I know the rules state that as a male in my mid 30's I'm required
to dislike any animated Batman outside the Timm/Dini universe. I
held up my part of the agreement at first. I gladly purchased every
DVD from the first episode featuring Manbat all the way to the
Batman Beyond S2 and Justice League "S2" sets that came out
recently. I'm already planning on getting the fantastic last season
of JLU as well. I am as absolute a fan of the Timm/Dini universe as
any other fan I've met. But, I broke the rules and began to like The
Batman series. It isn't only fantastic, it sets a new kind of
standard in animation quality for a serialized show. The Batman's
animation is consistently and reliably stunning. The style of the
animation helps create a DVD picture quality that is so good, it is
what I often use to demonstrate my home system to friends. But,
there is more than just great production values to the show. They
have clearly been very thoughtful in coming up with fresh designs
for many characters, while remaining faithful to the critical
elements. Batman's cape and cowl, along with the rest of his costume
looks fantastic. Rino Romano does a great job as the voice (and I'm
a diehard Kevin Conroy fan). Commissioner Gordon is also perfect
both in form and voice. The new Joker is refreshingly different
while keeping the same level of insanity that makes him The Batman's
ultimate foe. Above all this, there are the stories themselves. For
cryin' out loud, they got Paul Dini to write the show's introduction
to Harley Quinn. Their episode with a new villain, Ragdoll was
clever and ended with one of the best comedic-timed three-way fight
I've seen. What I also like about the show is how they took some of
the newer concepts introduced in the last show and made them their
own. I don't know how many people liked the Gotham Knights use of
Batman and Batgirl working together more, but I loved it. They did
the same here and with nice original elements, even introducing her
well before Robin (and they could have kept it that way as long as
they wanted as far as I'm concerned). Their version of Clayface has
a fantastic overall story. The relationships between Batman and
Alfred, Batgirl, and Gordon all hit the right tone. The third season
showed a continued increase in story quality, which was already good
in season 2. If they keep this up, I'll be watching to the end.
Obviously, I highly recommend the show.
Season 3: 2005-2006
The third season comprised 13 episodes which aired over eight
months from September 2005 through May 2006. Like the first two
seasons, it began directly following the end of the previous season.
This season also aired with a brand new intro and musical theme. The
season introduces
Poison Ivy and
Batgirl with an inspiring relationship but, was changed when
different paths were taken. The Complete Third Season was released
on DVD in April 2007. This was the last season on
The WB when it became
The CW.
Summary:
Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara, recounts a story
about a powerful new super-villain sabotaging waste-dumping
corporations and her increasingly radical friend, Pamela
Isley...
Summary:
Continuing from the previous episode, a chemical accident
mutates Pamela's DNA giving her power over plants and
Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl in order to stop Pam from
going to jail. But things quickly change when Pamela becomes
the super-villain Poison Ivy, kidnapping the Commissioner
and placing Batman under her mind-control.
Summary:
When Batman gets a hit to the head during a fight with the
Penguin, Bruce Wayne has memory loss, and forgets he is the
Batman. But when Batgirl is captured while saving him, can
Bruce muster the courage to rescue her? Meanwhile, Barbara
Gordon suspects Bruce Wayne is Batman.
Summary:
After his most recent crime spree, Arnold Wesker is taken to
Arkham and apparently "cured" by Dr. Hugo Strange. A new
career as a children's entertainer lies before Wesker ...
but can he escape the shadow of Scarface?
Summary:
A new villain, Gearhead, makes his first appearance robbing
a charity race, and Batman soon finds himself forced to
upgrade the Batmobile to keep up with the cybernetic
villain.
Summary:
When Wayne Industries shuts down Cosmo Krank, a toymaker
with a spotty safety record, the demented villain takes
revenge by trying to kill Bruce Wayne with his diabolical
toys.
Summary:
The Joker becomes a raging
strongman when he gets hold of Bane's Venom. However,
when Batman fails to stop the Joker's wrath, Batgirl must
learn to overcome her own physical limitations in order to
save the day.
Summary:
When a rare Black Siberian Leopard is stolen, Batman and
Batgirl suspect Catwoman and go to protect the second Black
Siberian Leopard. But what happens when Joker beats them to
the punch and brings the cats to Killgore Steed? It's a maze
of doom with dangerous creatures. Can Catwoman, Batman, and
Batgirl escape, or will they end up on Joker's wall?
Summary:
When her father, along with other high-ranking Gotham
officials, begins to embrace environmental causes after the
delivery of mysterious plants, Barbara discovers that
they've been replaced with plant-based copies created by
Poison Ivy and teams up with Batman to stop her and their
own evil clones.
Summary:
Inspired by the Batman/Batgirl partnership, the Joker
decides to recruit his own sidekick, a classmate at
Barbara's school, and eliminate Batgirl and Batman.
Summary:
Maximillian Zeus, a millionaire who is also a Greek history
fanatic, takes control of Gotham from the sky with his giant
aircraft, New Olympus, after losing to Mayor Grange in a
re-election. Can Batman and Batgirl bring him down before he
incinerates the city?
Summary:
Hugo Strange creates an AI database called D.A.V.E.
(Digitally Advanced Villain Emulator), encoded with the
minds of Gotham's greatest criminals, in order to better
predict their crimes. However, D.A.V.E. breaks free and
proclaims himself to be "Gotham's ultimate criminal
mastermind", and is later on about to reveal Batman's
identity.
