Timm said that all the pitches they received for storylines were focused on Bruce. “I love old man Bruce Wayne,” Timm said. “I think he’s fascinating and fun because he’s ancient, and he’s cranky, and he’s more of a bastard than he ever was, but he’s not the star of our show.” He explained that stories had to be broken (the process in which writers come up with specific scenes for the episode) in-house. I love grumpy Bruce as well, but he felt like he worked better as seasoning for the main course than being the main course itself. Tucker mentioned that the focus was supposed to be Terry and that Bruce “is kind of just along for the ride.”
Berkowitz, who came from DC animation, but had moved to live-action, came back for the second half of the two-part premiere, which aired in 1999. He had a take on Terry that helped make him into a separate character who wasn’t just following in the footsteps of his grouchy mentor, despite their shared experience with losing family members.