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In case
you were thinking "We don't nearly have enough Batman on
Television!" well then look no further than "Batman: The
Brave and the Bold." Where Bruce Timm took every step to
re-invent and re-work the legend of Batman to transform
it in to something of a mythos for all ages, Warner has
actively worked at undoing much of what he's
accomplished with this new series that is about as
watered down as Adam West's Batman with about most of
the cheese and very little of the appeal of the original
Timm series. Where DC would love to explain that this is
a new era for the character, the fact is that DC and
Warner have progressively watered down The Dark Knight
with "The Batman" that began as a prequel series and
turned in to kiddie fodder, and then "The Brave and the
Bold" which sports about all of the supporting
characters of the DC Universe along with Batman's own
gadgets while being about as simplistic and dunderheaded
as humanly possible. Even for nostalgia buffs this will
prove to be an empty and often vapid affair as the
characters plant their tongue firmly in cheek with every
episode turning Batman in to one giant plot device used
to introduce a convoluted plot where Batman plays second
fiddle or just allow for an endless string of comedy
that is about as flat as expected. Folks like Aquaman
are turned in to a surfer dude, Blue Beetle is put in to
the skin of a typical tech superhero, and Guy Gardener
is a Looney Tunes character. Batman meanwhile is
incredibly uneven as a character first taking about as
much fun from perilous situations as possible, while
also trying to be as dark and brooding as the censors
would allow. |
| Diedrich Bader is a
rather unworthy successor to the past voices for the
Batman and here he's about as exaggerated as the
material invoking Adam West with his own touch of
Patrick Warburton for good measure. Batman is given
a light blue and gray color scheme for his costume
which is good for action figures and the like, while
every episode is fairly unimpressive and unlike
anything you'll see in past Batman fare. Characters
from DC walk in and out of every single installment
of the series giving Batman his own obstacle for the
day which includes Batman taking on his old
classmate from an ancient dojo, Batman exploring
what it is to be a Deadman thanks to the Deadman who
randomly appears to guide him in to his battle with
a foe, and his confrontation with Morgana La Fey
teaming with Green Arrow to take on the Demon
Etrigan and grab on to Excalibur. Almost none of the
tragic elements from the Batman lore is present
beyond Bruce's confrontation with his dead parents
in "Dawn of the Deadman," and there's no attempt at
delving in to the psychology of his loss or his
mourning, he's merely reduced to being a quipping
acrobatic superhero who holds no consequences or
contemplation of his action at any time. Every
episode acts as something of a standalone
installment where there's no real continuity
present, just one recurring character after the
other as Batman seems to just drift in to new
adventures without ever stopping. Why did he leave
Gotham? Where is Alfred? None of that matters since
"The Brave and the Bold" is more intent on pandering
to kids than its core audience, in the end making
for nothing more than a forgettable and fairly
absurd little series. Beyond the episodes, there's
really no special features on Part One of the Season
One DVD set, other than trailers, so for any
collectors looking for bells and whistles, you will
not find them here. |
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