In the nineties animated series came in all shapes and sizes, but the ones were few and far between that could truly stand the test of time and remain special and beloved to this day, and this was a show that was better than most of them! In fact I'd even say that it retains its magic and holds up far better than most of its nineties peers. As a kid I took to it probably from whatever episode I saw first, I seem to vaguely remember it being Christmas With The Joker.. Anyway I still love it quite simply because it's awesome, and the writing is so great, as is the characterisation that included real emotional complexity and imbued heroes and villains alike with a depth and frequent poignancy that I don't think I've ever seen done quite as well. The creative minds behind it all really used the mood and character appeal to full effect with all of the main characters. There was endless rich atmospheric moments and touches to take in and enjoy in and a lot of the episodes, especially the early ones have many beautifully gothic shadowy silhouettes and images that are so visually striking they are like artwork, the near monochromatic visual style and the way the characters move almost gave it the look of a comic book in motion, and the result was again, so very awesome! There are so many top episodes to choose from and positively countless nuances and moments, from the heartbreaking Heart of Ice and Baby Doll, Mad Love, to mind-bending and plain thrilling fun such as with Perchance To Dream and The Last Laugh and The Laughing Fish, those are just some of my favourites but any given episode will have certain touches of greatness in it, although not even this fine show was free of the odd stinker! Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, what can I even say, together it was they who were the lynchpins of this show. Their masterfully voiced hero and archvillain were always so engaging and entertaining to listen to, and they each embodied those iconic characters so perfectly that for a lot of people, me included, they have come to be the ideal versions of them. They both got to fantastically shine in such different ways many times, and they played off each other in that excellent way that Batman and his biggest nemesis should have, and Hamill was so freaking good that I think his Joker must have stolen every scene he was in and all of the Joker episodes are a lot of fun, even that dodgy one with the Joker themed casino! In closing I can't say enough good things about this show, it is incredibly deserving of an ideal ten in my eyes. It's a series that inspired a generation and was a fun part of many a childhood, and it remains riveting and wonderful to watch and more than holds up, to me it's a supreme animated series that will be forever classic.