Batman VS Two Face

Holy alter ego!

Batman VS Two Face comes as an unexpected heartwarming homage film that digs deep not only into the hearts of the original TV show but, also into the hearts of many Batman fans. Adam West will always remain as one of the most important actors to bring to life the caped crusader. I vividly remember turning on the Tele to watch the many reruns of a series that started 15 years before I was even born (I'll save you the math, I was born in 1981). I for one, will always agree/defend that Adam West will always be the best Batman. Despite the campy humor the show had, West's deadpan delivery was so perfect that he could convey his love for justice with a ridiculous "Let that be a lesson. In future, be more careful from who you accept free lemonade." as much as Christian Bale could with an entire "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me" monologue. 

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the Batman TV show, and to celebrate a legacy larger than life, DC Comics & Warner Bros. decided to bring the series back to life in the form of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders an animated movie that became an instant hit, thus pushing producers to make a sequel. 

William Shatner as himself!

What do you mean with "beam us up"?

The prequel breathed new life into the concept by bringing in the voice talents of most of the original cast with Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar, reprising their roles. The film not only was a pitch-perfect extension of the '66 series, but brilliantly satirized just how much darker the portrayal of the "Dark Knight" has become ever since. Earlier this year, we lost our contrasting "Bright Knight" when Adam West passed away, but not before lending his voice to a sequel that will mark his last time donning the bat cowl to save the day once more.

"Batman Vs. Two-Face" doesn't satirize like its predecessor, but fully embraces the original series' campiness, with one concession: the inclusion of a villain considered too dark and gritty for the series at the time. According to legend, Clint Eastwood was all set to take on the role of Two-Face before studio execs thought he'd scare off young viewers and put the kibosh on it. In "Batman Vs. Two-Face", Professor Hugo Strange, another villain who never appeared on the TV series, is working on an "evil extractor" to rehabilitate Gotham's greatest criminals. He's aided by another now- popular villain, one not created until the early 90's, in a cameo role. Strange, naturally, is portrayed with an impersonation of the German mad scientist voice Peter Sellers perfected for Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." Unfortunately for Strange, his assistant, and Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman's greatest enemies have the ability to raise their evilness on command and, through their combined malevolent cackling, cause the devise to overload, splashing the D.A.'s face with the liquid manifestation of evil and transforming him physically and mentally into Two-Face.

Professor Hugo Strange.

Gallery of rogues.

The opening credits montage shows Batman and Robin waging war on Two-Face as if he were just another villain on the bi-weekly roster of the series. When we return to the film proper, Bruce Wayne has found a way to restore Dent's face as well as his law career. But when King Tut and Book Worm, two villains who existed solely in the universe of the TV series, pull off heists with all of the trademarks of Two-Face's plots, Batman and Robin have to try to figure out how Two-Face can co-exist with the seemingly cured Harvey. It's a mystery with a simple solution, but the movie's not about detective work: it's about revisiting a Gotham where the swinging 60's never ended, and where the police force exists only to toggle the Bat Signal on and off, because they wouldn't know how to bring a jaywalker to justice without the intervention of the Dynamic Duo.

Sorry, Clint, but William Shatner should have always been the first choice for Two-Face. Not only was he a familiar face on TV screens of that era, but no one else shared Adam West's love for the dramatic pause the way he does. He makes the menacing villain gel well with the campy universe, his distinctive cadence fits the squeaky-clean prosecutor, while he adds just a little bit of a growl to portray the darker aspects of the character. And there will never, ever be another Adam West. Only he could make a visit to the window of Catwoman's prison cell to share a kiss, read some poetry, and remind her how many months are left until her debt to society is paid seem so endearing.

Good VS Evil.

Alex Ross art.

Youthful ward Dick Grayson's maternal aunt gets giddy at how intimate Bruce and Dick seem, winking and nudging at rumors about the relationship that have persisted since the 60's, but she also gets giddy seeing Bruce and Harvey together, at one point all but pressing their faces together and telling them to start making out. Taking from other popular adaptations of the Two-Face character, Bruce and Harvey are portrayed as being old friends, in spite of the fact that the D.A. never even got a namedrop in the original series. It makes for a sort of love triangle between Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent, and Dick Grayson, and pays off with a sweet little moment of Batman declaring just how rock solid his relationship with the Boy Wonder is.

Writer Harlan Ellison wrote a treatment for an unproduced episode of Batman (1966). The treatment was adapted as a comic book in 2015, "Batman '66--The Lost Episode", by writer Len Wein, pencils by José Luis García-Lopez, inks by Joe Prado, colors by Alex Sinclair and lettered by Wes Abbott. The story title was "The Two-Way Crimes of Two-Face". Although there was early speculation that this film would be based on the above mentioned unproduced treatment, that is not the case. The animated movie tells its own original story.

To the bat-poles!

Caped Crusaders about to go kick some ass.

While there was a significant number of acting crossover between the Star Trek (1966) and Batman (1966) series, William Shatner is the first regular "Star Trek" cast member to perform on the original "Batman" series. The role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face was previously played by Billy Dee Williams in Batman (1989) and The LEGO Batman Movie (2017). Williams also appeared in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). This makes Two-Face the third Batman villain to be played by both a Star Trek and a Star Wars cast member. The role of the Joker has been played by Mark Hamill and Brent Spiner; and Ra's Al Ghul has been played by David Warner (himself a veteran of both franchises) and Liam Neeson. However, Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face took place in Batman Forever (1995) where he was played by Tommy Lee Jones.  

Batman VS Two Face world premiere was held on October 8, 2017, at the New York Comic Con. The screening was part of a panel that included William Shatner; Burt Ward; supervising producer/co-screenwriter James Tucker; producer/co-screenwriter Michael Jelenic; and director Rick Morales. The film is already available on digital, DVD & Blu Ray format everywhere.

An early draft of the film screenplay included the character Poison Ivy, who never appeared in the original Batman (1966) series. In addition, Early in the production there were plans to include an end-credits sequence that would have included a cameo by Wonder Woman, based on the television series Wonder Woman (1975) that starred Lynda Carter. The segment was dropped and was never animated.

Batman & Robin protecting the bookworm?

Catwoman teaming up with Two Face?

Anyway, anyone old enough to remember the original 60's Batman TV series will love this. It's great that this movie mirrors the 60's show i.e. it has the old batmobile & the original voices from Batman, Robin & Catwoman. Another former Catwoman Lee Meriwether also has a small part. William Shatner does an excellent job as Dent/Two face and the whole movie embraces the tongue in cheek wackiness of the original series. This must've been one of the last projects Adam West was involved in prior to his death. All I can say is that he went out on a high. 

A number of Batman animated films have been released in recent years, featuring different iterations of the character as presented in comics and movies - from the Dark Detective approach to much lighter interpretations. This is the second film to use the characters and tones of the 1960s television series and was fortunate to get Adam West and Burt Ward to recreate their roles.

The writers and animators have carefully considered the construction of their animated world with many nods to the TV series, including the presentation of some of the villains from that show (King Tut and the Bookworm among them)as well as the arch, perhaps slightly camp approach of the original. This is built upon somewhat for a modern audience with a number of double entendres and self-aware moments. Dialogue is also reflective of its inspiration with Robin's frequent declarations beginning with the word Holy and Batman's reference to his younger colleague as Old Chum.

The wonderful opening sequence.

The hammer of justice!

West sounds much older and a little frail but is able to be commanding when required and gets the tone of his delivery consistent with his original interpretation. Ward's voice has not aged a day. The perhaps surprising casting of William Shatner as Two Face / Harvey Dent works wonders as, despite being many years older than the character he is playing, he manages to sound appropriate for the role and conveys both the camaraderie of his character with Bruce Wayne and a capacity for evil.

The plot is really little more than a string of set pieces to present these fondly remembered characters but functions well despite this. Animation is of a high standard with diverse backgrounds and detailed character stylings.

Ending with a tribute to the "Brightest Knight" Adam West this is an effective exercise in nostalgia for those who remember the first television incarnation of Batman with warmth and fondness. 

Here's the movie trailer: 

A sneak peek:

Adam West, thank you for bringing Batman to life. May you rest in peace bright knight...

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

Holy poster Batman!

50 years ago the world witnessed the now legendary Batman TV series, a superhero show like no other. Today, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is the ultimate homage movie. Already available in digital format (DVD & Blu Ray releases are set for November 3rd) this one hour superhero adventure delivers, and fans of the original series will simply fucking love it.

Directed by Rick Morales and written by Michael Jelenic & James Tucker, it's the 60's again! Groovy! Starring the voices of Adam West, Burt Ward & Julie Newmar, the caped crusaders face their worst nightmare to date! When The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin & Catwoman decide to team up (for the second time, remember the original 1966 Batman movie) odds are something awful awaits the honorable citizens of Gotham City, and just like the first time these evil doers joined forces, they're after a powerful hi-tech ray gun, only this time it doesn't dehydrate people. This new technology is highly weaponizable, because its powerful ray allows you to duplicate whatever it touches! So, are Batman & Robin ready to suit up and stop Gotham's most infamous gallery of rogues?

The rogues are back Batman!

We're back old chum!

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders features the whole gallery of rogues the original series had (yes, even the ones created specially for the series), and it doesn't stop there! Aunt Harriet, commissioner Gordon, Chief O'Hara and of course Alfred, they're all there! Unfortunately, the only missing character is Barbara Gordon/Batgirl which I presume, wasn't included due to her death last year, while the animated movie was already in production stage. There are no "in loving memory" credits either for Yvonne Craig or the rest of the original cast that's already dead.

The opening sequence features not only the original, and now classic, Batman theme (re-arranged by Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion & Lolita Ritmanis, the soundtrack composers)  but a wide selection of classic Batman covers from some of the original comic books. Each scene is packed with nods to the original series and/or other Batman references in pop culture. For instance, when Batman is fighting the Joker he utters "do you wanna get nuts?! let's get nuts!" a direct quote from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie. In addition, when Batman & Robin talk, their talk is exactly the same as it was in the original series, you know, Batman being careful and respectful of the law, while Robin agrees with the classic "You're right Batman" or "Holy "something" Batman".

The Joker mobile!

Come at me bro!

Plot wise, hidden among nods and homage sequences, there's a clever plot twist that will surprise even the most avid 60's Bat fans. While the rogues steal this duplicator ray gun, Catwoman develops a special make up that will turn Batman evil. However, it doesn't work as expected but the consequences are hilariously dangerous for Gotham city. Another great addition, is the fact that Batman reveals he's always been interested in Catwoman, not only in her reforming, but as a love interest! and the feeling is mutual, so while we have no Batgirl to aid the dynamic duo, Catwoman unexpectedly takes her place.

Now, if you're wondering about other classic items from the series, such as the wonderful Bat gadgets, say no more! Batmobile, Batcave, Bat antidotes, Utility belts, Bat copters, Batzooka, Bat shields, they're all there and you get the see them in action. The legendary fight sequences featuring comic book styled onomatopoeia, also have an important role during the fights. I mean, it couldn't be a 60's Batman movie without them! 

To the Batmobile!

Boy that hurts.

Animation wise, each character looks exactly the same as they did in the live action series. In addition, some action scenes resemble The Adventures of Batman cartoon from the 90's. Also, being an animated movie allows the characters to be seen like never before: the Batmobile's acrobatics, our heroes traveling to space in a Bat Rocket, Gotham city taken by [spoiler] clones, and the grand finale battle on top of Penguin's Zeppelin are things the live action series could have never imagined doing. 

Moving on to the voice actors, let me just say that Burt Ward steals the show! He's a 71 year old man that can reprise his younger self voice perfectly. Julie Newmar, now 83, delivers a Catwoman that at times sounds close enough to the original voice, while at other times, it sounds like a grandmother gangster. Last but not least, Adam West, the man behind the cowl, has the weakest performance. His voice is clearly that of an 88 years old retired man. He never gets his original voice right, and that is a very odd thing because, while you're seeing a strong fully  functional Batman in action, whenever he utters a word, he just sounds like the old man he is in real life, so that is definitely a bummer, the main character not getting his part right. Nevertheless, the fact that he is the original actor, already adds enough mojo to the film's recipe I guess.

"Alfred, please get rid of aunt Harriet!"

Holy salad Batman!

Now, for all of you hardcore fans of the original series, here's a list of some of the many nods I could remember after watching the film:

1. When Batman gets hit on the head and sees three Catwomen, the duplicate Catwomen look like Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt. 
2. One of the fight scene onomatopoeia that comes up on screen in the first fight is "SPRANG!" This could be a reference to comic book artist Dick Sprang who helped redesign the Batman Ile, created the Riddler, & was one of the top artists on Batman comics in the Golden Age of Comics.
3. While confronting the villains, Batman says, "You wanna get nuts? Come on, let's get nuts!". This is a line that Michael Keaton said in his first Batman movie. 
4. While aggressively fighting the villains, Batman says "This is an operating table, and I'm the surgeon.". An iconic line from Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns'.  
5. Catwoman says that she will give up the life of crime if Batman will run off to Europe with her and drink tea in a cafe. This was the ending to The Dark Knight Rises. 
6. The villains that Robin and Catwoman break out of prison to help defeat Batman when he goes bad are: Mr. Freeze, The Mad Hatter, False-Face, King Tut, Bookworm, The Archer, The Minstrel, Ma Parker, Egghead, Shame, The Sandman, The Siren and Louie the Lilac.  
7. When [Spoiler] is replacing much of Gotham with his duplicates, he goes into a court & quotes the case of "Semple vs Dozier." This is a reference to show creator/narrator William Dozier & head script writer Lorenzo Sample, Jr for the original 60s series. 
8. Once the movie is over and credits role, Batman dances with his legendary "Batusi" moves seen in the original series.

Purrfect!

Overall, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is a one hour adventure that works best when watched by the whole family, so that those who watched the original series can share fond memories of it with newer generations. Warner Bros. once again delivers another entertaining animated DC Comics movie. Although the film premiered a few days ago, William Shatner (Star Trek) has been confirmed as Two-Face for the yet unproduced sequel movie.

 

Here's the teaser trailer:

 

 

Here's the trailer:

 

 

Batman The 1966 Series

A poster used to promote the international film.

Remember the days Blogger started? I remember. It was 1999, the old internet from before 21st Century. However, it really became a big thing after Google bought it in 2003. By now you may be wondering "what is this, a technology review in a movies blog?" the answer is no, I'm just remembering the time where everyone had a blogger account to either complain about something, share talentless poems or talk about whatever your feelings where at that particular time. If you had a blog, you had to share your feelings, you had to wine about whatever and add the latest gadget so that every follower you had knew you were the deal. 

Well, it just so happens today's series in review kinda shook my feelings when I was a little boy growing up in the 80's shadow of an ugly dictatorship in Chile (Wine, Pinochet, The Andes)  What's a boy to do in a place where everything is forbidden? watch TV! watch TV 'til your eyes bleed! Chile was so underdeveloped (and still is) that every local TV network had re runs of 60's 70's and early 80's serials. Everything from those days would fondly be referred as "The 80's greatest serials" by any Chilean even though the series were way older. Anyways, Today we're reviewing Batman (the 1966-1969 series) which was the earliest introduction to the world of comic books I had. Ever since that day I didn't stop reading every comic book I could find, so there you have it a heartfelt blog commentary a la early 2000's style. 

The heroes Gotham needed in the 60's.

Hello, phone sex line?

Rarely has a TV show so gripped the world as Batman did way back in 1966. People still remember this incredibly campy show and watch it. The show was based on a twenty-year-old comic strip named Batman(yeah, I know you never heard of him before). In fact the show was credited for saving the dying Bat comic strip from extinction(do your math or read the magnificent 75 Years of DC Comics Book by Taschen). However the campy tone makes many of the Bat fans angry that this show supposedly set a too campy tone for comic book today. OK, who are we kidding? Comic book characters were very different in the early 60's. Hell! they were even less violent and dark in the 50's and 40's too, so why call the 60's series a bad adaptation just because it was apparently "campy". If you're one of those motherfuckers who thinks is a comic book fan just because you've watched some movies based upon comic book characters, I've got some news for you: you're not a comic book fan, you're merely a movie fan, or as I prefer calling you: you're nothing but a fucking poser. 

Any comic book connoisseur already knows how comic books mood developed before the late 70's and specially in the 80's, where a darker mood set by artist like Frank Miller & Alan Moore made comic books no longer a thing for kids. Nevertheless, let's remember what happened in the early 90's when Batman & Superman were set even darker moods with The Death of Superman & Knightfall. Anyways, long story short, comic book producers decided to stop making their stories angrier, darker and bloodier and returned to a more PG rated story telling. Where am I going with this? Comic books are pure science fiction, meant to be enjoyed as they are, not according to reality or a more adult driven perspective, and the 60's Batman series knew that very well. 

Julie Newmar, a goddess. Sexiest Catwoman ever.

I think the show did have some bad points especially in the second season but this was still a great show. Adam West was a near perfect Batman, Burt Ward was hilarious as Robin. Neil Hamilton was an excellent Commissioner Gordon and Stafford Repp was excellent as Chief O'Hara. Also Alfred the Butler was played excellently by Alan Napier. Together they would fight the forces of evil in Gotham City with a series of excellent cops, honesty, a man in a six foot bat suit and a series of sound effects that would attack villains toward the end of a thirty minute cycle.

The show was campy but all comic books before Batman were. The show had some distinctly satirical overtones and why shouldn't it. A millionaire dresses up as a bat to fight crime? These days the millionaire is more likely to be committing the crime(no pun intended). The episodes at the beginning of the shows short run and the episodes at the end of the shows run were indeed the best and a few of them were some of the noted best episodes in any television show period. 

Cesar Romero, the only mustached Joker there's ever been.

Holy criminal gang bang Batman!

At the beginning of 1966 everything turned Batman. The TV show dominated television, merchandising an advertisement for the show even made it to the Super Bowl! The show even was made into a theatrically released movie(follow the link and read our review). The show lost almost all of it's edge when the second season came and the show went from being satirical and over the top to just too campy.

The villains were great as well. Top name celebrities lined up to star in this show. John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis and other top named celebrities lined up to star in this show, many of them never got the chance. But some of these people were just great. Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, Julie Newmar as Catwoman, Cesar Romero as the Joker and Burgess Meredith as the Penguin are now legendary. There were many others but those were arguably the four most well known.

To the Batmobile!

Choose your villain.

Burgess Meredith was always my favorite. He was such a great actor in real life. Frank gorshin's excellent job as the Riddler brought the Riddler in the comic books from being a minor villain to one of the top villains. My favorite episode of the series were the ones where The Penguin ran for mayor. These were just so many great moments in that one, watching Allen Ludden comment on the fight between Batman and the Penguins goons were hilarious. My second favorite episodes were where the Joker went surfing and planned to win taking over the surfers. That was classic.

I found it interesting that in this show everyone was helpful, the only bad guys were the villains and everyone who was not a villain was misguided and the villains were really goofy instead of evil. Everyone was basically decent. People that lived during that time said it was like that even outside of television. I like the comic strips of Batman and the show because it is supposed to show everyone in a good light and show everyone's good side. 

We have some good friends out there.

To the Batcopter!

Calling this series a campy and forgettable show is simply not having a clue about comic book history. Remember, in the early 60's comic books were not doing so well after the Comic Code Authority happening and after making kids lose interest over a rising interest in television as a more immediate source of entertainment. After Batman aired, things changed dramatically and for the first time ever in comic book history not only kids but complete families fell in love with the caped crusader adventures. Bob Kane himself acknowledged the influence the series had over the return of comic book interest in larger audiences. Also, The Flash happened in those years, and let's not talk about the rise of Marvel comics...

Now, let's check the episodes guide:

Season 1: 1966

Until September 1967, two-part episodes appeared on consecutive days. The date given here is the date the first episode in a multi-part episode appeared; the second episode appeared the following day. Exceptions are the three part episodes. Afterward, the series appeared only once a week and the additional parts of multi-part episodes appeared the following week(s)

Keep calm and call the Dynamic Duo!

Episode	Title	Airdate	Villain(s)	Actor
1 2	Hi Diddle Riddle Smack in the Middle	January 12, 1966 January 13, 1966	Riddler	Frank Gorshin
3 4	Fine Feathered Finks The Penguin's a Jinx	January 19, 1966 January 20, 1966	Penguin	Burgess Meredith
5 6	The Joker is Wild Batman Is Riled	January 26, 1966 January 27, 1966	Joker	Cesar Romero
7 8	Instant Freeze Rats Like Cheese	February 2, 1966 February 3, 1966	Mr. Freeze	George Sanders
9 10	Zelda The Great A Death Worse Than Fate	February 9, 1966 February 10, 1966	Zelda the Great	Anne Baxter
11 12	A Riddle a Day Keeps the Riddler Away When the Rat's Away the Mice Will Play	February 16, 1966 February 17, 1966	Riddler	Frank Gorshin
13 14	The Thirteenth Hat Batman Stands Pat	February 23, 1966 February 24, 1966	Mad Hatter	David Wayne
15 16	The Joker Goes to School He Meets His Match, The Grisly Ghoul	March 2, 1966 March 3, 1966	Joker	Cesar Romero
17 18	True or False-Face Holy Rat Race	March 9, 1966 March 10, 1966	False-Face	Malachi Throne
19 20	The Purr-fect Crime* Better Luck Next Time*	March 16, 1966 March 17, 1966	Catwoman	Julie Newmar
21 22	The Penguin Goes Straight Not Yet, He Ain't	March 23, 1966 March 24, 1966	Penguin	Burgess Meredith
23 24	The Ring of Wax Give 'Em the Axe	March 30, 1966 March 31, 1966	Riddler	Frank Gorshin
25 26	The Joker Trumps an Ace Batman Sets the Pace	April 6, 1966 April 7, 1966	Joker	Cesar Romero
27 28	The Curse of Tut The Pharaoh's in a Rut	April 13, 1966 April 14, 1966	King Tut	Victor Buono
29 30	The Bookworm Turns While Gotham City Burns	April 20, 1966 April 21, 1966	Bookworm	Roddy McDowall
31 32	Death in Slow Motion The Riddler's False Notion	April 27, 1966 April 28, 1966	Riddler	Frank Gorshin
33 34	Fine Finny Fiends Batman Makes the Scenes	May 4, 1966 May 5, 1966	Penguin	Burgess Meredith

The batboat.

The Batusi.

Season 2: 1966–67

In Season 2, the show featured repetition of its characters and its formula. Semple's participation in the series decreased.

Adam West explained to Jeff Rovin in his autobiography, Back to the Batcave, that when beginning work on the second season following the completion of the feature film, Dozier, his immediate deputy Howie Horwitz, and the rest of the cast and crew rushed their preparation for the second season, failing to give themselves enough time to determine what they wanted to do with the series during that season.

Episode	Title	Airdate	Villain(s)	Actor
35 36	Shoot a Crooked Arrow Walk the Straight and Narrow	September 7, 1966 September 8, 1966	The Archer	Art Carney
37 38	Hot Off the Griddle The Cat and the Fiddle	September 14, 1966 September 15, 1966	Catwoman	Julie Newmar
39 40	The Minstrel's Shakedown Barbecued Batman?	September 21, 1966 September 22, 1966	Minstrel	Van Johnson
41 42	The Spell of Tut Tut's Case is Shut	September 28, 1966 September 29, 1966	King Tut	Victor Buono
43 44	The Greatest Mother of Them All Ma Parker	October 5, 1966 October 6, 1966	Ma Parker Catwoman (cameo)	Shelley Winters Julie Newmar (cameo)
45 46	The Clock King's Crazy Crimes The Clock King Gets Crowned	October 12, 1966 October 13, 1966	Clock King	Walter Slezak
47 48	An Egg Grows in Gotham The Yegg Foes in Gotham	October 19, 1966 October 20, 1966	Egghead	Vincent Price
49 50	The Devil's Fingers The Dead Ringers	October 26, 1966 October 27, 1966	Chandell Harry	Liberace
51 52	Hizzonner the Penguin Dizzoner the Penguin	November 2, 1966 November 3, 1966	Penguin	Burgess Meredith
53 54	Green Ice Deep Freeze	November 9, 1966 November 10, 1966	Mr. Freeze	Otto Preminger
55 56	(The Impractical Joker) (The Joker's Provokers)	November 16, 1966 November 17, 1966	Joker	Cesar Romero
57 58	Marsha, Queen of Diamonds Marsha's Scheme of Diamonds	November 23, 1966 November 24, 1966	Marsha, Queen of Diamonds	Carolyn Jones
59 60	Come Back, Shame It's How You Play the Game	November 30, 1966 December 1, 1966	Shame	Cliff Robertson
61 62	The Penguin's Nest The Bird's Last Jest	December 7, 1966 December 8, 1966	Penguin	Burgess Meredith
63 64	The Cat's Meow The Bat's Kow Tow	December 14, 1966 December 15, 1966	Catwoman	Julie Newmar
65 66	The Puzzles Are Coming The Duo is Slumming	December 21, 1966 December 22, 1966	Puzzler	Maurice Evans
67 68	The Sandman Cometh The Catwoman Goeth	December 28, 1966 December 29, 1966	Sandman Catwoman	Michael Rennie Julie Newmar
69 70	The Contaminated Cowl The Mad Hatter Runs Afoul	January 4, 1967 January 5, 1967	Mad Hatter	David Wayne
71 72 73	The Zodiac Crimes The Joker's Hard Times The Penguin Declines	January 11, 1967 January 12, 1967 January 18, 1967	Joker Penguin	Cesar Romero Burgess Meredith
74 75	That Darn Catwoman Scat! Darn Catwoman	January 19, 1967 January 25, 1967	Catwoman	Julie Newmar
76 77 78	Penguin Is a Girl's Best Friend Penguin Sets a Trend Penguin's Disastrous End	January 26, 1967 February 1, 1967 February 2, 1967	Penguin Marsha, Queen of Diamonds	Burgess Meredith Carolyn Jones
79 80	Batman's Anniversary A Riddling Controversy	February 8, 1967 February 9, 1967	Riddler	John Astin
81 82	The Joker's Last Laugh The Joker's Epitaph	February 15, 1967 February 16, 1967	Joker	Cesar Romero
83 84	Catwoman Goes to College Batman Displays His Knowledge	February 22, 1967 February 23, 1967	Catwoman	Julie Newmar
85 86	A Piece of the Action Batman's Satisfaction^	March 1, 1967 March 2, 1967	Colonel Gumm	Roger C. Carmel
87 88	King Tut's Coup Batman's Waterloo	March 8, 1967 March 9, 1967	King Tut	Victor Buono
89 90	Black Widow Strikes Again Caught in the Spider's Den	March 15, 1967 March 16, 1967	Black Widow	Tallulah Bankhead
91 92	Pop Goes the Joker Flop Goes the Joker	March 22, 1967 March 23, 1967	Joker	Cesar Romero
93 94	Ice Spy The Duo Defy	March 29, 1967 March 30, 1967	Mr. Freeze	Eli Wallach

^The real guest star of this episode is not Roger C. Carmel (Col. Gumm) but rather Van Williams (the Green Hornet) and Bruce Lee (Kato), in a crossover from their own series, who are suspected by the Dynamic Duo and Gotham police as being criminals, rather than crime fighters.

Holy hairy pussy Batman!

Holy Batgirl tits Batman!

Season 3: 1967–68

By Season 3, ratings were falling and the future of the series seemed uncertain. To attract new viewers, Dozier opted to introduce a female character. He came up with the idea of using Batgirl, who in her civilian identity would be Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara, and asked the editor of the Batman comics to further develop the character (who had made her debut in a 1966 issue of Detective Comics). To convince ABC executives to introduce Batgirl as a regular on the show, a promotional short featuring Yvonne Craig as Batgirl and Tim Herbert as Killer Moth was produced. The show was reduced to once a week, with mostly self-contained episodes, although the following week's villain would be in a tag at the end of the episode, similar to a soap opera. Accordingly, the narrator's cliffhanger phrases were eliminated, with most of the episodes ending with him saying something to encourage viewers to watch the next episode.

Aunt Harriet was reduced to just two cameo appearances during the third season, due to Madge Blake's poor health. Another cast change for the final season saw Julie Newmar, who had been a popular recurring guest villain as the Catwoman for the first two seasons, being replaced by singer-actress Eartha Kitt for season three, as Newmar was working on the film Mackenna's Gold at that time, and was unable to appear. In America, Kitt's performance in the series marked the first mainstream television success of a black female, continuing to break racial boundaries of the time, Kitt even flirted with West's character on screen. Kitt's performance as Catwoman would also, later, inspire Halle Berry's portrayal of the character in the 2004 shitty film Catwoman, in which Berry would mimic Kitt's famous purrs. Frank Gorshin, the original actor to play the Riddler, returned for a single appearance after a one-season hiatus, during which John Astin made one appearance in the role.

Episode	Title	Airdate	Villain(s)	Actor
95	Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin	September 14, 1967	Penguin	Burgess Meredith
96	Ring Around the Riddler	September 21, 1967	Riddler Siren	Frank Gorshin Joan Collins
97	The Wail of the Siren	September 28, 1967	Siren	Joan Collins
98 99	The Sport of Penguins A Horse of Another Color	October 5, 1967 October 12, 1967	Penguin Lola Lasagne	Burgess Meredith Ethel Merman
100	The Unkindest Tut of All	October 19, 1967	King Tut	Victor Buono
101	Louie, the Lilac	October 26, 1967	Louie the Lilac	Milton Berle
102 103	The Ogg and I How to Hatch a Dinosaur	November 2, 1967 November 9, 1967	Egghead Olga, Queen of the Cossacks	Vincent Price Anne Baxter
104	Surf's Up! Joker's Under!	November 16, 1967	Joker	Cesar Romero
105 106 107	The Londinium Larcenies The Foggiest Notion The Bloody Tower	November 23, 1967 November 30, 1967 December 7, 1967	Lord Marmaduke Ffogg Lady Penelope Peasoup	Rudy Vallee Glynis Johns
108	Catwoman's Dressed to Kill	December 14, 1967	Catwoman	Eartha Kitt
109	The Ogg Couple	December 21, 1967	Egghead Olga, Queen of the Cossacks	Vincent Price Anne Baxter
110 111	The Funny Feline Felonies The Joke's on Catwoman	December 28, 1967 January 4, 1968	Joker Catwoman	Cesar Romero Eartha Kitt
112	Louie's Lethal Lilac Time	January 11, 1968	Louie the Lilac	Milton Berle
113	Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club	January 18, 1968	Nora Clavicle	Barbara Rush
114	Penguin's Clean Sweep	January 25, 1968	Penguin	Burgess Meredith
115 116	The Great Escape The Great Train Robbery	February 1, 1968 February 8, 1968	Shame Calamity Jan	Cliff Robertson Dina Merrill
117	I'll Be a Mummy's Uncle	February 22, 1968	King Tut	Victor Buono
118	The Joker's Flying Saucer	February 29, 1968	Joker	Cesar Romero
119	The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra	March 7, 1968	Dr. Cassandra Spellcraft Cabala	Ida Lupino Howard Duff
120	Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires	March 14, 1968	Minerva	Zsa Zsa Gabor

Nelson Riddle composed the magnificent music you hear in the series and in the film.

Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.

The nature of the scripts and acting started to enter into the realm of surrealism. For example, the set's backgrounds became mere two-dimensional cut-outs against a stark black stage. In addition, the third season was much more topical, with references to hippies, mods, and distinctive 1960s slang, which the previous two seasons had avoided.

Cancellation

Near the end of the third season, ratings had dropped significantly, and ABC cancelled the show. Reruns of the series have been seen on a regular basis in the United States and much of the world since 1968, and are currently shown on the classic TV network Me-TV on Saturday nights.

Batman '66 

In 2013 DC Comics released the Batman '66 comic book based entirely in the 60's series. To date is an ongoing successful comic book. In addition, the series has been released for the first time ever in home video format (DVD, Blu Ray & Digital) 

So whoever dares call 60's Batman series a boring and campy offense at the dark knight legacy, think again, there are millions of fans who do appreciate this early rendition of one of the most beloved characters science fiction have ever delivered.

Character likeness at its finest.

The magnificent Batman '66 comic book.

Within the return of the original series to today's world, many newcomers have shown appreciation for the show. Never judge a book by its cover. To date Adam West's impersonation of Bruce Wayne/Batman remains the best family rated rendition there's ever been. This Batman is not in constant pain, he's not suffering like an emo teen. Instead, he chooses to embrace the fact that he has the resources to fight crime and prevent others from suffering his and his fellow counterpart fate. This Batman does justice in broad daylight and his foes fear him in his spandex batsuit. 

Here's the legendary Batman intro:

The batusi dance:

And an A to Z guide on Batman's villains: