Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of April 10 – April 15/16, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”
THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “WHERE’S BATMAN/SUPERMAN ON NEXT YEAR’S KIDSWB SCHEDULE???”
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YAYYYYYY US!
On April 3, 2000 we welcomed in our 1700th subscriber! Whooo!!!!
Thank you to everyone for supporting us over the past 22 months! Here’s to 22 more! (Really! It HAS been 22 months! This ain’t just a Two-Face joke here, I swear!)
Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
-editor extraordinaire
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MAKE US LOOK LIKE FOOLS AND SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT!
Yep, you heard right! Ever since the issue #1, my hasty editing procedures have always left not just a few, but sometimes a whole horde of simple errors, grammatical problems, untrue facts, and whatnot. Just no typos – you’ve gotta be more creative than that! Here’s where YOU come in. If you can find any mistakes in this issue (we’re not purposely making mistakes – any mistakes you find will be ones we were too blind to see), we’ll print your name in the following issue in a special column. Sound fun?
Come on. Make us look like idiots. We dare ya. Grrrr.
-Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
the tremendously warped editor
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THOSE WHO POINTED OUT OUR FAULTS
BUCKY WEBB
-One minor error in our “Sneak Peek” review.
CRAIG “GOOKIE” CRUMPTON
-He pointed out too many mini-faults in our last issue. Note: A mini-fault one eighth the size of a regular fault.
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING…
New episodes are on the horizon! Here’s what we can expect in the near future…
NO NEW EPISODES ARE ON THE HORIZON. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. REALLY.
For synopses of all other upcoming second season BATMAN BEYOND episodes, check out of BTAN at this address:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES air Mondays thru Saturday; BATMAN BEYOND also airs on these days. Check local listings each day for what show is on at what time.
http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/cmp/episodes.html
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/
http://www.ktla.com/backstage/programming/kids_framed.frm
NOTE:
If our schedule is not updated, then go to the following URL. It will ALWAYS contain the most up-to-date schedule possible.
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Taping/2928/airdate.htm
THIS WEEK:
Mon 04-10-00: Batman #95 Torch Song
B-BEYOND #26 Terry’s Friend Dates a Robot
Tue 04-11-00: Batman #98 Mean Seaons
Wed 04-12-00: Batman #18 Beware the Grey Ghost
Superman #28 Father’s Day
Thu 04-13-00: Superman #47 Obsession
Batman #99 Critters
Fri 04-14-00: B-BEYOND #31 Armory
Sat 04-15-00: Batman #101 Animal Act
B-BEYOND #33 Plague —————> NEW!!!
All episodes #86 and onward of BATMAN are considered THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES while the original 85 are considered BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS) episodes.
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CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and BEYOND on YTV)
(courtesy of our friends at YTV)
-To find the episode guide and airing schedule of BATMAN and BATMAN BEYOND on YTV then please go to http://www.ytv.com and click on the YTV GUIDE icon at the bottom of the screen. To check out the schedule then click on BATMAN or BATMAN BEYOND in the time grid and it will have the schedule for the current week.
BTAS will air at Noon on weekdays (in all time zones), and BATMAN BEYOND will air at 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. YTV has the rights to show all 109 BTAS episodes. They also have the rights to air the first 26 episodes of BATMAN BEYOND (all of season 1 and the first half of season 2).
YTV will be making some schedule alterations very soon. Thanx to WF’s official newsman Mr. Eye, we were able to get a hold of some of them! And here they are…
THIS WEEK:
Mon 04-10-00: BTAS #56 Harley & Ivy
Tue 04-11-00: BTAS #53 The Mechanic
Wed 04-12-00: BTAS #51 The Man Who Killed Batman
Thu 04-13-00: BTAS #54 Zatanna
Fri 04-14-00: BTAS #32 Robin’s Reckoning (Pt. 1)
Sat 04-15-00: BEYOND #19 Hidden Agenda
Sun 04-16-00: BEYOND #20 Once Burned
NEXT WEEK:
Check out http://www.ytv.com for updated schedules for this week!
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz)
THE CARTOON NETWORK was able to get the exclusive rights to 52 episodes of the classic BTAS, as well as both animated movies. Since April 3rd, BTAS has aired Monday-Friday at 5pm (ET) and then repeated again at midnight. If our schedule listings is not complete or up to date then please go to either of these sites for the schedule:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
http://homes.acmecity.com/animation/saturday/352/schedule.html
To see the 52 episodes that the CARTOON NETWORK does show, go to this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/eplists/batman-cn.html
NOTE: The schedules at Brian Cruz’ site are currently unavailable; if anyone knows of any other place where people can get listings for BTAS on the Cartoon Network, please e-mail us!
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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
All of Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton’s reviews of the new-style BTAS episodes and BATMAN BEYOND can be found via these links, which link to “Two-Face’s Tower of Tranquility and Terror”:
MAIN PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BTAS PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFaceText/bats.html
The creative “team” for this column alternates between Zanna and Justin Chen, two loyal subscribers and great friends of ours here. Any other reviews printed here are written by editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton. Enjoy!
THE EGGBABY
Story by Hilary J. Bader and Alan Burnett
Written by Hilary J. Bader
Directed by James Tucker
Animation by Koko, Dong Yang
Original airdate: April 1, 2000
My rating: **** (Out of five stars)
Ma Mayhem and her two sons have been stealing rubies all over Gotham. Batman is on their trail and he also has a new sidekick.
Terry’s Family Studies class project involves caring for a computerized Eggbaby. This device simulates the needs and reactions of a baby and registers the care and attention its caregivers show the “Baby”. Blade is his teacher-assigned family partner. She has no maternal instincts or desire to care for the “Baby”. Terry is forced to be the sole caregiver of this Eggbaby or fail the course. Much to Bruce’s dismay, Terry must take his “Baby” along on his Batman patrols, even when chasing the Mayhem gang.
This was a very funny and enjoyable episode. It doesn’t have a dark edge or major dramatic plot, but its decidedly whimsical storyline was very entertaining. The writers had many opportunities to write in comical lines and they did so without dragging the story to a screeching halt.
The scene when Bruce first hears the Eggbaby in the Batmobile was priceless.
Even a short scene was laced with humor, such as the scene where Batman hides the “Baby” in the dumpster and then must rescue it before the trash is hauled away.
Blade’s part was written exactly as a self-centered high school queen would act. Terry’s reaction to her lack of maternal participation was perfect. “I WANT A DIVORCE!”
Bruce got a significant amount of airtime and some great lines, too. The way he responded to Terry when Terry was looking for a babysitter was perfect Bruce. His references to things long past were funny when used on Dick Grayson and just as funny when he uses them on Terry. Teasing Terry about the omelet was funny, too.
The action sequences were well done both in writing and drawing. It was amusing to watch Terry and his “Baby” get in and out of the various situations that occurred. Watching and hearing the Eggbaby’s reactions was funny too.
Terry’s facial expressions in the last scene back in the classroom were amusing and the scene was a good way to end the episode.
Just two points…
Batman has fought large, powerful criminals before, but this time, Carl and his mom seemed almost too strong for his power-enhanced suit to handle. Since this episode was played for laughs, and sometimes he was handicapped by carrying the Eggbaby, his difficulty in fighting them can be explained, but it does stretch believability.
Is Batman’s cowl a full-face cowl? It appears so, and yet, Batman’s smile/teeth can sometimes be seen and in this episode, he sticks his tongue out (nice touch, by the way).
All in all, this episode is a delightful romp and well worth watching.
Reviewed by Zanna
(Zanna_Z@NOSPAMyahoo.com remove NOSPAM to email)
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ZETA
Written by Robert Goodman
Directed by Dan Riba
Animation by Dong Yang, Koko
Original Air Date: April 8, 2000
Rating: **1/2 out of 5
DESCRIPTION: Batman hunts for a renegade military robot along with the government, until he discovers that it no longer wants to be a killing machine. Batman then has a change of heart and helps the robot escape.
HIGHS: Government covert-ops angle is cool, some good music.
LOWS: Rushed feel, shallow characterization, crappy animation.
The episode “Zeta” has only one purpose, to hype up a new series coming to the WB next season. Given this rather shameless goal, I wouldn’t have minded if it was a good episode. Unfortunately, it fails in that respect.
It starts out with Terry’s biology teacher acting strange. As she leaves campus, some construction workers pull out weapons and begin firing at her. The rather chubby woman displays surprising strength and agility by escaping into a nearby park. But as she runs off, her appearance begins to change. She’s no woman…she’s a robot.
The robot’s name is Zeta, and it is a highly advanced counter-terrorism synthoid that can produce a hologram of anyone it chooses to disguise itself. The “construction workers” are really NSA agents, and regard Zeta as renegade. The agents reveal just this much to Commisioner Barb Gordon, and Terry overhears all this in cooperation with the Commish, in a throwback to the old days. Back at school, Max is at the computer accessing classified NSA data. Dana enters and asks her a question about another student. Max forgets that student’s gender but Dana dismisses it. But Max isn’t really herself, Zeta has modeled his newest disguise after her. The real Max is being held hostage, but Zeta has taken care not to hurt her. Max discovers that Zeta no longer wants to be the killer it was meant to be, and takes pity on him. When Terry finds them, he too changes his mind, and from there on helps Zeta escape the government agents.
This ep had the potential to be good. Imagine it: A hardcore killer on assignment witnesses life and love while disguised as his target. He can’t bring himself to deprive his victim’s family of someone they love, and decides to go against his creators and everything he once stood for. Toss in an untrusting Batman and some high tech NSA spies, and it sounds like a recipe for success.
Unfortunately the episode never takes off, due to it’s very rushed feel. I would’ve much rather SEEN Zeta carrying out his missions rather than just hearing him ramble on about them. Everything is resolved too quickly, from Max’s rescue to Zeta’s escape. And naturally, a rushed ep leads to bad characterization. Zeta has no depth at all, when he gives up his weapons, it means very little, as he still has violence wired into him. Max actually hugs Zeta…if that was a last-ditch attempt to make him seem human, it didn’t work. He just stands there with no response. He might as well be a slab of rock. If this episode had been a two-parter (and yes I would’ve gladly given up some of these last ones for it) we could’ve seen the family that turned Zeta around, or more about the federal agents that are after them. As it is they serve as empty suits to get beaten up.
I’ve also heard complaints about the animation lately, and after sitting through several eps of this “digital” stuff, I can say it pales compared to the older kind. The colors are all washed out, and the atmosphere looks too bright. Not to mention that Bats has looked kind of weird in some season 2 eps. Even the season 1 bomb “Heroes” had slick visuals going for it, the bad ones now just plain suck. I wish TMS was doing the animation…they know how to handle CGI work. On the other hand, the sound was pretty good, in the scenes where you are supposed to feel for the character, the music comes close to making that happen, even if the onscreen action doesn’t.
This episode did get me thinking about Zeta, but in a negative light. More importantly we should wonder, are we losing Batman/Superman for this?
-Justin Chen, aka The Overseer
overseer@writemail.com
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EDITORIAL
(by Kelly Tindall)
cointoss@hotmail.com
THE MOUSE ROARS:
THE LITTLE VILLAINS MADE BIG
Okay, how many of us can honestly say we knew ANYTHING about most Batman villains before the Animated Series. I was as big a comic fan as any, but all I knew were the Joker, Catwoman, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Mr. Freeze. And not much about them, either.
Batman, of course, ruined all THAT for me. Not only did they serve up spicy helpings of steamy Catwoman, delicious Joker, poached Penguin, and peppery Riddler, they took the ‘little’ villains and made them into big stars on the small screen.
Take “On Leather Wings”…a fan-favorite character from the Seventies, turned into a heart- stopping, rampagin shrieking Man-Bat! What a way to kick things off! Who can forget the now-legendary “Heart of Ice”, where we put an origin and a curse to the man called Freeze.
And it just got better! It became a game with my brother and I to guess the villain from the title. Over the months, we met new friends like the sultry Poison Ivy and the slithering Scarecrow. I became re-acquianted with Killer Croc and learned about the key madness of The Ventriloquist. The Joker gained a new dimension and a new girlfriend, Harley Quinn. The Mad Hatter got a tender intro in our world, and the Riddler showed up after teasing us with snippets for months and months.
I was extremely happy that the writers took decent source material and made magic with it. The spark wasn’t quite the same when we met Calendar Girl and Firefly…maybe it was the animation style. The old one made it seem like we were riding on Batman’s back in a phantom nightmare from the Fourties…and the new one was today, shiny and new. Hard to say.
I look back on those Saturday mornings in 1992 as some of the happiest times in my life. Great television, sure…but something more. A spark ignited in my imagination, a spark which will one day burn as a raging fire. And for that, my eternal thanks.
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PUZZLING
by Kelly Tindall
Has ANYBODY ever got the Riddler right?
I was thinking about this as I drove hastily across the 14th Street bridge this afternoon. I mean, there have been so many incarnations that his true persona seems hopelessly lost.
I think the best passage about the quandary, the puzzle, that is the Riddler came from Paul Dini in the excellent (you should own this!) Batman: Animated. He detailed how frustrating it was to write a ‘gimmick’ villain like lil’ Eddie. Make the puzzles too smart, you alienate the crowd, but make ’em too stupid and you lose Riddler’s edge.
Chuck Dixon, late of Nightwing and Birds of (ha ha ha) Prey, did perhaps my favorite Riddler story in RIDDLER: YEAR ONE (DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #8) right about the time the BATMAN FOREVER “film” came out in 1995. It was a funny, sexy, violent, and SMART play about a man who just couldn’t cut it in the real world. He needed control. So, he snapped, turned to crime, and we follow his progress as his delusional mind is met with opposition from not only the police and Batman, but even his partners in crime! Great stuff.
There have been SO MANY VERSIONS, though! I like Frank Gorshin’s manic Riddler, which was so good that most Riddler stories are wrote like they star him; Jim Carrey’s Riddler is good, but hardly iconic…although the whole cane thing is a welcome addition. The first animated Riddler was good…suave, cocky, and always always always right, right to a fault. His three appearances were good, but none of them were particularly standout. No moving psychodramas like those for Two-Face or Harley.
And then the new one…
Well, I liked the return to the skintight look, although I always fantasized about some sort of computer effect that would allow the animators to put a question-mark pattern over the cels to make him look like the comics. The dark eyes, bowler hat, and new cane (great cane design by Timm, I believe) all screamed “Clockwork Orange”, but we never saw a complete Riddler story so we never got to see how complete and full the transformation was. I guess they thought they were done with him, sorta, after “Riddler’s Reform”.
(TWO-FACE’S DIVINE INTERVENTION: There WAS a full Riddler story in GOTHAM ADVENTURES #11, by Ty Templeton).
Most recently, hardcore Batfans are enjoying Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Peter Lorre-esque Riddler, a cowardly stoolie, in “Batman: Dark Victory”. It’s all so much to think about…what is the Riddler? Who really is Edward Nygma? He’s gone through so many incarnations, from muscle-bound he-man to slick smarmy genius to spandex-clad wildman, to thin-built stooge, to sinister escape artist. That’s the riddle, right there…is there a real Riddler at all?
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AND THAT’S THE FACTS
(by “Reliable Source”)
(Yes, I understand that the title is grammatically incorrect. So sue us. Actually, nix that. Don’t sue us.)
(DISCLAIMER: For those of you who are not yet familiar, Reliable Source is an anonymous character who first surfaced on Batman: The Animated Message Boards, spewing forth ridiculous predictions about the future of Batman Beyond under the guise of spoiler warnings. His controversial posts created quite a buzz, and have landed him a temporary column with this newsletter. The thoughts and ideas expressed by this shady character are in no way officially connected to Kids WB, Batman Beyond, this newsletter, or anything that is decent or holy. That said, on with the show.)
The hot buzz around Hollywood lately has been about a little comic-book based movie that you may have heard of. It’s called X-Men. There hasn’t been this much hype over a comic book movie since 1989’s Batman movie. You know, the first one, the good one, with Keaton and Nicholson. “Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?” This X-Men thing is gonna be big, folks, and if it does well, we could see a new age of comic book related cinema being ushered in. This could be what gets Superman, Spider-Man, The Hulk, and all the other fanboy dreams off the shelves, out of the cobwebs, and into the limelight.
Because of the renewed comic book movie hype, Warner Bros. has some renewed interest in the ailing Batman franchise. Ever since Joel Schumacher ran it into the ground with “Batman and Robin,” the WB has been understandably cautious about giving another Bat-flick the green light. The solution? Go back and fix past mistakes.
“We were having this board meeting,” explained WB executive J.W. Radford. “And all of a sudden, Tim Burton storms into the room and lays down two huge stacks of paper. One’s a revised version of the Batman Forever script, the other’s a revised version of Batman and Robin. He then proceeded to give us all the finger and walk back out, never saying a word.”
Plans were recently leaked from the WB of releasing a special Batman four-pack, with all of the big budget Bat films together for one low price. However, these new scripts have thrown a curve on the project… the last two films will be reworked to Burton’s vision.
“We’re not re-shooting the whole movie,” explained another WB executive. “Just re-touching it, let’s say.” Plans for this re-touching involve replacing Kilmer and Clooney with fan favorite Keaton. “There’s enough stock footage from the first two that we can just splice in scenes of Mike over the old scenes with Val and George,” he went on. “And Bruce Wayne isn’t even in the movies that much anyway. When he’s Batman, we can still leave it as Val Kilmer if we need to, you can’t really tell the difference. They both have the same lip thing going on. You know…” He then proceeded to make a sort of fish-face with his lips. “They got da wipth wike dith, the cutie widdwe wipth wike dith, wike a widdwe fishee!”
Other changes involve digitally imposing half of Billy Dee Williams’ face over Tommy Lee Jones’ face in “Batman Forever,” since Burton never did approve of the cast change.
“You’ve got Lando Calrissian as Harvey Dent in the first movie, and then the friggin U.S. Marshall, Sam Gerard from the Fugitive, in another,” said spokesman I.C. Hugh. “Hello? Who made THAT casting call? It’s Two-Face, not Two-Race.”
Other, more radical changes involve the complete omissions of Robin and Batgirl, a more intelligent Bane, and a few Catwoman cameos. “That, and Batman gets a lot more action, if you know what I mean,” added one exec who had read the new scripts. “He makes James Bond look like a good boy when it comes to wowin’ the ladies!”
That’s it for this week, be here next time for some more news on the upcoming Batman TV series. You can e-mail me at Reliable_S@hotmail.com, and, as always, more as I hear it.
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE #1
(SPECIAL REPORT FROM THX1138)
“INSIDER OVERHEARD: CLOONEY FAULTS STORY [AND SELF] FOR BATMAN FIASCO
Cinescape’s Cindy Pearlman recently shared the inside scoop on George Clooney and his feelings about Batman and Robin for the May/June issue of the magazine. The Insider snagged some advance quotes for the benefit of my e-mail readers:
While continuing a prior theme of crediting himself with “possibly sinking the entire Batman franchise”, Clooney commented that the death of the Dark Knight may have bolstered his own career. “I think Batman & Robin not doing so well was a real awakening for me. That was the turning point where I said ‘O.K., I’m just going to do projects and scripts that I like,'” Clooney explains. “I sat down with my business manager and he said, ‘You can [afford] to do that.'”
Clooney, however, insists that his lack of box-office success is somewhat exaggerated. “Only one movie was designated to make a ton of money and that was Batman & Robin,” he says. “It didn’t make that ton because it wasn’t a very good movie. Period. I take some responsibility. I basically buried a franchise. I’ll take the heat, but not all the heat. They should have stayed with a Dark Knight story, but they didn’t. Peacemaker was a different story. Some people nailed it because it was DreamWorks’ first film. Whe you don’t know is that it was a $50 million movie that earned $120 million.
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections, where I get to boggle the minds of all our readers! *EVIL LAUGH* This trivia is all animated-related in some form, and can deal with ANY aspect of the show or comics based on the show. Remember, answer the questions WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE ANIMATED CONTINUITY. Now have fun – let’s see how well you do! Answers are provided below.
Entitled: “JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED THE BASICS…”
296. What is Batman’s secret identity?
A: Bruce Wayne
B: Dick Grayson
C: Harvey Dent
D: Adam West
E: Tim Drake
297. What city plays host to Batman’s base of operations?
A: New York City
B: Gotham City
C: Bludhaven
D: Metropolis
E: Springfield (which state? Who knows…)
298. Which of the following vehicles does Batman NOT own?
A: Batmobile
B: Batwing
C: Batgyro
D: Batboat
E: Batcycle
299. Which of the following villains were created when he/she had a run-in of sorts with a form of acid?
A: The Joker
B: The Penguin
C: Catwoman
D: The Riddler
E: Two-Face
300. How did the first Robin’s parents die?
A: Shot in an alley
B: Died in prison
C: Died naturally shortly after his birth
D: Circus accident
E: They’re still alive ____________________________________
AND THESE ARE OUR FINAL ANSWERS (to the trivia)
Answer to #296: A
Answer to #297: B
Answer to #298: C
Answer to #299: A, E
Answer to #300: D
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LITTLE FACTS AND BLOOPERS
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
Here is a section that just points out various little facts and bloopers that we have noticed while watching BTAS and STAS countless times. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to do so! Enjoy!
CONTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
Alas, we here at the newsletter were unable to spot any new little facts OR bloopers over the past week. For that, we apologize. Really.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
Look harder! Come on! This isn’t a friggin’ magic-eye puzzle, is it??? ;-Y
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‘UNDER THE KNIFE’ – BATMAN BEYOND UK CUT REPORTS
-by Brian Davis
Batman Beyond is called Batman of the Future in the UK. It is shown on CITV Sundays at 9.25am and they make a lot of cuts !!!! Brian Davis uncovers these cuts and lets the public know how good BB episode are being butchered in the UK.
‘A Touch of Curare’ – Curare has cut deep – More cuts on CITV ….
As I mentioned earlier CITV have slowed down certain parts of ‘Touch of Curare’. Today I saw the episode on irish TV and yes, cuts have been made …..
The main cuts are in the final scene where Curare and Batman are above the grinding machine …
1 – When Curare throws the daggers one actually hits Batman’s thigh and we see him painfully take it out (Much like Batman taking out the claw in Batman Returns).
2- Curare blinds Batman with a very ‘epileptic’ flash and we see some strobe lighting and Batman emerging from a white background (the end of this scene was briefly seen on CITV’s version).
3- Batman and Curare grab each end of a rope and become suspended on the beam above the grinding blades. Curare clings onto Batman with her two legs and crushes him. He seems to be in a great deal of pain. We also see Batman hitting Curare a few times. eek !! Someones hitting a woman !!
4- wonder why we just see Curare thrown to the ground in front of Gordon as soon as she gets tied up in batarang ? Well theres some bits missing, after getting Curare with the Batrope he suspends her above the blades so she cant get away. He looks very worried as she bobs up and down.
These are only the cuts I have noticed so there could be more.
Also, the Irish channel are calling the show ‘Batman Beyond’ but the credits say Batman of the Future. The credits are not slowed down though so I have come to the conclusion that Warner Bros. UK changed the name to Batman Of the Future but CITV are the ones who slowed down the credits.
CITV have done a good job at covering up where these pieces were meant to be. Most scenes they cut are either over-violent or contain wacky lighting effects which look cool but probably cause concern regarding epilepsy. Aren’t they being a bit over-cautious ?
Well, that’s this weeks cuts !! Hope we see some videos come out which are uncut..
That’s my cut report for this week.
-Brian
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MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by anyone who cares to contribute)
Come on, contribute! Someone! Please? 🙂
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COMIC REVIEWS
(BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
(BATMAN BEYOND by Tim Wan)
(SUPERMAN ADVENTURES by Dick Grayson)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUES: “Missed Connections” (#24)
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILLED BY: Terry Levins
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: March 1, 2000 (cover date, May 2000)
RATING (out of 5): ***1/2
It seems like Peterson is finally getting a grasp on this title. When he started nine issues ago, he had a few stand-out issues, but they alternated with a number of very poor ones. Recently these said poor ones have been upgraded to “good”, and occasional great issue still remains. He’s not the same as Templeton, but he’s getting closer and closer. Either way, the title is still a great read.
I’m growing accustomed to Peterson’s splash on page one – it’s a great way to introduce the story. The story itself is very simple, but a good one. Robin and Nightwing are captured by an unknown individual while attempting to save a fellow Gothamite; even Killer Croc gets trapped.
When Batman and Batgirl investigate, the story finally begins to take shape. Catwoman – a total surprise to me – shows up and gives us all the details. Her last meeting with Batman, way back in Issue #4 (great issue, too – go pick it up) resulted in a big change in her relationship with him; she had become a lot darker, more violent, and even more distant from the object of her affections. Here, she tries to make ammends – by trapping Batman so he and she can have their long-overdue conversation. Of course, Catwoman doesn’t get her wish, and of course, she gets away; Batgirl’s conversation with Batman on the final page is quite enlightening, though. Does Batman still have SOME feelings for her, deep down inside?
And that’s not all! There are many other little things to notice in here. Levins and Beatty are a terrific team, as always…the shading used when Robin and Nightwing are trapped is terrific, the colours used during the bridge sequence were terrific, and Batman and Catwoman’s chase through Gotham was superb. Sure, the dialogue lacked during that sequence, making this issue a rather quick read, but I still really enjoyed it.
It’s nice to see Dick dating other people now – it’d be interesting to see an issue dedicated to this, and how Barbara would react. I see that Batgirl’s “scar” under her right eye (that I pointed out in my review of ) is still present, too. I DID notice, however, that Catwoman’s ghostly complexion was absent – she’s gone back to having a nice peachy skin-tone now. But why the change? I also wish that Killer Croc got to do a bit more than just be brainless, tough, and mean – but hey, I’m not complaining. His inclusion was kinda fun.
Overall, a great issue. I can’t wait until the double-sized issue next month!
;-Y
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COMIC SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS
This section gives a little bit more in-depth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES, BATMAN BEYOND, and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Below each comic listing is a link to the cover of that comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
The price for any of these issues, unless otherwise posted, is $1.99 in the US and…grrrrr…a whopping $3.25 in Canada. (Both our editors and many subscribers are Canadian, hence the “grrr”.)
If we are unsure of the exact date of when an issue is being released, just check out “DIRECT CURRENTS” at http://www.dccomics.com for details.
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #26
May 3rd
Synopsis: Everyone from the CIA and the FBI to the local Gotham mobs (Russian, Italian, Jamaican, Chinese) are in search of Kristov…and they’re willing to kill to get it. Batman doesn’t know what Kristov is, but he’s not going to let anyone kill – or die – for it.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/
0002/22/BatmanGothAdventCvr26.jpg
FOLLOWING MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
BATMAN BEYOND #9
May 24th
Synopsis: Batman VS. Curare. Oh, and Bruce Wayne, too.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/
0002/22/BatmanBeyondCvr9.jpg
FOLLOWING MONTH: .
Synopsis: A new, improved Golem returns to Gotham.
Cover: Unavailable
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #43
April 12th
Synopsis: The Commander, the manipulative malefactor with the power to force anyone to obey his orders, returns! And his only desire is to have all of Metropolis kill one man: Superman! How can the Man of Steel fight an entire city that has turned against him?
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/
apr12/covers/down/dsupa44.jpg
FOLLWOING MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-Terry Beatty has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and Batman Beyond original art on eBay. His Seller ID is: beatty@machlink.com Do yourself a favor and check out some great art!
-Craig Rousseau has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and Batman Beyond original art on eBay. His Seller ID is: cerousseau@aol.com Feel free to check it out! You don’t wanna miss it!
ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS, STAS, BEYOND)
-Kids’ WB! Animated series The New Batman/Superman Adventures and Batman Beyond earned a total of 9 Daytime Emmy Award nominations on Wednesday, including special nominations in special categories. The New Batman/Superman Adventures was nominated in the Outstanding Children’s Animated Program category (to be broadcast as part of the televised Emmy Awards ceremony on May 19th ), while Batman Beyond was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program.
Both shows were nominated – included Batman/Superman twice – for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition, as well as for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing Special Class. Batman Beyond was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing Special Class. The Emmy winners will be announced on May 13.
ANIMATED COMICS
-The first six issues of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES will be collected in tradepaperback form, being released on May 17. These six issues feature great stories by Ty Templeton and great art by Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty; characters in the spotlight are Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, the Riddler, Clayface, Deadman, and more. It will cost $9.95, and the cover will be the same as the cover of GOTHAM ADVENTURES #1.
OTHER COMICS
-BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #27 is as follows: A popular college professor of law who teaches a class on organized crime is in jail for the murder of a known mob boss. Has the professor stepped over the line and become judge, jury and executioner? Or is he being framed by a new player on the mob scene in Gotham? It comes out on June 7.
-BATMAN BEYOND #10: A new, improved Golem returns on June 28.
-DETECTIVE COMICS #747, focusing on Two-Face and Montoya, comes out on June 14. Here is the cover:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/
0003/21/DetectiveCmcs747.JPG
-DARK VICTORY #9 features the first team-up of Batman and Robin. Check out the cover:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories
/0003/21/BatmanDarkVictory9.JPG
-Devin Grayson will be revealing the narrator of the GOTHAM KNIGHTS series in a five issue story beginning in issue #8, this August.
-Dale Eaglesham and Paul Ryan will be dropping their pencilling duties at GOTHAM KNGIHTS and move onto other projects once Roger Robinson (of AZRAEL fame) comes in with issue #8.
MOVIES
-Check out the following URL for a rather amusing Budweiser commercial featuring clips from that wonderful show, “Superfriends”. You must have Quicktime 3 or higher to view it.
http://63.249.196.103/files/wassup.mov
-WIZARD #104 reports that BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER will be a two-hour film. (Personally, I think this is a typo – I’m betting on 70 minutes – but hey, they might be right!)
LIVE ACTION TELEVISION
-Wanna see a pic of the actor that’ll play the Joker in the upcoming ONSTAR commercials? Here’s the URL – remember him from REVENGE OF THE NERDS?
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/onstarjoker.jpg
-For more info about the ONSTAR commercials, go to:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/news.html
-Check out http://www.fandom.com/batman for downloadable versions of the ONSTAR commercials if the official ONSTAR site is not being cooperative with your PC.
TOYS, BOOKS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
-Alfred FINALLY has a figure of his own! He’ll be included in a four-pack including Batman, Robin, and Clayface. Thanks to Bobby Simic for pointing that out! Go here for the pics:
http://www.geocities.com/jokerinc_2000/4pack.html
-Here are two pics of the forthcoming Stalker figure from the BATMAN BEYOND line:
http://www.figures.com/archives/images/52/2852.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/AnakinTsang/Stalker1.jpg
SPECIAL NOTE
For more BATMAN, SUPERMAN, AND BEYOND news throughout the week, check out the WORLD’S FINEST NEWS PAGE at:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/news.html
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FEATURED BAT-SITE FOR THIS ISSUE
(feel free to submit your own for our consideration)
???
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ANIMATED BATMAN/SUPERMAN SITES:
* – indicates a shameless plug for a site a certain double-faced editor created with his bare hands – in other words, a cheap advertising technique.
OFFICIAL SITES
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THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES
http://www.batman-superman.com
BATMAN:THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://www.batmantas.com
BATMAN BEYOND
http://www.batmanbeyond.com
BATMAN BEYOND VIDEO SITE
http://www.batmanbeyondvideo.com
YTV’S BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES PAGE
http://www.ytv.com/shows/batman_animated/
YTV’s BATMAN BEYOND Page
http://www.ytv.com/shows/batman_beyond/
SUB-ZERO: THE DEFINTIVE GUIDE
http://www.batman-subzero.com
KID’S WB
http://www.kidswb.com
DC COMICS
http://www.dccomics.com
TOON ZONE
http://www.toonzone.net
PSYCOMICS
http://www.psycomics.com
RAVING TOY MANIAC
http://www.toymania.com
VOICE CHASERS
http://www.voicechasers.org
UNOFFICIAL SITES
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*TWO-FACE’S TOWER OF TRANQUILITY AND TERROR
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BATMAN, SUPERMAN, & BEYOND: THE WORLD’S FINEST DISCUSSION CENTER
http://welcome.to/worldsfinest
THE DISCUSSION CENTER (same as above)
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Taping/2928/boards.htm
BRIAN CRUZ’ WB CARTOON PAGE
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/index.html
BATMAN UK (BRIAN’S BATMAN PAGE)
http://www.batmanuk.freeserve.co.uk
RA’S AL GHUL’S THE LAZARUS PIT
http://zap.to/lazaruspit
THE DARK KNIGHT
http://www.darkknight.ca
BATMAN BEYOND: WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
http://www.batmanbeyond.net
TIM WAN’S BATMAN BEYOND
http://come.to/batmanbeyond
DCU ANIMATED
http://www.DCUAnimated.zzn.com
HARLEY’S HAVEN OF HEDONISM
http://www.harley-quinn.com
GOTHAM CITY LIMITS
http://www.batman.gexner.net
BATMAN: DEFENDER OF GOTHAM
http://www.fandom.com/batman
THE RIDDLER – EDWARD NYGMA’S PUZZLE WEBSITE
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/prospero.milan/nygma
THE BATMAN ACTION FIGURE PAGE
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7659/
CHARACTERS ON THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN
http://www.xse.com/leres/batman.html
ARKHAM ASYLUM
http://animation.acmecity.com/saturday/352
JOKERZ TERRITORY
http://members.xoom.com/Jokerz84/index.htm
THE BATZONE
http://www.batzone.cjb.net/
JLA: THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://animation.acmecity.com/character/375
ANIMATED TALES
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/2294/at
A TRIBUTE TO BATMAN
http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/russkafin/batman.html
ANIMATED STYLE ARTWORK ARCHIVE
http://hjem.get2net.dk/twt/asaa/home.html
BATMAN CEL SITE
http://animation.acmecity.com/carbon/111
DARK JUSTICE
http://www.mania.com.au/~grahark/darkjustice/
ROGUE AVENUE, GOTHAM
http://www.ultros.com/rogue_avenue
THE BATMAN BEYOND INFO PAGE
http://www.rogue-spear.com/BB
THE VAULT
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Animation/Voice_Actors
NEWSGROUPS
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news:alt.comics.batman
news:alt.animation.batman
news:alt.comics.superman
news:rec.arts.sf.superman
news:alt.tv.cartoon-network
news:rec.arts.animation
news:alt.animation.warner-bros
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QUESTIONS, SUBMISSIONS, AND FAN-MAIL
If you have any questions, problems, links do not work, or anything else, then please e-mail this address with your problems and we’ll try to fix them as soon as possible. Also if you’d like to send any fan-mail then please send it to this address:
juno@direct.ca
As for submissions, feel free to submit an article or opinion on anything pertaining to BTAS. Keep in mind that as the editors, we have the right to edit your submissions if we deem it necessary. Such instances would include problems with length, grammar, and language. If we do feel we must edit something, however, we will do our utmost to ensure that the opinion and the basic message of the submission does not change, as that is the most important part of any article, and everyone is entitled to it. And if you do submit something, please don’t just submit a basic review of an episode or a comic or something (because we have people writing for those purposes already) – write about an issue you’d like to discuss.
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED ARCHIVES
The very kind people at TOONZONE were nice enough to give us our own little section of their huge and diverse website. The archive contains past newsletters and is semi-regularly updated with the latest one. To check it out go here:
TOONZONE’s BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
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LIKE WHAT YA SEE? WANNA SUBSCRIBE? HERE’S HOW!!!
For those of you who are seeing this at the WBC HOMEPAGE BTAN ARCHIVES section and want to subscribe, just follow these simple instructions:
To subscribe email juno@direct.ca, put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line, and put the e-mail address you’d like the newsletter to be sent to in the body of the message.
For more information about the newsletter just email juno@direct.ca Thank you for your time, and thanks for reading! Tell your friends!
-Tim TWO-FACE Leighton and Dick Grayson, editors
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TO ALL GOOD THINGS…
…there must be an end. We would like to thank the endless amount of contributors for contributing their editorials, columns, news, jokes, reviews and other articles. We hope you’ve all enjoyed it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it! Thank you for reading! See ya next time!
CREDITS FOR BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER
EDITOR AT COLLEGE, NOT IN A DORM: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITOR AT COLLEGE, BUT IN A DORM: “Dick Grayson”
AIR DATE SCHEDULES: Brian Cruz, RiddlerWB (at the official BTAS/STAS site), and YTV.com
EPISODE REVIEWS: Zanna/Justin Chen, and occasionally Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITORIAL: Kelly Tindall
AND THAT’S THE FACTS: “Reliable Source”
COMIC REVIEWS: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton, Tim Wan, Dick Grayson
MERCHANDISE REVIEW: Various
“BTAN ARCHIVES” MODERATOR: Eileen Delgadillo
TRIVIA: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
PROMOTIONS AND JUST GETTIN’ THE WORD AROUND: Dick Grayson, Eileen Delgadillo, Brian Cruz, Brian Davis
THOSE WHO FILL IN FOR OTHERS WHEN THEY FOUL UP:-Y Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
DELIVERY: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
E-MAIL RECEPTION HANDLING: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
BATMAN CREATED BY: Bob Kane & Bill Finger (who else?)
Batman and all related indicia are trademarks of DC Comics, Copyright c 2000.
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