To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

In the wake of Adam West 's not-so-recent passing, we felt compelled to do a "thanks for the memories, Adam" episode. But, well, every episode functions as that, so this time, we present the memories of many other bat-fans who grew up watching Adam & co. in syndication (and, in two cases, on Wednesday and Thursday nights in the '60s!). Not coincidentally, our guests are now working in comics thems...

This time we convene in the place where the batmania started (for us): Centerville, Iowa ! This is the town where we lived when we first fell in love with the show. We happen to be here just as we've finished watching season two, and we take the opportunity to compare the first two seasons. (Few would argue that there wasn't a dropoff in quality as the series progressed, notably in the writing and...

Though it's not the fault of Eli Wallach , his turn as Mr. Freeze ends the second season on a weak note. Of course, there are a few strong points, such as Batman 's phone chat with Bruce Wayne , and yet another perfect Gotham City Police slogan from Commissioner Gordon . We discuss how Wallach ended up in the role, the reasons this arc doesn't pass the English Major test (including the reference t...

If you thought our Black Widow episode was a total camping trip, our take on season two's final Joker appearance may be even more so! Intentionally or not, Caesar Romero 's take this time has plenty of gay overtones. At the same time, the Joker is somehow more emotional and human this time. But has he become less intelligent? But the arc's stated subject is pop art, and its opinion is: it sucks. B...

Tallulah Bankhead , nearing the end of her career, appeared on Batman as the Black Widow in March 1967, in an episode that seems to be running on the theme of "bad judgement". Did writer Robert Mintz have the bad judgement to pun on Bankhead's name? (Probably not.) How was Bankhead's judgement in life? What does Tim judge to have been his favorite part of the usual formula for each arc? We also to...

In 1966, the Batman TV show was big in numerous countries, including Tim 's adopted home of Japan , where it led to the licensed creation of a series of Japanese Batman comics. While the purpose of the comics (written and drawn by Jiro Kuwata ) was to cash in on the show's popularity, the stories are based on Batman comics of the early '60s and before, though often greatly decompressed, with added...

    This episode, we first must tip our hats to our favorite caped crusader, Adam West , who passed away June 9 at 88. What was that magic touch he had as an actor? Would the show even have been the show without him? Then it's onward with King Tut's Coup and Batman's Waterloo . Do these two episodes make up the best King Tut arc so far? If so, in what ways? Was Robin 's part in this arc intentiona...

It's the showdown of the century… Bruce Lee vs Burt Ward ! Or at least, that seems to have been how some young viewers — and Lee himself — saw this arc! As the Green Hornet and Kato visit Gotham, we dig into Lee's seeming obsession with Ward. So why did the Hornet appear on Batman ? Does the Hornet bring his own tone, or get his tone changed for him by Batman? Paul notes how different the Hornet l...

In September 1966, William Dozier 's Greenway Productions debuted its new series The Green Hornet . Originally a radio series beginning in 1936, the Green Hornet has also appeared in movie serials and comic books, and a 2011 movie. In this episode, we look at the character's history, how the TV series came to be and the mark it left on the property (particularly on how the Hornet's assistant Kato...

Catwoman goes to college, but says she can't go straight without "the love of a good man." And yet, she keeps trying to kill that good man! Even so, the sexual tension between bat and cat gives us a surprisingly long, natural-seeming conversation between the two to close out Julie Newmar 's final bat-appearance. In this episode, we also discuss the broadcast order of the Catwoman episodes, vs how...

" The Joker's Last Laugh " arc is Lorenzo Semple Jr. 's last writing for "Batman", a teleplay from a story written by crime novelist Peter Rabe . But that story originally featured Two-Face ! (Read the treatment here . Thanks to High C for providing!) The Joker version contains at least one vestige of the Twofaceiness of the original story, and also shows Semple seeming to comment on the sitcom th...

 Analyzing draft scripts has proven to be a fascinating way to watch the Batman '66 creative process happening, so this time we're digging into Stanley Ralph Ross and Lee Orgel 's first draft of The Purrfect Crime/Better Luck Next Time . Among the questions explored: Why does Batman never say "Boy Wonder"? Why can Gordon not say "Batman" when he's on the Batphone with Bruce not in costume? How did...

We're celebrating two years! Batman is celebrating… well, we're not sure how many. But there's a new Riddler in town, and he's got a mustache! The question mark on the Riddler's costume is appropriate, given how many questions are raised by this arc: John Astin isn't necessarily inferior to Frank Gorshin , but how do their performances differ? How might Gorshin have handled this script? Why didn't...

On this week's episode of "Bewitched" … wait, this is "Batman" ?? What has become of our beloved played-serious-for-humor show? The tone now feels like a full-on sitcom, and the Dynamic Duo have been reduced to Penguin's playthings, on the excuse that they have to "keep an eye on him" but can't arrest him JUST YET… Oh, and by the way, there's a hand puppet in this arc. Still, there's plenty of int...

Ever since the '66 series was finally released on home video, the bat-gods have continued to favor us with cool new stuff featuring Adam West as Batman. Now here comes the big, colorful, and informative Batman: A Celebration of the Classic TV Series , by Bob Garcia and Joe Desris , filled not just with production stills and backstage shots, but a great writeup built on interviews with cast and cre...

Lesley Gore assists Catwoman , and does a show-stopping performance — as in, bringing the story to a screeching halt — with her "California Nights." She also administers "cataphrenic" to local-police-respecting Robin , making him into a cop-shoving, cliche-spouting hood! We talk about how Julie Newmar 's portrayal (and Stanley Ralph Ross 's writing) of Catwoman has changed since her season one app...

In 1943, Columbia released a 15-episode Batman serial to movie theaters. This was during a time when the government was asking Hollywood to tailor its movies to the message the government wanted to send to the public about the war effort, which often resulted in racist images of the Axis Powers , especially Japan . In this episode, Tim and Paul look at all aspects of the serials, and compare and c...

"The Zodiac Crimes" -- that three-parter with Joker AND Penguin ! -- is a favorite arc from our childhood that seared itself into our memories — maybe more than we realized! In this episode we look at why this arc stuck with us, and whether it still stands up. What we didn't appreciate about Zodiac as kids was the campiness, from Penguin using "cologne" to Venus acting as a "sexually-available wom...

When Mad Hatter 's foppishness is now complete with lisp; when Batman is wearing a pink cowl; when Bruce and Dick are afraid Alfred is going to reveal their "secret" to Aunt Harriet , you know it's the campiest Batman arc ever! Perhaps too campy; David Wayne 's portrayal of the Hatter is now so over-the-top, the character seems to be in on the joke. We ask: at this point, has Batman killed camp? O...

We've reached our 50th episode , and reached the point the series was at exactly 50 years ago! So we take a pause this episode, first to discuss the series itself and how it's progressed (or deteriorated!) by this point. Then, at last, we discuss that script we obtained several months ago: Hickery Dickery Doc , by Jay Thompson , extensively revised by Charles Hoffman to become the Impractical Joke...

The notorious European criminal Sandman is in town - and he's teamed up with Catwoman ! But that's not how writer Ellis St. Joseph had envisioned this episode, which he based on the classic film " The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ." He had written a Catwoman-free script, and Michael Rennie wasn't in it, either! Tim and Paul are joined by cartoonist and podcaster Joe Dator to discuss the crumbling of St...

With Batman '66's most popular Special Guest Villain still holding out for more money as the show was cutting its budget, it was decided that Fred De Gorter 's Riddler script "A Penny for your Riddles" should be rewritten to instead feature a new villain: The Puzzler , played by occasional Shakespearean Maurice Evans . A kind listener sent us a PDF of the original Riddler script , so in this episo...

What does a Lorenzo Semple Jr. Batman script look like? What does it tell us about the contributions he made to the series? His influences in setting the tone for the series? The things he tried to set up that didn't make it to the screen? In this episode, The Batcave Podcast 's John S. Drew joins Tim and Paul to look over Semple's Scripts for Hi Diddle Riddle/Smack in the Middle and Fine Feathere...

Holy timeslip! West , Ward , and Newmar are back in their 1966 roles in Rick Morales' Return of the Caped Crusaders ! In this episode, we dig in (in other words, SPOILERS) on the new movie. Does Catwoman 's "batnip" really make Batman "evil"? Or change him in some other way? How did we process hearing the voices of the three surviving principles 50 years later? Did the animation style fit the feel...

As Catwoman and Batman get in touch with their feelings over each other (and for some reason, Robin is a factor), our heroes' Dynamic Duo-ness is challenged by out-of-towners Chad and Jeremy . And Stanley Ralph Ross turns in such a jokey script that the rhyming question must be asked: is this the arc that jumps the shark? Then, our friend Wally Wingert is back! He voiced The Riddler in the new ani...