Batman Beyond: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

I gotta say, I was a little leery at first when I heard that a new Batman cartoon was coming out back in '99, but I checked it out anyway. And loved it! A techno-savvy Batman for a techno-savvy world. What a concept. I usually don't like when a character I've followed since childhood is radically changed because I liked the character the way it was (so I'm gonna dodge the upcoming "Man of Steel" movie like the plague). But this is an exception. And it didn't go completely new, either. It brought back some classic characters, albeit older versions of them. Now the fact that the new Batman is a teenager didn't bother me either, since I had graduated high school the same year the cartoon debuted. If it had debuted, say, this year, I probably wouldn't have checked it out. Now on to the product. The Batman Beyond Collection is the entire series of 52 episodes on 8 DVDs, with added bonus features on some of them. It also comes with a special 9th DVD, which has some cool features on it, like the history of DC Comics. You wouldn't get this DVD if you bought the series in the separate 3 volumes it also comes in, but at the same time, you wouldn't pay as much for the entire series that way either. I read some other reviews before I bought this collection and the main problem I found among them was that the animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and the Justice League episode "Epilogue" (which serves as a kind of series finale for the Batman Beyond series) were not included in the set. You can buy both of them separately, tho (the Justice League episode can be found in either the season 2 collection of Justice League or in the Justice League: The Complete Series collection (both of which, I believe, are sold here on Amazon). Now, aside from the DVDs, the collection also comes with a booklet that contains the episode listings on the DVDs and also has exclusive artwork from the series. The DVDs are all together in a plastic box which, along with the booklet, are contained in a large cardboard box with cool artwork, which is then inside of a plastic sleeve, also with cool artwork. Needless to say, the series itself is awesome and worth buying. I only have 2 complaints: first, the DVDs are hard to get out of the plastic case. You really have to press down HARD in the center of the DVDs to get them out; and second, when I got the product, that was the only thing inside the mailing box. No styrofoam peanuts, nothing. Even tho it appears that the DVDs are well protected, Amazon's shipping department either forgot to put in additional packaging material or they decided that the product was protected enough and just didn't bother with it. I don't know about you, but I like my orders to be WELL PROTECTED! Despite that, I encourage you to go get the collection. I doubt you'll regret it.

growing up great show

While Batman: The Animated Series will always be superior, this series is nothing to sneeze at. Come on, Kevin Conroy is still Bruce Wayne! That's major coolness right there. And Will Friedle is a pretty good new Batman, bringing all the inexperience of a kid with no formal training before being called on to become the next Dark Knight...it's just so much fun to watch him learn from the master. Speaking of which, Kevin Conroy, a master of voice-acting, gave newcomer Will Friedle some pointers in the craft...talk about life imitating art. The new rogues gallery was also pretty cool and some of the technology used by both sides rocked, the new flying Batmobile being my favorite. I did find it a bit too convenient that Barbara Gordon was the new police commissioner, but her cooled relationship with Bruce was interesting and I wish more was done to explore the time between The New Batman adventures and Batman Beyond. It's just hinted at here and there. For example, where's Alfred? What was up with Bruce and Barbara at one point before Terry McGinnis became Batman? Where did the Royal Flush Gang come from? I also wish that this series did have more callbacks to the other series as those are few and far between. I know Bruce Wayne isn't known for being open and talkative, but come on...you're training a new Batman...a few more history lessons wouldn't hurt! My wish is granted in one way by the film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (watch that to learn more), as it does explain some of Bruce Wayne's more current sharing issues...but only some. Nevertheless, this brave new world and new Batman is definitely worth watching. My favorite episode would have to be a three-way tie between "Ascension", "Hidden Agenda", and "Eyewitness". Like with the original series, all of the episodes are great in one way or another and many of them hold up when compared to the adventures of the first Dark Knight. It's a fine series that continues a great legacy. Enjoy.

The idea for this show is... crazy: Teenager, Terry McGinnis wears the bat-suit while an 80-year old Bruce Wayne guides him from the Bat-cave. Gotham City is now a huge, futuristic city with flying cars and a purple sky. Still, this show works so well. In the beginning, you'll propably find all the weird vallains and the rock-ish score very annoying. But the further we get into the series, the better it fits. I can almost only find positive words to say about Batman Beyond. Great writing (as seen in episodes like "Rebirth Part 1" and "Eyewitness"), it's incredibly funny (as seen in episodes like "The Eggbaby"), and just thrilling and awesome (as seen in episodes like "The Call Parts 1 & 2"). Fans of Batman The Animated Series will also enjoy this show!The box set is also cool. You get a nice 24-page booklet featuring art, sketches, character designs and a complete episode list. Then you get an exclusive bonus disc featuring three great featurettes (with a runtime on about 23 minutes). The bonus disc also includes the great 90-minute long documentary "Secret Origins: The Story of DC Comics". The otter discs is just the exact same discs as the ones in the the standard season releases. It all comes in a very nice box.For region 2 fans: THIS WILL PLAY ON YOUR REGION 2 PLAYER!!!!! IT DID ON MINE.Great product, highly recommended, a must for any Batman-fan. If you get this, also get the brillant movie "Batman Beyond Return of the Joker.http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004L9GM3A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1398947226&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40