Batman: The Animated Series- Blind as a Bat

 "Your aim appears to be a little off today, Batman..."

This is a fairly basic, run of the mill episode, the gimmick being that Batman has to deal with a plot by the Penguin while temporarily blinded, with the added warning that Lesley Thompkins has sternly warned him that he'll go blind if he doesn't rest.

We know how it'll end from the beginning, of course; the final scene, where he opens his eyes, has no real suspense. But it's a decent enough way to spend twenty minutes, even if not exactly earth shattering. yet again, it's nice to see so many recurring characters- Lesley Thompkins, Hamilton Hill- making this Gothan City feel real and textured. And there's a nice little hint of Bruce Wayne feeling uneasy about Waynetech manufacturing military technology.

There are some nice little moments, such as when there's initially no response to the Batsignal. I'm enjoying the typical overconfidence of the Penguin in the Animated Series. Ultimately, though, this episode isn't going to particularly stand out.

Batman: The Animated Series- Paging The Crime Doctor

 "I thought I told you to take the day off..."

This is one of the finest episodes yet- perhaps the best.

Yes, it's a little contrived that Rupert Thorne should have a brother, Matt, whose medical career he has ruined but was an old med school friend of Lesley Thompkins and Thomas Wayne. But this nice little tale of moral ambiguity and dilemmas, and ultimately of redemption, is rich and deeply fulfilling. Even better is the final scene, with Bruce wanting nothing from Matt Thorne in return for funding his defence other than to "Tell me about my father".

Oh, there are loads of good episodes with the traditional rogues' gallery, and so they should be. Our favourite baddies are important. But the animated series really does have an added level of depth with mob characters like Rupert Thorne, and the likes of Lesley Thompkins who humanise Bruce Wayne. The relationship between those two is rather lovely.

I'm amazed how I suddenly seem to be quite far in to The Animated Series, and how little there is left to watch. Yet it is, by this point, pretty much a fully matured and impressive take on the character and the world. And episodes like this really highlight just how good it can be.

Batman: The Animated Series- I Am the Night

"A weary body can be dealt with. But a weary spirit... that's something else."

The title of this episode reminds me of Audioslave's "I Am the Highway"... but I digress before there's anything to digress from. Anyway, contrived though Batman's depression may be, this is a good episode. And contains another instance of homages to creators as cops refer to the "corner of Adams and O'Neil", a nice touch.

It's the anniversary of the murder of Bruce's parents, so he's already out of sorts, but then we have the double whammy of Jim Gordon being badly hurt while Batman is elsewhere and... well, for me, the contrived nature of it all doesn't work. This kind of depressive episode seems out of character for someone like Batman who, while I'm certainly no psychiatrist, just doesn't seem the type to doubt his purpose.

Regardless, though, it's a good episode for developing Bruce's relationships with those around him- Alfred, Robin, Lesley Thompkins, Jim and Barbara Gordon, and it gets away with its flaws. It's just that I suspect this is a highly popular episode... and, for me, it isn't quite up there.

Batman: The Animated Series- Perchance to Dream

 "You don't like the fantasy world I've created for you?"

This episode is, I suppose, simple: we get a high concept... er, concept that simply plays out in its own inevitable way. Besides, the "protagonist wakes up to find their life was all a dream and reality is more mundane" thing is such well-trodden grounds that I've no doubt whatsoever that it will have its own TV Tropes page. Despite all this, though, this episode is bloody good- and perhaps ideal for a series with such short individual episodes.

So Bruce is knocked unconscious and wakes up to a reality in which his parents are alive, he's just become engaged to Selina Kyle (this being a dream of his ideal life, this is proof of how he feels about her!) and someone else is Batman. And yes, it's fun as we- and Bruce- are introduced to this new reality, which Bruce comes to accept. At last he can find true happiness.

And yet we know it can't end there. The way Bruce finds out is clever- books and newspapers are gobbledygook: we can't read in dreams because apparently it's a left brain thing. I'm not sure if this is a myth or not- left/right brain things often are, it seems- but, as a plot device, it works well. Although, surely, anyone under the influence of this machine would have the same reaction?

Still, the showdown with the Mad Hatter is satisfying, dramatic, and Bruce's solution is truly shocking. And it's the perfect character point- for Bruce, the truth matters more than happiness.

Batman: The Animated Series- Appointment in Crime Alley

 "Good people still live in Crime Alley..."

Another excellent episode this time, if more low key than some. Yes, the plot is basically a race against time to stop a bomb. But there's a lot more going on than that, and I don't just mean "corner of Finger and Broome"- see what they did there? I love the way this series names its streets after writers and artists who've worked on Batman and Detective Comics.

I kniw I say this a lot, but I'm very impressed aty how the Animated Series continues to build nuances into its world buildfing. Here we're introduced to Dr Lesley Thompkins, a figure from Batman's origins, and of course to Crime Alley. And once again we see one of the regular less colourful criminals, in this case Roland Dagget, who naturally ends the episode slithering away, his murderous schemes defeated but wioth no evidence to link them to him.

And that final scene, humanising Batman as a character, is a fascinating choice. But one that works. I'm so glad the series has time for episodes like this.