The host of a podcast I regularly listen to consistently refers to a “toxic impulse.” I’m not sure I agree, but I found myself thinking about that turn of phrase often while screening all ten episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader.

Created by Timm and produced by a plethora of eye-catching names, including J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Ed Brubaker, Caped Crusader unfolds in an art deco Gotham City from some alternate universe of 1930s/40s America. It is early in the pointy-eared vigilante’s career, not necessarily Year One, but close. Not everyone in Gotham believes in the Batman’s (Hamish Linklater) existence. He hasn’t found a working relationship with the police department, and most of his wonderfully complex and scary villains do not yet exist. In the daylight, Bruce Wayne (Linklater again, natch) moves through high society, dropping all kinds of money on various charities. Along the way, he flirts (but nothing more) with enough women to make Warren Beatty in his prime ask Brucie for advice and disappears at the oddest times.

Does all of that feel familiar? Like 1992 familiar? Like Batman: The Animated Series familiar? Well, it will also look familiar to fans of that series. While Batman: Caped Crusader admirably brings more diversity—racial and body type-wise, most noticeably—to the cast, the aesthetics match those of The Animated Series original look very closely. It sounds like TAS, thanks to Frederik Wiedmann’s score. There’s nothing as big in it as the moment from Danny Elfman’s Main Credits Theme when the building explodes and the percussion kicks in, for sure. However, Wiedmann creates themes and motifs that immediately call to mind the quieter aspects of that theme and Shirley Walker’s in-episode compositions.

(Full disclosure: Wiedmann wrote music for my close friend’s film projects while they were both in college. However, this writer never met the composer then or since, and he and my friend haven’t worked together since college.)

As a result, Batman: Caped Crusader is very good. Great at times. To no one’s surprise, Linklater is a strong voice actor. He provides enough difference between Wayne and Batman that they sound immediately different to the audience while being plausibly the same person. The rest of the cast is a smart mix of stars—Christina Ricci as Catwoman—voices from Batman’s earlier incarnations—Diedrich Bader as Harvey Dent—and longtime voice talent—Tom Kenny as Firebug. It has that thing that TAS did best. It gives fans a Batman with humanity, one who hates crime but cares about people hurt by it, even the criminals.

The changes the series makes largely work. The wasp-waisted women of that earlier effort have evolved into a more comprehensive array of body types for the likes of Doctor Harleen Quinzel (Jamie Chung) and Detective Renne Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla). It’s worth noting one supervillainess does morph a bit when she transitions from street clothes to costume. At least that difference doesn’t read as male gaze fulfillment, though. Including a more diverse range of skin tones—and thus, races—especially for two cast members as prominent as Commissioner (Eric Morgan Stuart) and Barbara (Krystal Joy Brown) Gordon. Penguin as Oswalda Cobblepot, aka The Penguin, changes nothing fundamental about the character except her sex/gender, but Minnie Driver has so much fun voicing the character, what the hell? Why not mix it up just because?

As a comic book nerd, I appreciated lesser-known villains like Gentleman Ghost (Toby Stephens) and Onomatopoeia (Reid Scott) getting screentime. Old favorites such as Catwoman and Clayface still get more attention, but that’s to be expected. You can’t ask people to tune in for a show called Batman: Caped Crusader and not give them some old favorites.

So, yes, it is unfair to call Caped Crusader just a The Animated Series on a different channel. But it also can’t be ignored how much it feels like that over-30-year-old series. I loved that show when it first aired. Therefore, I really enjoy this one. I would recommend it to anyone who liked TAS back when it first aired or has fallen in love with it since.

And yet, some part of Batman: The Caped Crusader still rubs at me. I can’t recommend it without reservation despite the great look, the wonderful music, and the overall quality of the work. You can still find people who will argue that TAS is the best adaptation of the Dark Knight. Those people will number more than a few. If we must resurrect late 20th Century shows for the 21st Century, it’s as worthy a choice as any. But this is where that whole “toxic impulse” thing comes in. Must we resurrect old TV shows? Or should people be trying to create a new animated adaptation of Batman? One just as worthy of the character but with a markedly different aesthetic choice? And my candid answer is… I don’t know.

Ultimately, my score reflects the quality of the series in a vacuum. But no art, even television, exists in a vacuum. So I do recommend it. It’s a fresh tomato on the old meter. It’s very good. As a critic, you have to review the show in front of you, not the one you might prefer. Nonetheless, part of me can’t help but imagine what all the talent behind Batman: Caped Crusader could’ve done blazing a new trail for the Dark Knight rather than deliver excellent comfort food to my generation.

Batman: Caped Crusader perches on Prime Video’s rooftops beginning August 1.

Batman: Caped Crusader Trailer: