dcauwatchtower

Mxy behind-the-scenes

Just wanted to share some screenshots from the raw footage of our next video--out soon!

DC and Marvel TV Writer Stan Berkowitz! | INTERGANG Episode 01

We're starting up a new monthly podcast, bringing you fun and insightful interviews with DC animation cast and crew! Our first episode was recorded January 2023 with DCAU writer Stan Berkowitz, and it's a BIG one!

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Welcome to "Intergang," where the gang from Watchtower Database brings brand-new interviews with DC animation cast and crew directly to you! Learn the ins and outs of being a part of your favorite childhood cartoons, today's new animated series, and more!

This week's episode:
Stan Berkowitz
Writer
"Superman: The Animated Series"
"The New Batman Adventures"
"Static Shock"
"Justice League"
"Justice League Unlimited"
"Superboy"
"Spider-Man: The Animated Series"

Originally recorded: 1/15/2023

Future James (my dad) recording something pretty cool

Here's my dad (aka "Future James") recording one of many trumpet parts for something REALLY cool we're working on...stay tuned! 🥫

Reminder: Hangouts have changed!

Hey, everybody!

Just wanted to drop a quick reminder about how we've augmented the way we're going to be doing the Zoom hangouts now--no longer monthly, but quarterly! January, April, July, and October. Trying it out this year at least and seeing how it goes.

Plans are to have each one be 2 hours, and be a "bigger deal" than usual. Last month, we watched "Return of the Joker" together; we'll be shooting to have special guests, games, trivia competitions, all sorts of stuff.

Keep your eyes peeled for the exact date and time per hangout as each month approaches. In the meantime, thank you endlessly for your continued support of us dorks over here at the Watchtower Database! We sincerely couldn't do this without you!

Burton: The Animated Series - SCRIPT!

Another behind-the-scenes look at the pre-production process of one of our videos! Much of the world of "Batman: The Animated Series" was directly inspired by the Tim Burton "Batman" and "Batman Returns" movies, from character designs, to origin stories, to even the cartoon's theme song!

Attached is the doc in PDF form. Here's the link to the actual video if you wanna follow along!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU3ng-vbCFU

Let us know what you think of these, and more coming soon!

What Killed Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker?

Remember how "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" got split into two versions because of censorship? Well, do you remember WHY that happened? *Joker hand buzzer noise* WRONG!

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Sponsor-approved! Enjoy it 3 days early!

Return of the Joker video delayed!

Hey, everybody! I mentioned on our hangout call the other night that this coming Sunday (now tomorrow) would be the release of our next video, all about the production of "Return of the Joker." However, we're still waiting on sponsor ad approval, so we'll be likely delaying until Thursday the 18th, for the public release. As soon as we get the ad approved, though, we'll post the video here for you all to enjoy early! Thanks for your patience, and your continued support!

Is SANTA CLAUS Real in the DC Animated Universe?

Santa Claus has been a part of many and varied DC Comics universes...but does he exist in the Bruce Timm DCAU? Lemme tell ya, when General Zod shouted "I WILL FIND HIM!", I felt that.

BRAINIAC: Was He Ever Real?

Lex Luthor and Brainiac were once a single being, but after their split, Lex kept seeing a vision of Brainiac...or did he? Was the vision ever real, all in his head, or something much darker?

Carl Lumbly QUESTIONS

Another behind-the-scenes look at the pre-production process of one of our videos! This was our list of questions we asked Carl Lumbly during our interview a few months ago. You'll notice the color-coordinated text, depending on who was going to be asking which question. There's also some unused stuff at the very bottom we either didn't get to in time, or cut.

Attached is the doc in PDF form. Here's the link to the actual video if you wanna follow along!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjU6cH5UdMc

Let us know what you think of these, and more coming soon!

A Bat Out of Hell: When Etrigan the Demon Went Beyond

Happy Halloween! Here's Sunday's video a couple days early!

Etrigan the Demon appeared throughout the DC Animated Universe alongside Bruce Wayne's Batman...but did you know he also allied with (and fought against) Terry McGinnis in the future of "Batman Beyond"? Strap in for a spell as we look beyond the form of man.

Halloween video behind-the-scenes!

Here's a quick glimpse of how we're turning James into an animated "EtriJames" for our upcoming Halloween video! Stay tuned, it's gonna be a lot of fun!

You're Wrong: This Justice League Episode Never Happened

Did you know that the "Justice League" episode "Legends" was originally going to feature the Justice Society of America, and that a commercial even aired showing the JSA before the change was made?! Well, only half of that is true...and you've been suckered for 20 years. Take a journey with us as we unravel the mystery behind who truly created the legendary fake JSA promo!

"Casting Call: Diedrich Bader" SCRIPT

Another behind-the-scenes look at the pre-production process of one of our videos! This was our Casting Call episode on Diedrich Bader for our "Zeta Month" event last year. You'll notice several differences between the script and the final video; Zeta Month was a constantly-changing snowstorm of post-production!

Attached is the script in PDF form. Here's the link to the actual video if you wanna follow along!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1YNNIjmD6Y

Let us know what you think of these, and more coming soon!

The Joker...with Tim Curry?!

Hey, everyone! We're dropping a Short tomorrow about changes in DCAU voice actors, and figured the timing was kind of perfect to share a clip we've been holding on to for a while now: a segment from "The Last Laugh" (BTAS' Captain Clown episode) with the original Tim Curry audio before Joker was recast with Mark Hamill! As far as we know, only maybe 3 or 4 total people have a copy of this, including us, and now you get to see it in all its glory!

We may wind up doing a video about this subject someday, but it was originally going to include Joker audition tapes from other actors as well, and we wound up not being able to use some of that other audio. So, it's been long enough. Here's Tim Curry Joker. Enjoy!

"Batman Beyond Villains vs Bruce Wayne" SCRIPT

Howdy! We thought you all might enjoy getting a behind-the-scenes look at the pre-production process of some of our videos, so we're gonna start rolling out some PDFs of video and "Legacies" comic scripts!

Attached is the script for one of our semi-recent successful videos, about "Batman Beyond" villains and their origins based on pre-existing Batman characters. Here's the link to the actual video if you wanna follow along!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo5PDSDvwcE

Let us know what you think of these, and more coming soon!

Where in the World is the DCAU Blue Beetle?

Hey everybody! Sorry it’s so late in the day, but we had a handful of export errors and last-minute changes on this guy. Hope you enjoy!

Blue Beetle is among DC's many household names, but he never appeared in the DC Animated Universe...or did he? Well, he certainly tried to, over and over and over again. Will the Blue Beetle canon? That is The Question. Wait, no...

Coming this Friday...

It's a yoppie spectacular as we transition from "Batman" to "Superman" on the "Jump on the Bat-Wagon" podcast! Catch the massive bonus episode Friday, where we go through all 86 fake subtitles + synyopses, for The Yopisode Guide!

The DCAU's Missing Flash: Where's Barry Allen?

Wally West was The Flash throughout the entire DC Animated Universe, but...where was his predecessor, Barry Allen? Did he die a horrific death, or did he ever exist to begin with? Plus: we answer the Kid Flash costume question once and for all.

Did you payment decline? Check this out

Howdy! There's been some weird internal problems going on with Patreon, it seems, so PLEASE check that your payment settings are all up to speed per the attached image. Thank you so much for your continued support of the Watchtower Database!

DCEU Timeline COMMENTARY!

Hey, everybody! We had a couple folks asking about a "director's commentary" for the DCEU video, so Coral and I put together this EDITORS' commentary! Lots of fun behind-the-scenes goodies and fun tidbits about the filming process, hidden Easter eggs, accidents that led to better jokes, and more. Enjoy!

DCEU Timeline Euphonium Theme Covers

Greetings! Below, you'll find attached every euphonium (and trombone) cover I did throughout the DCEU Timeline video! This came requested a few times in the video's comments, so here they are without any interference from other audio!

Thanks a TON to my mother, Kathleen, for doing the mixdowns on all of these! She really came through in a pinch to help me get this video done, and mixed these tracks MUCH better than I ever could.

I had a lot of fun arranging and performing all of these! Download and enjoy!

EDIT: I have no idea why these uploaded in a weird order. Good thing I numbered them for you!

The Complete DCEU Timeline!

Stayed up ALL night last night (like, literally, I didn’t go to sleep until 7 am) finishing up this monstrosity of a video. Here it is, in all its splendor and majesty! Can’t wait to publish this for realsies tomorrow. The journey is finally at an end. Grab some popcorn and enjoy!

DCEU Timeline PREVIEW!

Hey, everybody! I figured I’d give you all a taste of the upcoming DCEU timeline video by sharing the introduction! Enjoy!

DCEU Timeline Sneak Peek

Just sharing a little tease…

Where Did the RED ROBIN SUIT Even Come From? (The New Batman Adventures)

Tim Drake took over the mantle of Robin from Dick Grayson in "The New Batman Adventures" after stealing his costume, and...wait, that's a very different costume that we've never seen before, and it never gets explained. Where the heck did the red Robin suit come from?

Batman's Redesigned Rogues: How and Why?

When "Batman: The Animated Series" became "The New Batman Adventures," all of the bad guys got big makeovers, some better off than others. But just HOW did these changes come about, in-universe?

DISCLAIMER: I know my next video was voted to be about the "DC Super Heroes" branding, but that's actually becoming quite the intriguing rabbit hole the more I talk with the people who worked on it. It's coming for sure, and it'll be pretty special.

EARLY ACCESS | A Proud Legacy: The Man Behind the Martian Manhunter

Carl Lumbly became an actor by accident, made up a Martian Christmas carol off the top of his head, and got drenched in space slime...and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Join us as the voice of J'onn J'onzz teaches us all how to be heroes.

POLL: Next James video?

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens. I have some topics on my mind I'd like to tackle soon, but can't decide between these 3 for my next video. So it seems perfect for a vote from you fine folks! I'll probably do all of these eventually, but right now you can help me choose which one will be first! (Release TBD, but it'll be what I work on next.)

DC Comics Super Heroes: the Pre-JL JL
Before the "Justice League" cartoon, there was the DC Comics Super Heroes merchandise line: coloring books, fast food toys, mac 'n cheese, even gift shop swag, including character designs for several DC heroes and villains who had yet to appear on screen. But as it turns out...the crew behind the animated series kinda hated these. I wanna explore the story behind the line's creation, its longevity, and how it may have had lasting effects on the look of the DCAU.

The Widescreen Story
Back when "Justice League" Season 2 was going to be released on DVD, Warner Home Video planned a 4:3 "full screen" release, which would have cut off the sides of the show, removing nearly 1/3 of the image. But they also occasionally aired Season 1 (produced in 4:3) in 16:9 "widescreen" with black bars covering the tops and bottoms of every episode. Luckily, we as the fan base back in the day were able to reverse these atrocities and retain the entirety of the image for every JL episode on home video. But, who cares? Why is aspect ratio retention important? And how is it STILL a problem with streaming and DVD today?

Correcting Animation Errors
Off the tails of the Superman cheekbone video's success, I think it's as good a time as any to hop into editing even more shots from throughout the DC Animated Universe, fixing animation errors, coloring mistakes, off-model characters, and so on. Kuro at The Ink Tank did a video a little while back doing this same thing with "Ben 10" episodes, and it was a lot of fun! I've made a long list, but I'm sure there's more to find. Take a Photoshop/After Effects journey with me as we clean up the DCAU.

What's the Deal With Superman's Cheekbones?

Cheekbones. We've all got 'em, right? Well, Superman and Wonder Woman only had 'em for a handful of episodes. But...why? Why were they there, and why did they disappear? Let's find out, because it's somehow much more interesting than it sounds.