Latest Tothebatpoles Podcast Episodes
#217 A well-planned bat-reunion: The Wil Shriner Show, 1988
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - May 09, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsThere 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 ...
#216 Putting a Finger on the Clock King script
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - April 11, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsThe Clock King’s Crazy Crimes/The Clock King Gets Crowned is the one Batman ’66 arc written by Bill Finger, now credited as a co-creator of the character, and Charles Sinclair. Unsurprisingly, the first draft of the script reveals a writer not well versed in the rules of Hollywood, such as that...
#215 Women in Season 3, pt. 1: Villains (and heroes!) approach gender parity
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - March 14, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsOne 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.” Thi...
#214 “Mr. Terrific”: A tough pill to swallow? Pt 2
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - February 15, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsMr. 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 ...
#213 “Mr. Terrific”: A tough pill to swallow? Pt 1
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - February 01, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsThis 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-...
#212 That’s no bat, boy, that’s Captain Nice!
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - January 04, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWhen 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 fro...
#211 Holy overbooking! The Late Show’s Batman reunion
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - December 07, 2023 12:20 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsOn April 28, 1988, the then-fledgling Fox Network’s The Late Show with Ross Shafer hosted a Batman reunion. However, due to poor time management and a second-rate host, among other problems, the reunion can be a bit of a tough watch - especially the way Alan Napier was shortchanged on airtime a...
#210 The Sandman Cometh Alone (part 2)
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - November 23, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWe conclude our look at Ellis St. Joseph’s original Sandman script with the sleepwalker-filled second part of the arc, originally titled “A Stitch in Time.” We discuss our impressions of the script, the episode we got instead, and which one we might have preferred. We also share more impression...
#209 The Sandman Cometh Alone (part 1)
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - November 09, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsMidway through Season Two, Julie Newmar appeared along with Michael Rennie as guest villains Catwoman and Sandman in The Sandman Cometh. But originally, this script by Ellis St. Joseph featured only the Sandman, with Robert Morely picked to play the role. This time, we get into how the teamup c...
#208 The Pilot Audience Report: Why did Batman seem “kind of stupid”?
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - October 12, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsEven after Batman made ABC’s “second season” schedule, to start in January 1966, there was still concern about how audiences would react. Will they get the joke? Should a laugh track be used? In a memo dated January 14, 1966 - the day after the second episode, Smack in the Middle, was first bro...
Next episode topic, and vote for new Patreon podcast topic
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - September 23, 2023 12:10 - 2 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWhat will we cover in our next episode? Also, what will be the topic of the next patrons-only podcast? Listen to hear how you can help to decide the answer to the latter question, and to hear the answer to the former!
#207 The Bat-bible, and Buck Henry’s rejection of camp
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - August 17, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsIn 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...
#206 Neil Hamilton: From silent film star to Gotham’s top cop
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - July 20, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsHe’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 t...
#205 Batman - Star Trek ACT-OFF, pt. 2
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - June 22, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWe’re joined again by our childhood friend Kyle for the second installment of our comparison of actors who appeared on both Batman and Star Trek. On which show did Grace Lee Whitney (King Tut moll Neila vs. Yeoman Janice Rand), Lee Meriwether (Tut kidnapee Lisa Carson vs. planetary security sys...
#204 “Rembrandt III”: Watching paint dry
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - May 25, 2023 11:55 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsAs 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 w...
#203 “Has TV gone batty?” Snarky press coverage from 1966
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - April 27, 2023 11:59 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsAt the height of Batmania in the first half of 1966, nearly every press outlet found it necessary to do a feature story on the phenomenon. But many in the media were not terribly impressed by Batman, so these articles tend to look down their noses at the show. One such example is “Has TV Gone B...
#202 British Batmania: A Slow Burn
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - March 30, 2023 11:59 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWe Americans know that Batman was also popular in the United Kingdom (and many other countries), but there are differences in the level of popularity that was reached and how long it lasted, and also in terms of when “first run” of the show was there. 66 Batman Message Board co-admin Ben Bentle...
#201 Chip Kidd’s Book of Bat-Merch
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - March 02, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWhen the Batman TV show set off Batmania in 1966, a wide variety of toys and other tie-in items, not all of them licensed, hit the market. Since licensers seldom made style guides in the ‘60s, rights to the actors likenesses weren’t available, and some of the onslaught of Bat-crap came from ove...
#200 “Batman: The Movie”: The Novel
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - February 02, 2023 12:30 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsFormer 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 Sempl...
#199 "Nora Clavicle" scripts and writing in season three
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - January 12, 2023 12:30 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsThe 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? Wha...
Holy Casting Crossover! Actors who appeared on both BATMAN and STAR TREK TOS
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - January 06, 2023 08:31 - 1 minute ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsIt's here! The Internet's most complete list of actors who appeared on both Batman and Star Trek: The Original Series! But... is it totally complete? Look it over and see if there's a relevant actor who isn't listed - then post about him or her in the comments! Some are famous actors in big r...
BONUS! DCU King Tut in "Batman Confidential"
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - December 22, 2022 13:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsIn 2009, writers Nunzio DeFillipis and Christina Weir brought King Tut to the DC Universe in three issues of Batman Confidential (issues 26-28), with art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan. Tim and Paul discuss the story, and a few '66 Easter eggs embedded therein. (Originally published...
Going away, but we'll be back
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - December 04, 2022 13:00 - 1 minute ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWe're going away for a bit. Here's the scoop on what's going on and when we'll be back!
#198 Women in Season 2, pt 3: You’ve Come a Long Way, Bat-Moll
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - November 24, 2022 12:30 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsAs 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...
#197 Adam and Frank’s… semi-big show
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - November 10, 2022 12:24 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsIn early 1966, Batmania was everywhere. This caused a certain (convicted tax evader) concert promoter to ask the question: Can Batman fill Shea Stadium? Adam West and Frank Gorshin were recruited to play their characters as part of a show that also included such musical luminaries as the Young ...
#196 "The Joker's Big Show"
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - October 27, 2022 11:39 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsThe 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 cont...
#195 SCRIPT: "A Piece of the Action"
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - October 13, 2022 13:26 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsIt’s time for another script! This time it’s the first draft of the Green Hornet guest shot arc A Piece of the Action/Batman’s Satisfaction, featuring a much more assertive Robin than perhaps we ever saw Burt Ward play, and a greater focus on the secret identities of Batman and the Hornet! Pl...
#194 Susan Silo: Mousey and much more!
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - September 29, 2022 11:55 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsYou know her as Mousey in A Riddle a Day Keeps the Riddler Away, but did you know that Susan Silo has been a sought-after character voice actor for cartoons since the ‘70s? Or that she had a hit single in 1956 ("Dear Diary") and performed on American Bandstand? Or that she’s performed on Broadw...
#193 Batman - Star Trek ACT-OFF, pt. 1
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - September 15, 2022 12:05 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsTwo 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 ...
#192 Mercy alive! It’s Madge Blake!
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 - September 01, 2022 11:55 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratingsWhen 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 t...
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