New Spider, New Amsterdam

Two new shows debuted this past week as one said goodbye. It was inevitable that The Batman would be compared to it's predecessor, and Batman: The Animated Series set the bar pretty high and spawned some solid series within the same continuity, including Justice League. After a rocky start though, judging it on its own merits and accepting new character designs, I grew to like the series for what it was, and each season was better than the one which preceded it. The fifth season actually brought in the Justice League, and many episodes were ”Brave and the Bold” style teamups between Batman and another hero. He began as a solo hero, had sidekicks by the 3rd and 4th seasons, and by the 5th had colleagues. As it turns out, the one hour special episode that aired this Saturday was a series finale, which teamed him up with all the heroes from this season against a major threat. It did a nice job showcasing how a hero with no superhuman abilities such as Batman and even Green Arrow might be underestimated by their enemies. It wasn't what Justice League became, but then it was always aimed at a younger audience and was pretty good. Four years ago I couldn't have predicted that this is where the show would end up, and on some level I'll actually miss it. This doesn't mean I'm not thrilled that Kevin Conroy will once again be providing the hero's voice on the upcoming Gotham Knight DVD, of course.

As we said goodbye to The Batman on Saturday morning, we also said hello to The Spectacular Spider-man. Again, it was a fresh look at an old character aimed at a younger audience. The character designs are very simple, but I definitely liked them better when I saw them in motion as opposed to early sketches on the internet. Conspicuously absent from the first two episodes is Mary Jane Watson, though her Aunt does make an appearance. Peter is still in high school in this version, and it seems to be an update of the original ‘60s comics, with a few modern characters thrown in to the mix. The thing I'm enjoying so far is how they've integrated his villains. Many have made appearances in just two episodes, but mostly as supporting characters. We'll get to see their origins unfold, see how Peter interacted with these people when they were just normal people in his life, before some freak accident, experiment, or design changes them into the rogues gallery we all know and love. It's the ”Ultimate” treatment for animation, and so far its working quite nicely.

In primetime, two episodes of New Amsterdam have already aired this past week. I had to tape the second one as it conflicted with Lost, which is crazy given an insane revelation in the first two minutes of the episode. What is FOX thinking? Are they in that much of a hurry to get rid of yet another good series?

So far, it is a good show, potentially good enough to be canceled given FOX's track record. 400 years ago, a man is granted eternal life after sacrificing himself to save some native Americans. They tell him that he will only age and die once he meets his true love. The concept of an immortal protagonist is not new, nor is the formula of mixing flashbacks with a story set in the present. Unlike Angel, he's not a vampire. Unlike Highlander, he's not an immortal swordsman who gets stronger every time he beheads another immortal. His only asset is the fact that he can't be killed, and his lifetimes of experience.

I think this is where the show will shine or fall. In the present, his work as a police detective can become formulaic and predictable. However will they solve this week's murder? But as we've seen in Lost, sometimes the events of the past can be more engaging than those in the present. He's been an artist, a musician, a soldier, a carpenter and more. He's changed his identity many times, and the past ultimately informs the present, occasionally coming back to haunt him. Without that hook, it'd just be another detective show. I thought Angel took a while to find its footing, but once they moved past the private investigator angle and his supporting cast grew, it just got better and better. Again, it's FOX, so New Amsterdam might not have the 5 years Angel had; we might be lucky to get 5 weeks. It moves to its regular time on Monday at 9 PM, and I'll be watching. It's not like there's much else new on right now.