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PODCAST

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

Like many who grew up in the "60s and "70s (and perhaps even "80s and later), Tim and Paul had the course of their lives changed by the 1966 Batman TV show, from the types of play they did growing up to their present-day interests. In this series, they discuss the show"s allure and its failures, the arc of the show from satire to sitcom, its influences (the "40s serials and the comic books themselves) and the things it, in turn, influenced. SUPPORT "To the Batpoles!" and DeconstructingComics.com via

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All Episodes

01:14:41

#188 iPhone? Try “snow cone”: “Batman ’66” #10

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/07/07

Mr. Freeze is back - WILD! He’s gone all Steve Jobs and put a device in everyone’s pocket — one that will plunge Gotham City into year-round winter! Can Batman turn the tables? Meanwhile, Batgirl is going up against a “villain” who, well, very nicely offered Bruce “milk and cookies” in the TV series itself. Yup, it’s Lisa Carson! Did anyone ask for this Egyptian heel turn? Tim and Paul discuss the 10th issue of the Batman ’66 comics series. ALSO: Adam talks with Merv about whether being Batman is

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SCRIPT: True or False Face

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/06/27

The next script we'll be discussing on TO THE BATPOLES is Stephen Kandel's "False Face" script! We have an outline, a draft, and a revised draft, so they're all pretty early in the process. Recording has not been scheduled yet, but it will definitely be after July 11, 2022. If you read the scripts and comment before we record, we may quote your post on the podcast. Will let you know when the recording date is set! OUTLINE First Draft Revised Draft

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01:27:59

#187 "Superman" musical: It's not a bird, but is it...

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/06/23

Just a couple of months after Batman hit the airwaves in 1966, another superhero emerged from the comics, as Superman arrived at the Alvin Theater on Broadway in It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. How did the musical's creators approach the same question William Dozier and Lorenzo Semple, Jr., dealt with in 1965: how to make a "children's character" appealing to adults? We compare and contrast the two shows' approaches. After a good start, the musical closed in less than four months; was

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01:24:15

#186 Why "The Joker Jury" was out

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/06/09

As we know, many episodes of Batman — especially in the first season — were based on stories from the comics. And additional comics stories were floated as possible episodes but didn’t make the cut. This time, we focus on one such story: The Joker Jury, by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, originally appearing in Batman 163 (May 1964) and adopted into an unproduced treatment by Max Hodge, writer of the first two Mr. Freeze arcs of the show. What changes did Hodge make to the story and why? Why might

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01:07:14

#185 Zelda without Shame

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/05/26

The cover of Batman '66 #9 includes Zelda the Great hanging above the Duo, and Shame's boots in the foreground. Zelda's in the issue, but where's Shame? Um... in issue #8?! (We discussed that story in episode 182!) Jeff Parker's Zelda story has its moments, but in other ways it's just weird. Meanwhile, Tom Peyer's backup story brings back Alfred's cousin Egbert from The Joker's Provokers, but brings to mind what a version of Alfred in Peyer's The Wrong Earth might have been like! This time, we

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01:27:10

#184 “Hizzoner”: A Good Script? It’s debatable

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/05/12

Stanford Sherman’s Hizzoner the Penguin is a bit hard to reckon with. Satire on Batman is not in line with Lorenzo Semple Jr’s vision for the show, and the 1966 political references date this arc much more than many others. And yet, it has some brilliantly funny moments. This time, we take a look at Sherman’s treatment, first draft, and final script for Hizzoner to learn about the development of the story, possible reasons why Sherman was unhappy with the result, and previously unnoticed moments

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01:33:48

#183 Bat-Costumes' Dynamic Duo: Chuck and Lynne Williams

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/04/28

A huge aspect of the Batman show is the colorful costumes, overseen by designer Jan Kemp. Sadly, Kemp is no longer with us, and his records, if they exist, are not easily available, so if you want to make a really accurate Batman ’66 replica costume, some detective work is required. Chuck and Lynne Williams have done just that, making patterns from original costumes owned by collectors, tracking down existing supplies of fabrics that are no longer made, and more. This time, we hear from this

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01:30:44

#182 Eartha and LBJ

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/04/14

On January 18, 1968 — just two weeks after her final appearance on Batman was broadcast — Eartha Kitt attended a White House ladies’ luncheon held by Lady Bird Johnson. After a brief, unsatisfying conversation with Lyndon Johnson, Kitt, annoyed, stood up and denounced the Vietnam War. This prompted an apparent effort by the President to kill her career in the US. We discuss a recent video from the New Yorker that explores this incident, with clever tie-ins to her Batman appearances. Also, we dust

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01:15:03

#181 Who was Reuben Watt?

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/03/31

A lot of people work behind the scenes on a TV show, and some of them are never named in the credits. One is Assistant Director Reuben Watt, who nonetheless did get some credit in the form of coverage in magazines aimed at African-Americans. (The image shown here is from the cover of Sepia magazine.) The June 1966 issue of Ebony included a photo feature on Watt, which tells us some interesting things about Watt, the status of African-Americans in Hollywood in the ‘60s, and the Batman show itself

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01:58:12

#180 “The Thirteenth Hat” Scripts: Kidnap the Jurors...

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/03/17

The Thirteenth Hat/Batman Stands Pat is Charles Hoffman’s first produced Batman script. But what did earlier versions of the story look like? It turns out that the original plot had the Mad Hatter simply stealing the jurors’ hats! The stakes - and potential profits from Hatter’s crime wave - had to be raised. At the same time, certain too-expensive-to-film gags and distracting subplots were abandoned. Join us as we discuss the five-page “springboard”, 22-page treatment, and full first draft script

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01:53:34

#179 “Star Trek vs Batman”: The Director Speaks!

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/03/03

Batman and Star Trek are among the most iconic TV series of the 1960s, and many fans fantasize about a crossover between the two shows. In 2005, amateur film director Christopher Allen didn’t just fantasize: he decided to make a film, Star Trek vs. Batman (released in 2006), where Batman and Robin meet Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew. While Chris had imagined just shooting it in a garage with cheap props, the denizens of a certain all-seeing, all-knowing 66 Batman message board

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01:30:01

#178 “Batman & Bill”: The Creatorship Controversy

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/02/17

For decades, the creation of Batman, and all the characters and things surrounding him, was credited to Bob Kane. But it turned out that someone else, Bill Finger, was heavily involved in the character’s creation and was the uncredited writer of many of the early stories. Kane actively quashed rumors that the words “Batman by Bob Kane” were less than accurate. Kane became rich and famous; Finger died flat broke. Batman and Bill is a film about the controversy over Batman’s creation, and the

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01:02:08

#177 Stanford Sherman’s Marsha: “Rewriting the fool...

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/02/03

As we showed last time, Cannan and Cash’s Marsha script wasn’t produceable for many reasons. So Greenway handed off the project to Stanford Sherman, fresh off Hizzoner the Penguin, to salvage it, and he quickly realized he had no choice but to start from scratch. The result, of course, is the Marsha two-parter we all know (though perhaps not love). It comes as no surprise, though that some changes were made between the “final” script and what was shot. This time, we take a look at those

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01:06:11

#176 "Marsha", first draft: Too much chat, not enough...

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/01/20

We don't know whose idea the character Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, was, but it’s clear that she was created with one woman in mind: Zsa Zsa Gabor. A script for the actress was commissioned by Greenway Productions through a talent agency to two writers, Tom Cannan, Jr, and Jack Cash. The script they produced, Marsha, The Queen of Diamonds (note the extra definite article) is riddled with problems, from requiring special effects way beyond the show's means, to flagrant mischaracterization of the Caped

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01:22:34

#175 Harlan Ellison’s "Two-Face"

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2022/01/06

More than one attempt was made to include Two-Face among the villains of Batman ’66. We’ve already discussed Peter Rabe’s attempt; this time, we discuss a treatment by science fiction legend Harlan Ellison, The Two-Way Crimes of Two-Face. Why didn’t it go to a full script? What would have needed to be changed to fit the rules of the Batman ’66 world? How well does the 2014 comics adaptation, Batman ’66: The Lost Episode, capture both Ellison’s idea and the tone of the show? We touched on these

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02:03:12

"Movin' with Nancy" review SPECIAL

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2021/12/23

These Batpoles were made for slidin’! This time, we enjoy the holidays and take a break from the Batpoles to present our special look at the 1967 Nancy Sinatra TV special Movin’ With Nancy! It’s a detailed, admiring, but sometimes irreverent look at a program we love.

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01:31:58

#174 Women in Season 2, pt 1: From the Childish to...

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2021/12/09

While Batman season one seemed to have a consistent view of women - incapable of being hardened criminals, attracted to luxury items (and Batman), etc. - season two (as is true in many respects) tends to be less consistent. While some molls are ditzy and childish, others not only have agency, but seem more intelligent than the villain. Ma Parker and Marsha appear as the first two truly villainous women (aside from Catwoman) of the series. Even Aunt Harriet shows herself to be smarter and tougher

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01:20:51

#173 Batman ’65: Developing the Idea

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2021/11/25

What was the cultural environment in the US in 1965, as Batman was being developed? What were the events that led up to the decision that William Dozier would indeed make a Batman show? If TV in the ‘60s was thinking about what it could do better than movies, what’s the answer to that question, and did it show up on Batman? What were some of the rules that Lorenzo Semple Jr made regarding how Batman and Robin should be written? This time, we look at what was going on in 1965 and the discussions

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01:07:52

#172 “Mr Zero”: A Dozier/Semple dead end

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2021/11/11

When producer William Dozier and writer Lorenzo Semple, Jr, met up in Madrid in May 1965, Batman wasn’t all they were cooking up; it wasn’t even the main reason they were meeting. Semple had been developing an idea called Mr. Zero, a possible action/adventure TV show that had nothing to do with the character who would come to be called “Mr. Freeze.” This time, we take a look at a 40-page presentation document Semple wrote to describe the series. What does it tell us about possible casting, changes

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01:24:50

#171 "Adam West Naked": Back to "Back to the Batcave"

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966 ·

2021/10/28

In 2009, Batman wasn’t yet available on home video, with the rights issue still unresolved, and there was no certainty that would ever change. Adam West, 80, feared that it wouldn’t change in his lifetime. So he set out to release a sort of standalone commentary track, setting up cameras at his home in Idaho to capture his memories of each episode of the show. It’s fun to see him talk about Batman, and the package of his reminiscences, Adam West Naked, includes some interesting tidbits. But the

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