World Series Break: No Game Tonight!

No game Friday night, so let’s put up some comic book covers – baseball themed, of course!

From 1972, Woody Woodpecker gets beaned (…or maybe “beaked”?). Probably an up-and-in ball by Pedro Martinez!

(Woody Woodpecker # 125)

And, from 1963 and the incomparable imagination of Silver Age DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz… it’s “Gorilla Wonders of the Diamond!”

A comic so wonderfully weird, I’ll simply let it speak for itself!

(The Brave and the Bold # 49)

World Series Game Two: Daddy’s Home! Yanks 3 – Phils 1!

In 2004, then Boston Red Sox ace pitcher Perdo Martinez said the Yankees were “his Daddy!”

After losing Game One, “Daddy” (represented for effect by Doggie Daddy) came home with a vengeance as A.J. Burnett, Mariano Rivera, Marx Teixeira, Hideki Matsui, and Jorge Posada gave a great big “HONEY, I’M HOME!” to Martinez and the Phillies 3-1!

Yankees starter Burnett was “Burnett-tastic” with 7 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball. And, it SHOULD have been better than that, as Alex Rodriguez let a ground ball get past him that scored the Phils' lone run. It SHOULD have been an error, but it wasn’t, and Burnett was charged with his only earned run.

Teixeira and Matsui had solo home runs (Yes, Matsui can do THAT! And therein lies his value – but he still can’t run and he’ll probably never again play the outfield, except in the most dire of emergencies! So I stand by my comments of last post.), and Jorge Posada singled in a run with a pinch hit.

That last run, by the way, makes Joe Girardi end up looking like a genius for his rather unlikely substitution of Jerry Hairston Jr. for Nick Swisher. Hairston singled to lead off the inning, resulting in that very important insurance run. Bottom line, no matter how many New York radio commentators questioned the move (…and they DID!), if it works out – and you win – you’re a genius! So, thanks, Genius Joe… may the rest of your moves for this series turn out as well!

We must acknowledge the great performance by Perdo (Augie Doggie?) Martinez, who pitched 6 innings (plus two batters) of 3-run ball in the losing effort. Like CC Sabathia the night before he pitched well enough to win – but didn’t!

Bad calls by the umpires continued to mar this otherwise great postseason. Both the Yankees and the Phillies had potential rallies killed by double plays called by the Umps that were clearly NOT double plays. I say it’s finally time to introduce REPLAY REVIEW to MLB – as it’s worked so well for the NFL!

One final thought. This World Series, unlike several of recent vintage, is one that truly features the BEST teams in both the American and National Leagues! It’s even now, and may the best (of the best) team win!

World Series Game One: Lee, Utley Chase Yanks 6-1!

The Yankees fell off a “Cliff”… Cliff Lee, that is! And Chase (“Muttley”) Utley hit two solo homers off CC Sabathia who, despite lack of command (…Or is that “control”? …No, I think it’s “command”! Darned if I can tell the difference!), pitched well for seven innings – surrendering only two runs.

An amazing effort by Lee! What else can you say?!

The Bull Pen let us down late in the game, removing all hope for that patented late-inning Yankee comeback. What is wrong with Phil Hughes? Is it time for Joba Chamberlain to be the full-time “eighth inning guy”?

And, it’s time for the Yankees to divest themselves of Brian Bruney and Hideki Matsui!

Bruney simply can’t get the job done! Matsui is a DH who can’t run and can’t field!

That’s fine if Matsui’s at bats were the quality of the "One-Time, Allegedly Performance-Enhanced David Ortiz" – but they are NOT! He doesn’t hit home runs like “One-Time, Allegedly Performance-Enhanced David Ortiz”! Brett (“Gardy”) Gardner can also hit singles – but he can run them into doubles, stay out of inning-ending double plays, and score from second (even first, at times) on a hit!

One bright spot in all this… If Cliff Lee went a full nine-inning complete game, he probably can’t return on short rest!

Bring on Pedro!

Congratulations to the New York Yankees!

Let’s hear it for our New York Yankees, who have just won their 40th (…that’s FORTIETH, folks!) American League Championship.

From the ‘90s “Core Four” of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte…

To the additions of recent years: A-Rod, Damon, Cano, Cabrera, Matsui, Molina, and “Gardy” Gardner…

To the best Bull Pen to ever set up a “Hall of Fame Closer” (…that’s Mariano Rivera, folks!): Hughes, Chamberlain (Please, stay in the Bull Pen where you belong, Joba!), Coke, Aceves, Robertson, and Marte…

To the New Big Guns: CC Sabathia, Mark Tiexiera, and A.J. (Walk-Off Pie) Burnett…

The unofficial Heart-and-Soul of the team – Nick Swisher…

And Manager Joe Girardi (…who would NEVER have allowed Joba Chamberlain to be eaten alive by swarming insects in Cleveland [2007] costing his team a playoff series!)

Let’s root the Yankees on to their 27th World Series Championship in a “Turnpike Series” with the formidable Philadelphia Phillies!

DVD Review: Batman the Brave and the Bold Volume One

Batman the Brave and the Bold: Volume One
(Released August 25, 2009 by Warner Home Video)
Another Looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

Bruce Timm’s Batman the Animated Series (1992-1999) was, for me, the most perfect version of Batman anywhere outside his “native medium” of comic books. And surpasses a fair amount of what has been done in the comics during the 21st Century.
When Warner Bros. introduced a new and different animated Batman series in the fall of 2008, I didn’t expect to pay it much mind, as it just wasn’t Timm’s version. But they found a way to reel me in with a series called: Batman the Brave and the Bold.


The Brave and the Bold was an important comic book series of the Silver Age (roughly defined by the 1960s), running from 1955 thru 1983. It introduced us to the Justice League of America, the Suicide Squad, and the Silver Age version of Hawkman among others. Starting with its 59th issue in 1965, it became the “Batman Team-Up” book, pairing Bats with Green Lantern – followed by virtually every known “guest star” in the DC Universe.

And so is the premise of the TV series that takes its proud name from that comic book title of yore. This series is not about the “Bat-Universe” of Robin, Alfred, Batgirl, Nightwing, Commissioner Gordon, and Gotham – but, as it was in the comic book, is about Batman as omnipresent “Uber-hero” teaming with a wide variety of DCU guest heroes – and battling an equally wide variety of guest villains – some of which have never been seen in animation before and others reinterpreted specifically for this show.

It is lighter in tone than was Timm’s series, skirting “camp” but never plunging squarely into it a la Adam West. Props may be plenty “Big”, death traps suitably fiendish, and plots generally more outlandish than Timm’s, but that owes much more to the imaginative comic books of the Silver Age and prior, than to any echoes of the sixties TV series.
   
Dialogue is lively and snappy, with heroes given to bickering and tossing the occasional sarcastic barb, far more so than did Timm’s versions. Diedrich Bader, as Batman, is especially good at this, while still echoing enough of Kevin Conroy’s “classic” animated Batman to sound “right”. When he is paired with a primo guest-hero like Brave and the Bold’s versions of Green Arrow, Plastic Man, and particularly John DiMaggio’s reinvented version of Aquaman, it can be pure gold!
    
In short, the series very nicely lives up to the tradition of stories in The Brave and the Bold comic book… and now it’s on DVD.
    
As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

The Set Itself: Just about every “CON” about Batman the Brave and the Bold: Volume One can be filed under this category. Let me count the ways…
    The Number of Episodes: In a word… FOUR! DVD sets from most studios have gotten skimpier – but Warner sets have done so all the more! Previous WHV TV animated packages like Freakazoid!, Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, and What’s New Scooby-Doo have all had single season releases that usually average 13 episodes per set – but what’s up with this? FOUR?! REALLY? …ONLY FOUR?

(Okay, Freakazoid... We know you pack more episodes per set! You don't have to BRAG! Now, please stop interrupting the review!)

About the only good thing is that a SECOND VOLUME of FOUR EPISODES is scheduled for November – and perhaps there will be additional “quarterly releases” to come until the first season (…which SHOULD be a set of its own) is completed.
    
The Price: For this set of FOUR episodes, that you can knock-off in little more than 90 minutes of sitting time, Warner’s suggested list price is… (GASP!) 14.95! That’s 3.74 per episode, folks! Fortunately, this MSRP mockery is only “suggested”, and diligent searchers can find it for slightly below ten bucks.

By contrast, the Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries set (released by Warner less than a year prior) was packaged similarly but listed at 19.97 for 13 episodes. That’s a more reasonable 1.54 per episode …and “That’s All Folks!”
      
The Extra Features: There are NO extra features and, if ever a set cried out for at least one, it is Batman the Brave and the Bold! Have the usual panel of DC Comics and Warner Bros. animation luminaries that appear on most other DC related sets discuss The Brave and the Bold comic book and, in particular, the “Batman Team-Up” aspect of it, and how it inspired the show. The Brave and the Bold’s primary comic book writer Bob Haney could be profiled as well, let alone episode commentaries. But, no…


The PROS:

Content Notes: I’ve complained about the total lack of CONTENT LISTINGS included as part of the packaging of a number of Warner Animation sets this year. Among them are Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Max Fleischer’s Superman and Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s Volume 1. The aforementioned Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries and What’s New Scooby-Doo collections also suffered similar instances of “listing-lack”. Now, really… Wouldn’t you like to know which episodes or individual short cartoons of a series are contained in an otherwise attractively packaged set?! I can’t memorize it all anymore, Warner! Help me out!
    
With equal parts of sarcasm and sincerity, I’m pleased to report that Batman the Brave and the Bold: Volume One lists its episode content on the outside back of the package. Of course, with only FOUR EPISODES, how much package space could it actually take! I shouldn’t have to cite the inclusion of four episode titles incorporated into the set’s packaging as a “PRO”… but let’s give WHV its due, and see it they can manage a similar feat should the episode count climb to five and above. Hmmm… Maybe that “sarcasm part” wasn’t exactly equal after all…
   
Characters and Settings: With each succeeding DC Comics animated series from Warner Bros. (From Batman the Animated Series thru Justice League Unlimited), we see more and more “Characters-And-Settings-You-Never-Thought-You’d-See-Outside-Of-Comics” – and “Characters and Settings” (both new-to and re-imagined-for animation) are this series’ raison d’etre!
    
In this (Ahem!) FOUR-episode set alone, we have: Batman, Green Arrow (Silver Age, no beard), Clock King, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Kanjar-Ro, Plastic Man (and Eel O’Brien), Gentleman Ghost, Fire, Kite-Man, Gorilla Grodd, The Island that Time Forgot (aka “Dinosaur Island”), Iron Heights Prison, The Atom, evil sorcerer Felix Faust, Aquaman, Mera, Ocean Master, Black Manta, the Domed City of Atlantis, Sportsmaster, Red Tornado, Martha and Thomas Wayne and Alfred (in flashbacks)… and, of course, Gotham City! …Gosh, imagine what a 13-episode set would have had!
    
Theme Music: Bruce Timm’s Batman the Animated Series had a brooding, yet majestic, series theme that echoed the 1989 “Batman” feature film and its sequel, “Batman Returns”. Nice AND classic at the same time, but Batman the Brave and the Bold has a lively, action-oriented jazz theme that, once experienced, you’ll hear over-and-over in your head… and you won’t mind it one bit! Perfectly complements the tone of the series.
    
It’s Not TV: For the first time, viewers can enjoy the (Ahem!) FOUR episodes that make up Batman the Brave and the Bold: Volume One with no “Network Identifying Bugs” in the corner of the screen, no pop up ads for other shows, and credits that you can “freeze-frame” and read. And, perhaps for the first time ever, viewers can hear the “extended version” of the show’s ending theme, which has probably NEVER played on TV because promos are always running over it!

How ironic! I’ll buy ‘60s TV shows on DVD to see them uncut. I’ll buy current TV shows (which ARE run uncut) on DVD to see them as I saw the old ‘60s shows… with no intrusive overlays, credits you can read, and ending themes you can hear!
     
Two For the (High) Price of One: Despite the retail price of 3.74 per episode (…someone should do a survey of price-per-episode on various sets – it might prove interesting), you DO generally get TWO “team-up” stories per show.
       The pre-opening credits teaser often has Batman and a “guest hero” teaming up for a (very) short story, before the actual adventure begins. Batman and Green Arrow vs. Clock King precedes a “space adventure” with Bats and Blue Beetle – or Batman and The Atom will take on Felix Faust before the Caped Crusader journeys to Atlantis to enlist the assistance of Aquaman. These are almost always great, quick, and to-the-point mini-tales that further spice up an already lively and exciting show.
  
And, the ultimate “PRO” for Batman the Brave and the Bold: Volume One…

The Episodes:
    
“The Rise of the Blue Beetle”:
Okay, it’s the current “Jaime Reyes version” of Blue Beetle – and not the fan favorite “Ted Kord version” who was such an integral part of the landmark Justice League International comic book series of the 1980s, or even the older, more classic “Dan Garrett version” (though BOTH will have their moments later in the series!). That’s one strike. It smacks just a bit too much of the requisite ‘80s moralizing that made many a cartoon of the era unwatchable. That’s two strikes…
But, this series premiere episode never quite takes a “called strike three”, and manages to get through its teaser of Batman and Green Arrow vs. Clock King AND its main story of Batman and BB rallying a group of victimized gloopy aliens to stand up to the evil of Kanjar-Ro with just enough style to make me return for more. And was I ever glad I did, because up-next was…
      
“Terror on Dinosaur Island”:
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Because I’m seeing GORILLAS… riding PTERODACTYLS… with HARPOON GUNS… stealing a BOAT!”

Plastic Man’s question sets the tone for the wonders that follow! After a teaser of Batman, Plastic Man, and Fire vs. the Gentleman Ghost, we quickly segue into this fun episode of Bats and Plas vs. Gorilla Grodd on Dinosaur Island – “A mysterious land that exists outside of time, where the laws of nature don’t apply!”

Plastic Man’s origin is brilliantly ret-conned to have BATMAN inadvertently responsible for petty crook Eel O’Brian’s transformation into a pliable pariah – and having Batman assume the not-so-easy task of O’Brian’s rehabilitation into a hero.

Grodd ends the episode suffering what would be, for him, the supreme indignity… but that is NOTHING compared to what Plastic Man endures when, trying to hide from some Gorilla workers, he transforms himself into a SHOVEL! No spoilers here but, if you use your imagination, you’ll probably get it – and (unfortunately for Plas) you’ll be right! Oh, yuck! HINT: It wasn’t SNOW those gorillas shoveled!

“Evil Under the Sea”:
The teaser pits Batman and The Atom against Silver Age Sorcerer Felix Faust, but the REAL delight here is John DiMaggio’s over-the-top re-imagining of Aquaman!

This Aquaman revels in the “BIG-NESS” of being a hero. A role he relishes with great gobs of gusto. Witness the recounting of his adventures to Batman:

“…And that’s how I recovered the STOLEN STATUE! I call that adventure… The Mystery of the Stolen Statue!” (He continues on for a few more such instances)
“…and the time I wore an EYE-PATCH to infiltrate a crew of PIRATES, I call that…”

(Batman interrupts) “Aquaman’s Undercover Adventure?”

“No… ‘The Time I Wore an Eye-Patch to Infiltrate a Crew of Pirates’… but, what you said was GOOD TOO!”

There are also nods to the 1967 Filmation animated version of Aquaman, as ATLANTIS takes Filmation’s domed-design and the MODULATED HUMMING SOUND Aquaman uses to call or communicate with undersea life is lifted directly from Filmation’s version.
     
“Invasion of the Secret Santas”:
Bats and Blue Beetle defeat Sportsmaster in the teaser. In the main story, the android Red Tornado tries to fathom the spirit of Christmas, while we simultaneously learn why Batman does his best not to acknowledge the season. And, original villain Fun Haus – a malevolent amalgamation of Toyman and The Joker – does his best to wreak holiday havoc.
     
Great Moment: Batman knocks the head off of one of Fun Haus’s “Santa-Bots”. Two children scream as the sparking head falls to the ground…
    Batman: “Pretend you didn’t see that!”
     
Greater Moment: We find out precisely WHY Batman shuns Christmas. No spoilers – but one of the most effective (and serious) moments of the series, executed surprisingly well! Even Bruce Timm never got to do this!
     
Overall: Batman the Brave and the Bold: Volume One succeeds in ways both expected and delightfully unexpected. It’s not simply reflective of the lighter (but extremely imaginative) Silver Age DC comic books – but takes that tone and squarely hits every point in time of the DC Comics Universe.
    
Despite the severe and obvious flaws in it’s “Three-P’s” – Packaging, Presentation, and Pricing – Batman the Brave and the Bold: Volume One is highly recommended to fans and enthusiasts of Batman, DC Comics and the Warner Animated Series based upon them, the Silver Age of Comics Books in general, and anyone who just wants to kick back and have a good time!

Oh, and will you ever LOVE the way this series eventually handles the dreaded Bat-Mite!

Huckleberry Hound in “Wiki Waki Huck” (1960)

As I depart on a (very) brief vacation, I leave you with Huck in Hawaii!

The great Warren Foster wrote it, and the great Daws Butler performed as Huck!

And, for Huck’s sake, just be glad there weren’t THREE little pigs!

It’s not on DVD, so watch it quick, before Warners has it removed! Aloha!

Easter Eggs are Annoying!

What is an Easter Egg? (…In DVD terms, that is!)
The answer lies in the paragraph below, from the site dvdeastereggs.com

What is a DVD Easter Egg?This is probably the most obvious, and most frequently asked question. Of course the chances are that if you found this site, you may already know, but if not, here goes. As most will know, during the Easter holiday, people will paint eggs, then hide them for their children to find. This is the traditional idea behind the "Easter Egg". Extend that idea into the digital world, and an Easter Egg is something that is hidden, in some form of media. Way back when Microsoft released Excel (as an example) there was an Easter Egg in the software. The developers hid a game in the program. You had to fill certain fields of the spreadsheet with a specific value, etc. and you were able to unlock this 'Doom-like' game. Well much the same concept goes for Easter Eggs on DVD's. The developers who make the DVD's, their menu systems, etc. tend to hide special features on the disc.
 

UNDOCUMENTED SPECIAL FEATURES, I might add, that one can only find by random navigation of DVD Meuns (clicking or navigating to various points on a DVD menu that you are NOT directed to by listed options)… That is, IF they exist at all.

Meaning, you may own a DVD (perhaps, even for years), and not know of such a hidden feature.

Yes, it’s all in fun, and maybe I’m just an impatient grump, but I’d prefer to KNOW of any and all Special Features – what they are and WHERE TO FIND THEM – without having to consult special “Easter Egg Websites” to learn the answer.

There are two regular sources of DVD Easter Eggs among the DVD series I collect. WALT DISNEY TREASURES and THE SIMPSONS.

Perhaps there ARE more in other sets I own, and I just don’t know about them – but let’s not consider that for the moment. (…Look for examples of such heretofore unknown discoveries that lie within my collection at the end of this post!)


What this DOES mean is that, anytime I watch a Disney Treasures or Simpsons DVD, I spend EXTRA TIME clicking willy-nilly, all over ANY menu I happen to be on in an obsessive search to possibly discover another “heinously hidden hen-fruit”.

I may needlessly click around, and around again – and maybe around a THIRD TIME – before concluding that none of these egregious eggs are lurking in digital dungeons of my discs.

I will also purposely go to menus that I would not ordinarily visit (such as the ever-present Captioning Menu) and scour them thoroughly before “starting the show”.

And, as annoying as it may be to utilize precious viewing time in this fashion, it can be exhilarating to unexpectedly have a random portion of the menu “light up” and reveal a hidden clip of Walt Disney introducing a segment of his “Wonderful World of Color” – or Simpsons animators discussing a scene they illustrated!

But, short of taking the time to log each one of these on paper and store it within your set (which I HAVE DONE in some of the Disney Treasures sets, as their Easter Egg placement is usually more random than those found in The Simpsons), I’d STILL rather have the damned things LISTED and easily accessed from the DVDs Menus.

What say you? …Happy “Easter”!

Want more?
Click THIS LINK for an example of the many Easter Eggs hidden among the Menus of Walt Disney Treasures Silly Symphonies (the first volume), just to see how many there are. Note: On my own, I’ve only found FOUR of the FIVE Easter Eggs listed for Disc One.

And HERE is a Big One I never knew about for Superman the Animated Series Volume Three! I’m going to check this out as soon as possible!

Oh, and let’s not ever THINK about Lost The Complete Second Season… CLICK HERE for 15 (Yes, Fifteen!) extras unknown to me!

The information is from the aforementioned dvdeastereggs.com

Go there and see what you may have missed.