I believe that a couple of TVONTVers are familiar with the tongue-in- cheek Silver Age comics homage paid by the fun, frequently funny CN series "Batman: The Brace & the Bold" - a cheery all-ages-inclusive animated take on DC Comics' Batman mythos teaming him with many of the company's other characters, from Superman to the Metal Men. Its wit and campy elements are very much in contrast to the darker-hued Batman cartoon properties that preceded it.
Each program generally begins with a teaser/cold open that features Bats in action with a fellow superhero other than the one who co-stars in the main body of the episode. Which brings me to the most recent installment, "Sword of the Atom." Before the show gets to the Batman-Atom adventure, it kicks off with "The Currys of Atlantis," a parody of suburban family sit-coms. Arthur "Aquaman" Curry, his wife Mera, and his son Aqualad live in a nice home in an underwater housing development that looks straight out of Levittown, Atlantis. Laced with a deliberately over-the-top laugh- track, the vignette has Aquaman and Mera bickering, "Married with Children"-style, as he tries to sneak out of the house to go on crime- fighting patrol with Batman. There's even boisterous applause for Batman, in the manner of "I Love Lucy," when he makes his entrance after ringing the doorbell. I get the feeling that the writers are familiar with the classic SCTV skit wherein a BBC production of "Wuthering Heights" mutates into "The Jack Benny Show," complete with laugh-track and Brontë's Mr. Rochester working as Benny's butler. In both cases (SCTV and B:TBATB), I laughed out loud. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
