2. Growing Pains
The third season of
Batman the Animated Series (vol. 4 for you DVD collectors) is not my favorite season by a long shot, which is why only two episodes from that season have appeared on this list. By season three everything that was unique about the series was thrown out the window; as the character of Batman was brought up to date and introduced to a much larger world with more heroes from both the Batman and DC universe. Sadly as Batman's world expanded it was the little things the suffered, and the show just wasn't as good any more. The animation became more streamlined and safe (good-bye Dark-Deco), and the plots and dialogue lost their edge. Also, no title cards, which is just wrong. There are only a handful of episodes from the third season worthy of being associated with the great legacy of
BTAS. One is "Mad Love". The other is "Growing Pains". Season 3 introduced us to the new Robin, Tim Drake, since the older Robin, Dick Grayson, has grown up and taken on the mantel of Nightwing. Perhaps it was the way
BTAS portrayed him, but I always found Tim Drake annoying. Forget Burt Ward's Robin, this incarnation of the Boy Wonder really gave the character a bad reputation. It just seemed like Batman was babysitting a precocious kid half of the time. The great partnership between Batman and Dick Grayson's Robin, with their rapport, was scrapped for the kid's meal version. All I have to say is thank God for the Joker finally got his hands on little Timmy. Anyway, Tim Drake was so annoying, that I wasn't keen on him being the focus of an entire episode of
BTAS, but then I saw "Growing Pains". In "Growing pains" Robin/Tim Drake becomes the protector of a homeless girl his age named Annie. He rescues her from some thugs one night and then seeks to protect her since she is alone and has no recollection of who she is and where she came from. Batman continually warns him about getting involved, saying he needs to keep his head clear. He doesn't listen. Batman was right, in more ways than one. Robin gets hurt. It was a lesson that had to be learned and Batman does not try to soften the blow for his young colleague. It was nice to see Tim Drake get a crash course in the harsh realities of crime fighting. It almost makes up for the character being such an annoying pest. Almost.