Batman Beyond: Definitely a
fine piece of entertainment.
Last fall, Batman fans saw for the first time a completely
different take on Batman. 
One that didn't
have Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson or any of the other usual
characters that we have come to know over the past few years.
Instead fans saw a younger, different person in a new suit in a
Gotham city which albiet with a futuristic look still had the
same features of old Gotham. This was on Batman Beyond.
Well At long last, I've finally seen the show......
Originally the creators said that this series would be targeted to a younger audience with more action and chaos that only they would love. After all, the original animated series had storylines which many young people couldn't understand and at times had adult situations that often sneaked themselves past the censors. While Batman Beyond does have more action and intensity, it still has the same constructive storytelling that it's counterpart has. The animation style is still the same but as always is wonderful. Sometimes it's hard to understand why people have said that the animation in these shows sucks. It seems that animation has to be anime style or made by Disney to be good. I disagree with these notions as they are ill concieved and probably made by people who have their heads stuck in the sand. The animation is slick and suits the style of the show. The creators had the movie "Blade Runner" in mind when they created Future Gotham.
The storytelling has a different concept and approach to a timeless character. The Student-Teacher relationship between Terry and Bruce is really good. Bruce can be quite amusing at times and even reminded me of legendary wrestler Stu Hart. A man, despite his age can still twist young people into pretzels. Terry on the other hand is a typical teenager. He doesn't get good grades and isn't exactly valedictorian material, but still a likable person and not too annoying. The addition of a parent, a younger brother and possible girlfriend also helps expand the character's development and allows the writers to explore ideas and concepts that they couldn't with Bruce Wayne. Let's face it, Bruce didn't have to lie to his parents and the only person who was close to him knew what he was upto (Alfred) Another high point is that Terry will have his own rogues gallery and not Batman's. Again this allows the character to expand on his own and in many ways stick to tradition. Derek Powers being a "hovering" villian like Lex Luthor is a good idea and it will be interesting to see what kind of mean nasty villians the creators pick up. Finally let's not forget the soundtrack which is definitely different from the moody tones that Shirley Walker and Danny Elfman gave us.
To date, Batman Beyond is the WB channel's second highest rated show next to Pokemon. Not to diss Pokemon, which is also a good show, but I believe its ratings will probably slide once the whole fad of Pocket monsters fades. Let's face it, the show is based on a fad similar to Pogs and look how long Pogs lasted. Batman has always been a part tv history and has its ups and downs. There's also talk of an animated movie and considering how well the last two animated movies were, is there any concern the third one won't be.