Lists
From Sarcastipedia
Over the course of the podcast, AAl and Matt (and occasionally others) have been driven to compile lists of things. Here, for your convenience, is a central location for those lists.
Contents |
Top Homestar Runner Cartoons (referenced in SV 43)
AAl's essential Homestar toons
Matt's slightly more essential Homestar toons (chawetuhs, downloawds, eeee-mayel)
- Rap Song
- Drive-thru
- Strong Bad is a Bad Guy (unlinkable)
- Ballad of the Sneak
- sbemail: Virus
- sbemail: English Paper
- sbemail: Monster Truck
Noted Homestar expert Flonk's other essential cartoons
- Where My Hat is At?
- Where U Goin 2?
- Loading Screens
- Teen Girl Squad 13
- Cheat Commandos: Two Part episode (both parts!)
- sbemail: crazy cartoon
- sbemail: Monument
- sbemail: Different Town
- sbemail: flashback
- sbemail: Bottom Ten
- sbemail: independent
Top "Timmverse" Episodes (referenced in SV 76)
AAl and Matt were asked to recommend episodes from Bruce Timm's various DC Universe animated series (Batman: The Animated Series, Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League/JLU). The following are their suggestions.
AAl's top... several
Listen, between the four series we're dealing with here (five if you count Justice League and JLU separately), there were hundreds of episodes to choose from. Hell, Batman: TAS alone produced almost 100. I tried really hard to limit this list to 10. Then I gave up. This was the very best I could do, and it's still killing me to leave out a few really essential ones here.
1. Batman- Almost Got ‘im - A key factor in what makes Batman great is, of course, his ridiculous villains. (I just can't bring myself to use the phrase "rogue's gallery.") This fun little episode consists of a few short vignettes in which different Bat-villains compare notes. If you had to show somebody a single episode of this series to sell them on it, this would be a solid choice - it's not the greatest one they did, but it contains a bit of everything they did well.
2. Batman- Over the Edge - A genuinely terrifying look into what could best be described as Batman's worst-case scenario. So gripped was I by this story that I didn't even feel cheated by its resolution.
3. Batman- Legends of the Dark Knight - Animated versions of Sprang/Kane's Batman, and Frank Miller's legendary Dark Knight Returns. Plus a ballsy swipe at (then-current) Bat-film director Joel Schumacher.
4. Superman- Last Son of Krypton - Superman's origin story as you've never seen it before - which is to say streamlined, concise and with many of its more sprawling elements consolidated for later use. Tying Braniac to the destruction of Krypton was one of the smarter pieces of groundwork Timm's team laid early in this series, and it paid off amazingly well in the episodes (and series) to come.
5. Superman- Mxyzpixilated - While this series brought many of Superman's elements down to earth (most notably by scaling his powers back a bit), they weren't afraid to occasionally dabble in the glorious insanity that was the Silver Age. Also, Gilbert Gottfried is just plain inspired casting.
6. Superman/Batman- World’s Finest - Animated Batman and Superman (also, the Joker and Luthor), together for the first time. And it's every bit as amazing as you'd think it would be. It seems so obvious now, but at the time, the idea of these guys not being BFF was still fairly new. The evolution of their relationship from open hostility to grudging respect is one of the more subtle ways Timm and his guys showed us they knew exactly what they were doing.
7. Superman- The Late Mr. Kent - A story about the death penalty. Kids love Superman!
8. Batman Beyond- Rebirth - Yes, I know: the idea of a crazy cyberpunk future with a hip young new Batman sounds like a profoundly stupid idea. And yet... they made it work. Think of this show as the continuing story of Bruce Wayne, who's now a bitter old man who's driven away everyone who ever cared about him. This episode contains one of the most truly chilling Batman moments in or out of comics, as far as I'm concerned.
9. Batman Beyond– Shriek - I mentioned what made this great on SV - the brief look into Old Bruce's head really makes this a solid episode.
10. Batman Beyond- Return of the Joker - This is the one most people have seen, and it's definitely one of - if not the - best stories the series ever told. In terms of "continuing the story of Bruce Wayne and the people around him," this one completely knocks it out of the park.
11. Justice League- The Savage Time - The first truly great - and dare I say, epic - story on Justice League. The JL are shot back to World War 2 to face Vandal Savage. Along the way, they meet a number of classic DC heroes, cleverly work in a previously discarded bit of Wonder Woman's backstory and oh yeah, Hitler has a cameo. Kids love Justice League!
12. Justice League- A Better World - An alternate universe in which the JL take things just one step further than they would in our own world. The resulting totalitarian bleakness rivals similar stories in comics like The Authority and, like all the best alternate universe stories, teaches us things about the "real" versions of our heroes in the process.
13. JLU- Dark Heart - Possibly the best thing Warren Ellis has ever written - and I'm including Planetary and Transmetropolitan in that consideration. 22 minutes of mindfuck sci-fi action (Ellis at his best tries to push the boundaries of conventional sci-fi and expand beyond the typical cliches) and a few startlingly adult moments.
14. JLU- Question Authority/Flashpoint/Panic in the Sky/Divided We Fall - I realize I'm cheating here, but the 4-part finale (not including the backdoor Batman Beyond epilogue that actually ended the season) was a nonstop orgy of straight-up superhero action, government conspiracies and plot twists that actually manage to surprise you at least once. This was the show at its very best.
Matt's top 10
As you've no doubt read above, picking the top ten of these is insanely difficult. You're also going to see a LOT of Batman and JLU because those are my favorites, damnit. I get a little carried away so here there be SPOILERS.
Batman- Showdown
I hated, hated, hated this episode when I was a kid. Batman's barely in it, it's a western and nobody wears a costume. When the Batman DVDs started coming out, I rewatched the episode and flipped the fuck out. It's written by one of my favorite authors, Joe R. Lansdale. It stars my favorite cowboy/bounty hunter/tomahawk victim Jonah Hex in his weird-ass Vertigo costume and it has a fancy Ra's Al Ghul riding around in a blimp. It's like Marty McFly playing at my prom. "That may be a bit much for you, 12 year old Matt but 27 year old Matt is gonna love it."
Batman- Harliquinade
Janine from Ghostbusters was the first girl I ever had a crush on. Harley Quinn was the first girl I ever fell in love with. I love that character like Paul Dini loves Zatanna. I think this episode aired in season 3 so the character had been around for a while (She first appeared in Joker's Favor, which is also an excellent episode and features the Joker.) but this had her running around with Batman being weird. The episode's worth it for the musical number alone (which is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6wLXj4-5A, marvel at the wonder that is Arleen Sorkin's voice.) but watching her flip out on the Joker is glorious too. See also: Harley and Ivy, Harley's Holiday and the absolutely sublime Mad Love which barely made it on here. I just like this one more.
Batman Beyond- Return of the Joker
I didn't watch a whole lot of Batman Beyond when it came out because, quite frankly, the premise sounded completely retarded. "No, it's Batman in the future." "Pass." But my brother was a big fan and he's the one who got me into Buffy so the guy clearly knows what he's talking about. One of the concepts of Batman Beyond is that eventually Bruce Wayne will drive away all his friends and family and be left bitter and alone in his cave. RotJ shows us exactly how that happened and it is exceedingly unpleasant. Hark to the tale of young Tim Drake, the second Robin, and how he is kidnapped by the Joker and BRUTALLY TORTURED AND BRAINWASHED FOR WEEKS. Kids LOVE Batman. Seriously, darkness and maturity have always been one of the key selling points of DC animated shows. It's one of the many reasons they're so awesome. But Jesus. The flick also assumes you aren't an idiot and there are a couple of neat red herrings along the way. And it climaxes with a fantastic showdown between the new Batman and the Joker.
JLU- The Great Brain Robbery
This one's just plain funny. Simple sitcom premise: The Flash and Lex Luthor accidently get their brains swapped. Hilarity ensues. JLU is full of some great, genuinely funny moments but there is nothing I enjoy quite like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoKj45HEM5w&feature=related (Jump to 6:15. Or watch the whole thing, that's fine too.) Other things I like about this episode include Luthor's goggles, Dr. Polaris connering Flash in Lex Luthor's body in the bathroom, (POLARIS: You gonna wash your hands? LEX: No. Cause I'm EVIL.) and whoever does Dr. Fate's voice. I could listen to that guy all damn day.
JLU- Date Night
This one's written by awesome writer about town Gail Simone (she writes Secret Six and Birds of Prey, the sort-of inspiration for this episode.) and features Green Arrow and Black Canary teaming up to stop the Huntress and the Question (who, by the way, fucking RULES in JLU.) from killing a giant mob boss. It's funny, it has some great action sequences (Green Arrow and Black Canary almost getting hit by a train is a personal favorite.) and it's also adorable. Question's admission of "Because... I like you." at the end is the kind of thing that brings out the giant girl hiding not-very-far below the surface of my rough tough cattle driver facade.
Superman/Batman- World's Finest
I've never been a supporter of the whole "Superman isn't interesting" theory, but I certainly don't like him as much as Batman (That being said, research will show that there is nothing I like as much as Batman.) I like watching the two of them team-up. I like that they don't always get along and I like watching them play off each other. The same can also be said about Lex Luthor and the Joker who are both fucking great in this thing, as Lex tries to control the Joker (which ALWAYS works out fine for everyone.). And if nothing else, I love watching Harley and Lex's body guard Mercy beat the shit out of each other.
Batman- Baby Doll
This one's just unsettling. Featuring the titular Baby Doll, an ex-child actor with that Gary Coleman disease that made her look permanently six years old. The character tries to kidnap and murder the cast of her old show. Made even more creepy by Baby Doll's cartoonish appearence (she looked a LOT like Elmyra from Tiny Toons, also by Warner Bros and also on at the airing of this episode so I can't imagine that wasn't intentional.) BTAS had some great sympathetic villains (the first Mad Hatter episode is also pretty heartwrenching.) and Baby's little break-down at the end of the episode is just perfect.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUtLTxBYZHw) I think the character only came back once, and that's probably for the best. This episode stands well enough on its own.
Batman- Two Face
What was great about Two-Face was that they spent the first half of Season 1 building up Harvey Dent as a character. He was friends with Bruce Wayne, he played the victim in the very first Poison Ivy episode, he was a reaccuring character. And then they blew his face off. THAT is how you create sympathy for a character. The other great thing was that this episode showed that Harvey wasn't exactly stable to begin with. Folks, meet the first schizophrenic character on a children's cartoon show (...if you ignore Zartan, I guess.). Harvey Dent was already struggling to supress his other personality "Big Bad Harv" when a mob boss exploded his face and brought him out. Two Face stories work best when there's tradgedy to them. Building him up before you knock him down makes the character work. It worked in Dark Knight, it worked in Long Halloween and it works here.
JLU- For The Man Who Has Everything
A perfect adaptation of the Alan Moore comic. Batman and Wonder Woman visit Superman at the Fortress of Solitude for his birthday and find that Mongul has trapped him in his greatest fantasy, a world where Krypton was never destroyed. Mongul's smugness is wonderful as he beats the ever loving shit out of Wonder Woman. Superman saying goodbye to his son is heartbreaking and his rage at the end... Jesus. You do not piss that guy off.
JLU- The Once and Future Thing
A great time travelling episode featuring Jonah Hex again ("Ah reckon you folks are time travellahs." "How'd you figure that out?" "Ah've led an in'trestin' life."), AND Batman Beyond and Old Man Bruce. Watching Batman and Old Bruce playing off each other is awesome. And watching Old Bruce interogate one of the Jokerz with nothing but his cane is a treat for all.
