To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

Lorenzo Semple, Jr. having made his changes to Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret 's first King Tut script, next it was the turn of director Charles R. Rondeau and master ad-libber Victor Buono . How much of the story that made it to the screen was determined by them? This time, we discuss two different versions of the Curse of Tut script, and how much changed after the "final" version. Also, a Bat...

As the early episodes of Batman were being produced, and broadcasts had not yet begun, Executive Script Consultant Lorenzo Semple, Jr. , was editing scripts and trying to get across his vision for the show to the other writers. Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret 's script for "The Phantom Pharaoh" gives us a peek at Semple's vision for how Batman , Robin , and the other characters should be written....

The Lego Batman Movie (2017) gives us both a unique Batman, and a Batman considered to be in the continuity of every iteration of Batman - in the comics, the '40s serials, the films, the animated shows, and even - or, perhaps, especially - Batman '66 . In this episode we take note of a movie about a Batman that is emphatically not the Adam West version, but nonetheless is making dozens of referenc...

A frequent assertion about Cesar Romero 's Joker is that, over the course of the Batman series, he goes from genuinely evil to just silly or bratty. Others disagree with this and maintain that he's the same all the way through. We thought (as did some listeners on our recent survey) that this was a good focus for a Joker discussion, so we asked noted Bat-fan and cartoonist Ken Holtzhouser to join...

After more than six years of doing this show and reliving our childhoods, what have we decided is our favorite story of the series ? Our favorite piece of bat-equipment ? Our favorite villain ? This time, we rank all our favorites! Plus, the "bardcore" version of the Batman theme , and your comments on episode 157 !

For whatever reason, Batman 's producers decided that they would not do Peter Rabe's Two-Face script (see last episode) as it was written. Instead, Lorenzo Semple Jr. adapted it into The Joker's Last Laugh , keeping just enough of the story that Rabe got a "story" credit. This time we look at Semple's first draft of that episode, which retains some aspects of Rabe that didn't make it to the broadc...

Two-Face never quite made it to Batman '66 (unless you count William Shatner 's animated turn in 2017, as pictured). But two known attempts were made in the '60s: the Harlan Ellison treatment (which later became the comic book Batman '66: The Lost Episode ), and Peter Rabe 's full two-part script , The Two-Faced Counterfeit and The Counterfeit Counterfoiled , which was adapted by Lorenzo Semple, J...

Part of Adam West 's renaissance as a performer, once his fans were old enough to cast him in stuff, was voicing various versions of himself in cartoons. One of these was in Nickelodeon show The Fairly OddParents , in which "TV's Adam West" was the famous actor who had played the hero "Catman" — but thought he really was Catman! This time we take a look at Adam's appearances on the show. Also: The...

In 2003, CBS broadcast the special Return to the Batcave , featuring Adam West and Burt Ward walking through a search for the stolen Batmobile as they reminisced about their time making Batman . The reminiscence was hampered a bit by the show still being tied up in rights issues; only clips from Batman: The Movie were included, not from the TV series itself. This time, we delve into the good and t...

When Stanley Ralph Ross sat down to write what would be his final Batman script, which he titled Batman Meets his Match , he built it around a magical character who could turn invisible: Dr. Cabala . It was only in a later draft that, for whatever reason, he made Cabala the second banana to his alchemist wife, Dr. Cassandra . This time, we examine both versions of the script to see how much of thi...

1966 Batmania didn't just put a lot of Batman toys on the shelves; it inspired twists and parodies on the show itself. One of these was Hal Seeger's Batfink , which was not exactly a parody but appropriated a fair number of elements of the show. Batfink came on the heels of Batman , but years into the '66 show's syndication, The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty included Catman , a hero who was clearly...

Burgess Meredith put glee and humor into his portrayal of the Penguin . Who knew it could be just as fun to play Meredith playing the Penguin? Greg Patterson , and attorney by trade, has also acted in some one-man shows at Mount Vernon Chautauqua in Ohio, playing historical figures including Meredith. He talks to us this time about his Bat-fandom and his portrayals of Meredith and Pengy. Also: you...

We need help procuring an interview with John Astin - we have some questions about his "substitution" as Riddler that we'd like to ask him! But he doesn't do interviews for free, and we're not exactly a major media outlet. Listen for details and, if you've got a few bucks for the cause, donate them here by THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021, at 7 a.m. Eastern Time.

The Riddler , a one-off villain in a Bill Finger/Dick Sprang comic book story in 1948, languished for nearly two decades until, in 1965, Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff happened to bring him back… just as a certain TV producer, William Dozier , was researching the idea of making a Batman TV show. Riddler ended up in the premiere episode, played by Frank Gorshin , and Gorshin was nominated for an E...

We've looked at Batman: The Movie from a director's standpoint; this time, we look at it from a cinematographer's. Howard Schwartz , Director of Photography on that film, published an article in American Cinematographer magazine's June 1966 issue called Bat-motography, or Capturing Batman on Film , which not only tells us some of the issues that came up in terms of lighting the film, but also cert...

One of our favorite Batman arcs growing up was the three-parter "The Zodiac Crimes" featuring the mind-blowing combination of Joker and Penguin ! But when Stephen Kandel wrote it, it was a two-parter introducing a new villain: The Astrologer . Why might it have been switched to a three-parter starring established villains? How much in the script did Stanford Sherman change when he was asked to rew...

Alan Napier was the third-billed star of Batman , and is, somewhat remarkably, the only series regular who has a memoir currently in print. The book, Not Just Batman's Butler , was written by Napier around 1970, and writer James Bigwood has edited and annotated it. At some points, Bigwood has filled in some quite large gaps that Napier left concerning his acting career, as the actor tended to focu...

You know about the 1966 Batman at Washburn fan film, made by students at Minneapolis' Washburn High School . (If you missed it, listen to episode 146!) But questions remained unanswered. How did the students get the school to let them shoot the film at school? How did they come up with the idea, and determine the casting? Why did they go with original villains? Why is there no Batcave? And...what'...

Most TV writers don't become stars. If we're fans of a show they wrote for, we probably know their names, but nowhere online can we find most writers' photos or dates of birth, let alone anything about their inner thoughts. Especially not writers who did their work decades ago. Collector Mitch Kaba has come along to help us get some insight into one of the more prolific Bat-writers: Stanford Sherm...

Breaking bat-news! The earliest-known Batman '66 fan film has been revealed! It was made by students at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the spring of 1966. As Batmania raged nationally, these kids decided to celebrate their school by making a Batman film in and around their school, with the cooperation of the school, including screen appearances by the principal, Carl W. Anderso...

Director Leslie Martinson , in his TV Academy interview that we explored last time, kept coming back to the question "What is the director's input" in a TV show or movie? When he pointed out his input to the famous "bomb" scene in Batman: The Movie , we became curious to see what other aspects of the film might show signs of "the director's input." So this time, we dig into the script of the Batma...

Leslie Martinson was the director of "The Penguin Goes Straight"/"Not Yet He Ain't" and "Batman: The Movie." He was a good friend of Adam West 's (but thought Burt Ward was "adequate"). As a director, how much impact did he have on the Batman legacy? For one thing, he played a big role in shaping the "bomb" scene into a signature scene of Adam West Batman ! The TV Academy's 2003 interview with Mar...

Nelson Riddle 's score for Batman , including the 1966 film Batman: The Motion Picture , features energetic, swing-influenced cues that adhere to the action like a Carl Stalling Looney Tunes score, and opera-esque motifs for each villain and each Bat-vehicle. As incidental music tends to be, it's probably the most underappreciated aspect of the series. In this episode, film music commentator Jeff...

When you see a script marked "FINAL," you probably assume that it's word-for-word the same as what was shot. In the case of "The Penguin Goes Straight"/"Not Yet He Ain't", it's not even the final script! It was followed by a "revised final" script, which still varies significantly from what was shot. Many lines are changed, scenes are tightened up, unnecessary scenes are cut. This time we take a l...

This time we resume reviewing the Batman '66 comic book series, with issues 3 and 4, featuring Joker, the Red Hood (huh? Isn't that Joker?), Egghead, the Mad Hatter, and Clock King. We discuss why Robin had two "holys" in a row, the mysterious floating egg-hat, Londinium suddenly becoming London, an unexpected kinship between villains, and more. Plus, Hefti's "Batman" theme performed by Eddie Vedd...