BanGos - Call Me

 BanGos perform Call Me live.

The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Batman: The Animated Series

 Batman: The Animated Series

Episode 22

Joker’s Favor

 

The first appearance of Harley Quinn! A super important episode in the series, the DCAU, and the comics.  For such a big event, it’s actually a run of the mill Batman episode.  The Joker harasses some regular bozo Charlie Collins because he’s nuts.  He stalks and harasses the guy to open a door for him at a police party.

 

Collins does it but finds a way to warn Batman.  When Charlie Collins opens the doors his hand gets glued to it.  The Joker pops put of a cake, freezes all the cops still, plants a bomb, leaves the cops and Collins to die.  Batman shows up and saves everyone.  Charlie Collins gets free, flips out and confronts the joker, threatens to kill him, The Joker agrees to stop harassing him.  Collins sets off a gag bomb which makes Batman laugh and pisses off Joker.  

 

It’s a nice little lesson for kids about, road rage, because the person in the other car could be really dangerous.  While the main demo might not drive for another 10 years it’s not a band idea to instill the lesson into young minds early.  

 

Harley Quinn’s part is rather small in this episode, her character goes onto be one of the biggest comic book characters of all time. Voiced perfectly by Arleen Sorkin it’s the definitive version of the character.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise

Season 3

Episode 76 Zero Hour

 

It’s the season climax, what the show spent an entire year building up to.   Thankfully it was a decent payoff.  The Enterprise destroys the spheres in the expanse, returning it to a normal type of space.  Basically defeating the plans the Guardians have of making that region of space hospitable to them. 

 

Meanwhile the super weapon makes it to Earth.  Archer with the help of his new Xindi friends tries to stop the weapon.  During the battle the Andorians captained by Shran arrive and assist in the battle.  

 

Archer, Sato, Reed beam aboard the super weapon.  They all work together to dismantle it.  Archer has Reed and Sato leave while he closes out the dismantling of the weapon.  As he completes the task he ends up in a classic Star Trek last minute fight to the death while the structure/planet/ship collapses around them.  We last see Archer trying to run away from a bunch of explosions.  Everyone presumes he dies in the explosion of the weapon.  

 

Reed, Sato and other Enterprise crewmembers return to the expanse where they meet up with the actual Enterprise and fill one another in on their success.  The Aquatic Xindi agree to give Enterprise a ride home.  They part way peacefully.  

 

The Enterprise flies the rest of the way on their own to Earth.  While heading to the planet, they discover they have been sent back in time to the 1940s.  The season ends on another cliffhanger. 

 

With the exception of the cliffhanger at the end, the episode was solid.  Good action, drama, and resolution.  That season long cliffhanger after making the audience suffer though a story that started at the end of season two, was a bit too much to ask.  It leaves people without any decent resolution.  Thankfully it would be the last storyline devoted to the Temporal Cold War as after the first two episodes of season four, the show moves away from time travel gimmicks and focuses on smaller connected story arcs. 

 

How does season three measure-up as a whole?  It did a great job in terms of ambition, especially for a Star Trek series.  A season long threat.  Implementing that season long story had too many slow moments.  Lots of missed opportunity for faster paced stories or perhaps better focus on key or new characters.  There was definitely a plan on how to end the season with lots of action and excitement. The payoff was great.  The build-up could have been better.  It also asked a lot from an audience to tune in every week to keep up with the stories.  The idea of binge watching was still a few years away.  DVR was new.  Streaming is years off.  So if you missed an episode, you could be completely lost.  It’s a story telling concept that was perhaps too progressive for the year 2004.  But ultimately that’s where TV was headed.  So the writers weren’t wrong to make that leap.  They were perhaps responsible for other shows adopting that storytelling format. 

 

Ultimately season three was a good season but one can agree how polarizing it could be to a casual viewer.  And it did no favors to itself when trying to garner new viewership.  Also the show was promoting an overall message of diplomacy over war.  It's difficult not to see the parallels of the Xindi attack on Earth and the tragedy of 9/11.  It shows the justified anger and grief people feel after a cataclysmic attack but overall promotes a message of diplomacy and peace as the best way to resolve conflict.  It's not accidental the show demonstrated how only a few Xindi were true bad guys, even then, their motivations are understandable, but wrong.  It wasn't the the entire species that was responsible.  Pure Star Trek teaching lessons through science fiction allegory.     

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

 

 

 

BanGos - Hazy Shade of Winter

 BanGos do a live performance of Hazy Shade of Winter.

The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Batman: The Animated Series

 Batman: The Animated Series

Episode 21

Feat of Clay Part 2

 

The follow-up episode is just as good as it’s first part, maybe slightly better.  Hagan has become the deformed freak Clay Face.  He discovers he can shape shift temporarily and swears to get revenge on Daggett.  Meanwhile Bruce Wayne Made bail and is using his Batman detective skills to clear his name and put the blame on Roland Daggett.  

 

Everything culminates to Summer Gleason’s talk show where Roland Daggett is promoting his addictive, cosmetic, make-up.  Clay Face pretends to be a woman, confronts Daggett showing what an overdose of the formula can do to people.   He tries to kill Daggett, Batman shows up and stops him.  In the process he’s able to prove Hagan was pretending to be Bruce Wayne.  

 

Hagan is believed to be dead but Batman suspects Hagan faked his death and actually got away.  It’s a rather gloomy and dark twist.  One of many great bleak endings the show will have. 

 

Hagan is a true and true bad guy but a person can absolutely understand his quest for revenge.  Roland Daggett is by far the worse of the two.  He’s unremorseful in his evil.  As he appears in other episodes throughout the series, he never cares about the harm he inflicts.  Roland Daggett is a low level Lex Luthor for Batman.  He’s a ruthless businessman who will do anything to further his bottom line.  

 

Clay Face goes onto be one of Batman’s more formidable foes and his follow-up episodes are as epic as his introduction.  

 

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise

Season 3

Episode 75 Countdown

 

Enterprise and friends are in pursuit of the Xindi weapon controlled by the Reptilians.  Archer convinces the Xindi Aquatics to join the fight on his side by promising to destroy the spheres that cause all the special anomalies in that region of space.  It’s a powerful moment.  At the start of the season Enterprise enters the Delphic Expanse alone with no clue how to contact the Xindi or any real idea how to stop them.  Through diplomacy he’s able to win over 3 of the 5 and get them to fight by his side to save Earth.  It’s a theme worthy of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future.  It took a long time to build-up to this moment but credit to the writers for crafting this part of the story and its payoff. 

 

The Reptilians use a mind whammy on the kidnapped Ensign Sato to arm the super weapon and head off to destroy Earth.  While trying to rescue Sato, Major Hayes gets killed.  It’s a bummer because he was a cool character, though under utilized along with the rest of the MACOs.  

 

The Reptilians head to Earth with the weapon which forces everyone to split up.  Archer takes Degra’s ship along with a bunch of Xindi ships to stop the Reptilians.  T’Pol takes Enterprise to destroy the spheres in the Delphic Expanse.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

BanGos - Eternal Flame

 BanGos performing Eternal Flame live.

The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review - Batman: The Animated Series

 Batman: The Animated Series

Episode 20

Feat of Clay Part 1

 

The two-part introduction to Clay Face.  While not as tragic as Two-Face’s origin story, breaking it up into two parts makes sense.  There was never a defined Clay Face in the comics.  The series was able to take plenty of liberties with the character and the story they came up with was rather epic.

 

Actor Matt Hagan is pretending to be Bruce Wayne and committing crimes in his name.  He’s doing this under the orders of Roland Dagett who has a bunch of businessman bad guy motives. Bruce Wayne is framed for crimes he did not commit.

 

Matt Hagan was disfigured in a car accident and Daggett supplies him with a special cream that allows him to fix his face.  The stuff is temporary and addictive, a drug.  To get a steady supply Hagan has to constantly go to Daggett and do a ton of illegal stuff.  Hagan tries to find a way to break free of Daggett by stealing a bunch but Daggett’s goons catch him and give him an OD of the stuff.  

 

This silhouette scene of the band guys pouring the stuff on Hagan that will turn him into Clay Face is scary.  Even in a monster film it would be frightening.  For what is supposed to be a kids show, it’s absolutely shocking.  The episode ends on a nice cliffhanger.

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise

Season 3

Episode 74 The Council

 

The episode is a hidden gem in the season.  One that promotes diplomacy over violence. The Enterprise shows there is a larger conspiracy and convinces the Xindi to stop their attack on Earth.  But in an ultimate twist two of the Xindi factions break off and proceed with their plan to destroy Earth.  This time around Archer is not alone when trying to stop the attack as he now has two other Xindi factions on his side trying to stop the super weapon from being used.  

 

Degra is murdered by another Xindi in this episode, and while his character ultimately proved to be good, he was responsible for the death of over seven million people on Earth.  So not too many tears should be shed for his loss.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

BanGos - Mad About You

 BanGos performing Mad About You live at the South Huntington Public Library.