When Batman the Animated Series Died

[@VYBEZFLEXX]

Man no show is perfect but this was still historically one of the best animated series ever

[@PMack369]

Kevin Conroy stopped doing his “Bruce Wayne” voice at the start of this season. I’ve never been able to find a definitive answer as to why. I always enjoyed TAS take on Bruce Wayne. He was more of a competent businessman than aimless playboy. In the last season there was no attempt to change his Batman/Bruce Wayne voice, it was just one more thing on top of several others that the season did wrong.

[@FunFactFilms]

Ya I was also disappointed with the lack of Bruce Wayne's voice. I think this show is my favorite portrayal of Bruce Wayne.

[@swampmonster4718]

I think it was to show the decline of Bruce's humanity

[@sabishiihito]

There *was* a difference. It was just more subtle. It wasn't as deep as his Batman voice but not as "corny" as the old Bruce voice. The same with Clark in and out of costume. The best scene to hear it is in "The World's Finest" when Clark, Bruce and Lois are talking in the Daily Planet. They use their "day job" voices until Lois leaves and they talk about the Joker and switch to their "other job" voices.

[@zemox2534]

I think the point of New adventures was to show that Bruce was sinking deeper and deeper into his Batman side.

[@TheBatman39]

@@zemox2534 Yeah I get that was the intent but it was a very bad direction for the character moving forward.

[@RK-ke5yp]

This show never died, it's truly immortal and is the crown jewel of all animated series in history which 30 years on, still hasn't really ever been topped.

[@SlimPug]

Yeah man, i agree. its still my favorite animated dc adaption overall with the movies involving the animated universe being tied in also. really it's the best superhero show thats animated period. with honorable mentions going to the spiderman animated series in the 90's and the x-men animated series of the 90's

[@SoulKnightKing]

@@SlimPug Justice League Unlimited surpassed it. Season 2 is unmatched

[@nozone4109]

How did this series end ? Cause i saw last episode and it was just a villain in jai

[@stephenb2276]

Theres an app, that has a channel that plays nothing but this and the adventures of batman n robin

[@thecatwrangler9448]

@@SoulKnightKing you’re uninformed

[@DougieYT]

Batman The Animated Series literally changed Batman culture and media forever, to this day you can still see the influences in some forms of media

[@chrisrj9871]

Batman 1989 got the ball rolling at least.

[@swampmonster4718]

5:20 baby doll was one of the most compelling villians of the show in my opinion, with her standalone episode being a definite highlight for me

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

Yeah, I'm not sure how anyone would think that Baby Doll wasn't a compelling villain in her debut. The episode with Killer Croc was a stinker, though.

[@obvioushieidude7668]

Aside from the final scene, the baby doll episode wasn't that great.

[@ceceliaacaba2739]

The way they could’ve fixed the lack of explanation with Clayface, Batgirl knowing Batman’s identity, and Robin being in his own is if they aired the origins first.

[@FunFactFilms]

Ya, perhaps so. And Holiday Knights should've been aired much later.

[@DeathReviews]

Many of the gripes seem to revolve around them showing the episodes 'out of order'. For example, they should have shown Robin's intro episode as the first episode, then Growing Pains, then Old Wounds.

[@kanemccarthy1979]

@@FunFactFilms the point of Holiday Knights airing when it did was to create intrigue though

[@mohammadmuneeb3597]

It was hard to accept the characters designs after orginal. The orginal just nailed it so much so early. I never regard the 3rd season as Batman the animated series I rather refers it as the new adventures of batman. Show was never the same and too much was changed so it was not the same show rather than sequel.

[@tigerlord9302]

And aired Holiday Knights at Christmas 🎄🎅 🙈

[@Futurevoiceactor]

False. The show never died. The joker having black sclera was a heart attack, but it recovered. BTAS will never, ever die

[@Tony-fq5bn]

Ya, its more like the show went through a midlife crisis than that it died

[@DougieYT]

@@Tony-fq5bn I’d say it was a midlife and identity crisis, but to say it died is a stretch as it’s still loved by older and younger generations today

[@Marc_Araujo]

I loved that episode with the Creeper...very underrated character.

[@DLRX]

That episode is great just to hear Jeff Bennett (Creeper's voice actor) having a great time with the dialogue.

[@hereitcomes3912]

Kinda gay tho..

[@nathancruz9172]

Me too.

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

Any character who can get the Joker cowering under Batman's cape gets my vote. (I guess that includes Charlie.)

[@verskarton]

I kinda thought the Creeper was a Freakazoid prototype. They just feel pretty mush the same.

[@davidm4566]

"Season 3" was basically a different series. The show had already gone off the air 2 years earlier. I think they did a good job on several of the stories for the season. They took new twists and takes on the characters that made it fresh. I do prefer the art style of the original Batman TAS, but this soft reboot where they brought the show back was very good overall. They actually continually brought back the series with straight to video releases, Batman Beyond, and Justice League. It lasted for over 20 years in some form or other, and I wouldn't be surprised if they made yet another video release with the original cast.

[@jeffbollen5276]

One especially galling moment was in World’s Finest, when Clark offered his hand to Bruce in greeting and the latter completely blew him off to flirt with Lois. Bruce lost so much of his humanity after those first two seasons and remained in that state through Batman Beyond and Justice League.

[@sovereigndayyouthkafir3943]

Completely agreed about your conclusion. The radical departure in art style and lack of explanation given regarding changes in several characters were egregious errors.

[@TheZetaKai]

This creative team created an instant classic, and the studio just wanted a commercial for toys. They went on to create Batman Beyond, and even then the studio just wanted a commercial for toys.

[@TheBatman39]

And the biggest irony is that TNBA wasn't very kid-friendly with some innuendos compared to Batman TAS (I blame Bruce Timm for this)

[@jamesthomas2410]

Rip Kevin conroy

[@jasonlumpkin4732]

I can see why season 3 was the time of death for "Batman: the Animated Series," is because the animation visuals were less detailed than the 1st 2 seasons. For example, Batman didn't have the yellow oval over the bat symbol, Joker didn't have the weird lipstick and his eyes looked strange, & Catwoman looked skinny, dressed in black with white eyes and no pupils while wearing the mask. They wanted the visuals to look more like "Superman's."

[@sexydudeuk2172]

Well the main reason the show ended was because the producers just ran out of ideas

[@robotx9285]

Did it get back because the art changed or was it because a decrease in writing quality?

[@blueblur2273]

@@sexydudeuk2172 That ran out of ideas after the series was done airing on Fox. As for the Kids WB incarnation they stopped that one because Execs wanted them to do a Batman in high school. Enter Batman Beyond.

[@x28v20]

Those first two seasons were the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. The first season alone had like 60 eps but every single one was a banger I just couldn’t believe it. Keep in mind I just watched for the first time so it ain’t nostalgia

[@matthewledbetter7818]

I disagree with your criticism of season 3/4 (The New Batman Adventures) if it were released today it would be called “mystery box storytelling”

[@zaidhernandez4601]

Well I'm gonna be honest, I actually liked the new art style for most characters, especially Bruce.

[@blueblur2273]

I think most people did which is why they stuck with it moving forward in the DCAU with Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

[@919ENTERTAINMENTLLC]

I liked BTAS Bruce he looked weary.

[@timmeinzer1348]

I have to disagree. Most of the character redesigns were not better, with some exceptions: Scarecrow being one. Otherwise some were at best tolerable, and Joker’s was so bad they went back to the better design for appearances in later shows and movies.

[@delix787]

BATGIRL’s designed the yellow and black was perfect. Cat woman’s design was completely completely different then the original gray outfit that looks realistic.

[@hthrun]

The one episode I remember the best from the series was where Mad Hatter (I believe) caught Batman and connected him to a machine. Most of the episode was a dream and there was a scene where every book in Bruce Wayne's library was unreadable. That was one of the clues that helped him figure out it was a dream. The thing that got me about the episode was that the Mad Hatter had Batman trapped in a machine and NEVER REMOVED HIS MASK. Given the situation, why would he not check out Batman's true identity?

[@moviefiendz]

Hatter wanted to put him in a coma and then he would never wake up. Finding out his identity wouldn't matter if he was successful.

[@nochilllwill]

I remember this episode so vividly

[@Rob_Thorsman]

​@@moviefiendzBut why not just kill him?

[@Criner05]

The simplified redesigns of the characters alone killed the series for me. I really hate the redesigned Joker.

[@schemar17]

How about scarecrow?

[@Criner05]

@@schemar17 I think he was redesigned even before they redesigned all characters, so it bothered me a little because he was never consistent.

[@pennysanchez7656]

In my opinion it’s a mixed bag. Some like Scarecrow and Harley Quinn actually look pretty good, especially with the latter since she looks slightly more sleeker than her original BTAS design, which is also iconic.

[@harrisonmason9139]

The one thing I disagree with here is your assessment of the character of Baby Doll. In my opinion, she’s definitely one of the shows’s most compelling villains.

[@Biscuit-Triscuit]

To be fair, once you get into the later seasons to get the absolutely phenomenal macabre design of Scarecrow

[@FunFactFilms]

Yes, they got one redesign right.

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

@@FunFactFilms what about Killer Croc? He looked terrible before the network switch.

[@Facade953]

The best thing about him was his new voice actor. Jeffrey Combs was fantastic!

[@dreamlandnightmare]

I absolutely hated the redesigns.

[@robnelms1418]

You forgot "The Judge." That episode was off the chain and was totally worthy of being part of "Batman The Animated Series"! So was that second episode with Clayface.

[@Tombrunnerh9]

In my opinion, this show never died. lf you think it did, then that is your opinion. The New Batman Adventures is a great sequel to Batman: The Animated Series. Everything about it was good, even if you don't like the redesigns. There are plenty of worse DC cartoon shows you know, and non of that is in the DCAU.

[@jacobfranzgrote]

Agreed, and that honestly bugs me about this video. The New Batman Adventures was always considered a sequel series until recently, and now you always see it's episodes being brought up in top 10 lists and it'd flaws being cited as B:TAS flaws. B:TAS should not be judged at all by TNBA. It's a separate entity, full of its own greatness and flaws. This whole video could be argued to be a dumb acknowledgement of pure fact, because B:TAS literally died, and then they brought it back on the WB as something different/new.

[@maycontainviolence5587]

I don't think this show ever completely "died' for me. It was still head and shoulders above most American animated fare besides Gargoyles. I did hate Catwoman's redesign though.

[@Algorithm_Poison]

I agree the joker redesign sucked but the worst by far was Catwoman's. She didn't even look human anymore.

[@88K-d6h]

But later season still had some good episodes. But It definitely wasn't the same, still x10 better than other Batman cartoons in the future

[@FunFactFilms]

I'm currently watching Batman Beyond. It's alright, but not as good as the original series. I haven't seen any others. Which ones have you seen?

[@TheBatman39]

Even The Batman from 2004 is far better than TNBA

[@fernandosegovia8806]

@@TheBatman39 That's not saying much, that show has some amazing material.

[@brianmurphy250]

Loved the series, but I hated the art changes I also loved Batman Beyond, but I did hate the “wrap up”episode “Requiem” that ran in the Justice League series. Terry leaving old Bruce on the bat cave floor maybe dying of heart attack was out of character and really mean spirited/unsettling.

[@WeedTacos]

Season 3 was good. It was the best season of the show and I personally think the new drawing style was the reason why WB Kids was willing to spend more money to make Batman Beyond.

[@andrewblanchard2398]

when it became THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN

[@JaketheMovieGeek]

Fun Fact: the series died when the series ended

[@chrisbullard5901]

I fully concur that Season 3 shouldn’t have happened, and Justice League/Unlimited needed to keep the original persona of Bruce Wayne established in Season 1. The art of Season 3 bothers me, but it’s more turning Bruce Wayne from a damaged yet sympathetic human that does as much good as his civilian alter-ego as he does under the cape and cowl, into a psychopathic Mary-Sue that loses all emotions and grip on his humanity. Why Seasons 1 and 2 work is for the scenes like “Paging the Crime Doctor”, where Bruce shows vulnerability asking Thorne about his father, or how much effort he puts into standing up for and trying to offer support to Selina Kyle. In Season 3, he loses all optimism and hope.

[@new_age_entertainment]

Most of my favorite episodes are from Season 3/4 even though the art style took a hit. Also, it was in that season that Batman could finally throw a punch and the show was more violent which made it better too in my opinion. The action was upgraded possibly due to less censorship restrictions.

[@kanemccarthy1979]

The art style was massively improved. That became the definitive look for the DCAU and had much less animation errors with more consistent art

[@blueblur2273]

@@kanemccarthy1979 Agreed. The art style was way better than the previous style. Definitely more sleek and much better for action.

[@kanemccarthy1979]

@@blueblur2273 exactly. The animation itself improved massively

[@blueblur2273]

@@kanemccarthy1979 Yep I've shown Batman to my little niece and little cousins and all of them have said they liked the last season the most. Citing the redesigns as looking cooler which is exactly what I thought as a kid as well. The ones who don't like it are the hardcore fans who really don't like it because it's just different from the original. The hardcore fans are usually in the minority but just the most vocal. Most of the complaints this guy has in the video aren't even great ones because most of those same complaints can be made all the way back to season 1.

[@kanemccarthy1979]

@@blueblur2273 exactly

[@waterlilyjaguar]

I understand your points, but I think it’s important to understand that a LOT of explanations are done in the tie in comics. Granted, most of us didn’t read the comics while watching the show, but it definitely helps if you go back, even now, and go through the brief series. Just a suggestion.

[@Facade953]

I used to collect Batman Adventures and The Adventures Of Batman & Robin!😄

[@skepticprime3452]

I liked many episodes from from Season 4. But my comic book knowledge filled in most of the gaps you mentioned. Mad Love was originally produced as a graphic novel. And it was the change of networks that allowed it to be adapted into the animated series, as Fox Kids considered the story to be too mature for their audience.

[@pennysanchez7656]

Yep! No wonder it became as beloved as the comic.

[@TOKYOTOYBANZAI]

Great video, but not exactly! Batman Beyond really did a better job of carrying the flag. It may not have done as well, but it was an excellent series that many consider to be as good as the first couple seasons of the original animated series.

[@FunFactFilms]

Interesting idea, thanks for sharing. I consider BB to be a new series rather than a continuation of the original, but I can see your point since Bruce is the same person from BTAS.

[@The_Notorious_N.O.E.]

And how many times has the Joker and a few other villains been presumably killed off but then return later on without any real explanation? It happens quite often so when Clay Face came back it didn't really phase me too much. I did appreciate the later explanation but it wasn't very necessary in my opinion.

[@ilovejigen]

Hi, dear American friends! I'm from taiwan. This cartoon was aired in taiwan in about 1993(?)(I was too small to remember the exact time) I remember watching this cartoon being astonished by it. It did bring me some cultural impacts, such as kissing in public. Because in Asia it's considered very bad to kiss in public, especially in traditional 90's. I was astonished but also found out something new about western world. I did enjoy the show and I took it for granted. I thought it is just a common US cartoon and didn't have too many opinions on it. Now I'm in mid 30's, looking back to this cartoon, I finally found out how excellent the cartoon is! I think it is really a symbol of American cartoon, combining traditional American culture and new technique. It's rich in both artistic and business value. The artistic style, stories,music and voice acting can't be overestimated. I feel honored to watch this cartoon in that era, but also feel sorry that this kind of diamond may not be produced anymore by current Americans.

[@matthewledbetter7818]

Season 4 or The New Batman Adventures is so underrated. Yes some of the character designs aren’t great but the storylines and actual character development were way better than the previous three seasons. Plus it all led into Superman and Justice League.

[@TransPandaArt]

We've had a massive BTAS Clayface kick lately, and it is nuts to think that you are actually UNDERSELLING how much of the character was mangled in the transition. In the first episode introducing him back with no explanation is one thing, but he gets knocked out by electricity by the end of the vignette. His origin episode's main twist is him faking his death by... pretending to be affected by electricity, because it turns out his clay body made him immune! That's not a small detail to not notice! Even going further: He's robbing jewelry and money now? He's okay with killing cops in broad daylight?? That's not BTAS Clayface! His entire story and character revolved around finding ways to cure himself of his condition! He wasn't violent for no reason, he only lashed out when someone spited him enough from being the actor he wanted to be. Now he's a generic robber with a clay gimmick, losing all his charm of the original... And farther farther! Growing Pains has a hint of him there, but he's featured in the episode... robbing random stores for money?? Why??? He's looking for Annie, and this is right after his last appearance, so he can't even have an "aha!" moment to start stealing. We adore Annie as a character in concept, too, but Matt is made out to be such a monster in that episode for no reason. Making Annie's story feel very one sided against a flanderized Matt :(

[@parkerpshebnisky1051]

As a Batman fan I loved your video!🦇👍👍

[@FunFactFilms]

Thanks Parker!

[@sym3329]

This is one show that if it was still on air with new episodes I’d still be watching

[@EngineerRailMan]

I also like to point out is Mr. Freeze should have never had been brought back after Subzero. That film concluded Freeze’s character arc and that was a happy ending. Then All of a sudden he comes back only to become a villain again for no legit reason at all.

[@andyrandall9289]

I think with a change of networks the show became darker. But it also had the characters move on to form Batman Beyond and the then new Justice League series. With Justice League, the series started and ended with Batman. He was perhaps the character who kept the other heroes together, especially the human ones like Green Arrow.

[@thedeadpoolwhochuckles.6852]

when the WB made villains blue.

[@PaulClipMaster]

Even if the art design got worse in the later seasons, I thought the animation got better and the show felt more gritty and creepy somehow. For instance, they started showing blood and the fights were sometimes very intense.

[@osubreeze]

Nailed it. Add in the fact not everyone could get the WB

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

Batman Beyond still goes hard

[@alkalineph9446]

IMHO the show died after series 2.

[@xPhenom41x]

If i am correct, when both superman and batman ran back-to-back it was called the hour of power and that was awesome.

[@osmanyousif7849]

The biggest issue to the series was that the creators didn't know how to conclude many character arcs. Specifically for the more morally questionable villains/anti-heroes. Many of them had potential to grow into different people, yet I feel like the way the pacing of the show went with several of them felt kind of contrived, when they show that they have shown some good in them but in the next episodes are just standard evil villains for the plot, like Poison Ivy, Clayface, Catwoman, Andrea/Phantasm and Mr Freeze (but those are all other stories for another time). It all felt kind of contrived. And I'm not blaming the writers, because it's clear that many of them are great at their creations. And maybe it's just the studio who wanted us to see villains doing their villainy acts, but failed to see the background more to the character arcs (and because WB really has no respect for animation). But I can't express that this problem may have suffered the worst for the cases of Harley Quinn and Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Let me start out with Quinn: I personally hated the way that they just continued for her to be with Joker (like in the episode "Mad Love"), even when people tell her to look at what she's turning into because of him. Even in episodes like "Harley and Ivy" where Poison Ivy chastises Harley for still loving the Joker after all the abuse he puts her through (Although, I do find it a bit rich from Ivy, considering didn't seem bothered hanging with the Joker in "Almost Got 'Im". But I digress....), and that he's not worth waste her life for. So yeah, the arcs were very out of place and contrived. Even despite how great Batman Beyond - Return of The Joker was, the thing that kind of gets on my nerves is how dirty they did Harley’s story. She really had no arc and realizes that Joker is none other than a murderous sick freak. But at the fact that the writers kept on having her continue being with him just feels super contrived and makes the character super irredeemable. I mean, how can the fandom around Harley and her being later in other comics and movies try to justify her when, she was an accomplice kidnapping Tim Drake, who's still a child, and helping Joker torture him into becoming a mirror image of himself, even agreeing to play mom? And yet, in later runs they try to make her an anti-hero, while ignoring what she's done, including herself?

[@osmanyousif7849]

Now for Harvey Dent/Two-Face: Dent's story felt quite rushed, since after watching Two-Face Part 1 and 2, it seemed like there was shown to be good in him. But the story made him to be an all around villain for the rest of the series. I kind of wish the story focused less on his villainy side and save it for season 3 or 4. That way, the show could build on his story more and maybe his relationship with Grace. The fact that they never even made any episodes with Grace returning and her visiting Harvey in prison felt like a lot of miss opportunity, showing that despite what Harvey's done, she really truly wants to be there for him and prove to people that he was never the monster they said he was and that reforming him was possible. Plus, seeing how Harvey in Two-Face: Part 2 found Rupert Thorne's file with evidence showing that he's been blackmailing and bribing many people to avoid prison, the Gotham PD may be forced to take desperate measures and go to Harvey in order ask him what he's found in order to find out who's been linked to Thorne and use them to try to get a confession for a court to bring Thorne and his gang to justice. But once Thorne finds out about this, he probably will attempt to have people try to kill Harvey or maybe use Grace as a way to finish off Harvey, in order to avoid half measures. And if anything were to happen to Grace, Harvey may go full Two-Face, since he has nothing now. And not even Bruce/Batman could save him. So if I was rewriting the series for Harvey/Two-Face here's what would happen: Keep his character the way it was in On Leather Wings and Pretty Poison. But maybe add 1-2 episodes (maybe make it two-part) afterwards with Batman doing regular crime investigating, with the Gotham PD lead by Harvey showing his DA side. Harvey is trying to make some new plays to bring in some mobsters in. But during the episode, he's having a hard time making the right choice, despite Batman (as Bruce) giving him some tips on how to stop the mob, therefore Harvey decides to just pull out his coin and make a flip his choice. The episode can even be a good way to properly introduce Grace, since Harvey's still recovering for what Poison Ivy just did to him and has let his work get the best of him and not settling for once. Grace can be the only person who shows and actual true compassion and love for Harvey. Not because of his wealth and reputation, but for being Harvey. The events of Two-Face Part 1 and 2 play the same, except the episode occurs at a much later time, in order to show that the relationship between Harvey and Grace has grown over months. And maybe at the end of Two-Face Part 2, don’t have him return until S3, and replace his character with in the ones where he does appear as full villain with other supporting villains (like Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Clock King, Riddler, or any mob bosses). But in the next appearances for Harvey, here's what can happen. This episode is called Second Chance, to which Harvey's spending his time in prison/Arkham, but Bruce and Grace are visiting him. Grace is protesting for Harvey’s release to the public, but during her time when visiting Harvey, the doctors and therapists are seeing that something still is off on Harvey's personality and may not be able to hold “Big Bad Harv” in and his condition may be much more critical. Grace then tries to speak to Big Bad Harv (And here we can get more backstory to Harvey, like his abusive childhood and why he still has that coin.) and tells him try to get out of the man she loves. But of course, Big Bad Harv ain't having it, and starts to let loose his rage, Grace starting to cower against a corner as she for once actually sees what Big Bad Harv is like. When Harvey turns back though and sees what he's doing, not only does he begs for forgiveness from Grace, but they both see that Dent needs to seek proper treatment, and go with the transfer. Meanwhile though, the mobs, including boss Rupert Thorne, fear that with the public being convince to let Harvey be cured, that he will probably become more convince to taking them down, especially since Thorne's file shows his crimes, as I mention. So they decide to find whatever it takes to get rid of Harvey for good, of course kidnapping Grace. Harvey in a desperate attempt to save her escapes from Arkham and finds the gang and during the confrontation, Grace gets killed, whether be by the mob, or even darker, by the police by accident because they were attempting to stop the fight and when Commissioner Gordon saw what was happening order to hold fire to avoid anyone getting hurt, but failed. Harvey watches as his fiancé, the love of his life, dead. And in a blinding rage, Harvey straight up murders some thugs (making this Harvey/Two-Face's first kill), and Batman fails to reach him in time to stop him. Harvey escapes and goes into hiding as the mob escapes as well to avoid suspicion. Harvey Dent is now history and Two Face is born for good. Therefore, the next episodes of the show can include Two-Face getting nurture by villains like Joker, Penguin , Killer Croc, etc. to join them, Joker even offering to help him take down the mobs, but only just because Joker wants to create chaos in the city more. Here, the show can have all the rogues gallery of villains line together to attack Batman, and during one of the episodes, which will not only be the last for Two-Face, but will be this episode, except instead of it being called "Second Chance", it'll be called "No Escape", and during the climax where Batman tries to reason with Dent to let go of the coin and to stop the bombing and end up killing thousands of people, Dent tells him the best Two-Face quote, "You think I want to escape from this, THERE IS NO ESCAPE!", but Bruce reminds him of the Harvey that was good deep down but realizing there's only a few seconds before the bomb will go off Harvey forces Bruce to let him go and Harvey lands himself on the bomb to avoid a huge explosion and succeeds but ends up dead as well as not only from the bombs impact but debris from the impact crashes on him killing him. And as Batman/Bruce watches in despair as his best friend is gone, he tells Gordon what he saw Harvey do, and while the public will still see Two-Face, Batman/Bruce saw Harvey Dent. And that's the end of Harvey Dent/Two-Face's story.

[@Goldnfoxx]

Oh, yeah, the show definitely fell off when the characters were redesigned. Still hate the redesigns of Scarecrow and Mad Hatter (who had the best stories the series put out, imo), and Poison Ivy's new aesthetic lost some details on which I can't quite put my finger that made her original design so special. The only thing I can really say about BTAS's original seasons that I didn't care for was that the characterization of the Riddler. I can't imagine that was an easy update to figure out, though. Riddler's one of those characters that, unless he's done just right, devolves into the Frank Gorshin version pretty fast.

[@zemox2534]

There is nothing wrong with Frank Gorshin riddler and Scarecrow looked awesome. You guys need to stop bitching about new adventures and appreciate its strengths more

[@Algorithm_Poison]

Don't forget Catwoman's!

[@fernandosegovia8806]

@@Algorithm_Poison Impossible to do, Catwoman was the main offender.

[@fernandosegovia8806]

Scarecrow was sick and they even gave an explanation for his new design, which, as far as I'm aware, is something they didn't do for the other characters.

[@Goldnfoxx]

@@fernandosegovia8806 Explanation or not, I just really didn't like the redesign at all.

[@segaoldschoolsega925]

I remember when they cut the series and then they started with Batman Beyond

[@icecreamhero2375]

3:48 They are villains of course they are going to be bad. Also, who doesn't like to shop?

[@ParodyAccount_]

trick question: when the show ended.

[@jacobfranzgrote]

Literally, all the modern releases and rebranding throw this in as season 3 or 4. The irony is I remember when it aired and even when Justice League aired, it was always referred to as a sequel series. No one ever called WB Batman Batman: the Animated Series. It was a continuation, it was usually called and referred to as The New Batman Adventures. Granted, the DVDs listed it as "volume 4", but said underneath "The New Batman Adventures". But that seemed like a marketing thing. After volume 3 came out, no one knew how TNBA was going to be released, and the first three DVDs were literally broken up to contain the show in 3 volumes which made no true distinction between production seasons one and two or The Adventures of Batman and Robin (beyond the theme song change). Then with the Blu-Rays and streaming it was easier to just throw it in too and who's going to complain about more Batman in their collection. But I distinctly remember basically no one calling the 24 episodes after the Fox run of 85 Batman: the Animated Series until about ten years ago.

[@ParodyAccount_]

@@jacobfranzgrote Very interesting; I didn't know this.

[@jacobfranzgrote]

@@ParodyAccount_ Yep, basically WB started airing reruns of Batman: the Animated Series along side Superman, and wanted more episodes, so they ordered more Batman episodes, so while it technically was ordered as Batman: the Animated Series, it wasn't really ever referred to as that. Taken from Wikipedia "The entire series was released on DVD as Batman: The Animated Series Volume Four (From The New Batman Adventures), most likely to establish the connection with the original series." That's also the first time I remember it being considered the same show and not a sequel series or continuation, as part of the marketing on a DVD collection lol.

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

This show took a 2 year hiatus to produce Freakazoid.

[@pennysanchez7656]

Which btw, that show slapped

[@audioplugg5310]

The Ventriloquist was my favorite villain. the way the dummy would call the Ventriloquist "dummy" got me every time lol.

[@Tony-fq5bn]

I wouldn't say Batman died when it made the switch, more like it got insecure and got some bad plastic surgery

[@anthonygramaglia1268]

The end of BTAS was when the animation style changed. What a shame.

[@sentrysapper45]

The change in art style may have been an overall negative, but they knocked it out of the park with Scarecrow's utterly terrifying redesign.

[@FunFactFilms]

Agreed. They did right by scarecrow. It was nice to finally see them land on a good design rather than change his appearance constantly like they did in BTAS.

[@noahbrody9852]

I never felt this series died!

[@dcauwatchtower]

I’m sorry, but…I know people don’t like TNBA as much and that’s fine. But Harley and Ivy did absolutely have materialistic motivations. Have you seen “Harley and Ivy?” That’s all they’re doing there.

[@AlexThorn]

Completely agree. I was a diehard batman animated series fan and the moment it got to wb, it wasnt the same. It wasn't what got it to that point of high praise. I probably watched 3 or 4 episodes of that season and couldn't stomach it. Still can't even with the box set.

[@verybadreviews511]

The art style-change was bad. The style itself was fine if the show had started out with it, but the sudden change was jarring. Batman was the superior show and the og... so if they had to match for a crossover, Superman's animated series should have had to conform its art style to match Batman's, not the other way around. Batman's personality was altered as well. He was seemingly less caring, more cold and stoic. All that being said, the last season of Batman TAS may not have been as good as its previous seasons, but it was still better than almost all, if not all, other cartoons airing at the time. There are some amazing episodes.

[@MrGhizmo]

Sad this just turned out to be the same old TNBA bashing. That's almost a separate entity, thumbnail makes it seem as if it's about core B:TAS. Many animated shows had their episode orders switched around by the networks. And it doesn't matter for these characters that everybody knows anyway. And if they didn't, the answers weren't far behind. Both the way Grayson left here and his Nightwing were excellent, what a theme. My only gripe is that the new Robin's name was Tim when His character was clearly Jason Todd. I actually like that the art syle updated. Batman: TAS gave us Noir Stories with villains introduced in the 40s. Superman: TAS gave us the kind of scifi stories of the 50s & Justice League of the 60s and Batman Beyond came out in 1999. A beautiful timeline can be constructed from that.

[@briarjensen2123]

I would say from the beginning to the end of the series the show was solid. I never thought the show was weak or got weaker at any point in the show

[@blueblur2273]

If anything I'd say the show got stronger. A lot of the stuff this guy is complaining about has always been apart of the series from the very beginning.

[@tonyyang136]

I strongly agree the revamp of characters showed less emotions and the writing was unlike the first season.

[@JustJaggo]

I personally like the Joker redesign but they should have kept the old one The redesign made him look younger

[@williamwalker146]

I always thought the re-draw's of Penguin and Scarecrow were much worse than the re-do on Joker. He still looked just as crazy, which was the main thing of importance.

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

And some of them *cough Killer Croc cough* looked better with the redesign.

[@williamwalker146]

@@nicholasfarrell5981 haha.

[@aliabdelhameed1584]

I feel that saying BTAS died when the show had moved from Fox over to Kids' WB was a bit disingenuous. You have to acknowledge the fact that The New Batman Adventures was a follow-up to the original Batman The Animated Series and the series itself takes place after a time-jump and as such it would explain charcters' changing behavior such as Batman/Bruce Wayne becoming more grim and less compassionate. TNBA wasn't inherently worse than BTAS, it just had a different focus, on the villains, on Batman's allies and the world they inhabit as well as some crossovers with Superman. Plus, it gave us some of the best episodes of the DC Animated Universe such as Over The Edge, Sins of The Father, Joker's Millions, Beware The Creeper and the crown jewel of them all Mad Love. So, I disagree completely with you when you say TNBA was a step down for the Batman series in the latter half of the 90's. Sure, the animation isn't as detailed as BTAS, and some of the character redesigns weren't really all that compelling, but it's still quality Batman content that shouldn't be written off or overlooked.

[@wo.959ironwolfcosplay7]

I always considered them to be 2 separate series.

[@seanewing204]

This sounds less like, "the show should have ended," and more like "these episodes should have aired in a different order." The redesign overall was okay. Two-Face benefitted from it, I like Riddler but know most don't, Joker was a downgrade, the rest were more-or-less on par. Besides: Joker's Millions, Beware the Creeper, The Judge, Mad Love, Mean Seasons, Girls Night Out, and more all justify this season's existence. The comics and video games associated with this series were mostly fun (had Batman: Vengeance for GBA and Rise of Sin Tzu for GBA and Gamecube), and it led to a handful of fun tie-in episodes on other series. Worth it.

[@victorfilm_]

Best Batman animated series to date!

[@tylerrubchinuk6778]

Season 3/4 is a solid season just sucks that they needed to course correct on some character designs further down the road (JL/JLU) and lack of episode counts was also a bummer

[@Theonetruewonderfly]

I don't think it "died" on September 13th, 1997 (the start of the WB era) but it definitely felt different.

[@blakemcnamara9105]

I HIGHLY disagree with this. Not one single season was bad and having Batman get darker, more cynical, and stoic over the years to the point of Batman Beyond was a genius move in my opinion. Also, the mystery of the changes in the last season was great to keep people hooked because we all wanted to find out what the drama was that was always lingering over everyone's heads.

[@TheLoginProductions]

The Animated Batman show in question has four seasons, not three. The forth season is the one that changed things up, not three. The show's quality is another matter, however one could argue that the "bad" started much sooner. Not in season three.

[@FunFactFilms]

Sounds like an interesting video you should make. I look forward to seeing it.

[@TheLoginProductions]

@@FunFactFilms Well there are a few things I need to say about what you brought up. To be honest, I feel as if (despite the reputation of the series) the show in question is more of a mixed bag. I can’t fully say I hate it, but I also can’t say it’s all good ether. My point is if I had to pin point down exactly when it started to get “bad” that might be hard, for there are “bad” things in season one. Let alone the rest of the series. I feel a possible cause for this could be a loss of vision. According to interviews and early drafts it seems that from the beginning they intended to make the show like if Max Fleischer did Batman. If nothing else there show was to be inspired / in line with Max Fleischer’s Superman shorts. I feel once they then made there own Superman (that was nothing like Max Fleischer’s Superman) and then created there own animated universe, I think everything was too far gone. They arguably did not even fully reach there goal of making there show like a possible “Max Fleischer’s Batman” which according to them was the intention. So putting the rest of what happened on top of that makes it all a hole big mess. One could argue that season four of there show was when they fully lost what the show was intended to be, however with episodes like “Forgotten” and “I got Batman in my basement” I am tempted to say that quality wise, the show was almost dead on arrival. Now I hate channel plugs so I will do my best not to have one here. However, if you truly would want a video of my thoughts on what a Bat-Man show should be, then look up “The Axe Man‘s jazz” and that should cover most of it.

[@FunFactFilms]

Thanks for sharing. For clarity, what episodes are you referring to as season 4? For my video, I was going by the blu-ray complete collection of the series that lists the show in three seasons. Wikipedia also uses that same structure with a slight difference that the WB show (season 3) is listed on its own page but is still labeled as a continuation of the BTAS series. I think a video on your thoughts would be great and it would be nice to have another voice added to the conversation. How did they not succeed at making a Batman series inspired by Fleisher's art style? How did those early episodes (which I agree are not great) kill the show so soon? How is a story about an axe murderer the perfect template for a Batman series?

[@TheLoginProductions]

@@FunFactFilms I will do my best to try and answer as many of your questions as possible, for some of them might be harder to explain then others. Take your first one as an example of this. “…what episodes are you referring to as season 4?” Well as far as I knew the change in art stile was the marking of season four. I have in fact the DVD box sets that label it as such, also for years I can recall promotional stuff for the show labeled it as the same. Having over all four seasons. On top of that there are many people in writing. video, and audio accounts saying the same as well. I admit I have not checked Wikipedia recently and I also do not have the blue-ray. So it’s possible that maybe people are trying to “rebrand the series” in some odd way. If you look up “Batman the animated series season four” it should bring up some of the things I have said if you wish to fact check me. I my self am tempted to check Wikipedia, but I almost am tempted not to. The reasoning for this is anything in Wikipedia can be edited by anyone at any time. So they may not be the best place to get reliable information. It could even be possible that they could change it from what you saw before I can even check it. Now on to the subject of me making a video on the matter. I’m not fully the kind of fellow to make videos like that but I do admit, I have indeed been tempted to do one. Plus your surprisingly friendly responses are making me consider it even further. I just want to add that I say “surprisingly friendly” for most of the fans of “Batman the animated series” are not always the most friendly, let alone are willing to hear that “The best Batman show ever!” is in fact not. It’s not just a rare few who think that way ether, a lot of the fans of that show think that way. I once had a fellow ask me a question of who I thought was the best “Batman”, they then told me the correct answer was the actor from this show. The worst part is they where not joking. If you ask a question about someone’s own tastes, to then say there is a correct answer is so insane it’s not even funny. So people like that make me not too willing to make that kind of a video on the matter. Maybe one day I will but only time will tell. Rather then making a video on why I think something failed, more times then not I would prefer to do one of two things. The first one is just doing this. Talk over my thoughts with someone else and get a back and forth. Possibly even try and reach a common ground. In fact this talk is probably the best one I have seen or even had my self about the show in question in a long time. Now lets talk about to the second one. Because I am in fact a writer of stories my self, I would rather just make something that I thought was better. Instead of making a video saying why something failed. Making my own stories that handle things the way I think they should be done. I could try and answer the rest of your questions now, however I might in the future make something that answers all of those questions and possibly even more. (ether threw a video or some other form) So for now I will leave you with the answer to your last question. “How is a story about an axe murderer the perfect template for a Batman series?” Head over to my channel and you will find the answer. The return of Bob Kane’s true vision. The Return of Bat-Man.

[@FunFactFilms]

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Whether you produce a video or post a story on a website I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks for trying to help me understand the context of what you mean by season 4, though I'm still not sure which episodes you're referring to. The DVD set breaks up the whole show into volumes, which some people refer Volume 4 to be "season 4". And an internet search labels five random episodes from season 2 as "season 4". So unfortunately I'm still at a loss about the context of your argument. But like you said, I think it's not our problem as much as it is an external issue caused by the different releases and labels of the show over the years.

[@isaacmarshmallow8751]

Counter-Point: I like both art styles. That season has more memorable episodes to me.

[@pennysanchez7656]

Mad Love is literally the show’s peak

[@Bale4Bond]

Holiday Nights was an almost direct adaption of an earlier released comic strip, related to the original Animated Series, hence Clayface being in it.

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

As was Mad Love. In fact, that episode would never have been made had the show stayed on Fox Kids.

[@claudegrinnell9602]

Over the edge…. I remember when I first watched this episode.

[@Jay123hollis]

I agree that it should have ended after season 2.

[@darkerknight7010]

Very nitpicky review. Season 3 freshened things up. And the need for instant gratification for plot development shouldn’t distract you from enjoying the series. The full story was told over the duration of the series. Plus the crossovers eps with Superman were great.

[@DougieYT]

While I still enjoyed the show in the later seasons, i absolutely despised the character’s redesigns, especially Catwoman’s zombified appearance & The Joker’s stick figure like face

[@CjackProductions]

I absolutely agree with this good work

[@Noble_Savage704]

This show had a great run. I mean an immaculate run. Adults were hype for this show when I was in middle school.

[@tonyvillarreal1812]

I could have sworn it was around this same time. All the best Batman art designers. Were moved to the Justice League show.

[@jacobfranzgrote]

Justice League wasn't even started though.

[@travismiller4320]

I only watched those WB Kids episodes because they came with the first two seasons on Blu-Ray, totally disappointed with 3, hated redesigns. I only got figures from first two seasons none from season 3. Still wanted a Rupert Throne, Clock King, and Ninja figure. Happy to get a Grey Ghost and officer Montoya figures though.

[@lonniethomas4343]

My favorite episode was Superman disguised as Batman , or was that stas?

[@Facade953]

That was a STAS episode but it was still awesome!

[@SB-vj7sz]

I agree with the art style. I disagree with the idea that Ivy and Harley wouldn’t have taken Bruce’s credit cards for a shopping spree. It shows the more playful side of Ivy, who was a billionaire’s black widow in her introduction. Harley was about money and jewelry, so that wasn’t a far walk from her origins. Both characters have grown in much more depth since the series so we might also be placing some character development that was not there when I watched it in the 90’s. Everything else I agree with. The progression jumped so far ahead that it was hard to enjoy. If I might present an additional word about the art style-Catwoman… what were they thinking?!

[@Dracovenatrix]

You forgot the mention how it established mark hamil and kevin convoy as voices for joker and batman

[@adamethridge7824]

The no lips smile is terrifying

[@deaddropsd1972]

RIP 🪦 Kevin Conroy

[@onetwo6039]

Just got the whole series on DVD for like $20 on prime day. 😁

[@funkyreapercat5280]

I missed the part where that's my problem.

[@ProfessorJay-sc6vd]

I don’t understand why ppl can’t just be happy for the content 🤨

[@rhosigma2388]

This was one of my favorite shows growing up. I was so sad they ended it. Could have gone on for many more years.

[@MrAnon00]

The thing I hated the most is what they did to Freeze... Unforgivable.

[@dm5408]

It sounds like you wanted to have your hand held in the storylines the switch to KidsWB. The stories paced themselves very well & the tension between Bruce & Dick also extended in other episodes. In "you scratch my back" & "Animal Act" while I slightly agree the "refined" characters change wasn't the best, but was for the better good to inline the 2 icons & their characters in the same universe. I believe having"old wounds" as the 17th episode was perfectly balanced, became of the tension all season led up to the right moment & only would have been ruined with if showed early. The series extended to creat the JL & JLU. All 3 seasons were some of the best not just in animation but television history!

[@blueblur2273]

Exactly. The reason they held it off for that long was to build that episode up. And personally I think the Kids WB incarnation was much better than the Fox one. I thought much of the design was better which is why they moved forward with those same designs in JL & JLU plus they were less restricted which allowed them to tell darker and more mature stories, much better dialogue and display stronger personalities which made for much better interaction between characters.

[@Mohamad-m7md]

I love the new art style Plus in the new art style batman’s skin color is consistent

[@Facade953]

They also gave him his blue eyes from the comic books and the TNBA costume is one of my all time favourite batsuits.

[@Guy-mx4fb]

i believe at the same time that season on WB came out, they were also writing Superman episodes,i think they were just over worked. and in a rush to meet deadlines with Batman. gladly they connected the two cartoons and made the incredible justice league cartoons which is so good