Batman

.Batman.

Compiled, edited, spindled & mutilated by Bill Laidlaw

This page was erased by person or persons unknown, or possibly by some joker at Angelfire, and took some time to rebuild. I will backup webpages on my computer from now on. I promise. If you like Batman, check out the Doctor Who episodes for this week

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Batman was created by Bob Kane in 1939 (Detective Comics), inspired by The Shadow pulp novels and radio series (now a Shadow movie). Though there was never a Batman radio series to compete with The Shadow, the character did guest star occasionally in the 1940s Superman radio series (in some cases, the actor who played Superman was away, so there were Batman-only episodes of the Superman radio series). Stacy Harris, the actor who played Batman on radio, went on to star in "This Is Your FBI" on radio starting in 1945. For more info, check out the Radio page or go to the Radio Spirits website, I think it's currently the "Old Time Radio" button at www.mediabay.com

By 1966 the comic book was in decline and a mid-season replacement tv series in January played the character as a campy semi-spoof that was quickly embraced by college students, becoming an overnight sensation. Most of the episodes were an hour long, shown in two 30-minute segments on Wednesday & Thursday nights. Like old movie serials, Batman & Robin were always in some "dire predicament" at the end of part 1. The series ended its first season with both Wednesday and Thursday episodes in the Top 10.

In September, a third half-hour was added, on Friday nights: spin-off series The Green Hornet starring a rather stiff Van Williams as the Hornet and a young kid named Bruce Lee as his crime-fighting assistant (Bruce Lee choreographed the fight scenes and tutored Burt Ward in karate). Green Hornet only lasted one year however, so in September the following year (1967) a new character was added to Batman: that of Batgirl. Batgirl had been added to the comic book to cash in on the popularity of Wonder Woman. The series was now a single, self contained 30-minute episode per week until March 1968, and wasn't renewed

Adam West can currently be seen in reruns of Batman on cable channel "HUB"
Was Batman ahead of it's time? Not really. But there was an episode in which King Tut steals an amber necklace. When they find his abandoned headquarters, they find the remains of the necklace. He has smashed open the bits of ancient amber and brought to life the extinct insects trapped inside...

During the 2+ year run of Batman, it became one of the hottest tv series in Hollywood. Actors that did little or no tv agreed to play villains on Batman. Cliff Robertson even spoofed his Western movies, playing an evil cowboy named Shame.
Some of the other villains in the tv series:

The Penguin..............Burgess Meredith The Joker................Cesar Romero The Riddler..............Frank Gorshin in several eps John Astin in one Egghead..................Vincent Price King Tut.................Victor Buono Catwoman.................Eartha Kitt Julie Newmar Mr. Freeze...............George Sanders The Mad Hatter...........David Wayne Bookworm.................Roddy McDowell The Archer...............Art Carney Lola Lasagna.............Ethel Merman Minerva..................Zsa Zsa Gabor The Devil................Joan Crawford The Black Widow..........Tallulah Bankhead Lady Fogg................Joan Collins Lord Fogg................Rudy Vallee The Puzzler..............Maurice Evans (the master warlock in Bewitched
1960s Batman Cast
Batman Adam West Robin Burt Ward Alfred the Butler Alan Napier Aunt Harriet Madge Blake Chief O'Hara Stafford Repp Commissioner Gordon Neil Hamilton Barbara Gordon Yvonne Craig TV themesong Neal Hefti
Trivia question: was Adam West ever in a spaghetti western? Come back on a future date for the answer. Same bat website, same bat webpage

Batman Movies & Serials
Batman (1943), 15 awful episodes (he wears black long-underwear, grey swim trunks, a viking helmet, and drives a Model-T batmobile) were nevertheless well-received as "Plan 9 From Outer Space" type camp when an edited feature-length version was re-released in 1965.
Batman & Robin (1949, aka The Return of Batman), 15 more episodes. A hooded villain is The Wizard.
Batman (1966) movie based on the tv series
Several of the Batman tv series villains also appeared in this movie. Eartha Kitt was seen as somewhat controversial for her support of black activists and was replaced as Catwoman in the movie by Lee Meriwether (her only time as Catwoman), and in the tv series by Julie Newmar. In the movie, Penguin kidnaps the world's leaders from the UN Building in his submarine and uses a device to remove all moisture from their bodies, reducing each to a pile of dry chemicals (an idea later used in a Star Trek episode). Batman, Robin and the others were played by the same actors from TV. The Admiral is played by Reginald Denny.
In 1977, Adam West & Burt Ward reprised their roles in a Saturday morning cartoon series The New Adventure of Batman, which used the newly-perfected Rotoscope process for more fluid animation.
Previous cartoon series were The Batman-Superman Hour (1967-68), which replaced The Superman-Aquaman Hour (1966-67), and Superfriends starting in 1973.

Legends Of The Superheroes (1979 tv-movie in 2 parts). In part 1, superheroes competed against supervillains in offbeat "Battle of the Network Stars" type games of skill. In part 2, Ed McMahon hosted The Roast, a mild battle of wits.
Characters/actors who took part:
Batman/Adam West
Robin/Burt Ward
Captain Marvel/Garret Craig
Hawkman/Bill Nuckols
The Flash/Rod Haase
Huntress/Barbara Joyce
Retired Man/William Schallert
Solomon Grundy/Mickey Morton
Mordu/Gabe Dell
Black Canary/Danuta
Giganta/A'Leshia Brvard
Dr. Sivana/Howard Morris
Weather Wizard/Jeff Altman
The Riddler/Frank Gorshin
Sinistro/Charlie Callas

In the 1990s, a gritty new animated series was started by the Fox network, reflecting the new Dark Knight Batman comic books, then went to first-run syndication starring mostly unknown actors, with Mark Hamill as The Joker. Adrienne Barbeau (last seen on the Sci-Fi channel as Swamp Thing's girlfriend) is the voice of Catwoman both in the broadcast animated series and in a continuing online series that changed it's name recently to GothamGirls.com after Stan Lee's website disappeared. The online episodes run 2 to 3 minutes and feature Batgirl fighting with Catwoman and/or Poison Ivy and/or Harley Quinn.

The third Batman hollywood movie didn't do so well, and there is serious talk of releasing a feature-length animated Batman in theaters (previous animated Batman features were seen only on tv or in video).
Batman Beyond (1999)
Adventures of Batman & Robin: The Joker (1994)
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Two-Face (1994)
Adventures of Batman & Robin: The Riddler (1994)
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Batman Returns (1992)
Batman (1989)
Batman (1966)
Batmania: From Comics to Screen
Batman
The Green Hornet (1940)
The Green Hornet Strikes Again (1940)
Bruce Lee and the Green Hornet (1960s)
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Green Hornet episode titles (the spinoff series)

Adam West Videos

Superman Videos

SciFans

1960s Batman episodes, all 3 seasons

1960s Batman page on the SciFi Channel website (if it's still there)

Doc Savage
What would John Wayne, Kurt Russell, or Xena say to Osama Bin Ladin and his terrorists? Click here and find out
Previous episode schedule (2001)
No episodes are scheduled on the SciFi Channel after 9/17/01 as it's moving to TV Land channel
Email: scifans@bat.cave
Click here for all the fun Legal Crap
Or click controls here to hear Batman themesong again

If anyone has seen Harley Quinn, please notify Batgirl, Batman, the Tick-Tock Man, or Harlan Ellison
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