60s Batman show rights issues resolved!

[Christopher]

Yeah, the onscreen "THWACK!" and "ZOWIE!" in that scene did seem a little familiar.

[Donald Draper]

I figured someone would make that point.

What I meant was the staging of the shots and the lighting. Seeing Batman fighting a villain and their henchman in a lighted public place. Which was nothing like any other fight in Nolan's films

At least someone else thought the same thing -

The Dark Knight Fights 1966 Style http://youtu.be/B85QvNXApz8

[Sci]

Donald Draper wrote:

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What I meant was the staging of the shots and the lighting. Seeing Batman fighting a villain and their henchman in a lighted public place.

That is literally their only area of commonality. Though I did like that video.

[N-121973]

Donald Draper wrote:

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Anyone else feel like the fight scene in Bruce's apartment in TDK , Batman vs the Joker and his goons, remind them a little of the old tv show?

You know speaking of that sequence, I've felt for some time now that Adam West would have been perfect as the old guy who stands up to the Joker and is then told he reminds the Joker of his Father.
I know by the way that the guy who played him also appeared in Batman and Robin.

[Christopher]

N-121973 wrote:

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You know speaking of that sequence, I've felt for some time now that Adam West would have been perfect as the old guy who stands up to the Joker and is then told he reminds the Joker of his Father.
I know by the way that the guy who played him also appeared in Batman and Robin.

You mean Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)? He's a big Batman fan. He also played the governor of the Utah Territory in "Showdown," the Jonah Hex episode of Batman: The Animated Series. (And he played himself in B&R.)

[Redfern]

I thought it was a nice gesture by (I assume) Bruce Timm to have Adama West voice "The Gray Ghost", the movie crime fighter that partially influenced young Bruce Wayne in 'Batman: the Animated Series".

I know in the comics it was "Zorro" that inspired Bruce. Was it a "rights" issue that prevented Zorro references in the Bruce Timm cartoon? Or was it simply the needs of the story, someone mimicing the crimes depicted in the old serials that resulted in a slight change in Bruce Wayne's backstory?

Sincerely,

Bill

[BillJ]

Frontier wrote:

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It's just like the old Battlestar Galactica compared to the new. A show which in 1978 couldn't do the premise of a rabble of survivors fleeing a mass holocaust justice. Come 2003, boom. It gets done right.

It didn't get "done right", it just occupied the opposite end of the spectrum from the original. So dark that light couldn't escape from its' surface and the most unlikeable group of characters I've ever seen on a TV series. I barely stomached a season of it before I bowed out.

The original will be remembered for far longer than Ron Moore's abortion.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Redfern wrote:

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Adama West

Oh lordy, there's a crossover I don't want to see

[Redfern]

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

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Oh lordy, there's a crossover I don't want to see

Aww, crap! I did type that, didn't I?

I have an annoying habit of typing an extra "A" at the name "Adam". I don't know why.

Sincerely,

Bill

[Turtletrekker]

BillJ wrote:

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The original will be remembered for far longer than Ron Moore's abortion.

As what? "What not to do when making sci-fi for TV?"

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Redfern wrote:

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Aww, crap! I did type that, didn't I?

I have an annoying habit of typing an extra "A" at the name "Adam". I don't know why.

Edward James Olmos as Batman. How would that work, actually? You wouldn't think he'd need a Bat suit or utility belt or any of that crap. Just use "THE LOOK" and his enemies would be whimpering.

[Christopher]

Redfern wrote:

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I know in the comics it was "Zorro" that inspired Bruce. Was it a "rights" issue that prevented Zorro references in the Bruce Timm cartoon? Or was it simply the needs of the story, someone mimicing the crimes depicted in the old serials that resulted in a slight change in Bruce Wayne's backstory?

I think it was Frank Miller that introduced the Zorro thing in either The Dark Knight Returns or Batman: Year One, most likely as an homage to the fact that Bob Kane was influenced by Zorro in creating the Batman character. Earlier comics (and the first screen adaptation of Batman's origin, the Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians episode "The Fear" by Alan Burnett) had established that the movie the Waynes were leaving at the time of the murders was Robin Hood. So it's not like "inspired by Zorro" is an inseparable part of the Batman myth.

Apparently the copyright status of Zorro is disputed, but it's probably in public domain now. But a judge ruled that the copyright in the original works "lapsed in 1995 or before," so the copyright may still have applied when "Beware the Gray Ghost" was made in 1992.

However, I doubt that was a factor. The episode was written as an homage to Adam West himself. The Simon Trent character was specifically based on West -- a skilled actor who was famous for playing a classic TV hero but whose career largely stalled afterward due to typecasting (though Trent had it much worse than West). And probably they made his character an original creation rather than something like Zorro because that way they could shape the idea to fit the story they wanted to tell.

[RandyS]

Turtletrekker wrote:

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As what? "What not to do when making sci-fi for TV?"

No, that's what Ron Moore's version will be remembered for.

[Sci]

RandyS wrote:

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No, that's what Ron Moore's version will be remembered for.

Yes, the critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning television series that lasted six years (between the miniseries and "Daybreak") is going to be remembered as what not to do when making a science fiction television series.

That's completely plausible.

[Dream]

Sci wrote:

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Yes, the critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning television series that lasted six years (between the miniseries and "Daybreak") is going to be remembered as what not to do when making a science fiction television series.

That's completely plausible.

Yes, NUBSG was popular with critics and fanboys, but its ratings were never that good outside of the first two seasons. That is the reason why it was only four seasons. Sci Fi told them they couldn't guarantee giving them a season five which is why creators simply ended it with season four.

It was never as popular as the huge Sci Fi shows like X-Files or LOST. People shouldn't try to make it into some kind of cultural phenomenon.