I confess, I am a huge fan of the old style of many things; music, movies, and TV. I get movies but even there the number of remakes of certain characters has gotten ridiculous!
Particularly with Batman!
When it comes to Batman, I have been and always shall be a fan of the old 1966-68 TV show, even as I poke fun at it in my later years...although the show did that for itself almost from the beginning...almost.
Let's go to the beginning:
Season 1 (1966)
By far, I believe this season was the strongest. The concept was fresh and it met the era perfectly. It was the mid 1960s and things were gettin' kind of groovy.
The freshness is a key strength here, like a loaf of newly baked bread...things can get stale fast (by season 2, quite stale)
As Batman premiered in January of 1966, one might presume it was a midseason replacement. Not so, it was just that many of ABC's new shows in the fall of 1965 fell flat. Batman was originally slated to begin the fall of 1966.
The producers took the comic books as their source, even if some of those villains had long faded from the comic book stories. Added to that were classic onomatopoeia to fistfight scenes.
The Batman theme by Neil Hefti was adapted to be within the show during those fights or drives in the Batmobile to police headquarters in Gotham City or even the short trot from the Batphone to the Batpoles.
Now, here is the key to the show's success in that first season. There was often a sense of drama or even melancholy in a few episodes, much like the comics. Remember, the comics were not funny, they played out as adventure that kids really got into, always looking forward to the next issue. I once had a Batman comic from the early 80s where Batman and Robin were battling a villain named Crazy Quilt. Even then, the story was engaging.
Adding on to the novelty of the show, the actors/actresses cast as the villains were not doing it because it was "cool" or "hip", they were doing an acting job.
Next was the Wednesday-Thursday cliffhanger setup and resolution, an easy way for ABC to fill 2 timeslots instead of 1. So when one sees there were 34 episodes in winter/spring 1966, it was really just 17 weeks, but what a production schedule! The following season would be even more brutal with 60 episodes (29 stories)!
And then there were the main actors. I believe Adam West will always be legendary as Batman beyond his passing 9 years ago. Burt Ward was a kid getting into the Batlife without the benefit of age to allow him to invest his paycheck wisely while he had it, not understanding the high would not last very long. Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon did what Jack Webb had done for Joe Friday: played it straight. And it worked! Stafford Repp put on a nice Irish accent for his Chief O'Hara even though he was from San Francisco!
Madge Blake as Aunt Harriett was actually derived from Aunt Harriett in the comics...not a buffer to dispel any "queer" rumors of just dynamic the heroic duo really were!
And then there was Alan Napier as Alfred, the coke bottle glasses wearing faithful butler who held so many secrets I wonder if he (Alfred) went to a shrink to keep his mind straight.
One more thing before I delve into episodes: the cops on the show were depicted as inept many times, depending too heavily on Batman and Robin to solve their problems. However, Gotham City was a metropolis with metropolitan problems, and when the bizarre villains weren't threatening oblivion, regular criminals were surely out there for them to handle. However, regular villains were for regular cop shows.
All Bat-righty, on to the episodes!
And no, I won't delve too deeply into them, there are books that handled that quite well. I used to have one, now I regret getting rid of it. However, this first season was quite special in its newness, so episode quality and villain choices deserve some focus. In this entry I will focus on just the premiere story.
Hi Riddle Diddle/Smack In The Middle: the premiere episode pair was in many ways the weakest of the season and in other ways the strongest. The animated opening sequence was lacking in its sound effects, just straight music. William Dozier wasn't quite as over the top in his narration as he would be in coming episodes. And this was the pilot...often pilots do not get aired but the series was rushed to production. The Riddler was an interesting choice to open the series, as he only had a few comic appearances before the series came about. Frank Gorshin will forever be identified with that high-pitched giggle that made the Riddler special.
The opening to the first episode is at the World Fair in Gotham City with some light music playing over crowd scenes. I mention this because if one watches the final 1968 episode with Batgirl on TV and then the series restarts, it is a trip! No rushing to action, we are gently led in to the Moldavia display and the exploding cake...a whole 40 seconds before anyone talks. We then see a riddle floating down with the riddler music riff playing before it cuts to police headquarters.
There are a lot of cops in that headquarters scene, in later episodes all we see are Gordon and O'Hara deciding how soon is too soon to use the red phone to call Batman. However, the formula is established: the Riddler is deemed too big for real cops, everyone looks at the red phone, and Gordon makes the call.
Alfred answers and says the boss will be right there. Cut to Bruce Wayne engaged in a conference with some civic group (later it will be him and Dick engaged in some normal human behavior). Alred discreetly somes to Bruce and whispers that there is a call and Bruce collects Dick and off they go to the study. Bruce listens to Gordon, lists the metal bard head to flip the switch that opens a bookcase to reveal two poles that he and Dick rush to. Cut to opening music animation.
The plot in general is that the Riddler seems to want to frame Batman into a lawsuit where his real identity will be exposed. However, the Riddler really wants Batman and Robin out of the way so he can steal the huge Moldavian treasure of jewels and valuable postage stamps in a large stuffed beast. The Riddler uses his moll Molly to pretend to be Robin to infiltrate the Batcave and kill batman. However, he is on to her and she tries to escape but falls into the Batcave reactor...death in the first week! And then there was the climactic fistfight. The yellowish words like KAPOW and SPLAT appeared on the screen with every punch, kick, push, or solid object impact…sometimes overused here, but the comic motif was now established.
This episode pair is so comic book themed it is perfect! Aside from the Riddler's giggle, there was a lot of drama in this first story. Well, maybe not drama per se, but it was all so straightly played. Jill St. John was the first and only player to receive a "Special Guest" credit in the second act. Her character's death is mourned by Bruce at the end. Batman getting accidentally drunk and barred from driving to save Robin by the police was quite cool in its own way and it showed the Gotham cops to be of worth. Even though there were differences from the rest of the series in terms of the opening and story pacing, it works well to this day.
One more thing before I close: there is a sign a little past the Batcave opening that says "Gotham City 14 Miles" in almost every first part episode in the first 2 seasons. And as Batman just loves following the speed limit, it must be a 20-25 minute drive to downtown Gotham...so his promises of "We'll e right there, Commissioner" doesn't quite fly with me.
Next up: repeat performances and one-off villains
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