"Episode 184" - JOEL SCHUMACHER'S BATMAN FOREVER

When an auteur filmmaker's ambitious vision is compromised by the Hollywood studio system, what's the right thing to do? Demand a do-over, of course! And thanks to years of persistent pleas from fans everywhere, we finally get to experience our generation's defining DC comic book movie event the way its creator intended.

That's right, we have seen the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever... What? Were you expecting something else?

Guests from our theatrical cut episode Gensho Tasaka and Eric Wheeler re-enter the Batcave to debate all the changes, from the Flying Graysons singing an Icelandic sea shanty to the controversial inclusion of Mark Hamill as the Joker in that weird nightmare sequence. Brian Rudloff and Sam Stovold also join the roundtable, bringing not-so-trivial expertise from their own Batman Forever podcast (bafflingly titled Marvel Star Wars Explorers). 

Holy April Fool's Day, Batman! We wish! 

#ReleaseTheSchumacherCut

Episode 156 - THE SUPER LONG 'WEEN-A-THON

This year, our annual 'Ween-A-Thon gets Super Long...and we mean it! Prepare yourself for two-plus hours of festive frights with a superhero twist. It's also the culmination of Joke-tober, as the Clown Prince of Crime's maniacal tricks make a special appearance among our platter of pop culture treats. 

With the help of fellow 'weener Sam Stovold, we've engineered a holiday tribute that nature never intended, bursting with one-of-a-kind features and an extended discussion of our favorite Halloween candy. We're holding nothing back on this episode, so get the funk up and don't stop dancing: it's the Super Long 'Ween-A-Thon!

Featured in this episode:

Batman: The Animated Series - "Almost Got 'Im" (aired November 10, 1992)
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends - "The Bride of Dracula!" (aired September 24, 1983)
Prince - "Batdance" (1989)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - "Super Irma" (aired September 26, 1992)
U2 - "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" (1995)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - "Ghosts" (aired November 24, 1996)

Episode 155 - BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES

In the midst of the Caped Crusader's first silver screen renaissance, Batman: The Animated Series reinvented the hero yet again, this time on television. Equally steeped in the worlds of a morally grounded crime-fighter and his menagerie of flamboyant adversaries, the show developed a reputation for turning standard villain-of-the-week stories into thoughtful, emotionally bracing mini-dramas. Its timelessness was enhanced by brooding Art Deco visuals and elegant character designs, and helped launch an animated superhero universe that would endure until the Dark Knight's next cinematic reimagining.

Podcaster extraordinaire Jack Stovold joins us to discuss how the show became a cultural touchstone for Bat-fans, and why it continues to inspire the admiration of cartoon connoisseurs. We are vengeance...we are the night...we are going deep on Batman: The Animated Series!

Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
Developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Mitch Brian

Episodes featured in this podcast:

"Heart of Ice" (aired 9/7/92)
"Beware the Gray Ghost" (aired 11/4/92)
"Joker's Favor" (aired 9/11/92)
"Perchance to Dream" (aired 10/19/92)
"Mudslide" (aired 9/15/93)
"Time Out of Joint" (aired 10/8/94)

Check out all current episodes in our Batman series:
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin

More Jack Stovold:
Reopening the Wormhole
The ApeCast
Jack's Silly Little Friendly Neighborhood Star Trek Discovery Podcast

Episode 129 - BATMAN & ROBIN

Forever frozen in time as an aggressive expression of comic book camp, Batman & Robin had a chilling effect on the entire superhero genre: its icy reception did much to precipitate our current cinematic reality. And while our culture has buried the movie in an avalanche of snark, consider this podcast our modest attempt to bring it in from the cold.

That chill dude, Gensho Tasaka, joins us once again as the Robin Round Robin enters round two with the toyetic tour de force that is Batman & Robin. 

Batman & Robin (1997)
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Produced by Peter MacGregor-Scott
Written by Akiva Goldsman
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Elle Macpherson, and Robert "Jeep" Swenson

Check out all current episodes in our Batman series:
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin

Episode 99 - BATMAN FOREVER

Riddle me this, riddle me that, who's excited for more Batman chit-chat? Joel Schumacher's exuberant take on the Caped Crusader marks a crucial turning point for the character's onscreen legacy, in a film that dips the remnants of Tim Burton's moody vision in neon and scatters them across an exaggerated comic book fantasyland. As Batman Forever's title suggests, the ripple effects of its stylistic swerve would continue for decades to come.

The dynamic duo of Gensho Tasaka and Eric Wheeler joins us for a freewheeling free-for-all on this pivotal moment in Bat-history. Joygasm!

Batman Forever (1995)
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Produced by Tim Burton and Peter MacGregor-Scott
Written by Lee & Janet Scott Batchler and Akiva Goldsman
Based on characters created by Bob Kane
Starring Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, and Ed Begley Jr.

Check out all current episodes in our Batman series:
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin

Episode 77 - BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM

The rehabilitation of Batman's post-camp image as a lonely, brooding avatar of vigilantism was not just limited to the comics or the cinema. Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski's surprisingly mature animated TV series also contributed to the goal of establishing a grim, gritty, noir-ish universe as the Caped Crusader's natural habit. Their ambition was affirmed by efforts such as Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, a theatrically-released feature filled with vengeance, obsession, and yearning for the past that also includes a pretty sweet rumble with the Joker.

Reopening the Wormhole co-host Sam Stovold suits up for this animated detour in our survey of the Batman films. Grab your fedora and hop into your anachronistic Rolls Royce for this melancholy superhero romance - just in time for Valentine's Day!

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Directed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski
Produced by Benjamin Melnicker, Alan Burnett, Bruce Timm, and Eric Radomski
Written by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, and Michael Reaves
Based on characters created by Bob Kane
Starring Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Mark Hamill, Hart Bochner, Abe Vigoda, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and Stacy Keach


Check out all current episodes in our Batman series:
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin

Episode 59 - BATMAN RETURNS

"One for them, one for me" - it's the mantra of many an A-lister who also yearns to be respected as an artist, appearing in a commercially appealing flick in order to get a passion project off the ground. For Tim Burton, that rule also applied to sequels for massive franchise tentpoles, as Batman Returns tries to preserve the muscular appeal of its predecessor while injecting more of the macabre, playful melancholy central to the director's gothic sensibility.

We welcome back the boy wonder, Gensho Tasaka, to marvel at Burton doubling down on his signature style and his unique treatment of two iconic Batman villains. It's the second part of our series on the Caped Crusader's blockbuster-era adventures!

Batman Returns (1992)
Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Denise Di Novi and Tim Burton
Written by Daniel Waters
Based on characters created by Bob Kane
Starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, and Michael Murphy

Check out all current episodes in our Batman series:
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin

Episode 50 - BATMAN

Perched at the precipice of the '90s, Tim Burton's Batman was one of the first modern blockbusters to emerge from the commercial chrysalis nurtured, perhaps unwittingly, by directors like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Both a familiar crowd-pleasing delight and a novel, eccentric re-imagining of the superhero archetype, Batman helped establish a new excitement around pre-existing properties--especially comics--while becoming one of the rare franchise tentpoles to successfully balance its agendas as a financial commodity and as a distinctive work of art.

Special guest (and number one guy) Gensho Tasaka also joins the podcast for some stellar Caped Crusader chat.  Holy 50th episode, Batman!

Batman (1989)
Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Jon Peters and Peter Guber
Written by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren
Based on characters created by Bob Kane and DC Comics
Starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance

Check out all current episodes in our Batman series:
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin