Customer Reviews

Batman - The Animated Series, Vol. 1

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I vaguely remember I was 7-years-old when this show aired and it slipped from my memory - until I bought the DVD box-sets of the series, that is. I'd watched all the episodes (including episodes from The New Batman Adventures series) and I love the show; of course, I prefer the original 1992-1994 series. As for the voice acting, I love Roddy McDowell's Mad Hatter, Melissa Gilbert's Batgirl and Henry Polic's Scarecrow...I like the sound of Polic's voice in the episode Nothing to Fear.

So anyway the series and Tim Burton's film version are the reasons I love the Batman.

Inspired by the 1989 motion picture "Batman", which in turn was primarily based on the works of Batman creator Bob Kane and comics legend Frank Miller, Batman: the Animated Series, when it debuted in September of 1992 unintentionally became the new standard of animation with it's revolutionary visuals and phenomenal storytelling.

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

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

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

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

Warner Bros. is getting down!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shame to even refer to this as a cartoon...more like an animated superhero Shakespear. This animated show is over 10 years old and it holds up today as it will 100 years from now. It took everything that was right about the movies 10% and everything great from the comics 90% and melded it into its own universe. Allowed others to see what I love about Batman. It is rare that a grown man can enjoy something with a 5 year old and both enjoy it immensely. I can't wait for the rest of the seasons to be released

Batman: the animated series was the best comic book based series, and still is. It isn't dumbed down or made too "kid friendly" like many other comic book series turned cartoon series. It's dark, moody, suspenseful, and action packed. It's perfect for kids and adults, with great voice acting and excellent art direction. However, I took one star off for the DVD itself. Barely any added features and a horrible video transfer. It looks like a VHS version was just copied onto DVD, scratches and all. Though, it does make Batman look like an old cartoon, which kind of adds to the ambience of the animated series. It's not a cartoon, it's an animated series, and it puts the "dark" back into the Dark Knight.

This dvd set is a solid set for any fan of the Batman franchise, young and old. It has great classic episodes from one of the best crime solvers ever created.
There are some problems with this dvd transfer. The video quality is not that well done. While viewing the episodes, you can see a lot grain on the film stock. The quality could have been bumped up for a dvd set like this. The sound quality is not that great as it is only two channel dolby. Again could have been improved on for the dvd set. All in all this dvd set is a great buy if you want to watch Batman: The Animated Series. I do recommend it to any fan.

This was the BEST series on Fox in the mid-nineties. There is a little bit of dust transfer but really--it's just as awesome as I remember it. The commentary with On Leathery Wings is probably one of the best I've heard. The creators are so excited to talk about this show that I couldn't help but to grin in response.

I can't wait for Volume 2

Warner Brother's animated series "Batman" is probably the my favorite cartoon. This was certainly one of the most creative and inovative cartoon from the 1990s (my apologies to all the "South Park" fans out there). This series follows the adventures of Batman/Bruce Wayne, Robin/Dick Greyson (who is written and porteyed much better here that in the movies), Batgirl/Barbera Gordon, et al. On the forces of evil are Joker, Pinguin, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Bane, and many other interesting villians. I thought that most of the plots to this season were pretty good, if somewhat generic. I really liked the style, very dark and intense, not what I was expecting out of a TV cartoon; it certainly took it's cue from Japaneese anima. The cartoon show is actually better than the movies. This is one of the better shows, at least until "Justice League".

I have been looking for Batman episodes for years, since my tapes having been falling apart. These episodes are hard to come by, but now I can watch them anytime without having to rewind old blank tapes with the show on those. This is a must have for Batman fans everywhere! You don't want to miss any of the action on these DVDs! Joker RULES!!!

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

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