Batman: The Musical (W/Neil Patrick Harris!) by RocketJock

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Batman: The Musical (W/Neil Patrick Harris!)

POSTED BY: ROCKETJOCK
UPDATED: Friday, October 23, 2009 18:55
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Friday, October 23, 2009 6:55 PM

Tonight Cartoon Network finally broadcast the U.S. Premier of Batman: The Brave and The Bold's long-anticipated musical episode, "Mayhem of the Music Meister!"

For those of you unfamiliar with "B:TB&B", it's the latest animated version of everyone's favorite Dark Knight; considerably lighter in tone than the last couple of animated incarnations, with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek attitude inspired by the early Silver Age of comics. It's been described as "What the Adam West TV show would have been like had it been written by people who actually liked comics."

Mayhem of the Music Meister! (One must include the exclamation point!)is the inevitable all-singing, all dancing episode, with Neil Patrick Harris --Dr. Horrible himself -- as the titular super villain. MM has the ability to hypnotize others -- heroes, villains and civilians alike -- with the power of his singing voice, and uses this to force them both to do his bidding, and to do so while performing honest-to-Bob-Fosse Broadway-Style musical numbers!

The entire episode is a non-stop wonder. The program's cold opening, usually a James Bond-style "opening gambit", is, this week, no longer than ten seconds of MM channeling Stokowski, a wonderful homage to Bugs Bunny's take as the great conductor ("It's Leopold -- Leopold? Leopold!) Within two minutes after the opening credits we're presented with a very stylish Howard Ashman-style villain introduction song -- complete with a chorus line of heroes and villains dancing to a flaming doom.

From there on the show is made of 100% awesome, covered in awesome sauce, with a side of awesome fries. (Am I being too subtle here?) Further seasoning is provided with loads of comic book in jokes (There's a reference to Bat-Shark-Repellant spray, f'crissakes!), and a series of eminently hummable showtunes, all catchy enough to qualify as earworms.

My wife and I both agree that this doesn't displace our all-time favorite musical episode (Xena's The Bitter Suite), but it's certainly taken over second place with a bullet.

If you haven't seen this little gem yet, Cartoon Network will be repeating it Saturday 10/24; check your local listings.

And if you have seen it -- what'cha think?

“As I regale you with my story/you know you’ll have no choice/but to do my evil bidding/when you hear this booming voice!" -- Music Meister

"Was the singing really necessary?" -- Batman

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