I never got into the comic books and the one "modern" movie version I saw didn't grab me. I was a kid during its first run and definitely the target demographic. The Special Guest Villains really made the show… we were a family of film buffs and we loved recognizing the villains from other things. Major favorites were Victor Buono as King Tut (how many other 10-year-olds had seen "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", I wonder?), Vincent Price as Egghead (again, "House of Wax" was hardly a children's movie!) and Roddy McDowall as Bookworm (hey, "Lassie Come Home" was actually for kids!). And naturally, Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman were always welcome in our living room.

I've recently streamed a few episodes just for the heck of it. One featured Liberace as Chandell (very clever name!). I'm not a Liberace fan and he wasn't a favored villain in my youth, but as an adult I got a few really good laughs out of this episode. Firstly, after a robbery at Stately Wayne Manor, Commissioner Gordon picks up the Batphone only to be advised by Alfred that Batman and Robin are on vacation. There's a look of pure horror on his face as he turns to Chief O'Hara and says "I think we may have to… solve this one ourselves!" As a kid I wouldn't have batted an eye; as an adult I cracked up… you mean, DO YOUR JOB for a change? It was a hilarious line and Neil Hamilton really nailed it… I bet he enjoyed the rare opportunity to be a bigger part of the plot. And Stafford Repp got in a few zingers as well, over and above his weekly sigh of "saints preserve us!": at one point, Chief O'Hara decides that snipers with machine guns in the balcony of the local concert hall are the way to deter any possible criminal acts during Chandell's performance, again producing howls from the grown-ups. Fears for Aunt Harriet's virtue are voiced when she visits Chandell in his dressing room… trust me, Aunt Harriet is safe with Chandell (but the Boy Wonder might not have been). The funniest scene by far was the absent Bruce Wayne ruminating that Commissioner Gordon would doubtless have things well in hand and would work tirelessly to apprehend the villain… cut to Commissioner Gordon with a row of large pill bottles lined up on his desk. So stalwart Commissioner Gordon is amped up on speed? Pure comedy gold. The cherry on top of the cupcake was Liberace's performance as evil twin brother Harry the gangster, puffing cigars and talking out of the corner of his mouth; he was quite entertaining as something other than his grinning sequin-studded pianist persona.

Recommended for nostalgia factor only… anyone raised on the darker film series probably wouldn't understand. But for a baby-boomer… PURRRRRRRRRR-fect.

Premiering on ABC-TV on January 12,1966,the television series BATMAN took America audiences and television by storm. While the show stayed true to the origins of Bob Kane's classic comic strip and went up the alley with all the non-stop thrills,high action and adventure it can muster and so much more. For the three seasons and a half that it was on the air,the show premiered in mid-season for the 1965-1966 season,producing 120 episodes,all in color under executive producer William Dozier(who also served as the narrator) under his production company Greenway Productions and Twentieth Century-Fox Television for ABC. From it's premiere episode,the series took America by storm and by the end of 1966 BATMANIA was everywhere from merchandising to rare appearances and even ending up during the halftime show of the First Super Bowl! BATMAN was so successful on television,producer William Dozier brought the Dynamic Duo to a bigger audience in a full length theatrical feature film based on Bob Kane's comic strip and the television series of the same title that roared into cinemas in August of 1966 released by Greenway Productions and Twentieth Century-Fox.

What made BATMAN so successful during it's first two seasons was the general structure of the series stayed true to Bob Kane's original comics. Millionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman(Adam West),and his young ward Dick Grayson/Robin(Burt Ward)were individually as the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder as they waged an endless battle against the villains who plagued Gotham City. The only person who knew there true identity was Alfred Pennyworrth(Alan Napier). In addition to the underground Bat Cave,where every device was carefully labeled with it's function along with the fabulous Bat Lab,they used a marvelously equipped car,the Bat Mobile to chase and apprehend criminals. Whenever there services were needed,Police Commissioner Gordon(Neil Hamilton),along with Chief O'Hara(Stafford Repp) could summon them with the searchlight-like Bat Signal or call them on the special Bat Phone. There were other devices that Batman and Robin used to defeat criminals such as the Bat Shield just to name a few. There was also the Bat Boat and the Bat Copter as well. BATMAN became an overnight sensation when it premiered on January 12,1966 with the first episode "Hi Diddle Riddle"(with special guest villain Frank Gorshin) and the conclusion "Smack In The Middle"(airing January 13,1966),aired in two-part stories that ran on Wednesday and Thursday nights for all of Season 1 and most of Season 2. The climax of the first part left the pair being captured by that week's diabolical villain or villainess where they are left in a dire predicament or cliffhanger from which they would managed to extricate themselves from on the following night. From there,it became a monster hit. For it's first season,it was one of the top ten highest rated shows on television (It was in the top five of the Nielsens during its first 2 seasons),making huge stars of both Adam West and Burt Ward during it's era.

Appearing as a guest villain or villainess on the show became something of a status symbol. Out of the 30 or so villains that were guest stars on the show,only three were with it from the beginning to the end. Stars like Burgess Meredith(Penguin),Cesar Romero(Joker),Frank Gorshin(Riddler,and later on was played by John Astin). Other villains were Julie Newmar(Catwoman,and later on was played by Eartha Kitt),and Vincent Price(Egghead),and even the diabolical King Tut(Victor Buono). By the start of the third season,the ratings were slipping and the novelty was about to fade where the format was cut to a once a week format. A new superhero,Batgirl(Yvonne Craig) who regularly team with Batman and Robin to fight the villains and not to mention facing the villains wrath,didn't help in the ratings. By March 14,1968,the biggest television phenomenon of the mid-1960's was gone. NBC was set to pick up BATMAN in the fall of 1968 after ABC canceled it. NBC was ready to put the show back to a twice a week format for it's 1968-1969 season. The second format that NBC had for BATMAN was expanding the show to a full hour and having Adam West and Burt Ward in and Yvonne Craig out. There were other plans for turning this campy superhero show into a serious crime drama,which basically fell through by the executives at NBC. However,that plan also failed,and NBC rejected the idea of picking up the series from ABC. For the 1968-1969 season, ABC didn't waste any time finding a replacement for the now canceled BATMAN. The show that replaced it? The Ugliest Girl In Town.

I love anything to do with Batman, and I just love this series. It is not the best of anything to do with Batman I've seen, and any fans of the comics will perhaps be disappointed, but Batman(1966) is still a great show. Is it silly? Yes it is, and somewhat camp too, with some of the lines and the delivery of them. But that worked in the show's favour, the campiness actually added to the quality of the show for me, and a vast majority of it was witty and fresh.

So why isn't this show a 10 in my book? For me, the show took a spiral downwards during Season 3, it wasn't unwatchable or anything, there were some high points such as Joan Collins' Siren and King Tut who was surprisingly consistent, but there were some weak episodes, the humour wasn't as sharp, witty or satirical and the change of pace(no more cliffhangers) kind of hurt it as well. The episode with Dr.Cassandra epitomised this in my opinion, I wasn't so taken with Sandman, Minerva or Puzzler either and mostly because the story lines weren't as good or the villains themselves were on the dull side, and while Eartha Kitt was a good Catwoman, Julie Newmar was sexier and handled the comedy better. Also Julie had the better-written story lines and dialogue. Lee Merriweather was great too in the movie, which compliments the series very well, but some of the first episodes I saw of this show were those with Julie in. As for Yvonne Craig's Batgirl, the performance was okay but I got the sense that in relation to some of the stories Batgirl felt shoe horned in.

Season 3 aside, Seasons 1 and 2 have some classics. Season 1 is the best, I loved the sharp and witty humour and it maintained its endearing campy freshness that made the show so appealing to me. Season 2 wasn't as good, with a couple of not-so-good episodes, but I liked how much broader the satire got in this season. What was my favourite episode? Many to choose from, but the one where Penguin stands for Mayor is classic.

The production values are pretty good. I liked the photography and the costumes, while the batmobile is wonderful to watch and Gotham City is well-realised without having the spectacle of the Burton and Nolan movies for instance, not a bad thing by the way. The theme song also gives the show its energy, to me the theme song is one of those things that gives the show its status, very driven with a fun, catchy melody it is just irresistible. And I liked the neat little cartoon sequence that went with it.

The story lines are fun and fresh, the idea of the two parters to create something contrasting and different worked wonders, while the writing does a really good job of cheering me up after a long day and the fight sequences are fun and decently choreographed. The performances are good too. Adam West is a fun Batman, and deserves credit for making the campiest of lines sound credible by his deadpan delivery. Burt Ward is good as Robin, his "Holy..." catchphrases may grate depending on who you are, but he contrasts well with West's Batman. Alfred is charmingly played by Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton is a hoot and the narration is deliciously sardonic. But the villains made the show for me, while I was interested in Vincent Price, George Sanders and David Wayne as Egghead, Mr Freeze and Mad Hatter, and Frank Gorshin nailed Riddler(John Astin not so much), my favourites were Penguin and Joker, wonderfully played by Burgess Meredith and Cesar Romero.

Overall, a fun show and great to watch after a hard day. 9/10 Bethany Cox