Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series was an American animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on the Fox Kids programming block from September 5, 1992 to September 15, 1995, and later aired new episodes (featuring altered character designs and a different animation style) on the Kids WB programming block from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999; lasting 109 episodes altogether. The series was the first in the continuity of the shared DC Animated Universe, and spawned the theatrical film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993).

The visual style of the series, dubbed "Dark Deco," was based on the artwork of producer and artist Bruce Timm, The series was widely praised for its thematic complexity, dark tone, artistic quality and faithfulness to the character's crime-fighting origins. The series also won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program.

The series was more adult-oriented than previous superhero cartoons. It was the first such cartoon in years to depict outright physical violence, bloodshed, drug use (though both the bloodshed and drug use were minimal due to network censors) and the use of firearms (though Commissioner Gordon was the only character on the show to be depicted as having suffered a gun wound, in the episode "I Am the Night," which he received off-screen). First-time producers Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski reportedly encountered resistance from studio executives, but the success of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film allowed the embryonic series to survive long enough to produce a pilot episode ("On Leather Wings"), which, according to Timm, "got a lot of people off our backs."

Cartoon Network began airing re-runs of Batman: The Animated Series on March 2, 1998. The series was later added to Cartoon Network's Toonami line-up, beginning on July 3, 2000.

Plot
The series features the adventures of the Dark Knight of Gotham City as he battles the evil that inhabits the city with the occasional help of Robin and Batgirl in stories that are faithful to the comics in both spirit and tone.

Characters
New villains such as Red Claw, Baby-Doll, Kyodai Ken, Tygrus, and the Sewer King were invented for the series, but to little acclaim. On the other hand, the Joker's accomplice Harley Quinn, Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya and the vigilante Lock-up achieved such popularity that they became characters in the comics. Older villains that were lesser known from the comics, such as Count Vertigo, the Mirror Man and the Clock King, were modified for the series in both appearance and personality. The series was also the first to suggest that Harvey Dent had a pre-existing dual personality before becoming Two-Face. This idea came from Alan Burnett, one of the series' producers and head writers.

Aside from creating characters that crossed over into the main line of DC Comics, several of the series' reinterpretations were carried over as well. Mr. Freeze was revised in the comics to emulate the series' tragic story, the success of which actually compelled DC to bring the character back after "killing" him off some years earlier; Clayface was revised to be much more similar in appearance to his animated counterpart; and Two-Face's double-sided, black-and-white suit has become a common appearance for the character.

One of the most noteworthy changes made in Batman: The Animated Series was the treatment of Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne. In nearly all other media, including the comics, television shows and films, Bruce deliberately plays up his image as a self-absorbed and not-too-bright billionaire playboy. In the animated series, his character is instead treated more seriously; he is assertive and intelligent, and actively involved in the management of Wayne Enterprises, without jeopardizing his secret identity. For example: in the episode "Eternal Youth", Bruce is shown angrily ordering one of his directors to cancel a secret deal with a timber company in the Amazon rainforest. In addition, during the episode "Night of the Ninja", he revealed to reporter Summer Gleeson that he has some martial arts training, as the reporter previously researched that he once lived in Japan, though he later throws a fight with the ninja Kyodai Ken in front of Gleeson to disguise his prowess. The psychological issues stemming from his parents' deaths are usually shown in the form of self-hatred when Bruce is alone. Voice actor Kevin Conroy is notable for being the first person in animation to use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, which was his own idea.

Episodes
The series consists of three seasons that each have different titles. Season 1 is titled Batman: The Animated Series, Season 2 is titled The Adventures of Batman & Robin, and Season 3 is titled The New Batman Adventures. Each episode is approximately 22 minutes long, excluding commercials. The New Batman Adventures, although featuring different character designs and animation style, is still a continuation of the series' first two seasons. There are a total of 109 episodes from both series combined, along with multiple crossover episodes from Superman: The Animated Series and Static Shock. The entire series has been released to DVD by Warner Home Video in four volume box sets, as well as a compilation box set titled "Batman: The Complete Animated Series".

Broadcast History
The series originally aired on Fox from 1992 to 1997. It was later shown in re-runs on The WB, Cartoon Network, Toonami, Toon Disney, Disney XD, and most recently on The Hub.
 * United States (Fox) — September 5, 1992 - 1997
 * United States (WB) — September 13, 1997 - 1999
 * United States (Cartoon Network) — March 2, 1998 - 2003
 * United States (Disney XD) — September 30, 2007 - 2009
 * United States (The Hub) — September 6, 2011 - 2013
 * Japan (Cartoon Network) — 2001 - June 2003

Toonami Broadcast History
Batman: The Animated Series aired on Toonami's afternoon block from July 3, 2000 to February 16, 2001, after briefly appearing on Toonami's Rising Sun block from May 20, 2000 to July 1, 2000.
 * Toonami: Rising Sun — May 20, 2000 - July 1, 2000; February 24, 2002 - December 29, 2002
 * Toonami (United States) — July 3, 2000 - November 3, 2000; December 11, 2000 - February 16, 2001; January 21-26, 2002; April 1, 2002
 * Toonami (Japan) — July 22, 2002 - June 2003