So, enough about stuff I haven’t watched yet. This is what I have been watching!

I remember when Batman Beyond was first announced. The fans were pretty skeptical, but when the show debuted it was clear that the crew responsible had the magic touch, because it was something special.

I had seen several episodes back when they were first on the air and on the ancient technology of VHS, and my thoughts on the Return of the Joker movie are well known, but this recently released complete DVD box set is the first time I had seen all the episodes all in a row. After spending some really significant time with the show, it’s even more apparent how truly great it was. The concept could have gone so badly, but the stories, the writing, the acting, and the art direction were excellent. The show is so fresh, unique, and unpredictable while still being Batman.

And it’s surprising how this is so not a kids’ show this wound up being, what with all the fighting, scariness, teen angst, and icky kissing scenes. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. But the whole idea was to make a new Batman show with more kid-appeal, and it wound up skewing even older..

Also, the music kind of rocked.

It’s kind of weird to think that a show that takes place in the future and was so progressive at the time is now more than 10 years old. In the worldof cartoons, that’s old! There are actually kids out there who haven’t seen it or even heard of it! Shame. But I’m glad that the character of Terry McGinnis has stuck around, making other animated appearances and even migrating over to the comics. I hope he shows up in Batman: The Brave and the Bold somehow. That would be shway.

Sayonara.