u/Brit-Crit

Two of my favourite takes on Barbara as Batgirl are DC Super Hero Girls 2019 and LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight - both among the most comedic Batman media. This got me thinking...

For many Barbara fans, her becoming Oracle is an integral part of her arc - the "secret ingredient" that elevates her beyond being a "sidekick". However, not every adaptation of Barbara is well-suited for transforming into Oracle. Even if you choose not to adapt The Killing Joke and go with a softer explanation for the disability (e.g an accident of some sort), there will always be a level of tragedy in Barbara being forced to give up her Batgirl mantle due to a disability beyond her control. Needless to say, this can feel like a really awkward fit for comedies. At the same time, Barbara being disabled as Oracle has far more power and meaning than her simply becoming Oracle because she's bored with being Batgirl...

I personally think another issue is the comedic styles of these specific adaptations. The DC Super Hero Girls 2019 version of Batgirl is extremely cartoonish in her fast talking and hyperactive movements, and a lot of her humour involves cartoonish movement where she quickly moves between various exaggerated poses (Sometimes involving Cartoon Physics and OTT slapstick injuries). It would be awesome to try and adapt this for a wheelchair user, but it would create a tonne of challenges, particularly if her abilities go from "Power Fantasy" to straight-up impossible. Meanwhile, in Legacy of the Dark Knight, one of Batgirl's main comedic highlights is turning into a hyperactive tech addicted-teen when she takes over the Batcave computers - I dread to think how hard it would be for her to stay focused when she's parked in front of computers full-time as Oracle...

What are your thoughts on this? How could you make a comedic take on Oracle work whilst respecting the character?

Note - Wayne Family Adventures is a borderline example, but Barbara's spotlight stories as Oracle have often tended to be a bit more serious (Even before the shift to more dramatic and serialised storytelling starting with S3...)

Even though the new trailer for Caped Crusader allows us to hear the voices of Mad Hatter, The Riddler and The Joker, the voice actors haven't yet been officially revealed, which seems pretty odd to me - Does anyone recognise any of these voices?

This season must be setting the record for the most former Live Show participants in a Single Season of AGT. So far, we've already seen Brad Byers (Season 8), Sprice (also Season 8), Tyrone from Blade2Blade (Season 17), Yu Hojin (Season 17). Next week, Herwen Legaillard (Season 18) will return, and we will likely get to see the return of Malik DOPE (Season 15) after his planned appearance in Week 2 was delayed...

It's defintely a sign of how long this show has been going that being on the Live Shows in the past is no longer an issue, but it's curious that we barely see any former Vegas Week/Judges Cuts rejects return for another chance at makign the Live Shows they previously missed out on. Which former Vegas Week/Judges Cuts Rejects would you like to see make a comeback?

Last night, I saw the Regents Park Open Air Theatre adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, which was enjoyable but a bit of a mess as a story. It begins as a take on The Sign Of Four before going in a considerably more chaotic direction involving a plot to undermine Britain by releasing its most notorious prisoners. Mycroft remains the embodiment of the British elite, the villains embody the chaos of revolution, and Sherlock and Watson find themselves stuck in the middle, aiming to embody a more liberal and empathetic form of order that protects the innocent.

The dilemmas facing Holmes and Watson in this version reminds me a fair bit of the issues facing Superhero stories in today’s era of division. Most Superheroes embody “Order” and their enemies often embody “Chaos” - this has led to a fair few complaints about Superheroes protecting a “Status Quo” full of injustice, and several writers have been aiming to address this. Recently, DC Comics have found success with their Absolute Comics line, which revolves around an alternate universe that makes Batman etc into outsiders fighting to bring change to a world tilted in favour of the villains - effectively inverting the “Heroes = Order, Villains = Chaos” conventions…

How do YOU think a version of “Sherlock” that represents “Chaos” or explicitly anti-establishment approaches would work out? In addition, a key part of the Absolute universe is removing several traditional elements of the superhero backstories (e.g - A working-class Batman, A Superman who wasn’t raised by the Kents) What elements of Sherlock’s mythos would be removed to make him more of an underdog?

The most talked-about play in the West End right now is 1536, which revolves around the concept that Henry VIII’s persecution of Anne Boleyn encouraged misogyny in wider English society during the era. I would be interested in hearing from a historian how far this reflects the reality of the era - how far did Henry VIII’s mistreatment of Women fuel specifically related forms of misogyny elsewhere? Was the Misogyny of the time too great for us to specifically measure this?

With the Top 40 being officially confirmed, here are the 22 televised successful auditions that didn’t make it…

- Dom & Ninja - Acrobatic Dog Act
- Chance Oshiro - Novelty Sound Effects Act
- Claire Spiller - Bagpiper
- Daniel Edison - Comedian
- Emily Cass - Advert Impersonations
- Finley Barrett-Carter - Elvis-Style Singer
- The Skate Squad - Skateboard/Scooter Stunt Team
- Agua Dance - Latin Dance Troupe
- Aldo Nicolini - Magician
- Key Voices - Child Choir
- The Menagerie Club - A Capella Group
- MC Tazo - Novelty Rapper
- Maverick Magicians - Magician Trio
- Asco - DJ/Orchestral Conductor
- Leroy Patterson - Daredevil/ Pain Junkie
- Joan Thomas - Opera Singer
- Darren Tait - Sailing Themed Comedy & Acrobatics
- James Phelan - Magician
- Belinda and Elsie - Opera Singer/Burlesque Dancer Duo
- Fakir Testa - Daredevil
- Lee Thompson - Magician/Pickpocket
- Lucciano and Frankie - Grandson/Grandfather Singing Duo

Which of them would you have liked to see in the Live Shows?

So two of the “lineup leaks” >!Dom & Ninja going through and Celestial not being invited back!< turned out to be false…

Given >!how much time it takes Celestial to prepare their act, I doubt they were a reserve…!<

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Now that the Line-Up for Semi Final Four has been announced, there are thirty Televised Auditionees who haven’t performed in the semifinals yet, and only eight spots remaining…

Here are the thirty successful televised auditionees we haven’t seen yet…

However, we know some of the ones who made it through, and some who are going home. A Bold Font indicates they have confirmed they will appear in the live shows (either through being a Golden Buzzer or confirming online), and a strikethrough indicates they have confirmed they weren’t invited to compete in the live shows…

Dom & Ninja - Acrobatic Dog Act
Chance Oshiro - Novelty Sound Effects Act
Celestial - Drone Show
SOS - Rock Group Performing Boyband Songs
Claire Spiller - Bagpiper
Baron & Vesper - Sideshow Act
Daniel Edison - Comedian
Emily Cass - Advert Impersonations
Finley Barrett-Carter - Elvis-Style Singer
The Skate Squad - Skateboard/Scooter Stunt Team
James Miller - Child Singer
Agua Dance - Latin Dance Troupe
Hawkstone Farmers Choir (Golden Buzzer - Amanda) - Choir
Aldo Nicolini - Magician
Key Voices - Child Choir
The Menagerie Club - A Capella Group
MC Tazo - Novelty Rapper
Jake Banfield - Magician
Maverick Magicians - Magician Trio
Asco - DJ/Orchestral Conductor
Leroy Patterson - Daredevil/ Pain Junkie
Juan Carlos - Preteen Dancer
Joan Thomas - Opera Singer
Darren Tait - Sailing Themed Comedy & Acrobatics
James Phelan - Magician
Belinda and Elsie - Opera Singer/Burlesque Dancer Duo
Mr Cherry (Golden Buzzer - KSI) - Comedic Strength Act
Fakir Testa - Daredevil
Lee Thompson - Magician/Pickpocket
Lucciano and Frankie - Grandson/Grandfather Singing Duo

My Personal Predictions For The Final Eight Acts…

- Dom & Ninja
- Celestial
- SOS
- Skate Squad
- Hawkstone Farmers Choir
- Maverick Magicians
- Fakir Testa
- Mr Cherry

Who Do YOU Think The Final Eight Acts Will Be?

Now that the Line-Up for Semi Final Four has been announced, there are thirty Televised Auditionees who haven’t performed in the semifinals yet, and only eight spots remaining…

Here are the thirty successful televised auditionees we haven’t seen yet…

However, we know some of the ones who made it through, and some who are going home. A Bold Font indicates they have confirmed they will appear in the live shows (either through being a Golden Buzzer or confirming online), and a strikethrough indicates they have confirmed they weren’t invited to compete in the live shows…

Dom & Ninja - Acrobatic Dog Act
Chance Oshiro - Novelty Sound Effects Act
Celestial - Drone Show
SOS - Rock Group Performing Boyband Songs
Claire Spiller - Bagpiper
Baron & Vesper - Sideshow Act
Daniel Edison - Comedian
Emily Cass - Advert Impersonations
Finley Barrett-Carter - Elvis-Style Singer
The Skate Squad - Skateboard/Scooter Stunt Team
James Miller - Child Singer
Agua Dance - Latin Dance Troupe
Hawkstone Farmers Choir (Golden Buzzer - Amanda) - Choir
Aldo Nicolini - Magician
Key Voices - Child Choir
The Menagerie Club - A Capella Group
MC Tazo - Novelty Rapper
Jake Banfield - Magician
Maverick Magicians - Magician Trio
Asco - DJ/Orchestral Conductor
Leroy Patterson - Daredevil/ Pain Junkie
Juan Carlos - Preteen Dancer
Joan Thomas - Opera Singer
Darren Tait - Sailing Themed Comedy & Acrobatics
James Phelan - Magician
Belinda and Elsie - Opera Singer/Burlesque Dancer Duo
Mr Cherry (Golden Buzzer - KSI) - Comedic Strength Act
Fakir Testa - Daredevil
Lee Thompson - Magician/Pickpocket
Lucciano and Frankie - Grandson/Grandfather Singing Duo

My Personal Predictions For The Final Eight Acts…

- Dom & Ninja
- Celestial
- SOS
- Skate Squad
- Hawkstone Farmers Choir
- Maverick Magicians
- Fakir Testa
- Mr Cherry

Who Do YOU Think The Final Eight Acts Will Be?

I’ve heard some people critical of Barbara Gordon: Breakout argue that the concept of Barbara Gordon getting imprisoned and/or kidnapped has been done with her before (both as Batgirl and Oracle), Can you help me form a list of the specific times this happened to her?