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For some
reason, the folks who brought us Batman: The Animated Series
and the entertaining Batman:
Mask of the Phantasm decided that it was time for a change
of pace. So just as Joel Schumacher changed the direction
of the live action Batman series, the-powers-that-be moved
the Batman mythology fifty years into the future. Neither
change was an improvement.
Bruce Wayne's
(Kevin Conroy reprising his voice role) heart can no longer
deal with the stress of Batman's rigorous style of crime fighting.
So the Dark Knight hangs up his cape and is reduced to a recluse,
alone in the vastness of Wayne Manor. Twenty years pass during
which Alfred presumably dies. Wayne's many business holdings
become all but controlled by the amoral Derek Powers (Sherman
Howard). And, unknown to Wayne, the Wayne-Powers conglomerate
is developing biological weapons. A victim of this secret
is a researcher, the father of Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle),
a rebellious teen who's devastated by his father's death.
Through a sequence of coincidences, the young McGinnis stumbles
upon Wayne's hidden past, and ultimately becomes a new Batman,
armed with futuristic weapons and a strength enhancing suit
equipped with many clever crime-fighting gadgets.
I find this
new series heavy on action and light on plot. The angst and
vulnerability that humanized even the most bizarre characters
in the original animated series are all but gone. We're left
with few insights into motivation; the villains are simpler
with little complexity. The one episode that is an exception
on this DVD is "Meltdown" in which Mr. Freeze is cleverly
resurrected; but of course, one may argue that this is a throwback
to the original series. In general, Batman Beyond seems to
be aimed at a younger viewer.
There is
no new material on this DVD. The one-hour premiere episode,
which aired on January 10, 1999 and which was called "Rebirth,"
is now "The Movie." This is followed by four typical episodes:
"Golem" which aired February 6, 1999; "Winning Edge which
aired April 10, 1999; "Dead Man's Hand" which aired March
20, 1999; and "Meltdown" which aired February 13, 1999. All
include fade-outs and fade-ins where the commercials are inserted.
With all the ads gone, you'll find 132 minutes of program
material.
To its credit
and like its predecessor, Batman Beyond attracts an interesting
voice cast. Among the regular cast members are Stockard Channing
as Commissioner Barbara Gordon and Teri Garr as Mary McGinnis.
Listen for the guest voices of George Takei, Amanda Donohoe,
George Lazenby (of James Bond fame), Olivia d'Abo (not to
be confused with cousin Maryam d'Abo, who also appeared in
a James Bond flick), Michael Ansara, and Linda Hamilton.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
This is
episodic television transferred to DVD, so the image is full
frame non-anamorphic. The video is free of the edge enhancement
halos to be found on Batman:
Mask of the Phantasm. Just as I found on that DVD, Batman
Beyond's colors are well saturated and noise free. Brightness
and contrast are excellent. But there are noticeable artifacts
around smaller moving objects that appear to be blocking errors.
Acceptable, but certainly not reference quality.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The Dolby
Surround 2.0 audio is reasonably good. Sound effects are well
reproduced with little audible compression. Dialog, looped
in the studio, is dry and clear. The surround channels are
not used. The bottom most octave is not readily apparent.
I greatly miss Shirley Walker's orchestral scores; here we
find mostly electronic stuff, full of Rock riffs intended
to characterize a teenage Batman.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? There are
very limited extras on this DVD. The DVD's television commercial
is offered as a trailer and is, of course, full frame non-anamorphic.
French is available as a second language. There is the usual
random access feature with seventeen chapter stops for the
"movie" and eight chapter stops for each of the episodes.
There are English and French subtitles.
Parting Thoughts
This DVD
is for the fans of the series. If you were not familiar with
Batman Beyond, I'd recommend that you catch an episode or
two on Saturday mornings before you buy.
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