"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.