To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 (Tim and Paul)

Former Batman comics writer Winston Lyon, fresh off his novel Batman vs. Three Villains of Doom, a few months later produced the novelization of Batman: The Movie, a book called Batman vs. the Fearsome Foursome. This time, for our 200th episode, we discuss the book: though based on Lorenzo Semple, Jr.’s screenplay, it betrays a different attitude toward Batman than Semple, and the Batman show in general, held.

Plus, one of our favorite versions of the Batman theme, Cesar Romero interviewed by Jean Boone at the premiere of Batman: The Movie, and more of your reaction to our discussion of West and Gorshin's Shea Stadium show!

Screenplay of Batman: The Movie

Famously, Burt Ward has said that, in the episode BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, he was placed above a pit of tigers, with meat hanging above him that encouraged the tigers to jump. Meanwhile, in THE OFFICIAL BATMAN BATBOOK, Joel Eisner says there were no live tigers, just a clip from an old movie. Who's right? The answer may surprise you! Scott Sebring has shared his interesting research on this topic with us, and we share it in this episode - available only on Patreon!

When talking about Batman, discussion tends to focus on Adam West, Burt Ward, and those who played villains who the Dynamic Duo brought to justice. But here we’ve done nearly 200 episodes and mostly missed someone whose name is in the opening credits for the first two seasons: Madge Blake. So this time we’ve dug in to see what we could learn about this woman who started acting late in life, charmed fellow actors but frustrated some directors, and worked with Jack Benny, Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly, and more.

We also take a look at her Batman character, Aunt Harriet: her origins in the comics, how the TV and comics versions differed, and what we can tell about the TV version based on her scenes; there’s more to know there than you might think!

ALSO: the Mr. Tabs guitar tutorial version of the Batman theme, Vincent Price and Adam watch themselves in a Batman clip on the Mike Douglas Show, Holy Deja Vu asks “Who was Milton Stark?”, and we once again visit the Bat Inbox.

Madge Blake articles in Today's Health Magazine from March 1960

Madge on the Jack Benny Show

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This time we look at the other sitcom that tried to cash in on Batman, CBS’s Mr. Terrific. It’s goofier than Captain Nice and not as funny (although the laugh track clearly doesn’t think that!), but with a surprisingly good cast. We discuss the unaired pilot, and the first 8 episodes of the 17-episode series, which is quite different from the pilot, with an utterly different cast and different situation for Mr. T’s alter ego, Stanley Beamish. 

Plus: Max Diaz Music’s “punk” version of the theme, Adam and Burt appearing on Hour Magazine in 1984, and your response to our discussion of the Batman cast reunion on Fox’s Late Night with Ross Shafer, in episode 211! 

A huge aspect of the Batman show is the colorful costumes, overseen by designer Jan Kemp. Sadly, Kemp is no longer with us, and his records, if they exist, are not easily available, so if you want to make a really accurate Batman ’66 replica costume, some detective work is required. Chuck and Lynne Williams have done just that, making patterns from original costumes owned by collectors, tracking down existing supplies of fabrics that are no longer made, and more. This time, we hear from this dynamic duo about their detective work and what they’ve learned about how the costumes were made, what happened when the prop department needed to get involved (for example, the Mad Hatter’s mesmerizer hat), why Batman’s cowl and cape tended to turn purple over time, and more.

Plus, the Alfred Music Marching Band version of the theme, and your mail about the Thirteenth Hat script and more.

Vicki Lawrence talks with Jan Kemp and the Bat-crew

Adam on the Howard Stern Show: An original cowl?

Batgirl Teaches Batman a Lesson about Equal Pay

Comparing the Batman screen tests

Discussion of the Hizzoner the Penguin script on the Bat Message Board

What better topic for our 100th episode than the star of our favorite show? We watched the Television Academy's 2006 interview with Adam West, which does overlap somewhat with Adam's Back to the Batcave, of course, but still gives us some new insights.

Then we realized that there's someone else we haven't given enough credit for the good things in Batman '66: Executive Producer William Dozier. While we rail against his penny-pinching ways as the series went on, if it hadn't been for him, our beloved show might not exist! A bit of research turned up a 1966 episode of the CBC program Telescope which not only featured a Dozier interview that provides an interesting comparison with West's, but also some fascinating on-the-set footage.

Plus, the Pleasantville 6th grade band's version of the Batman theme, and your mail!

Adam West interview

CBC's "Telescope" featuring William Dozier

Hollywood Reporter on Adam's art

Holy Precursor! William Dozier and the First Organized Wave of Comic-Based TV Shows (rebeatmag.com)

William Dozier (66batmania.com)

Pleasantville 6th grade band pounds through Hefti's "Batman" theme

At last, it's time to talk Catwoman! Lovely Julie Newmar's first appearance on the show finally gives us a strong female character -- but what exactly do we mean by "strong female"?

Also, how lines that strike adults as "what a square Batman is" jokes also worked to impart serious messages to kids, Nelson Riddle's beautiful musical narration, another raunchy joke that got past the censors, and more.

The 11th issue of the Batman ’66 comics series gives us an unusual full-issue story in which the Joker teams up with a very Newmaresque Catwoman to break from prison and try to crack up all of Gotham! But how do we feel about these modern Batman elements, such as Arkham, showing up in this context? Is the series fan service going in too many different directions?

PLUS: The iPhonedo Garage Band version of the Batman theme, more from Adam and Burt on The Merv Griffin Show, mail on the Batman/Star Trek Act-Off, and one of our listeners “draws” a lot of attention!

13 Groovy BATMAN ’66 Villains That Should Have Been — RANKED - by Ken Holtzhouser

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 Gorshin appear in the 2nd season?
• How do three intersecting cuts of a pie give one seven pieces?
• Why was the charity money for Batman’s anniversary put in, of all things, a golden calf?
• Is sodium dichloride really used to seed clouds?

Also, we look at a couple of new contributions by Nelson Riddle in this arc, the uncredited cast member who had bit parts in several all-time classic films, and much more.

Plus, the Well Paid Scientists' version of the Batman theme, and a bagful of Batmail, including yet another burning question: Why is the character of Batman such a good fit for humorous takes?

(Scroll down for stills and videos)

Batman's trophy case (click to enlarge)

 Where is this street?

 From "Zelda the Great"; notice the area above the sliding bookcase -- compare the far shot and the closeup

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"Batman Meets the Riddler" from College Humor

The 1989 Batman movie was the result of a decade of pitching, rewriting, and personnel changes. It made a Batcave full of money, but is it a good Batman film?

Tim and Paul revisit Tim Burton's first try at Batman, starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton, after not watching it since it was first run in theaters. Does it look any different now? Does it look any better than it did? How were the film and its development affected by the Adam West iteration of live-action Batman?

PLUS: The Piano Guys' "Batman Evolution" and your mail!

November 1989 Cinefantastique articles on Batman '89

A double-header for our 4th anniversary (and, we forgot to mention, Batman's 80th!). First, we review the recent six-issue series Archie Meets Batman '66. How does the Caped Crusader end up joining forces with America's favorite teenager?

Then, listener Chris Cavanaugh joins us to talk about his Bat-fandom growing up, fueled as much by Silver Age DC comics as it was by Batman on TV!

Plus, the Remix Maniacs version of the theme, and your mail about our Batman Returns episode!

16 things you didn't know about Poison Ivy

American Heritage Center travel grants

BGSU Batman Conference

Victor Buono as King Tut is perhaps the most divisive villain among Bat-fans: some call him a genius, others roll their eyes whenever he appears. What is it that makes him more/less fun than the Joker or the Penguin? In this episode, having just watched "The Curse of Tut" and "The Pharaoh's in a Rut", we discuss this question and others: Why are there so many dummies in this episode? (Bruce certainly acts like one in the museum scene...) What happened to the Batmobile's security functions? Who the freak are “old Mo” and “the Hot Squad”?? And of course we discuss sexism, police ineptitude, and Nelson Riddle's score, including the return of... the Batusi!

Vincent Price makes his Bat-debut as Egghead! Price is generally associated with the horror genre, although he could also be considered a camp icon. And so could someone else in this arc! Is the character of Chief Screaming Chicken satire or racism? Well… yes. Also, a window cameo by Jose Jimenez. Who? We explore this and several other cameos and familiar faces (or voices) in this arc, with detours through Get Smart, The Brady Bunch, F Troop and more! Holy intertextuality!

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 us in discussing Romero’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime. We also discuss how Romero compares to more recent film takes on the character, and Ken shares with us his spot-on analysis of the shifting goals of the makers of Batman and how Joker’s characterization evolved with them.

Also: Bat Audio of Romero himself, and a Bat-theme take with both of the qualities we’re sick of: The Ventures and guitar tutorials!

Read our next script: The Phantom Pharaoh, an early draft of The Curse of Tut!

Comment on the script on the '66 Batman message board

Noah Berlatsky: The Best Joker is still Cesar Romero in the '66 Batman TV Show, Hands Down

Jason Read - "Batman Theme" The Ventures Guitar Lesson

Gallery of Joker stills (watch the changing colors and widening of the lips)

The Joker's Wild

The Joker Goes to School

The Impractical Joker

The Joker's Hard Times

Pop Goes the Joker

The Joker's Flying Saucer

Dick Carr's first draft of The Silent Film Capers — which Bat-fans know as Death in Slow Motion — was submitted in November 1965. It went through numerous revisions before becoming the story we know and love. In this episode, we go through the first three drafts of the script and find the original form of the giant book, a cut subplot about chocolate cake, the reason Mr. Van Jones doesn't seem to mind that Riddler ruined his party, and much more.

Plus, the Skeletal Family version of the Batman theme, and your mail!

The Silent Film Capers by Dick Carr:

• First draft
• Second draft
• Polished version

The Ogg Couple (original three-part version), "final script" by Stanford Sherman

Thread on The Ogg Couple on the '66 Batman Message Board

Captain Action information link from Chris Cavanaugh

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 references to the West version.

ALSO: Burt Ward talking about injuries on the set, and a jazzy version of Hefti’s theme performed by Les and Larry Elgart!

And so we arrive at the last episode of Batman. Of course, the show didn't get a spectacular sendoff; they didn't even give us any of the major villains. Instead, Zsa Zsa Gabor, who had twice almost appeared on the show, finally gets her turn, as (relatively?) evil spa owner Minerva. ("How could she be evil? She's so beautiful!") What's perhaps more notable is the amount of self-parody in the episode, including appearances by executive producer William Dozier and producer Howie Horwitz! Join us as we wrap up the TV series - but not the podcast series!

Also, Richard Bakalyan inspires "deja vu", the Bat Research Lab uncovers when Batman was merely one of the world's greatest detectives, and we read your mail about the parade of bat-parodies!

Zsa Zsa Gabor's 1966 letter to Dozier

Sounds Incorporated's Batman theme

The 1974 "Equal Pay" PSA

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 Vedder and daughter Harper, and your reaction to episode 138's "Batman Forever" discussion!

Louie, The Lilac is a surprising episode for how un-Uncle Milty-like Milton Berle's performance is. It's also uneven, with some nice camera shots, but also many poorly-presented plot points — and some that aren't presented at all! We do get a few scenes of Gotham City's flower children — and just what is the show's take on that movement? How much social commentary might there be hiding among the lilacs?

In this episode we compare this season three Batman episode to its ancestor, Dwight Taylor's script Please Omit Tomatoes, which has the outlines of the same death trap as the filmed episode, but nothing else in common with it.

ALSO: We confess our Bat-sins, for we have blasphemed Batman '66! What was the appeal of the '66 show to fans of Marvel Comics? Plus, the Orchester Friedel Berlipp version of the theme, and your mail!

"Louie the Lilac" draft script (entitled "Please Omit Tomatoes") PDF script

"Please Omit Tomatoes" thread on the '66 Batman message board

"Fashions in Crime", unfilmed script by Peggy Shaw, PDF

"Fashions in Crime" thread on the '66 Batman message board

The February 19, 1966 Bob Hope special has been removed from YouTube! If you find another posting of it, please let us know and we'll link to it from here!

Mr. Zero? Dr. Schimmel? No, Mr. Freeze! In Max Hodge’s first draft of Instant Freeze, the comics villain Mr. Zero, for reasons we discussed last episode, became Mr. Freeze. But the script contains many more references to his “real” name, Dr. Schimmel, than made it to what was broadcast. Why? Where’d this script's unexplained parade come from? What would the Batman series have been like with more animation effects on the screen, outside of the Batfights? All this and more as we dig into a preliminary plot summary and the full first draft of Mr. Freeze’s first TV appearance.

PLUS: The Derek Paravicini jazz piano version of the Batman theme, Adam West on Victor Buono’s comedy album and on Batman bubble gum cards, and your mail about our discussion of 1997’s Batman and Robin!

Hodge's preliminary plot summary of the arc

Full first-draft script, part one

Full first-draft script, part two

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 certain scenes in the first season, and plenty of other interesting tidbits. This time, we discuss the article, and also the sixth issue of the Batman ’66 comic book, featuring a (nearly) spot-on take on the Bookworm by Tom Peyer.

Also: the Batman theme as played in 2008 by Chicchi, a (then) young girl playing surf guitar; and your mail about our talk with the principals of Batman at Washburn!

Help Tim move away from his cough-inducing apartment

Chicchi playing "The Cruel Sea"

How might a longtime Batman comics reader in 1966 have reacted to Burgess Meredith's portrayal of the Penguin? That's the question our friend Kyle hit on a few months ago, and in this episode he joins us to read pre-'66 Batman comics to compare how similar Meredith's Penguin was to the character in stories by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff, France Herron, and the like. How similar are the two versions, and where are they different?

Plus, your mail about our discussion of The Joker's Flying Saucer!

Four and Twenty Penguins: from Batman 43 (1947) and Batman 155 (1963)

A Comic History of the Penguin on theneitherworld.com

The Penguin on ComicVine

Burgess Meredith's single: The Capture and The Escape

Batman by Garotos Podres

The Joker I've Thrilled Many a Woman T-shirt on 80stees.com

Discussion of BATPOLES episode 121 "Send Off the Clown" on 66batman.com

Batman for U.S. Savings Bonds

It's George Sanders as Mr. Freeze! Unless you're a movie buff, you might not know much else that George Sanders did in film -- or why, in comparison, his Batman performance is a bit disappointing. Tim and Paul discuss.

Also: Why did the writers make Batman responsible for Mr. Freeze’s condition? Where else did Shelby Grant and Robert Hogan appear? And the usual plausibility concerns — but maybe logical plotting just wasn't a priority on ‘60s TV?

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 interest to talk about in the Penguin-Marsha three-parter: Its reflexivity in presenting the making of a film in a film; how the people on screen can’t see anything we can’t see, even that film crew that’s just ten feet away from them; the way this arc is simultaneously moving ever more aggressively away from the normal formula, and giving us things we haven’t seen since Hi Diddle Riddle!

We also get into the background of the Dance of Seven Veils and the “Scene 12” milk bath, and ask the question: if the show is becoming more like a sitcom, does that mean it's MORE or LESS campy?

Plus, another overflowing Bat-Mailbag, and the Sam Chalpin version of the Batman theme!

Shots of the film crews shown in this arc (click to enlarge)

Frank Gorshin returns for one more round as the Riddler. Is he as good as ever, or down for the count? Does Joan Collins' appearance as Siren steal Gorshin's screen time? Is Riddler's alias Mushi Nebuchadnezzar meant as a Muhammad Ali reference? Is Batgirl way smarter than the Dynamic Duo, or is she just written that way?

In our Camping Trip, Paul notes how the brisk pace of season three episodes has abbreviated the camp moments as well.

Also, in the Bat Research Lab, we look at a late-'70s take on the '66 show from Gary Gerani's book "Fantastic Television." Plus, a metal version of Hefti's Bat-theme from 331 Erock, and your mail!

Read the draft script of Ring Around the Riddler

Batman 1966 Meets Metal

Bat-Lava Soap Commercial

The appearance of Biljo White's fanzine BATMANIA was well timed. Not only did it contain coverage of, and fan reaction to, the New Look Batman of the comics, but also covered the mid-sixties resurgence of the 1940s Batman serials, and meteoric rise and fall of the '66 TV show. While some Batmanians accepted that Hollywood was never going to give them a better filmed Batman than this, others railed against the show "making fun of" the Dynamic Duo, and placed much of the blame squarely on Lorenzo Semple's shoulders.

Still, Batmania turns out to be not only a source of Batman '66 reviews and criticism, but first-hand reporting on events and people directly related to the show, and some surprising bits of information. Tim and Paul try to dig through to some of these interesting nuggets.

PLUS: the Little Britain School Band version of Neal Hefti's Batman theme, and your mail!

Batmania archive

This time, a double-header!

First, we finish what we started by discussing Legends of the Superheroes: The Roast. Was it a great achievement by West and Ward? (Um…) Was Frank Gorshin probably better off for having skipped it? Was the inclusion of Ghetto Man racist? Is it really a roast at all? Is it, you know, funny at any point? We discuss all these questions, the big and small names that appeared in the credits, and more.

Then, we talk to Eric Elliott, who's in charge of a project to turn a 1960s treatment for an unrealized Batman Meets Godzilla movie into an online comic!

Plus Toma Lazarov's dubstep version of the Batman theme, and your response to our discussion of Minerva, Mayhem, and Millionaires!

Mark Evanier on how Legends came to be

Jim Beard writes on Tor.com about Legends and the origin of that awful cowl

Marc Nobleman begins his search for Legends cast members in 2011

Nobleman finds Barbara Joyce (Huntress) - but too late

Nobleman finds - and talks to - Howard Murphy (Green Lantern)

(Thanks to JB Anderton for the Noblemania links - misattributed on the show! Sorry about that...)

Minerva "episode episode" discussion on the '66 message board

Hanna-Barbera's Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? on Daily Motion

Here's the cover of that Rexall Alice comic book we owned way back when

Mark Evanier on Howard Morris (Dr. Sivana) and why he quit working for Hanna-Barbera in the '60s

You've heard it said millions of times that Adam West Batman is "campy". But... what exactly does that mean?

This episode, Tim and Paul explore camp. What is it? Where did the term come from? What's the difference between "camp" and "camping"? What does Batman have in common with drag queens? Also: Was Batman '66 a "sitcom"?

Susan Sontag's "Notes On Camp"

"Camp" on Wikipedia

One of the reasons often given for the quality dropoff in Batman season three has been that, in one-part episodes with so many characters, time is tight. So how to account for Louie's Lethal Lilac Time, a one-parter that seems not to even have enough story for 22 minutes!? And yet, we seem to be missing things, as scenes are cut off before they appear to be over. Meanwhile, should Yvonne Craig be reporting Neil Hamilton to HR for #metoo-related reasons?

Also, Tim reports on the Bowling Green State University "Batman in Popular Culture" conference, and gives highlights of the '66-related material presented there. Plus, the Beat Torrent version of the Batman theme, and your responses to the Catwoman/Joker script episode!

All six radio ads for the 1966 Batman movie

Japanese TV ad for "Mandom" cologne, starring Charles Bronson and featuring Percy Helton (1970)

BGSU "Batman in Popular Culture" conference - list of panels

Frank Zappa & Burt Ward -- "The Boy Wonder Sessions" 1966

Lee Hazlewood, The Woodchucks, and the Cruisin' for Surf Bunnies album - popmatters.com

Photos from the BGSU Bat-conference - click to enlarge

Troy R. Kinunen from MEARS Online Pop Culture Auctions speaks while displaying the costumes from the 1965 Batman screen test

Bill Schurk (left) speaks about Batman-related music

A Bat-display case in the lounge area leading to the BGSU pop culture holdings

Hey, that's not Batman! #notmybatman

When Batman hit in early 1966, it set a trend of superheroes in pop culture that many rushed to emulate. By the time many of these bat-mimics were ready for public consumption, the trend was on its way out. One such wave-rider was Captain Nice, created by Buck Henry, and repeating some gags from Henry’s hit Get Smart. While Captain Nice brought some really funny moments, it failed to catch on with audiences. Was this simply because the bat-bubble had burst? Or was it that Henry wasn’t the right person to grab the lightning in a bottle that Lorenzo Semple, Jr., had captured? We look at the strengths and weaknesses of the show, the possible reasons for its failure, and whether Captain Nice was meant to be a bat-clone, or a conventional sitcom starring a superhero.

Plus, the Solid Ghost Band theme version, MTV looks at a party commemorating 20 years since the last Batman primetime episode, and ChrisBCritter explains how Dr. Somnambula’s stethescope worked!

Watch Captain Nice on Archive.org

Batman Reunion Party, 1988

Sold Ghost Band theme version

Just a couple of months after Batman hit the airwaves in 1966, another superhero emerged from the comics, as Superman arrived at the Alvin Theater on Broadway in It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. How did the musical's creators approach the same question William Dozier and Lorenzo Semple, Jr., dealt with in 1965: how to make a "children's character" appealing to adults? We compare and contrast the two shows' approaches. After a good start, the musical closed in less than four months; was Batman to blame? And, what's the deal with that late-night 1975 TV version? All this, plus Adam's story of meeting the pope, and your response to our Hizzoner the Penguin script episode!

Concord Theatricals offers two weeks with the musical's libretto at no charge

Broadway cast album on Amazon

"It's a Bird" 1975 TV version

1975 newspaper column confirms date of broadcast

Abraham Riesman's Vulture.com article

Keith DeCandido's Tor.com article

Bob Holiday as Superman in Aqua Velva ad

New York Times on 2013 production

Drew Friedman on the musical (Lots of cool photos)

There have been many Batman cast reunions on talk shows over the years, particularly as the 1989 Batman movie’s release approached. Previously we talked about the 1988 reunion on The Late Show with Ross Shafer, an overbooked, poorly stage-managed affair. This time we look at another reunion in 1988, on The Wil Shriner show. Shriner’s show kept the number of guests to a manageable number, and Shriner was more knowledgeable about the show than Shafer, making this reunion about the best you could hope for on a talk show for a general audience. This time we discuss this Wil Shriner episode.

Plus, the Silverwood Clarinet Choir plays an interesting arrangement of Hefti’s Batman theme, and we get a look at a particularly sexist take on Batgirl from Detective Comics 371. 

Watch the Wil Shriner Batman reunion episode

Without a doubt, one of the most maligned Batman episodes is Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club. The episode's sexist portrayal of women obviously wouldn't fly today, but do the men in this episode fare any better? It seems to have been another of Stanford Sherman's satirical Batman episodes, arguably a failed one.

But every episode has its fans, and this time we review Nora with a fan of this one: Fred, a.k.a. "twof," the former proprietor of the defunct Batgirl Bat-Trap web site. Fred has the script and tells us of changes and cut scenes that could have helped the episode had they stayed.

Also, the Singaia version of the theme, and your response to the "Impossible Crimes" episode!

Dig into the next set of scripts up for discussion!

• Tut Tut Tut, treatment by Pauline and Leo Townsend
• Tut Tut Tut, by Pauline and Leo Townsend
• King Tut's Coup, Stanley Ralph Ross' draft rewrite of Tut Tut Tut
• King Tut's Coup, final, by Stanley Ralph Ross
• Thread about these scripts on the 66 Batman Message Board

We remain in Londinium, where Batman seems oddly bored by a bomb scare, and Lord Ffogg proves able to be in two places at the same time. Also, in spite of having three whole parts to work with, this story still seems to be running short of time and leaving important story points to the imagination of the viewer.

Our own imaginations were stoked by hours of play as kids with the Mego World's Greatest Superheroes action figures of the '70s, and in this episode we also take a look back at some of their adventures and the playsets we built for them — and also, the unexpected return of Mego in 2018!

Plus, a Bat-Recycling Quiz, the Sharp Five's version of the Batman theme, and proof that the Hang Five dancing scene from Surf's Up, Joker's Under was broadcast by some cable TV channels with different backing music!

Treatment for The Transatlantic Terror (the basis for the Londinium trilogy) by Elkan Allan

Comic Book Central podcast episode 244: Mego Roundtable with Marty Abrams, Paul Clarke, and Brian Heiler

Comparison of bars. Note the carved trim across the top of the backing in both photos. Click to enlarge.

Come Back, Shame

The Foggiest Notion

The World's Greatest Superheroes!

The Dynamic Duo rushes to stop a prison break!

Sorry! We're going to have to delay the next episode by a week or two.

We all have our favorite characters and actors from Batman, but how many of us are fanboys for Executive Producer William Dozier? Well, for one, there's Oscar Lilley, proxy researcher at the American Heritage Center in Laramie, Wyoming. In the process of working with Dozier's papers, Oscar has grown intrigued with Dozier's backstory and impressed by how he did his job. In this episode, he tells us about his selflessness, his business sense, and how the trajectory of Dozier's 1965 series The Loner tracks with that of Batman. Also, more circumstantial evidence that seem to disprove the Fourth Season Myth!

Plus, the Amosdoll Music version of the theme, and your response to our discussion of the Funny Feline Felonies!

Semple to Dozier - Hi Diddle Riddle

Doizer response to Semple

Dozier to ABC - cliffhangers

Dozier to Rod Serling

Dozier to Adam West about Lyle Waggoner screen test

Semple to Dozier - Frank Gorshin etc

ABC's notes on Hi Diddle Riddle - caviar etc.

Dozier response to ABC

Semple notes Max Hodge's Mr. Freeze script

Semple to Dozier -- "Doom Trap" (which became "Zelda the Great")

More letters from Semple

More Semple reaction to Hodge script: "Worse than I thought"

Bob Kane writes to Dozier with suggestions

Docket from Dozier's 1943 trial

Dozier pardoned by Harry Truman

Dozier's "Glossary" of Hollywood stars

Next script: "The Secret of the Impossible Crimes"

Discuss this script on the 66 Batman message board!

In "Hot off the Griddle" and "The Cat and the Fiddle", Julie Newmar's Catwoman takes on new dimensions, including sex kitten and little old lady. In discussing whether this arc has too many un-Semple-like zingers, Tim and Paul make a digression into the definition of “high camp.” Are people using this expression to describe Batman without quite understanding what it means?

Also: the advantages to having the same writer, Stanley Ralph Ross, continue to write Catwoman. And, is the character of Jack O’Shea a reference to any specific gossip columnist, real or fictional? He's certainly another manifestation of Ross's “hidden accomplice” plot device.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon keeps talking to the camera, Nelson Riddle turns out more great music, Aunt Harriet has her finest moment, Batman highland dances (or does he?), and...wait, our blog has comments?!

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 look at both scripts in comparison with what made it to film, and contemplate the reasons for the changes.

Plus, the Finality (drumstep) version of the theme, and your mail about episode 139, "Batman Meets Godzilla" #2 and the Battle Over the Batmobile!

Final Script

Revised Final Script

Discussion of these scripts on the '66 message board

Discussion of episode 139 on the '66 message board

Holy continuation! In the latest edition of Bat Bits, we attempt to come up with some guidelines for what makes a good “holy”. Also: Just because a holy was used on Batman 66, does that make it a “good” one? Join us on Patron for at least $2 a month to hear Bat Bits, as well as ad-free versions of future TO THE BATPOLES episodes! Go to Patreon dot com slash decon comics!

Also in this promo, an announcement concerning TO THE BATPOLES!

One of the most striking things — in a good way, for once! — about Batman’s third season is the number of villains who are women. Also, of course, this is the season of Batgirl, who is more aggressively “feminized” than any other woman on the show, perhaps because she’s doing “a man’s job.” This time we begin a look at how the show presents women in season three by looking at the season's first five episodes, and we’re joined again by novelist Nancy Northcott.

PLUS: What if King Crimson performed the Batman theme? A Batman writer turns out to be a war hero! And, Bat Audio from another Batman reunion in 1989.

Read the Clock King scripts we’ll discuss next month:

• First draft
• Final draft
• Revised final
• Comment on the script on the message board

Panel discussions on Nancy's ConTinual channel

If King Crimson performed the Batman theme (from JB Anderton!)

A Marine's-eye View of the Battle of Iwo Jima (yes, it's bat-relevant!)

More about the Iwo Jima video project, including our Bat-writer bravery medal recipient

Frank Cockrell on OldTimeRadioDownloads.com

1989 Batman reunion on CBS This Morning

While Batman and Robin never had their own show back in the "Golden Age of Radio," they did appear from time to time on The Adventures of Superman. Sometimes it was because Superman actor Bud Collyer was taking the day off, but in the case of "Batman's Great Mystery", he appears in all eleven episodes as Batman (Stacy Harris) has disappeared, and Superman helps Robin (Ronald Liss) try to locate him. WHAT WILL HAPPEN? Tune in to this podcast, fellas and girls, for the intriguing answer!

Plus, the Superhero Suite version of the theme, and your mail about Ross's final Shame!

Hear the entire story (without the contest winners etc) on YouTube

Access nearly every Adventures of Superman episode on zootradio.com

Jessica Plummer's writeup of the AoF series (and racism therein) on bookriot.com

Wikipedia on The Adventures of Superman

"Batman's Great Mystery" discussed on the Classic Horror Film Board at tapatalk.com

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 this story was intact from the beginning and which aspects evolved later. Also, why do pseudosciences like alchemy and astrology tend to get lumped together?

Also, Batman for 8 Cellos, Holy Deja Vu looks at Angelique Pettyjohn, and we read your mail about our episode 152 Riddler talk with Wally Wingert!

Help Tim move away from his cough-inducing apartment

SCRIPTS

Batman Meets his Match

The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra

Mr. Terrific was cancelled after half a season, but… was it really a terrible show? Is star Stephen Strimpell partly to blame? This time, we push back on Thirteen Week Theatre’s take on Strimpell, consider why pill popping was such a common way to get superpowers in the Sixties, and the show’s …. agressive … laugh track. Also, were the network execs commissioning superhero sitcoms really trying to imitate Batman, or just cash in?

Plus, The Music Within’s bass guitar cover of the Batman theme, more from Adam and Burt on Hour Magazine, and e-mail from our listeners!

Excerpt from Outré magazine's Stephen Strimpell interview (ilovegetsmart.com)

Various other Bat-commentaries paint this arc in drab tones. What Carolyn Jones (apparently replacing Zsa Zsa Gabor at something close to the last moment) brings to the role of Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, is basically Morticia Addams with a different look, says conventional wisdom. The arc is full of filler scenes that don’t advance the story, say commentators. In this episode of To the Batpoles, Paul presents a much different view of Marsha, which sees these “filler” scenes as absolutely necessary to the theme of this arc. And what is that theme? Listen to find out — and pack your Coleman stove, because there WILL be camping!

PLUS: The Jam’s version of the theme; an intertextual reference in Marsha that you might have missed; Tim investigates the “bat-cave scene” from spaghetti western The Relentless Four that Adam West described in Back to the Batcave, and works to track down the original Jay Thompson script that was rewritten into The Impractical Joker; and your mail!

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 rewrite it into what was broadcast? And, can a huge meteorite falling on you cause you to be… burned to death?? We’ll see as we walk through the script!

Read the script

Also, guitarist Marcos Kaiser performs the Batman themes of 1966 and 1989, and your mail about our discussion of Sherman’s letters prompts us to drill into the probable causes of the gradual “slide” in bat-script quality.

Akron newspaper article about Stanford Sherman (click to enlarge)

King Tut's back -- and not only does he have the best gang since Bookworm, but Victor Buono has totally dialed into the character, and ramped the camp up to 11! Thus, Paul can't resist marking the occasion by introducing a new podcast feature on camp! Also, how the "Spell of Tut" arc really shows the challenge of filling exactly the amount of time allotted for one TV episode -- necessitating cutting scenes sometimes, and adding relatively useless ones in other cases! Plus, this arc's Lorenzo Semple vibe, and more Bat-records reaction!

We're back!

In the thick of the 1966 Batman boom, Ledger Syndicate and DC debuted a new Batman comic strip. Written by Whitney Ellsworth and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff (and, in turn, by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella), the early strips seem to want to simultaneously imitate the 66 TV show, and differentiate itself from it. In this episode, we talk about IDW's collection of the early strips in Batman with Robin: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics Volume 1 (1966-1967), including the schizophrenic quality of the strip, where the strip succeeds, and where it falls short.

Plus, the mahalo.com guitar tutorial version of the theme, and your mail on the Stanley Ralph Ross interview (and the infamous Gemini 8/Catwoman incident!).

As Batman neared the end of its run, the budget situation got worse (occasioning the need for an invisible fight), and the writers threw caution to the wind: witness at least half a dozen double entendres in "The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra" — this at a time when most viewers who were old enough to get these naughty jokes had already bailed. In this episode, we examine this, this final episode written by Stanley Ralph Ross.

PLUS: Lily Munster has a deja vu episode, John Burgess sends us his own take on Hefti's Batman theme, and we read your mail about our discussion of the Dynamic Duo on The Adventures of Superman radio show!

The 1966 LP More Official Adventures of Batman and Robin, on Discogs.com

"When Batman Became a Coward" from that same 1966 LP

Ronald Liss bio on superman.fandom.com

Down These Mean Streets discusses "The Case of the Drowning Seal"

John Burgess plays a Batman Theme-like tune in one of his guitar rebuild videos

The other appearances of The Purple Top

Leslie Perkins, as Octavia, is the first to wear it, in The Minstrel's Shakedown/Barbecued Batman?

Then Phyllis Douglas, as Josie, takes her turn in The Joker's Last Laugh/The Joker's Epitaph.

This time Tim and Paul take a break from the episode-by-episode analysis to touch on some stray points that have come up.

• Why did the show drop us into the middle of Batman's career, skipping an origin story except for a couple of expository comments?
• What's Batman’s motivation as a character in the show, and how has that changed over time in the comics?
• Are we all misremembering a famous line from episode 2?
• Is Batman a bumbler?
• Finally, some Bat-trivia — what’s spinning before the opening sequence? And, the original “Super Friends” narrator — revealed!

"Come back, Shame!" In season three, come back he does, and seemingly stupider than ever! And yet, Shame's plotting for his caper seems oddly smart. Meanwhile, Stanley Ralph Ross goes all-in on gags that are gleefully at odds with the template set by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. in season one. In this episode, we examine the final two-parter of the Batman series: what works, what doesn't, who's in it, and more.

Plus, Peter Seymour's remix of the Batman theme, and your mail about our Penguin's Clean Sweep episode!

The season three episodes The Ogg and I and How to Hatch a Dinosaur are a two-parter in which the parts have virtually no common story elements, only the same villains: Egghead, and Olga, Queen of the Cossacks. Both actors, Vincent Price and Anne Baxter, do a great job but ultimately aren't given much to work with.

In this episode, we discuss the original arrangement of the three Egghead/Olga episodes; the theme of eating that runs through both of these; the disappointing characterizations of both Egghead and Batman; and is Batgirl, or any kind of good-guy competition to Batman, getting to be annoying? Also, did you get the joke about the Russian folk song The Volga Boatmen?

Plus, the Gallants' version of the Batman theme, the announcement of a CONTEST, and your mail!

BatgirlBat-trap.com on "The Egghead & Olga Trilogy"

The cover of Batman '66 #9 includes Zelda the Great hanging above the Duo, and Shame's boots in the foreground. Zelda's in the issue, but where's Shame? Um... in issue #8?! (We discussed that story in episode 182!) Jeff Parker's Zelda story has its moments, but in other ways it's just weird. Meanwhile, Tom Peyer's backup story brings back Alfred's cousin Egbert from The Joker's Provokers, but brings to mind what a version of Alfred in Peyer's The Wrong Earth might have been like! This time, we discuss issue 9.

Also, we give our own answers to some previously posted bat-questions, hear more of Adam on The Merv Griffin Show, read a bit of mail, and listen to Pylon's version of Hefti's Bat-theme.

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?

Other burning bat-questions: How much does plausibility matter in comedy? With this mid-season two arc pushing every possibly boundary, how far is too far? Are those bat-skeletons being signified by a marimba, or a xylophone? Why can’t Batman remove radioactive headwear even in the privacy of his own Batcave?

We also beg to differ with other commentators’ complaints about this arc, and find some surprising skeletons in the supporting cast’s closets!

This episode's theme:

The Jean Hale role that caught the Bat-producers' eyes!

What's this? An episode of To the Batpoles that isn't about Batman? Well…on the surface, no, it isn't. But in Ahoy Comics' series The Wrong Earth, Dragonflyman and Stinger act an awful lot like the '66 versions of Batman and Robin, and the Dragonfly seems very similar to Frank Miller's Dark Knight! Liberated of the copyright owner's limitations on how Batman and Robin can be used, what are writer Tom Peyer and artist Jamal Igle saying about Batman with this series?

Also in this episode, back from the mists of time, an installment of the Batman Radio Show, starring Tim (age 10) and Paul (age 7)!

Plus, Pablo Beltran Ruiz y su orquesta's version of the Batman theme, and your response to our talk with Oscar, the William Dozier fanboy!

The New Adventures of Batman, Filmation’s second Batman cartoon series, premiered February 12, 1977 on CBS. Tim and Paul, then 11 and 8 respectively, were thrilled at the idea of Adam West and Burt Ward voicing the Duo, but not so thrilled at the addition of Bat Mite to the cast. But… were we wrong about Bat Mite? This time we discuss this question, and the whole 16-episode series, with BAT 77 host J.B. Anderton!

Plus, Burt Ward as Robin in 1976, the Japanese theme for this cartoon, and we read your comments on episodes 218 and 219!

Support us on Patreon to hear this show ad free, plus bonus content!

Batman theme played by the LCIS Orchestra

JB shows us his Bat-merch collection

Burt Ward on The Clown Show

Opening and Ending for The New Adventures in Japan

Full version of the opening theme, "BAT MAN ~crescent night story~"

The first episode of our book-writing-hiatus Patreon podcast is now live! We discuss memos among the Greenway and Fox teams about Adam West's chronic lateness on the set, and answer the question: How is Bill Clinton separated by three degrees from Batman '66?? Support us for two dollars a month and get BAT BITS every two weeks!

Hey Batfans! Want details on what kept the show out of home video for so long? Want to know where the building called Gotham Plaza was, and what other shows that same structure was used for? Wondering about the background on the missing narration at the start of Hi Diddle Riddle? Have questions about the history of the all-seeing, all-knowing 66 Batman message board? There's only ONE MAN (OK, maybe two men) we can call: Scott Sebring! He joins us this time to discuss all this and more. "We do know when we need him… and we need him now!"

Then Tim presents a Bat Research Lab study that reveals a Joker episode that Lorenzo Semple Jr. rewrote to feature the Penguin! Which script was it, and which version was used on the show?

Also, Scott's 2004 Queen parody Batman Rhapsody (a musical retelling of why, up to that point, Batman wasn't on home video), and your mail about episode 130 "Reading Fan Letters in the Wayne Living Room" (mostly from the message board thread!)

Lorenzo Semple's memo about replacing Joker with Penguin

The rewritten script

Fact Toothpaste ad featuring Alan Napier

When the Justice League Essentially Added Edd "Kookie" Byrnes to the Team

Byrnes also had a hit song with Connie Stevens

Photographic proof that Snapper Carr's name was misspelled in Bill Adler's Funniest Fan Letters to Batman

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 Batman ’66 film to see where else Martinson’s fingerprints might turn up.

ALSO: The Nostalgia Choir (?) version of the Batman theme, your input on episode 142, and D’oh prizes galore for “Impish Humor Batman” sightings in the series!

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 Martinson reveals this (especially when we take a look at the movie’s script), as well as some of Martinson’s experiences in making various movies and TV shows - sometimes in front of a stress-inducing live audience. We discuss the interview, dig into Acey Hudkins’ accident on the set of the movie, and ask the question: Is the “bomb” scene camp? (Get your sleeping bag!)

Also, the Steelism version of the theme, a Deja Vu encounter with one Steve Franken, and your mail on … various topics.

The three versions of the script for Nora Clavicle and the Ladies’ Crime Club raise some interesting questions about season three. Why did the Duo and Batgirl never have a way to easily contact each other? Why do our heroes’ early suspicions that Nora is crooked all get cut from the script? What are the types of female characters that the show keeps coming back to? Plus we look at lines and events that were cut — or added — at late stages in a very hurried process.

PLUS, Chad Vermillion’s “hey look, cool musical hardware!” version of the Batman theme, Lee Meriwether interviewed at the premiere of Batman the Movie, and we read some of your reaction to our look at the West/Gorshin Shea Stadium show!

Nora Clavicle scripts

• First draft
• Revised draft
• Final
• Teaser for Penguin's Clean Sweep
• Discussion on the '66 Batman message board

Why does False Face impersonate Chief O’Hara? Where is FF’s hideout? Since when does Aunt Harriet drop censor-tempting puns? Why does Blaze tell the Duo “It’s faster on foot”? These questions and more are up for discussion as we look at the Outline, First Draft, and Revised Draft of True or False Face/Holy Rat Race!

Also, Merv Griffin’s 7-year-old son Tony asks Adam West some burning questions, Mina Pang and her dad jam out with the Batman theme, and we read your mail about our Joker Jury episode.

OUTLINE

First Draft

Revised Draft

Script discussion thread

This time we feature "Joker Goes to School" and "He Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul," a fun arc that deviates from the formula that the series had established up to this point. Tim and Paul discuss these two episodes well-written scenes and weird errors, and the surprising susceptibility of Gotham’s teenagers to the lure of crime. Plus, a quick look at the career of Donna Loren, who plays Joker’s cheerleader moll, Susie.

Batman battles it out with the Penguin — at the polls! Who will be voted mayor of Gotham City? In Hizzoner the Penguin and Dizzoner the Penguin, writer Stanford Sherman and director Oscar Rudolph deliver biting political satire (complete with Barry Goldwater references!) — but does the arc’s ending invalidate some of their points? Were Paul Revere and the Raiders, with their appearance here, really the first rock band on a sitcom? Is it a coincidence that so many game show hosts make cameos in this arc? (We think not!)

PLUS: Sun Ra’s version of the Batman theme, the series’ ratings trajectory, and revisiting some Batman soundtrack questions.

Holy exclamation! On Batman 66, Robin used a lot of Holys. We have a sense of what formulations of holys work best, but can we put those formulations into words? Why do some holys from other sources, such as the 1966 album Jan and Dean meet Batman make us say “holy wrong note”? In this first installment of a two-part edition of “Bat Bits”, we analyze some of the holys from that record. Which ones work, and which don’t? Holy idiomatic expression! 

Support us on Patreon now!

What was the cultural environment in the US in 1965, as Batman was being developed? What were the events that led up to the decision that William Dozier would indeed make a Batman show? If TV in the ‘60s was thinking about what it could do better than movies, what’s the answer to that question, and did it show up on Batman? What were some of the rules that Lorenzo Semple Jr made regarding how Batman and Robin should be written? This time, we look at what was going on in 1965 and the discussions that led up to ABC and Greenway’s agreement to make Batman.

PLUS: Marin Drake’s metal version of the Batman theme, Maxwell Smart encounters a very familiar Frenchman in Holy Deja Vu, more from Adam and Burt about the making of Batman the Movie, and your response to our episode 170 discussion about Batman on 1970s Power Records.

Memo from Dozier to Semple 4/20/1965: The topic of the Madrid meeting (thank you Mr. Glee)

Bruce Lee letters (thank you Ben Bentley)

• 8/10/1965: More info on Number One Son?
• 2/16/1966: Green Hornet in the works

Bat Message Board thread - episode 170

Contribute to the Dan E. Kool's Visonic Dome Kickstarter page!

While Batman season one seemed to have a consistent view of women - incapable of being hardened criminals, attracted to luxury items (and Batman), etc. - season two (as is true in many respects) tends to be less consistent. While some molls are ditzy and childish, others not only have agency, but seem more intelligent than the villain. Ma Parker and Marsha appear as the first two truly villainous women (aside from Catwoman) of the series. Even Aunt Harriet shows herself to be smarter and tougher than we'd previously seen. In this episode, we're once again joined by novelist Nancy Northcott to talk about women on Batman, this time in the first half of season two.

PLUS: a MIDI version of the Batman theme, more from Adam West and Burt Ward about the movie and the series, Holy Deja Vu focuses on a particular season two moll, and we read your mail about our episode on Adam West Naked.

Batman faces a showdown when Shame arrives in Gotham City! This swaggering cowboy is after… hot rod parts? This somewhat odd arc by Stanley Ralph Ross is full of references to both the old west and drag racing; what’s going on here? Looking at Cliff Robertson’s first Batman appearance, we also touch on the mysterious Roy Gleason, several ways that times have changed since this one was shot, the problem of the cowboy being a bad guy, and THE one and only Little Old Lady from Pasedena!

Plus: a country-fried cover of the Batman theme, Batman/Room 222 links, and… is Batman “bigger than Jesus” now?

It's time to dig into another script: Stanley Ralph Ross's first draft of Shoot a Crooked Arrow/Walk the Straight and Narrow (take a look at the script here!). Most bat-fans agree, this is a less-than-satisfying arc for a number of reasons, from the casting of the villain to some seemingly nonsensical plotting late in part one. Reading the script helps us understand what was supposed to happen there: Why did Batman say he was going to cut open the net that he and Robin were trapped in, and then not do it? What was the point of Archer pretending to decapitate Alfred?

It also raises some questions: How should Archer have been played? Totally British and debonair? Or maybe as a Jerseyite trying to speak with a British accent? Is Alan A. Dale meant as a wink to the gay audience, or the homophobe's caricature of a gay man?

And, it answers the question: If I'm making a TV show, what happens if the screenwriter and/or director lets jokes and important story points go underemphasized? Answer: This arc!

ALSO: The Labert Ellis version of the theme, and your mail!

Read 1999 interview with Stanley Ralph Ross about his Man from UNCLE work

The next script we'll look at (three podcast episodes hence) will be That Darned Catwoman -- featuring not Pussycat, but Poison Ivy!

 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 Lorenzo Semple help Ross clarify points in the story?
• What is the importance of making Robin smarter?
• What character assumptions of season one are abandoned in season two?

 And as last time, we include some comments received from listeners about the draft.

Also: An Adam West TV appearance on a show that dominated our early childhoods, even before Batman did!

Hear our discussion of "Batman '66: The Lost Episode"

More than one attempt was made to include Two-Face among the villains of Batman ’66. We’ve already discussed Peter Rabe’s attempt; this time, we discuss a treatment by science fiction legend Harlan Ellison, The Two-Way Crimes of Two-Face. Why didn’t it go to a full script? What would have needed to be changed to fit the rules of the Batman ’66 world? How well does the 2014 comics adaptation, Batman ’66: The Lost Episode, capture both Ellison’s idea and the tone of the show? We touched on these issues in Deconstructing Comics 463 back in 2015, but this time we dig deeper!

ALSO: The Iscamania version of the Batman theme, and your response to episode 172 on Mr. Zero!

Den of Geek on the Ellison Batman treatment

Dozier memo to Semple about meeting in Spain

Unproduced first-draft script “Marsha, THE Queen of Diamonds,” by Tom Cannan, Jr, and Jack Cash

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 broadcast version, and a few other things that we kind of wish had made the final.

Also, the William Cheung piano version of the theme, William Dozier on casting the villains, and your comments on the two scripts we just discussed, as well as our discussion of “Return to the Batcave” in episode 156!

In what we promise will be our last Egghead and Olga episode (maybe), we dig into the script for the original three-part version of their third-season story featuring Vincent Price and Anne Baxter. Because of an apparent aversion to running a three-part story (besides Londinium, that is), Batman's producers chopped part one, The Ogg Couple, and ran it six weeks AFTER broadcasting the second and third parts. As this decision was made AFTER shooting was completed, the decision necessitated not only script changes, but re-shooting of some scenes, and a lot of mucking with the ending tag scenes of a couple of other episodes. It also scuttled some much-needed part-one exposition and what was supposed to be a running gag through the three parts. We uncover some surprising details!

Plus, the Bruce Lindquist guitar-tutorial version of the Batman theme, and your voluminous mail!

The Ogg Couple (original three-part version), "final script" by Stanford Sherman

The Ogg Couple shooting schedule

Thread on The Ogg Couple on the '66 Batman Message Board

The Funny Feline Felonies - treatment

The Funny Feline Felonies - draft

The Funny Feline Felonies - final

Thread on The Funny Feline Felonies scripts on the '66 Batman Message Board

Turns out, the original cast recording of It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman is available here!

From Steve Knowles' e-mail:

Vudu's odd subtitling:

Alfred's poncho also appeared in Louie, the Lilac:

The many belts of Batman:

Notice any elements that these shots have in common? (from tag scenes of Louie, the Lilac and Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin)

Tim and Paul explain why the next episode will be delayed a bit.

Also, how you can put yourself in a drawing to win a Batman meets Godzilla T-shirt!

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 appearance, Burt Ward’s punishment for complaining about his workload, more Gotham City Police incompetence, the show’s mucking with the formula (this podcast’s name is never spoken in this arc!) and more.

PLUS: The Maxwell Davis version of the Batman theme, and a sampling of your voluminous bat-mail!

AND! Help us discuss this draft of The Purr-fect Crime in a future episode! Write up your comments (or record them as an MP3 file up to one minute long) and send them to us (batpoles at deconstructingcomics dot com) by March 15, 2017!

Batman and Star Trek are among the most iconic TV series of the 1960s, and many fans fantasize about a crossover between the two shows. In 2005, amateur film director Christopher Allen didn’t just fantasize: he decided to make a film, Star Trek vs. Batman (released in 2006), where Batman and Robin meet Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew. While Chris had imagined just shooting it in a garage with cheap props, the denizens of a certain all-seeing, all-knowing 66 Batman message board (AAAH-ah, AAAH-ah) and other connections helped turn it into a more elaborate and memorable production. This time, Chris joins us to explain how the whole thing came about. Holy crossover!

Plus, the Sandy Nelson version of the Batman theme, and more of your musings in the Bat Inbox!

Star Trek vs. Batman review on FanFilmFactor.com

The Making of Star Trek vs. Batman

Star Trek vs. Batman part 1

(alternate link)

Part 2

Part 3

;

In Frank Gorshin's last Bat-appearance till Season Three, the Riddler's making a movie. Silent-film-scholar Paul is digging this arc! But why does the Prince of Puzzlers bother filming Batman and Robin when he's got luscious, leggy Sherry Jackson on his team? More to ponder: This arc is based on a comics story in which the Joker, not the Riddler, impersonated Charlie Chaplin. Does this work as a Riddler story?

Also: Francis X. Bushman reunites with a silent-era costar; why the "Aunt Harriet's birthday" scene might have some real utility beyond giving Madge Blake a reason to show up for work; who the heck is Y. Y. Flurtch? And more.

He’s best remembered as the Gotham City Police Department’s Commissioner Gordon, the Dynamic Duo’s #1 cheerleader. But Neil Hamilton had a long Hollywood career decades before Batman, dating back to the silent film era. This time, we talk about the hills and valleys of his decades in film and television, capped off with the Batman role that earned him the funds to retire.

PLUS: More of Adam West’s 2014 appearance on the YouTube channel Cinefix, the Scott Community High School Band version of the theme, and your response to our discussion of the Rembrandt III treatment!

Hamilton as model for a J.C. Leyendecker cover for Saturday Evening Post (scroll about halfway down the page)

Robert S. Ray commentary on Hamilton

Hamilton-related documents (including TV Guide article), courtesy of High C

A clip from Dawn Patrol

The life-size FAB1 car

This episode: BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! We discuss two topics often suggested by listeners:

In 2013, not long before Batman finally came to home video, DC Comics began the Batman '66 comic book series with Jeff Parker and Jonathan Case's "The Riddler's Ruse." In a comic whose main reason for existence is nostalgia, is it forgivable to take advantage of the comics medium to do things the TV show never could have? Does the art invoke nostalgia - and if so, is it the right kind?

Then we consider the 1992 episode from the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, "Beware the Gray Ghost", featuring the voice of Adam West. What does it say about our nostalgia for childhood heroes? The power of the casting choice is clear, but would it mean anything to the show's ostensible target audience?

PLUS: The Death Cab for Cutie version of the Batman theme, and your reaction to Episode 132, "Women of Season One: Not Just "Poor, Deluded Girls"!

As the broadcast of Batman season one drew to a close, a treatment called Rembrandt the Third Meets his Master was submitted by 31-year-old Yale M. Udoff, who would go on to some success, but was just getting started as a screenwriter. Udoff’s inexperience may account for many of the problems with this treatment: A villain, Rembrandt III, whose crimes and motivations are too creaky for a TV show, and who engages many elements that don’t fit the theme of “painting”; many bat-no-nos, including an armed-to-the-teeth Alfred and a somewhat vain, goofy Batman; and set pieces that were unfilmable in the pre-CGI days, at least on Greenway Productions’ budget. And a lot of elements that just don’t seem that interesting. But here and there, he gets it right. This time, we examine this treatment.

ALSO: The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra version of the theme, the final installment of Adam West talking with Conan O’Brien in 1997, and your mail on episode 202’s look at Batman ’66 in the UK.

Tim and Paul in The Comics Lair Episode 46: Comics & Nostalgia 

Benny Hill "Batman" sketch

As the show hit its first anniversary and the second season neared its end, we see Batman’s characterization of women subtly changing, particularly Lee Meriwether’s strong Lisa Carson character, and some examples of actual (gasp) interaction between women! Why did the “poor, deluded girls” fade away? Was it changing social mores, or just the show trying not to repeat itself? Nancy Northcott joins us once again to discuss women on the show, this time in the final third of Season Two, which includes the preface to the introduction of the most prominent woman of Season Three — Batgirl!

PLUS, Colie Brice’s version of the Batman theme, a bat-interview from the movie premiere in Austin, TX, and your mail on episode 195’s discussion of the script for A Piece of the Action!

Green Hornet, How Sweet the Sting by Jim Beard and Joel Naprstek

Nora Clavicle scripts

• First draft
• Revised draft
• Final
• Teaser for Penguin's Clean Sweep
• Discussion on the '66 Batman message board

For our final BAT BITS of the year, we return, after a two-year hiatus, to the BATMAN ’66 comics series, digging into issue 12. It’s certainly not the greatest issue of the series, but in its faults, it helps us identify aspects of how the TV show works. Listen for a clip from the show!

In television, a show’s “bible” is a collection of the rules for the world of a particular show, to keep writers on track with their scripts. The makeshift bible that Lorenzo Semple, Jr., wrote for Batman is lost to history, but what might have been in it? What are the rules that we can see the show following? Tim has compiled some and presents them here — and asks for your suggestions.

In a recent Bat Inbox, we discussed some comments writer Buck Henry made about Batman and camp shortly after the show premiered. The comments struck Paul as being off-target and showing a poor understanding of what camp is. Is camp not comedy? Was Henry’s co-creation Get Smart not a campy show? Paul’s given it some more thought and research, and furthers that discussion in this episode.

Plus, the Kydoniai Orchestra version of the theme, the conclusion of Adam West’s Cinefix interview from 2014, and your response to our second Batman/Star Trek act-off.

"Gilligan and Captain Kirk have more in common than you think: 1960s Camp TV as an alternative geneology for cult TV" by W.D. Phillips and Isabel Pinedo

Two of the most iconic American TV shows of the 1960s are Batman and Star Trek. A surprising number of actors pulled double duty, appearing on both shows, either as regulars, recurring characters, or one-shot roles.

This crossover of actors sounds like an interesting topic, but how do we get it into our show? What we settled on was to put these actors in March Madness-type brackets and pit them against each other. On which show did a given actor give the better performance? And how does their performance stack up against one of the other actors’?

For part one of this exercise, we compare Stanley Adams (Cyrano Jones on Trek, Captain Courageous on Batman) to Julie Newmar (Eleen on Trek, Catwoman on Batman), and Joan Collins (Edith Keeler on Trek, the Siren on Batman) to Yvonne Craig (Marta on Trek, Batgirl on Batman). We’re joined in this exercise by our childhood friend Kyle, who grew up a Trek fan.

PLUS: the Chuck Cirino version of the theme, Adam and Burt on the Merv Griffin Show in 1966, and we read your mail!

In four weeks, we'll talk about the draft script of "A Piece of the Action"!

Comment about the script on the Bat Message Board

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 to Rabelais), the over-dependence on stock footage, Robin's difficulties this time around, and more.

Plus: The Tallulah Bankhead/George Raft connection, and your mail!

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: your mail about episode 150 on the "Astrologer" script, and we look (only as briefly as is warranted) at a 1966 Peter Pan record, Children's Treasury of Batman Musical Stories, by the Merriettes.

SCRIPTS

Batman Meets his Match

The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra

Thread to discuss scripts

Scripts are back! After many months resting our script-research muscles, we're back to tackle the first two drafts of Robert Dozier's The Joker is Wild — originally called The Joker's Utility Belt, after the comics story the script is based on. Oddly, this first draft seems to also have scenes that are based on Lorenzo Semple's Hi Diddle Riddle! Holy carbon copy!

As usual, draft first-season batscripts tell us much about the show finding and defining itself, and also help us notice some imperfections in the broadcast episode that we hadn't realized were there. They also lead us to a mini Bat Research Lab on a topic very relevant to this script — news anchors!

Also, Snoop Dogg's Batman and Robin, and your mail about episode 131 "1970: Batman Goes Solo and Gets Spooky"! Also: The D'oh Prize is back!

SCRIPTS

• The Joker's Utility Belt (draft)
• The Joker is Wild (revised draft)
• Discussion on the '66 Batman message board!

1/27/66 memo from Bill Dozier to Howie Horwitz: More sexy dames!

Allan Burns explains the origin of Ted Baxter

Batman Lava soap commercial

Snoop Dogg: Batman and Robin

The summer of 1966 brought “Batman: The Movie"! Now, in the winter of 2016, Tim and Paul, joined by “Batman at 45” author Chris Gould, look at the film from many directions: the fantastic music, the new elements not seen in season one (Compressed Steam Batpole Lift!), the references to Lyndon Baines Johnson (both the man and his policies!), the dangers on the Batman set, the dynamic among the four villains, and much more.

Surf's Up, Joker's Under is perhaps the most polarizing episode of Batman. Some call it their favorite of season three, or even of the whole series, while Joel Eisner has called it "by far, one of the worst Joker episodes," and even '66 Joker himself Cesar Romero didn't like it. Why is this episode so divisive? Why do the villains in season three keep thinking that taking over one small segment of society (surfing, boxing, flower children) will lead to world domination, without ever explaining Step Two?

And who else but us (joined by Horrophelia/"Married With Children" Podcast host Al Edwards) would go to the beach for a "Camping Trip"?

Plus, the Bjoern Angermann version of the theme, the awarding of the "D'o(ugh) Prize" for the best alternate lyrics to the Batgirl theme, and your mail!

dogtalktv.com, featuring former Catwoman kitten Pat Becker!

Here are the entries in the "Batgirl theme alternate lyrics" contest. Which one won? Listen to find out?

Ken Holtzhouser

Batgiiirrrl BATGIRL
Batgiiiirrrl BATGIRL
A last ditch attempt
To secure a season three...
A high-kicking heroine
For BAT equality
Batgiiiirrrl BATGIRL
Batgiiiirrrl BATGIRL
A hero for girls
All of Gotham can attest
With an outfit so tight
We can all watch her digest
Yeaaaaaaahhhh
Who is the audience for
Batgiiiirrrl BATGIRL
Batgiiiirrrl BATGIRL
what is the deal with
Batgiiiiiiiirrrrrlllllll

Keith Mayo

Batgirrrl, Batgirl!
Batgirrrl, Batgirl!

What if Yvonne hadn't been 'dozier's choice?
What if he picked some chick with a man's voice?

Batgirrrl, Batgirl!
Batgirrrl, Batgirl!

High kickin', fast spinnin', trampin' the boards
4th season you'd have replaced Mr. Ward

Guy Incognito

That girl, that twirl!
Torture Tim 'n' Paul!
Cosplay librarian, anything to show
With your degree, maybe? The answer's clearly no.
That girl, that twirl!
Torture Tim 'n' Paul!
Was I kicked in my head before writing these lyrics?
Should I wait 'til I'm healed to write a tune that sticks?
Naaah, who's taking me to
Hospital, Hospital!
Waaah, who's gonna take me?
That girl!

CLAVIERANKH

Batgirl Batgirl, Batgirl Batgirl

A third season gimmick to bring the ratings up
Forced to wear a bra that's made of sno-cone cups.

Batgirl Batgirl, Batgirl Batgirl
Only allowed to fight like your in a ballet
Then slip out and let Batman think he saved the day
You get no respect
Batgirl Batgirl, Batgirl Batgirl
You get no respect

Batgirl Batgirl, Batgirl Batgirl
Batman says crime fighting isn't women's work.
You do the job while Batman is a jerk
Batgirl Batgirl, Batgirl Batgirl
In season three you're the one with all the smarts
Then you give the credit to tea leaves and Tarot cards
No respect for you
Batgirl Batgirl, Batgirl Batgirl
No respect for you.

Double-header episode! First, we tackle The Londinium Larcenies — yes, only part one — including the original treatment by Elkan Allan (two parts, no Batgirl, no Penelope Peasoup), the sets, the music, the appeals to the Dirty Old Man Market, and more.

Treatment for The Transatlantic Terror (the basis for the Londinium trilogy) by Elkan Allan

Then, at last, we examine Paul's video taken at the Batman '66 exhibit at the Hollywood Museum last July, and answer the burning questions: Why did Batman's costume keep turning purple? What item caused Paul to totally fanboy out? Are there any prospective TO THE BATPOLES topics lurking in the display cases?

PLUS: The recent Dr. Demento album that features both a performance by Adam West, and this episode's version of the Batman theme, performed by the Hamburglars; and your mail!

David Maska's screen grabs of Bruce's study in Death in Slow Motion (top) and Surf's Up, Joker's Under (click to enlarge):

Like many who grew up in the '60s and '70s (and perhaps even '80s and later), Tim and Paul had the course of their lives changed by the 1966 Batman TV show, from the types of play they did growing up to their present-day interests.

In our premiere episode, we discuss the allure of the show and its effects on us -- and invite you to share your own stories!

 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 intentionally minimized? Is the cheapening of the production starting to show through that much more?

PLUS: The Flaming Lips’ version of the theme, and your mail!

 GIVING PROPS TO RECYCLED PROPS

The cage as it appeared in Fine Finny Fiends...

...and in Batman's Waterloo (sans umbrella)

 The "Mardi Gras faces" in The Joker is Wild...

... and in the Royal Oil Boiling Room (in particular, the one at the top of the shot)

 The costume change lever in its natural habitat (left) and at the Pyramid Club (below)

When producer William Dozier and writer Lorenzo Semple, Jr, met up in Madrid in May 1965, Batman wasn’t all they were cooking up; it wasn’t even the main reason they were meeting. Semple had been developing an idea called Mr. Zero, a possible action/adventure TV show that had nothing to do with the character who would come to be called “Mr. Freeze.”

This time, we take a look at a 40-page presentation document Semple wrote to describe the series. What does it tell us about possible casting, changes in thinking or circumstance (as we note the differences between this description and what we saw in the Mr. Zero test scene script in episode 168), and simply whether this show would have been any good?

PLUS: Holy Deja Vu crosses paths with Get Smart, and we read your reaction to our examination of the early script for “Instant Freeze.”

Dr. Patrick Murphy teaches how to play Hefti's Batman theme on the violin

Rebeat.com mentions Bruce Lee and Number One Son

Bruce Lee's screen test for Number One Son

ZAP! POW! The Batman TV show became famous for its “comic book” fight sound effects. Odd, though… before the show began, punches in Batman comics were silent! So where’d the show get the idea for noisy punches? We ponder this question after reading many ‘60s Batman comics, and also explore the changes of “New Look Batman” in 1964; determine what the show borrowed from the comics —and what the comics borrowed from the show; discuss whether the TV show is what saved the character (our verdict: nope!); and more.

Selected sources:

• Showcase Presents: Batman, Vol. 1
• Comics Alliance: The Evolution of Catwoman
• Fred Hembeck on Detective Comics 327
• DCcomicsartists.com: New Look Batman
• Baby Boomer Comics: The Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Comic Books of the 1960s

In 1965, Lorenzo Semple Jr. wrote the first scripts for the Batman series. Any Bat-fan knows that the Hi Diddle Riddle and Fine Feathered Finks arcs were the first to be written and first to be broadcast. What many of us didn't know was that The Joker Goes to School was also part of that set, received by Howie Horwitz just 20 days after Finks. In this episode, Tim and Paul look over that first draft for more hints to decisions made behind the scenes.

Starring in that arc as Susie the Cheerleader was Donna Loren, perhaps best known for Beach Blanket Bingo, but also for singing on Shindig, advertising Dr. Pepper, and appearing on various other '60s shows. In this episode, Tim interviews her for her memories of shooting the School episodes, playing a bad girl for once, whether she actually liked Dr. Pepper, and more!

Plus, the Bruce and the Robin Rockers version of the theme, and your mail on the Pop Goes the Joker script!

"The Joker Goes to School" PDF script

"The Joker Goes to School" thread on the '66 Batman message board

"The Penguin's Nest" PDF script

"The Penguin's Nest" thread on the '66 Batman message board

We've finished season three (and the series), so it's time to examine the final year of Batman. It's not a task we relish; so much of season three is a disappointment, from the writing to the production values, the head-scratching cliffhanger-free episode tag scenes to the phoned-in acting. And then there's the introduction of Batgirl. While Yvonne Craig was always a delight, the execution of introducing Barbara Gordon/Batgirl into a show that had just been cut back to once a week, and sometimes one-part stories, left a lot to be desired. Where did the show go wrong in its approach to Batgirl, and how could she have been better utilized?

Also, we listen to the Scaffold's "Goodbat Nightman" (NOTE: some may find this video rather controversial), say "Holy Deja Vu!" while watching Get Smart, and dig into your mail about our Dr. Cassandra episode!

Did Sonny and Cher almost appear on Batman?

"The Dress" in Catwoman's Dressed to Kill

In spite of having three whole episodes to tell the story of the Terrific Trio's visit to Londinium, the show nonetheless leaves plenty of plot threads hanging, important moments unshown, and basic villain motivations unexplained. As Batman and Robin don "beefeater" uniforms, a certain old Wendy's fast food tagline comes to mind…

There might not be much beef, but there is at least a bee. Of sorts. Also a rope trick that's both intentionally and unintentionally funny. With a hat-tip to a certain listener, we explore whether, by this point in the series, the show is still "camping" or straight-out, unintentional camp. Also, how does Batman's poor sense of logistics lead to at least three major points of this episode?

Plus, the PelleK version of the Batman theme, and an extra helping of your mail!

Batman and Robin (1997) is notorious as one of the worst Batman films, panned by both audiences and critics. But wait a minute. All four of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films have their problems. Doesn't B&R's story hold together relatively well? Isn't it kind of .... entertaining? Could it actually be the best of the four? Of course it's far from perfect, and we discuss some of its problems, including a pretty un-Batman-like Batman and a misguided "homage" to Batman '66. We discuss the bad and relatively good of the final '90s Batman film.

ALSO, Burt Ward reminisces about Bruce Lee, and we read your reaction to our episode on The Phantom Pharaoh!

Message Board thread on episode 163 on The Phantom Pharaoh

Arnold Schwarzenegger Complete Japanese Commercial Filmography

Six months after Batman’s final broadcast on ABC, CBS premiered The Adventures of Batman, the character’s first animated show, produced by Filmation. While the look of the show is totally divorced from the Adam West version, relying mainly on the comics, the influence of the live action show can definitely be felt in the writing; just ask “millionaire Bruce Wayne” at “Stately Wayne Manor.” 

This is a show we never saw as kids, or really at all until now, so this time we take a look at the cartoon, without any nostalgic rose-colored glasses. And we have a blast doing it!

ALSO: The Dynamic Duo’s version of the theme (who ARE they behind those masks?), the conclusion of the 1989 Bat-reunion on CBS This Morning, and the message board weighs in on the reasons for 1988 Batmania!

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 Emmy for the role. Thus was the Riddler cemented as one of Batman’s greatest foes.

So the ’66 show is responsible for The Riddler’s prominence, but didn’t it also determine some specifics of the character? How he acts? How he dresses? How he talks? The show’s influence over how the Riddler was played lasted decades. In this episode, we’re joined by a voice actor who met Gorshin and has played several versions of the Riddler himself, Wally Wingert, to discuss these aspects of the Riddler, and explore the approach of his alter-ego, Frank Gorshin.

Plus, your mail about our discussion in episode 149 of Alan Napier’s memoir!

Brian Cronin article on the Riddle - find the inaccuracies!

Frank Gorshin performs "The Riddler" on Dean Martin's show

Frank Gorshin on American Bandstand, 1975

Evolution of the Riddler in cartoons in 11 minutes

Burt Ward on Conan O'Brien

1966 Batman Golden Records comic book + LP boxed set (submitted by Chris Cavanaugh)

Bat-Van submitted by Martin Noreau

Help Tim move away from his cough-inducing apartment

If you were a "Dr. Demento" listener back in 1989, you undoubtedly heard the song we use as our opening theme, "Adam West" by the Caped Club. The man behind this record, Wally Wingert, has much more Bat-cred to his name than that; his detailed knowledge of Batman's costume isn't even the most of it. This week, Tim talks with Wally about Batman cosplay, "Adam West", and -- Adam West!

Wally's first Bat-suit

Wally's fifth birthday, 1966

Batkid and Robin!