Spotlight on Fandoms: Batman: The Animated Series
The year was 1992. Tim Burton had just reinvented Batman for mass audiences in two successful movies (1989's Batman and 1992's Batman Returns) which largely shed the stigma of the old "CRASH! BOOM! ZAP!" sensibility of the 1960's Adam West TV series. Now that the Dark Knight was once again appropriately dark in the mind of the non-comic-reading public, it was time to take the next step: make a Batman TV show for Fox Kids!
Batman: The Animated series originally ran on Fox from 1992 to 1995 (at one point changing its name to The Adventures of Batman and Robin since Fox wanted more of my boy, Dick Grayson, in there). After a two-year break, Batman found new life on Kids WB in The New Batman Adventures (a continuation/sequel to B:TAS as well as a companion piece to Superman: The Animated Series).
THE SHOWS/MOVIES
Batman: The Animated Series: This is the series that started it all. Every afternoon, Batman fought the Joker, Two-Face, R'as al Ghul, Mister Freeze, and more. Bruce and Dick as Batman and Robin, appearances by Batgirl, tragic villains... It's all you want out of Batman and so much more. It featured stand-alone episodes with some two-parters thrown in there. There are some larger story arcs that show up as villains reappear (Catwoman reforming, Two-Face getting crazier, Mr. Freeze becoming more desperate, etc.), but it's generally pretty loose. Winner of two Emmy Awards.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm: This was a theatrical release that delved a little more into Bruce's history as an old love returns while a new vigilante appears in Gotham. This vigilante, the Phantasm, doesn't play nice like Batman, and makes it a point to kill criminals. But there's a pattern to the Phantasm's attacks on crime, and it leads to a war between Batman, the Phantasm, and the Joker. Because really. Can you do an animated Batman theatrical release without using the Joker in there? I think not!
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero: Originally meant to be released on video in conjunction with the theatrical release of Batman & Robin, it got delayed because BATMAN & ROBIN SUCKED. HARD. SubZero is basically B&R, only with a tragic version of Mr. Freeze (more on Freeze later), no puns, no secondary villains, Robin and Batgirl being a couple (out of costume... neither one actually knows that the other has a secret life), Batman being Batman, fights with polar bears, and no involvement by anyone who had anything to do with B&R. It may be a perfect movie.
The New Adventures of Batman: Brought out of cancellation and retooled to fit the new Superman-themed look of the DC Animated Universe, TNAB introduces a new Robin, a new look for the old Robin, a larger percentage of episodes focusing on the Joker, and more guest stars. It also features the first crossover between Batman and Superman in this continuity, World's Finest: where Batman and Lois Lane fall in love, Superman and Batman figure out each other's secret identity by being total bastards, and giant machines explode. It may be a perfect crossover.
Gotham Girls: A web series that I've never seen that featured the girls of Gotham, presumably.
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman: Another straight-to-DVD release, only this one sucks. A new hero appears in Gotham named Batwoman. Bruce Wayne needs to figure out who she is while Batman and Robin II fight a bunch of criminals. Also, Batman and Batgirl are a couple. Redeemable mainly because of...
Chase Me: A musical short included with B:MotB featuring Batman and Catwoman doing what they do best. She steals, he chases, they fight, they flirt, and it's all set to a jazzy beat. It's six minutes of great storytelling without a single word of dialogue. Check it out at the link.
Batman Beyond: The ultimate sequel to B:TAS, Bruce is an old, old man in the future and he finds himself as mentor to a new Batman for a new generation. He is curmudgeonly and AWESOME. Also, he has an awesome dog. Despite being the end of the Animated Batman canon, it really is its own thing and so I don't want to get too into it. But I mention it because it allows me to discuss...
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: A straight-to-video release that brings the Joker into the future, it features a flashback of the final battle between Bruce Wayne's Batman and the Joker. It's disturbing, but fantastic. Batman fights the Joker, Batgirl fights Harley Quinn, and Joker Junior makes his creepy debut. This sequence is on YouTube here, and is the final chronological appearance of these characters in this era. And seriously. It's BRUTAL, involving torture, brainwashing, and death. There's a reason why this thing got a PG-13 rating.
Batman also appears in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and he has a few guest appearances in Static Shock.
THE CAST
B:TAS took their characters seriously. Not only did they reinvent several characters to make them work better (as well as creating some characters so good that they were later brought into the comics... and this includes a few faces that are familiar to Fandom High), but they went all out with their casting. This is just a partial cast listing. They used A LOT of villains, omg.
The Heroes
Batman/Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy): The star of the show. After witnessing the death of his parents in a robbery gone horribly wrong when he was a child, Bruce Wayne vowed to avenge their deaths by ending crime in Gotham City, one punch at a time. As a teenager, Bruce traveled the world to become the best at everything he possibly could. He trained as a detective, a ninja, an escape artist, a pilot, a singer, a stone cold badass, a dancer... Okay, that last one is a joke, but still. Eventually he became Batman, the Caped Crusader. And then criminals, who are a cowardly and superstitious lot, got scared.
A quick note on Bruce himself. Most versions of Batman have Bruce putting on a show as a carefree billionaire playboy to help throw any suspicion off him being Batman. (See the Christopher Nolan Batman movies for a wonderful take on that.) B:TAS didn't go with that. Bruce here is a cunning businessman with a big heart. He's highly respected by most people in Gotham, and not just because he picks up plenty of attractive women. Although he does that too. And some of them aren't even reporters or villains.
Robin/Nightwing/Dick Grayson (Loren Lester): The sidekick of the show. After witnessing the death of his parents in a mob-related bit of high-wire sabotage, young Dick Grayson needed somewhere safe to stay so his parents' killer couldn't kill him since he was the only witness who could put the killer away. Yes, this is still a kids show. Bruce Wayne, who was there when the Graysons died, felt such empathy for the boy that he offered to let Dick stay at his house, which was a mansion with security out the wazoo. Eventually Bruce let Dick in on his great secret and offered to let him train to become Robin, Batman's sidekick.
Dick served his role well for many years until he graduated college and he was no longer seeing eye-to-eye with Batman. He left Gotham to find himself and become his own man, travelling the world and training. He eventually returned as Nightwing, marking this as the first time any adaptation of Batman allowed Dick to outgrow his Robin persona.
Batgirl/Barbara Gordon (Melissa Gilbert, then Tara Strong): Feeling a need to help her father, Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, and being inspired by the Batman, Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl. In short order she's proving herself as a crimefighter, annoying Robin in costume, making out with him out of costume, and replacing him at Batman's side when he runs off for a couple years. She doesn't have Robin's years of training, but she does have a lot of dedication. She eventually hooks up with Batman. That never stops being kind of wrong to me.
Robin/Tim Drake (Matthew Valencia): After Dick left, the position of Robin was open. Two-Face was threatening a kid whose father had been in his organization, Batman intervened and got beat up, and the kid helped Bats get to the Batcave. Against Batman's wishes, the kid, Tim Drake, put on the Robin suit and helped take Two-Face down. After that, Bruce decided to adopt and train Dick. This is the first time in this continuity that we actually got to see a kid Robin.
Alfred Pennyworth (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr): Bruce Wayne's butler. He is English and snarky and helps Bruce in both his home life and his life as a crimefighter. He pretty much raised Bruce after his parents died.
The Villains
The Joker (Mark Hamill): Before this past summer, this was UNDENIABLY the definitive take on The Joker. His plans range from cunning but insane to stupid but insane to COMPLETELY FUCKING INSANE. This Joker isn't the force of absolute chaos that Heath Ledger's Joker was, but he was the kind of villain who could come in from out of town, walk up to Lex Luthor, and offer to kill Superman just for a change of pace. It should be noted that the Joker came pretty close to doing just that, too. He has a habit of pulling holiday themed crimes and taking over Gotham's airwaves just to make sure everyone was watching him. And he can, will, and has stalked people for years because they once cut him off in traffic.
Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Adrienne Barbeau): Sometimes she steals for animal rights reasons. Sometimes she steals cat-themed objects. Sometimes she steals just because she wants some money. Sometimes she stops stealing and plays the role of an anti-hero. But at all times, she and Batman (or, at times, she and Bruce Wayne) have a thing going. See the link for Chase Me above.
The Ridder/Edward Nigma (John Glover): Okay, he only shows up a few times, but I have to mention him just so I can point out that with his outfit from B:TAS, he's the snazziest-dressing villain in Batman history. Seriously, total class right there. He's also one of Batman's few sane villains. His crimes are either directly for revenge or just for a challenge. He leaves clues not necessarily out of a psychotic compulsion, but out of a desire to prove that he's BETTER. And seriously, that is a snazzy hat.
The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot (Paul Williams): He's short, fat, steals things, and likes birds. Also, he has dangerous umbrellas. His appearance in B:TAS is freakish, along the lines of Batman Returns, but when everyone got art upgrades in TNBA, Penguin looked like a normal short, fat human. He also traded in his life of villainy for a life in Legitimate Business. He just runs a nightclub! What's suspicious about that?
Two-Face/Harvey Dent (Richard Moll): Once Bruce Wayne's BFF and Gotham's District Attorney, a combination of mental issues and acid turned him into Two-Face, a mob kingpin who makes decisions by flipping a coin. He's one of the series' great Tragic Villains, appearing several times with his madness getting worse and worse over time.
Mr. Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries (Michael Ansara): The series' other great Tragic Villain, Freeze was a major reinvention from the comics (and 60's series). He had been just a cold-themed mad scientist, but B:TAS gave him a complex motivation (everything he was doing was to save the life of his terminally ill, cryogenically frozen wife, Nora) and he returned the favor by getting the show an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program. He is just a twinge insane, though, trying on a couple occasions to get revenge on the world by freezing Gotham.
Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzell (Arleen Sorkin): Hey, look at that, a familiar name to Fandom! Harley Quinn is the Joker's abused girlfriend, a goofy, nutso girl who's just trying to get a psychotic clown to love her as much as she loves him. Sometimes she actually kind of pulls it off. Most of the time, no. Harley was created for the show and became so popular that DC brought her into the comics. She eventually strikes up a friendship with Poison Ivy, who I won't talk about because I'm already running way too long. Batman has a lot of characters, okay? Sue me!
Ra's al Ghul (David Warner): While the Joker is Batman's opposite number, Ra's is basically Evil Batman. Wealthy, a great detective, a master planner... Ra's has a cameo in an episode featuring his daughter, Talia, but when he makes his grand debut, it's a thing of beauty. He's figured out Batman's identity, kidnaps Robin, waits for Batman at the Batcave, leads the Bat on a world tour to find Robin, and eventually enters into a SHIRTLESS SWORDFIGHT with Batman. It's the most macho episode ever.
The Police
Commissioner Jim Gordon (Bob Hastings): Batman's greatest ally on the force as well as Batgirl's father. Jim Gordon is the Best and Most Honest Cop Ever, a good guy in general, and is constantly frustrated by Batman leaving the room the second he turns away. He also has the reputation of being one of the few people to actually be shot by an actual bullet on a kids cartoon. Seriously! Shot with a bullet! It's a rarity!
Detective Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo): Batman's greatest naysayer on the force. Harvey both is and has a huge ass. He's not a dirty cop, but he's dusty enough that Batman once believed that he was on the take, and he's a bad enough human being that random people want him dead. He also HATES Batman taking the spotlight from the cops who are doing their jobs to protect Gotham. But he's a good cop. You have to give him that.
Renee Montoya (Ingrid Oliu, and then Liane Schirmer): Another Fandomite who started on the show and was later brought into the comics! Renee... um, well, she was female and Hispanic. She started out as an officer and eventually got promoted to Detective. She always trusted Batman, no matter what Bullock said. And that's about it for her on the show! I understand she had more of a role in Gotham Girls, but I can't speak for that, really.
AND THAT IS EVERYONE THAT I'M WRITING ABOUT. GOD. Too many characters.
EPISODES OF NOTE
For a show that ran a combined total of 109 episodes (between B:TAS and TNBA) and is generally considered excellent, it's hard to pick a few truly great episodes. But it's made easier when you can only find so many online. AOL Video has some, so I'm linking straight to there. The entire series is available as in four DVD volumes or one really cool-looking collector's set if you want to watch them without bothering with AOL. Episodes also run regularly on Toon Disney.
*Heart of Ice: The introduction of Mr. Freeze. He's a sad, sad winter cyborg. Winner of an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.
*Robin's Reckoning Part 1 and Part 2: Batman comes into conflict with the man who killed Robin's parents and doesn't bother mentioning this to the Boy Wonder. Not only do we get Dick's origin story told through flashbacks, but we also get both the major conflict between Batman and Robin shown on full display as well as examples of why they work so well together. Also, it's good to see Batman get beat up every now and then. Winner of an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Half Hour or Less Program. (According to Wiki, at least. The name of that category doesn't seem quite right to me.)
*P.O.V.: Featuring Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock, and Random Officer as they tell the story of an encounter with Batman Rashoman-style.
*Joker's Favor: The Joker stalks a man who was rude to him in traffic, later forcing him to be a patsy. This is one of the really great Joker episodes.
And some from YouTube! I'm only linking to the first parts of each out of laziness.
*The Laughing Fish: The Joker poisons all of the fish coming into Gotham so they grin like him, then tries to copyright them. After his plan is proven to not work in any way, shape, or form (down to the fact that copyright law doesn't work like that at all), he starts attacking people from the copyright office.
*Almost Got 'Im: Villains play poker while chatting about how they nearly killed Batman.
*Old Wounds: From The New Batman Adventures, this is the episode that explains why Dick left to become Nightwing. It features a FANTASTIC suckerpunch.
And from SideReel, World's Finest (1, 2, and 3): Superman and Batman meet, fight, want the same woman, discover each others secret identity, and blow up robots. What more could you want from a crossover?
Any Bat-questions?
Batman: The Animated series originally ran on Fox from 1992 to 1995 (at one point changing its name to The Adventures of Batman and Robin since Fox wanted more of my boy, Dick Grayson, in there). After a two-year break, Batman found new life on Kids WB in The New Batman Adventures (a continuation/sequel to B:TAS as well as a companion piece to Superman: The Animated Series).
THE SHOWS/MOVIES
Batman: The Animated Series: This is the series that started it all. Every afternoon, Batman fought the Joker, Two-Face, R'as al Ghul, Mister Freeze, and more. Bruce and Dick as Batman and Robin, appearances by Batgirl, tragic villains... It's all you want out of Batman and so much more. It featured stand-alone episodes with some two-parters thrown in there. There are some larger story arcs that show up as villains reappear (Catwoman reforming, Two-Face getting crazier, Mr. Freeze becoming more desperate, etc.), but it's generally pretty loose. Winner of two Emmy Awards.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm: This was a theatrical release that delved a little more into Bruce's history as an old love returns while a new vigilante appears in Gotham. This vigilante, the Phantasm, doesn't play nice like Batman, and makes it a point to kill criminals. But there's a pattern to the Phantasm's attacks on crime, and it leads to a war between Batman, the Phantasm, and the Joker. Because really. Can you do an animated Batman theatrical release without using the Joker in there? I think not!
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero: Originally meant to be released on video in conjunction with the theatrical release of Batman & Robin, it got delayed because BATMAN & ROBIN SUCKED. HARD. SubZero is basically B&R, only with a tragic version of Mr. Freeze (more on Freeze later), no puns, no secondary villains, Robin and Batgirl being a couple (out of costume... neither one actually knows that the other has a secret life), Batman being Batman, fights with polar bears, and no involvement by anyone who had anything to do with B&R. It may be a perfect movie.
The New Adventures of Batman: Brought out of cancellation and retooled to fit the new Superman-themed look of the DC Animated Universe, TNAB introduces a new Robin, a new look for the old Robin, a larger percentage of episodes focusing on the Joker, and more guest stars. It also features the first crossover between Batman and Superman in this continuity, World's Finest: where Batman and Lois Lane fall in love, Superman and Batman figure out each other's secret identity by being total bastards, and giant machines explode. It may be a perfect crossover.
Gotham Girls: A web series that I've never seen that featured the girls of Gotham, presumably.
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman: Another straight-to-DVD release, only this one sucks. A new hero appears in Gotham named Batwoman. Bruce Wayne needs to figure out who she is while Batman and Robin II fight a bunch of criminals. Also, Batman and Batgirl are a couple. Redeemable mainly because of...
Chase Me: A musical short included with B:MotB featuring Batman and Catwoman doing what they do best. She steals, he chases, they fight, they flirt, and it's all set to a jazzy beat. It's six minutes of great storytelling without a single word of dialogue. Check it out at the link.
Batman Beyond: The ultimate sequel to B:TAS, Bruce is an old, old man in the future and he finds himself as mentor to a new Batman for a new generation. He is curmudgeonly and AWESOME. Also, he has an awesome dog. Despite being the end of the Animated Batman canon, it really is its own thing and so I don't want to get too into it. But I mention it because it allows me to discuss...
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: A straight-to-video release that brings the Joker into the future, it features a flashback of the final battle between Bruce Wayne's Batman and the Joker. It's disturbing, but fantastic. Batman fights the Joker, Batgirl fights Harley Quinn, and Joker Junior makes his creepy debut. This sequence is on YouTube here, and is the final chronological appearance of these characters in this era. And seriously. It's BRUTAL, involving torture, brainwashing, and death. There's a reason why this thing got a PG-13 rating.
Batman also appears in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and he has a few guest appearances in Static Shock.
THE CAST
B:TAS took their characters seriously. Not only did they reinvent several characters to make them work better (as well as creating some characters so good that they were later brought into the comics... and this includes a few faces that are familiar to Fandom High), but they went all out with their casting. This is just a partial cast listing. They used A LOT of villains, omg.
The Heroes
Batman/Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy): The star of the show. After witnessing the death of his parents in a robbery gone horribly wrong when he was a child, Bruce Wayne vowed to avenge their deaths by ending crime in Gotham City, one punch at a time. As a teenager, Bruce traveled the world to become the best at everything he possibly could. He trained as a detective, a ninja, an escape artist, a pilot, a singer, a stone cold badass, a dancer... Okay, that last one is a joke, but still. Eventually he became Batman, the Caped Crusader. And then criminals, who are a cowardly and superstitious lot, got scared.
A quick note on Bruce himself. Most versions of Batman have Bruce putting on a show as a carefree billionaire playboy to help throw any suspicion off him being Batman. (See the Christopher Nolan Batman movies for a wonderful take on that.) B:TAS didn't go with that. Bruce here is a cunning businessman with a big heart. He's highly respected by most people in Gotham, and not just because he picks up plenty of attractive women. Although he does that too. And some of them aren't even reporters or villains.
Robin/Nightwing/Dick Grayson (Loren Lester): The sidekick of the show. After witnessing the death of his parents in a mob-related bit of high-wire sabotage, young Dick Grayson needed somewhere safe to stay so his parents' killer couldn't kill him since he was the only witness who could put the killer away. Yes, this is still a kids show. Bruce Wayne, who was there when the Graysons died, felt such empathy for the boy that he offered to let Dick stay at his house, which was a mansion with security out the wazoo. Eventually Bruce let Dick in on his great secret and offered to let him train to become Robin, Batman's sidekick.
Dick served his role well for many years until he graduated college and he was no longer seeing eye-to-eye with Batman. He left Gotham to find himself and become his own man, travelling the world and training. He eventually returned as Nightwing, marking this as the first time any adaptation of Batman allowed Dick to outgrow his Robin persona.
Batgirl/Barbara Gordon (Melissa Gilbert, then Tara Strong): Feeling a need to help her father, Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, and being inspired by the Batman, Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl. In short order she's proving herself as a crimefighter, annoying Robin in costume, making out with him out of costume, and replacing him at Batman's side when he runs off for a couple years. She doesn't have Robin's years of training, but she does have a lot of dedication. She eventually hooks up with Batman. That never stops being kind of wrong to me.
Robin/Tim Drake (Matthew Valencia): After Dick left, the position of Robin was open. Two-Face was threatening a kid whose father had been in his organization, Batman intervened and got beat up, and the kid helped Bats get to the Batcave. Against Batman's wishes, the kid, Tim Drake, put on the Robin suit and helped take Two-Face down. After that, Bruce decided to adopt and train Dick. This is the first time in this continuity that we actually got to see a kid Robin.
Alfred Pennyworth (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr): Bruce Wayne's butler. He is English and snarky and helps Bruce in both his home life and his life as a crimefighter. He pretty much raised Bruce after his parents died.
The Villains
The Joker (Mark Hamill): Before this past summer, this was UNDENIABLY the definitive take on The Joker. His plans range from cunning but insane to stupid but insane to COMPLETELY FUCKING INSANE. This Joker isn't the force of absolute chaos that Heath Ledger's Joker was, but he was the kind of villain who could come in from out of town, walk up to Lex Luthor, and offer to kill Superman just for a change of pace. It should be noted that the Joker came pretty close to doing just that, too. He has a habit of pulling holiday themed crimes and taking over Gotham's airwaves just to make sure everyone was watching him. And he can, will, and has stalked people for years because they once cut him off in traffic.
Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Adrienne Barbeau): Sometimes she steals for animal rights reasons. Sometimes she steals cat-themed objects. Sometimes she steals just because she wants some money. Sometimes she stops stealing and plays the role of an anti-hero. But at all times, she and Batman (or, at times, she and Bruce Wayne) have a thing going. See the link for Chase Me above.
The Ridder/Edward Nigma (John Glover): Okay, he only shows up a few times, but I have to mention him just so I can point out that with his outfit from B:TAS, he's the snazziest-dressing villain in Batman history. Seriously, total class right there. He's also one of Batman's few sane villains. His crimes are either directly for revenge or just for a challenge. He leaves clues not necessarily out of a psychotic compulsion, but out of a desire to prove that he's BETTER. And seriously, that is a snazzy hat.
The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot (Paul Williams): He's short, fat, steals things, and likes birds. Also, he has dangerous umbrellas. His appearance in B:TAS is freakish, along the lines of Batman Returns, but when everyone got art upgrades in TNBA, Penguin looked like a normal short, fat human. He also traded in his life of villainy for a life in Legitimate Business. He just runs a nightclub! What's suspicious about that?
Two-Face/Harvey Dent (Richard Moll): Once Bruce Wayne's BFF and Gotham's District Attorney, a combination of mental issues and acid turned him into Two-Face, a mob kingpin who makes decisions by flipping a coin. He's one of the series' great Tragic Villains, appearing several times with his madness getting worse and worse over time.
Mr. Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries (Michael Ansara): The series' other great Tragic Villain, Freeze was a major reinvention from the comics (and 60's series). He had been just a cold-themed mad scientist, but B:TAS gave him a complex motivation (everything he was doing was to save the life of his terminally ill, cryogenically frozen wife, Nora) and he returned the favor by getting the show an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program. He is just a twinge insane, though, trying on a couple occasions to get revenge on the world by freezing Gotham.
Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzell (Arleen Sorkin): Hey, look at that, a familiar name to Fandom! Harley Quinn is the Joker's abused girlfriend, a goofy, nutso girl who's just trying to get a psychotic clown to love her as much as she loves him. Sometimes she actually kind of pulls it off. Most of the time, no. Harley was created for the show and became so popular that DC brought her into the comics. She eventually strikes up a friendship with Poison Ivy, who I won't talk about because I'm already running way too long. Batman has a lot of characters, okay? Sue me!
Ra's al Ghul (David Warner): While the Joker is Batman's opposite number, Ra's is basically Evil Batman. Wealthy, a great detective, a master planner... Ra's has a cameo in an episode featuring his daughter, Talia, but when he makes his grand debut, it's a thing of beauty. He's figured out Batman's identity, kidnaps Robin, waits for Batman at the Batcave, leads the Bat on a world tour to find Robin, and eventually enters into a SHIRTLESS SWORDFIGHT with Batman. It's the most macho episode ever.
The Police
Commissioner Jim Gordon (Bob Hastings): Batman's greatest ally on the force as well as Batgirl's father. Jim Gordon is the Best and Most Honest Cop Ever, a good guy in general, and is constantly frustrated by Batman leaving the room the second he turns away. He also has the reputation of being one of the few people to actually be shot by an actual bullet on a kids cartoon. Seriously! Shot with a bullet! It's a rarity!
Detective Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo): Batman's greatest naysayer on the force. Harvey both is and has a huge ass. He's not a dirty cop, but he's dusty enough that Batman once believed that he was on the take, and he's a bad enough human being that random people want him dead. He also HATES Batman taking the spotlight from the cops who are doing their jobs to protect Gotham. But he's a good cop. You have to give him that.
Renee Montoya (Ingrid Oliu, and then Liane Schirmer): Another Fandomite who started on the show and was later brought into the comics! Renee... um, well, she was female and Hispanic. She started out as an officer and eventually got promoted to Detective. She always trusted Batman, no matter what Bullock said. And that's about it for her on the show! I understand she had more of a role in Gotham Girls, but I can't speak for that, really.
AND THAT IS EVERYONE THAT I'M WRITING ABOUT. GOD. Too many characters.
EPISODES OF NOTE
For a show that ran a combined total of 109 episodes (between B:TAS and TNBA) and is generally considered excellent, it's hard to pick a few truly great episodes. But it's made easier when you can only find so many online. AOL Video has some, so I'm linking straight to there. The entire series is available as in four DVD volumes or one really cool-looking collector's set if you want to watch them without bothering with AOL. Episodes also run regularly on Toon Disney.
*Heart of Ice: The introduction of Mr. Freeze. He's a sad, sad winter cyborg. Winner of an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.
*Robin's Reckoning Part 1 and Part 2: Batman comes into conflict with the man who killed Robin's parents and doesn't bother mentioning this to the Boy Wonder. Not only do we get Dick's origin story told through flashbacks, but we also get both the major conflict between Batman and Robin shown on full display as well as examples of why they work so well together. Also, it's good to see Batman get beat up every now and then. Winner of an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Half Hour or Less Program. (According to Wiki, at least. The name of that category doesn't seem quite right to me.)
*P.O.V.: Featuring Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock, and Random Officer as they tell the story of an encounter with Batman Rashoman-style.
*Joker's Favor: The Joker stalks a man who was rude to him in traffic, later forcing him to be a patsy. This is one of the really great Joker episodes.
And some from YouTube! I'm only linking to the first parts of each out of laziness.
*The Laughing Fish: The Joker poisons all of the fish coming into Gotham so they grin like him, then tries to copyright them. After his plan is proven to not work in any way, shape, or form (down to the fact that copyright law doesn't work like that at all), he starts attacking people from the copyright office.
*Almost Got 'Im: Villains play poker while chatting about how they nearly killed Batman.
*Old Wounds: From The New Batman Adventures, this is the episode that explains why Dick left to become Nightwing. It features a FANTASTIC suckerpunch.
And from SideReel, World's Finest (1, 2, and 3): Superman and Batman meet, fight, want the same woman, discover each others secret identity, and blow up robots. What more could you want from a crossover?
Any Bat-questions?