"I Am the Night" Re-watch: "Holiday Knights" & "Sins of the Father"

 The New Batman Adventures

We have made it to season 4 of "Batman: The Animated Series," which is technically the only season of "The New Batman Adventures." It was a continuation of the original B: TAS that premiered on Kids WB rather than Fox Kids on September 13, 1997. If you were a fan of B: TAS, you will find a lot to like here. It's basically the same show with some updates. "The New Batman Adventures" updated the animation style of B: TAS a little bit. Rather than continue with the Art Deco style of the original, it made things a little more modern. There were new character designs and things were a little grittier than they were in the original series. Batman's sidekicks played a much larger role in this series especially Batgirl. Dick Grayson evolved into Nightwing and Tim Drake became the new Robin. The voice cast from the original B: TAS carried over except for Melissa Gilbert who voiced Batgirl. She was voiced by Tara Strong, who would become the voice of Harley Quinn when Arleen Sorkin retired.

[Bruce Wayne backs up and falls down an elevator shaft]

Harley Quinn: "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! We-we killed him!... Oh well. 

Poison Ivy: "We were going to do it anyway."

Harley Quinn: "We got his credit cards; what's to worry?"

It's the holidays in Gotham City. For this premiere episode we are treated to three holiday themed vignettes, featuring some of our favorite Gotham City characters. First off, to spice up a humdrum holiday season, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy kidnap Bruce Wayne and take themselves on a shopping spree using the Wayne fortune. In the second, Batgirl helps out a police stakeout trying to apprehend some juvenile shoplifters hiding a big, muddy secret. In the final one, Batman and Robin try to stop Joker from setting off a bomb on New Year's Eve.

This is the Happiest Season movie I want.

This is sort of an odd episode to begin the series with. Chronologically it takes place after a couple of later episodes one of them being Tim Drake's origin story which we will be talking about next. As far as these three vignettes go, the first one is by far my favorite. You can't go wrong with Harley and Ivy teaming up. Teaming up to spend Bruce Wayne's money to give themselves a merry Christmas is even better. This is really funny. I love the fashion montage at "Bergduff's" and Bruce's annoyed grunts and looks as he signs the credit card receipts are icing on the cake. The final action sequence at the toy store is good. Ivy and Harley aren't fucking around one towing the Dark Knight with an oversized boxing glove and a mallet. We also get our first looks at the new designs. They are fine. They feel less detailed than the original ones. I don't love Ivy's, I think it's supposed to be green tinted skin and while I enjoy Bruce's new suit, his blue eyes weird me out.

The Batgirl vignette is fine. Bullock and Montoya playing the worst Santa and his sexiest elf is good for a few laughs. The reveal that the juvenile delinquents are actually Clayface constructs he's controlling is cool and how can Clayface do this, well we will find out in a subsequent episode. I do think it's a little odd that the GCPD is using two of its best officers to do this and that they are chasing what they think to be children with guns, but... here we are.

The final vignette has Joker going on tv saying that his New Year's resolution is to give up killing but tonight he's going to kill as many people as he can. This one is perfectly serviceable. Batman and Robin quickly deduce that Joker is going to try to bomb Gotham's NYC style NYE celebration where everyone is wearing Joker masks, because why not. We get our first taste of Batman and Tim Drake's Robin in action and it's fine. It doesn't feel too much different than Dick honestly, but what are you going to do. I will take this time to say I hate the Joker design. His skin looks blue, which is a common thing when they are trying to make it look white. His eyes are beady. No red lips for his smile. It's not great.

The episode ends with Batman and Commissioner Gordon sharing a coffee and Batman doing his disappearing act and it's cute and heartwarming.

Grade: B

Bruce Wayne: "You work with me, Tim, you follow the rules. Rule Number One: You give me everything you've got. Rule Number Two: Then you give me more. And Rule Number Three: I make the rules."

Dick Grayson: "Watch that last one, kid. It's a killer."

Tim Drake has been abandoned by his deadbeat, criminal dad, left to fend for himself using a stolen Batarang. When he's kidnapped by Two-Face's goons and interrogated, Batman shows up for the save, but it's Tim who ends up saving Batman and getting into the Batcave. He learns Batman's secret identity and when Batgirl and Batman leave to track down Two-Face and figure out why he's looking for Tim's dad, Tim tags along dressed as Robin. Is the Dynamic Duo reborn or will the partnership be over before it even starts?

Killing kids.

This episode sees the introduction Tim Drake, the second Robin of B: TAS but the third Robin in comics and the Robin that was partnered with Batman in the comics when this was airing. Tim's origin here is vastly different than his comics origin. In fact, it's closer to the origin of the second Robin, Jason Todd. In the comics, Tim and his family are in the audience when the Flying Graysons are killed. His parents are very much alive when he becomes Robin, basically deducing Bruce Wayne's secret identity. Jason Todd is a street hoodlum who tries to steal the tires of the Batmobile and ends up getting taken in by the Dark Knight. Tim's origin is a little boring so I get why they would pull from Jason's and it makes more sense for the show to have Tim be Bruce's new ward, which he couldn't be if he had archaeologist parents. I'll allow it. I don't remember a lot of these episodes, so I do hope that they show that Tim does have deductive reasoning since it's kind of what separates him from the other Robins.

This is a fine episode and a better example of what you can expect from The New Batman Adventures than "Holiday Knights." TNBA is a little grittier than what we've come to expect from B: TAS. Tim is finding for himself. His dad is deadbeat that probably ends up dead. The show doesn't sugar coat that and neither does Batman. He's a little colder than he was in B: TAS. Not that he was warm and fuzzy there, but there was some warmth which he has sort of dispensed with. There is a great exchange between Batgirl and Bats about Tim's upbringing and Batman's lack of sympathy. It's wonderful.

The episode does a good job setting up what Tim and Bruce's relationship will be. He's definitely mouthier than Dick. Less likely to just obey. It feels like Bruce will be harder on him. There is also sort of a mystery as to why Dick left and a semi cliffhanger when Dick returns at the end of the episode. The action scenes are still top notch and it's nice to see Batgirl more involved in what is going on.

There are a couple of odd things. Where did Tim get that Batarang? I thought Batman kept close watch on those. It was strange that Batman was out of it enough to need Tim's help but he was able to engage the autopilot and he was A-OK with Tim getting into the Batcave and by extension Wayne Manor. Hmmm....

A decent episode overall and those are just nitpicks.

Grade: B+

Next up, Tim dives into the deep end as the new Dynamic Duo face Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow for the first time.

Do you all remember this? Aside from "Mad Love," are there any TNBA episodes that really stand out to you? Let me know in the comments.