Batman: The Audio Adventures might just be my favourite Batman adaptation ever
I posted a while ago about how good the scarecrow is in this show but I really need to get my (spoiler-free) feelings out about this show in general since I want as many people to know about this show as possible. I truly believe it is the one of the best batman adaptations ever, and my personal favourite.
WORLDBUILDING
I think what makes this version stand out amongst other adaptations is the effort made to flesh out gotham outside of the main cast. Throughout the show you hear from many "ordinary" citizens, whether they're being interviewed by Jack Ryder, being held hostage, conducting henchmen work or advertising their business. The adverts (both commercial and political) that occur between the main scenes help to put you in the shoes of a Gotham inhabitant, and their contents highlight the chaos everpresent in the city. Not only are many of these segments entertaining, but they help to make the city feel full of life due to the variety of personalities and perspectives exhibited in the Gotham population.
CHARACTERISATION
Everyone is characterised extremely well in this show. I could honestly write a whole post on almost all of their portrayals and those I could not are as a result of not receiving as much of focus in the narrative as opposed to them not being written well. It contains my favourite depictions of my 2 favourite batman villains (Two-Face and Scarecrow) as well as my favourite Penguin and Catwoman, with most of the others falling within my top 3 portrayals outside of the comics. Also, the show being serialised as opposed to episodic means that everyone is enacting their plans simultaneously, which not only contributes to the chaotic feel of Gotham but also allows each villain to pace themselves differently: some maintaining a more constant level of threat, others committing smaller crimes in the run-up to the "main event", and others acting as a background presence slowly ramping up their criminality. There are also many instances of members of the rogues gallery interacting with major characters other than batman, which not only facilitates some great dynamics but also conveys more about each character by who they seek out and why.
TONE
This show contains significantly more humour than most batman adaptations, however not in a way where the darker or emotional parts cannot be taken seriously. The creator clearly a lot of love for the 60s show (most evident in the characterisation of Batman and Robin), but the overall feel of Gotham itself is very much "a city described in charcoal upon slate" à la BTAS or the early Arkham games. I really appreciate that this is both a show that has made me laugh more than any other batman show while also containing scenes that I still find harrowing after multiple re-listens. The presence of a third-person narrator feels reminiscent of reading older comics, and there are little nods throughout the show to batman works from the Golden Age onwards. It is a perfect mix of silliness and seriousness, and is clearly informed by a love of the many iterations of batman that precede it.
SUMMARY
I truly cannot recommend this show enough. On top of the things I already mentioned, the story and voice acting are fantastic and the sound design is so immersive that I don't feel like I'm missing out by not having visuals. If you're not into it by the end of episode 6 it's probably not for you, but I imagine it would take less time than that; I personally did find the tone jarring initially but by the end of episode 2 I was fully invested. Even so, I did not expect to end up loving it as much as I do, and it only gets better with each re-listen. I almost feel bad that I can't pay for it because it is such high quality (going to get the tie-in comic to make up for it though).