MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night

[TREK_GOD_1]

Batman - the third season was a mess, but what made that painfully obvious was the lone strong episode for comparison--tonight's "The Wail of the Siren."

Joan Collins was introduced in the previous episode--"Ring Around the Riddler"--as an employee of Riddler, and not her own crime boss. In "The Wail of the Siren," she's in full command, and nearly gets away with a clever, and rather ruthless plot:

1. Through her power, have Bruce Wayne sign over everything (the Wayne Foundation, fortune, etc.) to her, then--mimicking other broke ex-bankers--convince him leap to his death from the roof of his own building.
2. Place Gordon under her spell, then have him hide in the Batmobile's trunk in order to learn the location of the Batcave, and ultimately, the Dynamic Duo's true identities. This plan actually works, until the Batman uses the cure-all of an amnesia-inducing spray. That's the one screenwriting failing of Gordon infiltrating the Batcave.

Over the three seasons, numerous villains have found their way into the cave, but they never seal the deal to either expose the Bat secrets, or kill the duo:

• In the pilot, The Riddler's moll Molly was disguised as Robin and made it to the Batcave in order to kill Batman, but she ended up falling into the atomic pile.
• In the movie, The Penguin (disguised as Commodore Schmidlapp) released a group of re-hydrated henchmen and still failed to kill the duo.
• Penguin, Joker and a small army of henchmen somehow piled into the trunk of the Batmobile ("The Penguin Declines"), and once in the cave, lost their big chance in the customary fashion.
• In what will be King Tut's series swan song (season three's "I'll Be A Mummy's Uncle"), he--and henchmen--will crash into the cave, with Tut deducing the true identities of Batman & Robin...but to be expected, Tut's raised voice loosens shale in an old mining shaft, which clonks him on the head, and...well, you know the rest.

Back to "The Wail of the Siren."--Joan Collins created an entirely believable villain with what has been argued as the only "super power" from a villain in the 1966-68 Batman TV series. Although her vocal range is based in the idea of her singing in 2 octaves above high C, the hypnotic effect (and that it only works on males, hence the siren moniker) is pure fantasy, so this could be classified as either a super power, or some previously unknown effect of human singing range.

In either case, it worked to make her the best female villain after Newmar's Catwoman (on that note, there's a nice nod to other female villains Catwoman and Black Widow--who were defeated). Collins' range was on full display in 1967, from playing angelic Edith Keeler in TOS' "The City on the Edge of Forever" in April of that year, to the polar opposite with the vindictive Siren in this September '67 performance.

Considering her talent to play evil, its no surprise she would successfully milk that kind of act in several trashy, softcore movies of the 70s and in her defining role as Alexis Carrington from the nighttime soap Dynasty (1981-89)

About Robin...

The introduction of Batgirl compromised Robin throughout most of season three. In order to shoehorn Batgirl--with no reference to experience or knowledge of criminology --as a crimefighter of merit (and no explanation of how she found Siren's lair), Robin--who in two previous seasons and a movie--was second only to one as a crime fighting detective: Batman. In those seasons, he often used his training, intellect and experience to help solve crimes, hence Batman's frequently expressed compliment, "You've done it again, old chum!"

That was largely ripped away from season three Robin, but like so many positive things about the series, Robin being a multi-faceted, functional hero returned. He was delicate in his handling of a brainwashed Wayne, but turned downright merciless when holding Siren's life in his hands--threatening to let her fall to her death (chiding her for trying to do the same to Wayne) if she did not restore Bruce's mind.

That was a great moment for Robin--one, because he turned the tables on a cold hearted criminal, and two, because we the audience knew he would not let her die, but they took were able to take pleasure in his ability to twist the screws on a villain without throwing a punch....even when we know he had the ability to do so.

Unfortunately, for all of the many merits of this episode, there would be no lingering effect on the rest of Batgir--er--I mean Batman season three.

 

[Christopher]

Batman: "The Wail of the Siren" was shown back in August to commemorate Yvonne Craig's passing, and I covered it then. I'll just add that the opening blends well with the end of last week's episode, which is unusual for the third season. But there's a bit of an inconsistency, because we know Batgirl faced the Siren in the Riddler's lair last week, but here, when Barbara makes her deductive leap about Lorelei Circe, she doesn't give any clear indication that she remembers facing the Siren.

This is also the first time we hear the lyrics of the Batgirl theme song, and... Good lord. For all I said above about how Batgirl was seen to some extent as a feminist role model, that song alone almost cancels out the feminism. "Are you a chick with a tender warm embrace?" "Whose baby are you?" Egad.


"The Unkindest Tut of All": Looks like they're skipping over the Penguin/Lola Lasagna 2-parter, saving it for next week. As a result, we get two "villain tries to expose Batman's identity" plots back-to-back. I guess the bad guys are getting smarter. But wasn't there some earlier episode where the Joker bugged the Batmobile and they detected the bug through some automatic Bat-gizmo, and thus led the Joker on a wild goose chase to a miniature Batcave? So it's a bit of a discontinuity that they were so easily tracked this time.

Some cute flirtation between Bruce and Barbara in the limo there. "That is why the blinds are drawn, isn't it?" Wink-wink. Some funny gags too. "What's it all about, Alfred?" And Robin's "How could I ever have missed that?" after Batman explained the obscure clue that only an Egyptian bibliophile would notice. A pretty good one overall, though still kind of rushed. And not the best showing for Batgirl, letting herself get knocked out from behind, but a good showing for bibliophile Barbara.


Wonder Woman: "Gault's Brain": Brain and brain! What is brain? Well, there are no Eymorgs here, but there is a Klingon -- Cathie Shirriff, Valkris from The Search for Spock. Plus John Carradine slumming as the voice of a disembodied brain -- and a briefly glimpsed disembrained body. (You'd think the morticians would've done a better job hiding that brain-ectomy scar.) And why does his brain have a single eye sticking out of the top? That's some freaky mutant anatomy.

Nice music score -- a bit Hitchcockian when the bad guys dumped Diana into the pond in a barrel. For a moment there, I thought she wouldn't get a chance to conveniently go into a spin and would have to find a clever way out without superpowers. No such luck.

After having to put up with the chauvinistic Batgirl theme song, I'm amused by the female gaze in this episode, with Cathie Shirriff's character and Diana both eyeing the dumb athlete guy like a slab of beef. And Wonder Woman's "more sporting" approach to skeet shooting was fun. This is not a bad one. Kind of silly, but that's baseline for this show.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Eh, I just think that the song is good, corny, sign-o-the-times fun...and one of the most blatantly filmed in L.A. sequences of the show.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFidlZdAQxg[/yt]

Batgirl, Batgirl!
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Where do you come from, where do you go?
What is your scene, baby, we just gotta know.
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Are you a chick who fell in from outer space?
Or are you real with a tender warm embrace?
Yeah, whose baby are you?
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Yeah, whose baby are you?
Batgirl!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^ Is that lace ruffles on her batcycle?

 

[Christopher]

Eh, I just think that the song is good, corny, sign-o-the-times fun...

Sure, as a love-song sort of thing. But as a theme for a superhero, it's... rather off-topic.

Although Batman's own theme doesn't exactly have great lyrics. Just iterations of "Batman" and "Na." Honestly, I've always hated the theme song. The voices singing "Batmaaaan" are just so strident and shrill. The Batgirl-theme singers are also kind of unpleasant to listen to.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Eh, I just think that the song is good, corny, sign-o-the-times fun...and one of the most blatantly filmed in L.A. sequences of the show.



Batgirl, Batgirl!
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Where do you come from, where do you go?
What is your scene, baby, we just gotta know.
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Are you a chick who fell in from outer space?
Or are you real with a tender warm embrace?
Yeah, whose baby are you?
Batgirl, Batgirl!
Yeah, whose baby are you?
Batgirl!

...anyone wonder why season 3 was a shipload of failure?

"Whose baby are you?" That's how little dozier thought of a female superhero. At least the series had a driving, catchy main and closing theme. The Batgirl theme was...ohhhhh.....

^ Is that lace ruffles on her batcycle?

Yes, because Batgirl could not ride a motorcycle like the one from the comics of the period, nor was she given a bike like either Batcycle used on the series. Noooo, she had to have tassels on her bike because at the end of the day, she's a girly-girl and of course, a girly-girl would not be able to fight crime with anything other than a glorified Barbie bike.

That William Dozier, he was ever the progressive about women.

 

[The Old Mixer]

The song emphasizes the mystery of the character, from the perspective of an admirer who knows less about her nature than the audience does...or something like that.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Allow me to bump the weekly thread with a couple of DECADES tangents....

First off, Alan Napier is in the episode of Ironside that they're currently showing.

Second, looking ahead at the weekend binges...next weekend is The Donna Reed Show...the weekend of the 19th is Doris Day....This makes me wonder what sort of wholesome family fare in their available programming that they might be saving for Christmas weekend.

A couple that spring to mind would be Bonanza or Andy Griffith.

Or would they take a different route and dare to beat SyFy to the punch by giving us a Twilight Zone weekend...?

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Batman--

"The Sport of Penguins" / "A Horse of Another Color" marked the quick return of the Penguin after going to jail (one would assume) in the third season opener. Only he's now hobbled with Ethel Merman. Yes, Ethel Merman (as the pointless Lola Lasagne / Lulu Schwartz), still channeling part of her loud harpy routine from Stanley Kramer's 1963 comedy epic, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Coincidentally, Merman's harried son-in-law in that film was played by Milton Berle, who would be introduced a few episodes later as the equally pointless Louie the Lilac.

Batgirl's stuntman was painfully obvious. Yeah, whose baby are you, as the song goes...

This is one of the few episodes that did not start with Wayne & Grayson being contacted by Gordon, or initiating the transformation from civilian to the the Dynamic Duo.

Minor continuity notice: Barbara refers to Penguin once trying to force her to marry him ("Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin").

Aside from that, the so-called plot is not worth mentioning.

 

[Christopher]

Batman: "The Sport of Penguins"/"A Horse of Another Color": It's the third season's first two-parter, such as it is, and it doesn't get off to a strong start. The plot seems to meander along kind of randomly. Penguin just waddles right into places and nobody reacts until he swipes something. Even Barbara, who's been the recent victim of his abduction, just stares dumbly while he breaks into a display case (although, like every character on this show, she was no doubt unable to speak while the credits were showing). And why did Pengy even bother with the faux book theft if his real goal was to blow up Babs?

Even the "random word association in the Batcave" scene feels more random and rote than usual. You'd think that the fact that Penguin had publicly stolen Lola's parasol would've already tipped Batman off that the horse Parasol was involved, without needing the Batcomputer's dubious assistance.

And maybe Ethel Merman's big, loud performance style worked onstage in musicals, but it's deeply annoying here, and just seems like really bad acting. The idea of Penguin teaming up with an old partner in crime with her own parasol motif is interesting, but it doesn't play out well.

Hey, there's Gary Owens again as the voice of the Plot-Specific News Channel on the radio.

The decision to abandon the old cliffhanger format really undermines the storytelling. Penguin has sunk from elaborate deathtraps to a schoolboy prank with glue, and the escape isn't even shown. And yet his vindictive, murderous pursuit of Barbara for jilting him is rather creepy and abusive.

Why doesn't Penguin recognize "A. L. Fred," given that he's met Alfred at least three times before and has seen through his disguise in the latter two cases?

I love how supportive Alfred is of Barbara/Batgirl, not trying to talk her out of a job that's too dangerous for a "mere woman," but unhesitatingly inviting her to join in the crimefighting. Meanwhile, it's ridiculous how Bruce Wayne, the world's greatest detective, is totally clueless about how to track down Batgirl -- and totally uncurious about how Alfred manages to do it.

Okay, that's totally a guy in Batgirl drag riding the horse.

All in all, this 2-parter is the weakest story in the season so far... but the season is still quite young.


Wonder Woman: "Going, Going, Gone": This one gets off to an incoherent start -- it's hard to tell what's going on in the opening sequence. But it turns out to be a pretty interesting one, with a bad guy using a hologram to trick a Soviet jet into jettisoning a nuke which he then auctions off, with Diana going undercover as one of the bidders. There's some nice, rare banter between Diana and Steve as they work together in the field, a strong chemistry that the show regrettably downplayed. Some familiar faces in the cast, including Mako, Milton Selzer, and Charlie "Arne Darvin" Brill in a minor role (though his voice seems to be dubbed over in some scenes). And Hari Rhodes, who I think has been in the show before, does a solid turn as the suave, intelligent villain.

The directing is weak at times, but the script is pretty solid. I particularly like the bit where Diana walks into a situation where one of the people in the room knows for a fact that she's an impostor, and yet she still manages to discredit him and convince the others of her bona fides. That's deft. And I love the bit where she extends her hand to be escorted into the torpedo tube like a proper lady. (Although how did she manage to spin on her way out of the tube? If the water pressure would crush her instantly, wouldn't the flooding of the tube before firing have been fatal in itself?) This is the first time the series has really managed to make Diana Prince convincing as a top-notch secret agent even without the star-spangled swimsuit. I'm genuinely impressed.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I imagine that it had to be a professional jockey on the horse, hence it being A MAN, BABY!

 

[Greg Cox]

Coming up at ten: House of Frankenstein with Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Alfred being supportive of Batgirl makes no sense at all, since her constant interference and inexperience would pose danger to the two people he's most loyal to: Wayne and Grayson. He knew they were proven professionals, but some poser getting into the mix would not only add greater danger to his family (Batgirl knocked over the head...how many times? / bailed out, etc.) but it would be irresponsible for him to support her risking her life, especially since he has experienced the kind of threats Batman & Robin faced.

In other words, its no game, and Alfred was well aware of that.

But of course, the real answer is that the producers needed to create a false seal of "approval" for Batgirl, by having a Batman insider act as her booster / semi-conscience.

I imagine that it had to be a professional jockey on the horse, hence it being A MAN, BABY!

...and being a man dressed as Batgirl just poured another gallon of gas on an episode already burning in its own failure.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Coming up at ten: House of Frankenstein with Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr.

So, according to Svengoolie, Bela Lugosi did not take on the Dracula role in the film (the role going to John Carradine), because the studio was not fond of his performance in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) as the Monster? Other accounts claim it was scheduling, since Lugosi was on tour in Arsenic and Old Lace when House of Frankenstein was in production.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Allow me to bump the weekly thread with a couple of DECADES tangents....

First off, Alan Napier is in the episode of Ironside that they're currently showing.

Second, looking ahead at the weekend binges...next weekend is The Donna Reed Show...the weekend of the 19th is Doris Day....This makes me wonder what sort of wholesome family fare in their available programming that they might be saving for Christmas weekend.

A couple that spring to mind would be Bonanza or Andy Griffith.

Or would they take a different route and dare to beat SyFy to the punch by giving us a Twilight Zone weekend...?

Bummer. None of those is my cup of tea. I barely watched Ironside back in the day. I did see bits and pieces of Mission: Impossible last week, though, including one with George Takei.

Coming up at ten: House of Frankenstein with Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr.

Love those old Universals. I got those complete collector's DVDs that came out a few years ago.

 

[Christopher]

Alfred being supportive of Batgirl makes no sense at all, since her constant interference and inexperience would pose danger to the two people he's most loyal to: Wayne and Grayson. He knew they were proven professionals, but some poser getting into the mix would not only add greater danger to his family (Batgirl knocked over the head...how many times? / bailed out, etc.) but it would be irresponsible for him to support her risking her life, especially since he has experienced the kind of threats Batman & Robin faced.

Wow... Given how much you excoriate the show for its sexist treatment of Batgirl, I never expected you to be this unfairly contemptuous toward the character herself. The show obviously did not portray her as an inexperienced bumbler, but as a brilliant young woman with an endless array of skills both physical and mental. It's nonsense to claim that she put Batman and Robin in any more danger, considering that in the previous seasons, B&R were routinely captured and placed in deathtraps at least once per caper. Indeed, given the abandonment of the cliffhanger format, the degree of mortal peril faced by B&R actually diminished this season.

As for "inexperience," keep in mind that Robin only turned 16 at the start of this season, while Barbara has just returned from college -- indeed, probably from grad school, since she evidently had a degree in library science and the actress was 30 years old at the time. It's ridiculous and insulting to dismiss Batgirl as less experienced or capable than a teenaged boy whose most obvious skill (besides solving riddles) is getting himself captured and used as a hostage. Heroes getting knocked out and captured was an intrinsic part of this show's action from the start, gender notwithstanding.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Alfred being supportive of Batgirl makes no sense at all, since her constant interference and inexperience would pose danger to the two people he's most loyal to: Wayne and Grayson. He knew they were proven professionals, but some poser getting into the mix would not only add greater danger to his family (Batgirl knocked over the head...how many times? / bailed out, etc.) but it would be irresponsible for him to support her risking her life, especially since he has experienced the kind of threats Batman & Robin faced.

Wow... Given how much you excoriate the show for its sexist treatment of Batgirl, I never expected you to be this unfairly contemptuous toward the character herself. The show obviously did not portray her as an inexperienced bumbler, but as a brilliant young woman with an endless array of skills both physical and mental. It's nonsense to claim that she put Batman and Robin in any more danger, considering that in the previous seasons, B&R were routinely captured and placed in deathtraps at least once per caper.

Perspective. Recognizing the deliberate weaknesses in the use and non-development of Batgirl is not sexism, and does not stand in opposition to the charge of the character being the result of sexism.

In fact, the screen evidence supports that the utter avoidance of Batgirl never displayed as having any detective or fighting skills on par with that displayed by Batman and Robin, that she cites luck and tea leaves (in seriousness, not tongue in cheek) as part of her crime fighting tools and the fact she's so easily restrained was a regressive treatment from the start.

Further, Alfred having to serve as her "seal of approval"--instead of her being portrayed as a person independently prepared for a dangerous job, and needing no cover (when he did not have to do that with Batman & Robin--as a team or individually) only hammered the negative portrayal of a female crime fighter.

Make no mistake: the difference is that Batman and Robin were proven to be capable of using real detective skills & getting themselves out of death traps--not so easily grabbed by the arms, and whisked away while kicking like an upset child. That was the consistent portrayal of Batgirl, and it was regressive to say the least.

As a contrast, i've already provided examples of strong female characters on the Batman TV series, who (no matter what degree of seriousness or parody) were portrayed as being effective and experienced (even if we never see the experiences before the cameras). Newmar's Catwoman, Winters' Ma Parker, or even henchwomen like Blaze (False Face), or Miss Limpet (Bookworm) are just a good sample of how other female characters were strong and thinking, and did not kick themselves back into some position of stereotypes, as seen with Batgirl.

Indeed, given the abandonment of the cliffhanger format, the degree of mortal peril faced by B&R actually diminished this season.

In season three: 26 episodes. Of those 26, Batman and/or Robin faced peril in 13 stories:

"Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin" - B&R bagged and held over a vat of acid.

"The Wail of the Siren" - Brainwashed Bruce Wayne was a step away from walking off of the roof of the Wayne Foundation building.

"The Londinium Larcenies / The Foggiest Notion / The Bloody Tower" - The duo are the victims of a fog bomb planted in the Batmobile / Robin is nearly stung by an African Death Bee / is tied to the Tower Bridge's winch (designed to rip him apart once it opens).

"Louie the Lilac" - the duo are gassed, then tied next to a giant, man-eating lilac.

"How to Hatch A Dinosaur" - Robin (and Batgirl) are captured and placed near a "Neosaurus" egg to serve as its first meal when it is hatched. That Batman was in the egg does not remove the intent of the trap.

"Surf's Up, Joker's Under" - the duo are turned into human surfboards.

"The Joker's Flying Saucer" - Joker henchman Verdigris plants a bomb in the Batmobile, which explodes at midnight, leaving a part of the Batcave in ruins.

"The Funny Feline Felonies" - Joker, Catwoman and their henchmen wait to ambush all three.

"Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club" - All three are tied into an alledly deadly Siamese Human Knot.

"The Entrancing Dr.Cassandra" - Batman, Robin & Batgirl are turned into cardboard-like cutouts.

"Penguin's Clean Sweep" - Penguin releases a deadly Ligerian Fruit Flies against the duo, with one landing on Robin's nose.

As for "inexperience," keep in mind that Robin only turned 16 at the start of this season, while Barbara has just returned from college -- indeed, probably from grad school, since she evidently had a degree in library science and the actress was 30 years old at the time. It's ridiculous and insulting to dismiss Batgirl as less experienced or capable than a teenaged boy whose most obvious skill (besides solving riddles) is getting himself captured and used as a hostage. Heroes getting knocked out and captured was an intrinsic part of this show's action from the start, gender notwithstanding.

What's ridiculous is you think there's any place for Gordon / Batgirl to stand on the same level as Grayson / Robin, who was:

• Trained by Wayne / Batman--the world's greatest detective and obviously, a master crime fighter.

• This same Robin who--like Batman--is a recognized deputized officer of the law, therefore his credentials are beyond question.
• Robin repeatedly proved his detective and fighting skills against adults. Again, that is beyond question.
• skilled in understanding, servicing and using the vast array of technology at their disposal, including the atomic reactor, the Batmobile, computers and advanced weapons.

Yet for some reason, you think an untrained college graduate (in library science) with zero fighting skill (in the established tradition of the series) at all is as experienced as Robin/Grayson? That's an argument that does not have a strong, series-based foundation at all, and appears to find nonexistent offense about a character who was hobbled with sexist stereotypes by design--including making her anything other than a proven, believable equal.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Regarding Alfred's role, Batgirl had to have some sort of confidante to bounce things off of for the audience's benefit...I wouldn't read so much into it. Her only other option as written was to talk to her bird a lot more.

 

[Christopher]

Regarding Alfred's role, Batgirl had to have some sort of confidante to bounce things off of for the audience's benefit...I wouldn't read so much into it. Her only other option as written was to talk to her bird a lot more.

Yes, naturally. The show presumably didn't have the budget to add two new regulars, even after losing Madge Blake to her declining health. So not only did Batgirl need a confidant, it had to be an established character. Since Alfred already filled that role for B&R, he was the natural choice.

Not to mention that there were cases like this one where B&R needed some means of contacting Batgirl or vice-versa. In those cases, it made sense to have someone who was connected to both of them.

I do kind of wonder why they set it up with Batgirl and the Duo not knowing each other's identities, instead of making them all a single team. I guess they figured there was more comedic potential that way, playing around with secret identities and the like. Although I've already gotten tired of the constant refrains of "Batgirl's gone! Let's go after her, Batman!" "No, Robin, we must respect her anonymity as she respects ours." They actually did that same exchange (differently phrased) in both halves of this 2-parter.

Although, as I may have said already, I love the fact that Batgirl invented the sudden-disappearance trick that the more modern version of Batman has been pulling on Commissioner Gordon for at least 30 years now.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Also, Alfred was available as a confidante out in the field. It would have been stretching things somewhat if Batgirl had been bringing along Charlie in a little birdie mask....