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Archive 1

the new DVDs release

I've stumbled across a TV infomercial starring Adam West selling a newly remastered set of the Batman series At the web site for the set, they boast 64 episodes. The article says there are 120 episodes-- so what is missing from this new set? And why? 68.108.146.186 (talk) 13:35, 7 November 2014 (UTC)

Here's the website: https://www.batmanondvd.com [assuming this commercial site link is ok]. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.108.146.186 (talk) 13:41, 7 November 2014 (UTC)

DVD non-release section seems excessive

Great information, but it takes away from the article. That section should probably be reduced to a single sentence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.98.112.27 (talk) 07:02, 17 October 2008I (UTC)

I disagree. Unless there was a seperate page made regarding the disputes and lack of release, it's helpful to have more info about why there is no release, instead of just saying "no there is no DVD release:.76.226.120.2 (talk) 04:18, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

Have any of you seen "Batman on drugs" on youtube?? Its FUNNY! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.181.31.64 (talk) 14:39, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Does anyone know what if any difference an iTunes or other digital format release might be in regard to the series? I know a lot of that sort of thing was resolved after the Writers Guild strike a few years ago, but I don't know any of the details. Could it be that since nobody in the TV industry imagined such a thing could be possible, that the legal wrangling could be circumvented more easily through new media?Wyldstaar (talk) 02:17, 16 November 2011 (UTC)

Batclimb cameo

What on earth is the "Batclimb cameo" ? 194.97.166.245 09:18, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

I think that was a short scene in which Batman and Robin would be scaling a wall in pursuit of the villan, and as they passed a window, someone (often, or maybe always a famous actor or personality), would stick their head out and have a brief conversation with the two heros. As I recall it typically went something like:
Citizen (personality doing the cameo): Batman and Robin!? What are you doing here?
Batman: We're just practicing our wall climbing skills.
Robin: There's nothing to worry about sir, you can go back to bed.
--Badger151 18:44, 5 October 2006 (UTC)


Filming Style

I am shocked that the article does not discuss the filming style with its angled shots, camera movements and overlaid cartoon captions (with matching jazzy musical cues). This seems the most important aspect of the show, on stylistic, technical and cultural grounds. (Cartoon violence, via captions, replaces or hides real violence in the show, angles and vibrant colours highlight the surreal nature of the scenarios, etc.... this could all be paralleled with current political and cultural events in the 60s) OK, maybe fans are interested in episode listings, but this article should ideally also discuss the impact of the show on pop culture (and vice versa). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.237.9.91 (talk) 04:23, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

I second that. I was STUNNED (dejected) when none of this made it into the movies! They are just so BOOOOOOOOOORING as a result!

What is Batman without "Ker-Pow!!" "Zowie!!" "Plonk!!" etc?!

And the deadpan lines about stopping for red lights, etc., during a car chase...or the Batclimb cameos...or the BATUSI!!

I can't believe NONE of this made it to the movies!! They totally RUINED the franchise.

64.48.78.8 (talk) 12:19, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

This is discussing the SUBJECT of the article, not the article itself. 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

Batman Season 1 on DVD

When Fox Home Entertainment releases this (hopefully in 2006, for the show's 40th anniversary), I really hope they include the complete West, Ward, and Lyle Wagonner screentests, as can be found at http://www.batfriend.com as well as getting West, Ward, and Lorenzo Semple to do audio commentary for the pilot and other selected episodes.

The screentests have already been released on the Batmania 2-disc set that came out last year. A lot of people consider it to be the "bonus features" for a non-existent box set of the series. From what I hear the odds of this seeing DVD release in the near future are virtually nil due to the fact Fox (which owns the series) and Warner Brothers (which owns the character) can't come to an agreement. 23skidoo 01:59, 8 December 2005 (UTC)
Thank you for that tip ! I am going to look for that DVD ! I'm surprised there is a problem between Fox and WB. WB didn't hold up Sony's release of the Batman serials. Time-Warner is just greedy...they should give their cut to West and Ward instead.

Theme song

Has anyone else noticed the similarities between the theme song for Batman and the song 'Taxman' released by The Beatles released in 1967 on their album Revolver? Is it just me or is there some actual link between the two? - Draven5

I know the song quite well. I see no similarities except the fact "Taxman" and "Batman" are both 2-syllable words. 23skidoo 17:13, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
That, and the harmonized cries of "Taxman!" are slightly echoic of the "Batman!" chorus. But the songs are highly dissimilar in all other respects. Of course, the whole idea is a real stretch: "Well me and the lads were watchin' Batman on the telly and the theme comes on and we look at each other and says, 'Right!' And I mean there you have it." StarryEyes 17:33, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Bruce Lee on the show

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I've heard that in one episode that had Kato and the Green Hornet fighting Batman and Robin, there was some off-the-set trash-talk by Robin that was directed at Lee. When the actors went onto the set to throw stage punches, Lee went out there and fought for real, injuring Robin. Is there any truth to this? Dariustriplet 02:04, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

No, Burt Ward and Bruce Lee were friends, and trained in Martial Arts together. When the fight in question was to be filmed, Lee decided to play a joke on Ward by acting very angry the entire day. Ward started to get nervous, and when they started filming the fight, Lee acted like he was going to beat Ward for real which caused Ward to go into a panic. Lee then started laughing at Ward revealing that it was just a joke.
The above incident is described in Burt Ward's autobiography. 23skidoo 21:41, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
I saw an episode of Batman where the actors who played Kato (Bruce Lee) and the Green Hornet did catclimb cameos, in character as Kato and the Green Hornet. Asa01 18:20, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
You're right. The article listing Batman guest stars notes that Batclimb cameo. 23skidoo is right. Ward and Lee were friends. Doczilla 03:54, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

The Batman Forever reference

The line is "Holey Rusted Metal, Batman", not "Holey Metal Ground, Batman". Correction made.

Jumping the shark and other questions

Can we say that the series is widely believed to have 'jumped the shark' with the introduction of Batgirl and the other changes, hence its cancellation?

There's no mention of the story that another network was willing to take over the series, but by that point the Batcave set had been destroyed and the cost of recreating it was a major factor in stopping a final agreement.

If Warner isn't involved in the failure to have a DVD release, what's the problem?

I am hugely amused that the main Batman page calls the TV series 'silly' but manages to give the comics' character's history with a straight face.

81.1.122.74 21:59, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

I'd personally say that the series jumped the shark two minutes after the first exec at the studio got the idea to make it. But that's just me. --70.121.26.115 05:45, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

The original statement was largely true. It went downhill in MANY ways in the third season. 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

Parody

I don't believe the show should be classified as "parody". This is very misleading. The IMDb entry lists a whole slew of genres and none of them are comedic - actually, the show seems to accurately reflect the outlandish nature of some of the Golden Age Batman stories. --Jtalledo (talk) 04:50, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

  • The show is generally considered a parody, however. This is certainly how Adam West and Burt Ward approached the material. And the show also features liberal amounts of satire as well. 23skidoo 18:55, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Aunt Harriet

No mention of the addition of Aunt Harriet to the TV show after having not been in the comic? It's my understanding that she was added to deflect questions that would arise in middle America about a man living alone with his "young" ward. She certainly wasn't added for the "camp" value. --Wrathchild (talk) 18:29, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I thought she had been in the comic - wasn't she a replacement for Alfred when he was temporarily killed off at the start of the Schwarz era? Timrollpickering 20:38, 25 January 2006 (UTC)
Well, I'm not the first one who's heard this. [1] [2] Can't find a real source for it, though. —Wrathchild (talk) 17:01, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
This history of Batman seems to indicate that Aunt Harriet did originate in the comics. It also says that Bruce Wayne had been married and had a kid. (Boggle!) Though this one claims that Aunt Harriet was added to the comic for much the same reason as I've seen mentioned for the TV show. —Wrathchild (talk) 17:14, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

Aunt Harriet was created for the comics. She first appeared in the second issue of Detective Comics edited by Julius Schwartz, "June 1964". He had Alfred killed off in the same issue and had her turn up in the last scene, saying that with Alfred gone Bruce and Dick needed someone to take care of them. You wouldn't recognize her, however, as she looked about only 40 or so and was quite capable of taking care of herself and the two males. When the TV series used both characters, Schwartz revived the butler in an unconvincing manner, emasculating a recurring mystery villain, The Outsider, by making him having been a revived but demented Alfred. --Ted Watson (talk) 22:30, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Batman, Batman, Batman!

For me this show will forever be the real Batman. All the recent 1990s and 2000s Batman movies are simply cheap impostors. The very name "Batman" brings to mind this show's catchy theme song, strange plots and hilarious special effects. JIP | Talk 14:37, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Not necessarily the place for this comment, but fyi, most modern fans call this series an insult to Batman. It doesn't portray him as the Dark Knight he is. Most of my friends consider it cheesy. Saying which, I propose an edit to the Popularity section. It should mention that many Batman fans now deem the show as cheesy and not the Dark Knight Batman should be. Note: My only reference is what I have observed with all of the Batman fans I have talked to. Very few care for this series. Emperor001 (talk) 16:08, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

This show pre-dates the whole "Dark Knight" concept of Batman, and "judging" it in this manner isn't really fair. 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164


Agree 100 percent -- if anything, the lighter, pop art oriented style of the 60s show was the main focus of the book and related strips, almost from inception and certainly in the 50s and 60s. The original Batman (and Batman villains) had a streak of dark irony and satire, not the totally grim-faced uber-reality that came about in the 80s and thru to today. The villains did hideous things -- but without the sense of the book being an episode of Law and Order. In other words, a sense of unreality permeated the Batman universe. To change the article so that the modern (grim) Batman becomes the "real" Batman and the earlier (satire/lighter) one a "cheezy" version is wrong. One came before the other. If anything, the earlier version is the "real" one -- and today's grim version is a gross transformation. Avoid any change that says otherwise at all costs. chesspride 66.19.84.2 (talk) 08:59, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Batman jokes and theme

I have twice deleted the following:
---
The world over people know the song as:-

DER NER DER NER DER NER DER NER DER NER DER NER DER NER DER NER

BATMAN!- BATMAN!- BATMAN!

This has resulted in the joke, "How does Batman's mother tell him it's time for Dinner"?. "Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, BATMAN!". As the joke has now become widely told and the answer is one of the most known, an alternate response to the joke is "Dinners ready, Batman".
---

I feel if we list one joke we have to list them all. And the joke is meaningless unless one is familiar with the theme song melody. We cannot assume this. Consider this a snap poll. Do you support or oppose this being included? I oppose. 23skidoo 14:30, 30 March 2006 (UTC)


I support, we don't have to include all jokes if we include one. If that was true we'd have to mention every single thing that happens in the TV show if we mention some of it.Complete fabracation and nonsence! The wording describes the theme concept very well and then the joke, so one does not have to know it already to understand. It's very well written.

Support, relevant to the pop culture of Batman. 69.204.6.21 22:06, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

I support this too. Important pop culture as this is a well known joke in many countries. I see someone has deleted it without talking on this page, that is vandalism. I have added it back in. 205.188.117.70 15:51, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

I oppose. It looks really rough and does not fit with the tone of the rest of the article, nor with much of Wikipedia. There is a place for this joke, and it is not in the short section about the theme. Chris Griswold 06:51, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

I oppose. I also boldly forged ahead, which seems especially legitimate given that the only "support" votes are anons. I rewrote the "theme song" section, giving it a more encyclopedic tone, and moved it down the page. I wasn't even aware of this vote when I did that, I admit, but I stand by it. StarryEyes 17:11, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

P.S. Here's how the section reads after my revision:
The title theme to Batman is one of the best-known theme tunes of all time. Composed by Neal Hefti, the song is built around a minimalistic and foreboding but catchy guitar hook reminiscent of spy film scores and surf music. It is a simple twelve bar blues progression using only three chords until the coda. The lyrics to the theme are sung by a female chorus and comprise ten repetitions of "Batman!" followed by a coda of "Dadadadadadadadadadadadada...Batman!"
The famously minimal song has been widely parodied in the decades since its debut, and remains a prominent pop-culture subject to this day. The theme has been re-recorded by literally dozens of artists, the most notable including Link Wray, The Ventures, The Kinks, The Who, and The Jam. StarryEyes 17:14, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
I like it, with one adjustment: I have edited "literally dozens of artists" to say "countless artists." Chris Griswold 02:17, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm...I'm not so sure "countless" is the right word, since I think, conceivably, they could be counted, with the help of the All Music Guide, for instance. Obviously such hyperbole is common in everyday discourse, but I'm not so sure about using it an encyclopedic context. I agree "literally dozens" does sound silly, so I'll change it back to just "dozens". Believe me, I do not want to start an edit war over so trivial a matter, and if you feel really strongly about "countless", by all means change it back. StarryEyes 17:22, 7 April 2006 (UTC)
I don't think you can count every recording of the song, even using the Internet. I am sure there have been lots of garage bands who have recorded the theme. Dozens works as well, though. "Literally" just sounded weird. Chris Griswold 02:17, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
Support, this interpretation of the song is relevant to Batman & Robin in perspective with pop-culture. Gronkmeister | Talk/ Contrib 15:29, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

oppose The joke is just lame. And the matter is trivial and not encyclopedic information. If there's one joke/parody that arose, that might be worthy of mention, it would be the "Jingle Bells" parody that was a school playground favorite in December 1966:

Jingle Bells,
Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg.
The Batmobile
Has lost a wheel
And the Joker got away!

--and which was revived by Bart Simpson in 1989's "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", and sung by the Joker himself in the Batman Animated Series episode "Christmas with the Joker". 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

Trivia

Following in the footsteps of another editor earlier today, I have taken a knife to the trivia section, which had become loaded with POV, speculation, unsourced statements, unnecessary information, and information that belongs in the various movie articles. As it stands, I still think the section can be cut by another 1/3 to 1/2 easily. I have added "citation needed" tags to several statements that need sources as well. If no one adds sources for these, I'll delete them at a later date to tighten the section further. 23skidoo 23:11, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

NPOV

The plot summary section clearly contains, at several points, the personal opinion of the person writing it about the quality of the show. Phil Sandifer 13:56, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

One example of this is in the Genesis section where it says Dozier "loathed comic books" and so deliberately gave the show its campy feel. This almost makes it sound like he subconsciously wanted to sabotage the show. At least this claim should be referenced.

, and very "Saturday morning-esque" in the negative definition of the phrase?

What does that mean? I've removed it, since it doesn't seem to add anything. --Badger151 18:37, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Campy

There is too much reliance on the word "campy" and the phrase "campy humor" in the article. While this is a traditional description of the show and not inaccurate, it is fairly imprecise, failing to really capture the show's sardonic nature, and it's repetitive.24.165.210.213 20:59, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Gay angle

Is it only me, or does the article look askew as it does not refer to the Batman-Robin gay angle which some people (me included) think is quite evident in the series? elpincha 06:22, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Yep. It's only you. Wryspy 06:59, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

This is a charge that was leveled at the Batman and Robin comic characters in Fredric Wertham's 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent, and is not exclusive to the TV show.

This "angle" exists only in the minds of SOME viewers/readers (Wertham included). 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

The article does mention how campy the show is. I think that should cover it. Franzeska (talk) 22:30, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Running time

Does anyone know what the running time is without ads? If so, that should be put in the infobox rather than 30 min. --Arctic Gnome 16:05, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Done. -84.131.83.219 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 16:43, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

It's about 24 minutes each episode. As a general rule, there are approximately 12 minutes' of commercials in each hour of broadcast television. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GARRYHIGH (talk • contribs) 01:22, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

Criticism section

Someone removed the criticism section. The quote I included was referenced (unlike the rest of the article). Why was it deleted? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.59.191.253 (talk) 02:00, 3 February 2007 (UTC).

  • The link in that section had nothing to do with the claim that was made. The article it leads to does not mention Kane's widow. No source was provided for the claim about the fans. We need to add sources for unsourced claims, not add even more unsourced claims. Doczilla 09:53, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

removed credits

I removed the credits sections because they don't seem very encyclopedic to me. - furrykef (Talk at me) 06:01, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Batman's ID as Bruce Wayne

  • Only villains to deduce Batman's real Identity were Egghead and King Tut.
  • Only villains who came close to Batman's real identity were Joker and Penguin. {Joker accidently came across the Batpoles but Alfred the Butler pushed a "Up-down" button so many times that the terrifed Joker never realizes the Batpole leads to the Batcave! Likewise Penguin was clever enough to trick Batman to take a "bugged" Penguin umbrella into the Batcave-to use Batman knowledge to plan crimes-yet Penguin doesn't use the "bug" as a tracing device!}
  • Only superhero to presumedly deduce Batman's Identity was Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl-in the last epsiode when she and Alfred Pennyworth discover the other's secret: Barbara Gordon is Batgirl and "Alfred the Butler" actually is Batman's secret helper. {Although not stated directly, logicaly a smart person such as Barbara Gordon could deduce that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are Batman and Robin by 1) Alfred the Butler is totally faithful to being a servant to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson; 2) Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are about the right age and size as Batman and Robin; 3) Only a billionaire would have enough capital for expensive crime figthing gadgets such as the Batmobile and Bat Computer}.
I always thought Catwoman knew —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.110.223 (talk) 19:02, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

On this same train of thought, in the comic books,Catwoman has kissed both Batman and Bruce wayne (she might even have slept with Bruce) so like the movie version of Mary Jane Watson, shouldn't she know?Bernard ferrell (talk) 18:49, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Correction: In the TV series, Batgirl did NOT discover that Alfred was Batman's helper in any episode. Alfred discovered HER secret in her first episode (unlike in the comic books, where he knew nothing about her). 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

In a episode of the Batman:Animated Series Commissioner Gordon confronts Batman over his real identity-after checking his late daugthers computer {in this episode Batgirl was "killed" {but not really}

In a crossover episode of Batman and Superman together-each discovers the other hidden ID. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.83.126.88 (talk) 15:02, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

More? Batman

How popular was Batman in the 1960`s ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.244.43.142 (talk) 23:03, 27 April 2007 (UTC).

The TV series was HUGELY popular...for a while. 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

Theme song confusion

The section about the theme song could do with some work. At the moment it says that "the lyrics to the theme consist of ten cries of 'Batman!', which were originally thought to be sung by a female chorus; however, Adam West's book 'Back to the Batcave' reveals the 'voices' to actually be instrumental, rather than vocal" - this baffles me, and I imagine it will baffle other people as well. "Originally thought" by who? The next sentence implies that there were two versions of the theme tune, the first an instrumental and the second a vocal re-recording, but it's not clear. -Ashley Pomeroy 20:32, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

The theme song did SEEM, as everyone knows, to have a vocal chorus of "Batman!", but it has been stated that this (and the "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da" near the end) was actually done entirely with musical instruments. From the note HERE, I don't see where you get the implication of "two versions". 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

Onomatopoeia

I did an edit on the article that references the use of onomatopoeia in the fight scenes. But it was changed due to "reads like excerpt from Barbarella, into something rich and strange". I think it is worth noting since the article on Onomatopoeia has the Batman TV show referenced. Am I the only one that doesn't understand why this is removed? If this is supposed to be an encyclopedia, I would think that the incorporation of it would only make the article better. DrkBlueXG 08:23, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Certainly there should be SOME mention of this unique aspect of the show!! 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

King Tut Information

I want to point out that the information that keeps getting listed for the King Tut character, and how he is restored to normal, is incorrect. Someone keeps posting that the change takes place whenever he hears a bell ring. This is not correct. I have watched every episode of the show, many many times, and that simply never happened, at all.

The correct information is that another blow to the head restores him to normal. I have corrected this today, and it is the second time I have been here and have had to do so, but someone keeps changing it back to the bell-ringing. Please be advised that this is utterly untrue, it was ONLY the blows to the head that caused the change, and leave that information alone going forward. Thank you!

Dpeattie 16:48, 13 June 2007 (UTC)David Peattie

It seems strange that King Tut is the only villain who recieves any expostion in the article (the others get no more than their names listed.) I wonder if this information should be removed, just for the sake of consistency. The villains each have their own articles, if the reader wants to learn more. --Tjonp 18:16, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

List of Episodes?

Why isn't there a list of the episodes of the show?

Mayor of Gotham City

The article states that the mayor was Mayor Ridgley. I could swear it was Mayor Lin-seed (or something like that)....a closer parady to Mayor Lindsey of New York. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 214.3.40.3 (talk) 13:27, August 22, 2007 (UTC)

Seat belts

seat belts may have become mandatory for car manufacturers to put in cars in 1968 but wearing them didn't become a widespread law until the 80s or 90s —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.110.223 (talk) 19:20, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The Decline of Season Two

There have been a few theories as to why the show declined in Season Two and speaking for myself as a viewer and fan, I think the writer of this article, and the show's producers, failed to take into account that the villains were simply not very interesting. The actors who portrayed them did what they could but how can one get excited over characters like The Archer, The Puzzler, King Tut and The Sandman? The departure of Frank Gorshin as The Riddler (who was played this season by John Astin) certainly didn't help. Batman's "Top Three"" villains returned but they couldn't be expected to carry the series alone, especially since they had dominated Season One. Cliff (Shame) Robertson and Vincent (Egghead) Price had exciting scripts to back up their characters but they were the exception. Along with a decrease in production values,this same problem would plague Season Three. Batman had (and still does) a huge Rogues Gallery and rather than fully exploit it, the series' producers continued to crank out their own thinking erroneously that any old villain would suffice. This is just my theory but I think other fans of the show (and of Batman) would concur.Bernard ferrell (talk) 18:42, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Odd- I thought that it was Season Three when the show went into decline-not because of the introduction of Batgirl-but because in episodes of "Lord Fogg" and "Martha Clavaicle" the sets were painfully "Cheap" on a soundstage!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.83.126.88 (talk) 12:13, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
No, there was obvious sound stage work from the outset. The decline of Season Three was the result of the decline of Season Two: ABC consequently wanted to be rid of it, but had committed themselves to the third year well in advance. So they reduced the series to one episode on the air a week, but kept them filming two a week. There were corners cut, but the sound stage sets were always there. And one note to Bernard ferrell: King Tut was a fan fave! We loved Victor Buono! --Tbrittreid (talk) 22:30, 18 July 2009 (UTC)

Episode List

SEASON ONE: HEY DIDDLE RIDDLE\SMACK IN THE MIDDLE; THE FINE FEATHERED FINKS\THE PENGUIN'S A JINX; THE JOKER IS WILD\BATMAN GET'S RILED (Loosely Based on "The Joker's Utility Belt" By David Vern Reed); INSTANT FREEZE\RATS LIKE CHEESE; ZELDA THE GREAT\A DEATH WORSE THAN FATE; A RIDDLE A DAY KEEPS THE RIDDLER AWAY\ WHEN THE RAT'S AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY; THE THIRTEENTH HAT\BATMAN STANDS PAT; THE JOKER GOES TO SCHOOL\HE MEETS HIS MATCH, THE GRISLY GHOUL; TRUE OR FALSE FACE\SUPER RAT RACE; THE PURR-FECT CRIME\BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME; THE PENGUIN GOES STRAIGHT\NOT YET, HE AIN'T; THE RING OF WAX\GIVE 'EM THE AXE; THE JOKER TRUMPS AN ACE\BATMAN SETS THE PACE; THE CURSE OF TUT\THE PHAROAH'S IN A RUT; THE BOOKWORM TURNS\WHILE GOTHAM CITY BURNS; DEATH IN SLOW MOTION\THE RIDDLER'S FALSE NOTION; FINE FINNY FIENDS\BATMAN MAKES THE SCENE —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bernard ferrell (talk • contribs) 17:11, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Season Two: Shoot a Crooked Arrow\Walk in the Straight and Narrow; Hot Off the Griddle\The Cat and The Fiddle; The Minstrel's Shakedown\Barbequed Batman; The Spell of Tut\Tut's Case is Shut; The Greatest Mother of Them All\Ma Parker; The Clock King's Crazy Crimes\The Clock King Gets Crowned; (Written by Bill Finger and Charles Sinclair); An Egge Grows in Gotham\The Yegg Foes in Gotham; The Devil's Fingers\Dead Ringer's; Hizzoner the Penguin\Dizzoner the Penguin; Green Ice\Deep Freeze; The Impractical Joker\The Joker's Provokers; Marsha, Queen of Diamonds\Marsha's Scheme of Diamonds; Come Back Shame\It's The Way You Play The Game; The Penguin's Nest\The Bird's Last Jest; The Cat's Meow\The Bat's Kow Tow; The Puzzles Are Coming\The Duo Is Slumming; The Sandman Cometh\The Catwoman Goeth; The Contaminated Cowl\Mad Hatter Runs Afoul; Three Parter: The Zodiac Crimes\The Joker's Hard Times\ The Penguin Declines; That Darn Catwoman\Scat Darn Catwoman; Three Parter: Penguin Is a Girl's Best Friend\Penguin Sets a Trend Penguin's Disastrous End; Batman's Anniversary\A Riddling Controversy; The Joker's Last Laugh\The Joker's Epitaph; Catwoman Goes To College\Batman Displays His Knowledge; A Piece of The Action\Batman's Satisfaction (Guest Starring The Green Hornet and Kato (Bruce Lee)); King Tut Coup\Batman's Waterloo; Black Widow Strikes Again\Caught in The Spider's Den; Pop Goes The Joker\Flop Goes The Joker; Ice Spy\The Duo Defy;

Season Three: Enter Batgirl,Exit Penguin; Ring Around The Riddler; The Wail of the Siren; The Sport of Penguins\A Horse of Another Color; The Unkindest Tut of All; Louie The Lilac; The Ogg and I\How To Hatch a Dinosaur; Surf's Up! Joker's Under; Three Parter: The Londinium Larcenies\The Foggiest Notion The Bloody Tower; Catwoman's Dressed to Kill; The Ogg Couple; Funny Feline Felonies\The Joke's on Catwoman; Louie's Lethal Lilac Time; Nora Clavicle and Her Ladies' Crime Club; Penguin's Clean Sweep; The Great Escape\The Great Train Robbery; I'll Be a Mummy's Uncle; The Joker's Flying Saucer; The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra; Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires

Kane's Opinion

I recently obtained an old issue of FILMFAX discussing the Tim Burton film and general Batman info. I think it was Bill Dozier or someone else connected with the show that said Kane wasn't too happy about the campy approach. Kane repeated this in his autobio but conceded that the show might not have been as popular as it was if it had been treated seriously. In the documentary section of THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN, according to the producer, Kane wasn't too enthusiastic about that version either. "I don't know what he was chewing on, but he (Kane) was so sullen you'd think he really was Batman!" Kane also expressed bewilderment over Frank Miller's use of the swastika (Kane was Jewish) on a woman's buttocks in THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS storyline.Kane had nothing but praise about the Tim Burton film. Bernard ferrell (talk) 15:25, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Comics B-Class Assesment required

This article needs the B-Class checklist filled in to remain a B-Class article for the Comics WikiProject. If the checklist is not filled in by 7th August this article will be re-assessed as C-Class. The checklist should be filled out referencing the guidance given at Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment/B-Class criteria. For further details please contact the Comics WikiProject. Comics-awb (talk) 15:30, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

AVGN is mentioned. What about Homestar?

http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/Batman
Just a thought. - Snip3rNife (talk) 09:29, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

Modern Popularity

I am considering adding this sentence to the popularity section: "Though some modern fans still enjoy the show, most now regard the show as cheesy. Most modern fans prefer the darker version of Batman portrayed by more recent films and TV series." Any objections? I am basing this off of discussions from other Batman fans. 90% of them seem to prefer the newer Batmans. We all see this show as an insult to the Dark Knight as it doesn't portray him as such. Emperor001 (talk) 03:57, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

If no one objects, I'll add the sentence. Emperor001 (talk) 00:44, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

I object. I'd consider it WAY too subjective. Remember, your "poll" is among fans of "modern" Batman, which means it has a built-in bias. 70.17.167.164 (talk) 08:47, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

When I say modern fans, I mean fans from today, not from the sixties. Therefore, it's impartial. My statements is simply saying that newer generations as well as some from older generations are starting to prefer the newer Batman's to this one and I simply wish to state that this TV series was considered popular in the sixties, and cheesy in the 2000's. Emperor001 (talk) 13:26, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
It's still the subjective opinion of those who bacame fans under the more recent "incarnation". That does NOT make it impartial. And you're not being impartial with terms like "cheesy" and "an insult". You asked if there were no objections, and I object, and I'm here NOW. At the very LEAST, soften your statement; better still, skip it altogether. 70.17.167.164 (talk) 17:54, 11 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164
Okay, how about this: "Though the series was popular in the sixties, it does not attract as much of an audience amongst today's fans who tend to prefer the darker versions of Batman as portrayed in newer films and the animated series." The article says that the show was popular then. Shouldn't it include mentioning as to how popular it is now? Emperor001 (talk) 23:29, 12 December 2008 (UTC)
Yeah, and I've been thinking more about this since my last reply. Certainly, your original statement failed "severely" on the "Neutral point of view" criterion for Wikipedia articles. Revised, there is little point to it. The show enjoyed tremendous popularity when it was "current" (which, granted, faded somewhat as it wore on), to the point that it was phenomenal (sorry if you missed it) -- a fact which is very relevant to the show's history. What people think of it 40 years later is of little consequence -- there are very FEW TV shows that stir much of a reaction 40 years after the fact -- why harp on it? The idea doesn't seem to me to meet the standard of "encyclopedic information". (And I still maintain that the "survey" is biased.) Some statement about how Batman depicted in the show contrasts with Batman as presented today would be appropriate, without saying IN ANY WAY that people "prefer" today's version. (P.S. Did you notice that I had already made another comment about this general issue under "Batman, Batman, Batman!"?) 70.17.167.164 (talk) 01:16, 13 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164
Okay, so where would I add a section simply explaining how this show differs from modern Batmans? Would I add a new section? Emperor001 (talk) 03:14, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
Since you raised that question, it made me realize that the organization of the article was rather incoherent. So, I fixed that. The existing text of the article sticks very close to the TV show itself, so any discussion relating the show to other, later incarnations of Batman should come AFTER all such discussion (except "DVD release", which is itself akin to a "footnote"). Ergo, make a new section for it (2 equals) after "Legacy", I would say. (I don't think it should be PART of "After the Series run", because THAT section still deals with matters directly connected to the show.) Bear in mind, further, that any comparison discussion must avoid characterizing the TV version of Batman as "inferior", for the sake of "NPOV". 70.17.167.164 (talk) 13:36, 13 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164
Sorry, I have to think that you meant that the plots have become MORE serious...also, I don't think the specific mention of Robin's leggings is advisable unless you give it context by touching on the full history of the change originating in the comic books (which, if you didn't know: Robin wore the "shorts" until Jason Todd's death in 1988; and Tim Drake also wore them on his single first assuming of the "Robin" identity. When Tim became Robin on a regular basis, he sported a new costume design) -- which is basically beyond the scope of this article anyway. I should probably also warn that somebody may decide your material needs more work, or should just be removed. Remember to think of the article as going into an encyclopedia. 70.17.167.164 (talk) 20:26, 13 December 2008 (UTC)70.17.167.164

C-Class rated for Comics Project

As this B-Class article has yet to receive a review, it has been rated as C-Class. If you disagree and would like to request an assesment, please visit Wikipedia:WikiProject_Comics/Assessment#Requesting_an_assessment and list the article. Hiding T 14:49, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Expl. of my GH/Archer edits, plus a little more

As promised in my edit summary, an explanation for deleting the statement that the villain The Archer (Art Carney) was borrowed from Superman comics, and the deletion of the discussion of The Green Hornet TV series non-DVD release in connection with the lack of DVDs of this series.

First, the Archer. Cinefantastique magazine, Volume 23, #6/Vol. 24, #1, February 1994 (a special double-issue) devotes a great deal of space to very detailed coverage of the Batman TV show. The Archer is expressly stated to have been created for the show by Stanley Ralph Ross (p. 45). It's that simple, aside from the fact that with my exhaustive knowledge of old comic books, particularly DC's and more so Superman, this is total news to me. If there was a villain called The Archer in a Superman story prior to this series (which I doubt), it was a coincidence.

Now, the Green Hornet. Every release of any Green Hornet material in any video format has been quite short-lived. First, GoodTimes released a feature compiled from the last six chapters of the 1940 movie serial, The Green Hornet. Then VCI put out the serial itself. In the fall of 1994, Video Treasures put out the first feature compiling episodes of the TV series. In late '97, the same label (now linked to Anchor Bay) released a beautifully remastered VHS of the second serial, 1941's The Green Hornet Strikes Again. Every one of these vanished after just a few months (some independent rental outlets had copies available for somewhat longer). There is something else: Some label—I never did pick up on its name—put out the TV series on thirteen two-episode tapes; somebody informed fans about this, specifically its availability to Blockbuster rental stores from its then Dallas-based distribution center, in the letter column of NOW Comics' Green Hornet comic book (Vol. 2, #16), and by the fall of 1994 BB's D.C. was pulling all their copies out of circulation (I was working there then). Furthermore, no DVDs of any Hornet material are mainstream, over-the-counter releases, but bootlegs (with modern computer technology, they can make very professional-looking packaging). It looks to me like the Green Hornet's owners (The Green Hornet, Inc.) have been blocking all legitimate video releases, and therefore it has no bearing on the problems interfering with release of tapes/discs of the Batman series. Hence, my deletion of it; the claim of alleged connection was unsourced, anyway.

One point that I did not edit about: The claim that DC has been blocking anything that was too reminiscent of the show's campiness. Batman Forever demolishes that. Here, Mr. Freeze's men wear matching and thematically appropriate costumes (specifically, hockey uniforms) like the various TV villains' henchmen did, and scenes in Poison Ivy's hideout are all shot with the camera askew, again matching the old series; to say nothing of Arnold S.'s very OTT performance as Freeze, mercilessly hamming it up. Just about the biggest reason I disliked this film was the strong echoes of 60s TV Batman. Just FYI.

In the section "Popularity" there is what is supposed to be a Wikilink of a Danish Tv series, inspired by the campiness of Batman. It isn't (not a link at all; rather than showing red, there is the title in the brackets in regular text, but italicized). I have no idea what this is and what could be done to fix it. I hope whoever put it in in the first place reads this and fixes it. --Ted Watson (talk) 20:52, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

UPDATE: I just found the article on The Archer (DC Comics), so he did appear in a Superman story—in his 13th issue in 1941! I still say it's a coincidence. --Ted Watson (talk) 21:01, 6 June 2009 (UTC)
Just because AN Archer appeared in 1941 doesn't mean it's the same character. Doczilla STOMP! 02:09, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

A few questions

I just did an extensive but fairly superficial edit of this article, and noticed a few things I want to ask about.

  1. Where does Desmond Doomsday as the name for William Dozier's narrator come from?
  2. What's the source for the claim that the film was "created to help sell the TV series abroad"? I changed "created" to "conceived" because it sounded like the movie was produced first, which it wasn't. See its own article for cited info to that effect. Said source also contradicts the claim here that ABC pushing up the series' airdate to January '66 put the film on hold until after first season filming, stating that a lack of a co-financier made Fox want to know the show was a hit before they'd pay for a movie by themselves.
  3. What's the source for "Dozier...loathed comic books"? I'd call this nothing but the assumption of comic book fans who hated the show's campy approach to the material.
  4. Isn't there a citable statement somewhere pointing out that Fox Video having no trouble releasing the film strongly implies that ABC is the fly in the video ointment for the series?
  5. And the "NBC pick-up if the sets are still up" story—what I've heard for years declined to say which network showed interest, and explicitly limited the sets concern to the Batcave. I don't believe it at all anyway. ABC was then perennially in third place, so it is not plausible (to put it mildly) that NBC or CBS would want their cast-offs (as opposed to taking a hit away from them, the case with both Make Room For Daddy and My Three Sons). Furthermore, Yvonne Craig told either Starlog or Film Fax magazine (both published interviews with her in the mid 90s, and I don't remember which one was where she said this) that they were filming two episodes a week; we know that they were airing only one a week as of her season, the third. Note also that ABC never pre-empted the series that season (not even on Thanksgiving!) or reran an episode at all—they ran those 26 episodes in 26 consecutive weeks and then Batman was gone! I'd say they committed themselves to a third season during the Bat-mania of '66 and then watched the ratings dive over the course of the second season; the network found some slack in the contracts, by reducing their own airing schedule to one half-hour episode a week, but kept Fox/Greenway on the budget of filming two a week and got production of the show over and done with as quickly and as cheaply as they could. This means that the final episode would have wrapped months before ABC aired it, and the set(s) would have come down far more earlier than the "week before" NBC allegedly showed interest (unless they knew what was really happening, but in that event wouldn't it have become fairly well known?). This is absolutely incompatible with the following: "Near the end of the third season, ABC planned to cut the budget even further by eliminating Robin and Chief O'Hara....," which is, again, unsourced. Speaking about the cancellation, Second Hundred Years did not replace Batman, as its one season was the same as the other's third (1967-68). It may have replaced the Wednesday edition of Bats, but the article talks about it after discussing the final cancellation; it is impossible for anyone without "inside" knowledge to interpret the text (as it appears at this writing) as saying anything other than Second replaced Batman upon its cancellation, which it did not do.

Can anyone straighten out any of this? --Tbrittreid (talk) 23:30, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

1. The Desmond Doomsday name is listed as the name of the narrator on the linear notes of the Batman Television Soundtrack Album
3. The "Dozier loathed comics" story is recorded in several articles and books about the TV show, notably "Bat-Mania" by James Van Hise and the previously mentioned Cinefantastique article.
5. The NBC pick up is from Adam West's autobiography, "Back To The Batcave", and it too is mentioned in several articles about the series.
Azariah Marvel (talk) 01:45, 20 June 2010 (UTC)
1. It may very well be that Desmond Doomsday was a gag somebody thought up for the record album, and in any event, that album and nothing else doesn't justify using that name in our cast lists.
3. The Cinefantastique issue does not support "loathed comics" at all. It quotes Dozier as saying that his parents did not allow him to read them as a child, that he never read any until ABC asked him to do a Batman series and he got several as a matter of professional research for the project under discussion. This means that he had no opinion on them at all until this series was on the proverbial table. While he describes his reaction as less than favorable, he was by no means a member of their target audience, and he did do the show. (pp. 14 & 17; 15-16 have a "sidebar" about the Riddler).
5. I never claimed that the other-network-showing-interest story had not been circulated, only that it was in sources that weren't all that credible, and that the identification of said other net as NBC is too recent to avoid being dubious. Note that other claims in West's book have been contradicted by good sources; I believe in an archive of the Bruce Lee article's talk page there is a discussion of the climactic fight scene in the Green Hornet & Kato's major guest appearance here about behind-the-scenes problems--barely referenced in a thread well up this page--citing West's description that was well off everbody else's. Further, thanks to my initially misreading your post here (my mistake and my apologies), I've found that Cinefantastique indicates otherwise. Charles FitzSimons is quoted as saying that ABC refused to commit themselves to either a renewal or cancellation until "'...one of the most valuable offers that had ever been made for syndication'" was closed (pp. 59 & 61; a Batcycle sidebar this time). Since the series did immediately go into general rerun syndication, it seems FitzSimons was talking about producing more episodes for first-run syndication, contradicting the other-network-pick-up story, but not by much. On the other hand, the article's author (Bob Garcia) immediately precedes FitzSimons' account with, "ABC announced that it wasn't picking up the show for a fourth season in the last week of January 1968." That simply is not a late date for such an announcement. At two episodes a week, those last 25 segments would have been done in less than 13 weeks. With an industry-typical July start, they would have been done before Thanksgiving, with a break of a week or even two! Yet, could Fox tear down the set (something that is not mentioned at all; as I said, it merely "seems" that Charles was talking about first-run syndication, as if Garcia did not realize that) without an actual cancellation statement from ABC, even if only privately between network and studio, with no publicity? Garcia does corroborrate one thought of mine: "Ratings sagged second season." (p. 57; not quite a full sentence, I admit, but that's what's there) --Tbrittreid (talk) 20:42, 21 June 2010 (UTC)
1. If the name were made up by DC after the fact, like in a response to a letter of comment, that would be one thing. But the name was created by the producers of the show for the official soundtrack album. Even though the name may not have been used in the TV show itself, it's there on the record (pardon the pun). I'm more concerned with why, for Liberace's character, the first name of "Lee" is in the article (popularity section). Where did that come from? Where is the reference the character's name is "Lee Chandell" instead of "Chandell"? Also Chief O'Hara's first name as Clancy? That's well after the fact from the miniseries "Dark Victory", and it could be argued it's a completely different character from the TV show.
3. Perhaps "loathed" is too strong a word. Maybe it should be changed to "disliked", or "had no appreciation for", or even "disrespected".
5. I think this is starting to border on "original research". The NBC pick-up story has been established in enough books and articles about the show to let it stand until there is defintive evidence to support otherwise. Plus, who knows how accurate Craig was in saying they filmed 2 episodes a week during the third season (perhaps it was only for the 3 or 4 two-parters that aired that season). Maybe following the NBC paragraph, there could be a paragraph with the facts there are that contradict the story.
Azariah Marvel (talk) 22:38, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Adam West and Burt Ward's distinctive speech patterns

I was surprised that more wasn't written about the way..Adam.. West.. would talk...as Batman....! The hesitations and "off" emphasis on some words was part of what made hs character so hysterical and memorible. He continues to use this speech patttern with his character in "Family Guy" to parody himself. On the other side, Burt Ward's Robin was in a constant state of hyperactive excitement, stating the obvious as if it were a major revelation on the same scale as dicovering gravity. The back and forth between them was one of the best parts of the show. Perhaps this is too POV, but I loved the show as a kid, and still watch it on "The Hub" at 11:30PM EST. I would also love to see more info on what the suoperstars who made fools of themselves as villans on the show think about being on Batman in retrospect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.116.205.162 (talk) 16:00, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

Well, then, could it not be considered that Adam . . . West . . . talks like WILLiam Shat . . . ner? Apple8800 (talk) 15:03, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Discussion desired re: twice reverted content on External links section.

On 11-17-2010 I added the following which was reverted by an administrator without explanation which I considered to be possible vandalism. So I posted it again. The second editor gave a reason at least which you can see on the history of the article. Here is the content.

  • Streaming availability on the internet. Currently, Novemeber 17, 2010, there has been a 24/7 stream of Batman from Rtv Television on Shoutcast for the past two weeks. The "Bat Channel" is available at the following url: " http://178.162.175.89:8018;stream.nsv ". There has been no commercal interuptions within the stream.

—1archie99 (talk) 20:14, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

This is the diff for the second removal. The edit summary reads; "Questionable to point to a link where material under copyright is brodacast w/ unclear license". 1archie99, can you prove that the broadcast linked to above is above board and legal? WikiuserNI (talk) 21:01, 19 November 2010 (UTC)
WikiuserNI, Where do I find documentation that any of the audio and video links on any one of the articles are above board and legal? If that is the test whether a link can be on Wikipedia we may have to remove most of the links to streaming content and the quality of Wikipedia will certainly be much less. I believe that we assume that a broadcast is above board and legal unless proven otherwise.1archie99 (talk) 21:21, 19 November 2010 (UTC)
(Does Wikipedia have many links to streams? I haven't noticed.)
When I click the link, I get: "You have chosen to open [blank] which is a Document. ..." When I remove the anomalous semicolon, I get "Invalid resource". When I remove ";stream.nsv", I see a link to http://rtvtelevision.22web.net/; I follow it and see a menu with no titles .... All this does not fill me with confidence. —Tamfang (talk) 22:17, 19 November 2010 (UTC)
The is also a question about linkfarming and linking to a "for profit site". - J Greb (talk) 23:08, 19 November 2010 (UTC)
1archie99, the burden of proof is on you as th editor adding the material to prove its suitable for inclusion. Reasonable links for this sort of stuff are links to the episodes on Southparkstudios.com or the Youtube BBC broadcasts of Doctor Who. WikiuserNI (talk) 11:01, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

Minor villains

A list of "minor villains" was added and reverted. Here is the list (cleaned up some by me); some few of them might be worth retaining? —Tamfang (talk) 01:58, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

re: Recurring villain actors

Considering the structure of the series "recurring" would indicate more than one story not one episode. This means that "Roddy McDowall/Bookworm" doesn't belong. The sections exists to list actors, not characters. While the Riddler and Mr Freeze are recurring characters, John Astin, Otto Preminger, George Sanders, and Eli Wallach each appeared in only 1one story. And since this article is on the TV series, actors that only appeared in the film should not be here.

- J Greb (talk) 21:42, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

it takes two to disagree

Conflicting reports of the reasons behind the non-release of the series point to a number of different factors, which may or may not indeed play a part. These include:
  • Disagreement between DC Comics, owners of the Batman character, after DC's sister/parent company Warner Bros. took over DC in 1969. Warner Bros. could also be involved, as well as 20th Century Fox, owners of the program itself.
  • ...

Looks like part of a sentence got lost. Disagreement between DC and whom? —Tamfang (talk) 07:49, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Parodies in the series

This has been pulled as unsourced trivia and guess work. IF sources, other than the episodes and editor interpretation, can be provided, there may be something in here for the article. But it's doubtful.

Pulled text
  • The television show was famous for parodying names of many famous celebrities of the day. Among the most notable were newscasters Walter Cronkite, who was parodied as "Walter Klondike", and Chet Huntley, who was known as "Chet Chumley" on the show. Steve Allen played a character named "Allen Stevens." J. Pauline Spaghetti, a woman who is almost tricked into giving up her fortune to the notorious European criminal "Sandman", played by Michael Rennie, is a parody on J. Paul Getty.
  • Although never seen in the series, there were references to a "Governor Stonefellow," including occasional phone calls from Commissioner Gordon to Stonefellow. The name was a parody on Nelson Rockefeller, who served as governor of New York from 1959 to 1973.
  • Gotham City's Mayor Linseed is a parody on John Lindsay, who served as Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1966 to December 31, 1973. Deputy Mayor Zorty appeared in one episode; he was a parody on Sam Yorty, who was then Mayor of Los Angeles.
  • Early in the show's second season, Batman is pitted against Ma Parker, played by Shelley Winters. Parker's name is a parody of Ma Barker, who was part of a crime wave during the 1930's.
  • In "The Penguin's Last Jest" on December 8, 1966, Penguin and his crew are on trial for a host of felony crimes. Batman is asked by Gotham City's district attorney Jefferson Hamfurter to prosecute the case. Hamfurter's name is a parody of the district attorney on Perry Mason, Hamilton Burger.
  • The Catwoman is known to have an additional hideout, "Cat-Lair West", across the river from Gotham City in "New Guernsey," a parody on New Jersey. Guernsey and Jersey are both islands in the English Channel and both breeds of cattle.
  • Gotham's "Short Island" was a parody of New York's Long Island. It is separated from Gotham by the "West River". Long Island is actually separated from the rest of New York City by the East River.
  • Gotham's "Phony Island" was a parody of New York's Coney Island.
  • A notable location in Gotham is "Chimes Square", a parody of Times Square.
  • An episode involves some action in "suburban Northchester". The suburban county north of New York City is Westchester.
  • In the episode "The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra", in which Ida Lupino appeared as the episode's title villain, Dr. Cassandra Spellcraft, the evil alchemist steals the Mope Diamond, a parody on the famous Hope Diamond, from Spiffany's Jewellers. Spiffany's is a parody on Tiffany & Co.
  • One of Woodrow Roosevelt High School's basketball rivals is "Disko Tech", a homophone of discotheque.
  • The three-part Londinium story arc during final season ("The Londinium Larcenies," "The Foggiest Notion," and "The Bloody Tower") was the series' tribute to the Swinging London period of the 1960s. At the time of the show, British pop culture was popular in North America. Many aspects of the British capital were parodied during the three episodes. The city's name is changed to Londinium, which was London's name during Roman times. Scotland Yard becomes "Ireland Yard" in the series. Carnaby Street becomes "Barnaby Street". Fleet Street, the city's press district, is changed to "Bleat Street".
  • Alan Hale Jr., who became best known in America for portraying the Skipper of the S. S. Minnow on Gilligan's Island, appeared as Gilligan, the owner/cook of a diner, in "The Ogg And I." (The title itself is a parody of The Egg And I, the film comedy that introduced the characters of Ma and Pa Kettle, who maintained a chicken-and-egg farm.)
  • The episode "The Bats Kow Tow" features a hair stylist named "Mr. Oceanbring", a play on, and played by, Jay Sebring, a Hollywood hair stylist who is now most remembered as one of the victims (along with actress Sharon Tate) of Charles Manson's gang on August 9, 1969.
  • The 1964 opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is fictionalized in "The Bookworm Turns" as the opening of Gotham Narrows Bridge, using news footage of the real event.
  • In the "Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires," the series final episode which featured Zsa Zsa Gabor as the villan Minerva, executive producer William Dozier and producer Howie Horwitz have uncredited bit parts parodying themselves as they are patrons of Minerva's Spa and her truth machine mines their brains for information as to where they keep their money. Dozier portrays himself as a millionaire, with his name mentioned only once, by Minerva, as Mr. Dozier. Howoritz is asked by Minerva how he became a famous director and responded he never uses "method actors" and never listen to network executives.
  • Several political figures of the day were parodied during "Hizzoner the Penguin" aired on November 2, 1966, which included sharp barbs aimed at candidates relying on political pollsters and a hapless candidate clearly modeled on Barry Goldwater. In the last scene of the subsequent episode, "Dizzoner the Penguin," Batman is first offered the Republican nomination for President in 1968. After he politely turns that down, he immediately receives another call in which he is offered the Democratic nomination for President in 1968. Batman's stunned response is, "But I thought you already had a candidate for 1968." Democrat Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States at the time the episode was filmed.

- J Greb (talk) 16:56, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Other celebrities in prominent roles

Removed long standing text:

A celebrity making a prominent appearance in another role was Lesley Gore playing "Pussycat", an "apprentice" of Catwoman. On the January 19, 1967 episode, she sang her top 20 hit "California Nights". Gore was also the niece of Howie Horwitz, one of the show's producers.

And removed contentious addition:

Jay Sebring, the internationally renowned men's hairstylist and later victim of Charles Manson's murderous Family, portrayed "Mr. Oceanbring", owner of a hair salon that was Catwoman's hideout in the episode "The Bat's Kow Tow".

These bring up a number of problematic issues:

  • Defining "celebrity" and "prominent appearance". The tone of the section and the term "celebrity" implies that the people were already generally known at the the time of the show. And a "bit part" for one episode or scene does not necessarily equate to "making a prominent appearance".
  • References are point blank needed for adding the one off appearances such as the above. And yes, the paragraph in the article that preceded the above also needs some references and has been tagged accordingly.
  • IMDb is not going to be an acceptable source for this, no matter what else is brought along with it.
  • Show clips also are not going to cut it since they do not provide the needed context outside of the story. And there is an additional point below.
  • Clips from the show are still protected by copyright. Wikipedia does not point to sites that violate that protection. YouTube clips are especially susceptible to this on user uploaded clips or pirated copies of television shows.

- J Greb (talk) 14:33, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

    • One more reason we can't use such a clip as a source: The clip does not identify everybody in it. Even if we watched it, we wouldn't know if that's Sebring or not. It could be somebody who resembles him. Doczilla STOMP! 06:59, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

DVD Release

After the "announcement" of the DVD release, I, as did many others I'm sure, referred to this page for further information regarding the situation. I noticed someone had deleted all the previous information on why the show HADN'T been released earlier and replaced it with a few lines announcing the (possible) DVD release in 2014.

Looking at the article today, I noticed all the info regarding the reasons for lack of DVD release has returned.

I move that it be deleted again. Do we really need the background information on why it WASN'T released? Is this information included in other television/movie/documentary articles where the title either had not been or still is not available on a home media format?

The information regarding the "non-release issues" that may have previously been relevant is relevant no longer and should be removed.MJEH (talk) 02:42, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

  • I think the very odd politics of the Series Non-Release in the Past is more important than just Trivia... Its important history. I vote that it be kept.

albabe - The Writer/Artist Formally Known as Al Gordon 18:14, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

The issues are interesting - keep. RJ4 (talk) 10:52, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

Recurring villains

There has been a long standing note in this section:

"Recurring" here refers to more than one story, not episode since most of the stories ran 2 episodes

This is about as blunt as it can get.

All of the one story characters have been removed. Please do not re-add them.

Also, the links are now pointing to List of Batman television series characters for all of the characters. This is more appropriate that shunting to the comic book material.

- J Greb (talk) 15:19, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

Blu-Ray Announced

More info to come at the San Diego Comic Con This July!

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=14382

Not sure how to add this link on the main page?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTGAXBeYDcM

albabe - The Writer/Artist Formally Known as Al Gordon 18:03, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

Re: Legacy

There are quite a number of movie, television episodes, and what-not that could be added to the legacy segment, including Adam West as the recurring voice of "Catman" on The Fairly OddParents, West's own TV commercials for America Online, West doing the voice of "The Fearless Ferret" on an episode of "Kim Possible," Nicholas Cage imitating West's speech patterns as "Big Daddy" in "Kick-Ass," and even Calum Worthy and Raini Rodriguez, in a spoof of Batman & Robin on the "Austin & Ally" episode "Real Life & Reel Life." And I'm sure I'm missing others, but is there any way we can fit these in the article? ---------User:DanTD (talk) 12:33, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

Appalling editorial behavior

"You've degraded this article with an overuse of media in a personal vendetta against Miss Kitt..."

"...unneeded image-fest"

I am frankly appalled at the behavior of you registered editors after my good-faith edits to the article. Where in the WORLD do you get off calling pictures of Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and the first-two-years Catwoman an "unneeded image-fest" or an "overuse of media"?? Their presence was CLEARLY an IMPROVEMENT to this article!! And "this section 'belongs' here" as if there was any validity to your actions AT ALL. All you've demonstrated is a gross incompetence at judging article content. YOU don't belong anywhere NEAR here!!

And LurganShmith, YOUR accusation of a vendetta is NOTHING short of INSANE.

So what we're left with is the same inane situation where Eartha Kitt is the ONLY person whose picture appears here (I have NO OBJECTION AT ALL to her being INCLUDED, but there are FAR MORE IMPORTANT cast members to be pictured than HER). Congratulations to you both on a travesty well done! 70.17.165.159 (talk) 01:02, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

I've replied to this on your post to my talk page, I'm not writing this again.--LurganShmith (talk) 13:44, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
I'll give it a shot: While image can be of use to improving an article there are limits on their usage:
  • Non-free images have to be used sparingly. Most, if not all of the images of the actors in costume are going to fall into the category of "non-free", so they should be used sparingly.
  • Non-free images have to actually be relevant to the points being made in the article. Cast images attached to the cast list rarely fall under that - the image is irrelevant to the article content in that section. Nor are the ones added going to be relevant in other sections of this article.
  • Essentially what was added was decorative and only decorative. That is never going to fly.
  • A massive case of cherry picking was done. To the point that only a few of the regular cast were depicted and only a very select few of the recurring guest stars. This has the effect of placing undue weight on what was selected. This is also a situation with image size and actual content - a head shot of one actor has more impact and weight than a a group shout of the same dimensions.
  • The image of Ertha Kitt has additional issues that should be pointed out. Yes, the role is notable for the production company handing the role from a white actress to an Aftrican-American actress. But adding an image - either of Eartha Kitt alone or both her and Julie Newmar - adds zip to the article aside from decoration. The statement itself is perfectly clear and does not need illustration.
  • Flow of text. Generally sections on production and plot that mingle the two aspects, as is done here, shouldn't be arbitrary split to insert a cast list. More so if the split is done to service unneeded images.
  • On a general note attacking the editor(s) is not acceptable behaviour. Period. The kick off to this section and here qualify. While this edit summary does show a lack of assumption of good faith and dances with NPA re: the "vendetta" comment, it does not justify a tit-for-tat exercise. Please note: comments/criticism on the content itself - that the over use and scale of the images damaged the article or that a de facto cast gallery is an unneeded image fest - are with in bounds. They are comments on the content and edit(s), not the editor(s).
- J Greb (talk) 00:45, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
And a small addendum - while free to use pictures have a lot more latitude, they should still be more than just non-sequitur decoration. - J Greb (talk) 00:47, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

The Upcoming DVD/Bluray Release

What is the deal with Warner Brothers releasing the show when it was produced by 20th Century-Fox/William Dozier? Does Dozier's estate, his daughter by Joan Fontaine, or any Fox people have a say? What were some of the hurdles that had to be cleared for the show FINALLY to have a dvd release? Adam and Burt and Yvonne Im sure are very proud!Koplimek (talk) 14:00, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

Batgirl a single mom -- maybe TV's first.

Abbythecat (talk) 22:49, 10 September 2014 (UTC)Anyone think this should be mentioned? In THE BATS KOW TOW, Comish Gordon mentions that he is at a Chad & Jeremy concert only because his 'grandchildren' made him come. Several episodes later, in BATMAN'S WATERLOO, Gordon mentions to Batman that his daughter Barbara is his 'only child' (notice he says 'only child', not 'only surviving child'). So, do the math -- Barbara Gordon had at least 2 children. This would make Barbara/Batgirl one of TV's first single mothers (if not the first) to be a regular on a TV series. As to where the children are, who knows? Do they live in Barbara's apartment, but we just never see them? Is a relative raising them? Did they suddenly die? Answers we'll never get, but, without question, Babs had at least 2 kids before she joined the show. Would I be allowed to list this? Or would it be challenged? Anyone's thoughts...? Thanks. Abbythecat (talk) 22:49, 10 September 2014 (UTC)AbbythecatAbbythecat (talk) 22:49, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

No. It is most likely a continuity error, plain and simple. It could mean other things, though. By 'only child,' he could have meant only living child (people do say it that way sometimes) or he could have meant only child that he had not disowned. Those grandchildren could be a stepchild's kids (I know many people who do that, including my aunt), a foster child's kids, a surrogate child's kids, or several other things. It's all speculation. There is no meaningful conclusion to list. Your idea would violate the policy against including original research. This is the show that had three different actors play Mister Freeze and three different actresses play Catwoman, after all. It's the show where they met the Green Hornet and Kato for the first time twice, once knowing GH&K were crime fighters but later not knowing that fact about them.
For some examples of Batman '66 continuity errors:
Abbythecat (talk) 00:55, 18 September 2014 (UTC) Gosh, Doczilla, when you put it that way, you're right! -- Sorry, I couldn't resist that old Robin routine -- I won't edit this into the article. Thanks. Abbythecat Abbythecat (talk) 00:55, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

Images please?

Seriously, there is one image on this entire article. And it is the logo. Emitewiki2 (talk) 15:43, 16 September 2014 (UTC)

Oh, try to address that, and you'll find that George Orwell and Joseph Heller were mere amateurs at twisting logic, compared to the people here! 108.1.71.44 (talk) 08:20, 2 December 2014 (UTC)

removed names

Abbythecat (talk) 22:45, 23 September 2014 (UTC) I removed the name "James" from Gordon, "Miles" from O'Hara, and "Denton Doomsday". These names aren't in any episodes, but come from outside sources (an LP for the series is an outside source). I'm going by Doczilla's information, that you can only count what's in the actual episodes, and you can't count other sources. If you could count other sources, then the TV Robin would have an origin; Huntress would be Batman and Catwoman's daughter; Green Hornet would be a descendant of the Lone Ranger; etc. Saying these names apply would be, according to Doczilla, drawing a conclusion, which is why Batgirl can't be listed as a single mother (though to me she obviously is). If it applies to one, it must apply to all. AbbycatAbbythecat (talk) 22:45, 23 September 2014 (UTC)

O'Hara was called Miles on the TV series at least once, but otherwise, this looks right. Alfred never had a surname on the show. We can't say, "Well, we know it's Pennyworth," because Alfred's original last name in the comic books (later retconned to be Earth-2's Alfred) was Beagle. Doczilla @SUPERHEROLOGIST 06:11, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

Kitt did NOT flirt!

It's all very well and good that the writer of an article for the Guardian SAID that Kitt's Catwoman flirted with Adam West's character on Batman, but he was WRONG! Not that I imagine anyone here will care about that as long as they have their precious source they can cite. 108.1.71.44 (talk) 08:16, 2 December 2014 (UTC)

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