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Quick Links The Batman and Teen Titans Had Similar Versions of Robin Batman Did Not Appear in Teen Titans -- But One of His Villains Did Robin Evolved Between The Batman and Teen Titans

The 2004 animated series The Batman is often overlooked by fans. It had the unenviable task of following up the DC Animated Universe, which lasted 12 years and included some of the most beloved superhero cartoons of all time. The Batman was something of a middle ground between the dark tone of Batman: The Animated Series and the lighthearted nature of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Despite some compelling artistic and narrative choices, The Batman was overshadowed by shows that came before and after. These days, the series is often remembered -- if at all -- for its unusual takes on classic Batman villains like the Joker and the Riddler. Yet there is a fan theory...

"Batman: The Animated Series" wound up being as definitive an account of the Dark Knight as its title suggested. So when a new Batman cartoon finally came afterwards, it was destined to never escape the shadow of "Btas." But "The Batman" (which aired from 2004 to 2008) made a noble effort and remains one of the more unique spins on the Caped Crusader.

"The Batman," developed by Michael Goguen and Duane Capizzi, was the first animated Batman in 12 years that was unconnected to the DC Animated Universe (The shared setting that began with "Batman: The Animated Series" and concluded with "Justice League Unlimited").

Bruce Wayne in "The Batman" was voiced by Rino Romano, and Joker by Kevin Michael Richardson, rather than the beloved Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker duo. Bruce Timm modeled "Batman: The Animated Series" on the Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons, while Jeff Matsuda gave Gotham City an anime makeover.

Hello, my pretties. Rusty's on vacation until New Year's, so buckle your chin straps because I'm steering this ride until then and I'm almost as crazy about television as I am about dessert foods. Today is Sunday and it's also a holiday weekend, so I hope none of you have big television-watching plans tonight, because there ain't shit on. I'll probably be watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers again, which I finally (Finally!) got on DVD for Christmas and have basically been watching on repeat for the past two days straight. Try to contain your jealousy.

Tonight's brain candy menu:

7:00pm Est

ABC: The Sound of Music (the hills are alive, yo)

Fox: Some show I've never even heard of called "Brothers" is having its season finale. It's about a mother meddling in the love lives of her sons, one of whom is apparently named "Chill." I don't...

Crossing Jordan stayed hot for NBC in its second Sunday outing of the season, which helped the peacock score its second consecutive win on the night in the adults 18-49 demographic. CBS won the night in viewers (13.2 million) thanks to a strong showing from 8 p.m. drama Cold Case (15.9 million, 3.7 rating/10 share in adults 18-49), which ranked as the most-watched program of the night, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research. CBS also saw a respectable performance from its 9-11 p.m. original telefilm Family Sins (12.3 million, 3.9/10). In its second week in its new Sunday 10 p.m. berth, the NBC forensic drama Crossing Jordan (12.8 million, 4.7/12) dominated the hour against ABC's The Practice (9.1 million, 3.3/9) and held virtually all of its Law & Order: Criminal Intent (14.6 million, 4.9/12) lead-in in the demo. Those two dramas offset softness from 7-9 p.m. from Dateline: NBC (9.5 million, 2.7/8) and American Dreams (9 million, 3.1/8) and gave NBC the nightly win over CBS in adults 18-49 (NBC's 3.9/10 to CBS' 3.5/9).