Over at Toon Zone, James Harvey has posted some thoughts on Batman:The Animated Series in celebration of its 15th anniversary:
It’s hard to believe that fifteen years ago, so many of us where sitting down to watch this show. Fifteen years! That’s incredible! Of course, it’s incredible for a show, any show, to still have such an impact on the fan base, and the industry, as a whole. Who knew that, when we all sat down to watch this show, a whole universe would spawn from this series? That after it, Superman: The Animated Series would begin. That the creators behind the series would look into the future with the definitive Batman Beyond. Of course, there’s also Justice League, as well, which would bring everything together in the end. Quite amazing, yes?
And it was the creators behind this show that made it so absolutely amazing. We had the likes of Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Stan Berkowtiz, Dwayne McDuffie, Boyd Kirkland, Dan Riba, Michael Reaves, Hilary Bader, among many others, who contributed. Even comic greats like Dennis O’Neil and Len Wein stepped in. And I know I’m missing awhile lot of people here, but there are just so many people that deserve thanking. What I like is that everyone had a role to play in the show, and there role was always crucial. And that, to me, made the episodes work. Yes, sometimes the results weren’t all that good, I’ll admit, but you could always count on something memorable, even from the worst episodes (like that ridiculous screwdriver/sword duel in “I’ve Got A Batman In My Basement”).
