I have a question for all Batman fans...

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Before The Dark Knight Trilogy came along was Batman: The Animated Series the thing that truly was "Batman" to you, and how do you feel about The Animated Series today?

[Perducci]

If we're excluding comics and focusing solely on adaptions of Batman on other mediums, Batman: The Animated Series is, has and always will be the first thing I think of when I hear 'Batman'. The Dark Knight trilogy was awesome, but though it starts off great, it gets worse with each movie.

The Arkham games were so appealing to me because they drew a lot of influence from B:TAS.

In short, the only Batman I need in my life is a Batman voiced by Kevin Conroy.

[Ayen]

Yes, and I feel the same about it today as I did then.

It. Was. AWESOME!

[CimminyCricket]

The animated series as bad ass. The Arkham games aren't my thing, but the story is pretty awesome.

[Sephex]

I never really got into comics in general. Sure, I have read many, but those are trade paperbacks of self contained stories or major arcs for long running series.

As for the animated series? Loved it. Used to watch it all the time. So much in fact that my brain does that weird thing where I'll recall the taste of certain food or the smell of my grandparent's house because that's where I usually was after school, and that's where I watched the show the most.

[Calliope]

Bruce Timm is a genius. B:TAM still holds up today, as does Batman Beyond/BoTF. Blow 'em all up!

[Loony BoB]

This is a silly question. Of course The Animated Series is the definitive Batman.

[DMKA]

Yep. The Animated Series is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Batman.

I finally got around to playing Arkham Asylum a couple weeks ago and I squealed with delight when Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn all had the same voice actors from The Animated Series. It was great. Not only that, but the whole game was great, as was Arkham City which I played immediately after. Now I'm playing Arkham Origins which doesn't feel as great because Batman's voice actor is some other guy. ;__;

[Colonel Angus]

To me, w/ all the retcons & changes that happen over time through the life of a comic, BTAS is as close to being as you can get to "canon". It's probably the best comic book based show period.

[Kossage]

I would consider Batman: The Animated Series as the best adaptation of Batman so far. It had the drama and the comedy with a great voice cast, animation which improved as time went on, interesting stories which gave us very fascinating versions of several characters (Mr. Freeze being the most notable) and a superb score by Shirley Walker and her team (with unique orchestral soundtracks for much of the series's run which very few animated let alone live action series have ever managed; the closest I can think of in terms of musical thematic development is Babylon 5 and that stuff was synth score). :)

It all culminated with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm which is the best Batman film I've seen so far with its deep characterizations of not only Batman but several antagonists as well. The "I didn't count on being happy" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjAFbEP0wK4) (the plead at the grave) and the "Birth of Batman" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6K1qNsE9v0) (that moment where he briefly hesitates before putting on the mask for the first time, submitting to his fate) scenes from the film still send shivers down my spine even to this very day.