To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

Mr. Terrific was cancelled after half a season, but… was it really a terrible show? Is star Stephen Strimpell partly to blame? This time, we push back on Thirteen Week Theatre’s take on Strimpell, consider why pill popping was such a common way to get superpowers in the Sixties, and the show’s …. agressive … laugh track. Also, were the network execs commissioning superhero sitcoms really trying to imitate Batman, or just cash in?

Plus, The Music Within’s bass guitar cover of the Batman theme, more from Adam and Burt on Hour Magazine, and e-mail from our listeners!

Excerpt from Outré magazine's Stephen Strimpell interview (ilovegetsmart.com)

This time we look at the other sitcom that tried to cash in on Batman, CBS’s Mr. Terrific. It’s goofier than Captain Nice and not as funny (although the laugh track clearly doesn’t think that!), but with a surprisingly good cast. We discuss the unaired pilot, and the first 8 episodes of the 17-episode series, which is quite different from the pilot, with an utterly different cast and different situation for Mr. T’s alter ego, Stanley Beamish. 

Plus: Max Diaz Music’s “punk” version of the theme, Adam and Burt appearing on Hour Magazine in 1984, and your response to our discussion of the Batman cast reunion on Fox’s Late Night with Ross Shafer, in episode 211! 

When Batman hit in early 1966, it set a trend of superheroes in pop culture that many rushed to emulate. By the time many of these bat-mimics were ready for public consumption, the trend was on its way out. One such wave-rider was Captain Nice, created by Buck Henry, and repeating some gags from Henry’s hit Get Smart. While Captain Nice brought some really funny moments, it failed to catch on with audiences. Was this simply because the bat-bubble had burst? Or was it that Henry wasn’t the right person to grab the lightning in a bottle that Lorenzo Semple, Jr., had captured? We look at the strengths and weaknesses of the show, the possible reasons for its failure, and whether Captain Nice was meant to be a bat-clone, or a conventional sitcom starring a superhero.

Plus, the Solid Ghost Band theme version, MTV looks at a party commemorating 20 years since the last Batman primetime episode, and ChrisBCritter explains how Dr. Somnambula’s stethescope worked!

Watch Captain Nice on Archive.org

Batman Reunion Party, 1988

Sold Ghost Band theme version

On April 28, 1988, the then-fledgling Fox Network’s The Late Show with Ross Shafer hosted a Batman reunion. However, due to poor time management and a second-rate host, among other problems, the reunion can be a bit of a tough watch - especially the way Alan Napier was shortchanged on airtime at the end as he and Shafer struggled to communicate with each other. Video of the episode, unavailable when we looked for it years ago, surfaced last year, and this time we discuss the problems as well as the interesting bits that we did pick up from the bat-cast.

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

WDR Big Band

The Late Show with Ross Shafer's Batman reunion

We conclude our look at Ellis St. Joseph’s original Sandman script with the sleepwalker-filled second part of the arc, originally titled “A Stitch in Time.” We discuss our impressions of the script, the episode we got instead, and which one we might have preferred. We also share more impressions of the script from the denizens of the ’66 Batman message board, and listen to the world’s most enthusiastic kid, “The Colour Boo”, sing a mostly original song about the Caped Crusader.

The Sandman Cometh, First Draft, Final Draft

Joel Eisner talks with Ellis St. Joseph

Message Board thread on this script

Midway through Season Two, Julie Newmar appeared along with Michael Rennie as guest villains Catwoman and Sandman in The Sandman Cometh. But originally, this script by Ellis St. Joseph featured only the Sandman, with Robert Morely picked to play the role. This time, we get into how the teamup came about as we begin a look at St. Joseph’s original draft script.

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

The Sandman Cometh, First Draft, Final Draft

Joel Eisner talks with Ellis St. Joseph

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

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

Adam and Burt on The Simpsons

Even after Batman made ABC’s “second season” schedule, to start in January 1966, there was still concern about how audiences would react. Will they get the joke? Should a laugh track be used? In a memo dated January 14, 1966 - the day after the second episode, Smack in the Middle, was first broadcast — Joseph Schrier, Director of Program Development at ABC, reports on audience testing on the pilot. While some adults got the joke, others weren’t quite sure if the show was meant to be funny. Audience reaction to Batman and Robin was mixed, as well, with some noticing that Robin was solving all the Riddler’s riddles while Batman seemed to be flailing. This time, we look at that report, discuss why Batman could be perceived as rather dense in the pilot, and how well the report’s recommendations were followed.

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

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

What will we cover in our next episode? Also, what will be the topic of the next patrons-only podcast? Listen to hear how you can help to decide the answer to the latter question, and to hear the answer to the former!

In television, a show’s “bible” is a collection of the rules for the world of a particular show, to keep writers on track with their scripts. The makeshift bible that Lorenzo Semple, Jr., wrote for Batman is lost to history, but what might have been in it? What are the rules that we can see the show following? Tim has compiled some and presents them here — and asks for your suggestions.

In a recent Bat Inbox, we discussed some comments writer Buck Henry made about Batman and camp shortly after the show premiered. The comments struck Paul as being off-target and showing a poor understanding of what camp is. Is camp not comedy? Was Henry’s co-creation Get Smart not a campy show? Paul’s given it some more thought and research, and furthers that discussion in this episode.

Plus, the Kydoniai Orchestra version of the theme, the conclusion of Adam West’s Cinefix interview from 2014, and your response to our second Batman/Star Trek act-off.

"Gilligan and Captain Kirk have more in common than you think: 1960s Camp TV as an alternative geneology for cult TV" by W.D. Phillips and Isabel Pinedo

He’s best remembered as the Gotham City Police Department’s Commissioner Gordon, the Dynamic Duo’s #1 cheerleader. But Neil Hamilton had a long Hollywood career decades before Batman, dating back to the silent film era. This time, we talk about the hills and valleys of his decades in film and television, capped off with the Batman role that earned him the funds to retire.

PLUS: More of Adam West’s 2014 appearance on the YouTube channel Cinefix, the Scott Community High School Band version of the theme, and your response to our discussion of the Rembrandt III treatment!

Hamilton as model for a J.C. Leyendecker cover for Saturday Evening Post (scroll about halfway down the page)

Robert S. Ray commentary on Hamilton

Hamilton-related documents (including TV Guide article), courtesy of High C

A clip from Dawn Patrol

The life-size FAB1 car

We’re joined again by our childhood friend Kyle for the second installment of our comparison of actors who appeared on both Batman and Star Trek. On which show did Grace Lee Whitney (King Tut moll Neila vs. Yeoman Janice Rand), Lee Meriwether (Tut kidnapee Lisa Carson vs. planetary security system Losira), Frank Gorshin (the Riddler vs. traitor-tracker Bele), and Sherry Jackson (Riddler moll Pauline vs. improbably sexy android Andrea) turn in the better performance? Then, having pitted two of the same actor’s roles against each other, we compare that actor’s better performance to that of one of the other actors. Just call us “The Gamesters of Gotham”!

Plus, Adam West answers questions from YouTube channel Cinefix in 2014, Bryan Daste’s banjo/upright bass/theramin version of the Batman theme, and your mail on the 1966 snarky Saturday Evening Post bat-article!

Our complete (?) list of every actor who appeared on both Batman and Star Trek TOS

As the broadcast of Batman season one drew to a close, a treatment called Rembrandt the Third Meets his Master was submitted by 31-year-old Yale M. Udoff, who would go on to some success, but was just getting started as a screenwriter. Udoff’s inexperience may account for many of the problems with this treatment: A villain, Rembrandt III, whose crimes and motivations are too creaky for a TV show, and who engages many elements that don’t fit the theme of “painting”; many bat-no-nos, including an armed-to-the-teeth Alfred and a somewhat vain, goofy Batman; and set pieces that were unfilmable in the pre-CGI days, at least on Greenway Productions’ budget. And a lot of elements that just don’t seem that interesting. But here and there, he gets it right. This time, we examine this treatment.

ALSO: The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra version of the theme, the final installment of Adam West talking with Conan O’Brien in 1997, and your mail on episode 202’s look at Batman ’66 in the UK.

Tim and Paul in The Comics Lair Episode 46: Comics & Nostalgia 

Benny Hill "Batman" sketch

At the height of Batmania in the first half of 1966, nearly every press outlet found it necessary to do a feature story on the phenomenon. But many in the media were not terribly impressed by Batman, so these articles tend to look down their noses at the show. One such example is “Has TV Gone Batty?”, an article by John Skow in the May 7, 1966, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Aside from the snark, and misinformed discussion of camp, the article gives us some interesting insights into the shooting of the show and the thoughts of Adam West, William Dozier, Lorenzo Semple Jr, and others involved in making it. This time, we dig into this article.

PLUS: the Guy with an Amazing Hat version of the theme, more from Adam West’s July 24, 1997, appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and your mail responding to several of our recent episodes!

#200: "Batman: The Movie": The Novel

#201: Chip Kidd's Book of Bat-Merch

We Americans know that Batman was also popular in the United Kingdom (and many other countries), but there are differences in the level of popularity that was reached and how long it lasted, and also in terms of when “first run” of the show was there. 66 Batman Message Board co-admin Ben Bentley is, in fact, British, so we asked for his assistance in tackling this topic. Our discussion touches on the show’s second wind in the ‘70s, Batman references in The Avengers (as in Steed and Peel) and other British TV shows and commercials (on into the ’80s!), Adam West’s “Kerb Drill” traffic safety PSA, the Carpet King, whether British kids actually jumped from roofs because of Batman, and more.

Plus, the Piano AccoMan version of the theme, more of Adam talking with Conan O’Brien, and your reaction to Episode 199’s discussion of the Nora Clavicle script!

"Batman: The Super-Sell" (The Tatler, July 16, 1966)

Batmobile-adjacent car on Rentaghost (1983)

Adam's "Batman and Robin" single from 1976

Adam's "Kerb Drill" PSA (1967)

When the Batman TV show set off Batmania in 1966, a wide variety of toys and other tie-in items, not all of them licensed, hit the market. Since licensers seldom made style guides in the ‘60s, rights to the actors likenesses weren’t available, and some of the onslaught of Bat-crap came from overseas makers who thought Batman’s costume would look better in orange, the results are highly entertaining. This time we look at Chip Kidd’s 1996 book Batman Collected, a history of Bat-merch from 1938 to 1996. Y’know, we STILL want that Mego Batcave Playset.

Plus, the Sheet Music Boss piano tutorial version of the Batman theme, Adam West’s reaction to the film Batman and Robin, and your response to our “Women in Season Two” wrapup!

The fruitless search for a guest (see page two for Ben Bentley's explanation of why the rights to Adam and Burt's likenesses weren't available)

Former Batman comics writer Winston Lyon, fresh off his novel Batman vs. Three Villains of Doom, a few months later produced the novelization of Batman: The Movie, a book called Batman vs. the Fearsome Foursome. This time, for our 200th episode, we discuss the book: though based on Lorenzo Semple, Jr.’s screenplay, it betrays a different attitude toward Batman than Semple, and the Batman show in general, held.

Plus, one of our favorite versions of the Batman theme, Cesar Romero interviewed by Jean Boone at the premiere of Batman: The Movie, and more of your reaction to our discussion of West and Gorshin's Shea Stadium show!

Screenplay of Batman: The Movie

The three versions of the script for Nora Clavicle and the Ladies’ Crime Club raise some interesting questions about season three. Why did the Duo and Batgirl never have a way to easily contact each other? Why do our heroes’ early suspicions that Nora is crooked all get cut from the script? What are the types of female characters that the show keeps coming back to? Plus we look at lines and events that were cut — or added — at late stages in a very hurried process.

PLUS, Chad Vermillion’s “hey look, cool musical hardware!” version of the Batman theme, Lee Meriwether interviewed at the premiere of Batman the Movie, and we read some of your reaction to our look at the West/Gorshin Shea Stadium show!

Nora Clavicle scripts

• First draft
• Revised draft
• Final
• Teaser for Penguin's Clean Sweep
• Discussion on the '66 Batman message board

It's here! The Internet's most complete list of actors who appeared on both Batman and Star Trek: The Original Series! But... is it totally complete? Look it over and see if there's a relevant actor who isn't listed - then post about him or her in the comments!

Some are famous actors in big roles on both, some are extras and uncredited actors, some fall somewhere in between - or had a big role in one show and a bit part in the other.

See the entire list at the link below.

Batman	Star Trek
Stanley Adams
Captain Courageous in CATWOMAN GOES TO COLLEGE/BATMAN DISPLAYS HIS KNOWLEDGE	Cyrano Jones in THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES
Alyce and Rhae Andrece
2nd and 3rd Policewoman in NORA CLAVICLE AND THE LADIES' CRIME CLUB	Multiple Alices in I, MUDD
Roger C Carmel
Colonel Gumm in A PIECE OF THE ACTION/BATMAN’S SATISFACTION	Harry Mudd in I, MUDD and MUDD’S WOMEN
Ted Cassidy
Lurch (window cameo) in THE PENGUIN’S NEST	Ruk in WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF Gorn (voice) in ARENA Balok’s puppet (voice) in THE CARBOMITE MANEUVER
Jerry Catron
First Henchman in POP GOES THE JOKER/FLOP GOES THE JOKER	Montgomery in THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE and JOURNEY TO BABEL (shown) Second Denevan in OPERATION-ANNIHILATE!
Elisha Cook
Professor Isaacson in ICE SPY/THE DUO DEFY	Samuel T. Cogley in COURT MARTIAL
Joan Collins
The Siren in RING AROUND THE RIDDLER/THE WAIL OF THE SIREN	Edith Keeler in THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER
Yvonne Craig
Batgirl in season 3	Marta in WHOM GODS DESTROY
John Crawford
Printer’s Devil in THE BOOKWORM TURNS/WHILE GOTHAM CITY BURNS	Commissioner Ferris in THE GALILEO SEVEN
Charles Dierkop
Dustbag in PENGUIN’S CLEAN SWEEP	Morla in WOLF IN THE FOLD
Phyllis Douglas
Josie Miller in THE JOKER’S LAST LAUGH/THE JOKER’S EPITAPH	Yeoman Mears in THE GALILEO SEVEN (shown) Girl #2 in THE WAY TO EDEN
Gene Dynarski
Benedict in AN EGG GROWS IN GOTHAM/THE YEGG FOES IN GOTHAM	Ben in MUDD’S WOMEN Krodak in THE MARK OF GIDEON (shown)
Teri Garr
Girl outside skating rink in INSTANT FREEZE	Roberta Lincoln in ASSIGNMENT: EARTH
Frank Gorshin
The Riddler in seasons 1 and 3	Commander Belen in LET THAT BE YOUR LAST BATTLEFIELD
Lloyd Haynes
Lord Chancellor in KING TUT’S COUP/BATMAN’S WATERLOO	Lt. Alden in WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE
Marianna Hill
Cleo Patrick in THE SPELL OF TUT	Helen Noel in DAGGER OF THE MIND
Sherry Jackson
Pauline in DEATH IN SLOW MOTION/THE RIDDLER’S FALSE NOTION	Andrea in WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF?
Jon Lormer
Professor Dactyl in HOW TO HATCH A DINOSAUR	Dr. Theodore Haskins in THE CAGE Tamar in THE RETURN OF THE ARCHONS Old Man in FOR THE WORLD IS HOLLOW AND I HAVE TOUCHED THE SKY (shown)
Lee Meriwether
Lisa Carson in KING TUT’S COUP/BATMAN’S WATERLOO (shown); Catwoman in BATMAN: THE MOVIE	Losira in THAT WHICH SURVIVES
Lawrence Montaigne
Mr. Glee in THE JOKER’S LAST LAUGH/THE JOKER’S EPITAPH	Decius in BALANCE OF TERROR Stonn in AMOK TIME (shown)
Julie Newmar
Catwoman in seasons one and two	Eleen in FRIDAY’S CHILD
Leslie Parrish
Dawn Robbins in THE PENGUIN’S A JINX Glacia Glaze in ICE SPY/THE DUO DEFY (shown)	Lt. Carolyn Palamas in WHO MOURNS FOR ADONIS?
Gil Perkins
Henchman in THE JOKER IS WILD, Dicer in THE THIRTEENTH HAT/BATMAN STANDS PAT Cauliflower in RING AROUND THE RIDDLER Jury Foreman in THE JOKE’S ON CATWOMAN (shown) Bluebeard in BATMAN THE MOVIE	Slave #3 in BREAD AND CIRCUSES
Angelique Pettyjohn
1st Model in A PIECE OF THE ACTION	Shahna in THE GAMESTERS OF TRISKELION
Malachai Throne
False Face in TRUE OR FALSE FACE/HOLY RAT RACE	Commodore Jose Mendez in THE MENAGERIE voice of The Keeper in THE CAGE
Grace Lee Whitney
Neila in KING TUT’S COUP/BATMAN’S WATERLOO	Janice Rand in eight Season One episodes and in the movies
Meg Wyllie
Grandma in BLACK WIDOW STRIKES AGAIN	The Keeper in THE CAGE/THE MENAGERIE
Honorable mention: Jan Shutan
DOZIERVERSE: Lizz in the DICK TRACY pilot	Lt. Mira Romaine in THE LIGHTS OF ZETAR
Stephen Kandel (writer)
BATMAN: TRUE OR FALSE FACE/HOLY RAT RACE, ZODIAC CRIMES 3-parter	STAR TREK: I, MUDD and MUDD’S WOMEN
INANIMATE OBJECTS
Feather robe
Worn by Victor Buono as King Tut	Worn by William Shatner as Kirk in THE PARADISE SYNDROME
The Reactor
Catwoman's Cat-Car in THE FUNNY FELINE FELONIES	The Jupiter 8 in BREAD AND CIRCUSES

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