Monday, March 18, 2024

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise


Season 3

Episode 58 Exile

 


It’s as if the writers purposely take one of their least liked characters and write boring episodes for her so fans have something to complain about.  This is no exception.  Ensign Sato forms a telepathic bond with an alien that can offer Xindi information but only if she visits him in-person.  At first he seems kind of cool.  Turns out he’s a total creep.  She wants to be let go, he loves her so he does, reluctantly.  The Enterprise picks her up, they go on with their mission.  He hooks them up with some helpful data.

 

It progresses the season’s storyline but it’s real painful to sit through.  Why couldn’t they give Sato an action packed episode where she fights her way through a mob of aliens to save a captured telepath she has feelings for?  Because people might enjoy that episode and her character.  

 

TV writers can be stubborn to listen to fan complaints and Star Trek is one of the worst.  They allowed Neelix to exist on Voyager.  He’s truly the worst character ever created on TV ever.  So why would they try to salvage or make Sato a character people like, or have an episode that’s actually enjoyable instead of a lame alien love story.  

 

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

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

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

Batman: The Animated Series

Episode 2

Christmas with the Joker



How do you follow-up the visually stunning On Leather Wings?  You go strong on one of Batman’s biggest villains.  The Joker escapes Arkham Asylum during the holiday season.  Batman is obsessed with catching him and his sidekick Robin wants Batman to lighten up.  

 

Here we meet The Joker voiced by what would become his second most iconic career performance, Mark Hamill.  Hamill is the definitive Joker.  Even if it’s just his voice, it far exceeds Jack Nicholson’s “interpretation” of the character.  Nicholson’s joker was just a meaner version of Caesar Romero.  Nicholson added some psychopathic tendencies and weird noises but ultimately it is just jack Nicholson playing the joker and not actually Joker. 

 


When comparing other Joker performances post BtAS, Hamill is the go to source.  One is left to wonder how brilliant Heath Ledger’s Joker would have been without Hamill’s voice work.  Ledger’s is truly the best live-action incarnation.  A unique, sadistic character, who lives for anarchy.  Hamill’s Joker is the kid friendly crazy, has silly jokes, can be menacing, but since it’s a kid show, never really kills anyone.  At his worst, he puts a permanent catatonic grin on a person’s face.  That never ending smile is actually more cruel than just killing the person. Leave it the TV standard and practices to have rules that cause creative results which are far worse.

 

We also get introduced to Robin for the first time in this episode.  It’s a brilliant setup to the character.  Robin is away at college and therefore will not be in every episode.  The audience is basically told they will be treated to the occasional Robin appearance but this show is about Batman. 

 


What’s more interesting about this approach is the show is really more about Batman’s rogue gallery.  As the series goes on there is a little character development about Batman but it’s more about how the villains grow around him.  They either become more evil or fail at trying to do good.  The one villain that never evolves in the series is The Joker which makes him more sadistic.  He’s consistently evil and his goal is to make Batman’s life miserable.  

 

One of the few items which actually ages the show is its reference to It’s a Wonderful Life.  A film which was on every channel five+ times a day during the Christmas season in the 1980s and 1990s due to a copyright issue. It caused the film to become a Christmas classic in that tenure and resulted in being mentioned in many Christmas shows through the 1990s.   Since the copyright issue was cleared up, the film isn’t broadcasted as often during the holiday season and references make it appear dated.

 


This actually leads us to the bigger visual look of the show.  We didn’t discuss this in our intro article because there was just too much to cover but BtAS style is one of many unique choices which make it stand out.  The Film Noir/Art Deco visuals make the show ageless.  The characters aren’t trapped in the 1940s, it’s not a period piece. The show is supposed to take place in the 1990s.  The style in Gotham City is the 1940s with access to contemporary technology (not counting the advanced tech used in specific episodes for story purposes).  That’s a bold choice for a kids show.  Would kids understand or appreciate this style?  They did buy into it.  But we have to go back to Tim Burton for his hybrid gothic/noir take on Batman which allowed for this.  If Burton’s Batman failed we wouldn’t have these great undertones.

 

The creators were able to lean into the stylistic choices which worked in Burton’s Batman films and filter out the stuff that didn’t.  So Art Deco and Film Noir are great style choices.  Gothic style is not the right tone for children.  Burton’s influence is riddled throughout the entire early run of the series.  The creators were smart in what they chose to include and perhaps lucky that they were making a kids show which allowed them to cut the gothy items Burton uses in all his films.  

 


Meanwhile in the episode, The Joker hijacks the airwaves with some kidnapped key cast members from the show.  Batman and Robin show up and save the day. 

 

We swear the follow-up reviews will be more focused on the individual episodes instead of the entire series.  

 


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

Monday, March 11, 2024

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise


Season 3

Episode 57 Impulse

 


The weird anomalies generated by the Delphic Expanse can be prevented on star ships with something called Trillium-D but of course Vulcans are allergic.  So in this episode the Enterprise comes across a bunch of Vulcans exposed to Trillium-D and they become zombies.  Its actually a rather fun episode despite how absurd it is.  Enterprise has enough components to make Trillium-D but cannot use it because it’ll mess up their resident Vulcan T’Pol.  So the Enterprise has to wait on using it until Dr Phlox can make a vaccine or serum for T’Pol to avoid the poisonous affects.  


He never makes the vaccine and we find out she starts using it as a drug later on. 

 

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

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

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

Batman: The Animated Series

Episode 1

On Leather Wings



The episode that kicks off the best animated show of all time (the best animated universe ever).  The creators made certain to pull out all the stops for this series and make an impression.  The first episode’s animation is by far the best in the entire universe.  This is clearly a deliberate choice by the creators to sell the show to the studio, network, comic book publisher.  There were a lot of eyes on this first episode and the think tanks needed to deliver.  The quality is so far above anything in animated TV it rivaled Disney features at the time.  

 

When Man-Bat is flying in the air with Batman hanging by a rope behind him, it’s beyond impressive.  The camera follows the movement through the entire sequence.  The time and dedication to that type of children’s animation is unparalleled.  The follow-up episodes were more constrained by time and budget, we really never get to see such vivid animation in the universe again.  The follow-up episodes might not be as visually stunning, they’re still spectacular and do not affect the stories at all. 

 


The episode involves a monster Man-Bat robbing pharmacies and almost everyone thinks it’s Batman.  Batman sets out to clear his name and stop the robberies.  We are introduced to key players in the series like Batman/Bruce Wayne, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, pre-Two Face Harvey Dent, Harvey Bullock, Mayor Hamilton Hill.  It’s a nice intro to all the characters who will be hashed out in later episodes.  

 

Batman discovers Kirk Langstrom took a serum that made him a monster.  This lovely mutation gimmick will turn up multiple times throughout the DCAU.  BtAS has a werewolf, Catwoman getting mutated into a cat, a man making a cat, a farmer making giant monsters, Batman Beyond has splicers, Justice League had Cheetah.  Comic book TV shows like mutating people into animal/man creatures.  

 

Additionally the episode established the different voice between Batman and Bruce Wayne.  It’s truly a brilliant technique to differentiate the character.  This gimmick dies out as the universe continues.  It was likely easier for the voice actor Kevin Conroy to stick with one consistent style then dramatically switch voice tones.  But the early episodes had two distinct voices and can be seen as a major influence in Christian Bale’s Batman/Bruce Wayne performance.  

 

When comparing this first episode to the prior animated super hero installments from the 1960s – 1980s this was monumental in story telling.  It wasn’t some saccharin Hannah-Barbera watered downed story.  Those old stories were filled with ridiculous cartoon clichés.  Laser weapons because real guns aren’t allowed on children’s TV.  Every time a plane gets shot down the parachute opens.  A PSA at the end trying to educate kids on some lame lesson to tie the episode together.  All of that TV trope garbage was scrapped in this series and On Leather Wings set that tone.  

 


Batman: The Animated Series is certainly a show for kids but remains timeless because it didn’t talk down to them like its animated predecessors.  Adults can easily watch this show.  The fan base remains so strong because of how ageless and compelling the stories are.  As the years went on, rewatches of other popular kid’s shows like He-Man, Transformers, GI Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thundercats may invoke nostalgia but the episodes do not resonate as well since they were written for a certain age demographic and primarily made to sell toys.  

 

Thanks is owed to Tim Burton’s Batman films.  Burton’s Batman is highly praised by fans but in this web reviewer’s opinion, a bit over hyped.  Without going into too much detail, Burton’s Batman lacked a coherent plot in the first film.  Batman Returns was too gothic.  What Burton did get right though, was he made Batman dark and that allowed the cartoon to be translated into something darker, something which resembled the comics.  In the 13 years Hannah-Barbera produced their DC incarnation of Superfriends (1973 - 1986), they never dared to have the kind of story depth the DCAU tackles.  It’s all thankfully summed up in this first episode.  

 


Even the opening sequence uses a condensed version of Danny Elfman’s Batman theme.  This Batman is telling its audience it’s connected to the films when it uses that music.  As the series progresses Shirley Walker’s compositions take over and become the true music of the show.  But Elfman’s music is clearly a heavy influence and help add to how epic the show truly is.

 

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

Monday, March 4, 2024

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise


Season 3

Episode 56 Rajiin

 


The enterprise buys a formula for Trillium-D from a merchant on an alien planet.  While there an enslaved woman asks Captain Archer to save her.  So he does. He bonds with her, turns out she’s a spy for the Xindi.  Archer throws her in the brig.  The Xindi attack the ship and free her.  The Xindi use her to start working on a bioweapon.  She seems to have some regrets. But we never see her again.

 

How many Star Trek shows deal with someone falling for a mysterious woman or guy who’s really a bad guy?  Then antics ensue, the person betrays them, sometimes has a change of heart.  It’s a snooze fest on every level.  Skip this episode, the minor enjoyment of humans trading simple kitchen spices for an expensive metallurgic formula is entertaining but wasted on such a bland episode.  

 

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

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

The DC Animated Universe Weekly Review


Welcome to the start of a weekly series where we review the entire DC Animated Universe every Wednesday.  We will encompass TV shows, tie-in films, and extended media we feel fits into the narrative of the universe.  We’ll also be reviewing the shows/films in the best viewing order to truly enjoy the universe.  You can find countless websites that list how to watch the shows in chronological time but that doesn’t have a satisfying narrative.  Especially since the last episode chronologically is from The Zeta project and ends with an unresolved cliffhanger.  Yes, there is Epilogue from Justice League Unlimited but to close out with that episode after all the Justice Unlimited story details that occurred before would also be unsatisfying.  

There are also lists on release/airing date, and production order.  But that can still create narrative gaps.    

 

Therefore this review will tackle the episodes in the order we feel they should be viewed.  This isn’t a release order, or production order.  It’s the best order to watch all the shows and films in the universe and capture the best narrative impact the creators intended for their stories.  

 

We’re not concerned about exact timelines with this episode order. So Batman: Mask of the Phantasm might fit perfectly between some random mid season episode, it really doesn’t affect the story or characters, so we’re not worrying about the exact date the episode falls on in the chronological time.  The review follows all the characters and stories in a way that makes sense.

 

The view order is below.  There are some unique choices that other fans wouldn’t agree with.  We’ll detail the reasoning for those inclusions when that individual review comes up.



DC Animated Universe Watch Order
Show/FilmEpisodes
Batman: The Animated SeriesEpisodes 1 - 56
Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm
Batman: The Animated SeriesEpisodes 57 - 85
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
Superman: The Animated SeriesEpisodes 1 - 41
The New Batman AdventuresEpisodes 1 - 19
Superman: The Animated SeriesEpisodes 42 - 52
The New Batman AdventuresEpisodes 20 - 24
Superman: The Animated SeriesEpisodes 53 - 54
Batman Short Film: "Chase Me"
Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman Movie
Gotham GirlsEpisodes 1 - 30
Batman BeyondEpisodes 1 - 47
The Zeta ProjectEpisodes 1 - 7
Batman BeyondEpisodes 48 - 51
The Zeta ProjectEpisodes 8 - 12
Batman BeyondEpisodes 52
Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker Movie
The Zeta ProjectEpisodes 13 - 26
Static ShockEpisodes 1 - 24
Justice LeagueEpisodes 1 - 28
Static ShockEpisodes 25 - 42
Justice LeagueEpisodes 29 - 46
Static ShockEpisodes 43 - 52
Justice LeagueEpisodes 47 - 52
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Justice League UnlimitedEpisodes 1 - 39
Batman & Harley Quinn
Justice League Vs The Fatal Five


 

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

Monday, February 26, 2024

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise


Season 3

Episode 55 Extinction

 


The Enterprise track a Xindi ship to a planet infected with a disease that turn everyone who lands on it into them.  It’s similar to the Star Trek Voyager episode Threshold where Janeway and Paris turn into aliens because they were flying super fast in a ship or something…

 

Ultimately the episode doesn’t progress the season long plot, is not particularly interesting, it’s easily skipped.

 

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

Monday, February 19, 2024

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise

 

Season 3

Episode 54 Anomaly

 


This episode is also a season arc establishing episode.  We learn more about the Delphic Expanse which has weird anomalies.  The crew gets robbed by some pirates and traces them back to a sphere which is generating some type of sci-fi mumbo jumbo energy.  The get most of their supplies back.

 

Archer gets a little rough while interrogating one of the pirates.  Showing he’s willing to go to extremes to get what he needs.  But Archer doesn’t go over the line.  That’s still pending and the season is still very new.

 

Ultimately Enterprise gets another little snapshot into their Xindi enemy of the season.  This episode is a little reminiscent of the Star Trek Voyager episode The Void where that team gets trapped in a weird anomaly but works with other aliens to eventually break free.  

 

This Enterprise episode is different enough that it can’t be called even a partial copy but it has the bones.  A recurring issue with Enterprise was how the writers rehashed similar situations from the prior shows.  Dusting off old scripts and giving them alternate outcomes is not the worst thing if it’s a compelling story but does lack originality.  

 

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

Monday, February 12, 2024

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise


Season 3

Episode 53 The Xindi

 


The season three premiere!  The biggest misstep to ever happen on the show is the change in their theme song.  It’s the same song but with an upbeat karaoke treatment.  It’s sped up and has this annoying keyboard and drumbeat to it.  It was one of the worst changes the show ever made

 

We meet the Xindi council of aliens who are aware the Earth ship Enterprise has entered their system and are debating if they need to be stopped.  Basically, we meet the villains of the season.  

 

Meanwhile, Enterprise is trying to track down those very Xindi who attacked earth killing millions and plan to destroy the entire planet.  They cut a deal with a prison colony to speak with one of the Xindi prisoners then of course get double-crossed.  We get to see the Military Assault Command Operations (MACOs) in action for the first time.  

 

MACOs are basically the space equivalent of marines.  No other Star Trek show has ever shown a pure military based unit.  Starfleet which is a type of space navy is still a mission of peaceful exploration.  But since the United Federation of Planets doesn’t exists in this show, the idea of Earth having a military unit makes sense and makes some great action in later episodes.

 

The episode attempts to set the tone for the entire season.  The Enterprise is alone in an uncharted and hostile area of space.  Their goal is to stop the Xindi at any cost and also the early stages of Archer’s obsession with completing his mission.  He doesn’t break any ethical rules in this episode but as the season goes on we’ll see him go to a dark place. 

 

The episode itself is a little by-the-numbers but when crafting a season long story arc you have to position the pieces carefully and slowly to have a satisfying payoff by the end. 

 

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

Monday, February 5, 2024

Episode by Episode - Star Trek: Enterprise


Season 2

Episode 52 The Expanse

 


This is the start of one of the most ambitious Star Trek seasons ever created.  Enterprise is recalled to Earth after an alien race known as the Xindi attack it killing millions.  The Xindi decided to attack earth because another faction in the show's main story arc, the Temporal Cold War, tells the Xindi, Earth will destroy their race.  So Enterprise embarks on a mission to stop the Xindi from destroying Earth.  The Enterprise enters the unexplored Delphic Expanse alone, in efforts to stop the Xindi from destroying Earth, no matter the cost.  

 

It’s the start of something big and different.  This season 2 cliffhanger is taking the standalone episodes of season one and two and tossing them aside for an entire season story arc.  At this point in time Enterprise was struggling in ratings and the creators had to do something different to shake things up and pull in viewers.  So they decided to lean in full throttle on the Temporal Cold War.  

 

Whether this new story telling approach worked will be addressed in later reviews.   Season two ends with the promise Star Trek: Enterprise was going to bring something different than the standard episode of the week format.  

 

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