Topics

Hey Batfans.  Been a few years since I've dropped by here, I hope you're all well. 

Great time to be a Bat-Fan.  There seems to be a great deal of Bat-properties in the mix as of late!  The 60s DVDs from a few years ago, the two Adam West (RIP) animated properties, the Timm-created animated Batfilms, and the live action material (though much of the recent stuff isn't for me).  As Batfans, we have an embarassment of riches. 

Among them are the BF fan edits.  I have seen two, the Red Book Edition, and another edit (whose name I'm blanking on).  These edits, in my mind, demonstrate there is a stronger Batfilm in the mix.  True, much of the material was taken from the deleted scenes Bonus material on the DVDs, as well as clips from various trailers and music videos that had been left on the cutting room floor--but I'm grateful for it.  Val Kilmer's best work (such as his thoughts on retiring in the cave) is restored, some of Two-Face's over the top antics are cut down, as well as the goofy sound effects, and there seems to be a better balance in the dark hero/campy villain mix.

A good edit elevates BF quite a bit, though little can be done with how Two-Face was written and performed.  And Carrey's Riddler is based on Gorshin.  It's a love it or leave it interpretation (though I'm fine with it).

Has anyone given the fan edits a look?

If this is a redundant topic, feel free to edit, delete, or merge. 

Not sure how many of you stream Netflix--we have a Roku box, not telelvision, so all of our viewing comes from Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix.  Netflix has just added Batman Beyond, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold---just in time for spring break to be over..   Ah, well.  There will be some fun mini marathons coming up. 

George Sanders, Otto Preminger and Eli Wallach each took at turn as Mr. Freeze.

If I recall correctly, Sanders had died before the second Mr. Freeze episode was filmed, hence the change. 

All three had grand accents (only Preminger's was authentic), but far different appearances in the suit.  Preminger really was the start of the 'blue face' Freeze--both for the screen and for the comics.  In fact, I would go as far to say that Ahnold's Freeze in BandR was as much an influence from Otto Preminger as it was from some of the animated series.

Of the three, my preference is still Sanders.  He's just a terrific actor (they all are, but I've always had a soft spot for him), and brings some interesting shades to the character.   Do any of you have a preference?

Not sure where to put this...

There's a rumor circulating that the next film featuring a Bat-appearance will be in a Justice League film in 2015.  BoF reported it originally, but it has been picked up by other outlets as well.  For now it's scuttlebutt---but it could be the direction they're going in.

If so, what would you like to see in a JL film?  Do you think this is a good direction for WB to be going in?

To be honest, I'm happy for a JL film to be made, though I have some concerns about timing.  2015 isn't too far off, and much would seem to ride on the success of Man of Steel.   Thoughts?

Though technically not a comic book show, I find this to be one of the most engaging programs in recent television history.

Anyone else watch this program?  Is it cool if we discuss it here? 

^ I hope I did that right. If not, kill this.

I think the Arrow pilot and premise sounds interesting. There have been recent rumors and at least two confirmations RE: DC characters making appearances in the show--based on this alone, WB has my interest.   

Given the review posted by riddler:

saw the first episode of the Arrow series at a private screening today. Sorry for not doing this as a PM but would a mod/admin be kind enough to let me know how you'd like me to proceed with that? Should I make a spoiler post in a different colour? Should I create a new thread with the word spoiler in the title? Or should I wait until it's on TV before discussing it? Until I get the go ahead, I will not post any spoilers in fear of ruining anything for anyone. I certainly will respond to any PM's I get in the meantime from those asking questions. Here's my general thoughts without spoiling any plot points;
Also the screening was with the 4 main cast members I will post some of their responses to the questions (these are not huge spoilers)
-the cast and crew did speak highly of the show LOST. The first episode has plenty of lost style 'time jumps with a handful of flash backs. The cast and crew did indicate this sort of thing will happen early but it will be cut down. If you watched LOST, it did this pretty much every episode except the first and last. The first 3 seasons had a lot of flash backwards. The last 3 had quite a bit of flashing forward (also amplified by the fact that half the cast goes back in time). They claimed the rationale is that the back story is extremely important but did not want it to be a linear story as it wold take quite a few episodes to get to where we ant to get.
-continuing on the previous point, part of the reason for all the flashbacks is that the entire episode was basically shot like a big puzzle; Quite often they'd show a 'present' scene' and then have a flashback which fills in a missing piece or explained what just happened and/or why it did.
-very minor spoiler here but while many super hero stories try to avoid setting themselves in a specific time period, this once clearly establishes the present as being 2012.
-the topic of smallville came up in the Q and A. Nobody disrespected that series but they basically said they are operating independently. They acknowledged the fact that it must have done something right to stay on the air for 10 seasons and welcomed the comparisons. That being said they will not be handcuffed by any continuity from smallville.
-there's a lot of questions about the star Stephen Amell and why did they not cast Justin Hartley. Seeing the episode and trailer for the full season, the character is very different than smallville and (no disrespect to anyone reading this), a soap opera actor such as Hartley may not have been able to fill that role
-there weren't any big references in the first episode from comic characters coming from outside the immediate Green Arrow verse. But the question came up and the answer was there'd be references to other DC characters and their stomping grounds. They did not say which one. The question of the green lantern came up. The answer was 'never say never' but it doesn't seem to be happening. They did say they'll be shooting it gritty with no super powers, just enhanced skills for the title character and villains.
-this has been brought up in the thread why is the title 'Arrow' and not "Green Arrow'? Amell said the original plan was to call it 'Oliver Queen' and they would have if they could get away with it. He did say the colour green will be prevolent but they felt 'arrow' was the most appropriate title.
-when asked about the comics, here was the vibe; the writes are HUGE comic fans but the cast is being instructed that while they are free to read the comics their source material should be the script. The question was asked 'for fans who want to brush up or learn about the character they are about to see, which comic stories should they read? The answer was green arrow; year one and Green Arrow/Black Canary (the crossovers).

Now to answer the inevitable question of 'will i like it?' I'll just say this: If you can read this post, you will LOVE the pilot episode.

...I'm actually more excited for it.

My only concern is that in the previews it seems that Arrow kills people.  Maybe that's not that big of a deal, but for a long time the comic character was a pacifist (though, to be fair, I'm basing this on comics I read when younger and the Timm-verse.  I haven't read any recent comics due to some time and fiscal constraints).  Hence the boxing glove arrow. 

Still I'm curious to see where they go with this.  To be honest, I would have welcomed a GA spin-off from Smallville, but I'll admit to being intrigued by how they're handling him here despite my initial concerns.  I'll be watching. 

I've posted this elsewhere and was curious as to the general interest or thoughts about this series around here:

_______________________________________

WARNING!! THERE ARE SEASON 8 SPOILERS SPRINKLED THROUGHOUT. READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!



At the risk of unintentionally inviting some controversy, I wanted to start this topic that talks about the other DCU elements in Smallville.

Smallville is a fairly controversial show with fans---some dig the 'elseworlds' take on a fused 'Silver Age Superboy' with a 'Post Donner & Byrne' influence--some do not. (It doesn't help that some of the scripting is wildly uneven).

Having said that, one area I feel the program has excelled in is bringing DCU characters in. Green Arrow, Cyborg, Black Canary, Impulse (Flash), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter were all give (IMO, of course) strong introductions, and could easily have some kind of spin off associated with them.

Kara was woefully underused in Season 7, and I feel she's getting the shaft in Season 8. Hopefully she will appear in at least 1 episode to wrap up her story arc a bit. At least send her off on a mission.

Which leads me to the following. It seems to be there could be a few solid spin offs after Smallville wraps up this year.

1.) Green Arrow. Season 6 really brought this character to the forefront, and served as a catalyst for the Smallville Justice League. I enjoy Justin's take on the character (even with the obvious Batman influence), and was pleased he was brought back in 'Siren' during Season 7 to meet Black Canary. He does have a great deal of charisma, and I feel (based upon the Aquaman pilot which, despite being quite good, didn't get picked up) he has a natural leading man presence for the small screen.

2.) The Justice League. I love Bart Allen. He's also someone that's been underused. Both his appearances in the program have been memorable. He has excellent chemistry with his cohorts, and would work quite well in a supporting role. Heck, the actor has a memorable arc in the second season of Veronica Mars. He could certainly pull this off. While I wasn't as big on the actor who portrayed Aquaman ("Fish jokes. All I get are fish jokes."), I think he could grow into the role. With the always excellent Phil Morris in the lead of the team, it feels like the ingredients are there for a solid program. I would like to see Black Canary a bit more before making a definitive judgment (outside of her being better utilized than in Birds of Prey TV series). I also enjoyed Cyborg in the series. True, he's not necessarily a member from the traditional team, but as there are limits imposed by DC/WB as to who can be in the Smallville series (no Batman, no Wonder-Woman) I think they'll need someone to round out the crew. Maybe introduce Hawkgirl in the begining of the first Season, and then we have a show.

3.) Supergirl. With Kara being given such little consideration in Season 8, it's unlikely she'll get to do very much. But Geoff Johns wrote an episode this season about the Legion of Superheroes visiting Clark. This could be excellent, and could also bring Supergirl into the future with the Legion. So, there are two possibilities here:

a.) Supergirl has her own program where she sometimes may meet a familiar face, but ultimately is given her own story line, location, things to do.

b.) Supergirl goes into the future with the Legion of Superheroes for a sci-fi future kind of series. I personally find this scenario less likely, as it would seriously tap into the CW's already failing budget.

or

c.) Supergirl joins the Justice League. Odd, and not likely, as Superman should be there first. Not that this would stop TPTB from tampering with the comics mythology, of course--but given how her character did little to bolster the ratings in Season 7 (so much so that she's been all but dropped for Season 8 ), I highly doubt she'll appear in any kind of spin off, let alone have her own.

So, those seem to be the possibilities.

Villains could include Brainiac, Maxima, and villains not tapped before. I doubt we'll see the return of Zod or Bizarro (no Welling), and highly doubt we'll see Lex Luthor. But there are many DCU villains that could appear.

Thoughts??