With the super-mega-off-the-charts anticipated The Dark Knight Rises opening in theaters, we figured it was time to take an updated look at the history of Batman on TV. The character has been the focus of a huge amount of animated series that have been wildly divergent in styles. And of course, he’s also appeared in live-action on TV, including in a series that remains one of the most iconic comic book adaptations ever. Hey, that sounds like a good place to start!
This show holds a complicated place in the history of both Batman and comic book adaptations in general. Batman was a hugely popular series, and it's the reason Batman became one of the most recognizable and popular comic book characters in the world. Beyond that, it also made icons out of several Batman villains – The Riddler was an almost forgotten character until Frank Gorshin's gleeful portrayal and thanks to this show everyone soon knew who The Joker, Catwoman and Penguin were.
Of course where this show causes problems for modern fans is the tone – the epitome of camp, Batman, didn't take the title character, his "chum" Robin, or anything else in Gotham City seriously. While Batman was played with mock seriousness by Adam West, this was clearly a very jokey, very tongue in cheek series. Let's put it this way: is there any other incarnation of Batman where the Caped Crusader and the Joker are in a surfing contest with each other?
Because of this show and its popularity, comic book heroes would be perceived by many in the mainstream as very silly creations, something it's taken years to undo – and there are still articles about Batman that can't resist a "Holy something, Batman!" or "Bam!" joke in the headline.
The thing about the 1960s Batman though is that it's a very well done and very funny show. The show was intentionally played a certain way, and in that respect, it's a success. There are some completely hysterical, wacky sequences throughout this show, which is very much a product of the '60s, in all its trippyness. We all now know Batman as The Dark Knight, and that's how it should be these days. But this series showed that if you did play Batman for comedy, it could be legitimately funny. (Unlike, say, Batman & Robin).
With the Adam West TV series making Batman a household name, an animated series was the next natural step to capitalize on the Caped Crusader’s popularity. And while the Superman segments of this series were previously produced, the Batman segments were brand new – and featured many of the villains familiar to viewers of the live-action series, such as Joker, Penguin and Riddler, plus some like Scarecrow who never appear on the West series.
Batman and Robin were voiced by Olan Soule and Casey Kasem – and it wouldn’t be the only time famous radio personality Kasem would play the Boy Wonder. Ted Knight provided several voices again – again reflecting the live-action series – Commissioner Gordon and Batgirl had prominent roles.
The Batman segments of The Batman/Superman Hour would be repackaged many times on their own, including under the titles Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder and The Adventures of Batman.
The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972) was the second series starring the ever-popular paranormal investigating dog and his human friends. The episodes were an hour long – certainly unusual for a cartoon, though still a bit questionable to be called a "movie." On this show the Scooby gang teamed with a different guest star each week – some were real life celebrities, some were fictional characters.
An example of the latter is when none other than the world's greatest detective teamed up with Scooby-Doo. It's a bizarre pairing, and it actually happened twice – Batman and Robin were among a handful of repeat guest stars on The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
In both episodes, the villains were Joker and Penguin, both now widely known thanks to the Adam West series. That show's influence is certainly still felt here, as Batman & Robin don't act that dissimilar to the Adam West/Burt Ward incarnations.
Obviously, viewed now this is all ridiculous – It's Batman teaming up with Scooby-Doo! Of course, if you're a little kid, this is kind of the best, most amazing thing ever - It's Batman teaming up with Scooby-Doo!
Featuring an eponymous version of the Justice League called the Super Friends, because, you know, these guys are all friends, the show starred Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, and Robin, the latter of whom the show's creators apparently felt was inseparable from his mentor. Debuting in 1973, the program was no doubt barely tolerable for adult comic-book fans -- and this in a time when superhero programming was much harder to come by -- but the kids loved it. Variations on the program would air with different titles and an ever-widening range of heroes and baddies, including some infamous inclusions like Wendy, Marvin and the Wonder Twins.
Many of Batman's enemies found their way onto the show, including the Penguin, the Scarecrow, and the Joker. Adam West voiced the character in the final two seasons of the show, though Olan Soule (reprising the vocal role he originated on The Batman/Superman Hour) and his stentorian-yet-gentle delivery handled the vocal chores for the bulk of the show, with Casey Kasem again voicing Robin.
This Filmation-produced animated series had Adam West and Burt Ward revisiting their roles as Batman and Robin. The Dynamic Duo were joined by Bat-Girl (voiced by Melendy Britt, who would later be the voice of She-Ra) and a completely bizarre character named Bat-Mite (voiced by Lou Scheimer, who would go on to voice many characters in Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, such as Orko). Bat-Mite was an annoying little creature from another dimension who considers himself Batman's biggest fan, sometimes helping him but most often just getting in the way. Not appearing in the series at all is Alfred (Bat-Mite probably drove him away).
Featuring a lot of the same campy humor and cheesy dialogue as the live-action 1966 series, The New Adventures of Batman (1977) is a far cry from The Dark Knight of today. Did we mention Bat-Mite had a prominent role!?
This series would be another that would get repackaged and integrated into other series in later years, with segments appearing in The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, Tarzan and the Super 7 and Batman and the Super 7.
Legends of the Superheroes (1979)
Some Batman fans hate the 1960s Adam West series for its campy nature. Well, if you don't like that show, you might well implode when watching this. Adam West and Burt Ward donned the tights one last time for this bizarre pseudo-variety show, which does for the DC heroes what The Star Wars Holiday Special did for that franchise. And yes, that means horror beyond imagination.
Batman and Robin are joined here by a large group of other DC heroes and villains here, for what could be seen as the first-ever live-action incarnation of the Justice League. Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Huntress, The Flash, The Atom and Black Canary all got their live-action debuts, joining Captain Marvel on a show that for some of the above is still their only time to date appearing outside of comics and animation.
But don't get excited, because Legends of the Superheroes, which only aired two episodes, is truly, mind-numbingly awful. It's all played as broad, pun-filled comedy and not a lick of it works. There's one groaner after another, and seeing West, Ward (way too old to be playing "The Boy Wonder") and Frank Gorshin (back as the Riddler) doing such terrible material, it only elevates the legitimately funny '60s Batman series they appeared in more.
The first episode is at least watchable in a train wreck sense, as the heroes go outside and into action to try to stop a team of villains -- including Riddler, Solomon Grundy and Sinestro -- from their plan to blow up the entire world… a plan which the villains don't seem to have thought through, all things considered.
The second episode is even worse and watching it may cause harm to your soul. The episode is all contained on the shoddy set of the show, with a seemingly never-ending superhero roast, featuring Ed McMahon as MC. We only wish we were making this up.
How bad is this show? Well, there's a black superhero featured on the second episode, who goes by the name of Ghetto Man. Yes, really. Bad, stupid and offensive! It's a superhero trifecta! This would be the last time Batman would be seen in live-action until Tim Burton's first film – much like Batman & Robin, a long rest was greatly needed for Batman after this disaster.
Source : feeds.ign.com
No comments:
Post a Comment