3. Batman the Animated Series (1992-1995): Coinciding with the release of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns in 1992, Batman TAS literally started an explosion in comic book animation. It was grim, gritty and darker then anything ever seen before. Producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini had to deflect criticism over the show’s action-oriented approach from Fox studio execs until the first episode aired to critical acclaim and gave them some breathing room. The show made Batman voice a star (Conroy has voiced the Dark Knight in cartoons, animated movies and video games for over twenty years now and is a fixture on the convention circuit) and made Mark Hamill the definitive voice of the Joker in an entire generation’s minds. The show’s art-noir style was even given it’s own name-Dark Deco-and along with the two Burton movies it established Batman as the greatest comic icon in the world (and allowed him to weather the two Joel Schumacher films that nearly killed the franchise).
It also launched an entire animated universe for DC comics, including the Superman Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited and the legion of direct to DVD/Blu-ray releases DC has successfully unleashed over the past decade. You could even argue that if it hadn’t been for Timm and Dini’s barrel chested, square jawed Batman, we may not even be enjoying the tidal wave of billion dollar comic book movies that’s helping keep Hollywood afloat these days.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygrEVnrg3Ic&w=560&h=315]
2. Gargoyles (1994-1996): While Batman did its fair share of revolutionizing animated fare, Disney’s Gargoyles proved that you could also produce a smart, slick fantasy show with an original concept, deep characters and good storytelling. No one had seen anything like this from Disney. In fact, no one had seen anything like Gargoyles at all. The show followed a clan of Scottish Gargoyles who found themselves in modern New York City following a thousand year hibernation. Turning to stone during the day, the majestic Goliath and his small family of winged warriors were forced to adapt to a bizarre new world, making allies and enemies alike as they eventually adopted the Big Apple as their new home. Soon they were protecting the city from corporate barons, evil Gargoyles, robots, rogue sorcerers, aliens, werewolves, cyborgs and the kitchen sink.
Their stomping ground eventually moved beyond New York as the show mined every major mythology on the planet for fresh story ideas (in one episode, Goliath would stand toe-to-toe with Odin the All Father from Norse mythology). For the most part, the art was light years beyond anything else and the storytelling was smart and complex. The show’s writers created a genuine mythology and infused the characters with legitimate pathos, depth and humanity. A couple of the show’s recurring villains wound up being redeemed, while others who skated the thin line between hero and villain wound up going over to the dark side in hardcore fashion. Despite everything the show had going for it (Disney’s hype machine, a voice cast that included just about everyone who ever starred on a Star Trek show), the show was only mildly successful. But despite the show’s brief run and lukewarm ratings, it was a critical success, appears on many all time top ten lists and maintains a strong and devoted following online nearly two decades after it went off the air.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo45xY6K8zE&w=560&h=315]
1. The Transformers (1984-1988): From the moment I got my first Transformer (the Decepticon  Thundercracker) I was hooked more than Donald Trump on redneck applause. Transformers not only filled the void left by the recently concluded Star Wars movies, but it excited my imagination more than anything else before or after. The idea of a race of sentient robots divided into two warring factions (the valiant Autobots and evil Decepticons), whose ancient civil war arrives on an unsuspecting Earth, filled my overheated, blossoming imagination with a breath of fresh creative air. Everything else be damned, this was the show I rushed home to watch every afternoon. Another brainchild of the creative and marketing partnership between Hasbro toys and Marvel Comics, Transfomers was the dominant property for years, not just appearing on toy shelves but on just about everything else under God’s great blue sky. Clothes, posters, trading cards, sticker albums, bed sheets, wallpaper, I’m pretty sure there was even a Transformers breakfast cereal somewhere. It just goes to show I wasn’t the only Transformers geek demanding my parents spend an ungodly amount of money on Dinobot slippers.
Airing 98 episodes over four seasons (the fourth season was really just a three episode mini-series) and with a kick ass theatrical release in the summer of 1986, the original Transformers cartoon (there’s been about a hundred more) is actually one of those shows that didn’t age well. The animation was sub-par, the stories were actually pretty meh and the dialogue could only be appreciated by a ten year old. And yet, I have a Grand Canyon sized soft spot for Transformers that I just can’t overcome. It’s big enough that I’ve painfully tolerated the Michael Bay movies (except the second one, even I couldn’t hold my nose enough to block out that cinematic stench). Transformers is my intellectual kryptonite, and it all started with this show. But you know what? That’s not a bad cross to bear.
Now pass me my Christmas Wishbook.
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