(6/7/09)
I would like to think that in light of its more fantastic elements, Batman: the Animated Series is rooted in some form of reality. Even if there are clay monsters and plans involving giant vats of acid, this is the defined reality of the show and the characters have a realistic logic that responds appropriately. No matter what happens in this universe, Batman and Gordon and the rest of the characters react as real human beings, not as empty characters manipulated to serve the plot. And so when I see an episode like this, I cringe a little.
Why does every wealthy Gotham citizen fall prey to a manipulative false prophet? Because Sean Catherine Derek feels that writing with broad generalizations will help educate the viewer. Well then what is the purpose of Ethan’s daughter telling us what we already know? Oh right, there is no purpose. I mean she also exists as a hostage, a hollow vessel of a person whose only function is to be rescued. So I suppose she’s there to kill two birds with one stone; she not only patronizes the audience, but she serves the role of clichéd plot device.
As I am trying to illustrate, this episode is artificial. There is no better word for it. Nothing here is believable. Nostromos is an exaggerated flamboyant guy with an overdone accent and who uses wires to make him appear to levitate. Yet all Gotham socialites, who should be somewhat intelligent, believe in him as a prophet. And to add insult, Lisa, a teenager or so, sees through the whole thing. Now let’s be frank here; a second grader could see through Nostromos’ act. But with wealthy businessmen falling for Nostromos, it would probably take an Ivy League professor to see through it, let alone someone as young as Lisa.
Clearly I don’t need to hammer in the point further, so I’ll stop here and abstain from taking up space. But sadly there is more to hate, and yes I do hate this episode. The animation is ghastly. Now I’ll give Frank Paur props for directing the revolving model planets climax, which obvious took an incredible amount of work. But naturally AKOM had to ruin it by animating the planets as unshapely spheres whose only indicators that they are indeed spheres and not circles are shadows that don’t mesh at all with the way the planets rotate. That’s but one instance but there are obviously more. AKOM tends to leave its stain on every instance of a show so quality animation is nowhere to be found (though when Batman fights Lucas with simple black and white lighting, suddenly things start looking a lot better).
I mean, this just isn’t a good one, and I hate to sound repetitive when I discuss an episode’s flaws, but with an episode as bland as this whose faults can be traced to a few distinct things, it’s hard not to repeat yourself a bit. Let’s just say that this is one of those rare episodes that don’t need to be watched in order to gain a complete experience of Batman: the Animated Series. Even ‘I’ve Got Batman in My Basement’ I’d say is essential for introducing the Penguin and representing the pinnacle of low quality. Just one big joke of an episode that I hope I don’t have to see again.
The episode is about Bruce and his upper class colleagues, all of whom are gradually joining a cult led by a man named Nostromos. Bruce, obviously, is the only person who sees through Nostromos’ deceit, figures out his ultimate plan, and saves the day as Batman. It’s boring, straightforward, and unexciting drivel. The flaws are quite numerous, but then again, it’s fairly clear that the writers of the episode didn’t care if any of it made any logical sense or had any real dramatic appeal.
First of all, the episode is very exploitive in its attack on cults. It portrays every rich upper class citizen as a moron. Every one of them, save Bruce of course, falls for such a ridiculous scam. It doesn’t help matters that Nostromos’ is utterly laughable both in his outfit and his over-the-top voice. Bruce’s detective skills are hardly put to the test either; anyone with a brain could have done the research he did to realize that Nostromos and his lackey are ex-cons. But as is the case with such pitiful stories, only the protagonist is treated with any decency.
The major secondary characters, friends of Bruce Wayne, are not the least bit engaging. Ethan is the epitome of gullibility, while his daughter is one of those clichéd young female characters with a sense of adventure. She, of course, is the only person besides Bruce who is able to see Nostromos for what he is; she, a young girl, has more brains than every single rich man and woman in Gotham city. These characters have no depth, so the attempted drama fails miserably. As Bruce has to choose either to reveal to Lisa that he really does know that the cult is a sham or to maintain his façade so that he can eventually defeat Nostromos, there is no sense of tension or urgency about it. Secondary characters like this that only serve the plot, instead of the other way around, take up space with their presences that could otherwise be used for interesting development.
AKOM handles the animation again, and while my thoughts on AKOM probably don’t warrant repeating, I’ll say it again anyway: it is the single worst studio to ever animate the series. This episode, however, is actually one of its better efforts. The movement isn’t nearly as clumsy as the typical AKOM episode, and some of the visuals aren’t bad. Regardless, it is not well animated and I definitely fault the episode for it.
This is an episode that is largely filler. It’s not so horrible that it stands out, like ‘The Forgotten’ or ‘I’ve Got Batman In My Basement’, but it is far from good, or even average. At this point in the series, poor episodes are the norm, but thankfully the series starts to pick up from here on out.
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