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Eyewitness

Episode #27 - Eyewitness
Original Airdate - January 22nd, 2000

Because Commissioner Gordon thinks she sees Batman involved with the death of Mad Stan, Batman must run from the law. Bruce must now uncover the truth before Batman's secret is exposed, and what does the Spellbinder have to do with all of this?

Media by Bird Boy
Review by Zanna
Credits:
Story by Rich Fogel
Teleplay by Hilary J. Bader
Directed by Butch Lukic
Music by Lolita Ritmanis
Animation by Koko / Dong Yang

Voices:
Will Friedle as Terry McGinnis/Batman
Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne
Stockard Channing as Barbara Gordon
Henry Rollins as Mad Stan
Teri Garr as Mary McGinnis
Joe Spano as Boss
John Mariano as Driver
Gregg Berger as Pilot
Jon Cypher as Spellbinder
Screen Grabs









Pans

Review:

Good Points:
I'm tempted to say that this was a dynamite episode, feeling fairly safe from the groans and flying rotten tomatoes in the relative anonymity of the net. The pacing of the action, the artwork, the dialogue, and the characterizations were wonderfully combined in this episode.

The various chase scenes in this episode were exciting and well illustrated with no two scenes or settings alike.

The level of artwork throughout the episode was exceptional. In the opening scene, the rain was effectively depicted, even to the raindrops dripping off Batman's face as he hid on the outside of the building. The many explosions and the resulting fire and smoke were vividly drawn and detailed. The accompanying sound effects further added to the action. The various facial expressions were simply but deftly executed. Bruce's wordless glare at Terry in the study at Wayne Manor spoke volumes.

The dialogue of all the characters, especially between Barbara and Batman (Terry) and Barbara and Bruce, was short, effective, and cleverly written.

Elements of the movie, MASK OF THE PHANTASM, and the BTAS episode, OVER THE EDGE, were echoed in this "authorities against Batman" storyline. Like Bullock, and to some extent, commissioner Jim Gordon before her, Barbara stayed true to her established characteristic of distrusting this Batman and clamping down hard on him when she felt he'd crossed the line. While the ending very quickly resolved the issue, her character remained true to her temperament as written for this series. Her apology at the end was both short and fitting.

Terry was portrayed as the impulsive, cocky and rapidly improving Batman that fans have come to know. In a few episodes, the fate of the villain was left somewhat ambiguous and viewers have been left to wonder and argue about this Batman's personal code and use of terminal force. The writers made an effort to show that he would never take a life. Terry declares that he wouldn't [kill]. That tenet is at the core of any Batman story and this fan was gratified to have that question answered.

Bruce was not just an observer in this episode. He solved the mystery of the killing and he, obviously, is still the one that makes the rules. He may no longer wear the cowl, but his Batman demeanor envelopes him as fully as his cape and cowl once did.

Bad Points:
Mad Stan, the anarchist, is a character that has been used in several episodes. This was his longest on air appearance, but still very little background information is known or revealed about his character.

The mastermind behind this frame-up, Spellbinder, had very few lines in this episode. There just wasn't time for much more character information.

What did Terry do that resulted in a three-month stay at Juvenile Hall? Apparently, fans won't find out until the BB movie is released this fall.

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