If you have been following my coverage of the animated TV show THE BATMAN, you know that I have sort of a “love/hate” relationship with the program -- well, perhaps “like/hate” would be a better description.

Some weeks, I totally down with the show, and some weeks it makes me want to jump off a bridge -- metaphorically speaking of course.

The latest episode features The Riddler and is titled, “Riddler’s Revenge.” Go figure.

Actually, it’s not a bad episode. I find The Riddler (voiced by Robert Englund) to be one of the best of the villains that have been depicted on this show -- at least the best of the “classic rogues.” Not only is The Riddler in this one, it is essentially the “Riddler Origin” episode.

In his THE BATMAN incarnation, The Riddler was Edward Nigma, a college researcher who develops “mind-pads” that help people get real smart real fast. Basically, these “mind pad” are a rip off of “The Box” from BATMAN FOREVER, but who’s keeping tabs anyway? Nigma gets wronged by some dude (or so he thinks) which ruins his career and he’s then -- you guessed it -- out for revenge!

Somehow, The Batman gets mixed up in Nigma’s revenge plot and thwarts it. So from that point on, confrontations between The Riddler and The Batman occur because Nigma -- you guessed it -- is out for revenge against The Dark Knight.

OK, I’ve probably spoiled the whole Riddler origin for y’all, so, well, sorry! ;)

Back to the “Now,” The Batman is battling The Riddler, they get trapped in one of those cargo holds (like the one D.A. Finch got whacked in during BATMAN BEGINS), it goes overboard, and the two are now trapped together at the bottom of the sea.

It sounds dumb, but it works.

The only problem is that that damn Robin is in “Riddler’s Revenge” as well. Now, he plays an important role, but he’s just so damn annoying at times that it absolutely ruins his appearance in this episode. The writers simply have him saying the stupidest things at times! Ahhhhhhh!

At any rate, “Riddler’s Revenge” wasn’t that bad really. In fact, I sort of liked it -- probably because I like The Riddler’s interpretation so much on THE BATMAN. I just wish they’d stop writing in these dumb-ass one-liners for Robin