Phew...I've just come to the end of a crazy ten days or so that saw me blast through all 50 currently aired episodes of WB's recent
The Batman show far faster than was probably good for me, and overall...I really like it.
Let's make no pretences; it was a show that had a lot to prove, due to the inevitable comparisons to the earlier classic
Batman: The Animated Series, and quite frankly, it got off to a poor start with a really patchy first season that seemed to forsake characterisation and dynamic plotting for OTT gadgets, ninja overkill and rank puns. It always had a few things going for it; it looks gorgeous, with brilliantly stylish action sequences and really strikingly original designs, and had a great, moody theme song from U2's The Edge, but it seemed like it was going to be a creature of pure style over substance, and not a show that was really worth my while.
However, with the finale of Season One, a two-parter that introduced their original and tragic take on Clayface, the show demonstarted for the first time that it could have brains too, laying the foundation for a vastly improved second season (the creepy Goth-esque Riddler and the return of Clayface being the highlights). Season Three dipped somewhat, I must say; Batgirl's addition livened up the first few episodes, but they seemed to run out of steam a little, and Batgirl's sassy teen schtick amused me at times but annoyed me at others. Season Four, on the other hand, is killer; for some reason, Robin's addition ties the whole thing togther perfectly, and there are some brilliant stories in this latest batch, particularly their origin stories for Robin, Riddler and of course Harley Quinn.
I've really enjoyed watching this series progress; it always had potential beneath its flaws, and watching that potential realise itself over four seasons has been very gratifying. I know a lot of people wrote it off after its shaky start; I would really recommend they give it another go, because it's really come on in leaps and bounds to become a great show in its own right. I look forward to the two-part Season Four finale on April 28th and May 5th almost as much as the new Foster's.
