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!

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!

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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.

When Batman was the hottest show on TV, it naturally became a major target of humor and parody as well. In episode 115 we looked at a couple of contemporaneous Bat-parodies from 1966-67, and this episode we examine three more:

• The Adventures of Jerry Lewis no. 97, featuring the actual Batman and Robin, who are both dealing with the effects of West/Ward Batman on their own lives, and acting in ways that parody their TV counterparts;
• the CRACKED magazine parody "Batzman meets the Green Horned Bee"; and
• "Ratman and Bobbin In The Clipper Caper", an audio parody by folk-music outfit The Brothers Four!

Plus the CPCC Band version of the theme, deja vu from the Petrie household, and your mail about our "I'll Be a Mummy's Uncle" discussion!

Victor Buono: "Fat Man's Prayer"

In Cesar Romero's final appearance as the Joker, he seems hamstrung, and not only by the lousy plot and the single episode in which to tell it. Ken Holtzhouser, who grew up rating Batman episodes based on their Romeroian content, joins us to identify the problem, separate out the chaff from the episode, and see if there's any Bat-wheat left.

Plus, the Andrew and Hudson version of the theme, and listener mail in response to our episode on Flash Gordon and Lorenzo Semple!

Ken's comic The Quick and the Dad

Ken's podcast No Guilty Pleasures: A pop culture podcast

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

On 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 at the end as he and Shafer struggled to communicate with each other. Video of the episode, unavailable when we looked for it years ago, surfaced last year, and this time we discuss the problems as well as the interesting bits that we did pick up from the bat-cast.

ALSO: The WDR Big Band version of the theme, and we read your mail on episodes 208 and 209.

WDR Big Band

The Late Show with Ross Shafer's Batman reunion

Victor Buono's final appearance as King Tut is, while hardly the Semplian ideal, plenty enjoyable on its own merits - for Buono, for the unusual situation the Dynamic Duo find themselves in, for some well-thought-out camera work. But what's up with Adam West's line delivery? We've never heard him sound so grouchy and cynical before. Also, how does this episode seemingly fit together with The Unkindest Tut of All, early in season three — seeing as how these two episodes were originally written as a two-parter?

Plus, a new feature, "Holy Deja Vu!"; the Black Market and Dub Robot version of the theme, and your mail about our King Tut script mega-episode!

What does the movie Flash Gordon (1980) have to do with Batman '66? Simple: a guiding force for both was screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr.! What can we learn about Semple's approach to Batman by comparing it to his work on Flash Gordon 15 years later? What was his approach, and what other factors skewed the results?

There's no walkthrough of the plot of the film in this episode, but we do talk about the music (Queen!) and design choices, Italian cinema special effects employed in the film, and of course camp in Flash Gordon.

Plus, your mail about our MAD/Not Brand Ecch! episode!

Wikipedia: the Schüfftan process

Wikipedia: Flash Gordon movie

Starlog: interview with Semple on the007dossier.com

Maxim: Sam Jones interview

Whathappensingaming.com: Sam Jones interview

Roger Ebert's review of Flash Gordon

The Dissolve: After Star Wars, science fiction tried to reconnect with the past

Television Academy: Lorenzo Semple interview

Buy Flash Gordon on Amazon.com

CBR: Was Not Brand Echh originally a reference to EC Comics?

Queen: Flash Gordon Theme on YouTube

"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!

One question on our minds almost since the beginning of To the Batpoles! has been: Just how much did Victor Buono, as King Tut, ad lib on the show? In this episode, we answer that question by comparing the final script to King Tut's Coup/Batman's Waterloo to what was broadcast, helping us to see the difference between Buono's sense of humor and Stanley Ralph Ross's, and to gain a keen appreciation of the considerable comedic contributions of Lee Meriweather to this arc. The script also reveals the producer's instruction to insert a late-season-two reference to Barbara Gordon.

We also compare Ross's version to the original version of the story that he rewrote, Tut Tut Tut by Leo and Pauline Townsend, and discover how Ross inserted Ross family members' names into the script, how much the Townsend's story (especially the opening teaser) resembled that of season one's The Curse of Tut, the Catwoman reference Ross wanted to insert, and more.

Also, the Damian Bacci guitar tutorial version of the theme, that Adam West/Burt Ward radio station contest clip you may have heard about, and your voluminous mail on our Nora Clavicle episode!

The scripts:

• 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

Tim's "Buono's on fire" script page (click to enlarge)

When something becomes popular, it's likely to get parodied somewhere. In the 1960s, the parodier-in-chief was MAD Magazine. Meanwhile, at Marvel Comics, a new parody comic series began in 1967, Not Brand ECHH, which followed the lead of MAD's 1950s incarnation as a comic book. In 1966, MAD published "BATS-MAN", followed about a year later by ECHH'S "The Aging Spidey-Man! Peter Pooper vs. Gnatman and Rotten." In this episode, we examine both parodies: What are they trying to say about Batman the character, or Batman the TV show? We also take a look at myth that doesn't just apply to Batman '66: that those TV actors are raking in the residuals!

Plus, the Megaraptor version of the Batman theme, and your mail about the "Court BAT-tles" episode!

SAG-AFTRA: History of Residuals

Adam and Burt on Ross Schafer

Tim's 1978 Hatman comics

• part 1
• part 2

In The Penguin's Clean Sweep, Burgess Meredith's final appearance on "Batman" (but not the last time as the Penguin!), Stanford Sherman's script has its moments, and so does Meredith, but… if you look closely, something just isn't up to snuff. And if you scratch the surface, there are way more inconsistencies and goofiness in the script than meets the eye. We're joined again by our childhood friend Kyle to discuss this feathered farewell: Is there a theme of barbecue implements? Did Penguin really expect that his infecting money at the mint would cause people to throw their cash in the street?

And, we dig into the archives for another one of our Batman Radio Shows from the late '70s… also featuring Kyle!

Plus, the Harry James version of the theme, a discussion of justifications for villains NOT unmasking our heroes when they have the chance, and your mail about The Wrong Earth and our Batman Radio Show debut!

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

Batman and Robin are "duly deputized agents of the law." Law comes up on the '66 show on a number of occasions, including two courtroom scenes. The very first episode features the Riddler filing a lawsuit against Batman. But, you might ask, how accurately is the law portrayed on Batman?

In this episode, lawyer Jim Dedman is here to fill us in. How good of a prosecutor is Batman? Does he behave properly as an agent of the law? How would Alfred's method of breaking up the Batman - Marsha nuptials go over in real life? Would Gordon and O'Hara face any charges for unknowingly shooting the Duo in Penguin's shooting gallery? All this and more!

Plus, the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies Concertino Orchestra's version of the theme, and your mail about our Louie's Lethal Lilac Time review!

Batman and the law: Links provided by Jim Dedman:

• Is Batman a State Actor? The Dark Knight's relationship with the Gotham City Police Department and the Fourth Amendment implications, by Joshuah Lisk
• Is Batman a State Actor? - ABA Journal podcast
• Is Batman a State Actor? by James Daily
• Rule 3.7: Lawyer as a Witness - American Bar Association
• Double Jeopardy and the Fraudulantly Attained Aquittal by David S. Rustein

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!

In 1965, as production of Batman was starting to get rolling, Lorenzo Semple was having some difficulties in getting across to writers his vision for the show. Leonard Stadd's "The Secret of the Impossible Crimes," a script that Semple rejected, shows Stadd's take on Semple's vision after reading the script for "Hi Diddle Riddle." The result is a funhouse-mirror version of Batman '66: it's recognizably the show, but bizarrely distorted in some ways. Once again, an unused script helps us understand what Batman '66 is, and what it isn't.

Also, David Miller's trumpet version of the Batman theme, and your response to the Archie/Batman team-up!

"The Secret of the Impossible Crimes," full script

Semple's two-page memo about the script

Discussion of the script on the all-seeing, all-knowing '66 Batman message board

We 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 impressions of the script from the denizens of the ’66 Batman message board, and listen to the world’s most enthusiastic kid, “The Colour Boo”, sing a mostly original song about the Caped Crusader.

The Sandman Cometh, First Draft, Final Draft

Joel Eisner talks with Ellis St. Joseph

Message Board thread on this script

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

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!

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

Stanley Ralph Ross's treatment, draft, and final scripts for The Funny Feline Felonies two-parter reveal a number of surprises: inconsistent concern for not doing the same gags twice, the death of the budding Batman-Batgirl romance, Ross errors that sometimes made it to the screen, a Ross gag that was, er, stubbed out like a cigar, and much more. The Batcave Podcast's John S. Drew joins us once again in the Bat Research Lab.

Plus, Adam West's Batman and Robin and conversation with our listeners about Batman, camp, and Pop!

The Funny Feline Felonies - treatment

The Funny Feline Felonies - draft

The Funny Feline Felonies - final

The Funny Feline Felonies - shooting schedule

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

(We'll have more scripts in the future, but... not quite yet.)

Thread on the Sasha Torres camp/Pop essay on the '66 Batman Message Board

American Heritage Center travel grants

BGSU Batman Conference

In the Funny Feline Felonies, Joker fakes getting kidnapped by Catwoman, only to then let her lead him around by the nose. He seems more childish than evil. What's wrong with season three Joker? That's one issue on our minds as we go through this two-parter. We also explore the provenance of the "Kitty Car," the ways in which this arc displays both male chauvinism and feminism, and the numerous extra characters and cameos that Stanley Ralph Ross included in this script — and an important cameo that all the other bat-commentators have missed!

Also, a close look at Warden Crichton's office, the Los Straitjackets version of the Batman theme, and your mail!

The Washington Post on Eartha Kitt's ill-fated 1968 visit to the White House

Warden Crichton's evolving office: A comparison

In 1992, Batman returned to movie theater screens, more Tim Burton-y than ever! His faceoff with Penguin and Catwoman contains numerous hallmarks of a Burton film, from the themes to the camerawork.

Childhood friend Kyle joins Tim and Paul to (once we've wallowed in reminiscences quite enough) give Batman Returns the To the Batpoles treatment, including the lack of Robin, various cats and penguins, the relevance to Batman '66, and the Returns video game tie-ins. Also, what is the Wilhelm Scream?

Plus, the Teddy Harpo harmonica version of the '66 theme, and your mail!

Paul, Kyle, and Tim, joined by Tim and Paul's dog Tippy in front of their house, Centerville, Iowa, 1976

Bring your Coleman stove! Grab your sleeping bag! "Go to the creek and brush your teeth!" It's time for a serious "Camping Trip"!

Back in episode 12, we took time to examine the idea of "camp" and why Batman '66 is often described as "campy." Producer William Dozier and others involved with the show rejected that label because of its "gay" associations, and instead maintained that it was an example of Pop art.

Listener Dan E. Kool pointed us recently to an essay by Sasha Torres, a professor at the University of Western Ontario. The essay is called The Caped Crusader of Camp: Pop, Camp, and the "Batman" Television Series, and it has inspired us to record this episode, on the idea of camp and Pop art as defining aesthetics for Batman '66. Is Batman camp or Pop? What tradeoffs do you make by designating it as either one?

Also, now that we're in season three, do we still agree with our idea in episode 12 that Batman is a "sitcamp"? Has it totally become a sitcom by this point? Has the level of camp since season one become lower, or higher?

Also, the Johnny's Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets version of the Batman theme, and your mail!

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)

Back again for the first time, Egghead and Olga, in The Ogg Couple, originally meant to be the first of three parts. Did the producers do a good job of changing direction in midstream, or are the seams showing?

In addition to containing a raunchy joke the censors seemingly overlooked, this Batman episode inspires several musical ruminations, related to the source of the name of the Silver Scimitar of Taras Bul Bul, Batgirl's sabre dance, and after a session in the Bat Research Lab, Eureka! Egghead's theme is identified!

Also, the Lemon version of the Batman theme, and your mail!

Lemon version of theme

MGM cartoon Abdul the Bulbul Ameer (1941)

Abdul Abulbul Amir, sung by Frank Crumit (1927)

Sabre Dance, by Aram Khachaturian, performed by Classic FM Orchestra, conductor: Maxim Eshkenazy

Warner Brothers cartoon Swooner Crooner (1944)

Chicken Reel by Joseph Daly (piano roll)

Turkey in the Straw, as performed by The Original Schnickelfritz Band with Freddie Fisher (1942)

Call your friends! Help us get to 50 iTunes reviews by the end of 2018 - it's your duty as a citizen of Gotham!

Midway 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 came about as we begin a look at St. Joseph’s original draft script.

Also, Below the Staff Music takes a stab at a jazz version of Hefti’s Batman theme, Adam West and Burt Ward cameo on the SImpsons, and we read your mail on the Bat Bible and Buck Henry’s rejection of camp!

The Sandman Cometh, First Draft, Final Draft

Joel Eisner talks with Ellis St. Joseph

Message Board thread on this script | On episode #207 (Bat Bible and Buck Henry)

"1966 Batman Theme - But It's Jazz," by Below the Staff Music

Adam and Burt on The Simpsons

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

With Julie Newmar off (reportedly) filming Mackenna's Gold, Eartha Kitt was recruited to play Catwoman in season three. In this episode, we dig into her first appearance, Catwoman's Dressed to Kill, an episode that seems to exhibit a lot of misogyny — but is that primarily on the part of writer Stanley Ralph Ross, or on the part of Batman himself?

Meanwhile, of course, the casting of an African-American Catwoman apparently led to the end of the Catwoman - Batman romantic tension, and in the Bat Research Lab, we take a look at an interracial kiss that was broadcast on American TV just three days before this episode, as well as a 1967 sitcom that clearly made a reference to Batman '66. Plus, the Boss Martians' version of the Batman theme, another Camping Trip, and your mail!

Nancy Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. share an interracial smooch

Spot the analogue to a certain actor we all know and love

In 1966, Signet released the novel Batman vs. Three Villains of Doom by Winston Lyon. Like most Batman '66 tie-in merch, it was released very early in the show's run, which means that its ability to ape the show is limited. Lyon sometimes borrows from the comics to augment what he doesn't know about the show, and sometimes simply has to make stuff up.

The novel deals with a contest between Penguin, Joker, and Catwoman to defeat Batman and earn the coveted Tommy Award. But wait — where's Riddler? And just who is this Winston Lyon, anyway? In this episode we look into those questions, discuss what is and isn't in line with the '66 show in this novel, and somehow even find time to go on a camping trip.

Plus, the Nashville Five version of the Batman theme, and your mail!

Signet Batman Paperbacks explained at TVobscurities.com

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

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!

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!

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):

As we saw a few episodes back, in 1965 Peggy Shaw turned in a script called Fashions in Crime, based on the 1948 comics story of the same name, and beset by script elements that would work in a comic but would be tough to film.

Shaw's script was apparently handed to writer Stephen Kandel to rework. The resulting 1966 work, The Cat's Tale, solves many of the problems of Shaw's script, in part by totally abandoning it halfway through. Still, it ultimately wasn't used. In this episode, Tim & Paul compare the two scripts & consider whether Kandel's script also had fatal flaws.

PLUS: the Ettore Cenci version of Hefti's theme, a correction regarding 8 mm film, a look back on a Batman-branded building that once existed in the Tokyo suburbs as a tie-in to the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton films, another nail in the coffin of the 4th-season myth, and your mail!

"The Cat's Tale," unfilmed script by Stephen Kandel, PDF

"The Silent Film Capers" by Dick Carr:

• First draft
• Second draft
• Polished version
• Thread on '66 Batman Message Board

Photos of the Batman Building in Hachioji, Tokyo, taken September 22, 1989 by Tim Young. Click to enlarge!

The top of the Batman Building is in the very center of this photo!

This was the grand opening -- note the bouquets out front.

Floor guide

That other "It's Getting Harder" song from 1967 (from the film To Sir With Love). Nope, no double-entendre here!

This episode's version of Hefti's theme:

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

BATMANIA was a well-made fanzine that was started by Columbia, MO, fireman Biljo White in 1964, concurrent with the introduction of New Look Batman by DC. Reading it revealed so many interesting things about the Batman fandom of the sixties that we can't cram it all into one episode!

So this time, in part one of our examination of BATMANIA, we (gasp!) set the TV show aside and focus on explaining just what was in this publication, who the now-famous (among comics fans) names were that appeared among its membership, how these deadly earnest fans reacted to the New Look, and how the zine chronicles the gradual realization that Bob Kane had had considerably less to do with the creation of Batman in 1939, and with the subsequent writing and drawing of the strip, than everyone had thought.

PLUS: Music from two versions of an '80s Batman video game, the Little Old Lady from Pasedena in an unexpected place, some iTunes reviews that are going straight to our heads, and your mail!

Batmania archive

Bill Schelly's article from Comic Book Artist #3, detailing the Bob Kane kerfuffle

Bob Kane's letter to Batmania

Even 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 broadcast — Joseph Schrier, Director of Program Development at ABC, reports on audience testing on the pilot. While some adults got the joke, others weren’t quite sure if the show was meant to be funny. Audience reaction to Batman and Robin was mixed, as well, with some noticing that Robin was solving all the Riddler’s riddles while Batman seemed to be flailing. This time, we look at that report, discuss why Batman could be perceived as rather dense in the pilot, and how well the report’s recommendations were followed.

PLUS: Musician Noiselund shows creativity and voluminous Bat-knowledge with his music video “Buttercup”; a 1989 report about Michael Keaton’s casting as Batman, and Adam West’s reaction to it; and we read your mail about our episode on the life of Neil Hamilton.

Read the draft of The Sandman Cometh, and comment on it for our next episode!

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.

In late in 1965, writer Peggy Shaw (a.k.a. Peggy O'Shea) submitted a Batman script called Fashions in Crime. It was based on a story of the same title from Batman 47 (1948), but naturally much expanded, and it shows signs that Shaw must have been reading Lorenzo Semple Jr.'s early Batman scripts (e.g. Hi Diddle Riddle and The Joker Goes to School). While parts of the script fit the tone of Batman '66, others would have been better suited to a Mickey Spillane novel. In this episode, Tim and Paul go through the script, and reveal a surprise ending — not to the story contained in the script, but to the story of the script itself!

PLUS: The Washington Dead Cats version of the theme, and your mail!

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

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

"The Cat's Tale," unfilmed script by Stephen Kandel, PDF

"The Cat's Tale," thread on the '66 Batman message board

Below, a couple of pages from the 1948 "Fashions in Crime" from Batman 47

Burt Ward's 1995 memoir Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights, while it does give us some insight into what it was like to go from nothing to superfame to typecast purgatory, is indisuputabily full of inaccuracies and hyperbole -- not to mention much more (in terms of both quantity and cringe-inducing detail) about his sexual conquests and misadventures than there is material of use to Batman '66 scholars. Why? Is this what the majority of fans want? Is this simply to be expected from a Hollywood memoir? And, what are Ward's true feelings about Adam West?

While this episode's topic is a naughty, naughty book, Tim and Paul try to keep it, er, relatively clean. Don't miss Paul's examination of how this fits into the pattern of books written by stars, and Tim's suggested alternate titles for the book!

PLUS: The Theee Bat version of the theme, and your mail!