Batman has been my favorite superhero since before I knew what a superhero was. I love the versatility and adaptability of the character. Adam West's Batman (possibly my favorite) is just as much Batman as Bale's. Whether you like the "Caped Crusader", the "Dark Knight" or somewhere inbetween, there's a Batman for everybody. Unfortunately I've not gotten to read as many of the comics as I'd like, the price of the comic collecting hobby being what it is.
I loved B:TAS, it was on a whole other level compared to the cartoons of that time and even now.
The Batman had some very very big shoes to fill, and while it certainly wasn't the second coming of B:TAS, it was fun in its own right, and the Batman Vs. Dracula movie was awesome, I highly recommend it. It's much darker in tone compared to the rest of the series.
What did you think of "The Brave and the Bold"? I haven't had tv in years but the episodes of that show I was able to catch were delightful and deliciously different from the more common darker Batmen we've gotten the last few decades. I haven't watched much of "The Batman" though I have the first 2 seasons and the movie you mentioned, just need some time to get used to the artstyle I guess. Batman:TAS was just one of those once-in-a-lifetime things. I was surprised to hear Bruce Timm and Eric Rodomski say they didn't like the later episodes as much as the first one in their commentary on it. I guess that shows how much of this art is collaboration beyond the original concept/creators.
Kinda iffy about TDKR. I dunno, the whole Nolan series has been propaganda-tinged* and that's never really bothered me. But the trailer for Rises just lays it on a little thick. The "rise" of the underclass leading to the end of the American dream symbolized by a collapsing football field, while Selina speaks in no uncertain terms for the poor against our 1%er hero. They might as well have just shown an exploding apple pie carved by a hammer and sickle while they were at it.
It still kinda irritates me that they had a British kid sing the American National Anthem (which is about a
British attack on America in the war of 1812) though I know the movies are filmed overseas.
*Begins makes the strong implication that poverty is caused by outsiders (like Liam Neeson) sabotaging capitalist systems rather than as a natural byproduct of said systems. TDK is supportive of mass indiscriminate electronic surveillance "in wartime"/to catch the *really* badguys.