Batman--
"The Great Escape" / "The Great Train Robbery"
Cowboy cretin Shame (Cliff Robertson) returns in the final two-part story of the series. In this all-over-the-place spoof, Shame is busted out of prison by his new gang, among them Calamity Jan (Robertson's real-life wife Dina Merrill), battleaxe mother-in-law to be stereotype Frontier Fanny, gross Native American stereotype Chief Standing Pat and a Mexican bandit type--with a British accent--named Fernando Ricardo Enrique Dominguez..nicknamed "Fred" (oh, how clever..........) by Shame. The typically thin season three plot has Shame's gang attempting to steal a valuable diamond, and ultimately, a train load of old money destined to be destroyed at the Treasury Department.
Along the way, Batgirl is captured in part one (it was that time of the episode again), and the villains deliver cowboy / country dialogue so exaggerated, it would make The Beverly Hillbillies seem like Macbeth by comparison.
Of note, during the bat-fight, Burt Ward displays his infrequently used martial arts training by delivering a standing kick to one of Shame's crew.
The climax of this superhero / western epic has Batman face off against Shame in an abandoned part of the city; Shame's gang wait to ambush Batman with guns, but Robin suspects the worst, so he and Batgirl disarm & capture the gang, while Batman & Shame--after hurling one-liners at each other--trade blows.
Jerry Mathers, forever known as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver, makes a cameo as "Pops" the doorman.
Guest star Barry Dennen (Fernando Ricardo Enrique Dominguez, or Fred) is perhaps best known as the man who helped then-girlfriend Barbara Streisand nurture her singing/acting routine, which would bring her to prominence not long after their time together. Aside from Batman, Dennen would encounter superheroes again, in Superman III (1983), and providing voice work for Batman: The Animated Series (1992) as the voice of Shadow Agent, Batman Beyond (1999) and the 2005 Fantastic Four video game as the Mole Man.
Victor Lundin (Chief Standing Pat) had a very long career in some of the most memorable TV series of the 20th century, including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Get Smart, Mannix, Gunsmoke, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., & The Time Tunnel. He co-starred with Adam West in the 1964 sci-fi schock Robinson Crusoe on Mars.
The Shame 2-parter would be a return trip to Gotham for Lundin, as he also appeared as Octopus--the long-fingered henchman of The Penguin in the season one finale, "Fine Finny Fiends" / "Batman Makes the Scenes" (Below, left), while Star Trek fans will remember him from the classic "Errand of Mercy" as the strangled "Lieutenant" (Below, right), one the franchise's first Klingons.
Cliff Robertson (Shame) was an established star, hence the "celebrity casting" for Batman, but shortly after this 2-parter aired, he would be cast in his most famous role as the intellectually challenged Charly--a role which earned him the 1969 Academy Award for Best Actor. Robertson would return to the superhero universe decades later as the ill-fated Ben Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies--arguably the best adaptation of the Marvel character.
Only four episodes remaining.
"The Great Escape" / "The Great Train Robbery"
Cowboy cretin Shame (Cliff Robertson) returns in the final two-part story of the series. In this all-over-the-place spoof, Shame is busted out of prison by his new gang, among them Calamity Jan (Robertson's real-life wife Dina Merrill), battleaxe mother-in-law to be stereotype Frontier Fanny, gross Native American stereotype Chief Standing Pat and a Mexican bandit type--with a British accent--named Fernando Ricardo Enrique Dominguez..nicknamed "Fred" (oh, how clever..........) by Shame. The typically thin season three plot has Shame's gang attempting to steal a valuable diamond, and ultimately, a train load of old money destined to be destroyed at the Treasury Department.
Along the way, Batgirl is captured in part one (it was that time of the episode again), and the villains deliver cowboy / country dialogue so exaggerated, it would make The Beverly Hillbillies seem like Macbeth by comparison.
Of note, during the bat-fight, Burt Ward displays his infrequently used martial arts training by delivering a standing kick to one of Shame's crew.
The climax of this superhero / western epic has Batman face off against Shame in an abandoned part of the city; Shame's gang wait to ambush Batman with guns, but Robin suspects the worst, so he and Batgirl disarm & capture the gang, while Batman & Shame--after hurling one-liners at each other--trade blows.
Jerry Mathers, forever known as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver, makes a cameo as "Pops" the doorman.
Guest star Barry Dennen (Fernando Ricardo Enrique Dominguez, or Fred) is perhaps best known as the man who helped then-girlfriend Barbara Streisand nurture her singing/acting routine, which would bring her to prominence not long after their time together. Aside from Batman, Dennen would encounter superheroes again, in Superman III (1983), and providing voice work for Batman: The Animated Series (1992) as the voice of Shadow Agent, Batman Beyond (1999) and the 2005 Fantastic Four video game as the Mole Man.
Victor Lundin (Chief Standing Pat) had a very long career in some of the most memorable TV series of the 20th century, including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Get Smart, Mannix, Gunsmoke, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., & The Time Tunnel. He co-starred with Adam West in the 1964 sci-fi schock Robinson Crusoe on Mars.
The Shame 2-parter would be a return trip to Gotham for Lundin, as he also appeared as Octopus--the long-fingered henchman of The Penguin in the season one finale, "Fine Finny Fiends" / "Batman Makes the Scenes" (Below, left), while Star Trek fans will remember him from the classic "Errand of Mercy" as the strangled "Lieutenant" (Below, right), one the franchise's first Klingons.
Cliff Robertson (Shame) was an established star, hence the "celebrity casting" for Batman, but shortly after this 2-parter aired, he would be cast in his most famous role as the intellectually challenged Charly--a role which earned him the 1969 Academy Award for Best Actor. Robertson would return to the superhero universe decades later as the ill-fated Ben Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies--arguably the best adaptation of the Marvel character.
Only four episodes remaining.
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Except poetry and prose are opposites...
