Beware the Batman: "Nexus"

Regular readers of my work at Biff Bam Pop! know that I recently wrote an overview of the most recent Batman animated series - "Beware the Batman." The show continues to air at the ungodly hour of 2:30 AM on the Cartoon Network late Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings. Thank goodness for DVRs.

A couple weeks back Batman finished a large story arc where he faced off against Ras Al Ghul and an odd assemblage of his foes

from the series. Circumstances of the conflict caused Alfred to leave, so now Batman and Katana are on their own. Onto this relatively clean slate we get the introduction of a classic Batman character and future villain, District Attorney Harvey Dent, who in the comics, after an unfortunate encounter with acid, becomes the sinister split personality Two-Face.

Here, in what is possibly the best episode of the series so far, "Nexus," Dent is the adversary and the force behind capturing the masked vigilante Batman. So simple, so pure, and so back to basics, I liked this a lot. Batman and Katana are working well as partners, Gordon is finally in place as Police Commissioner, the Bat-Signal is in use, and Dent is anti-Batman.

Speaking of the anti-Batman, Anarky is also here to play. Originally, in the comics, Anarky was a potential Robin, but here in "Beware the Batman," he is more like a subtle version of the Joker, with a bit less insanity, and wearing a cross between Batman's traditional costume and Moon Knight's.

This is an awesome episode, and a great introduction to the series if you're coming in late. And of course, you'll have to be coming in late because that when Cartoon Network airs it. Good stuff is coming, Metamorpho returns this weekend, and then, the Paul Kirk Manhunter!

BoJack Horseman

Most Netflix TV series get a lot of publicity like "House of Cards," "Orange Is the New Black," or the recent tragic but wonderful conclusion to AMC's aborted "The Killing," but sometimes there are shows that just slide under the radar that are just as good. "BoJack Horseman" is one of them.

"BoJack Horseman" is an animated Netflix original from some of the same folks who do the Adult Swim programming on the Cartoon Network. It's about a washed up actor, who happens to be a horse, in a world full of both humans and anthropomorphic animals. The title character used to be in a wildly successful 1990s sitcom and is trying to make a comeback while having his memoirs ghost written by a rival's girlfriend.

Speaking of comebacks, it actually does remind me of HBO's brilliant "The Comeback," which is ironically coming back later this year. Aaron Paul of "Breaking Bad" is an executive producer and voices Todd, BoJack's friend/roommate/slacker/squatter. Will Arnett is in the title role, with other characters voiced by Alison Brie, Paul F. Tomkins, and Amy Sedaris.

I know the critics haven't been kind to it so far, but I love it. It's clever and fun, and hates Hollywood. And it does something that most network sitcoms don't do, it makes me laugh out loud. Give "BoJack Horseman" a shot, you might dig it too.

Legacy of the Blue Falcon

There was a dead zone in the middle of the 1970s when we really didn't have superheroes on Saturday morning television. Oh, they were there, they were just... neutered. They solved problems, fought pollution and litter, preached brotherhood, rescued kittens, and taught magic tricks and moral lessons. These are by no means bad things, but at the time, I knew all that stuff, what I wanted was for Batman to punch the Joker just once.

It was into this environment, full of neutered superheroes and teens and their dogs solving mysteries that Blue Falcon and his robotic sidekick Dynamutt the Dog Wonder were born. They were a bit of both worlds. The latter being the Scooby-Doo like comic relief and BF being the serious superhero. For me, a new superhero was sometimes better than an out of character superhero like the Super-Friends.

Blue Falcon was a wealthy socialite in Big City, Radley Crown, a loose Batman clone with more science at his disposal, well, obviously, with a robot dog. He had a great car that also flew, was summoned by a signal, and best of all, was voiced by Gary Owens. As shown by more than a couple crossovers (and sadly the Laff-a-Lympics), BF and DW were solidly in the Scooby-Doo universe.

Sometimes it was silly, but it was still superheroes on TV so I ate it up. Sadly though, after only twenty episodes, an apparent two seasons, our heroes were relegated to syndication. There were appearances, yes, on the embarrassing and aforementioned Laff-a-Lympics, and much later as a ridiculous recurring character on Cartoon Network's "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law."

There really wouldn't be a more serious appearance until the "Dyno-Might" episode of "Dexter's Laboratory," where Dynomutt is mortally damaged in combat and Blue Falcon brings him to Dexter to repair. Dexter of course rebuilds him to the max, into a cross between Robocop, Batman, and a mechtank. Hilarity ensues as BF, Dexter, and the old DW must stop this new threat. A bit cartoony, but not bad, it was certainly better than Harvey Birdman.

The Blue Falcon's next major appearance was very different. In the "Heart of Evil" episode of "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated," there are several landmarks of note for the character. We finally get an origin story for Dynamutt and the Blue Falcon, the hero is presented very much the same way as Batman in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and the Hanna-Barbera shared universe is expanded to include the "Jonny Quest" characters as well with Dr. Benton Quest involved in the origin and Dr. Zin as the villain.

But this year, just as I was getting excited by a world where Jonny Quest and the Blue Falcon co-exist, they rewrote the rules. Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon reboots the superhero as a fictional character from comics, who had a campy TV series in the past, and now a darker edgier movie coming out now. Yeah, holy Batman, Batman. It does however make some nice points about grim and gritty superheroes and Hollywood.



The direct-to-DVD movie is not without its charm however. Many of the Hanna-Barbera superhero characters of the past appear as background as this case happens at a comic book convention. Look for cameos of Frankenstein Jr., Mightor, the Herculoids, Hong Kong Phooey, Space Ghost, Apache Chief, even Atom Ant, and others. These Easter eggs make the feature almost tolerable. Despite his name in the title, the Blue Falcon isn't really in this flick. There is a sequel in the works, set in the same continuity.

Dynomutt and the Blue Falcon live on however in our memories, and on DVD (though not yet streaming). If you remember the toon, relive it, and if you're a noob, check it out. It's an animated slice of the 1970s worth watching.

Beware the Batman

I approach this new Batman series with both trepidation and resentment. We're getting this series as not only a replacement for the old "Brave and the Bold" series, which gave us an intriguing and entertaining new direction for the character, but also a replacement for the much loved, and inexplicably ended "Green Lantern" and "Young Justice." I would have much rather had either of these series back, or a JLA spin-off from the later than anything else Cartoon Network is offering lately, especially the superdeformed mutilation called "Teen Titans Go!" or this newest version of Batman.

"Beware the Batman" is a bit of an oddity, with, in my opinion, very little to like. The animation is CGI style like the aforementioned Green Lantern series, and there seems to be very little reason to have it done in this method. There are no wild scifi elements that this style would benefit. Batman's head is odd and his whole costume has a wet, almost slimy, vinyl rubber look.

It is also quite violent. I was surprised at how violent, and I'm pretty desensitized to that sort of thing, especially when it comes to superheroes and cartoons. This is also a very different concept for Batman. He is, once again (groan), early in his career and therefore inexperienced. Why can't we have the confident and competent Batman? That's the one we like, not the bumbling amateur.

I said this was a new concept, well, young and dumb isn't what I was talking about. Alfred is very different. More than a butler, he is an Australian ex-spy who looks like cross between Lex Luthor and Vin Diesel. It's an intriguing idea, but I don't like it.

Also in the way of change, I understand that the standard rogues gallery is being jettisoned for this new series. I think this is a very odd decision as Batman's bizarre enemies are as much a part of his popularity as everything else. In the opener, he fights the very strange Grant Morrison creations, Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad. I was not impressed.

Also featured in the episode were a non- Mr. Terrific Michael Holt and a decidedly pre-Metamorpho Simon Stagg. Was this just for the Easter egg name drop then? Let's face it, Mr. Terrific and Metamorpho are what makes these characters interesting, without them, why use them?

I'm giving this series a wait and see option. I haven't really decided yet. It could go either way after watching just one episode, but I really don't know.

I did however like the DC Nation short featuring the Tarantino-esque Aeon Flux style retro Wonder Woman short. Can't wait to see more. Instead of another Batman, why not a series based on this, of one of the other better shorts like Amethyst, Sword of the Atom, Plastic Man, or Thunder and Lightning? Or if you insist on Batman, how about Batman of Shanghai?

Hotel Transylvania

Hotel Transylvania ~ I gotta be up front with this one. It's not bad, but honestly I was expecting so much more from Genndy Tartakovsky's first foray into big screen animation. "Samurai Jack," "Dexter's Laboratory" and especially the most recent "Sym-Biotic Titan" are among my faves on Cartoon Network. Yeah, I know he also worked on "Star Wars: Clone Wars," but let's get real, it is sooo not in the same league.

Hotel Transylvania is not bad, but it's not that good either. Simplistic, and borrowing more than a little from Rankin/Bass' Mad Monster Party? from decades ago, it struggles more than it needs to by using the voice talents (and I use the word 'talent' very loosely) of Adam Sandler as Dracula. It's like listening to Sandler's annoying Opera Man voice for almost two hours. Where there's Sandler, there's also Kevin James as Frankenstein, as well as a cornucopia of unfunny "Saturday Night Live" veterans.

This one is good for the kids, but might be a bit much to take for the adults. Be warned, the end breaks into a rap celebration that must be missed. Embarrassing for all involved. Seeing Steve Buscemi involved in this movie tells me he owes somebody a big favor, or he needs to fire his agent. As for Genndy Tartakovsky, his next project is rumored to be a big budget animated Popeye. I'm hoping for the best, and not more of this.

At War with Comcast

Dear Comcast, recently you introduced your new Interactive Program Guide for cable television service in our area. Now if it were merely a matter of me not liking the aesthetics of it, or the readability, I can understand that I'm just be picky. Change happens, sometimes not for the better. And just for the record, the aesthetics and the readability suck, in my far less than humble opinion.

Functionality may be where the problem(s) lie. But let's talk positive first. The Program Guide can now DVR programs more than a week into the future. Closed captioning is now available on our HD television and it was not before. These are both good things, and I thank you and praise you.

As I implied earlier, the Guide is extremely difficult to navigate, and the website and instructional videos are really not much help if I'm being honest. The sleep timer is gone, so no more watching TV 'til I fall asleep. And it takes four steps to DVR something now where it used to take two. After a few days, by hit and miss, I got the gist of how things worked. But things began to go downhill, and out of my control, very quickly.

The DVR began to only record just a few minutes of a program the first night the Guide was installed. The first attack took out three programs recorded in one hour - one one hour show and two half-hour shows back to back at the same time. It did it to those same shows the next week. In the week between various programs suffered the same fate.

And then there were the other 'fun' things that occurred since the Program Guide was installed. On Demand has been intermittently working. Occasionally some channels would say that we're not authorized to watch them. For instance, we would get the same message for The Cooking Channel, Cartoon Network and G4 that we get for a pay channel like Cinemax that we do not subscribe to.

I did not sit and take this by the way. I am a complete evil bastard when it comes to talking with customer service. However, since The Bride used to work for Comcast, I tried my damnedest to be polite and calm, just in case I was speaking to someone we/she knew or used to work with. Just for the record, since June 7th, I have logged fourteen total calls to Comcast for various problems.

Sunday night, the shit hit the fan, as they say. The season finales of "Game of Thrones" and "The Killing" did not record at all. There were other programs that didn't record or only recorded a few minutes of that night, but those two hurt me. When I tried to calm down, and watch them OnDemand, my blood pressure shot into the sky. OnDemand wasn't working either.

I was on the phone to Comcast immediately. I had had enough of this crap. Through gritted teeth I carefully explained the problems to the customer service representative, and a technician visit was planned for the next day. This was last Tuesday. Long story short, Comcast sent a guy who looked like a Russian mobster from "The Sopranos," with a very thick (almost to the point of hysteria) accent to match, to my house to change out the cable boxes. I was told, and after he said it several times I understood, that the problem was fixed.

That night, and the next three nights, the problem reoccurred. I called the cable company again, all calm out of the question. I was no longer polite, I was no longer understanding - I was what is probably gently referred to as 'the irate customer.' Yet another customer service representative talked to me slowly and softly, as if I was on the ledge of a tall building and threatening to jump. I was told that I wouldn't being paying for the service calls, I would receive a discount on the DVR bill and that a technician would be at my home on Monday.

After a weekend of the intermittently functional DVR giving us incomplete recordings if at all, the technician arrived Monday. He asked a lot of questions, fiddled with some wires and then went outside to call his supervisor. You want to know what the bottom line was? "It's a software problem, and they are working out the bugs. Yeah, it sucks, but there it is."

The technician left. Unharmed. And about a dozen more blood vessels in my forehead popped. The problem continues. And I'm looking into TIVO.

Justice League: A New Animated Crisis

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths ~ The evil twin premise is one that is as old as the hills, and this specific premise regarding the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three and the Justice League dates back nearly four decades, and now it comes to animation in this new DVD. The science fiction (and now probable fact with string theory) concept of the multiverse has been a staple of DC Comics’ Justice League for a long time, and Earth-Three’s evil Justice League has become legend and a fan favorite. This story brings both elements together nicely.

The Crime Syndicate – Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Power Ring and Johnny Quick - aren’t just our heroes with beards a la "Star Trek," but are fully realized psychopaths with different origins and backgrounds that only resemble the League. They rule their world with an iron fist and have murdered their world’s heroes, the last survivor of which is ironically Lex Luthor. Luthor escapes to our world to get the JLA to help stop the Syndicate. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

All the characters involved in this animated feature are very in character with the comics, moreso to the cartoon of a few years back, but the comics as well, and I happily blame writer Dwayne McDuffie. He was a longtime writer in the comics, and a fan before that, but most importantly he was one of the main writers on the two Cartoon network "Justice League" series. Hal Jordan replaces John Stewart as Green Lantern, for no other reason I can think of other than his recent animated feature and upcoming live-action film. While I’m happy to see Hal, he doesn’t mix as well with the animated Flash as one would hope.

But I should note that this is not a continuation of the Cartoon Network series so this are really unjustified observations. To clarify that, this feature has an all-new voice cast. The voice casting is inspired on all levels, especially James Woods as Owlman. My only complaint in that area would be Mark Harmon’s Superman. It just doesn’t work for me – too brash, not confident or heroic enough in my opinion.

Crisis on Two Earths is filled with Easter eggs. One early on is when the two teams first meet, we get to see not only evil counterparts of the Outsiders, but the infamous Justice League Detroit as well. And the Marvel Family! That was a surprise bonus I was not expecting.

McDuffie has added an intriguing mob mentality to the Crime Syndicate organization, making them more of a real syndicate – a welcome twist. The five primary members are now 'made men' (and women), captains of their families if you will, and all the other metahumans are under their leadership.

Another Easter egg/twist is the identity of the US President of Earth-Three (let’s just call a spade a spade even though it’s never mentioned in the flick) – Deathstroke. And his teenage daughter Rose who protests against the Crime Syndicate is another. Her twist is even deeper as a romance blooms between her and the Martian Manhunter. Yeah, not only is he older, he’s millennia older.

The families of the made men are made up of numerous evil counterparts of heroes from the Justice League’s world, allowing for not only a myriad of guest appearances, but also evil twisted versions of those characters. But logically I had to wonder, on the regular Earth there are a dozen or more villains to every hero – on this reverse-morality world, shouldn’t it be crawling with heroes? Or did the Crime Syndicate kill them all?

Speaking of killing them all, the story is about more than an evil twin tale or the JLA fighting their evil fascist counterparts, or even about J’Onn making Martian love to the squeaky clean Rose Wilson. The real villain here is James Woods’ Owlman. Batman’s darker opposite number is more than he seems – a sociopath who wants to not only destroy the world, but all worlds, all of reality. His is a philosophical act, the only one that will matter. Man, that’s scary and heavy all at once.

All in all, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is an enjoyable romp back into the animated world of the JLA. Fans of the comics, and the TV series will love it, and there’s even enjoyment for mainstream outsiders as well. Recommended. But of course, the real reason to get this DVD is for the Spectre animated short, which I’ll be reviewing shortly...

Quickies 1-13-2010

(500) Days of Summer ~ One of the better films of the year, this is a day by day examination of a relationship, sometimes in order, sometimes not. The story and the acting are great and the music and literary references are delicious. This flick also has one of the best impromptu dance numbers (to Hall and Oates of all things) this side of Enchanted or Clerks 2. Do not miss.

9 ~ More ugly animation from Tim Burton, while visually interesting it quickly got boring after about twenty minutes. It was originally created as a short, perhaps it should have stayed such.

Family Guy: Something Something Something Dark Side ~ This second Seth McFarlane “Family Guy” feature parodies the second Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back. This one is notably more Family Guy than Star Wars but still damned accurate and damned funny. The one thing that does get me is how fantastic and detail-oriented the animation of the ships and background look. How come this parody looks like this, but the real thing – the “Clone Wars” cartoon on Cartoon Network, looks like crap. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

A Thousand Clowns ~ This classic 1965 film is proof positive of Jason Robards’ talent, as well as getting an Oscar for Martin Balsam’s performance and a handful of other nominations including best picture too. A simple story – a woman convinces an out of work imaginative writer to get his job back in order to maintain custody of his gifted nephew. Robards and the young Barry Gordon as well as most of the rest of the cast reprised their roles from the stage play by Herb Gardener. He also wrote the screenplay, that while still feeling stagebound, is an amazing tour de force for all the actors involved. The chemistry of all the actors is incredible. Must see.

Venture Bros. Season 4

Season 4 of "The Venture Bros." begins Sunday night on Cartoon Network.

The Show that Wouldn't Die

Since its debut on Fox in March of 1999, "Futurama" has had a rocky existence on television. The animated series, revolving around an inept pizza delivery guy frozen and released on the unsuspecting 31st century, has been canceled and un-canceled more times that I want to count. The warmness toward the program is probably due to its creators, David X. Cohen and Matt Groening, the latter being the creator of "The Simpsons." Fox wouldn't do anything to tick off the creator of their continuous cash cow, not if they were smart, but eventually dwindling ratings held sway.

After being syndicated on both Cartoon Network and significantly Comedy Central after (and during) its cancellation(s), "Futurama" proved successful enough to have four direct-to-DVD movies made, essentially a 'fifth season.' Ironically enough, these movies separated by months in between was really no more erratic that the schedule Fox was airing the series anyway when it was officially a Fox program. These DVDs were equally successful to merit the return of "Futurama" as a regular series on Comedy Central with twenty-six new episodes for mid-2010. I wonder how hard Fox is kicking themselves now?


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Bat-Mite Strikes Again

Cartoon Network’s hit series “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” will be taking a ride on the crazy train soon. The program, which features an old school Batman teaming up with various other superheroes to fight crime and defeat costumed baddies, welcomes a few familiar names back onto the small screen on May 29th.

Paul Dini, who was instrumental in the ongoing creation of Fox’s award-winning “Batman: The Animated Series” during the 1990s, comes on board to write a special episode featuring another name from the past, Bat-Mite!

In the episode titled “Legends of the Dark-Mite!” Bat-Mite (voiced by Paul Reubens AKA Pee-Wee Herman) kidnaps Batman and takes him to the Fifth Dimension where hilarity literally ensues. Lots of old school versions of Batman’s enemies show up to the party as well, with more than one nod to the Looney Tunes cartoons of yesteryear. Don’t miss it!



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G.I. Joe: Resolute

G.I. Joe is back, and no, I'm not just talking about the upcoming live-action movie. If folks go on over to Adult Swim.com, you can check out the first two chapters (and in the following days, the rest) of "G.I. Joe: Resolute," an updated, anime-style and R-rated for violence new series with the Joe crew facing off against a meaner more terroristic Cobra. Not for the kids, but well worth checking out!


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Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Had enough of the psychotic sociopath dark knight version of Batman? Yeah, me too. Well, Cartoon Network might have something coming up in the new season that might just please those of us in the supposed minority – “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.”

The series takes its name from the old DC Comics title of roughly the same name. Brave and the Bold was originally a try-out title, launching such comics as Justice League of America, Suicide Squad and Hawkman. It soon morphed into a team-up book, and still later in the early 1970s into the Batman team-up book. The series, highlighted by stories from Bob Haney and at by Jim Aparo, was a fan fave as the caped crusader teamed with frequent guest-stars like Wildcat, Green Arrow, Sgt. Rock and even the Joker. The new TV series isn’t far from that original concept.

Here's how Cartoon Network describes it: "Batman isn't going at it alone this time! From Warner Bros. Animation comes the latest interpretation of the classic Batman franchise. Our caped crusader is teamed up with heroes from across the DC Universe, delivering nonstop action and adventure with a touch of comic relief. Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, Aquaman and countless others will get a chance to uphold justice alongside Batman. Though still based in Gotham, Batman will frequently find himself outside city limits, facing situations that are both unfamiliar and exhilarating. With formidable foes around every corner, Batman will still rely on his stealth, resourcefulness and limitless supply of cool gadgets to bring justice home."

The happier shinier Batman is voiced by Dietrich Bader formerly of “The Drew Carey Show,” and is joined by Tom Kenney as Plastic Man (who also portrayed the hero in a Plas animated pilot a couple years back), fan favorite Wil Wheaton as the new Blue Beetle, John DiMaggio (Bender of “Futurama”) as Aquaman, and in a bit of inspired casting, R. Lee Ermey as Wildcat. Tom Everett Scott and Billy West will also reprise their “Justice League Unlimited” roles of Booster Gold and Skeets.


The cartoon will have a real retro-feel to it, sort of a cross between the 1966 camp “Batman” TV series and the world’s greatest detective stories by Haney/Aparo in Brave and the Bold comics. This even shows up in design. Aquaman is in his old costume while still sporting his more recent beard. Green Arrow wears his old costume as well, but with a New Frontier-esque flair. Some characters, like the Red Tornado, are familiar yet new designs.

We even see a selection of old school villains long since lost in the shadows behind Batman’s more psychotic enemies. There will be such oddities as Calendar Man, the Cavalier, Kite-Man, Clock King and the Zebra-Man, as well as more traditional super-foes like Kanjar Ro, Gorilla Grodd, Black Manta, Ocean Master, the Gentleman Ghost and the Emerald Empress.

On the hero side in the team-up department we’ll also see Doctor Fate, Kamandi, Metamorpho, the Atom, Deadman, Black Canary, Adam Strange, Fire, Guy Gardner, Jonah Hex, the Green Lantern Corps, the Flash, the Huntress, the Justice Society of America, and yes, even Bat-Mite and Ace the Bathound. And if that ain’t old school, I don’t know what is.



“Batman: The Brave and the Bold” premieres on Cartoon Network on November 14th.

Total Drama Island

If you’re like me and like chilling in the shallow end of the television ghetto with the reality shows and the cartoons – you’re going to love this. “Total Drama Island” is an import from Canada made last year by Teletoon. Twenty-two animated teens split into two teams at Camp Wawanakwa and compete until the losing team has to vote someone off – to walk down the Dock of Shame to the Boat of Losers. Yes, it’s the bastard child of “Survivor,” but that’s a good thing. At least it’s not like Comedy Central’s “Drawn Together,” which is just an excuse for animators to draw wee-wees, talk dirty and do potty jokes. “TDI” is nothing like that at all.

That’s not to say it’s not adult. “Total Drama Island” has a dual sensibility similar to the old Warner Brothers cartoons. The teens will love the characters and the adults will love the situations. The best part is that is does play out exactly like a reality show. One character leaves every episode, counting down to a finale where the last player wins a boatload of cash. Check it out, well worth it. Now showing on the Cartoon Network.