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The
Batman
The
Big Dummy
Original airdate 11/27/04
A new
crime figure rears his tiny head in Gotham, but Gotham's
supply of henchmen haven't quite caught on that it's not
always good to ask questions about the sanity of their employer.
Especially when he can give you a really nasty splinter.
The puppet Scarface makes his debut on
The Batman and it's clear from the beginning that he's been
hit with the makeover stick. Gone are Bruce Timm's pinstripes
and derby hat (a close duplicate of the comics). Instead,
the big dummy has been modernized with leisure suit, gold
chains and clean shaven (sanded?) head. The update makes
him look like a bald headed Al Pacino from Scarface
and strangely enough, the look works. Good thing the Ventriloquist
can't really pronounce his "effs." It helps that Scarface
gets his voice from Simpsons legend Dan Castellaneta.
Every so often you can hear shades of Krusty the Clown in
his voice.
While
Scarface and crew steal seemingly random items from around
town, Bruce Wayne must juggle the crime fighting biz with
Alfred's insistence that Bruce date more women. Or really,
any woman.
The
faithful manservant introduces Bruce to an online dating
service through the Bat-computer and after Bruce and a girl
share an instant message conversation, they make a date.
Not having any of the interactive toys myself, it does make
me wonder - does this scene cause the toy Batmobile to unexpectedly
fog up?
Ultimately, however, Bruce must come to
terms that Batman is his true calling and women just aren't
his thing for now. Maybe there is a special place in his
heart for someone in a green swimsuit and pixie boots, hmmm?
Hmmmm?
While
the main plot of "The Big Dummy" follows the formula I've
complained about in recent weeks, Scarface's ultimate goal
was interesting and clever enough to make up for it. This
proves that at least someone on the writing staff has some
fresh ideas for the Bat-franchise.
Good episodes have been few and
far between, but good ideas are there if you look for them.
Until next time, Bat-fans…
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