Coming Tomorrow - Batman!

Tomorrow, I'm starting a regular weekly feature on Bad Ideas. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but haven't been able to pull together for one reason or another. However, I'm happy to announce it's finally time.

Every Friday, I'm going to be recapping episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Some of you might remember it from childhood, like I do. It originally ran from late 1992 to 1995 on FOX Kids, although I know people who have seen it later and on different channels. It's also been released on DVD, and I can't recommend enough that you buy it.

In fact, here's a link to an Amazon search where you can buy it as DVD box sets or as instant videos. Whatever format you choose, it's worthwhile.

I loved the show as a kid, and I still love it as an adult. I can say without reservation that it's truly stood the test of time. In fact, I think it's even gotten better. Usually, the accumulated cynicism of adulthood acts as a caustic element to whatever nostalgia we hold for childhood loves; things never "hit us" the way they did when we had to reach for the sink.

This is not so with Batman: The Animated Series. I'm seeing it through different eyes, older eyes, for sure, but the magic is still there; I'm still game for a ride in the Batmobile, or a swiftly tilting view of the Gotham skyline.  

Writing these recaps is going to be fun for me. That's not to say writing stories and humorous nonfiction isn't, but it is to say that they're not about Batman. Well, not directly about Batman. For a while I've been telling friends that some part of my brain is always devoted to thinking about Batman; any thought or sentence is only a hair's breadth away from veering in that direction:

• Your baby's already three [Batman] months old?

• What do you want to do for lunch? There's [Batman] this new place we could check out.

• I am [Batman] so tired today!

What that means is that writing these recaps is going to be fun, yes, but it’s also going to be very much like going home. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!