Justice League: "A Better World" [Spoilers]

[Ristamar]

I was never interested in The Justice League in any form, but this sounds pretty interesting and entertaining. Can someone fill me in as to what time/channel I can check this out?

 

[WizarDru]

Hey, Dru,

Hadn't thought of it in those ways -- but yeah, if I had a child, I'd be very leery of letting them watch it at 3 or 6. 10 or so sounds about right, but that's a completely arbitrary number pulled out of my back pocket... What's it rated? TV Y-7 or TV-14 or something?

Quite honestly, I don't remember the rating. I think it's Y-7 (DV), but that rating is somewhat arbitrary, since the show's producer decides it. That's still a pretty wide margin to operate under, and different kids have different tolerance levels. I'm trying to remember how old I was when I first saw Halloween on HBO. I remember it scared the $#@( out of me. IIRC, I was 11, I think.

I quite honestly think my son, at 3, is more tolerant of such things than my daughter at 6, in some ways.

Ristamar, it's on Cartoon Network, and reruns are on daily at 5:30PM. The new episodes show (in the US) at 10PM on Saturdays. I recommend watching or taping them THEN, as they are currently showing them without the second set of opening credits. Since the show really is a collection of hour-long two-part episodes anyhow, it's really just making it official.

What would be really nice is if they release the series in widescreen 16:9 format if they do a set of season releases (which I hear they made the series in both formats, so it's not a stretch).

 

[Villano]

What would be really nice is if they release the series in widescreen 16:9 format if they do a set of season releases (which I hear they made the series in both formats, so it's not a stretch).

I'm curious, but has anyone ever compared the widescreen episodes with the full screen ones that run during Toonami? I'm wondering if it's really widescreen or if they just crop the full screen ones.

I know I've heard people complaining about dvds of movies that were supposedly widescreen but turned out just to be cropped. I heard someone claim that the "widscreen" Babylon 5's did the same thing.

 

[WizarDru]

I'm curious, but has anyone ever compared the widescreen episodes with the full screen ones that run during Toonami? I'm wondering if it's really widescreen or if they just crop the full screen ones.

I know I've heard people complaining about dvds of movies that were supposedly widescreen but turned out just to be cropped. I heard someone claim that the "widscreen" Babylon 5's did the same thing.

Well, from what I've heard, B5's TV widescreen release was badly botched by WB and USA/SciFi. I haven't heard about how the DVD releases are like, but I remember them claiming the episodes were originally filmed in widescreen. Honestly, I've never looked at them to be able to tell, either way.

As for JL, again they claim that they were originally made in that aspect ratio, and then converted down to 4:3...but I don't really recall them being broadcast either way. I know there was some discussion about this before 'Secret Origins' was released, because the DVD apparently only came in 4:3 format. Details are vague, but apparently Season One was shot in 4:3 and then matted to 16;9, while Season Two was done in 16:9 and then cropped to 4:3. I just hope they release Season collections, and remember the darned extras. The reviews I've read of the DVDs so far are not good....no option for widescreen, and few extras. Meh.

 

[Dragonblade]

I was never interested in The Justice League in any form, but this sounds pretty interesting and entertaining. Can someone fill me in as to what time/channel I can check this out?

Justice League is on Saturday nights on Cartoon Nework. I never miss it. I thought A Better World was a fantastic episode!

The dialogue between the two Batmans was fantastic:

(paraphrasing)

Good Batman: [arguing] "...You have created a world without any choice!" (or something like that)

Bad Batman: "We've created a world where an 8 year old boy never has to watch his parent's murder!"

Good Batman: [stunned] "You win..."

-----
And then when they are in the batmobile, they see some poor fool yell at a waiter for bad food. He gets arrested by the new world order police. The poor guy wails that he is sorry as the police drag him away.

Good Batman: [watching the whole thing] "I bet mom would be proud."

Bad Batman: "....."

And Superman being this unstoppable tyrant was awesome! He wasn't even really evil. He just kind of went from LG to LN, only it was his law that he imposed harshly on the entire world.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

As for JL being too adult... It is coming on at 10 PM out here on the West Coast, seems late enough to me for the level of violence you are seeing. Granted I have no kids, and probably wouldn't think twice if they did want to watch it...

That's probably the reason why I don't have kids...

I thought the dialogue between Batman and Batman was awesome.

The dummy being lobotomized was the funniest thing I had seen all week, granted it was a slow week for me in that department, but that scene shows two things, the show isn't written for the young and that the writing isn't lazy.

Just out of curiosity: for those of you who have young children how do you explain the reason why Bruce Wayne is Batman?

 

[WizarDru]

As for JL being too adult... It is coming on at 10 PM out here on the West Coast, seems late enough to me for the level of violence you are seeing. Granted I have no kids, and probably wouldn't think twice if they did want to watch it...

Ummm....yeah. See that over there? It's the point. I think you missed it. Did you notice I'm the one who started the thread? I wasn't claiming it was too adult....just too much to show 3 year olds. There is a difference. I LIKE the mature direction...it's just now graduated to the same class as Angel, in that I don't want my kids watching it.

Just out of curiosity: for those of you who have young children how do you explain the reason why Bruce Wayne is Batman?

And here we illustrate how you don't have kids. The answer is simple: Why wouldn't he be? Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are COOL. They have super powers, cool gadgets and get to be powerful, iconic beings: all of which make them very attractive characters for kids to emulate.

If you mean, how do you explain Batman's origin (which is what I think you were getting at), that depends. On one level, no explanation is needed: He's Batman because it's COOL to be Batman. Putting on a costume and fighting bad guys is what superheroes do. When the topic comes up, it's usually handled pretty delicately, such that a younger audience can understand it. A 3-year old doesn't grasp the concept of death. A 6 year-old does, but not in the same way an adult does. Besides which, it's not the concept that's troubling, it's the presentation, in that case. The idea that Bruce becomes Batman so he can protect people from bad guys, because bad guys killed his parents, is easy for kids to understand. Depending on the kid, it may be scary or a non-issue. But that's not the same as Superman killing Lois Lane with his heat vision.

Another example: Hawkgirl being buried alive in a coffin is scary enough, but her claustorphobic screams of terror while Dr. Destiny piles on the dirt, and the accompanying shots and music....that's terrifying to a child (and pretty scary to me, I might add). Hawkgirl's reaction and the presentation are what make it too intense for children, not the simple act itself.

All of which is irrelevant, since the show isn't aimed at children that are my kid's ages. It's aimed at teenagers to adults, and it works great, there. I don't want them to change it all. I was just lamenting the fact that I can't have my kids share it, yet, is all.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Ummm....yeah. See that over there? It's the point. I think you missed it. Did you notice I'm the one who started the thread? I wasn't claiming it was too adult....just too much to show 3 year olds. There is a difference. I LIKE the mature direction...it's just now graduated to the same class as Angel, in that I don't want my kids watching it.

Or yeah I did... I also noted that there were 24 other posts between your first and my first. Most of those comments where directed at others, but I didn't feel the need to single quotes out. (read: I was too lazy to do it) I do feel your pain about not letting your kids watch it, I can only imagine that the Hamtaro and Spongebob Squarepants theme songs gets tedious over time.

And here we illustrate how you don't have kids.

9 out of 10 times I can't point them out in a picture.

If you mean, how do you explain Batman's origin (which is what I think you were getting at), that depends.

That's what I was asking for, and thanks for an honest answer.

All of which is irrelevant, since the show isn't aimed at children that are my kid's ages. It's aimed at teenagers to adults, and it works great, there. I don't want them to change it all. I was just lamenting the fact that I can't have my kids share it, yet, is all.

Don't worry your kids will get older, I doubt your showing them allot, or any, of the comics... Batman is definitely a dark shade in the modern comics, and I think the comics, in general, are darker than the show has been.

 

[WizarDru]

Don't worry your kids will get older, I doubt your showing them allot, or any, of the comics... Batman is definitely a dark shade in the modern comics, and I think the comics, in general, are darker than the show has been.

Yeah, up until last year, I was following Batman fairly regularly....and I certainly wouldn't be sharing them with my kids. It's a pity there really aren't many good comics for younger kids anymore. Of course, I was reading the Claremont/Byrne X-men was I was not much older than my daughter is now, so who knows? Of course, I think I missed some of the subtext then, but that's just fine.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

It's a pity there really aren't many good comics for younger kids anymore.

Try Batman Adventures, I haven't read all of the issues, and it's soliciting issue 10 in previews thus month, but it's many a light cool batman for kids. It’s true target audience.