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60s Batman show rights issues resolved!

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
 
Frontier said:
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.
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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.
 
Redfern said:
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?
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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 said:
Turtletrekker said:
BillJ said:
The original will be remembered for far longer than Ron Moore's abortion.
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As what? "What not to do when making sci-fi for TV?"
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No, that's what Ron Moore's version will be remembered for.
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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.
 
Sci said:
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.
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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.
 
Dream said:
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.
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It did have quite an impact within the scifi community though, and a lot of the actors from the show became more recognizable after BSG.

Okay, back to Batman for realz now. :o
 
Agent Richard07 said:
Olmos did a voice for The Batman. :vulcan:
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Yes, he played the police chief in the pilot episode, but subsequently he was replaced in the role by a similar-sounding actor (Jesse Corti).


Dream said:
The Cyons never had a plan, they were making it up as they went along! :p
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Unlike Batman, who's always well-prepared in advance.

Seriously, the whole bit about Batman always being super-prepared for everything may be a currently popular meme, but it was very much a part of the '66 series' schtick as well. Batman's utility belt was always pre-loaded with whatever incredibly plot-specific gadget or resource might be necessary -- even sardines to reward a helpful seal or a Bat Alphabet Soup Container and Batfunnel -- because, as he put it, it's important to be prepared for any situation. (Also his and Robin's utility belts followed cartoon physics, able to store impossibly large items in Hammerspace.)
 
Christopher said:
Seriously, the whole bit about Batman always being super-prepared for everything may be a currently popular meme, but it was very much a part of the '66 series' schtick as well. Batman's utility belt was always pre-loaded with whatever incredibly plot-specific gadget or resource might be necessary -- even sardines to reward a helpful seal or a Bat Alphabet Soup Container and Batfunnel -- because, as he put it, it's important to be prepared for any situation.
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What, you don't carry around aerosol cans of Bat-Shark Repellant everywhere you go?
 
That's a great point Christopher! Ironically many of the fans who boast that Batman would always be prepared to win a fight with anyone, are the same ones who have disdain for the endless number of gadgets he had on the tv show.

So to get back to the original topic, has any details and pictures been released of this new merchandise yet?
 
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