"Batman"

1966-1968
-created by lorenzo semple jr and william dozier
Quick! Name a late 60s TV classic that ran for three seasons, spawned a TV/movie franchise that thrives to this day, and had two stars who became three?
No, not Star Trek. Batman!
A pop paragon and camp classic that became the hippest TV happening of the 60s, for kids and adults alike. Who can forget those cliffhangers, batrope-climbs...and tights! Plus gorshin, meredith, romero...and a sexual tension between adam west and julie newmar that was more palpable (and poignant) than you remember. Batman himself was generally progressive (no one is evil at heart), but sometimes fascist too (damned parole system!). Don't trash eartha kitt - without the no-win comparison to newmar, she'd have been purr-fect. As for season 3, you'll never see another show get so simultaneously better (batgirl) and worse (more infantile writing). The series' chauvinist caucasianism make it a no-go for impressionable youth today, but if you're looking for a giggle ride down memory lane, you won't do better.
BATMAN'S BEST
-Not Yet, He Ain't (1)
The extended country chase with dynamic duo on batbike pursuing penguin and goons in the stolen batmobile is beyond priceless.
-BATMAN: THE MOVIE
The big screen release that came out after season 1. An evil alliance of the "big four" (and in retrospect, the producers couldn't have known riddler/joker/penguin/catwoman were the big four, this early on) aboard a submarine...here come the batboat, batcopter, and the United Nations, all wrapped in sly, ironic humor. Even with a bland lee meriwether as catwoman, this one's a rollicking ride. Plus the greatest shark attack in the history of cinema. Dive!
-The Dead Ringers (2)
This middling episode is elevated by liberace in a dual performance as a world-famous maestro and his ne'er-do-well brother...and also by some of the most ridiculous BATMAN writing ever. How they escape player-piano death and meditate their way to detectively deduction, simply must be seen to be believed. And burt ward's attempt to follow batman's musical instruction is beyond hilarious. He may have been a martial arts/speed-reading boy wonder in real life, but he was clearly also bona fide tone-deaf.
-The Penguin Declines (2)
Burgess meredith stretches his chops, playing a suave seducer...whose chief henchperson is a baby-faced rob reiner (ALL IN THE FAMILY, THIS IS SPINAL TAP)!
-Scat! Darn Catwoman (2)
Batman falls under a love spell. Adam west's groovy acting would do austin powers proud.
-Pop Goes the Joker/Flop Goes the Joker (2)
The greatest turn for Gotham's greatest villain. This spoof of high art (and high artists) is pop culture classic. In a madcap climax, the joker (cesar romero - THE GAY CABALLERO, JULIA) is loose in Wayne Manor, and accidentally discovers the batpoles. Alfred outfences him, then traps him on a pole going up and down. Also fun for seeing adam take on goons by robin's side, as bruce.
-Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin (3)
The biggest laugh-out-loud chuckler of the series features the debut of batgirl (yvonne craig - GIDGET, IN LIKE FLINT) and a looser touch in the writing and directing. No more impending-doom cliffhangers alas, but this one's non-stop fun. Having alfred be the only who knows barbara gordon's secret? A lovely touch.
-Surf's Up! Joker's Under! (3)
This one has it all - humor, gnarly action, a show tune, and yvonne in a mesh swimsuit. Joker steals the talent of the beach's best surfer, and batman is the only one to challenge him for supremacy of the waves. More bat anti-shark repellent? You betcha, daddy-o. Also the high comedy point for gordon and o'hara, as undercover beach bums buzzy and duke.
-The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra (3)
The show's penultimate episode should have been its climax, for what more glorious way to go out than having the terrific trio face off against all arch-villains at once? Never mind that the camera shots are a soundstage away, to conceal the fact that none of the correct actors are here...it's still too silly to resist. All of this is arranged by an alchemistic villain and her hep hangdog husband, who hold up their end, entertainment-wise.
NOTABLE
-Batman's Anniversary (2)
A riddler episode minus frank gorshin. Fascinating but flaccid, as john astin (THE ADDAMS FAMILY, OPERATION PETTICOAT) is a pale shadow of gorshin's manic glee. Plus the series' greatest fight scene, amidst fake underwater madness.
-A Piece of the Action/Batman's Satisfaction (2)
A titillating hodgepodge, with crossover appearances by the cast of THE GREEN HORNET, including bruce lee, who shows stunning moves while fighting pal burt ward. STAR TREK fans get a two-fer, with roger c. carmel (BREEZY, THAT'S LIFE) and angelique pettyjohn (REPO MAN, STALAG 69). Plus seymour cassel (DICK TRACY, RUSHMORE) and alex rocco (THE GODFATHER, THE GEORGE CARLIN SHOW) as goons.
-Batman's Waterloo (2)
WOW...wha' hoppen?? Until now we've been watching a banal kid's show, then suddenly...a burst of raw sexual politics. Bruce is romancing an heiress (lee meriwether - BATMAN: THE MOVIE, THE TIME TUNNEL), until he finds out that her father doesn't consider him a catch (her FATHER, mind you). Then he tells her he's not looking for marriage, so she shouldn't invite him up to her place. She offers non-marital sex. With a smarmy look at the camera, he tells the viewer...well, who wouldn't? Her character actually comes off well in terms of empowerment, but bruce is just cringeingly crass and petulant. Plus grace lee whitney (STAR TREK, IRMA LA DOUCE)!
-The Joker's Provokers (2)
The best actor on the show? I'll place my marker on silent film star alan napier. His appearances wearing the bat costume are too cool for school, and here he's at his multi-faceted best, playing alfred and his blue-collar cousin egbert. Brilliant!
APPALLATHON
-An Egg Grows in Gotham (2)
In this otherwise delightful entry starring vincent price, the chief plot patsy is chief screaming chicken. Do i have to actually say more? Perhaps the most stunningly offensive portrayal of a native ever (and that's a distinction with no shortage of contenders...although i haven't seen the very same actor as an F TROOP character named roaring chicken). Why not just go all the way and make him a foster brooks drunk? You'll never fully understand the extent to which america made normative the most racist, demeaning attitudes toward peoples we blithely genocided, without seeing a program or two like this. OF COURSE they're semi-humyns who deserved what they got!
-Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club (3)
The spark that triggered the 70s feminist movement? Sadly, nothing so glamorous...just some appalling 60s business-as-usual. A wimyn's rights activist gets herself underhandedly installed as commissioner, replaces the entire police force with wimyn, and the city falls apart. Every derogatory female stereotype is puked up onto the screen. Batgirl, who might know about being a womyn in a man's world, reacts instead as the obedient eye candy the writer (stanford sherman) wanted her to be. The vitriolic nature of this attack passing itself off as good fun, is almost too much to be believed. Grownups actually wrote this, and children actually watched. For an addendum, see "The Great Escape/The Great Train Robbery", for an object lesson in the value we placed on old/ugly and young/pretty wimyn. Notice how i optimistically used the past tense there?
-The Joke's On Catwoman (3)
Speaking of feminism (and racism, for that matter)...this one's a corker, both blatantly and subtly. Blatantly, let's observe a Gotham jury of your peers (that is, if you happen to be pink-skinned with an X chromosome). More subtly (and amusingly), catwoman and joker team up, yet in this partnership she provides the goons, hideout, and wheels. He just coasts along like an entitled ponce, probably not even contributing gas money to the kittymobile. I'm sure there are no wimyn out there who can relate...