The Laughing Fish

Back to a classic DC villain for this weeks, Weirdo Wednesday ... or is it Wacked-out Wednesday?  Oh who cares... 😆

This week I wanted to talk about the best Joker episode of, Batman The Animated Series, The Laughing Fish.

Most fans have this episode in their Top 3 or 5 at the worst, it's truly a Joker story at it's core because the whole plot of it is around the fact that his crimes usually only make sense to the Joker himself.

The episode is directly inspired from, Detective Comics #475 and was just part of a much larger story arc for the clown prince of crime and proof that the animated series producers should have gotten more inspiration from classic issues of comics rather than todays Hollywood writers.

Too often on they misused the Joker as little more than a painted up gangster with a nasty sense of humor and that's about it, but this episode got to the core of the character the way he should be portrayed.

This story should have probably should have been a two-part episode, but they stuffed it into one and it felt rushed, but that's not the first time they did that and certainly not the last.

The animated episodes always had the Jokers victims merely drugged instead of dead, so he never really carried the terror that the character should have held.  Heck in the Power Records stories of The Batman they would let the Joker kill people with his toxin, but couldn't let it happen in the Animated Series...

In the story, The Joker poured a special mix of his laughing toxin into Gotham bay and then tried to claim that all the fish with his ghoulish grin were his property, but since fish are a natural resource, they couldn't be patented, but that made no sense to him, it looked like him, he should get all the money from fish products and he was willing to take out any government official that he saw as being in his way.

Harley Quinn was basically comic relief only in this one, since she had a small problem with fish 😫 and gets sick around the thought of eating  them.

The "television commercial" part of the show feels like the writers ripped it directly off the 1989 Batman motion picture of "Joker Products." and makes it just seem like filler for the episode.  This would have been fine for a two-part episode but not just one.

Batman is lured to the Gotham Aquarium to the Joker's trap, as is the stumbling detective Bullock, who Joker ends up using as bait for "his" shark, who he claims to share a grin with.  

The episode has some great Joker moments but also shows that the writers really didn't know what to do with Joker, even when handed the story on a silver platter from the classic comic book issue.  Batman The Animated Series is still the best rendition of the Batman that DC/Warner Bros has put out and still stands the test of time, too bad they didn't do more Joker episodes like this one.



 

The Riddler, misunderstood & misused genius

 

For a crazy edition of, WOW, Wacked Out Wednesday, I want to talk about one of the most iconic members of, The Rogue’s Gallery, the man of 1,000 riddles, Edward Nigma, The Riddler.

The Batman, I believe, has the best list of villains and rivals of all heroes, the wild array of criminals, lunatics and monsters is astounding. (With Spider-Man in 2nd)

For years, if not decades fans have been describing Riddler as just a Joker wanna-be and/or ripoff, and I think a lot of times, they have been correct but not all.

This character has always had far more potential than he’s been given.  His latest rendition, Hush, is really terrible.  I think this is more what the character would become to jump off the comic book pages and come after all the hacks who have overlooked and misused him for all this time.

The Jokers obsession/core was always to get a laugh out of Batman, make him the punchline or to just set a crazy enough trap to kill him, he never seemed to give a crap who was under the mask.  Maybe Joker thought, that if he unmasked Batman to be just a regular guy, that would ruin the punchline, and not make it as fun.  So, how to make Riddler differ, how to set him apart?

We’ve seen some incredible renditions of the character, from John Aston (Gomez Addams) to the incomparable Frank Gorshin in the Adam West series of the 1960s.  If you’ve ever seen Gorshin play a heavy from the mob, you know that when he wanted to, he could play a character that could chill you to the bone and scare the hell out of you.  But the goal of that version was camp and comedy, and he also pulled that off brilliantly.   I would LOVE to have seen Gorshin as a real Riddler to challenge Batman, he’d have really freaked out the audiences in theaters.

In the 1990’s we got re-introduced to the character in, Batman the Animated Series, and this was a huge step for the character, he was far more cerebral and obsessed with puzzles of all kinds, which gave him his connection to riddles, and outwitting Batman, but there were a lot of characters trying to outwit Batman.  

This one was far less manic than other renditions, and it was a very popular version, because he was more of a thinking villain, rather than the ravenous type that he would usually go against.

It was actually in the 1995 disastrous film, Batman Forever, that they kinda touched on a part of Riddler that we should have seen long ago.  Jim Carrey was cast (Burton originally wanted Robin Williams, for his adaptation) and did an amazing job, but really was a bit too Jim Carrey for a villain that should have been more controlled.  In this film, it becomes a bit of an obsession for Nigma to find out the true identity of the Batman, and that is what the core of the character should have become far before 1995.

I believe that it is THIS obsession that could have defined the character and given the Batman more of a Chess opponent in Nigma than we saw with all the cackling and unhinged types, a master gamesman who really could have been an intellectual equal to Batman.

One of the main problems with this, is finding writers who could have had the intellect to work with such a character, it was always easier to just make him like the others, or a watered down Joker, than for someone to step up and really give us  a battle of wits between these two.

Even if they have done this in the comics, its either not stood out enough for people to make a big deal about it or maybe it’s that I haven’t had time to read the comics in so long.  And, as I inferred earlier, I’m not a fan of “Hush” at all, it’s a really lazy and predictable way to take the character that deserves better.

Personally, I’m a big Riddler fan, he certainly made green & purple a great color combo, I like the characters looks and the bits and pieces that someone should have put together (see what I did there 😉) decades ago.  A chess match that could still be going on today, between, The Detective and The Gamesman…

Friday Night Fights : Batman vs Batman (Burton vs Nolan's vision of Gotham)

 Typically, Friday Night Fights is a battle of the people, characters or films, but on this one I wanted to let the two directors versions of Gotham City, is the subject of this main event match!

The two are worlds apart in their vision and approach... which do you prefer?

Tim Burton went with a very dark & brooding version of Gotham with a very gothic look that made one completely unsure of the year or even the era the film takes place in.  The 1989 film took place in a very fictional surrounding.

Almost everything in Burton's world was outrageous, it was a great fit in theaters for the 1980s and early 90s, and I believe would still hold up today, perhaps that's the direction DC should head with it's films...

Burton took the fan into the world of the comic books, into the world of The Batman and the citizens of Gotham.  He did this early, using a family lost in Gotham as any of us would be, our first trip there, trying to find our way around.

While in the 2005 film, Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan went with a much more realistic Gotham City, something similar that one might find in a New York, Boston or Detroit. 

Even stately Wayne manor seemed as if it were somewhere not that far away from where I was, maybe as close as just outside my town or up in the northeast but still part of my world.

Nolan brought Batman to the real world, in spectacular fashion, along with the citizens of Gotham, into a city that might be just outside the theater you were watching the film in.

When Bruce Wayne got beat up by the mob, and went out into the world to find a path to defeat the criminals, we felt as if he was crossing our own world.  This is the direction that the DCEU has taken but has all of it's characters in such dark versions of them, so serious, all the time.

Personally, I prefer the Tim Burton version, the one where we go into the comic book world, as great comic book movies have always done, draw us into their world to follow and share the adventures of those heroes in their own environment.   We have more than enough movies that take place in our own world and that might be happening right outside the theater we are in, but I go to see these to get away from that world, the same reason I'd pick up a comic book as a kid, an escape to another place.

Femme Fatale Friday : ANNE HATHAWAY

A very Happy Birthday to the amazing 💖 Anne Hathaway 💖 who is also this weeks, Femme Fatale.

Born in Brooklyn New York (you can see that side come out a time or two in, Dark Knight Rises) in 1982 and named after the bride of, William Shakespeare's wife, to parents originally from Philadelphia, her mother an actress, whose father was a prominent Philly radio personality and her father a lawyer.

In high school she was nominated for the Paper Mill's Rising Star Award for best high school performance in the state of New Jersey.  She was also the first and only teen admitted to the award-winning acting program at The Barrow Group of New York, performing 2 concerts at Carnegie Hall as a member of the All-Eastern US High School Honors Choir.

Hathaway's first major role was on the short lives show, Get Real, but it was her lead in the films, The Princess Diaries (2001), that got the worlds attention and captured a lot of hearts, including mine. 😉  It couldn't have been easy that early on playing opposite screen legend, Julie Andrews, but it spawned a very successful sequel (2004), it was the filming schedule for that sequel that would cost her the female lead role in, Phantom of the Opera, as Hathaway was one of New York's leading sopranos and has an amazing voice.

Hathaway was also well known early for her sensuality and confidence as a model.  She would follow in Andrews footsteps of stepping away from family friendly roles as she appeared topless in the film, Havoc (2005).  She has been quoted as saying that she doesn't mind being naked for a role if it serves a purpose for the film.

Gary Marshall, director of, The Princess Diaries said, "The multi-talented Hathaway is a combination of Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland."  Quite the honor to be put into a category with such legends so early on in her career.

Known by Annie, to her friends, she's shown herself to be bold and proud of her NYC life at public appearances.

In 2012 was cast in, Les Miserables, suggested for the role by Hugh Jackman and went on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, for the role she also won BAFTA Award, Critic's Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award.

Also in 2012 was cast as, Selina Kyle aka Catwoman in, The Dark Knight Rises.  I hope that someday she also finds her way into the, MCU.

Hathaway also co-starred in Alice in Wonderland (2010) & Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), with Johnny Depp.

Hathaway was given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019.  She is married with two sons.

Not only one of the hottest (in many ways) actresses of the last decade but also one of the most powerful in the acting world, turning down numerous parts over "creative differences", being very choosey about how she is portrayed on screen.

Anne Hathaway is one of my absolute favorites and I wish her a very wonderful Birthday weekend! 💘


 

DC TV & Movies = Disorganized Crap

 When I told some friends that I was doing a chronological movie review of the MCU one asked, and I dreaded this question, if there would be one like that of the DCEU... 😵  Which I would love to do, but there is no organization to almost anything in the DC Universe, animated or live-action, it's all a cluster**** 😡 

The last thing I remember DC doing live action that was organized was Smallville and the last thing about animated was Batman/Superman/JL/JLU/Batman Beyond (which was, and remains, the best thing that DC has done on TV or big screen in forever.)

So, I'm adding several of the live-action television shows to my Facebook page, The BoobTube Review, (I just got that page up and running when I got hit with another 30 day suspension) that will go episode by episode, but will start doing some reviews of films on here, and will do my best for some kind of order, but those who run DC have NO CLUE what they are doing.  

The people running DC couldn't stick their thumb up their own @$$ with three tries and map, there is no organization or loyalty to the characters core at all.

If someone wanted to show some brains at Warner Brothers, they would restart the JLU universe in animated and work from that source material, there are dozens of spin-off show possibilities and dozens of animated film possibilities, and that story world was REALLY GOOD, but they would NEED to strictly stick to that world!

I've already done reviews on here for, Superman The Movie and Batman Returns, but I'll work on tossing them in the mix, here and there, but probably won't do a lot of the modern movies because most are so horrible, but who knows...

Femme Fatale Friday : Julie Newmar, Cat Scratch Fever Forever

 

To say that Julie Newmar is one of the most beautiful and naturally sexiest women to ever walk this earth would be a bold statement but also an understatement.  Newmar has been wowing the world for decades. 💖

Born, Julia Charlene Newmeyer on August 16th 1933, in Los Angeles California, she began dance at an early age.  Her father, Don Newmeyer was a Phys Ed teacher for Los Angeles City College and played professional football for the Los Angeles Buccaneers.  Her mother, Helen was a fashion designer and Swedish-French born, who later invested in real estate, which Julie would also get into, later in life.

In 1956 Julie was in a stage production of, Lil Abner, for 3-

minutes she portrayed, Stupefyin' Jones, but it wasn't until she reprised the role for the film in 1959 that she would catch the attention of the world for her statuesque beauty, but this wasn't her first taste of fame.

At age 15 Julie was the Prima Ballerina for the Los Angeles Orchestra and this fueled her fire for stage production.

She performed in regional productions of Zeigfield Follies (1956), Damn Yankees (1961) and Irma la Douce (1965) and would win a Tony Award in 1958 on Broadway for her performance in, The Marriage-Go Round and would reprise that role in the 1961 film.

Then in 1966 she found the role that would immortalize her forever, the sleek, sultry and every so sexy, Catwoman in the television series, Batman, starring Adam West & Burt Ward.

Julie's costume for the role is also immortalized in the Smithsonian Institute as she altered the costume that her belt would fit around her hips rather than her waist to show off her hour-glass figure.

Former Miss America, Lee Meriweather would play the Catwoman role in the 1966 Batman film, Newmar had a scheduling conflict, and Eartha Kitt would take the role in the final season of the show.  But today, Newmar is the one that most fans associate with the role.

Newmar would go on to make appearances in numerous television series; Twilight Zone, F Troop, Bewitched, Beverly Hillbillies, Hart To Hart, Love Boat, Get Smart, Columbo, The Bionic Woman, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (still looking good in a skin tight outfit), CHiPs, Fantasy Island and many more...

In 1995 Newmar found a whole new generation when she was paid tribute in the film, To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar.  Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo all went drag for their roles and it was a hit, and still has a very strong cult following to this day.  Newmar only did a brief cameo at the end of the film but was very flattered for all the attention and dedication.

Newmar stays active to this day and has always been an avid gardener, she also followed in her mothers footsteps and became a real estate investor, even having a short feud with actor James Belushi, to the point that it almost ended up in court, after it was settled, Newmar did an appearance on Belushi's television show as the two made fun of the feud.

Newmar has remained one of Hollywoods class acts, rarely if ever being the target of the tabloids and always fighting for causes in her community, a true champion of the celebrity set.  But to some of us, she'll always be, Catwoman 😍😻

Movie Monday : Batman Returns, Parenting ENDS

 Who knew the Dark Knight would be used as a weapon against responsible parenting and to strip filmmaker Tim Burton of his grasp on the franchise which made his career...

After the incredible success of Batman in 1989, it was easy to see why Tim Burton would be handed the reigns for a sequel, but it would be this sequel that studio execs would use to take the franchise from him and stop his third installment.

Not only was this going on, but the film was also used by certain special interest groups to attack the film industry and fast food franchises for marketing to children, to the point an entire episode of a talk show was done about it.

Parents were "angry" that the 2nd Batman film was so dark and thought that it scared their children, to the point that these obviously coached kids were drug out and used as props on Jenny Jones talk show, an entire episode attacking Batman.  They were also attacking McDonalds and toy companies for making toys from this film to market to children.

Instead of telling their children "NO, that's too mature for you." they attacked everything else, they didn't want to be parents anymore, they wanted to lay the blame elsewhere, rather than say "no" to their whining brats, and it's only gotten worse from there.  Since then, good parenting is considered a crime by some and poor parenting is rewarded & glorified.

At the same time the studio was angry with Burton's vision because they didn't sell enough toys from the second film, they thought it was too dark and too far from the campy, colorful comic book version they wanted ... so they could sell toys.

Burton has always been one of my favorite filmmakers because he doesn't give a crap about selling toys, just making the best film he can from his own vision of the story and characters and I thought his vision for Batman was outstanding and awesome.  Very gothic, tragic, moody, as the best stories from the comics have been for the Bat, it's what makes The Bat unique to the other heroes who are bright and positive (yet now, we've seen how miserable a fail it is when you try to make the other heroes dark like the Bat, it does not work).

So, this film was taking a strong attack from two different sources, neither should have ever happened, they should have let Burton have that 3rd film.  If they wanted toys about Batman, concentrate more on, the Animated Series.  

Burton had a vision of Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, of Robin Williams as The Riddler, of Patrick Stewart as the dark and VERY cold, Mr Freeze, it would have been epic, but now we just have to sit and wonder how good it could have been.

Another example of how outsiders can destroy an industry they know nothing about, because the only vision they have is their own greed for money and power, rather than what is best for that industry.