To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
233 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 days ago - ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsLike 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 this series, they discuss the show's allure and its failures, the arc of the show from satire to sitcom, its influences (the '40s serials and the comic books themselves) and the things it, in turn, influenced.
SUPPORT "To the Batpoles!" and DeconstructingComics.com via Patreon!
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
#174 Women in Season 2, pt 1: From the Childish to the Badass
December 09, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 84.4 MBWhile 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 to...
#173 Batman ’65: Developing the Idea
November 25, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 74.2 MBWhat 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 discuss...
#172 “Mr Zero”: A Dozier/Semple dead end
November 11, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBWhen 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...
#171 "Adam West Naked": Back to "Back to the Batcave"
October 28, 2021 11:50 - 1 hour - 77.8 MBIn 2009, Batman wasn’t yet available on home video, with the rights issue still unresolved, and there was no certainty that would ever change. Adam West, 80, feared that it wouldn’t change in his lifetime. So he set out to release a sort of standalone commentary track, setting up cameras at his home in Idaho to capture his memories of each episode of the show. It’s fun to see him talk about Batman, and the package of his reminiscences, Adam West Naked, includes some interesting tidbits. But...
#170 Power Bat-Records
October 14, 2021 11:50 - 1 hour - 83.9 MBIn the mid-1970s, Power Records (a division of Peter Pan records) released audio stories of a number of popular properties, including Batman. Two volumes were released of four stories each, and some of the stories were then released as 7” “singles” complete with a comics version of the same story. Occasional elements in the stories were echos of the ’66 show. While the Power Records superhero discography utterly passed Tim and Paul by at the time, JB Anderton was really into them. JB, cre...
# 169 “Instant Freeze” script: We don’t love a parade
September 30, 2021 11:40 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBMr. 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 pr...
#169 “Instant Freeze” script: We don’t love a parade
September 30, 2021 11:40 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBMr. 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 pr...
#168 “Dick Tracy” and “Wonder Woman”: The Dozierverse Stumbles
September 16, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBIn 1966, William Dozier’s Greenway Productions was riding high, seemingly on the verge of building a TV empire built on superheroes: first Batman, then the Green Hornet. Why not keep going in that direction? An entire pilot episode of Dick Tracy was made, starring Ray MacDonnell, and all signs point to Dozier having confidence that the show would be bought by NBC - but it wasn’t. Meanwhile, Greenway also made a test film for Wonder Woman, starring Ellie Wood Walker, with a script that would...
#167 Tom Peyer talks “Batman 66” and “The Wrong Earth”
September 02, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 74.5 MBThe Wrong Earth, written by Tom Peyer, is a comics series in which the super-square Dragonflyman and grim & gritty Dragonfly find themselves on each other’s versions of earth. In the second volume, recently concluded, the two meet each other on yet another earth. Peyer, editor-in-chief at Ahoy Comics, is an industry veteran with many writing credits under his belt, including for the Batman ’66 comics series. This time, Tom joins us to discuss our favorite show and what The Wrong Earth mig...
#166 "Batman and Robin": Hot and "Kalt"
August 19, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBBatman 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 discus...
#165 Mr. Freeze(s)
August 05, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBAs any Batman ’66 fan knows, three different actors played the villain Mr. Freeze on the show: George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach. Any discussion of Mr. Freeze on the show prompts the question: Which Freeze do you like best? And, which Freeze script do you like best? In this episode, we give our answers to those questions, as well as exploring how the show set the course for the character in the comics (at least until Paul Dini changed it in 1992), potential reasons for the lac...
#164 "The Curse of Tut" scripts: Rondeau and Buono improve on Dennis and Barret
July 22, 2021 12:30 - 1 hour - 86.7 MBLorenzo Semple, Jr. having made his changes to Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret's first King Tut script, next it was the turn of director Charles R. Rondeau and master ad-libber Victor Buono. How much of the story that made it to the screen was determined by them? This time, we discuss two different versions of the Curse of Tut script, and how much changed after the "final" version. Also, a Bat Research Lab on Dennis and Barret, your comments about all three versions of the scripts (and o...
#163 "Phantom Pharaoh" Reveals Semplian Batman
July 08, 2021 11:47 - 2 hours - 112 MBAs the early episodes of Batman were being produced, and broadcasts had not yet begun, Executive Script Consultant Lorenzo Semple, Jr., was editing scripts and trying to get across his vision for the show to the other writers. Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret’s script for "The Phantom Pharaoh" gives us a peek at Semple’s vision for how Batman, Robin, and the other characters should be written. This time, we look at the script, the comments Semple wrote on it, and how it differs from the end...
#162 Lego Batman is Every Batman
June 24, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 75 MBThe 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...
#161 A Joker for All Seasons
June 10, 2021 11:55 - 1 hour - 69 MBA 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...
#160 Bat-rankings
May 27, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 83.9 MBAfter more than six years of doing this show and reliving our childhoods, what have we decided is our favorite story of the series? Our favorite piece of bat-equipment? Our favorite villain? This time, we rank all our favorites! Plus, the “bardcore” version of the Batman theme, and your comments on episode 157!
#159 The Joker Laughs on Two-Face's Behalf
May 13, 2021 11:50 - 1 hour - 84.3 MBFor 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 ...
#158 Peter Rabe’s “Two-Face”
April 29, 2021 11:50 - 1 hour - 98.7 MBTwo-Face never quite made it to Batman ’66 (unless you count William Shatner’s animated turn in 2017, as pictured). But two known attempts were made in the ‘60s: the Harlan Ellison treatment (which later became the comic book Batman ’66: The Lost Episode), and Peter Rabe’s full two-part script, The Two-Faced Counterfeit and The Counterfeit Counterfoiled, which was adapted by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., into a Joker story (as we’ll see next time!). In this episode, we take a look at Rabe’s script. ...
#157 Adam West as Catman; False Face; and a Camp Question
April 15, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 86.5 MBPart of Adam West’s renaissance as a performer, once his fans were old enough to cast him in stuff, was voicing various versions of himself in cartoons. One of these was in Nickelodeon show The Fairly OddParents, in which “TV’s Adam West” was the famous actor who had played the hero “Catman” — but thought he really was Catman! This time we take a look at Adam’s appearances on the show. Also: The 7th issue of the Batman ’66 comic book, featuring False Face! Art by past Deconstructing Comi...
#156 Adam and Burt "Return to the Batcave"
April 01, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 67.9 MBIn 2003, CBS broadcast the special Return to the Batcave, featuring Adam West and Burt Ward walking through a search for the stolen Batmobile as they reminisced about their time making Batman. The reminiscence was hampered a bit by the show still being tied up in rights issues; only clips from Batman: The Movie were included, not from the TV series itself. This time, we delve into the good and the bat-awful of this special. Also: J-Flexx's Bat Rap, your response to our interview with Greg...
#155 The Entrancing Dr. Cabala
March 18, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 68.3 MBWhen 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...
#154 Bat-Based Cartoons: "Batfink" and Waldo Kitty's "Catman"
March 04, 2021 13:38 - 1 hour - 90.3 MB1966 Batmania didn’t just put a lot of Batman toys on the shelves; it inspired twists and parodies on the show itself. One of these was Hal Seeger’s Batfink, which was not exactly a parody but appropriated a fair number of elements of the show. Batfink came on the heels of Batman, but years into the ’66 show’s syndication, The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty included Catman, a hero who was clearly a takeoff from the Caped Crusader. This time, we dig into these cartoons, their shared DNA with th...
#153 Greg Patterson tries on the Penguin's "quack"
February 18, 2021 12:30 - 1 hour - 75.1 MBBurgess 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 warrant...
Help us snag a JOHN ASTIN interview
February 09, 2021 08:29 - 1 minute - 1.86 MBWe need help procuring an interview with John Astin - we have some questions about his "substitution" as Riddler that we'd like to ask him! But he doesn't do interviews for free, and we're not exactly a major media outlet. Listen for details and, if you've got a few bucks for the cause, donate them here by THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021, at 7 a.m. Eastern Time.
#152 Defining the Riddler w/Wally Wingert
February 04, 2021 12:30 - 1 hour - 104 MBThe 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 sho...
#151 “Bat-motography” and “The Conqueror Bookworm”
January 21, 2021 12:30 - 1 hour - 80.2 MBWe'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 th...
#150 “The Astrologer”: The Proto-“Zodiac” Script
January 07, 2021 12:30 - 1 hour - 86.3 MBOne 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...
#149 Alan Napier: "Not Just Batman's Butler"
December 24, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBAlan Napier was the third-billed star of Batman, and is, somewhat remarkably, the only series regular who has a memoir currently in print. The book, Not Just Batman’s Butler, was written by Napier around 1970, and writer James Bigwood has edited and annotated it. At some points, Bigwood has filled in some quite large gaps that Napier left concerning his acting career, as the actor tended to focus more on his personal life. Batman does get a chapter, but it’s among the shortest in the book. ...
#148 Washburn II: Meet the Stars!
December 10, 2020 12:30 - 1 hour - 97.9 MBYou know about the 1966 Batman at Washburn fan film, made by students at Minneapolis' Washburn High School. (If you missed it, listen to episode 146!) But questions remained unanswered. How did the students get the school to let them shoot the film at school? How did they come up with the idea, and determine the casting? Why did they go with original villains? Why is there no Batcave? And...what's with that funky orange wash on some of the shots? In this episode, we meet some of the stars...
#147 Stanford Sherman’s letters and Batman ’66 #5
November 26, 2020 12:30 - 1 hour - 93.5 MBMost TV writers don’t become stars. If we’re fans of a show they wrote for, we probably know their names, but nowhere online can we find most writers’ photos or dates of birth, let alone anything about their inner thoughts. Especially not writers who did their work decades ago. Collector Mitch Kaba has come along to help us get some insight into one of the more prolific Bat-writers: Stanford Sherman. Courtesy of Mitch, we have some letters that Sherman wrote to his girlfriend in 1965-66, ...
#146 An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!
November 12, 2020 12:30 - 1 hour - 71.7 MBBreaking bat-news! The earliest-known Batman ’66 fan film has been revealed! It was made by students at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the spring of 1966. As Batmania raged nationally, these kids decided to celebrate their school by making a Batman film in and around their school, with the cooperation of the school, including screen appearances by the principal, Carl W. Anderson, and two teachers! In this episode, we meet collector Mitchell Kaba, who found the film on Go...
#145 “Batman: The Movie”: What is “the director’s input”?
October 29, 2020 12:30 - 1 hour - 94.1 MBDirector 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 ...
#144 Leslie Martinson: He’s Tha Bomb
October 15, 2020 12:30 - 1 hour - 97.7 MBLeslie 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 ...
SCRIPT: Batman: The Movie
October 13, 2020 10:01For reasons that will be clear when you listen to our next TO THE BATPOLES episode this Thursday, the episode after it will be a discussion of the script to the '66 Batman movie! Paul and I are planning to record it on the morning of Oct 20 U.S. time, so you've got a week to look it over and give us your comments! Read the script
#143 Jeff Bond talking Bat-movie music? Oh buoy!
October 01, 2020 12:30 - 1 hour - 89.2 MBNelson 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 i...
#142 Fine-tuning “The Penguin Goes Straight”
September 17, 2020 12:30 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBWhen 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 th...
#141 The Red Hood and a Couple of Top Hats
September 03, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 63.5 MBThis 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!
SCRIPT: The Penguin Goes Straight
August 23, 2020 12:52Late next week we're going to be recording an episode about the script for The Penguin Goes Straight. We have a "final" and "revised final" script. As is traditional, we'd like to let you guys take a look at them first and send us your comments by September 2, 2020, and we'll read some on TO THE BATPOLES. https://www.dropbox.com/s/w5xf1x50um3z4u0/THE%20PENGUIN%20GOES%20STRAIGHT%20final.pdf?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/h485dqzzlrpc9an/THE%20PENGUIN%20GOES%20STRAIGHT%20rev%20final.pdf...
#140 Julie and Eartha: Two Cat-egories of Catwoman
August 20, 2020 12:50 - 1 hour - 84.8 MBJulie 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 ...
#139 "Batman Meets Godzilla" #2 and the Battle Over the Batmobile
August 06, 2020 12:08 - 1 hour - 90.7 MBBatman 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 hi...
#138 Batman Forever: “Holey Plot, Batman!”
July 23, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 88.3 MBIs 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 Gh...
#137 Yvonne Craig: We get a kick out of this memoir
July 09, 2020 12:45 - 1 hour - 78.8 MBYvonne 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 a...
#136 Freeze/Penguin teamup and Dozier's ten rules
June 25, 2020 12:45 - 1 hour - 99.6 MBPenguins 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 we...
#135 Batman ’66 Comics, the Gray Ghost, and Nostalgia
June 11, 2020 12:45 - 1 hour - 88.4 MBThis 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 con...
#134 What’s My Crime? Bob Dozier’s Joker Drafts
May 28, 2020 12:45 - 2 hours - 99.1 MBScripts 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 i...
#133 Scott Sebring is here! Holy Bat-cyclopedia!
May 14, 2020 12:55 - 1 hour - 90.8 MBHey 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 ...
#132 Women of Season One: Not Just "Poor, Deluded Girls"
April 30, 2020 12:40 - 1 hour - 81.1 MBTV 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-i...
#131 1970: Batman goes solo and gets spooky
April 16, 2020 12:55 - 1 hour - 87.1 MBThe 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...
#130 Reading Fan Letters in the Wayne Living Room
April 02, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 71.5 MBIn 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 f...
#129 The Show's Ratings, and Rating "Godzilla"
March 19, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 74.4 MBAt 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 ...