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Batman - The Complete Fourth Season, The
Warner Bros. // Unrated // November 20, 2007
List Price: $19.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Few animated TV shows have improved as greatly and as rapidly as much as "The Batman." When the program debuted on the Kids WB! network in 2004, it was a passable but fluffy reboot of the franchise, and while repeat viewings did help the show's more radical changes become acceptable to lifelong fans of the character, it still never quite hit the heights of the 1990s' "Batman: The Animated Series," deemed by most as the definitive presentation of the hero.
Seasons two and three saw the cartoon make improvements both big and small, each season being better than the last. Which is unusual for any TV show, let alone a cartoon, as the trend these days is usually: start strong, fizzle fast. We now come to season four of "The Batman," which originally aired from September 2006 to May 2007, and the improvements seen here are leaps and bounds beyond even the high quality of season three, and it's such a remarkably improved show that at time it doesn't even feel like the same series we met a few years back. In fact, the all around production - scripting, animation, music, voice talent - is so spectacular here that we finally have a cartoon worthy of its 1990s predecessor.
The season opens with the introduction of Robin, the Boy Wonder. Series producers took a brave risk the season prior by breaking from the continuity of the Batman mythology and bringing in Batgirl as a sidekick first; the official reason given is that Robin was tied up on the "Teen Titans" cartoon, but the switcheroo seems to go beyond that, as it led to a shakeup that helped breathe new life into the franchise.
Perhaps to counterbalance such changes, the season premiere strays very little from the established Robin backstory: young Dick Grayson (seen here at around age 10 or 11, unlike several other incarnations that aged him slightly) is the son of a successful circus act. Here, Dick's father also runs the circus, so he's directly responsible for shooing away the thugs that show up one night for a little extortion. Batman arrives to thwart the baddies, but they return to sabotage the trapeze. The Graysons are killed mid-performance, and Bruce Wayne, seeing a parallel with his own history, takes Dick in as a foster son. Dick later discovers the Batcave, dons his old circus outfit, and sets out to capture the mobsters; by episode's end, he's properly christened as Robin.
It's interesting to note that every time this legend is retold, its writers find new ways of infusing some modern day logic into the proceedings. Like Dick's circus costume, which now comes right off the bat with the familiar "R" crest, only for "Richard," not "Robin." He later decides to use "Robin" as his superhero alter ego not in tribute to Robin Hood, or because of the goofy motorcycle helmet design from "Batman Forever," but simply because Dick's mom liked that nickname. It adds a bittersweet human touch to the myth that feels so natural, I'm surprised it's never been used before.
(In a nice touch, Kevin Conroy, the voice actor who played Batman in the 1990s, appears as Dick's father. It's a wonderful passing-the-torch moment that reminds me of when Adam West showed up on "Batman: The Animated Series" as the Grey Ghost. Also providing guest star voice work this season are Mark Hamill, Louis Gossett, Jr., Ron Perlman, James Remar, Wallace Langham, and Brandon Routh.)
Batgirl is absent from this episode (wisely so - although it's an excellent story, it's also pretty cluttered with characters and events). She returns in the follow-up, and there we set the stage for the rest of the season's tone. The sidekicks spend their time bickering and trying to one-up each other, in pure brother-sister mode. It's a fun dynamic to the show that allows Batman to remain (mostly) his moody self without forcing the series to become overly brooding.
A peculiar moment regarding the sidekicks comes late in the season, when Robin pauses in the middle of a dangerous mission to as Batgirl if she's afraid. After some fudging between the two, she admits that she is. Not only is this a deeper, more thoughtful character moment than the series would have ever attempted a few years earlier, but it's a startling moment of character honesty that you rarely get in a children's adventure.
Such depth abounds throughout the season, and that's mostly why this year is such a vast improvement for the series. We now have richer, fuller storylines, and the villains - previously shown as one-dimensional action figures who exist simply to give Batman someone to punch - now have the complexity, and often sincere solemnity, of the villains of "Batman: The Animated Series." The Riddler's backstory is enhanced with a pinch of sorrow; a second Clayface allows the writers to create a new origin for the villain (while, smartly, building on the first Clayface); popular modern-era villainess Harley Quinn is given a reworked introduction (by Paul Dini, who created the character for the 1990s cartoon) that allows her to go in a new, unexpectedly touching direction; a new, deadly vigilante allows our heroes to explore issues of right and wrong when operating outside the law.
The season's finest moment comes in "Seconds," which features a villain who might be considered a broad reboot of the classic Clock King character, although this episode never uses that name. In an ingenious use of time travel as a story device, beer-bellied clock repairman Francis Grey (perfectly voiced by Dave Foley) has the power to reverse time by a few seconds, maybe even a minute or two; such trickery allows him to outwit Batman, as the more he rewinds time, the more Bat-punches he knows how to avoid. It's sorta like the gimmick that was used in the hideous Nic Cage sci-fi flick "Next" (and, by extension, the Philip K. Dick that inspired it), only this time it works. The plot itself is rather basic stuff (another get-revenge-on-Gotham caper), but the character work elevates it to something special. Unlike the cartoonish baddies of Batman's Rogues Gallery, Francis Grey has a realness to him that's captivating and heartbreaking.
Again, it's character development finally overcoming the simple action-centric stories that previously defined the series. The producers ditch the broad story arcs that helped shape the earlier seasons (if not as deeply as other continuity-heavy series) in favor of an arc that's more emotional than plot-driven. In season four, the Caped Crusader grows up somewhat (and not just in an episode that shows us a future Batman that will be familiar to Frank Miller fans), and, more importantly, he learns how to trust others. Sure, it's a theme that's actually spelled out in dialogue (something along the generic lines of "now you've learned to trust others"), but it's a theme that works nonetheless, as it allows for the evolution of the character and the legend.
It's not all seriousness, however. The producers are sure to include the same frenzied action that helped set this series apart from its predecessors (the alien invasion two-parter is quite off the wall, in a good way), and the comic relief has increased some, partly with the Batgirl-Robin bickering, and partly with a few keen moments featuring the Penguin, who's become the series' go-to baddie for comedy. There are more stand-alone episodes than in previous seasons, and those stand-alones are of such an increased quality that the overall season benefits. Unlike earlier years, which came with a heavy share of less-inspired episodes, season four remains on a high note over its entire thirteen show run.
The DVD
Warner Bros. collects all thirteen episodes of for the two-disc collection "The Batman: The Complete Fourth Season." As with their previous sets, the discs come in a single-wide keepcase with a hinged tray for the second disc.
The episodes included in this set (and presented in original broadcast, not production, order, not that it matters much here) are:
Disc One: "A Matter of Family," "Team Penguin," "Clayfaces," "The Everywhere Man," "The Breakout," "Strange New World," and "Artifacts."
Disc Two: "Seconds," "Riddler's Revenge," "Two of a Kind," "Rumors," "The Joining: Part I," and "The Joining: Part II."
Video & Audio
The presentation here is on par with the previous season sets. Animation is crisp and colorful, with no visible transfer issues. (Is it just me, or is the animation on this show getting better, too?) Presented in the original 1.33:1 broadcast format. The soundtrack, in Dolby stereo, is equally strong, with a powerful mix that forgives the absence of a surround track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Extras
"The Batman: Season 4 Unmasked" (9:20) offers up an assortment of cast and crew interviews. There's more detail here than in the similar "Unmasked" featurette from the season three set (despite an almost identical run time), and rightly so - the producers finally have plenty of new things to discuss, and their excitement for the project is far more genuine. Strangely, one interviewee says this season is more story arc-heavy, which just ain't true.
A commercial for the "Lego Batman" video game and a preview for "Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue" fill out the "trailers" portion of Disc Two. That disc also starts up with a solid preview for "Justice League: New Frontier"; you can skip past it if you choose. There are no extras or previews on Disc One.
Final Thoughts
The first three seasons of "The Batman" were good. The fourth season is great. This has finally become the series fans have been wanting, and its top notch presentation on DVD makes this set Highly Recommended.
Related Reviews:
The Batman: Season 1
The Batman: Season 2
The Batman: Season 3
Seasons two and three saw the cartoon make improvements both big and small, each season being better than the last. Which is unusual for any TV show, let alone a cartoon, as the trend these days is usually: start strong, fizzle fast. We now come to season four of "The Batman," which originally aired from September 2006 to May 2007, and the improvements seen here are leaps and bounds beyond even the high quality of season three, and it's such a remarkably improved show that at time it doesn't even feel like the same series we met a few years back. In fact, the all around production - scripting, animation, music, voice talent - is so spectacular here that we finally have a cartoon worthy of its 1990s predecessor.
The season opens with the introduction of Robin, the Boy Wonder. Series producers took a brave risk the season prior by breaking from the continuity of the Batman mythology and bringing in Batgirl as a sidekick first; the official reason given is that Robin was tied up on the "Teen Titans" cartoon, but the switcheroo seems to go beyond that, as it led to a shakeup that helped breathe new life into the franchise.
Perhaps to counterbalance such changes, the season premiere strays very little from the established Robin backstory: young Dick Grayson (seen here at around age 10 or 11, unlike several other incarnations that aged him slightly) is the son of a successful circus act. Here, Dick's father also runs the circus, so he's directly responsible for shooing away the thugs that show up one night for a little extortion. Batman arrives to thwart the baddies, but they return to sabotage the trapeze. The Graysons are killed mid-performance, and Bruce Wayne, seeing a parallel with his own history, takes Dick in as a foster son. Dick later discovers the Batcave, dons his old circus outfit, and sets out to capture the mobsters; by episode's end, he's properly christened as Robin.
It's interesting to note that every time this legend is retold, its writers find new ways of infusing some modern day logic into the proceedings. Like Dick's circus costume, which now comes right off the bat with the familiar "R" crest, only for "Richard," not "Robin." He later decides to use "Robin" as his superhero alter ego not in tribute to Robin Hood, or because of the goofy motorcycle helmet design from "Batman Forever," but simply because Dick's mom liked that nickname. It adds a bittersweet human touch to the myth that feels so natural, I'm surprised it's never been used before.
(In a nice touch, Kevin Conroy, the voice actor who played Batman in the 1990s, appears as Dick's father. It's a wonderful passing-the-torch moment that reminds me of when Adam West showed up on "Batman: The Animated Series" as the Grey Ghost. Also providing guest star voice work this season are Mark Hamill, Louis Gossett, Jr., Ron Perlman, James Remar, Wallace Langham, and Brandon Routh.)
Batgirl is absent from this episode (wisely so - although it's an excellent story, it's also pretty cluttered with characters and events). She returns in the follow-up, and there we set the stage for the rest of the season's tone. The sidekicks spend their time bickering and trying to one-up each other, in pure brother-sister mode. It's a fun dynamic to the show that allows Batman to remain (mostly) his moody self without forcing the series to become overly brooding.
A peculiar moment regarding the sidekicks comes late in the season, when Robin pauses in the middle of a dangerous mission to as Batgirl if she's afraid. After some fudging between the two, she admits that she is. Not only is this a deeper, more thoughtful character moment than the series would have ever attempted a few years earlier, but it's a startling moment of character honesty that you rarely get in a children's adventure.
Such depth abounds throughout the season, and that's mostly why this year is such a vast improvement for the series. We now have richer, fuller storylines, and the villains - previously shown as one-dimensional action figures who exist simply to give Batman someone to punch - now have the complexity, and often sincere solemnity, of the villains of "Batman: The Animated Series." The Riddler's backstory is enhanced with a pinch of sorrow; a second Clayface allows the writers to create a new origin for the villain (while, smartly, building on the first Clayface); popular modern-era villainess Harley Quinn is given a reworked introduction (by Paul Dini, who created the character for the 1990s cartoon) that allows her to go in a new, unexpectedly touching direction; a new, deadly vigilante allows our heroes to explore issues of right and wrong when operating outside the law.
The season's finest moment comes in "Seconds," which features a villain who might be considered a broad reboot of the classic Clock King character, although this episode never uses that name. In an ingenious use of time travel as a story device, beer-bellied clock repairman Francis Grey (perfectly voiced by Dave Foley) has the power to reverse time by a few seconds, maybe even a minute or two; such trickery allows him to outwit Batman, as the more he rewinds time, the more Bat-punches he knows how to avoid. It's sorta like the gimmick that was used in the hideous Nic Cage sci-fi flick "Next" (and, by extension, the Philip K. Dick that inspired it), only this time it works. The plot itself is rather basic stuff (another get-revenge-on-Gotham caper), but the character work elevates it to something special. Unlike the cartoonish baddies of Batman's Rogues Gallery, Francis Grey has a realness to him that's captivating and heartbreaking.
Again, it's character development finally overcoming the simple action-centric stories that previously defined the series. The producers ditch the broad story arcs that helped shape the earlier seasons (if not as deeply as other continuity-heavy series) in favor of an arc that's more emotional than plot-driven. In season four, the Caped Crusader grows up somewhat (and not just in an episode that shows us a future Batman that will be familiar to Frank Miller fans), and, more importantly, he learns how to trust others. Sure, it's a theme that's actually spelled out in dialogue (something along the generic lines of "now you've learned to trust others"), but it's a theme that works nonetheless, as it allows for the evolution of the character and the legend.
It's not all seriousness, however. The producers are sure to include the same frenzied action that helped set this series apart from its predecessors (the alien invasion two-parter is quite off the wall, in a good way), and the comic relief has increased some, partly with the Batgirl-Robin bickering, and partly with a few keen moments featuring the Penguin, who's become the series' go-to baddie for comedy. There are more stand-alone episodes than in previous seasons, and those stand-alones are of such an increased quality that the overall season benefits. Unlike earlier years, which came with a heavy share of less-inspired episodes, season four remains on a high note over its entire thirteen show run.
The DVD
Warner Bros. collects all thirteen episodes of for the two-disc collection "The Batman: The Complete Fourth Season." As with their previous sets, the discs come in a single-wide keepcase with a hinged tray for the second disc.
The episodes included in this set (and presented in original broadcast, not production, order, not that it matters much here) are:
Disc One: "A Matter of Family," "Team Penguin," "Clayfaces," "The Everywhere Man," "The Breakout," "Strange New World," and "Artifacts."
Disc Two: "Seconds," "Riddler's Revenge," "Two of a Kind," "Rumors," "The Joining: Part I," and "The Joining: Part II."
Video & Audio
The presentation here is on par with the previous season sets. Animation is crisp and colorful, with no visible transfer issues. (Is it just me, or is the animation on this show getting better, too?) Presented in the original 1.33:1 broadcast format. The soundtrack, in Dolby stereo, is equally strong, with a powerful mix that forgives the absence of a surround track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Extras
"The Batman: Season 4 Unmasked" (9:20) offers up an assortment of cast and crew interviews. There's more detail here than in the similar "Unmasked" featurette from the season three set (despite an almost identical run time), and rightly so - the producers finally have plenty of new things to discuss, and their excitement for the project is far more genuine. Strangely, one interviewee says this season is more story arc-heavy, which just ain't true.
A commercial for the "Lego Batman" video game and a preview for "Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue" fill out the "trailers" portion of Disc Two. That disc also starts up with a solid preview for "Justice League: New Frontier"; you can skip past it if you choose. There are no extras or previews on Disc One.
Final Thoughts
The first three seasons of "The Batman" were good. The fourth season is great. This has finally become the series fans have been wanting, and its top notch presentation on DVD makes this set Highly Recommended.
Related Reviews:
The Batman: Season 1
The Batman: Season 2
The Batman: Season 3
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