MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night

[Christopher]

Continuing... I read the Batman/Green Hornet crossover comic this morning (which is actually written by Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman, not just Smith), and it's terrific. I mentioned before how the regular Batman '66 comic took liberties with the show's format, in part because its stories were shorter and more compact. But this was a single story spread out over six full issues, so it was able to have a pacing more like the first two seasons, and it really feels authentic to the show, even truer to its voice and style than the regular comic (and the Green Hornet elements feel pretty authentic too, aside from being grafted into Batman's goofier world). It kind of feels like... well, like a Batman vs. The Green Hornet feature film that was designed to be recut into a 6-episode arc within the show. It has the scope of a film (and alludes to the events of the actual film) but follows the cliffhanger format of the show. (And it seems to be set between seasons 2 and 3, because Robin has just passed driver's ed.) The art is solid too, and there are some great Alex Ross covers.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Now I'm not reading those comics, but it strikes me that it would be interesting if they'd dare to go where the shows wouldn't...try putting Adam West's Batman in the more grounded and straight-faced world of the Green Hornet series.

 

[Christopher]

Now I'm not reading those comics, but it strikes me that it would be interesting if they'd dare to go where the shows wouldn't...try putting Adam West's Batman in the more grounded and straight-faced world of the Green Hornet series.

Not sure I see the point of doing that in comics. I've often thought it would've been interesting to see the cast of Batman '66 do a more dramatic take, but without the actors there to perform it, I'm not sure what you could gain.

Then there's the fact that, within the GH series itself, Batman is a television show. True, TGH was a TV show in Batman before it was treated as real, and that show's reality was mutable and fourth-wall-eroding enough to absorb the contradiction. But within TGH itself, Batman was never treated as a real person.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

TREK_GOD_1, do you get these shows earlier in the evening than I do? You posted your review at 7:01 my time, but the show just started at 7:00.

I was already preparing to post about the episode I knew was on schedule before it aired.

Tonight's episodes....

Batman--

"The Londinium Larcenies" / "The Foggiest Notion" - two of a three-part story which sends everyone to "Londinium" to investigate one of the worst of the made-for-TV villains, Lord Marmaduke Ffogg & Lady Penelope Peasoup.

Batman's use of so-called "swinging sixties" dialogue, descriptions and attire was already over-markeded to the point of being out of fashion by the time this aired in November & December of 1967. It just illustrates how out of touch the producers were when the real London was rapidly changing, arguably a darker creative / cultural landscape (on film) than the days of Help! or Georgy Girl.

The slashed budget was more apparent than ever, as Ffogg's home was an obvious, lazy redress of Wayne manor's living room--just as Superintendent's Watson's office was the Gordon office set.

Rudy Vallee and Glynis Johns both enjoyed rich careers, and it should come as no surprise that this could be considered the career low point.

The best part of this entire affair was the casting of Lyn Peters as the villain in training, Lady Prudence. Avoiding the over the top theatrics of Vallee & Johns, she presented a calculating, intelligent young woman who also revealed an interest in Robin. Frankly, she would have made a superior lead villain, and added a different wrinkle (considering her assumed age) than the seasoned baddies usually cast on the show.

Of note is guest appearance by Monte (here as Monty) Landis as the surly Basil, who was a 7 time guest (usually as a villain) on The Monkees.

Finally, Madge Blake made a very brief cameo as Aunt Harriet--her series swan song. According IMDB, she would have only two more acting jobs, both airing after her February 1969 death: an episode of The Doris Day Show (3/69) and the TV movie Hastings Corner (1/1970).

 

[Christopher]

Batman: "The Londinium Larcenies"/"The Foggiest Notion": It's the first 2 parts of the third season's only 3-parter. I don't recall being that fond of this one, but I am enjoying all the faux-England gags, the cracks about the fog, and of course Venerable Ireland Yard. Plus we get a rare instance of location filming, and the nice ornate sets of Ffogg Manor, which makes for a nice change from the usual bare-bones set design for the season (although there's some of that too). I'm not that impressed with Rudy Vallee or Glynis Johns, though. I guess they were veddy British and all, but I didn't find them to have nearly the same charisma as the best Bat-rogues.

And there's a goof-up in the teaser. Alfred calls Dick "Master Robin" while he's not in costume. Usually they're quite adamant about only using Bruce/Dick when they're out of costume and Batman/Robin when they're in costume.

So sick of these lame season-3 cliffhangers. Glue, tear gas, fog grenades -- I'd think they were toning down the violence, if it weren't for the bizarre cannibalism angle in "The Ogg and I." The winch deathtrap at the end of part 2 would've made a great cliffhanger, but they ruined it by resolving it before the end of the episode. I've never understood why they thought that worked better for the once-a-week schedule of season 3. Surely a more pressing deathtrap would create more audience interest in returning the following week. (But at least we get to see Batgirl in bondage. "By Jove, it's exciting!")

Hey, the portrait on the wall behind the Superintendent of Venerable Ireland Yard is of Sherlock Holmes! Does that mean Holmes is a real person in this universe? (Earth-1966?)

That henchman on the far right in the Three Bells, where the henchmen are all wearing beards, looks a lot like Abe Lincoln.


Wonder Woman: "Amazon Hot Wax": I was expecting to hate this one. I'm not a fan of gimmicky plots designed to give a show's stars the chance to show off their singing. But it was kind of fun. Lynda Carter's singing was actually quite good -- she's more expressive as a singer than she is as an actress. And the story was kind of fun, with the bands that I assume were pastiches of Donny & Marie and KISS. Plus a lot of familiar faces -- Kate Woodville as the blackmailer, Rick Springfield, Judge Reinhold, and Sarah Purcell (who's probably forgotten today, but whom I knew back then as one of the hosts of a variety show called Real People). Although it's a bit weird structurally to have the KISS-pastiche characters doing all the investigating with Diana hardly being involved at all, and even letting them catch the bad guys. It's like this was a backdoor pilot for them or something. Did they write this for the real KISS, or some other pop group, and then have the appearance fall through? (I love the idea of Evil Donny & Marie, though.)

The album title Farewell to the Master is also the title of the story that The Day the Earth Stood Still was based on. Maybe a genre in-joke from the scripter, SF author Alan Brennert.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Wasn't the superintendent's name Watson? Possibly not just a nod, but intended to be a descendant.

There was also an actual Sherlock Holmes in a ca. 1986 or '87 Detective Comics anniversary issue...and still alive, though showing some of his advanced age. Batman was somewhat flabbergasted to meet him.

 

[Christopher]

Wasn't the superintendent's name Watson? Possibly not just a nod, but intended to be a descendant.

Yes, that was his name.

Anyway, Chief O'Hara's "I just flew in" scene in part 2 makes me wonder why the others took a ship. I mean, Bruce and Dick needed to bring their huge crate of Bat -- err, Dick Grayson's school supplies and desk , but what was the Commissioner and Barbara's reason?

 

[The Old Mixer]

DECADES is showing a couple of TOS episodes in its rotation today in honor of Nichelle Nichols's birthday: "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and "Plato's Stepchildren".

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Batman--
The 3rd and final part of the Londinuim story, "The Bloody Tower", is as lifeless as part 1 & 2, with Batman now employing Indian rope tricks to escape the Ffogg dungeon.

The bat fight was fairly wild, but in no surprise, Batgirl was barely involved, and at the end of it all, runs off...when no one ever suspects / recognizes her true identity, or is trying to apprehend her. That "she runs off" gimmick was old and dusty long before the season mid-point.

As covered last week, the best part of this story was the casting of Lyn Peters as the villain in training, Lady Prudence, who would have been better served as a lead villain, with the unique feature of Prudence being young (college age), which provides a different world view than the generation of the Joker, Catwoman, et al.

Lost opportunity.

Irresponsible risk to actor moment: Alan Napier (then aged 64) sits on the passenger side "bat fin" edge of the Batmobile as it speeds off. Not an ounce of consideration that a 64 year old could be seriously hurt from such an assbrained stunt he was not qualified to execute.

Next--

"The Catwoman's Dressed to Kill" introduced Eartha Kitt--the third performer to portray the character, and despite the singer/actress having her own developed professional act, bringing that to the role would be ignored, as she would be instantly and forever compared (negatively) to Julie Newmar--the same fate suffered by 1966 movie Catwoman, Lee Meriwether.

Of course, Kitt's race did spark some of the harsh criticism she received by some first-run viewers, but more often than not, her not being able to fill Newmar's shoes was a problem not to be overcome.

Disrespectful use of an actor for sight gag moment: Once again, Alan Napier was made the sight gag by disguising himself as the "world's oldest hippie" during a rescue of Batgirl. From having the tall, thin, aged Napier dress in a Batman costume / bat-climb in season two, to this, one can conclude that aiming low for cheap laughs (at the actor's expense--even if he agreed to the gags) was not a problem for Dozier.

Oh, and Kitt is given the worst debut of any of the Catwomen with an abysmal plot concerning her desire to become the best dressed woman in Gotham, while attempting to steal a valuable dress from the Queen of Belgravia, threatening an international incident. Yeah, okay.

 

[Christopher]

I'm afraid I couldn't focus too much on the episodes, since I've been busy trying to set up my new computer again after the first hard drive proved defective. But here's what I can remember:

Batman: "The Bloody Tower": This one was rather clumsily plotted. The poison fog pellets just randomly didn't work, the characters' actions were all over the place, and it was all just kind of unfocused. The only reason Batman and Robin split up was so that Robin could have his own separate peril later on; it was gratuitous. And this is the beginning of the tendency in the latter part of the season to reduce Batgirl to more of a damsel in distress than she'd been before.

The episode is noteworthy for being the final appearance of Madge Blake as Aunt Harriet. Too bad she didn't interact with anyone but the Commissioner and the Inspector.

"Catwoman's Dressed to Kill": Eartha Kitt's debut as Catwoman has an inauspiciously sexist plot, where she's suddenly obsessed with fashion and competing with Batgirl to be the best-dressed woman around. She does a reasonably good job, though her constant "purring" of her Rs makes her sound like she's speaking with an odd accent.

The oddest part is Alfred bothering to go along with Batman's disguise suggestion when Batgirl already knows him. I guess the idea was that she might've realized that the only way Alfred could've known of her plight was because Catwoman tipped off Batman, so it was about protecting Batman's identity.

Wonder Woman: "The Richest Man in the World": An okay one, co-written by veteran screenwriter Jackson Gillis, whose name has appeared in this thread before on Superman episodes. Still, it could've been better -- say, if the "richest man" had actually learned some lesson about how the other half lives and become more philanthropic as a result, instead of just being annoyed that nobody recognized him. There was a hint of that with Marshall adopting the poor kid or whatever at the end, but it didn't feel like anything really life-changing for Marshall. He lost his access to his wealth and power, then he got it back, the end. It was less than it could've been.

But once again, Diana had a very nice hat. I liked that whole outfit, in fact. The gray and the red worked well together.

 

[DWF]

The Wonder Woman ep. was pretty an homage to Melvin and Howard, the chase scene with the camero made no sense though.

 

[Morpheus 02]

So I am watching the " Funny Feline Felonies" episode -- is that the infamous one where Batgirl allegedly uses "tea leaves and crystal gazing" for her crimework? If it was just that one scene, Batgirl sure sounds sarcastic to me. This is confirmed (to me) a few scenes later where Batman asks (on the phone) where she got her latest info, and she said something like "from the cards", but it was actually microfilm (using her professional skills), and presumably any cards she used was form the card catalogue (again, her profession, where her academic skills come into play and make her crimefighting intellectual). She also basically was arguing for equal rights, and playing off of men's bigotry of women.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Batman--

"The Funny Feline Felonies" & "The Joke's on Catwoman"

The first super-villain team-up of season three (using comic characters, in any case) was a flat exercise in the "more is better" philosophy introduced in the 1966 Batman movie, and used again in season two's "Zodiac crimes" 3-parter.

Much had changed since that time. By season three, Joker was reduced to a wild-eyed man-child without an ounce of the calculating personality seen in season 1 and part of season 2. For this reason, he's practically pulled by the nose by Kitt's Catwoman, who (in her final series appearance) still failed to sell herself as The Catwoman, and just seemed to be...well...catty. She lacked the wit and occasional malevolent character traits developed in Newmar's performance.

In this lifeless 2-parter, Joker earns parole from prison, and is quickly "kidnapped" by Catwoman, for the purpose of locating a supply of gunpowder that will be used to blast their way into the Federal Depository.

Catwoman breaking into a vault was not new to the series--she broke into the Gotham City Mint in the superior Newmar episode, "Scat, Darn Catwoman" from the 2nd season.

Trivia:

Lucky Pierre was portrayed by Pierre Salinger, forever part of U.S. political history as the press secretary of both Presidents John Kennedy & Lyndon Johnson, later becoming a senator from California. The irony of his appearance in this episode, is that Richard Nixon was silently mocked (obvious, considering Salinger's career associations) via a framed photo resting on Pierre's desk...

Salinger worked on the 1968 presidential campaign of Senator Robert Kennedy, and was present--only a few feet away--as RFK was assassinated in June of '68. Many a historian theorized that RFK's death (and the assumption he would have won the Democratic nomination) all but guaranteed the mocked Nixon (at least by a good number of the political Left) would ultimately face a weaker Democratic opponent in the general election. That opponent turned out to be Vice President Humphrey, and the rest--as they say--was history.

Some Batman historians say RFK was a fan of the series, and was interested in making an appearance, but his schedule never allowed the opportunity to participate in the production.

On another note, Catwoman's "Catmobile" was legendary designer Gene Winfield's Reactor, one of the more spectacular show / film car designs in a decade dominated by the work of Dean Jeffries (The Black Beauty & Monkeemobile) and George Barris (The Batmobile and Munster Koach), among others.

Of course, Star Trek fans will immediately recall the Reactor's appearance in the second season's "Bread and Circuses" as the "Jupiter 8" in a magazine in the possession of the slaves of planet 892-IV, and in the foreground of a TV newscast.

Winfield's Star Trek connection included working at AMT, where he (and others) constructed the full size mock up of the Galileo shuttlecraft, and it's filming miniature.

Batgirl refers to "stars, crystal gazing and tea leaves" as part of a female crimefighter's arsenal. No, she was not being tongue-in-cheek. Yet another season three low.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Lucky Pierre was portrayed by Pierre Salinger, forever part of U.S. political history as the press secretary of both Presidents John Kennedy & Lyndon Johnson, later becoming a senator from California.

I did not know that...something to look for if I'm ever able to watch the series again!

Batgirl refers to "stars, crystal gazing and tea leaves" as part of a female crimefighter's arsenal. No, she was not being tongue-in-cheek.

I don't know how that could be seen as anything but tongue-in-cheek. Are you suggesting that she actually used fortune-telling methods for solving crimes? If not, then yeah, she was being facetious in saying that she did. (Really, just being coy about her actual methods, since getting detailed on that front would give substantial clues to her true identity.)

 

[Christopher]

Batman: "The Funny Feline Felonies"/"The Joke's on Catwoman": Another 2-parter by Stanley Ralph Ross, so one would expect it to be good, but it's just okay, and imperfect. For instance, in the opening: Bruce and Crichton see Catwoman "kidnap" the Joker, and Bruce tells Crichton to go alert his forces while he (Bruce) calls the Commissioner to tell him about the kidnapping. Instead, he calls Alfred and has him hook up the Batphone for when Gordon calls him to notify Batman of the kidnapping. So how the heck did Gordon find out about it?

And it's great to see Catwoman as the undisputed mastermind of the team-up, and Eartha Kitt does a terrific job at it. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of the Joker, who's reduced to a clueless second banana needing everything explained to him. (Good grief -- basically the Joker is Catwoman's Chief O'Hara!) He's become pretty much a buffoon since "Pop Goes the Joker," but he's stupider than usual here.

I'm surprised that Little Louie lived on "Disk Drive." Did that term exist back then? Wikipedia says the first disk-based storage drive was made in 1956, but still, they can't have been that commonly known in the '60s. Also, note the cameo by Joe E. Ross of Car 54, Where Are You? as Louie's agent.

Nice to see Batgirl saving Batman and Robin from certain doom, even if it's just with "Batgirl Antidote Pills." And it's nice in part 2 to see her free herself from Catwoman's cat whiskers through her cleverness, without needing Batman and Robin's help. With Batgirl being so resourceful and Catwoman so smart, this is a pretty good showing for the ladies. Well, except for Mrs. Keeper and her housekeeping obsession.

The story took a weird turn in the last quarter, going right from the caper to the trial. I believe this is the second time we've had a courtroom scene in this show, but this one isn't all that interesting or satirical as the last one. I don't think it really works all that well.

I think this is the first time we've seen Gordon and O'Hara participate materially in the action. It may have been just holding on to Catwoman, but this Catwoman was pretty darn feisty.

is that the infamous one where Batgirl allegedly uses "tea leaves and crystal gazing" for her crimework? If it was just that one scene, Batgirl sure sounds sarcastic to me.

And to Batman too. His "I wonder what she'll come up with next?" made it pretty clear that he knew perfectly well she was just being evasive and mysterious. As he said, it was (allegedly) a woman's instinct to try to prove she could outsmart a man, so it was just her natural competitiveness, as well as her desire to preserve "the feminine mystique," that led her to obfuscate her methods. And Batman was entirely aware of that fact.


Wonder Woman: "A Date With Doomsday": Well, this was kind of a mess. Mostly an occasionally amusing but mostly silly story about a computer-dating agency creating impostors (including future Commissioner Gordon portrayer Bob Hastings), but then in the last few minutes we suddenly got a big dramatic infodump about the villainess's tragic and protest-driven motivation for committing an act of mass bioterrorism, just tacked on out of nowhere. But then, when Wonder Woman foils her impassioned crusade of mass murder, she just pouts like a petulant teenager.

The most interesting thing was that the actresses pronounced "Data-Date" in a way that made it a pun on "tete-a-tete." That's actually slightly clever.

 

[The Old Mixer]

While the word "disk" would have been put in there deliberately as a reference to Louie's profession, I'm sure that the phrase coming out "Disk Drive" was just a coincidence. Even if the writers knew what one was, it would have been too obscure to make a joke of it at the time.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Now if the contraband was on a ship docked at USB Port....

 

[Christopher]

On another note, Catwoman's "Catmobile" was legendary designer Gene Winfield's Reactor, one of the more spectacular show / film car designs in a decade dominated by the work of Dean Jeffries (The Black Beauty & Monkeemobile) and George Barris (The Batmobile and Munster Koach), among others.

Of course, Star Trek fans will immediately recall the Reactor's appearance in the second season's "Bread and Circuses" as the "Jupiter 8" in a magazine in the possession of the slaves of planet 892-IV, and in the foreground of a TV newscast.

Thanks -- I was going to ask about the concept car. I knew I'd seen it in some other context. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing a publicity photo or two of Shatner posing with the car. (EDIT: Ahh, and there's that photo right at the top of the linked page.)

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

January 12, 2016: 50 years ago on this day, Batman premiered on ABC with the pilot, "Hi Diddle Riddle"--the first live action appearance of Aunt Harriet Cooper & the then-nearly forgotten villain The Riddler. Frank Gorshin received an Emmy nomination for his performance in the pilot.

Batman is one the first of the "Class of 1966" to reach that milestone this year.

Other (most notable) members of this live action class: Star Trek, The Green Hornet, The Time Tunnel, Dark Shadows, The Monkees, and That Girl.

Game changing animation also premiered this year: Filmation's The New Adventures of Superman--the first cartoon TV series starring the character took off to become a record breaking hit that year, as the oft-referred to "superhero boom" in TV took off. Among that 1966 boom were Space Ghost and Dino Boy, The Marvel Super Heroes, the debut of The Lone Ranger in animation, and the Terrytoons / Ralph Bakshi genre spoof, The Mighty Heroes.

With Batman instantly becoming the blockbuster TV hit of the year, and The New Adventures of Superman being a great hit in the animated realm, 1966 was a historic year for DC properties.

 

[dahj]

1966 was a historic year for DC properties.

50 years later they seem to be in their prime again, with 8 live action shows and 2 movies.