Having watched Batman: The Brave And The Bold, it's okay, but I am hankering for something a bit more... Timmish. Of the DCAU, I have only watched Justice League and JLU, which were pretty awesome. So, I figured why not start at the beginning and I'm now saving my pennies in hopes of getting Batman: The Animated Series.
I see that, in getting the complete four seasons on DVD, there are a couple options. First is basically getting the four volumes, basically individually, though often sold as a package (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Animated-Volumes-Classic-Collection/dp/B000B7QCHM/ref=pd_cp_d_1/176-6121675-0175916). The other route is the Batman - The Complete Animated Series (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Complete-Animated-Kevin-Conroy/dp/B001CTXUTQ/ref=sr_1_1/176-6121675-0175916) collector's set. I am tempted to go the latter route, if for no other reason than that set was released in 2008 and seems to have an extra disc, Shades of the Bat: Batman's Animated Evolution.
Does anyone know of any other differences between the sets or reason to prefer one over the other?
Get each and everyone of the first 3. Combined, you get all 85 episodes of the original Batman TAS, which is a heck of a good show. But here's a word of caution; stay away from Volume 4. That is actually the series 'The New Batman Adventures', and while it takes place in the same continuity as the first show, it's not nearly as good as it's predecessor. Finally, if you like Batman TAS, you might want to watch it's two movies after seeing the whole show.
My understanding is that aside from the extra disc, its nothing but a nice packaging of the the 4 box sets as one...
I would also check out Deep Discount. They have the collector set for $86.
http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=48547480
Their prices are always as low (or lower than other places) and Ive ordered from them 2 or 3 times and had no problems at all. Especially during the holidays when they often have 2 for 1 box set sales.
** EDIT while season 4 is definitely a departure form the other 3, I don't think its bad. You can definitely see some of the early design work that would influence Justice League.
kkhohoho, thanks for the warning about volume four. I had heard that it was a little different, but it seems (by reviews) that it's still pretty good. I will end up getting it anyway if I go with "the complete" collection.
GP, I am leaning toward that set because of the extra disc (I guess there is a glossy comic or something in the set as well) and because it looks like it will be cheaper to get the set than the individual volumes. According to my shop-fu, I can pick up that set for around $80 at Buy.com (http://www.buy.com/prod/batman-complete-animated-series/q/loc/322/208466311.html). BTW, both sites say that it has not been released yet, though I have seen reviews that said Warner released it in time for Christmas last year (http://childrens-dvds.suite101.com/article.cfm/dvd_review_batman_the_complete_animated_series). Is this a foul-up at the shopping sites or is this thing not coming out until August? What makes me suspect the latter is that Amazon doesn't have it at their own store, only through their partner stores.
I don't really have much to add (other then getting a full set is usually better then 4 individual ones) but I will say... the fourth season isn't as horrible as some would lead you to believe. It's... ok. The problem is that they did this at the same time they were focusing a majority of their efforts on Superman TAS (which I would also recommend) and the result was that TNBA ended up being relatively uninteresting despite introducing Nightwing and the like.
However... I will agree that giving Tim Drake (my favorite Robin) Jason's personality is die-in-a-fire worthy
It looks to me (and seems to be confirmed by some forum posts -- as much as that can be believed) like they released it last year around the holidays as a limited gift thing, then it was discontinued. So the stuff that's floating around now is remaining stock. Now if Buy.com is to be believed, they are getting more in August. As to whether this means a re-issue, or that they got their hands on some more, I don't know.
Bah, volume 4 is an affront to the rest of the Timmverse. Timm and co. spent five years saying how they WEREN'T making a kids' show, and then they turned around and made a kids' show. Worse, they simplified the art and messed with characters designs and motivations. With a few notable exceptions, that volume is terrible and the changes they made were almost enough to turn me off of Timm's work. Think about that for a while....ME.
Buy the first three volumes, as they are of unparalleled excellence.
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 25, 2009, 01:23:57 PM
With a few notable exceptions, that volume is terrible and the changes they made were almost enough to turn me off of Timm's work. Think about that for a while....ME.
Its just because there was no Aquaman.... :P
I would take season 4 over Brave and the Bold any day of the week. I know lots of people love it, but it just does nothing for me. And did you see the Superman Braniac movie?? THAT was an affront to the Timmverse.
Benton... you also hate Nightwing, Tim Drake, and modern comics in general. Just because they pulled from a newer source doesn't mean it was automatically bad.
Also, Goggles, as far as your "TNBA is better then B&B" statement... not only do I agree, I honestly feel that overall "The Batman" was a better show. At least that I can sit through 5 episodes of.
The New Batman Adventures/4th volume of Batman TAS is hardly terrible. The animation style is different, but not worse (it's more like Justice League, and while not as detailed, the characters were also off-spec way less often - plus Batman looks better in black than navy-blue), and yes, it was corporately-mandated into being a little more kid-friendly with Junior Robin and Batgirl being more prominent, but any season that produced the episodes "Mad Love" and "Over the Edge," as well as the Batman half of the "World's Finest" Batman/Superman crossover otherwise gets a walk from me. And it was still infinitely better than _The_ Batman and Batman: Brave & the Bold.
For the haters, I don't see how anyone can like Batman in Justice League/JLU, and hate the 4th season of Batman TAS - stylistically, tonally & thematically, those are versions closest together.
Quote from: Tomato on June 25, 2009, 02:34:12 PM
Benton... you also hate Nightwing, Tim Drake, and modern comics in general. Just because they pulled from a newer source doesn't mean it was automatically bad.
Now hold on just one cotton-picking minute here! Did I mention that my problems with the fourth volume had anything to do with them drawing from a newer source? Ha, Tomato, yes, I do hate Nightwing...with a passion. I hate him mostly because of the way the transition was handled...and surprise, surprise, they handled it the same way (more or less) in this series. Still, that is just icing on the cake for why I don't like these episodes. They were all around sell-outs as far as I am concerned. Too kiddy and dumbed-down to do the characters justice. Also, Talavar, as I've stated several times, I loved JLU IN SPITE of the art. I always felt like Timm had taken his style way too far. Superman was a step closer to that, but at least in Superman most of the characters didn't look like they couldn't fit through doorways. Don't get me wrong, I understand WHY they streamlined the art, but that doesn't mean I have to like the results. As far as TNBA goes, it has the same kind of terrible art, but neither the stories, character designs, nor any other facet of the final product salvages them as far as I'm concerned. Now, Batman in the first two season of JLU was played far too one note, anti-social jerk, but they eventually got over that. His role was still never as bad as when he was the center of TNBA. Add in how annoying Tim Drake was, the badly written trouble with Dick, and the creepy and utterly inappropriate overtones between Bruce and Barbra, and I'll stick with the first three volumes, thank you very much. Yes, there are some decent or clever episodes, but they are far, far too little for me.
What creepy overtones? TNBA was a little more grown up that Batman TAS if you look at it right.
Why is it creepy that Batman and Barbara seemed to be a couple? Batman's eternally 30, maybe 35 tops; Barbara's in her 20's. There's a bit of an age difference there, but hardly to a creepy level - it's not like she's a teenager (though someone could maybe mistake her for one, but she's already been a college student for some time at that point).
Benton, you don't have to like the 4th volume, but calling the art "terrible," and the show "badly written" just isn't the case. You didn't like them, but the calibre of the writing was maintained (there are some dud episodes to be sure, but that's true of the first 3 seasons of Batman TAS as well - the Terrible Trio anyone? And there are some great episodes) and the animation, while less detailed, was also more fluid then most episodes of the original style, and the animators stayed on spec better, which is basically a trade off. It was definitely worse than when the original style was animated at its best, like in Mask of the Phantasm, but it was the rare episode that was animated as well as that.
Bats is like a father to Dick, and in the way I felt the original series go, like a father to Babs as well. That's just creepy to me. Plus, he's HER father's best friend.
I'll give you this, compared to the other versions of Batman we've had recently, that fourth volume isn't "terrible." Compared to the first three, however, no other description fits it, in my opinion. It isn't just the art STYLE, Talavar, it is the character designs. While the writing may not be as bad as say, The Batman, even when it is relatively solid, WHAT they are writing about is of a pale blooded quality. Mr. Freeze? The Riddler? Catwoman? The compelling elements of these characters are stripped away, and what's more they are made to LOOK ridiculous. Also, I've always found the animation of the first three volumes excellent. I suppose I simply don't notice all these things other people seem to. Talavar, I will always consider TNBA the low point of Timm's career...and an embarrassing low point at that.
I liked the the 4th volume season and 'Over the Edge' is my favorite episode of the whole show.
I never really appreciated Batman TAS like some people do, kinda feel like I should give it another watch one day. Now Batman Beyond I love, and JL/U of course.
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 26, 2009, 04:29:54 PM
Bats is like a father to Dick, and in the way I felt the original series go, like a father to Babs as well. That's just creepy to me. Plus, he's HER father's best friend.
I'll give you this, compared to the other versions of Batman we've had recently, that fourth volume isn't "terrible." Compared to the first three, however, no other description fits it, in my opinion. It isn't just the art STYLE, Talavar, it is the character designs. While the writing may not be as bad as say, The Batman, even when it is relatively solid, WHAT they are writing about is of a pale blooded quality. Mr. Freeze? The Riddler? Catwoman? The compelling elements of these characters are stripped away, and what's more they are made to LOOK ridiculous. Also, I've always found the animation of the first three volumes excellent. I suppose I simply don't notice all these things other people seem to. Talavar, I will always consider TNBA the low point of Timm's career...and an embarrassing low point at that.
He's her father's friend, but also much younger than her father.
I don't care for many of the character redesigns for that part of the show (particularly the Riddler), and Mr. Freeze definitely suffers in the TNBA compared to his initial outings (though I actually prefer his visual redesign), but the embarrassing low point of Timm's career?
Really? Worse than He-man, GI Joe or Blackstar? Save some hyperbole for the rest of us.
Well, just to follow up (and in case anyone else was thinking of getting the DVD set), I placed an order this morning and, by this afternoon, the order status has changed to "shipped". (I think that just means UPS has created the paperwork for the package, not that anything has actually even left the shipper's building.)
BTW, I decided to check on this DVD set again because everyone was out of stock back in June (as per earlier in this thread) and I remembered it was due out at the end of this month. I ended up ordering from Barnes & Noble online (http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?EAN=0883929032273&x=03182708), which had a decent price (US$75.59 + free shipping, though I had to pay state sales tax). Oddly, deepdiscount.com, buy.com, and amazon.com's sellers still listed it as available for pre-order only, which had me thinking Warner Bros had delayed the release again or something. But, B&N (from whom I haven't bought anything online in about 6 years) had it "in stock". I was worried this would be one of those situations where I placed the order and then I would get an email the next day saying it was out of stock or out of print and my order would ship when WB re-released, but I am hoping that the fact B&N filed a shipping order with UPS means they have at least confirmed that they actually have it...
I think it's a good investment. That 4th season was really good story wise. Yes...the character designs were off but some of my favorite Batman TAS stories come from the 4th season...
Spoiler
When Superman takes over as Batman...was that considered Batman or Superman in the cartoon world? Also, when Scare crow has babs dreaming she died.
Quote from: Talavar on June 28, 2009, 04:33:12 AM
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 26, 2009, 04:29:54 PM
Bats is like a father to Dick, and in the way I felt the original series go, like a father to Babs as well. That's just creepy to me. Plus, he's HER father's best friend.
I'll give you this, compared to the other versions of Batman we've had recently, that fourth volume isn't "terrible." Compared to the first three, however, no other description fits it, in my opinion. It isn't just the art STYLE, Talavar, it is the character designs. While the writing may not be as bad as say, The Batman, even when it is relatively solid, WHAT they are writing about is of a pale blooded quality. Mr. Freeze? The Riddler? Catwoman? The compelling elements of these characters are stripped away, and what's more they are made to LOOK ridiculous. Also, I've always found the animation of the first three volumes excellent. I suppose I simply don't notice all these things other people seem to. Talavar, I will always consider TNBA the low point of Timm's career...and an embarrassing low point at that.
He's her father's friend, but also much younger than her father.
I don't care for many of the character redesigns for that part of the show (particularly the Riddler), and Mr. Freeze definitely suffers in the TNBA compared to his initial outings (though I actually prefer his visual redesign), but the embarrassing low point of Timm's career? Really? Worse than He-man, GI Joe or Blackstar? Save some hyperbole for the rest of us.
Given that the only work of his I'm particularly familiar with are his DCU toons, then yes, my statement was perfectly accurate. I wasn't aware that he worked on those toons in the 80's. He didn't seem old enough.
Since I sometimes complain about poor service or efficiency, in the interest of fairness, I need to compliment Barnes & Noble (and UPS) on completing my order and getting it to me very quickly. I placed the order yesterday at 9 AM. It was at my door today when I left for lunch at about 12:30 PM. And, that was with the free shipping option. I know it only had to go 240 miles from B&N Nevada to me in California, but I am still very happy with their efficiency. :thumbup:
thalaw2, the Batman/Superman episode is part of the Superman TAS DVD season 3 set.