Did "The Flash" influence the look/feel of "Batman TAS?"

[Gotham Central]

I was just watching a few episodes of the early 90s Flash TV Series and I was struck at how many of the visual concepts introduced on that series seemed to turn up on Batman TAS.

Obviously the theme music was heavily influenced by the 1989 Batman movie. What;s also interesting was the sort of "out of time" retro meets modern look that they gave the series. People frequently dressed in style reminicent of the 1940s (although mixed with a good dose of 90s modern). You frequently saw a mix of vintage cars right along with modern counterparts. They even managed to get Mark Hamill to do a dry run for Joker as The Trickster.

Its a shame the show was cancelled after only one year. Yeah it veered wildly away from the source material in the comics, but it was very watchable. I remember, even as a kid, that it was a hard show to find since CBS kept moving it around.

 

[Christopher]

I think it's more that both shows were drawing on the same influence, namely the Burton Batman movies. Burton's universe had a similar retro look to it. And Shirley Walker wasn't hired as the supervising composer for B:TAS due to her work on The Flash; rather, she got both consecutive gigs as a result of her work as the orchestrator and conductor for Danny Elfman's score to the '89 movie. The one direct influence TF had was that it was Hamill's Trickster gig that got him the Joker role. (Also Walker's "speed" leitmotif for the Flash was reused in the Superman: TAS episode "Speed Demons," and the Hamill version of the Trickster appeared in Justice League Unlimited: "Flash and Substance.")

Still, the similarities are strong enough that I consider TF to be part of the DC Animated Universe continuity. I just assume that somewhere along the way, Barry Allen passed the mantle of the Flash down to Wally West.

I liked The Flash, but it was uneven. In the first half-season, it tried too hard to be serious and gritty and avoid using supervillains; but in the last half-season, it veered too far toward outright camp, and the season finale in particular was kind of ridiculous. It struck the best balance around the middle.

 

[Admiral2]

I think it's more that both shows were drawing on the same influence, namely the Burton Batman movies. Burton's universe had a similar retro look to it. And Shirley Walker wasn't hired as the supervising composer for B:TAS due to her work on The Flash; rather, she got both consecutive gigs as a result of her work as the orchestrator and conductor for Danny Elfman's score to the '89 movie. The one direct influence TF had was that it was Hamill's Trickster gig that got him the Joker role. (Also Walker's "speed" leitmotif for the Flash was reused in the Superman: TAS episode "Speed Demons," and the Hamill version of the Trickster appeared in Justice League Unlimited: "Flash and Substance.")

Still, the similarities are strong enough that I consider TF to be part of the DC Animated Universe continuity. I just assume that somewhere along the way, Barry Allen passed the mantle of the Flash down to Wally West.

I liked The Flash, but it was uneven. In the first half-season, it tried too hard to be serious and gritty and avoid using supervillains; but in the last half-season, it veered too far toward outright camp, and the season finale in particular was kind of ridiculous. It struck the best balance around the middle.

Wow. I agree with everything Christopher just said. Had to happen eventually.