With The Dark Knight only a week away, I, like many fans, will be indulging in all things Batman. I thought it would be fun to countdown my favorite episodes from one of my favorite TV shows of all time: Batman The Animated Series.

The series didn't have a huge amount of shows, but including the New Adventures, there's enough material for a decent list. I love them all like children, (except "Critters") but I was able to squeeze out the ones that stood out to me best.

20. LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT

• The Story: 3 kids take a guess at what the mysterious Batman is really like.
• The Deal: a fun tribute to some different interpretations of Batman over the decades.
• What's Awesome: They really nail that early 70's campy style. I mean, they NAIL it. Also, it's cool to see Frank Miller's work recognized and respected.

19. BEWARE THE GRAY GHOST

• The Story: A terrorist is emulating a villain from an old TV show.
• The Deal: Batman must help is own old childhood hero regain his lost glory.
• Count the Metaphors: Adam West (60's Batman) plays the has-been actor; the Grey Ghost character is similar to The Shadow, the old 30's serial that Batman is based off of; etc. etc.

18.  IF YOU'RE SO SMART, WHY AREN'T YOU RICH?

• The Story: Edward Nygma becomes a criminal mastermind.
• The Deal: The RIDDLER debut!!!
• ? This style of Riddler matches this version of Batman perfectly. The riddles in the episode are awesome, and so is that maze game.

17. DAY OF THE SAMURAI

• The Story: Kiyodi Ken kidnaps a girl in hopes of getting the ultimate showdown with Bruce Wayne.
• The Deal:  A chance for the series to tap into a core element of the Batman mythos: He's a glorified ninja.
• Mortal Kombat: The best fighting animations I've seen in a non-Japanese cartoon.

16.  SEE NO EVIL

• The Story: A man with an invisibility cloak wants to take back his daughter.
• The Deal: This is well made mini-movie is the writers' creepy take on imaginary friends.
•  Deadbeat dads: The animations are top notch, the story is cool, and it's as mature as kids cartoons can get.

15. JUDGEMENT DAY

• The Story: A vigilante calling himself The Judge takes Batman's job one step further...
• The Deal:  The doomed music, the dark figure- a very memorable and dark episode with interesting politics.
• A lot like: Mask of the Phantasm, complete with surprise reveal of his identity.

14. THE MAN WHO KILLED BATMAN

• The Story: A bumbling loser gets a huge reputation due to coincidence.
• The Deal: A fun examination of how fickle and superstisious the criminal underworld can be.
•  Sid the Squid: One of the funnier episodes without even being a comedy. Poor Sid has the worst (or best) luck depending on how you look at it.

13.  OLD WOUNDS

• The Story: Nightwing sheds light on how he quit working with Batman.
• The Deal: The producers get to fill in the blanks from when the original series ended and where the New Adventures began. The pressures of Batman's endless crusade finally drive Dick Greyson away.
• The Punch heard round the world: Robin finally gives the Bat a piece of his mind!

12. P.O.V.

• The Story: Three cops give their testimonies about a blown sting operation.
• The Deal: This is exactly what Batman's mythology is all about; he's mystified and almost ghostly in this episode. Fantastic animation.  Original creation, Officer Rene Montoya is a real highlight, and soon finds her way into the comics.
• Favorite story: The rookie's. In his eyes Batman is like magic.

11. PERCHANCE TO DREAM

• The Story: What if Bruce Wayne's parents never died?
• The Deal: The show explores what Bruce's life would have been if he never became Batman.
• Something's off... The best episode to explore the  of Bruce Wayne's deepest desires. Why can't you have everything you ever wanted?

10.  ROBIN'S RECONING (pt 1)

• The Story: Dick Grayson's tragic origins are explained.
• The Deal: When the man who killed his parents resurfaces, Robin has the chance to get something Batman never can: closure.
• A heartbreaking kid, gorgeous animation, Batman's early days, and Robin darker than we've ever seen him. This one has it all.

9. OVER THE EDGE

• The Story: After the death of Batgirl, Commissioner Gordon comes after Batman with full force!
• The Deal: An amazing nightmare that sees some of Barbara's and Bruce's worst fears realized. One of the darkest, from the New Adventures- Our heroes apply everything they've got, people are killed, funerals are had, Bane returns, it's just awesome.
• Apply yourself: If only Gordon put this much effort into actually catching criminals!

8.  I AM THE NIGHT

• The Story: Commissioner Gordon's life is on the line after one fateful night.
• The Deal: Batman heavily questions the point of his life-long crusade.  There's actually a lot going on this episode; there's a kid who needs to turn his life around, the criminal Jazz Man who looks to finish the job on Gordon, and Bruce dealing with the anniversary of his parents' own murder. It's all handled superbly.
• How does that make you feel? This is the strongest episode that delves into the psychology of why Batman does what he does, and the toll it can take.

7.  THE JOKER'S FAVOR

• The Story: A Joe Nobody accidentally cusses out the Joker and soon finds himself in dangerous debt.
• The Deal: Joker makes his first appearance. We examine him from Charlie's point of view, never knowing what he's going to do next. This is a real highlight of the dichotomy of the character; the killer or the clown?
• And most importantly: The debut of Harley Quinn! (my favorite character from this series)

6.  HARLEY AND IVY

• The Story: After the Joker fires her, Harley Quinn meets Poison Ivy and the two go on a crime spree!
• The Deal: 2 of Batman's favorite ladies team up Thelma and Louise style. Another episode that's a lot of fun with its Girl Power themes, this is a huge fan favorite.
• MVP: This is probably Mark Hamill's best voice work as the Joker. He plays a lot of range in this single episode.

5.  TWO-FACE (pt 1 and 2)

• The Story: Hot D.A. Harvey Dent's crime dealings take a turn for the worse, and scar him for life.
• The Deal: The origin of Two-Face is re-imagined.
• In a way, this is my favorite episode ever. It's the darkest thing I've ever seen in an afternoon cartoon. (literally and figuratively)  I love the idea of Dent already having psychological problems underneath the surface. His villainous turn is that more credible. Complex and adult.

4. MAD LOVE

• The Story: Harley tries to kill Batman herself, in hopes of impressing her beloved Joker.
• The Deal: we get the origin of how Harley came to know the Clown Prince of Crime
• Series Finale: This was the last episode and a real shocker as far as pushing the envelope goes- The Joker essentially kills his girl by pushing her out of a window! It's such a one-way relationship that you can't help but feel sorry for the pathetic Harlene Quinzelle, sufferer of Stockholm Syndrome.

3. ALMOST GOT 'IM

• The Story: Batman's rogues discuss who's come closest to offing the Bat.
• The Deal: 4 vignettes that each highlight the personality types of each villain.
• Everyone remembers Almost got ‘im. This is a fun breather that lets some of our favorite characters playfully interact with each other over a game of cards. There is more than one twist, and several layers to the title.

2. HEART OF ICE

• The Story: Victor Fries seeks revenge on the man who ruined his life
• The Deal: Mr. Freeze takes center stage.
• Largely considered to be the best Batman episode ever produced, this was the masterpiece that won the show it's first Emmy! Paul Dini turns a stock villain into a walking tragedy, by conceiving the character as cold-hearted, dead to emotions, and haunted by the memory of his doomed wife. It doesn't get much better than this.
• So good: that the origin has been adapted into the comics and even the plot was inspiration for Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin movie.

1. FEAT OF CLAY (pt 1 and 2)

• The Story: Actor Matt Hagen is disfigured from a special makeup he needed to keep his career alive.
• The Deal: We come to know the abomination that is Clayface.
• #1: This is an epic tragedy that I have a personal affinity for, because used to act. Feat of Clay is a monster movie on the league with the old Universal classics like the mummy or Frankenstein. The writers to a good job of combining the comic's elements (there have actually been several Clayfaces over the years) and using the 2-part format to delve into detail with the intricate plot (Bruce Wayne is framed), and add little flourishes to even minor characters (that germaphobe henchman comes to mind). This is the first Batman episode I ever watched, and it remains the best.
• Best finish ever:  the last minute of this episode is the freakiest they've ever had.

Fun stuff. Honerable mentions go to Mad as a Hatter, (The Mad Hatter) and Read My Lips (Scarface and the Ventriloquist). Check out this series, because to me, Bruce Timm's 90's cartoon is in some ways, the quintessential version of Batman.  Can't wait for the Dark Knight!