the titular agents. Rinse. Repeat. This may seem like a critique, but it's really not, especially in these early seasons. Each episode, even at it's most ridiculous, is suspenseful. If there was one thing that holds this season back a little bit, it's that, aside from one or two episodes, humor is largely missing from these 25 episodes. The inclusion of that humor and sort of wink at the audience is what makes season 3 the best of the series. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

Without further adieu, let's take a quick look at season 2. Just like with season 1, we will break it down by mythology, the best MotW and the few you should skip. Perfect for a quick binge.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "On Leather Wings" and "Christmas With the Joker"

Batman: The Animated Series

I've had an almost lifelong love of comic books that has only grown as I've gotten older. The first movie that I remember clearly seeing in theaters was Tim Burton's "Batman" in 1989. I was six years old. That was the spark that really got me going. For a long time, I was all about the Dark Knight. "Batman" was just the beginning. Then, there was "Batman Returns" which I loved even more than the first, mainly because of Catwoman. 

The premiere of "Batman: The Animated Series" on September 6, 1992 was the thing that cemented my forever love of Batman and to this day is the best presentation of the character as far as I am concerned and I'm sure it's the same for anyone who grew up watching the show. When I'm reading a Batman comic it's Kevin Conroy's voice I hear in my head when Batman speaks or Mark Hamill's when The Joker is detailing his latest evil scheme. It's not just them. It's any of the iconic voices that voice casting director Andrea Romano introduced us to. 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of "Batman: the Animated Series" so I thought now would be the perfect time to revisit the show and review each episode. The plan is to do two episodes per blog post. I'll be counting double episodes as one so I can get each part in the same post. I'm also going to be going through the episodes in DVD order, which I believe is production order, rather than air date. I also know that people have strong opinions about this beloved series and these reviews are going to be super subjective. I encourage anyone who reads these to comment, question, etc., just be respectful. This is just my opinion. So, here we go.

X-Position: Halfway There

The Gifted: Episode 2, "rX"
The Gifted: Episode 3, "eXodus"
The Gifted: Episode 4, "eXit strategy"
The Gifted: Episode 5, "boXed in"

Ugh. I know guys. I'm the worst. I fall behind on episodes and then these fall behind. It's like a domino effect. So, instead of going over each episode individually, let's take a look at how the season is shaping up so far now that we are at the midway point.

Star Trek for Dummies: Boldly Going

Star Trek: Discovery: Episode 3, "Context Is For Kings"

Aaahhh!! I know! I'm so behind. I'm the worst. I'm going to make lots of excuses. Life, etc, blah, blah, blah. I am not going to make any false promises, like this will never happen again, because we all know that it will. I will try to be better. Without further adieu, let's dive right in.

X-Position: The Gifted Series Premiere Recap

The Gifted, Episode 1: "eXposed"

Considering that the first X-Men film came out in 2000, it's been a long road to get Marvel's Merry Mutants any live action play on the small screen. They have seen quite a bit of success in animated form, from the 90's animated series, which gets a small audio shout out in tonight's series premiere, to "X-Men Evolution" to the more recent "Wolverine and the X-Men." Prior to the debut of FX's mind-bending "Legion" last year, the only true mutant property to get the live-action small screen treatment was "Generation X" and the less said about that disaster the better. 

I've already watched one comic book pilot stink up my television screen in less than a week, "Marvel's Inhumans" I'm looking directly at you, so I was a little trepidatious when I fired up this first episode. After spending an hour with this show, it looks as if, the wait for more flesh and blood X-characters on television was well worth it.

Star Trek for Dummies: Necessary Backstory?

Star Trek: Discovery: Episode 2, "Battle at the Binary Stars"

One thing I failed to mention when I was talking about the first episode of this prologue were the lens flares. Oh the lens flares. After taking a hiatus during "Star Trek: Beyond" they are back in full force. I didn't notice them so much in this episode, but they are pretty distracting and unnecessary. This isn't a JJ Abrams production.

The title of this episode also reminded me of that old '70's/80's show, "Battle of the Network Stars." I kept waiting for the cast of "The Big Bang Theory" to show up and challenge the crew and the Klingons to a three-legged space race, followed by a tug of war.

Marvel's Inumans Premiere React: Inhumanly Bad

Marvel's Inhumans, Episodes 1/2: "Behold... The Inhumans; "Those Who Would Destroy Us"

Before we jump into what happened tonight on the two hour premier of "Marvel's Inhumans," let's flashback a moment to the halcyon days of 2014. In October of that year, Marvel held a press conference to announce their planned Phase Three films. We heard about Captain America: Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok and the Infinity War Films. They also announced Inhumans. That's right. In case you had forgotten, Inhumans was supposed to be a part of Phase Three. It made sense at the time. The Inhumans are very similar to mutants and it was understandable that Marvel would want to find mutant adjacent characters that they could work into their cinematic universe since 20th Century Fox would not be releasing their hold on the mighty mutants anytime soon.

During the second season of ABC's "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD," which premiered about a month prior to this press conference, the Inhumans made their debut. I remember it struck me as a tad odd that Marvel would debut the Inhumans on this show that was pretty far from a ratings smash and then transition it to the big screen. It wasn't long before the film was pulled from Marvel's release schedule and then last year it was announced that Inumans would be a television show with the double sized premiere being shown in IMAX theaters a month before it's network debut. 

Early buzz has not been great. People were not impressed by the on set photos, Medusa's wig, the trailer, Medusa's wig, reactions from an early Comic-Con showing were abysmal, Medusa's wig, poor special effects and did I mention Medusa's wig? Throughout all this, I hoped that maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought it was going to be. Well, it premiered tonight, I just finished watching and spoiler alert....

Star Trek for Dummies: The premiere of Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery, Episode 1: "The Vulcan Hello"

As nerds, geeks, dorks, whatever term you choose, I feel like when it comes to certain fandoms we all have our blind spots. I'll admit that I have two big ones. The first being "Doctor Who." I promise Doctor loving friends who may read this, I will get through Christopher Eccleston's season sometime before I die. Maybe. Actually, scratch that. No promises. 

The other was "Star Trek." When I was younger, I definitely gravitated towards the other sci-fi franchise with "Star" in the name. There was just something about a farm boy with a destiny, James Earl Jones, a scoundrel and a princess that really appealed to me. I didn't have anything against "Star Trek" but I just never got into it and when I have tried to step into it, the amount of material just feels really overwhelming. 

I'm not totally ignorant to the world of the Trek. It has become so immersed in our popular culture that even people who haven't followed it are familiar. I know about Vulcans and Tribbles and the Federation. I can name most of the cast of TNG and the OG. I know about Spock. I've seen all of the rebooted movies and enjoyed them for the most part. The less said about "Into Darkness" the better. I've even seen a few of the original movies and the ones featuring the TNG cast. Although, "Star Trek: Insurrection" is the first movie I remember walking out during the middle of, so maybe the less said about those the better.

When I heard that CBS was bringing the Star Trek franchise back to television with involvement from Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, American Gods) one of my favorite writer/producers, I thought that this was the perfect time to jump in. Fuller ended up leaving the project after clashing with CBS, but his broad story outline remained. After hearing more about the diverse cast, I decided that I was still going to give it a go and now the time has come. I thought it would be fun to write about the show from the perspective of someone new to the series, so here we go. The first episode of "Star Trek: Discovery."

The Truth Is Out There X-Files Rewatch: Season One

The X-Files: The First Season

On September 10, 1993, audiences first met FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Played by relative unknowns, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, there was no way of knowing that they were about to embark on a fascinating, funny, tedious and frustrating journey that would span 9 season and two movies. Fox revived it's seminal sci-fi series last year for a 6 episode run and it proved successful enough to warrant a second go round that is expected to premiere early next year.

There was no way of knowing at the time that the show would become the worldwide phenomenon it is today. That it's catchphrases would be spewed by everyone from hardcore fans to people who have maybe never watched an episode before. So much of the show's DNA has been ingrained into our popular culture. The believer and the skeptic. The will they/won't they back and forth. Little gray men. "The truth is out there." The show has inspired almost every sci-fi show that has come after it and it's rabid fan base is still as passionate about the show as it was when the show first premiered 24 years ago.

As we prepare to re-open the X-Files once again, let's take a look at the show season by season, starting with the one that started it all. These look backs will be structured in a way to help people who maybe want to binge the show but aren't sure they can make it through 208 episodes and 2 feature length films before the show returns early next year. So, we will take a look at each season's mythology episodes, the very best standalone episodes, better known as "Monster of the Week episodes, the season has to offer, the episodes you can skip and end with an overall grade.

Now, without further adieu, let's go back to where it all began.

Stop! Collaborate and Listen: Native Invader by Tori Amos

Tori Amos, Native Invader

This was not the record that Tori Amos initially planned on making. Last summer, she took a trip with her family through the old Smoky Mountains and songs began to take shape. Then, two things happened that caused her to make some changes. The first: Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election. The second: Her beloved mother, Mary Ellen Amos, suffered a stroke in January, leaving her without the ability to speak. So, the album Tori had planned on making was pushed to the side and the muses brought her to her 15th studio album, "Native Invader," which, song-for-song, is one of the strongest in her impressive catalogue.