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BATMAN VILLAINS PHOTO GALLERY #02 |
Updated: March 01, 2023
The sad thing is that the Batman series really had it's strength in being
cheesy funny. We were never really watched for the incredible action
sequences that left us on the edge of our seats.
I'm also a big fan of when they use the Batrope to climb up the side of
the building and it's so obvious they're just walking along a building-like
floor and the camera is turned sideways. There's always a great fight scene
complete with "Biff" and "Ker-sploosh" and "Whamo" flashed on the screen.
Not to mention "same Bat time, same Bat channel" at the end of each weeks
epiosode. I really miss those great cliffhangers, during this time period.
The real highlight of the TV series, are the villains. They are all
incredible! Frank Gorshin as the Riddler is my personal favorite. His cackles
and hops around and acts all crazy and is genuinely a fun character to watch.
Lee Meriweather, the third woman to play Catwoman, is purrfectly sly and charming
both as Catwoman and as Kitka, a Russian newspaper writer who seduces and kidnaps
debonair millionaire Bruce Wayne, not knowing that he also Batman. Cesar Romero
is fantastic as the Joker. He always scared me a little as a kid, because his
mouth was so freakishly long. But he is the one and only Joker. Finally,
Burgess Meredith is the Penguin. He is so delightfully silly.
The Batman series aired from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968 on ABC for 120
episodes. The episodes were generally two-parters: Wednesday's episode was a
cliffhanger, resolved in Thursday's episode.
Batman creator Bob Kane noted that this series saved the Batman comic series from
cancelation when the show revived the character's popularity. Despite this, most
comic fans despised this series for stereotyping superheroes and comics as campy
nonsense. Furthermore, soon after the show was canceled, the character's comic
series took on a dark and deadly serious tone that was reminiscent of the original
comics in the late 1930's as a reaction to the TV show's light touch.
Adam West always believed that the Batman movie would be a showcase for his
acting talents that the TV show didn't provide, but playing Batman at all pretty
much ruined his career for any other serious acting because he would always be
remembered as Batman.
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