 In 2009, Batman wasn’t yet available on home video, with the rights issue still unresolved, and there was no certainty that would ever change. Adam West, 80, feared that it wouldn’t change in his lifetime. So he set out to release a sort of standalone commentary track, setting up cameras at his home in Idaho to capture his memories of each episode of the show. It’s fun to see him talk about Batman, and the package of his reminiscences, Adam West Naked, includes some interesting tidbits. But the production has its frustrating aspects, too. This time, we discuss the interesting and the frustrating aspects of Adam’s commentary - and can’t resist poking some fun at the title. ALSO: The Ronnie Kole Trio version of the theme, Holy Deja Vu visits Green Acres, and we read your comments on episode 168, The Dozierverse Stumbles. Mr. Zero 40-page document Mr. Zero discussion on the '66 Batman Message Board  

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

#171 "Adam West Naked": Back to "Back to the Batcave"

 In the mid-1970s, Power Records (a division of Peter Pan records) released audio stories of a number of popular properties, including Batman. Two volumes were released of four stories each, and some of the stories were then released as 7” “singles” complete with a comics version of the same story. Occasional elements in the stories were echos of the ’66 show. While the Power Records superhero discography utterly passed Tim and Paul by at the time, JB Anderton was really into them. JB, creator of the BAT 77 podcast, Batpoles listener, and musician, joins Tim and Paul this time to discuss how these Batman records introduced kids (including himself) to concepts such as psychosurgery, low production quality, super gorillas, and … death!? PLUS: JB’s own “funk version” of the Batman theme, and we read your comments on our Tom Peyer interview in episode 167! BATMAN volume 1 (1975) Stacked Cards The Scarecrow's Mirage Challenge of the Catwoman If Music Be the Food of Death BATMAN volume 2 (1976) Robin Meets Man-Bat Mystery of the Scarecrow Corpse Gorilla City pt 1 Gorilla City pt 2 The Catwoman's Revenge 

#170 Power Bat-Records

 Mr. Zero? Dr. Schimmel? No, Mr. Freeze! In Max Hodge’s first draft of Instant Freeze, the comics villain Mr. Zero, for reasons we discussed last episode, became Mr. Freeze. But the script contains many more references to his “real” name, Dr. Schimmel, than made it to what was broadcast. Why? Where’d this script's unexplained parade come from? What would the Batman series have been like with more animation effects on the screen, outside of the Batfights? All this and more as we dig into a preliminary plot summary and the full first draft of Mr. Freeze’s first TV appearance. PLUS: The Derek Paravicini jazz piano version of the Batman theme, Adam West on Victor Buono’s comedy album and on Batman bubble gum cards, and your mail about our discussion of 1997’s Batman and Robin! Hodge's preliminary plot summary of the arc Full first-draft script, part one Full first-draft script, part two  

# 169 “Instant Freeze” script: We don’t love a parade

 In 1966, William Dozier’s Greenway Productions was riding high, seemingly on the verge of building a TV empire built on superheroes: first Batman, then the Green Hornet. Why not keep going in that direction? An entire pilot episode of Dick Tracy was made, starring Ray MacDonnell, and all signs point to Dozier having confidence that the show would be bought by NBC - but it wasn’t. Meanwhile, Greenway also made a test film for Wonder Woman, starring Ellie Wood Walker, with a script that would have been more more appropriate for a MAD parody. While Dozier’s Wonder Woman experiment was NOT a success, the question lingers: Why wasn’t Dick Tracy picked up? We suggest some answers as we discuss both films in this episode. Also, we head down to the Bat Research Lab to try to figure out what Lorenzo Semple Jr.’s Mr. Zero idea was all about; Burt Ward talks about “holys” and ad libs, a dog sings the Batman theme, and we read your mail about our “Mr. Freeze(s)” episode. Mr. Zero test scene script Dick Tracy TV Format document Dick Tracy pilot Jaime Weinman discuss the pilot in Maclean's TV Obscurities on the Tracy pilot Lon Chaney Jr. made up as Pruneface by makeup legend John Chambers (scroll down a bit) The Dick Tracy TV-tie-in pinball machine Wonder Woman test scene script Wonder Woman test scene Hollywood Reporter on the WW pilot TV Obscurities on the WW pilot Rebeat magazine on the Dozierverse Thanks to Mr. Glee for the following articles (click to enlarge): July 17, 1966: Signs of a budding Dozierverse, by Dean Gysel June 9, 1965: NBC already looking into Dick Tracy (Variety) November 17, 1965: NBC ready with Dick Tracy, whether Batman succeeds or not (Variety) Batman test screenings: West & Ward vs. Waggoner & Deyell 

#168 “Dick Tracy” and “Wonder Woman”: The Dozierverse Stumbles

 The Wrong Earth, written by Tom Peyer, is a comics series in which the super-square Dragonflyman and grim & gritty Dragonfly find themselves on each other’s versions of earth. In the second volume, recently concluded, the two meet each other on yet another earth. Peyer, editor-in-chief at Ahoy Comics, is an industry veteran with many writing credits under his belt, including for the Batman ’66 comics series. This time, Tom joins us to discuss our favorite show and what The Wrong Earth might tell us about it. PLUS: The Bobby Valentin version of the theme (another bugaloo!), Burt Ward on Batman shooting locations, and your mail about our Curse of Tut script discussion! Batman v Superman trailer spoof 

#167 Tom Peyer talks “Batman 66” and “The Wrong Earth”

 Batman and Robin (1997) is notorious as one of the worst Batman films, panned by both audiences and critics. But wait a minute. All four of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films have their problems. Doesn't B&R's story hold together relatively well? Isn't it kind of .... entertaining? Could it actually be the best of the four? Of course it's far from perfect, and we discuss some of its problems, including a pretty un-Batman-like Batman and a misguided "homage" to Batman '66. We discuss the bad and relatively good of the final '90s Batman film. ALSO, Burt Ward reminisces about Bruce Lee, and we read your reaction to our episode on The Phantom Pharaoh! Message Board thread on episode 163 on The Phantom Pharaoh Arnold Schwarzenegger Complete Japanese Commercial Filmography 

#166 "Batman and Robin": Hot and "Kalt"

 As any Batman ’66 fan knows, three different actors played the villain Mr. Freeze on the show: George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach. Any discussion of Mr. Freeze on the show prompts the question: Which Freeze do you like best? And, which Freeze script do you like best? In this episode, we give our answers to those questions, as well as exploring how the show set the course for the character in the comics (at least until Paul Dini changed it in 1992), potential reasons for the lack of Mr. Freeze in season three, and more. ALSO: A Bat-research lab looking at the recently-recovered Adam West Nick at Night pilot Cartoon Lost and Found, Jose Fajardo’s Batman Boogaloo, and your response to our Lego Batman episode! Watch a sample of our TV Trivia videos on the Deconstructing Comics YouTube channel! '66 message board thread about Episode 162 "Lego Batman is Every Batman" Adam West in Cartoon Lost and Found Colorforms ad  

#165 Mr. Freeze(s)

 Lorenzo Semple, Jr. having made his changes to Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret's first King Tut script, next it was the turn of director Charles R. Rondeau and master ad-libber Victor Buono. How much of the story that made it to the screen was determined by them? This time, we discuss two different versions of the Curse of Tut script, and how much changed after the "final" version. Also, a Bat Research Lab on Dennis and Barret, your comments about all three versions of the scripts (and on our recent Joker episode), and the Batman theme played on a church organ by Marko Hakanpää! Robert C. Dennis profile from The Sarnia Observer "Intermediate" draft, "The Curse of Tut" "The Curse of Tut" final script Comments on these scripts on the message board "A Joker for All Season" episode thread Tim's GoFundMe campaign  

#164 "The Curse of Tut" scripts: Rondeau and Buono improve on Dennis and Barret

 As the early episodes of Batman were being produced, and broadcasts had not yet begun, Executive Script Consultant Lorenzo Semple, Jr., was editing scripts and trying to get across his vision for the show to the other writers. Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret’s script for "The Phantom Pharaoh" gives us a peek at Semple’s vision for how Batman, Robin, and the other characters should be written. This time, we look at the script, the comments Semple wrote on it, and how it differs from the end product that was broadcast (“The Curse of Tut”/“The Pharaoh’s in a Rut”). ALSO: The Bennie Music version of Hefti’s “Batman” theme, and more of your response to our “Bat Rankings” and other episodes. "The Phantom Pharaoh" script Next draft, "The Curse of Tut" "The Curse of Tut" final script Comment on these scripts on the message board "Bat Rankings" episode thread Tim's GoFundMe campaign  

#163 "Phantom Pharaoh" Reveals Semplian Batman

 The Lego Batman Movie (2017) gives us both a unique Batman, and a Batman considered to be in the continuity of every iteration of Batman - in the comics, the ‘40s serials, the films, the animated shows, and even - or, perhaps, especially - Batman ’66. In this episode we take note of a movie about a Batman that is emphatically not the Adam West version, but nonetheless is making dozens of references to the West version. ALSO: Burt Ward talking about injuries on the set, and a jazzy version of Hefti’s theme performed by Les and Larry Elgart! 

#162 Lego Batman is Every Batman

 A frequent assertion about Cesar Romero’s Joker is that, over the course of the Batman series, he goes from genuinely evil to just silly or bratty. Others disagree with this and maintain that he’s the same all the way through. We thought (as did some listeners on our recent survey) that this was a good focus for a Joker discussion, so we asked noted Bat-fan and cartoonist Ken Holtzhouser to join us in discussing Romero’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime. We also discuss how Romero compares to more recent film takes on the character, and Ken shares with us his spot-on analysis of the shifting goals of the makers of Batman and how Joker’s characterization evolved with them. Also: Bat Audio of Romero himself, and a Bat-theme take with both of the qualities we’re sick of: The Ventures and guitar tutorials! Read our next script: The Phantom Pharaoh, an early draft of The Curse of Tut! Comment on the script on the '66 Batman message board Noah Berlatsky: The Best Joker is still Cesar Romero in the '66 Batman TV Show, Hands Down Jason Read - "Batman Theme" The Ventures Guitar Lesson Gallery of Joker stills (watch the changing colors and widening of the lips) The Joker's Wild The Joker Goes to School The Impractical Joker The Joker's Hard Times Pop Goes the Joker The Joker's Flying Saucer        

#161 A Joker for All Seasons

Like many who grew up in the '60s and '70s (and perhaps even '80s and later), Tim and Paul had the course of their lives changed by the 1966 Batman TV show, from the types of play they did growing up to their present-day interests. In this series, they discuss the show's allure and its failures, the arc of the show from satire to sitcom, its influences (the '40s serials and the comic books themselves) and the things it, in turn, influenced. SUPPORT "To the Batpoles!" and DeconstructingComics.com via Patreon!

hubhopper

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

hubhopper