Ever since making his debut on the pages of Detective Comics way back in March 1939, Batman has been one of the most popular characters to ever grace the pages of any comic book as well as the small and big screen. That is even as his stories have become increasingly dark on the big screen while remaining thankfully lighter and family friendly on television. As a matter of fact, Turner Classic Movies even continues to play the original Batman serials every Saturday morning as part of its weekly lineup. Early this year, Warner Brothers and DC partnered to continue maintaining Batman’s place among the pantheon of prime comic book heroes when they re-issued the classic Batman television series, The Adventures of Batman. Originally having aired on CBS from Sept. 14, 1968 to Jan. 4, 1969 across 17 total episodes, the series received its latest re-issue this past February on Blu-ray. It preceded the companies’ Blu-ray re-issue of the Max Fleischer Superman series, which was released in May. The recently re-issued Batman series is imperfect but still entertaining for any Batman devotee. On the positive side of things, the set features all 17 episodes that originally aired in that brief run. This will be addressed shortly. The one negative to the set is the lack of any bonus content. This will be addressed a little later. Knowing that the lack of any bonus content is not enough to doom the collection’s presentation, there is one more positive to note. That positive is the general production of the series in its new re-issue. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the new Blu-ray re-issue of The Adventures of Batman. All things considered the two-disc collection proves to be mostly a successful new presentation of the classic series.
DC and Warner Brothers’ recent Blu-ray re-issue of CBS’ short-lived animated Batman series, The Adventures of Batman, is a mostly positive presentation that will appeal to most comic book and Batman fans, as well as any television history buffs. One of the reasons it will appeal to audiences is the fact that all 17 of the series’ original episodes are featured here, just as in the series’ previous DVD release. The episodes are presented here in the exact same chronological order in which they originally appeared during the show’s short run on CBS, meaning audiences can watch them in exactly the same order or in any random order they want. From the familiar evil twin plot used in “Will The Real Robin Please Stand Up?” to Catwoman’s attempt to uncover Batman’s secret identity in “The Nine Lives of Batman” (which presents a familiar Batman plot in a unique fashion – Catwoman uses a radioactive gas that helps her track Batman back to his lair un her attempt to find out where Batman stays) to Mr. Freeze’s attempt to play the Grinch when he impersonates Santa in “Cool, Cruel Christmas Caper”, and more, audiences get not only the series’ episodes in their exact chronological order but also plenty of great family friendly stories therein in this collection. That duality creates a solid foundation for the double-disc set.
While the episodes and their stories make for plenty of appeal here, the lack of any bonus content with the set detracts from the collection’s engagement and entertainment to a certain point. It would have been nice to have had some insight as to why the powers that be waited nearly a decade between releasing the set on DVD and Blu-ray. Was it timing of the growing popularity of Batman on the big screen? It just would have been nice to have some background on that matter. Additionally, it would have been interesting to have some insight into the connection (perceived or real) between The Adventures of Batman and The All New Superfriends Hour, which came along almost a decade later on ABC. Even some insight on the constant popularity of Batman versus other members of the Justice League and other DC superheroes would have added at least a little something to the presentation especially considering the in-depth content that DC and Warners brought to the Max Fleischer’s Superman collection this summer. While the lack of any of this background and additional commentary is not enough to doom the presentation it is not enough to doom the set. It just would have really pushed the set over the top in a good way.
Knowing that the collection is not doomed even without any bonus content, there is still one more positive to address. That positive is the general presentation of the series in its new re-issue. Just as with the Superman Blu-ray re-issue, the presentation is exceptional. The colors are so rich in each episode, including the troubling flashing blue and red on the title cards. Staying on that note for a moment, that flashing red and blue can very easily prove problematic for anyone prone to epileptic seizures. This probably should have been noted somewhere on or inside the case but sadly was not. To that end, viewer discretion should be advised at least in this aspect. The sound is clean in each episode, too. Each episode is also presented in its original aspect ratio, with the black bars on either side of the picture and that, combined with the exceptional audio and video creates a welcome sense of nostalgia among audiences while also ensuring viewers’ maintained engagement and entertainment. The positive impact of that aesthetic aspect of the show’s presentation works with the positive of the episodes’ general presentation and their stories, the two elements make the set mostly worth watching. This is the case even despite the lack of bonus content that could have otherwise really made the presentation even more enjoyable. Keeping that in mind, the collection still proves to be among the best of this year’s new Blu-ray and DVD re-issues.
Warner Brothers and DC’s recent Blu-ray re-issue of The Adventures of Batman is a presentation that audiences will find mostly engaging and entertaining. The set’s success comes in part through its episodes, which are presented in exactly the same chronological order in which they were presented in the series’ brief run on CBS way back in 1968-69. The stories within those episodes make for their own enjoyment, too. The episodes and their stories make a strong foundation for the set but the lack of any bonus content with the set detracts from the collection notably. It is not enough to doom the set but certainly would have enhanced the presentation, that aside. The overall production of the episodes in the new presentation rounds out the most important of the collection’s elements. The picture and sound are exceptional. And that the episodes are presented in their original aspect ratio adds even more to the appeal. The positive impact that the production of the episodes has alongside that of the episodes and their stories is enough to make this collection imperfect but still a welcome offering for any Batman fan, vintage television fan and comic book fan alike. Those audiences will all agree that while it is imperfect, its positives are enough to make the set one of the best of this year’s new DVD and BD re-issues.
The Adventures of Batman is available now on Blu-ray. More information on this and other titles from Warner Brothers is available at:
Website: http://warnerbros.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/warnerbrosent
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Warnerbros
More information on this and other titles from DC is available at:
Website: https://dc.com/movies
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dc
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