Crackle Mental Convolutions - Tune into the Revolution

Harley Quinn is the best show you're probably not watching

I consume an extraordinary amount of media, or so I have been told. I love movies, TV shows, video games, books and music. I like to stay current with most all of those, although I’ve found my love of reading bad fiction has waned since my time in college. It’s a difficult thing to speak to, but once you understand the underpinnings of greatness in art, the flaws become more pronounced.

Things you used to love lose a little shine. I used to be able to sink into a bad book with a story I loved, because I didn’t even see the dull spots. Some of that was underexposure due to youth, sure. Some of that was my love of a good story pulling me through like a tugboat in rough water.

Good books are still transcendent. A great book impacts you in a way no other form of story telling can. It’s a level of immersion just not possible when you’re getting a story from someone else’s point of view. It’s kind of like the Aristocrats, you get a bunch of comedians to tell the same joke, it’s always going to come out a little different.

What Mike Flannigan gets out of the Haunting of Hill House is far different than what I did, but I LOVED his interpretation. Her writing evokes a powerful image for me, but I think he took the unreliable narrator to a far more interesting degree. What is the truth of our memory? Rashomon as a family drama set in a gothic horror show, sign me up!

Yet, his best work by far has been when he told his own story. “Midnight Mass” is, to me, the best take on Salem’s Lot in existence. It’s like William Friedkin teleported out off the heels of “The Exorcist” and made the best Stephen King adaptation his own. MM is Flannigan’s own creation and also his best. It was dominated by his vision and voice.

He’s now making a Dark Tower series for Amazon and I’m sure it will be amazing. There’s never been anyone quite as adept at making thought provoking horror and his Gerald’s Game is still one of the best King adaptations in existence.

As a person who gorges themselves on media, one form has always been a little daunting. I tried my hand at comic books, but the overwhelming amount of product coupled with the frequency of awful writing means I’ve never been able to be more than a tourist. X-men are one comic I stay somewhat current on (even if I’m about 5 years behind). I definitely hold a soft spot for Spider-man (Spider-verse films are transcendent).

The Dark Knight Rises

One comic rises above all else, in my world view, though. Batman is the gold standard for story telling in superhero books. They have success in EVERY story telling medium. Alan Moore’s controversial “Killing Joke” notwithstanding, you have some of the greatest of the greats turning out world class stories. Grant Morrison, Frank Miller and Alan Grant all made their mark. Bill Finger and Bob Kane built their legacy on the back of Detective Comics.

It doesn’t stop there. Top tier filmmakers have taken shots at the World’s Greatest Detective. Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan are the biggest names, but Todd Phillip’s Joker picked up a whopping eleven Oscar nominations (winning 3, including Joaquin Phoenix’s best Actor).

Batman is, arguably, the cream of the crop in super hero story telling. His rogues gallery is infamous. The names that the property draws are world class. The lore is a part of the American Consciousness. And then, there’s Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. Bruce is a very talented artist who sought out an equally talented writer to help shape the face of animated DC properties in the 90s and early 2000s. They are responsible for two of the greatest Batman adaptations ever - Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond.

Paul Dini took a well-mined property and made it his own. He redefined backstories and developed canon that was profound. He created new identities for characters that defined them. He made comic book properties accessible for children and adults. He helped create Terry McGuiness and one Harley Quinn.

Paul Dini is, to me, the greatest story teller in the Batman universe. That’s not a novel idea. In fact, he’s still actively involved in the Batman universe at a very high level - including the excellent Arkham Asylum series of games. His “Heart of Ice” portraying Victor Fries as a tragic anti-hero just trying to save his wife. His Selina a tortured love interest. He makes the Riddler face his own pathology. He introduced the pairing of Harley and Ivy.

Much in the way that he helped define Batman in the 90s Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Dean Lorey are doing the same for his most famous creation.

Joker’s Wild

Harley Quinn is the spiritual successor to B:TAS. It draws deeply off Batman lore and is heavily influenced by the former show. You can tell how much they love that show. The show is very adult, in a way that B:TAS would never dream of approaching, but it is touching. It is funny. It gets to the core of what makes Batman and his world so compelling. It deals with mental health, classism, sexism and the wealth of other issues that plague our world today.

While Batman superfans are surely aware of, if not heavily invested in, Harley Quinn, the show itself might be daunting if you don’t see yourself as a fan of the Bat. The show is much better if you get the constant stream of references, but what I have found truly compelling is the depth of the characters. That I can see myself in Poison Ivy and my wife in Harley Quinn and their interactions feel like ours. And yet, I can see pieces of myself in Harley and Adrianne in Ivy.

Much in the way that Bojack Horseman married zany and profound, Harley Quinn makes you take a look at forgiveness. What are good and evil? Healthy boundaries and toxic relationships. Love, friendship and humanity. The first season found the show on shaky ground. Still trying to find what story it wanted to tell. Much like the aforementioned horse.

The voice acting is top tier - this is the best Kaley Cuoco has ever been. She steals a character long defined by one of the greatest voice actors of all time, Tara Strong. George Constanza saying things that would make Larry David blush. Diedrich Bader does an admirable job as the Caped Crusader. He does not quite reach the heights of the late, great Kevin Conroy, but this is Harley’s show and he does a good job of carrying the gravitas of the Bat while letting the true stars of THIS show shine.

Ron Funches as King Shark quickly made him a favorite of my wife’s. He is definitely a standout when he plays both with and against type as a Shark-human hybrid. J.B. Smoove’s Frank is very much Smoove turned up to 11. The show even manages to bring a fun cross over with the voice actors, such as references to Community for the Riddler’s Jim Rash.

Alan Tudyk as Clayface shows a dynamic range, but his best feat to me is his ability to make the Joker his own. The Joker is the definitive villain in all comic book history. While Superman might still wear the crown for books, Lex Luthor is less likely going to be known. Thanos had a moment in the sun, Kang is making waves both on and off the screen and Ian McKellen’s performance of Magneto did help bring that name into public consciousness. But the Joker is Iconic. He still doesn’t dethrone Mark Hamill, Heath Ledger or Jack, but Tudyk faces giants and walks among them. That’s no small feat and deserves to be celebrated.

The fourth season is coming up later in July, the 27th to be exact. If you have Max, I would implore you to give this show a shot. Yes, it is graphic, but it is not exploitive. While, admittedly great, shows like Ted Lasso grab headlines for their take on humanity and get people talking, this show still feels like a hidden gem. I much prefer HQ’s commentary on classism to something like The White Lotus (I admittedly have not seen Succession yet).

And, it has one of the best romance stories in YEARS. Plus, the show is stupid fun.