Brave and the Bold

No series has taken more chances with the Batman than the Brave and Bold.  Unafraid to mine silver age of comics for all the silliness there, it still manages to be relevant to modern audiences.  It is a high wire trick that demands respect, and it is a show that deserves more viewers.

Last night was the show at its weirdest.  The Bat Mite (an interdimensional weirdo with a batman fixation) brings three of the weirdest batman tales that have ever been told.  The first was an early Mad magazine parody of the cape crusaders.  The second the Manga version of Batman.  Finally, Batman meeting Scooby Doo and the gang. 

All three were excellently done, and treat the source material with respect.  I loved the Mad parody the best because it captures the manic nature of early Mad so well.  Also, it was the best use of a Jerry Lewis type voice since Animaniacs (Oh NICE LADY).  They played around a bit with the scooby doo portion.  They put in Weird Al as the guest celebrity though he wasn't around at the time of the original scooby doo mystery movies.  It's more than forgiveable though, after all a lot of younger viewers might not know who Jerry Reed was.  Besides, if Weird Al was around you know he would have been in the show with bells on, probably with Pee Wee Herman.