Ironically, Batman: The Animated Series looks better in stills than it does in motion. The artists fail to stylize the movements of the characters to match the dramatic settings, as Genndy Tartakovsky and his crew did in Samurai Jack. Batman uses sophisticated computers to combat the well-known villains--the Joker, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman--as well as some less celebrated baddies: Manbat, Clayface, The Mad Hatter. The bad guys cram a lot of plotting and scheming into each 22-minute episode, but the violence is kept to a broadcast standards minimum.

The Dark Knight's First Knight easily ranks as the most interesting of the extras. Producers Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski recount the genesis of the series, and show their mini-pilot, which is more violent and more fully animated. If the complete episodes had matched the pilot, the series would have been much more exciting. (Unrated, suitable for ages 8 and older: violence, mild grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon

BTAS was released as children's programming originally, but the animators, directors, and writers turned it into something of adult complexity (not that kids don't love it too, but adults tend to be the biggest fans, mostly comic book lovers). Freed of the constraints of selling toys, the filmmakers created an intricate show that was true to the dark, psychological side of Batman and his adversaries. Instead of sticking to boring formulas usually associated with animated TV shows, the writers made sure each episode was something unique, and kept drama always at the forefront. The animation is spectacular and fluid, the action scenes have a kick to them superior to many movies, and the orchestral scores contribute to the feeling of something special.

Not all the episodes are great, of course, and some of the early ones in this package show the creative team struggling to discover the direction and tone of the show. But most episodes are good to excellent in quality. The writing team did a spectacular job at fleshing out minor baddies like Mr. Freeze, The Clock King, and The Mad Hatter into the full-fledged great villains with complex motivations. The voice work by familiar TV and movie actors also raises the quality of the characterizations. For many people, Kevin Conroy IS Batman...his dark, edgy voice is forever rooted to the character.

Here is a breakdown of the episodes and features on the four discs:

DISC 1: Contains episodes "On Leather Wings," "Christmas with the Joker," "Nothing to Fear," "The Last Laugh," "Pretty Poison," "The Underdwellers," and "P.O.V." The first episode is the best on this disc, with Batman facing the fearsome Man-Bat. The show really hit the ground running, but the immediate follow-ups are a bit weak. "P.O.V." has moments of interest because of its unusual structure, and "Nothing to Fear" has a great finale, but the two Joker episodes are particularly poor; the show hadn't quite figured out its style yet. Also on this disc is commentary by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski for "On Leather Wings," and a two-minute demo they did to sell the look of the series.

DISC 2: Contains episodes "The Forgotten," "Be a Clown," "Two Face (Parts 1&2)," "It's Never Too Late," "I've Got Batman in My Basement," and "Heart of Ice." The last is one of the most popular episode of the series, introducing the fantastic re-imagining of Mr. Freeze as a tragic figure. "Two-Face" is also a superb villain origin story. The other episodes are minor, with a poor Joker and Penguin episode, but "It's Never Too Late" is an interesting non-super-villain story. The bonus feature on this disc is a great 18-minute documentary about the series, with interviews with the producers, writers, and some of the actors. There's also audio commentary on "Heart of Ice" with Timm, Radomski, and writer Paul Dini.

DISC 3: Contains episodes "The Cat and the Claw (Parts 1&2)," "See No Evil," "Beware of the Gray Ghost," "Prophecy of Doom," and "Feat of Clay (Parts 1&2)." The show was clearly taking off at this point; only "Prophecy of Doom" is a poor episode. "Beware the Gray Ghost" brings back Adam West to the Batman series, and is one of the most inspirational of all the episodes. "Feat of Clay" contains stunning animation, and "Cat and Claw" gives us the wonderful relationship between Batman and Catwoman. The bonus feature is a Batcave tour, basically a few screens of text and some connected montages of images from the show.

DISC 4: Contains episodes "The Joker's Favor," "Vendetta," "Fear of Victory," "The Clock King," "Appointment in Crime Alley," "Mad as a Hatter," and "Dreams in Darkness." Two lesser villains, Clock King and Mad Hatter, become the focus of great episodes. "The Joker's Favor" is one of the best Joker episodes, and introduces Harley Quinn, who would become one of the show's most popular creations. The two Scarecrow episodes aren't much, however. The bonus feature is a plug for some of the other DC heroes.

One warning: If you buy this package, be prepared to see your free time get drained away! It's impossible to stop watching episodes once you start, and most of them reward multiple viewings. Recommended as a MUST for all animation and super-hero fans.


Not the whole First Season   May 11, 2004
 95 out of 117 found this review helpful

But the episode list I've seen are still some excellent episodes of season one, plus commentaries. A far cry better than the 2-4 episode disks they've been teasing us with for years.

'The four-disc set of Batman: The Animated Series Vol. 1 will include 28 episodes of the dark knight. The series will be presented in Full Screen just as it was on TV and will feature stereo sound tracks.

Commentaries for select episodes by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Eric Rodomski will be part of the extras. As well as, Batman: The Legacy Continues featurette, Dark Knight's First Night featurette, Tour of the Batcave and trailers for Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, Challenge of the Superfriends, and Justice League: Star Crossed.

This potential episode list is according to our friends (...)

Disc 1: "On Leather Wings" (Commentary with Bruce Timm, Paul Dini & Eric Rodomski), "Christmas With the Joker", "Nothing to Fear", "The Last Laugh", "Pretty Poison", "The Underdwellers", and "P.O.V.". FEATURETTE: "The Dark Knight's First Night".

Disc 2: "The Forgotten", "Be a Clown", "Two-Face (Part 1)", "It's Never Too Late", "I've Got Batman in My Basement", "The Cat and the Claw (Part 1)", and "Heart of Ice" (Commentary with Bruce Timm, Paul Dini & Eric Rodomski). FEATURETTE: "Batman: The Legacy Continues".

Disc 3: "See No Evil", "The Cat and the Claw (Part 2)", "Two-Face (Part 2)", "Beware the Gray Ghost", "Prophecy of Doom", "Feat of Clay (Part 1)", and "Feat of Clay (Part 2)". FEATURETTE: "Tour of the Batcave".

Disc 4: "Joker's Favor", "Vendetta", "Fear of Victory", "The Clock King", "Appointment in Crime Alley", "Mad as a Hatter", and "Dreams in Darkness". TRAILERS: "Other Super Hero Favorites" (promos for Challenge of the Superfriends, Justice League - Star Crossed, and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman).'


official episode list   June 24, 2004
 51 out of 52 found this review helpful

These are presented in 'logical' order, which resembles production order with some tweaks. For instance, Two-face part 1 and Two-face part 2 were not put into production back to back, but obviously it wouldn't make any sense to put them on separate DVDs.

501 On Leather Wings (Commentary by ERIC RODOMSKI and BRUCE TIMM)
502 Christmas with the Joker
503 Nothing to Fear
504 The Last Laugh
505 Pretty Poison
506 The Underdwellers
507 P.O.V.
508 Forgotten
509 Be a Clown
510 Two-Face Part 1
517 Two-Face Part 2
511 It's Never Too Late
512 I've Got Batman in My Basement
514 Heart of Ice (Commentary by PAUL DINI, ERIC RODOMSKI and BRUCE TIMM)
513 Cat and Claw Part 1
516 Cat and Claw Part 2
515 See No Evil
518 Beware of Gray Ghost
519 Prophecy of Doom
520 Feat of Clay Part 1
521 Feat of Clay Part 2
522 Joker's Favor
523 Vendetta
524 Fear of Victory
525 The Clock King
526 Appointment in Crime Alley
527 Mad As a Hatter
528 Dreams in Darkness


The Best Batman Ever   July 6, 2004
 33 out of 38 found this review helpful

This series is just terrific! From scripts, voices, backgrounds and character designs we're likely to never see anything as boldly produced in TV animation for a long time, if ever. It's a treat for Batman's legion of fans, animation nuts as well as those who just enjoy great stories. Ultimately that's what makes the series so successful, the deeply emotional and complex stories/characters. It's impossible to forget the heart-wrentching episode "Heart Of Ice", or the dramatic story of Two Face's creation, or the Batman centered "Appointment In Crime Alley" once you've seen them. These stories (and many others in the series) stay with you and become mythic. Just as a great Batman story should.

From a technical standpoint the episodes hold up very well. Some episodes contain quie a bit of grain, but in a show that is set in a timeless retro-future world, it actually helps create a sense that these shows have been been around for ages. Each disc in this four disc set contains seven episodes and one bonus feature. The bonus features included are:

"The Dark Knight's First Night" - Pilot promo Hosted by Bruce Timm
"Batman: The Legacy Continues" - A look at how the show came to be with it's creators
"Tour of the Batcave" - Short video clips about various aspects of Batman
"Other DC Super Hero Favorites" - Trailers for the Superfriends DVD, Justice League and Mystery of the Batwoman

By far the best of these features are the first two. Also included are commentaries for the episodes "On Leather Wings" and "Heart Of Ice" both of which are done very well.

My one big complaint (and the reason I'm not giving 5 stars) is that the episodes are not presented in the order of their original airdate or even in their order of prduction. The episodes seem to be almost ordered randomly, though two parters are kept together. Disc one starts off with episode 2 then jumps all the way to episode 38, then back to 10, 15, 9, 27 and finally 13! This makes watching the shows evolution extremely difficult. Another gripe, there are no chapter stops for the episodes. Neither of these problems should stop someone from buying the set, but it does detract from the DVD experience.

Shows - 5 stars
DVD presentation - 4 stars


Finally Warner Bros. Sets The Bat On The Right Flight Path!   April 30, 2004
 32 out of 33 found this review helpful

Inspired by the 1989 motion picture "Batman", which in turn was primarily based on the works of Batman creator Bob Kane and comics legend Frank Miller ("The Dark Knight Returns"), Batman: The Animated Series (which debuted in September 1992) unintentionally became the new standard of animation with its revolutionary visuals and phenomenal storytelling.

Helmed by visionaries Bruce W. Timm, Paul Dini and Eric Rodomski, the series crafted top-notch stories and original characters (Dini's "Harley Quinn") that appealed to viewers of all ages, cast quality voice actors (Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Adrienne Barbeau, Bob Hastings just to name a few) and featured action that was a cut above the action shown in some of the Batman feature films.

After years of teasing Batfans with the limited episode Batman DVDs, Warner Bros. finally comes correct with a box set that is sure to please even the hardest of the hardcore Batfans. This set features the show's first 28 episodes. Here is the official Batman: The Animated Series Volume 1 set list of episodes from Warner Bros. For the most part, the episodes are released in production order, with some exceptions. The production numbers are listed (5xx).

01. 501 On Leather Wings (Commentary by Eric Rodomski and Bruce Timm)
02. 502 Christmas with the Joker
03. 503 Nothing to Fear
04. 504 The Last Laugh
05. 505 Pretty Poison
06. 506 The Underdwellers
07. 507 P.O.V.
08. 508 Forgotten
09. 509 Be a Clown
10. 510 Two-Face Part 1
11. 517 Two-Face Part 2
12. 511 It's Never Too Late
13. 512 I've Got Batman in My Basement
14. 514 Heart of Ice (Commentary by Paul Dini, Eric Rodomski, Bruce Timm)
15. 513 Cat and Claw Part 1
16. 516 Cat and Claw Part 2
17. 515 See No Evil
18. 518 Beware of Gray Ghost
19. 519 Prophecy of Doom
20. 520 Feat of Clay Part 1
21. 521 Feat of Clay Part 2
22. 522 Joker's Favor
23. 523 Vendetta
24. 524 Fear of Victory
25. 525 The Clock King
26. 526 Appointment in Crime Alley
27. 527 Mad As a Hatter
28. 528 Dreams in Darkness

The discs will be configured as follows:
Disc 1: Episodes: 1-7
Disc 2: Episodes: 8-14
Disc 3: Episodes: 15-21
Disc 4: Episodes: 22-28

Warner Bros. is getting down!