"The Batman," 10:30 a.m., WB. This new "Batman" — oops, "The Batman" — is slick and sleek. It's short on humanity but strong on visual power. It begins three years after Bruce Wayne began fighting criminals. The crime rate has plummeted, but the police deny Batman exists. There's no Robin, no Batgirl. The only person who seems to know about him is Alfred, the butler. One shortcoming is the stiffness of the characters. Another is the extreme portrayal of the Joker; it's less fun if the guy's simply insane. All of that is minor, though, compared to the stunning visual power. This is movie-quality animation. Rino Romano ("Jackie Chan Adventures") is the voice of Batman. Adam West, the old prime-time Batman, voices the mayor, with Academy-Award nominee Edward James Olmos ("American Family") as the commissioner, and Steve Harris ("The Practice") and Ming-Na ("ER") as detectives.

Of Note

More cartoons, 8 a.m. to noon, WB. Others are drifting away from Saturday cartoons, but WB has a strong (and ethnically diverse) lineup. Today, it introduces one new show, "Da Boom Crew," at 11:30 a.m., with four hip-hop teens in a parallel universe, sort of like a video game. It has the latest "Pokémon" variation at 10 a.m. and new seasons for five others.

Tennis, 2 p.m. CBS. The U.S. Open has the women's finals.

"The Apprentice," 7 p.m., NBC. Thursday's 90-minute premiere gets a quick rerun — this time expanded to two hours. We meet the 18 contestants and see them try to design a new toy — with kids as the final judge.

"Cops" (7 p.m.) and "America's Most Wanted" (8 p.m.), Fox. These are the season openers for two shows that have been around since 1989 and 1988, respectively.