To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

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.    

Nelson Riddle’s score for Batman, including the 1966 film Batman: The Motion Picture, features energetic, swing-influenced cues that adhere to the action like a Carl Stalling Looney Tunes score, and opera-esque motifs for each villain and each Bat-vehicle. As incidental music tends to be, it’s probably the most underappreciated aspect of the series. In this episode, film music commentator Jeff Bond, who wrote the liner notes for Film Score Monthly’s CD release of the Batman film’s music in 2000, joins us to talk about what Nelson Riddle brought to the Bat-table. Also, your response to our Julie Newmar/Eartha Kitt comparison in episode 140!

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

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!

Julie Newmar appeared as Catwoman in six two-parters during the first two seasons of Batman. During that time, the show and her character evolved, and while some might not agree with the direction they took, it’s hard to deny that Julie did both the evil, whip-snapping Catwoman and the Batman-besotted, comic Catwoman-of-a-thousand-disguises very well. Then in season three, she was gone and Eartha Kitt took her place. Do many of us find ourselves dissatisfied with Kitt’s very satisfactory version of Catwoman, just because Kitt wasn’t the first to play the role? What different characteristics do we see in the two versions - some of them due to the actors’ choices, and others being beyond their control? Our friend Kyle joins us once again, bringing the power of the “word cloud” to our discussion, discussing our bias toward the first version we see (any who preferrrrr Eartha?), and helping us generally compare and contrast the two takes on the character. Plus a marching-band take on two different Batman themes,

Batman Meets Godzilla issue 2 is out! You may recall we previously reviewed issue 1 of Eric Elliot’s labor-of-love project, with contributions from numerous artists (including Ian Miller, who drew the above panel), to bring life to a movie pitch from the ‘60s. Issue 2 manages to noticeably top issue 1 in numerous ways. In this episode, our review. As 20th Century Fox and Greenway Productions were putting together the pilot two-parter of Batman, some problems arose with George Barris and his car customizing shop, Barris Kustom City. Barris seemed intent on keeping possession of the car when it wasn’t in front of the cameras; Fox’s Charles Fitzsimons suspected that Barris wanted to hold the car for ransom. Some documents, from the American Heritage Center in Laramie via Ben Bentley, tell the story … or, at least, some of it. We examine these documents. Also, a Holy Deja Vu! (or two) from the Dick Van Dyke Show, a French-language record that’s both about and credited to Batman, and your mail about episode 136, “

Is Batman Forever a comedy? Or is it an action movie with a few funny parts? Is it a throwback to the ’66 series, or a blend of every iteration of Batman? Is it camp? And the cut scenes regarding Bruce’s memories of his father’s diary prompt us to consider: is it better to have a lame payoff, or no payoff at all? Meanwhile, “Holy Deja Vu!” is back, and Paul fills us in on character actor of Karnaby Katz fame, Robert Long! Plus, your mail about episode #135 Batman ’66 Comics, the Gray Ghost, and Nostalgia. Deleted scenes Robert Long plugging Sunsweet Pitted Prunes Adam plugging kids' traffic safety in the UK

Yvonne Craig’s memoir, From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond, poses quite a contrast to those by Adam West and Burt Ward. Batman takes up much less space in it, and recountings of sexual adventures take up no space at all. What emerges is a very practical woman who sees herself as a geek, is surprised to find herself typecast as “sexy” as she approaches 40, has plenty of amusing anecdotes (Hollywood-related and otherwise), and would be a joy to sit down to coffee with. We’ve read the book and we review it in this episode. Also, we present audio of ten minutes of Yvonne’s 1967 appearance on the Joey Bishop Show, John Zorn’s non-Hefti tune “Batman”, and your mail about episode 134, “What’s my Crime? Bob Dozier’s Joker Drafts.” YvonneCraig.com Adam West talks about being on Batman, including the "breast-touching incident"  

Penguins live where it’s cold, but somehow the pairing of the Penguin and Mr. Freeze never came about on the TV show. But Jeff Parker made it happen in the second issue of the Batman ’66 comic book! In the same issue, he gave us another logical pairing, Chandell and the Siren. This time, we review the issue. Also, we take a closer look at the 1966 memo from William Dozier to Howie Horwitz, which laid out ten rules of thumb for the making of the show. Were all the points good ideas, and were they adhered to over the run of the show? PLUS: The Beatbox Saboteurs’ version of the Batman theme, winners of the “Joker’s Utility Belt” D’oh Prize, and your response to our discussion with Scott Sebring in episode 133 - including a closer look at that astonishing bridge scene at the start of the Bookworm arc! Paul and Tim talk about the origins of Moon Knight on Deconstructing Comics Rally Wax commercial The glass matte painting shot in Charlie Chaplain's Modern Times: How it was done (from TheKidShouldSeeThis.com)  

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"!

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 ori

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 wit

TV in the '60s was, of course, dominated by male characters. It'd be tough to find a series that would pass the "Bechdel Test." How does Batman fare from a woman's point of view in the year 2020? To help us investigate this question, we invited novelist Nancy Northcott to join us this time and screen selected episodes from the first season. Plus, Tim and Paul have identified five "rules" for how women (molls in particular) are portrayed on the show. Also, "Bat Attack '89" (a Keaton-cash-in-cover of Hefti's Batman theme), and your mail on episode 129 "The Show's Ratings, and Rating 'Godzilla'!" (message board thread) The archive of the "bat-documents" site "Bat Attack '89" official music video "Bat Attack '89" by the Crime Fighters, Inc (showing cover art) SCRIPTS The Joker's Utility Belt (draft) The Joker is Wild (revised draft) Discuss on the '66 Batman message board!

The 1964 "New Look" facelift and, of course, our beloved 1966 TV show created a boom in Batman comics... briefly. The sales numbers dropped to their lowest point yet after the show was cancelled. Meanwhile, diehard fans of the comics, whose vision of Batman couldn't have been farther from how he was portrayed on the show, were fed up and demanding a darker version of the character, a return to his roots. These fans, many of whom read, and wrote for, the Batmania fanzine, were cheering for the darker look that new artist Neal Adams was giving the Caped Crusader in The Brave and the Bold. Editor Julius Schwartz found that a drastic change was the only way forward. That drastic change came in Batman 217 (above), in which Robin went off to college, and Batman and Alfred left the Batcave and Stately Wayne Manor behind. In this episode, we're joined by author Ian Gordon to discuss the changes that were made to the comics between 1968 and 1970 and the forces that drove those changes. Plus, Bobby Valentin's two diff

In 1966, one sure way to make money was to tie your product to the Batman TV show in some way. Bill Adler was an expert at riding the latest wave, and in that year he released Bill Adler's Funniest Fan Letters to Batman, a collection of real (?) fan letters sent by fans (mostly kids) of the Caped Crusader's TV show and comic books. In this episode, we discuss this book and read some of our favorite letters from it. Then Ben Bentley of 66batman.com (AAA-aa, AAA-aa) stops by to fill us in further on last episode's question regarding the similarities of various "living room" sets from the show, and more. Ben and co-moderator of the board Scott Sebring have been enjoying tracking the reappearances of various bat-sets, and the living room question sent Ben down other set-related rabbit holes, including figuring out which set was used for the library in the Batgirl/Killer Moth presentation reel! Plus, the Kitsch and Camp version of the theme, and your mail about our discussion of Legends of the Superheroes: The Ch

At last, we're back! Week-to-week Neilsen ratings info isn't easy to come by, but some research on the ratings has been shared on the all-seeing, all-knowing 66 Batman message board by Bob Furmanek. This time we examine Bob's research and how it puts another nail in the bat-coffin of the pervasive fourth season myth. 2015 4th season myth thread 2018 4th season myth thread 2018 4th season smoking gun? Also in this episode: A prince getting weighed? Holy Deja Vu! A review of the first issue of Batman Meets Godzilla Your mail reacting to our season three wrapup episode Scenes in the '66 movie where Penguin said "Faugh!" Detective Comics 475, facsimile edition Englehart/Rogers BATMAN hardcover Steve Englehart's uncredited work on the '89 Batman movie Detective Comics 375 (first Barbara Gordon/Batgirl), facsimile edition Gold Key's Captain Nice comic Stills of Bruce Wayne, Karnaby Katz, and Lord Ffogg's living rooms - are they all the same set? (Sure looks like it! Wayne living room has wider doorway, though.)

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!

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

In January 1979, Adam West, Burt Ward, and Frank Gorshin reprised their '66 roles in two specials that barely registered in the Nielsen ratings. The first was "Legends of the Superheroes: The Challenge," in which Batman, Robin, and other DC Comics heroes went up against a group of villains (including the Riddler) who, for no clear reason, were plotting to destroy the world. Adam looked sub-par in his "gila cowl," and all three struggled with a script that only the laugh track found funny. In this episode, we take one for the team to explore this highly unmemorable program. Also, we go all the way to Mars for some "deja vu," listen to Greg De Luca's guitar tutorial of Hefti's Batman theme, and read your response to our "Penguinalysis" episode! MeTV on "Legends" LEGENDS site on archive.org Batmobilehistory.com Rare Sketches and Paintings for the Batman '66 Opening Credits