In the 1990s and early 2000s, television was very different than it is now. Viewers watched TV shows as they aired and shows would premiere at specific times of the year. Writers had to fill out a given calendar with a certain number of episodes. Since people couldn’t catch every episode, the writers didn’t focus on telling deep stories. Instead, they focused on keeping things interesting with character interactions. As shows went on for longer, writers had to come up with new concepts to keep the characters engaged, even if those concepts had been done before on other shows.
One common trope in shows featuring high school characters was to have them participate in a “home economics” class where they took care of a pretend baby. This baby was often represented by a sack of flour or a gimmicky doll that cried. It’s likely that Will Friedle, the actor who voiced Terry McGinnis, had to do an episode like this on his show, “Boy Meets World.” “Batman Beyond,” a darker and more futuristic show, also had to fill time and put characters in new situations, even if these situations had been done before on other shows.
However, “Batman Beyond” managed to do it right and even won an Emmy for it. The setup was clever. While other shows used this trope for comedic purposes, “Batman Beyond” used it to shed light on Terry’s character. In Gotham, Bruce is alerted to a series of heists by a criminal named Ma Mayhem. With the help of her bumbling sons, Ma Mayhem steals specific rubies and leaves everything else behind. At the same time, Terry is failing Family Studies in high school and has one last chance to save his grade: taking care of a pretend baby and bringing it back intact.
The sci-fi and superhero elements of “Batman Beyond” allowed for a more complex twist on the trope. Instead of a simple doll or a bag of flour, the pretend baby was a computerized, egg-shaped device with various sensors. Terry couldn’t just leave it somewhere and escape. The show provided reasons why he couldn’t pass it off to someone else. This resulted in a humorous contrast between Ma Mayhem, a grouchy and abusive mother, and Terry, a reluctant but determined student.
The episode had sharp writing and was one of the funniest in the series. One memorable moment occurred before Terry received the techno egg. Terry questions why Ma Mayhem wants all the rubies, to which Bruce responds with a reference to “The Wizard of Oz.” This reference demonstrates Bruce’s age and connects the show to the animated series. Bruce then asks how someone could fail family studies, which is both funny and sad considering his own aversion to familial connections throughout his life.
The writing throughout the episode was excellent, with Terry’s classmates also getting humorous moments. For example, Howard quickly embraced the roleplay, while Nelson was relaxed about being a “stay at home” husband. This episode could have been forgettable, like the episode “Terry’s Friend Dates a Robot,” which relied on a tired sitcom trope. However, it ended up being a standout episode of the season. It’s no wonder it won an Emmy in 2001 for its writing.
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