Post by /\/\att on May 10, 2004 3:05:27 GMT -5
Thread started on: Dec 9th, 2003
Mr. Reeves has written for a ridiculously large number of cartoons over the years, including Batman: The Animated Series, Mask of the Phastasm, and Mystery of the Batwoman!
--------------------------
LoG: Are there any particular episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, that you wrote, that are favorites?
Michael Reaves : I'm very happy with "I Am the Night", which was chosen as the lead--off episode when the series had its prime-time run. I tried to really dig into Batman's psyche, give a glimpse of what
drives him. I've been told many people consider it one of the best episodes.
I wrote relatively few episodes; my primary job was as a story editor. But I'm also fond of "Vendetta", which, along with "Feat Of Clay" (written with Marv Wolfman),
served as my audition piece for the job. And I'm very pleased with one that Alan Burnett and I did the story for, which Joe Lansdale wrote: "read My Lips". It's just so wonderfully twisted, and Joe did a terrific script for us.
LoG: You aren't credited with writing any episodes for the 'New Adventures of Batman' cartoon. Is there a reason that you were no longer involved in writing for the Dini/Timm team?
Michael Reaves: I left Warner Bros. Animation after working on "Mask Of The Phasntasm" o be
the story editor and chief writer on "Gargoyles" for Disney. I was under exclusive contract to Disney, so working anywhere else was out of the question, even if I'd had the time to do it. I did write one episode of "Batman Beyond", but it wasn't produced.
LoG: Would you say that you've received the attention, professionally, from the Animated
Batman cartoons that you deserve?
Michael Reaves: That's a hard question to answer without sounding (smelling?) sour grapes.
Let's put it this way: the first three seasons of B:TAS encompassed 85 episodes (some of which were shown
under the "Adventures Of Batman And Robin" banner). There were, at first, five story editors / writers on staff: myself, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, Sean Derek and Laren
Bright. Sean and Laren left about halfway through preproduction, and then it was just Paul, Marty
and me (and Marty, if memory serves, wasn't there all the way to the end; for the last few months it was just Paul and me.) Of those 85 episodes, my name is on over a third of them, as story editor and/or writer. Something like 30 episodes, I think. So I think it's fair to
say that the series bears my imprimature at least as much as anyone's. I'm proud of the fact that I brought in good writers who wrote some of the show's best episodes -- like Gerry Conway, who wrote "Appointment In Crime Alley" and "Second Chance", Joe R. Lansdale, who scripted "Perchance
To Dream" and "Showdown", Steve Perry, who did our Ninja duology and "Mudslide" ...
I've known Paul for 25 years, and I think he's an absolutely terrific writer. And I have the greatest respect for Bruce's talent. But, despite what a lot of people on the outside assume, B:TAS was a team effort. It wasn't the Bruce and Paul show. Eric Radomski
and Alan Burnett were also producers on the show, and they did a lot of heavy lifting that they don't get a lot of
credit for. IMHO.
4. When were you approached about writing a script for 'Mystery of the Batwoman'?
Michael Reaves: About two and a half years ago (mid-2000). According to my records, the first draft was
completed on 11/30/01.
LoG:Was it difficult to get back into the groove of writing for the animated Batman toon after being
away for so long?
Michael Reaves: I didn't find it so. The show was one of my favorite projects, and I was delighted to move back to Gotham City for a few months.
LoG: What projects are you currently working on? Anything Batman related?
Michael Reaves: Quite a few things, though nothing Dark Knightish at the moment; I'm doing
a comic book series for Top Cow, writing a couple of Star Wars novels with Steve Perry,
and gearing up for some more TV animation work. Check my website; it's actually pretty much up to date for once.
6. Do you have a favorite bat-villain?
Michael Reaves: I assume you mean from the Rogues' Gallery. Actually, my preferences were
formed more by the actors playing the roles. For example, when working on "Perchance
To Dream" I could hear Roddy McDowell's voice in my head as Jervis Tetch. Mark Hamill was also great to work with, although I did very little Joker stories, since Paul was writing most of them.
LoG: Do you collect Batman toys/merchandise at all?
Michael Reaves: Not really. I have a few from the first B:TAS run, but that's about it (and I think my kids have appropriated pretty much all of them by now).
LoG: Were you a Batman fan prior to writing for the series?
Michael Reaves: Of course. If I hadn't been, I doubt I'd have gotten the job.
LoG: If you have the information available, could you please advise the names of the episodes of BTAS that you wrote for? That would be very helpful as a reference for our members.
Michael Reaves: Oh, lord. Some of 'em blur together after all this time, but ...
I Am The Night
Vendetta
Avatar
A Bullet For Bullock [sole writer & story editor]
Feat Of Clay 1 & 2
Pretty Poison
Perchance To Dream
Tyger, Tyger
Read My Lips
The Terrible Trio
Second Chance
Batgirl Returns [co-writer & story editor]
Appointment In Crime Alley
Dreams In Darkness
Night Of The Ninja
Day Of The Samurai
Heart Of Steel 1 & 2
Mudslide
The Mechanic
Shadow Of The Bat 1 & 2
Blind As A Bat
His Silicon Soul
Time Out Of Joint
The Lion And The Unicorn
Showdown
Birds Of A Feather
Lock-Up [story editor only]
Whew!
That's out of memory; might be some errors in it. The scripts are all packed away in the garage, guarded by ferocous attack black widow spiders, and I don't
have the time to check all the tapes of the episodes or track all this down on the web (assuming it's even listed somewhere). Marty Pasko was the [story editor] on "Feat Of Clay" and "Vendetta", and I don't remember who was SE on "Pretty Poison" -- probably Paul. And now that I think about it, there may be one or two SE card mixups -- "Birds Of A Feather" and "The Mechanic" come to mind for some reason. But the list is substantially correct.
I'm sure this is far more than you wanted to know ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A huge shout out to this cartoon legend for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with the LoG!
Check out Mr. Reaves' website for up to date info on his projects:
www.mindspring.com/~michaelreaves/
Mr. Reeves has written for a ridiculously large number of cartoons over the years, including Batman: The Animated Series, Mask of the Phastasm, and Mystery of the Batwoman!
--------------------------
LoG: Are there any particular episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, that you wrote, that are favorites?
Michael Reaves : I'm very happy with "I Am the Night", which was chosen as the lead--off episode when the series had its prime-time run. I tried to really dig into Batman's psyche, give a glimpse of what
drives him. I've been told many people consider it one of the best episodes.
I wrote relatively few episodes; my primary job was as a story editor. But I'm also fond of "Vendetta", which, along with "Feat Of Clay" (written with Marv Wolfman),
served as my audition piece for the job. And I'm very pleased with one that Alan Burnett and I did the story for, which Joe Lansdale wrote: "read My Lips". It's just so wonderfully twisted, and Joe did a terrific script for us.
LoG: You aren't credited with writing any episodes for the 'New Adventures of Batman' cartoon. Is there a reason that you were no longer involved in writing for the Dini/Timm team?
Michael Reaves: I left Warner Bros. Animation after working on "Mask Of The Phasntasm" o be
the story editor and chief writer on "Gargoyles" for Disney. I was under exclusive contract to Disney, so working anywhere else was out of the question, even if I'd had the time to do it. I did write one episode of "Batman Beyond", but it wasn't produced.
LoG: Would you say that you've received the attention, professionally, from the Animated
Batman cartoons that you deserve?
Michael Reaves: That's a hard question to answer without sounding (smelling?) sour grapes.
Let's put it this way: the first three seasons of B:TAS encompassed 85 episodes (some of which were shown
under the "Adventures Of Batman And Robin" banner). There were, at first, five story editors / writers on staff: myself, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, Sean Derek and Laren
Bright. Sean and Laren left about halfway through preproduction, and then it was just Paul, Marty
and me (and Marty, if memory serves, wasn't there all the way to the end; for the last few months it was just Paul and me.) Of those 85 episodes, my name is on over a third of them, as story editor and/or writer. Something like 30 episodes, I think. So I think it's fair to
say that the series bears my imprimature at least as much as anyone's. I'm proud of the fact that I brought in good writers who wrote some of the show's best episodes -- like Gerry Conway, who wrote "Appointment In Crime Alley" and "Second Chance", Joe R. Lansdale, who scripted "Perchance
To Dream" and "Showdown", Steve Perry, who did our Ninja duology and "Mudslide" ...
I've known Paul for 25 years, and I think he's an absolutely terrific writer. And I have the greatest respect for Bruce's talent. But, despite what a lot of people on the outside assume, B:TAS was a team effort. It wasn't the Bruce and Paul show. Eric Radomski
and Alan Burnett were also producers on the show, and they did a lot of heavy lifting that they don't get a lot of
credit for. IMHO.
4. When were you approached about writing a script for 'Mystery of the Batwoman'?
Michael Reaves: About two and a half years ago (mid-2000). According to my records, the first draft was
completed on 11/30/01.
LoG:Was it difficult to get back into the groove of writing for the animated Batman toon after being
away for so long?
Michael Reaves: I didn't find it so. The show was one of my favorite projects, and I was delighted to move back to Gotham City for a few months.
LoG: What projects are you currently working on? Anything Batman related?
Michael Reaves: Quite a few things, though nothing Dark Knightish at the moment; I'm doing
a comic book series for Top Cow, writing a couple of Star Wars novels with Steve Perry,
and gearing up for some more TV animation work. Check my website; it's actually pretty much up to date for once.
6. Do you have a favorite bat-villain?
Michael Reaves: I assume you mean from the Rogues' Gallery. Actually, my preferences were
formed more by the actors playing the roles. For example, when working on "Perchance
To Dream" I could hear Roddy McDowell's voice in my head as Jervis Tetch. Mark Hamill was also great to work with, although I did very little Joker stories, since Paul was writing most of them.
LoG: Do you collect Batman toys/merchandise at all?
Michael Reaves: Not really. I have a few from the first B:TAS run, but that's about it (and I think my kids have appropriated pretty much all of them by now).
LoG: Were you a Batman fan prior to writing for the series?
Michael Reaves: Of course. If I hadn't been, I doubt I'd have gotten the job.
LoG: If you have the information available, could you please advise the names of the episodes of BTAS that you wrote for? That would be very helpful as a reference for our members.
Michael Reaves: Oh, lord. Some of 'em blur together after all this time, but ...
I Am The Night
Vendetta
Avatar
A Bullet For Bullock [sole writer & story editor]
Feat Of Clay 1 & 2
Pretty Poison
Perchance To Dream
Tyger, Tyger
Read My Lips
The Terrible Trio
Second Chance
Batgirl Returns [co-writer & story editor]
Appointment In Crime Alley
Dreams In Darkness
Night Of The Ninja
Day Of The Samurai
Heart Of Steel 1 & 2
Mudslide
The Mechanic
Shadow Of The Bat 1 & 2
Blind As A Bat
His Silicon Soul
Time Out Of Joint
The Lion And The Unicorn
Showdown
Birds Of A Feather
Lock-Up [story editor only]
Whew!
That's out of memory; might be some errors in it. The scripts are all packed away in the garage, guarded by ferocous attack black widow spiders, and I don't
have the time to check all the tapes of the episodes or track all this down on the web (assuming it's even listed somewhere). Marty Pasko was the [story editor] on "Feat Of Clay" and "Vendetta", and I don't remember who was SE on "Pretty Poison" -- probably Paul. And now that I think about it, there may be one or two SE card mixups -- "Birds Of A Feather" and "The Mechanic" come to mind for some reason. But the list is substantially correct.
I'm sure this is far more than you wanted to know ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A huge shout out to this cartoon legend for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with the LoG!
Check out Mr. Reaves' website for up to date info on his projects:
www.mindspring.com/~michaelreaves/