'The Crapman' episode 'The Apprentice' Sucks!
This episode has special meaning to me. My mentor, an old comic book legend who worked for Charlton Comics and was a Batman fan since the days of Bob Kane's work on the title, watched it with me. He was far more lenient about this episode's failings than I was, however, this episode's faults are far too numerous to ignore.
The Premise: This show's version of The Joker, feeling some sort of deranged sidekick envy, recruits a classmate of Barbara's to become his sidekick.
The Faults: The set of events that happen killed this show. And again, the Joker's resources aren't explained. How does he get a fire truck? How is he able to fund his elaborate pranks? I'd dare say the writers don't think its important to the plot, but I fear there isn't much in the way of that. A new character was introduced in this episode, Donnie, from Barbara's highschool class, who is a class prankster.
Now see, we only knew Donnie for about 2 minutes before he's turned to 'the dark side' so to speak. The writers pretty much wasted the majority of this season with one shot lame villians like Gearhead and Krank, that a plotline which, honestly could have been a season long subplot, is turned into nothing more than 2 minutes of exposition.
There was a good concept here: Classmate of a young superheroine who's a prankster shown subtly throughout a season, slow buildup, show more from his point of view, make him a character, not just 2 minutes of exposition. Which leads me to another, more unbelievable part of this episode: Donnie, after exiting detention, is in a comedy club at night alone, no parental supervision. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most comedy clubs sell liquer? And the Joker's first proposition to Donnie came off as very... well, lets just say 'Michael Jackson'-y.
Their planning segment for a new prank absolutely SMELLED 'Ripped off 'Mad Love''. Their version of the Joker even gave the classic line "Too Riddler".
The gaint gumball machine just came, and I can't help but wonder, Donnie obviously knew The Joker was an evil criminal that kills people.. yet he was all for shooting gumballs the size of trucks at occupied buildings. It was only when the Crapgirl was strapped to one that he made a moral decision it seems. But at that point, the amount of time we had with the character totalled to... 6 minutes, so we don't feel the 'struggle'. It just came up like a switch.
After the showdown, the Joker takes Donnie to his headquarters, and sets him on a diagnal elevator much like the ones you see in Neon Genesis Evangelion, heading up (One questions how big the Joker's 'hideout' is if it has a NERV style elevator setup, but more on that later) to a room full of gigantic vats of the liquid that turned the Joker into, well, the monkey man he is.
Okay, freeze frame. Is the Joker's headquarters the Axis Chemical building? Never answered. His headquarters houses what's needed strictly for the sake of plot convenience. Not to mention the Joker *I* remember, if holding what looks like enough vats of joker liquid to fill a lake, would... fill a lake with it. Not just keep it stewing in his backroom.
This episode isn't as bad as the last two reviewed, but not becaues of virtue of any sort. Merely that there was some sort of idea here that, in the hands of more competant writers, would have shined.
The Premise: This show's version of The Joker, feeling some sort of deranged sidekick envy, recruits a classmate of Barbara's to become his sidekick.
The Faults: The set of events that happen killed this show. And again, the Joker's resources aren't explained. How does he get a fire truck? How is he able to fund his elaborate pranks? I'd dare say the writers don't think its important to the plot, but I fear there isn't much in the way of that. A new character was introduced in this episode, Donnie, from Barbara's highschool class, who is a class prankster.
Now see, we only knew Donnie for about 2 minutes before he's turned to 'the dark side' so to speak. The writers pretty much wasted the majority of this season with one shot lame villians like Gearhead and Krank, that a plotline which, honestly could have been a season long subplot, is turned into nothing more than 2 minutes of exposition.
There was a good concept here: Classmate of a young superheroine who's a prankster shown subtly throughout a season, slow buildup, show more from his point of view, make him a character, not just 2 minutes of exposition. Which leads me to another, more unbelievable part of this episode: Donnie, after exiting detention, is in a comedy club at night alone, no parental supervision. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most comedy clubs sell liquer? And the Joker's first proposition to Donnie came off as very... well, lets just say 'Michael Jackson'-y.
Their planning segment for a new prank absolutely SMELLED 'Ripped off 'Mad Love''. Their version of the Joker even gave the classic line "Too Riddler".
The gaint gumball machine just came, and I can't help but wonder, Donnie obviously knew The Joker was an evil criminal that kills people.. yet he was all for shooting gumballs the size of trucks at occupied buildings. It was only when the Crapgirl was strapped to one that he made a moral decision it seems. But at that point, the amount of time we had with the character totalled to... 6 minutes, so we don't feel the 'struggle'. It just came up like a switch.
After the showdown, the Joker takes Donnie to his headquarters, and sets him on a diagnal elevator much like the ones you see in Neon Genesis Evangelion, heading up (One questions how big the Joker's 'hideout' is if it has a NERV style elevator setup, but more on that later) to a room full of gigantic vats of the liquid that turned the Joker into, well, the monkey man he is.
Okay, freeze frame. Is the Joker's headquarters the Axis Chemical building? Never answered. His headquarters houses what's needed strictly for the sake of plot convenience. Not to mention the Joker *I* remember, if holding what looks like enough vats of joker liquid to fill a lake, would... fill a lake with it. Not just keep it stewing in his backroom.
This episode isn't as bad as the last two reviewed, but not becaues of virtue of any sort. Merely that there was some sort of idea here that, in the hands of more competant writers, would have shined.
posted by ComicToonsThatSuck at 8:39 PM
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