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BATMAN |
Series Overview
Batman/Bruce Wayne - Adam West Robin/Dick Grayson - Burt Ward Alfred - Alan Napier Batgirl/Barbara Gordon - Yvonne Craig The Penguin - Burgess Meredith The Joker - Cesar Romero The Riddler- Frank Gorshin Catwoman - Eartha Kitt 
OTHER SUPERHERO SHOWS No Heroics Heroes Birds of Prey 
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SERIES OVERVIEWBATMAN is back and there have been a few changes since the end of the lacklustre last season. First up is Batgirl, played by Yvonne Craig in a very nicely fitting batsuit. She adds some glamour and style to proceedings, though having her outside of Batman and Robin's team means that new ways have to be found to get her into the action each week and there are times when there is really nothing for her to do. It also makes the caped crusaders look pretty stupid as it is often obvious that both sides should have worked out who each other are by now. The format has also changes. With very few exceptions the stories are now single episode tales, lending the show a bit more zip and speed, though doing nothing for the sense of the thing. Showing the next villain at the end of each story is a great idea. Frank Gorshin is back as the Riddler, but Julie Newmar is nowhere to be seen as Catwoman. Eartha Kitt dons the catsuit and proves to be a different kind of kitty altogether. The old villains are still great fun, although the single episode format gives them less time to fill with their expansive overacting. There are some duff ones along the way, including the three episode British caper led by Lord Ffog and Lady Peasoup, Zsa Zsa Gabor's pointless Minerva and Barbara Rush's equally pointless Nora Clavicle. This was to be the end of this particular Bat's reign over the criminals of Gotham City and it's a shame because the changes did put the show back on the right track, but whilst more recent incarnations have taken the dark knight in altogether more shadowy directions, this will remain, for many, the definitive BATMAN. Top ENTER BATGIRL,EXIT PENGUINThe Penguin returns with a plan to kidnap and marry Barbara Gordon, the daughter of the Police commissioner, in order to assure himself immunity from prosecution. Batman and Robin are soon on his tail and find themselves aided by a mysterious woman who calls herself Batgirl. BATMAN is back and there have been a few changes since last we saw him. Don't worry, the silliness is still present, Burgess Meredith is still fabulous value as the incomparable Penguin, the camera can't keep a straight angle and the plot makes absolutely no sense at all, but the story is told all in one episode, possibly as an introduction to the new character. Yvonne Craig does indeed enter as Batgirl, fitting into the very tight batsuit with some style, though her fighting is somewhat less forceful and even less believable than Batman and Robin's. As the caped crusaders have no idea who she is really it will be interesting to see how the writers manage to keep getting her to pop up in future episodes. Guest Villain is Burgess Meredith as the PenguinWritten by Stanford Sherman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top RING AROUND THE RIDDLERWhen the prize fighters of Gotham City start to lose fights they ought to win and go missing, Batman smells a rat, but it's actually a Riddler. Disguised as an asian champion, he challenges Batman to meet him in the ring, but has a trick or two to swing the odds in his favour. What utter joy - Frank Gorshin is back as the Riddler. Nobody else could play the part but him after his definitive performance, so it's wonderful to see him back for the third season. Unfortunately, he is the high point of a story that makes little sense at all. His scheme to take over Gotham's boxing in order to make money then turns into a scam to beat Batman up in the ring for no good reason. Not that it really matters because Frank Gorshin is back as the Riddler and that makes any episode special. Joan Collins guests as the Siren, but her story will apparently be the next one. This episode does, though, give us the hilarious sight of Batman in yellow boxing shorts. Guest Villains are Frank Gorshin as The Riddler and Joan Collins as the SirenWritten by Charles Hoffman Directed by Sam Strangis Top THE WAIL OF THE SIRENLorelei Circe, also known as the Siren, is able to sing at a note that automatically makes every man want to carry out her every wish. What she wishes is for Commissioner Gordon to discover and reveal the identities of Batman and Robin and for Bruce Wayne to sign over his millions to her. If Joan Collins swanning around in a silver mini skirt doesn't do it for you then perhaps Batgirl's theme song will make you smile. The slight plot doesn't manage to fill out even the short runnning time of the new single episode format, so the theme song provides filler. Still, a story per episode means things are less likely to outstay their welcome. Guest Villainess is Joan Collins as the SirenWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by George Waggner Top THE SPORT OF PENGUINS...The Penguin teams up with an old accomplice now masquerading as rich racehorse owner Lola Lasagne to switch horses in the Bruce Wayne Charity Race and win a mint. All they need first is the stake money. The show reverts back to a multi-episode format and proves to be all the better for it. The plot is given some room to breathe and is actually quite a clever one for a change. There's even a link back to the Penguin's attempt to marry Barbara Gordon in the season opener Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin. Burgess Meredith has made the Penguin his own and it is hard to see anyone bettering him, but the addition of Ethel Merman as Lola Lasagne does little for the episode. Though she is larger than life, she isn't all that interesting as a character and definitely not as a villain. And what about Alfred? When he was keeping Batgirl's secret that was acceptable, but now he's spying on them for her? What kind of loyalty is that? Guest Villains are Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Ethel Merman as Lola LasagneWritten by Charles Hoffman Directed by Sam Strangis Top ...A HORSE OF ANOTHER COLORPenguin and Lola Lasagne pull their switch of racehorses and steal a portfolio of parasols in order to finance their caper, but they have not counted on Robin the boy wonder and Batgirl showing up as jockeys in the race. The action moves outside for a rare occasion as events unfold at the Gotham racetrack. This gives us the fun sight of Batgirl in full costume on a racehorse. The wrapping up of events is perfunctory enough and the humour is a little lacking, although there is Penguin's jockey suit to be wondered at. Also to be wondered at is how stupid Batman really is. After all, Alfred all but tells the caped crusaders that he knows who Batgirl is and they never question him about it. Guest Villains are Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Ethel Merman as Lola LasagneWritten by Charles Hoffman Directed by Sam Strangis Top THE UNKINDEST TUT OF ALLKing Tut is back, but this time he is handing out predictions as to where crimes are going to take place. As he is the one committing the crimes that's no big trick, but when he manages to divine Batman's true identity then that's another matter. King Tut is a bombastic and entertaining villain as (re)incarnated by Victor Buono and for once he has a decent plot behind him. This, however, the episode that stoops to use the 'you don't say, you don't say, you don't say' joke. Does this show have no shame? Guest Villain is Victor Buono as King TutWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Sam Strangis Top LOUIE THE LILACWith the flower people of Gotham City about to hold a flower rally in Gotham Park, Louie the Lilac corners the market in flowers and mesmerises their ringleader Princess Primrose. Batman and Robin are soon on the case, but end up trapped in the clinging vines of man-eating lilacs. Milton Berle plays Louie the Lilac straight, which is never the way to play a villain in this show. His plan for world domination through controlling the minds of the flower generation is an interesting long-term one except that his mesmerising flower spray seems to have a duration of about half an hour, not really long enough to control a whole generation of hippies. The depiction of the flower people is laughable rather than funny and once and for all shows just what squares Batman and his show really are. Guest Villain is Milton Berle as Louie, the LilacWritten by Dwight Taylor Directed by George Waggner Top THE OGG AND I...Egghead is back in Gotham City, but he is playing second fiddle to a new accomplice, Olga the Queen of the Cossacks. She kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and plans to force Batman to marry her by threatening to have Robin and Batgirl made into Borscht. The weakest and silliest of plots (Batman is captured whilst inside Genghis Khan's tea urn!) is enlivened by the presence of Anne Baxter as the beautifully over the top-ski Olga, all fur hats and faux-russian accent. She also relies on her brain rather than powers and gadgets, which makes a refreshing change. A shame that her plan is so duff. Guest Villains are Vincent Price as Egghead and Anne Baxter as OlgaWritten by Stanford Sherman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top ...HOW TO HATCH A DINOSAUREgghead and Olga steal two pounds of radium in a bid to reanimate a 40 million year old dinosaur egg. The spotlight changes to Egghead's scheme as Batman and Batgirl both struggle to figure out what he could possibly want with Radium and a dinosaur egg. This all leads to the most spectacularly silly ending when the egg actually hatches. The crooks are apprehended, of course, but nobody seems to care about the destruction of an irreplaceable prehistoric fossil. The highlight is Alfred the butler trying to have a three way phone conversation with both Batman and Batgirl without letting either of them know the other is on the phone. A masterpiece of comic timing. Guest Villains are Vincent Price as Egghead and Anne Baxter as OlgaWritten by Stanford Sherman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top SURF'S UP! JOKER'S UNDER!When top surfer Skip Parker is kidnapped by the Joker who sucks all the surfing talent out of him in order to win the Gotham Point surfing championships himself, Batman has to slip into a pair of baggies and take on the surfing villain himself. Batman does surfing and the stories keep on getting sillier, but there can be few sights as entertaining as Commissioner Gordon and chief O'Hara disguised as aged beach bums or Batman in his surfing outfit. Square doesn't even begin to cover it. There are also bevvies of beach babes in bikinis and Yvonne Craig sports her one piece as Barbara Gordon. The actual surfing sequence is so cringe-inducingly awful that it's brilliant. Guest Villain is Cesar Romero as the JokerWritten by Charles Hoffman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top THE LONDINIUM LARCENIES...A series of robberies in England's capital, Londinium, all accompanied by a wierd synthetic fog, brings a request from the President that Batman go abroad and sort out the British criminal element. This brings him up against Lord Ffog, his sister and a finishing school of shoplifting schoolgirls. There are times when the campness of the show can be taken a bit too far and this is one of them. We're not offended by the view of the British a stuck up, stupid aristocrats with silly accents and no idea, but we can't work out why it was necessary to call it Londinium, refer to 'Ireland' Yard instead of 'Scotland Yard and have everyone using phrases like 'whizzo', 'top hole and all that' etc. It just isn't necessary and doesn't stack up with Alfred's British background. Lord Ffog and Lady Pea Soup aren't particularly active villains. In fact they don't actually do anything in the whole episode. Guest Villains are Rudy Vallee as Lord Ffog and Glynis Johns as Lady Pea SoupWritten by Elkan Allen and Charles Hoffman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top ...THE FOGGIEST NOTION...A foggy message leads Batman and Robin to a pub in the dock area of Londinium where is Batman is cornered by the Lord's minions and has his memory removed. Batgirl is taken prisoner by Ffog's sister and put into a dungeon whilst Robin is slowly winched into the workings of Tower Bridge. If you're going to set an episode in another country you can at least try to make it look like another country. The dock area of Londinium is a hastily, and not very well, dressed western town set and the pub is a hastily, and not very well, dressed saloon set. It's so obvious it's painful. What's less obvious, but just as painful, is the plot. Ffog's ultimate aim is to steal the crown jewels so exactly why he's messing about trying to steal a ship load of mini-skirts is a mystery, as is why they bothered with the whole subplot of Batman losing his memory if Alfred merely restores it in the next scene. An amnesiac Batman in England had some interesting comic possibilities, but they are sadly ignored. Guest Villains are Rudy Vallee as Lord Ffog and Glynis Johns as Lady Pea SoupWritten by Elkan Allen and Charles Hoffman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top ...THE BLOODY TOWERBatman has to break into Lord Ffog's manor if he is to save Batgirl from the villain's deadly fog pellets, whilst Robin the Boy Wonder falls foul of Ffog's killer bees. Will there be any crimefighters left to safeguard the Crown Jewels? You have to wonder if anyone on the BATMAN team is actually trying anymore. The plot, such as it is, makes no sense at all and mainly consists of various crimefighters walking into every ridiculous trap that could be thought up for them and relying on ridiculous gadgets to get them out. On top of that there is quite the worst killer bee ever to be seen anywhere, ever. Guest Villains are Rudy Vallee as Lord Ffog and Glynis Johns as Lady Pea SoupWritten by Elkan Allen and Charles Hoffman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top CATWOMAN'S DRESSED TO KILLAfter Batgirl is named the best dressed woman in crime, Catwoman appears to destroy the hair of Gotham's finest fashionistas. She then proceeds to steal a whole wardrobe of unique designer clothes. This is of nothing compared to her plan to steal a fabulous dress woven out of pure gold, but first she puts Batgirl on the cutting table. Save Batgirl or save the dress of gold, that's the dilemma for Batman and, though both are saved, he leaves it to Alfred in a hilariously bad hippie outfit to save the girl whilst he prevents the crime. That's an unusually dark choice, but then it just might be that we're desperate to read something a bit more significant into the powder puff nonsense that is the show. Julie Newmar is Catwoman, so it's a shock to find Eartha Kitt inhabiting the role, but in fairness we have to say that she does a good job of it. She doesn't have the lightness of touch, but her version has a more feline, dangerous edge to her. When she hisses like a cat we can forgive Ms Newmar's absence. Guest Villain is Eartha Kitt as CatwomanWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Sam Stangis Top THE OGG COUPLEEgghead and Olga, Queen of the Cossacks are back in Gotham City to take hold of a golden egg and silver scimitar. Their big plan, however, is to steal a fortune's worth of caviar being stored in a specially chilled Bank Vault. Welcome back to Anne Baxter as Olga with her delightfully nuts faux-russian accent in which every sentence end with 'inski'. From a stooge for Vincent Price's egghead, she has become the mistress of the pairing and is easily the more fun. As for the rest, well it's the usual entertaining nonsense. Guest Villains are Vincent Price as Egghead and Anne Baxter as OlgaWritten by Stanford Sherman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top THE FUNNY FELINE FELONIES...Fresh out of prison, the Joker is kidnapped by Catwoman and they embark on a scheme to uncover a huge cache of gunpowder with which to blow open the Gotham reserve and loot the place. Earth Kitt continues to grow on us as the new style Catwoman. The sexual charge between Batman and the Julie Newmar version may be gone, but there is something far more feral, feline and fierce about the Kitt version that we're coming to appreciate. Cesar Romero, of course, is always worth every penny as the gigglesome Joker. Less gigglesome are the lengths to which the writers are having to go to integrate Batgirl into the storyline. Couldn't Batman just bow to the inevitable and give her a batradio or something? Highlight of the episode is Batman 'batcrawling' around the floor following a shooting incident. Guest Villains are Cesar Romero as The Joker and Earth Kitt as CatwomanWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top ...THE JOKE'S ON CATWOMANArmed with the clues that they need to find the huge haul of gunpowder, the Joker and Catwoman track it down only to be apprehended by Batman and Robin. They are put on trial with Batman as prosecuting attorney, but Lucky Pierre has never lost a case yet and seems strangely confident. Courtrooms are natural sources of drama, but less so of the kind of light-hearted nonsense that makes up BATMAN, so with the court case taking up half the running time this proves to be more of a trial for the audience than it is for the criminals. Guest Villains are Cesar Romero as The Joker and Earth Kitt as CatwomanWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top LOUIE'S LETHAL LILAC TIMEWhen Dick Grayson finds a vital natural ingredient of perfume making on the beach, he and Bruce Wayne are kidnapped by none other than Louie the Lilac. With alter egos Batman and Robin unable to make an appearance it is up to Batgirl to save the day, but when she is placed in vat about to be filled with boiling oil, Bruce Wayne must act. Louis the Lilac is a prime candidate for least interesting and least fun of all the Batman villains to date, and he strengthens that case here. It's not that Milton Berle plays him badly it's simply that he isn't much of a character. In this episode he spends most of his time sitting around waiting for other people to do other things - literally. Even with the half hour running time the story has to be padded out by Batgirl's encounter with a workman who has stumbled onto her secret hiding place. Guest Villain is Milton Berle as Louie the LilacWritten by Charles Hoffman Directed by Sam Strangis Top NORA CLAVICLE AND THE LADIES' CRIME CLUBA civic luncheon being given in honour of Commissioner Gordon is thrown into confusion when Mayor Linseed sacks him appoints women's rights campaigner Nora Clavicle to the job instead. His wife gets Chief O'Hara's job and they sack all the police men and replace them with police women. It's all part of a plot to send an army of remote control mice into the city armed with high explosives to bring down the whole of Gotham City. Batman, Robin and Batgirl would be the only thing to stand in her way were it not for the fact that they are tied up in a fiendish human knot. Barbara Rush plays woman's rights campaigner Nora Clavicle, but it's fair to say that neither of the sexes comes off very well in this particular episode. The Mayor is forced into firing the Commissioner because his wife refuses to wash his clothes or cook his dinner! Has he not heard of launderettes and takeaways, not to mention divorce courts. As for the women, well they might look good in their short skirted police uniforms, but makeup takes precedence over bank robberies, the police radio becomes a manner of advertising sales in the city stores and, of course, all of the women are useless in the face of mice, real or otherwise. It really is an insult to both sides of the gender divide. As for the villainess, she isn't on screen for long enough to make an impact. Meanwhile, the manner in which the threat to the city is neutralised is just about the silliest yet and that is saying something. Guest Villainess is Barabara Rush as Nora ClavicleWritten by Stanford Sherman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top PENGUIN'S CLEAN SWEEPThe Penguin invades the Mint, but doesn't steal anything. Instead, he puts a serious tropical disease in with the ink so that the money in Gotham becomes infected with a sleeping sickness to which only he and his gang are immune. As a result, the populace of Gotham throw out all their money for fear of catching the disease and the Penguin and his gang take up the suddenly lucrative job of street cleaning. The flaw in Penguin's plan is obvious right from the beginning, making it far less ingenious that it seems. That doesn't really matter because it's nice to have Burgess Meredith back as the Penguin and the moment when a deadly fruit fly lands on Robin's nose is one to be savoured. Guest Villain is Burgess Meredith as The PenguinWritten by Stanford Sherman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top THE GREAT ESCAPE...Shame, the wild west villain, escapes from jail through intervention from a tank driven by Calamity Jan and her mother, ahem, Frontier Fanny. He sets out to rob the Gotham stage, in this case the stage at the Gotham opera house, but Batman, Robin and Batgirl are there to stop them. At least until they get dosed with fear gas, that is. Shame is one of the lesser villains, but Cliff Robertson actually makes him much more fun this time around, playing up to the witty script and acting the dunce. Watching Batman read out his note written in wild west-ese is fun enough, but there isn't much else going on in terms of plot. That's because this is a two parter and perhaps all the plot has been left for the second half. The mexican henchman with the Oxbridge accent is quite fun though. It's just a shame that the effects of the fear gas are so quickly neutralised as the comic potential of that is tossed aside rather than being exploited. Guest Villain is Cliff Robertson as ShameWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top ...THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERYBatman and Robin finally rescue Batgirl, but Shame gets away to carry out his caper, the Great Train Robbery. Batman, is desperation, insults Shame publicly and calls him out to a showdown at High Noon. Batman is well beaten and if Shame had enough sense to take his money and run then he would have been home free, but true to form villains are as stupid as they are villainous. The main source of fun this time around is Fred, the mexican whose disdain for his boss is almost as funny as his faux-british accent. Guest Villain is Cliff Robertson as ShameWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top I'LL BE A MUMMY'S UNCLEKing Tut is back in town and stealing a very specific amount of money. This is to buy a plot of land next to Stately Wayne Manor so that he can drill under the land and steal a deposit of Nilenium, the hardest metal in the world. Batman has to stop this from happening, not just to keep hold of the mineral belonging to Bruce Wayne, but to stop the Egyptian drilling right into the Batcave. King Tut's scheme might be straightforward enough, but the consequences are far from that. This freshens up the format and leads to some unexpected developments that are handily dealt with by a can of Batnesia gas. Batman and Robin running two minute miles has to be seen to be laughed at. It's bright, it's gaudy, it's mental. It's BATMAN and we love it. Guest Villain is Victor Buono as King TutWritten Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Sam Strangis Top THE JOKER'S FLYING SAUCERThe Joker spreads rumours of an imminent invasion from outer space whilst he steals enough berrylium to build a flying saucer of his own from which he will terrosise Gotham City and the world. If the flying saucer in question looks familiar it's stock footage taken from the film INVADERS FROM MARS. You'll have to wait quite a while to see it because, although it was seen in action at the end of the last episode, it takes pretty much the whole episode the build the thing (from scratch in one day is a pretty impressive achievement). For the second episode running the Batcave takes a pounding after a bomb planted in the Batmobile totals the place, but the rest is all business as usual. Guest Villain is Cesar Romero as The JokerWritten by Charles Hoffman Directed by Sam Strangis Top THE ENTRANCING DR CASSANDRABatman comes up against the entrancing Dr Cassandra, an alchemist from a long line of alchemists who has created a pill that makes her effectively invisible and a ray gun that reduces people to two dimensions. She plans to release all of the arch criminals in the state penitentiary and let them loose in the streets, invisible. Adam West and Burt Ward's acting can often be termed wooden, but this is the first time that we've had a chance to call them cardboard. Ida Lupino makes for a not very exciting villain and her attempts at being hip and cool along with her sidekick are just plain embarrassing. Highlights, though, include a battle with invisible arch criminals that is cleverly staged, followed by a less exciting fight in the dark. This will be remembered, however, for the appearance of the mobile batphone, hilariously a tiny exact copy of the real batphone. Guest Villain is Ida Lupino as Dr CassandraWritten by Stanley Ralph Ross Directed by Sam Strangis Top MINERVA, MAYHEM AND MILLIONAIRESA scalp massaging system at the most elegant health spa in town is secretly able to remove the darkest secrets from the mind of the millionaire being massaged, giving spa owner Minerva access to the secrets of the richest people in Gotham City. When Batman gets suspicious, he and Robin are trapped inside a high-pressure sauna. The final episode of this incarnation of Batman sees a fairly uninteresting villain (played by Zsa Zsa Gabor she might be, but that doesn't make for an interesting character or a good performance) with a very thin plot that struggles to fill out the half hour running time without losing audience interest. It's a shame that BATMAN should go out on such a low note. Guest Villainess is Zsa Zsa Gabor as MinervaWritten by Charles Hoffman Directed by Oscar Rudolph Top |
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