you be daffy, I'll be dilly
Feb. 25th, 2007 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerSo I finally brought myself to watch an episode of THE BATMAN, the new animated series. I'd avoided it like the plague beforehand since... ok, I freely admit it, I think the 90's Dini/Timm BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES is about as close to perfect as you can get for a "kids" cartoon, not to mention a brilliant summation of the comics' spirit. I reluctantly admit that I'm biased; reluctant, because I don't want that to invalidate my opinion when I say that this show is... not good.
I mean, I don't want to outright say it's crap based on having only watched one full episode, but every single character design and plot I've followed about this show has given me zero interest to watch it. Like, the idea of making the Riddler a Marilyn Manson wannabe. Not even Robert Englund's vocal talents could draw me to that. In fact, let's bring up vocal talents for a moment. Again, I'm biased because B:TAS had some of the very best voice casting I've ever seen in animation. Now some of the vocal casting for this current show sounds interesting (like Englund and Gina Gershon as Catwoman), but Batman himself bugs the hell out of me. They're obviously going for a younger Bruce Wayne to jive with Christian Bale, but the actual voice...! When Batman opens his mouth, I do not want to hear Robin/Nightwing talking, because that's what he sounds like.
I do my best not to care all that much, because after all, this is more blatantly for children than B:TAS. I mean, if kids grow up holding this show as the gold standard for Batman, I shall be most displeased and grumpy. But otherwise, there's about as little point to complain about it as there is to watch it in the first place.
The reason I watched this in the first place is, quite simply, because it was the introduction of their version of Harley Quinn, written by Harley's creator Paul Dini. Because if anyone could make this show interesting, it'd be Dini. Well... my fears and complaints from the outset were not alleviated. Dini's writing certainly made it watchable, and he was always good for giving Joker some great one-liners. Really, I could read or watch pretty much anything Dini writes; he just does great, solid work.
It wasn't bad, certainly. But it's not about to convert me, and certainly will never replace B:TAS in my heart. Part of that has to do with the voice actors for Joker and Harley, who do their best to imitate Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin, but they just... don't have the same magic. And Harley as a pop psychologist... well, there was always something naively endearing about Harley before, but here, she just needed a good smack.
That said, this episode has one moment that, honestly, might be one of my new all-time favorite Joker/Harley moments of all time. As many of you know, I'm totally gay for random musical numbers. So imagine my surprise when Harley suits up in costume for the very first time and...
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bloo_mountain especially, take note. If, in some future time, we ever get to dress up as Joker and Harley again, we have got to do this.
Speaking of Bloo, after reading the first draft of the first hundred pages of my Harvey Dent novel, she and I came upon a fascinating new way to examine and explore the relationship between Captain Jim Gordon and Harvey. Jim's Wyatt Earp to Harvey's Doc Holliday.
Man oh man. I am going to be thinking about that for weeks to come. Now I have *got* to finish revising THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES so I can get back to work on the Two-Face novel. Also, methinks I need to re-watch TOMBSTONE. Wow.
I mean, I don't want to outright say it's crap based on having only watched one full episode, but every single character design and plot I've followed about this show has given me zero interest to watch it. Like, the idea of making the Riddler a Marilyn Manson wannabe. Not even Robert Englund's vocal talents could draw me to that. In fact, let's bring up vocal talents for a moment. Again, I'm biased because B:TAS had some of the very best voice casting I've ever seen in animation. Now some of the vocal casting for this current show sounds interesting (like Englund and Gina Gershon as Catwoman), but Batman himself bugs the hell out of me. They're obviously going for a younger Bruce Wayne to jive with Christian Bale, but the actual voice...! When Batman opens his mouth, I do not want to hear Robin/Nightwing talking, because that's what he sounds like.
I do my best not to care all that much, because after all, this is more blatantly for children than B:TAS. I mean, if kids grow up holding this show as the gold standard for Batman, I shall be most displeased and grumpy. But otherwise, there's about as little point to complain about it as there is to watch it in the first place.
The reason I watched this in the first place is, quite simply, because it was the introduction of their version of Harley Quinn, written by Harley's creator Paul Dini. Because if anyone could make this show interesting, it'd be Dini. Well... my fears and complaints from the outset were not alleviated. Dini's writing certainly made it watchable, and he was always good for giving Joker some great one-liners. Really, I could read or watch pretty much anything Dini writes; he just does great, solid work.
It wasn't bad, certainly. But it's not about to convert me, and certainly will never replace B:TAS in my heart. Part of that has to do with the voice actors for Joker and Harley, who do their best to imitate Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin, but they just... don't have the same magic. And Harley as a pop psychologist... well, there was always something naively endearing about Harley before, but here, she just needed a good smack.
That said, this episode has one moment that, honestly, might be one of my new all-time favorite Joker/Harley moments of all time. As many of you know, I'm totally gay for random musical numbers. So imagine my surprise when Harley suits up in costume for the very first time and...
bloo_mountain especially, take note. If, in some future time, we ever get to dress up as Joker and Harley again, we have got to do this. Speaking of Bloo, after reading the first draft of the first hundred pages of my Harvey Dent novel, she and I came upon a fascinating new way to examine and explore the relationship between Captain Jim Gordon and Harvey. Jim's Wyatt Earp to Harvey's Doc Holliday.
Man oh man. I am going to be thinking about that for weeks to come. Now I have *got* to finish revising THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES so I can get back to work on the Two-Face novel. Also, methinks I need to re-watch TOMBSTONE. Wow.
