The New Adventures of Batman
BY Ryan LaMarca / 2008-02-10
Soaring onto DVD from Warner Home Video is the complete series of the classic 1977 Filmation series The New Adventures of Batman. The show originally aired on CBS from 1977 to 1978 and lasted for a total of sixteen episodes. Adam West and Burt Ward reprise their roles from the live action series as Batman and Robin, respectively. Animation fans will also recognize Lennie Weinrib as the voice of most of the supporting characters and villains from Commissioner Gordon to the Joker. As most people who have seen this show know, it's all camp, mainly due to the inclusion of Bat-Mite. I became acquainted with the show only in the last year or so when it became available on AOL's In2TV service. Why, oh why did Warner decide to put this show out instead of the original 1968 to 1969 Filmation Batman series which was much better and more serious. The character designs, aside from the ones carried over from the 60s series; the voices; the stories; and the music are all inferior to the 60s cartoon. Some of the character models were changed in the most odd ways, like making the Riddler, who only appears in the opening credits, wear a pink suit or the emergence of a new Catwoman outfit.
However, this show is noteworthy of something. Because of this show, produced by Filmation, the Hanna-Barbera series Challenge of the Superfriends was not able to use the Joker as a member of the Legion of Doom, and due to the presence of the Riddler and Scarecrow in Superfriends, they were off limits to The New Adventures of Batman. Also, because Hanna-Barbera's superior series had employed the original voices of Batman and Robin, Olan Soule and Casey Kasem, were replaced by West and Ward.
One of the reasons why this series is remembered is probably because of the Bat-Mite character. For those of you who don't know, Bat-Mite is an imp from the fifth dimensions, the place where Mr. Mxyzptlk comes from, who idolizes Batman and wants to work with him to fight crime, but instead usually annoys and gets in the way of Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. As noted in the featurette, the character was included just to throw in some extra comedy and a character you could laugh at. Lou Scheimer, the co-founder of Filmation, voiced Bat-Mite, lowering the cost to include the character.
The episodes in this set are as simple as you can get and feature very outlandish and improbable stories. They're not written very well and feature corny dialogue, but you have to remember who the target audience was for this show when it first premiered. It's just meant to be a fun show that the kids will enjoy and not to be taken seriously or analyzed too deeply. Most stories start out with Bruce and Dick in Wayne Manor who are later alerted by Commissioner Gordon of some criminal activity before suiting up and trying to stop the criminals. They almost succeed, only to be foiled by Bat-Mite. Batman and Robin later regroup and come up with a plan to finally stop the villain. A good number of Batman's rogues gallery from the comics are translated over to the series. The Joker, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and Catwoman were all brought over. A good deal of original villains were also created for the series. However, all the voices for the characters changed for the worse and lessens the enjoyment of seeing them in action, especially the Joker voiced by Weinrib who took over from Larry Storch from the 60s series.
Out of all of the episodes, the best one is the "Have an Evil Day" two-parter in which the alien Zarbor teams up with the Joker, the Penguin, Clayface, and Catwoman to destroy Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Bat-Mite. And at the end of every episode, there is a moral lesson that the heroes try to teach, just like the ones you see at the end of each He-Man and She-Ra episode.
The video quality here is very good, considering the age of the content. It's much more vibrant than the New Adventures of Superman set that came out simultaneously. The colors look really great and everything seems to be all right. As with most classic Warner animation DVDs, there is the usual cel grain, dirt, and scratches present that you tend to notice after awhile. It irritates some people, but it doesn't really bother me. The audio is the standard mono track, nothing exceptional.
The retrospective featurette on the set titled "The Dark Knight Revisited" is very well done and includes an insightful look into the production of the show. In it, people involved with the series as well as various comic book writers and editors are interviewed and discuss all of the different styles and interpretations of the Batman character and try to explain what they were going for in the series The New Adventures of Batman. Lou Scheimer of Filmation is also present and talks about the inclusion of Bat-Mite as well as his involvement with the show. I found this to be very enjoyable and entertaining. The featurette runs for almost twenty minutes and gives some great background information on the show.
While not as good as the original 1960s Batman cartoon, this show is not that bad, but falls just short of great. It feels more like a typical Filmation cartoon, complete with stock footage, rather than a true Batman cartoon. Although Bat-Mite may be annoying, he's not annoying enough to turn me away and after awhile you may start to like him. If you're a Batman fan, a Filmation fan, or a classic animation fan, then you'll really enjoy this set. If not, I recommend that you try it. For around twenty dollars, it's not that expensive, and I'd say it's worth it.
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