Batman: TAS, episode #22: Prophecy of Doom

 

Ugh. This is the first example of an episode that simply failed to work on almost every level. The premise is weak, the pacing is tedious, and the presence of The Batman is the only thing that makes it distinct from a Murder, She Wrote episode. We hit the ground running with a Benny Goodman-style rhythm in the background on a cruise ship, which is then sunk for reasons unknown. Those reasons become obvious when we're informed of the presence of the mighty Nostromos, a cheap hood and former actor who's apparently willing to go through the expense (and lengthy investigation) of sinking an entire cruise liner and likely killing who knows how many people to make only one of his wealthy dupes believe even more deeply than his already-professed devotion. Eh? Part of Nostromos' acting ability is also the ability to keep his eyes large enough for one to suspect he's been given Alex's therapy for too long. This is on top of how some actors just can't function without a writer. Nostromos? I think the actual writers (Dennis Marks and Sean Derek) could've worked just a little harder on that name.

It's not that the themes are poor. They're just very common. Did anyone think of Fox News while listening to the description of The Great Fall, including the desire to transform all the cash into gold bullion in true, Ron Paul style? This was a few years before that network began, but the impulse for wealthy people to prevent the rabble from taking a piece of that wealth has been extant since human society was developed. Also, the usual generational conflict, as Ethan bemoans the fact that "We're raising a generation of cynics!", presumably using the modern perception of the term 'cynic', someone who doubts everything, while he clings to the hopeful message... of someone predicting the end of civilization. Yeah. But you could see the "OK, Boomer" message in that, too, because that theme has also not changed down through the ages. 

And that's kind of the overall theme that was delivered here, since this was straight out of the 1950s-era Batman, including the endless final battle scene (Attack of the Deadly Planetarium!), which makes one wonder if planetaria can, indeed, go into overdrive or be driven out of control and threaten everyone within them. I mean, apparently, elevators can be destroyed by literally tossing a wrench in their gears, so there it is. However, given the resplendence of Nostromo's HQ, one wonders where the out-of-work actor and SFX guy got the money for that place before collecting the wealthy idiots whom they're trying to rob right now. One perhaps inadvertent theme was that the only woman in the room, Lisa (voiced by Heather Locklear!) was also the smartest person in the room. (Apart from The Batman, of course, since Bruce Wayne has to look like an idiot; again, totally 50s-era approach.) That status apparently included the writers on this one, since it was kind of a grind to get through it.

That lowball, 50s approach also colors the other action scenes. Why is out-of-work SFX guy the most dangerous person The Batman encounters, not only outdoing him physically on a rooftop, including being strong enough to rip a steam pipe from its housing to then catch the master unarmed combatant full in the ribs, but putting up more of a fight than Killer Croc throughout the planetarium battle. Why? Because they needed that to keep a weak story moving along. What it does, of course, is diminish the main character and produce an episode that really isn't worth the time, as the villains seem somewhere between ridiculous and laughable and the hero, consequently, not much better. Even the in-jokes were weak, since Nostromos is apparently a fan of CCR ("I see a bad moon rising!") Every series has its low points and this was certainly one of them for BTAS.

Next time, we at least have a more interesting social issue in focus, with The Forgotten.