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In our latest episode of Ancient Geeks, Tom and I discuss Batman of the 1960s and 1970s, including the TV show and our early exposure to the comics.
Available at Podbean (https://ancientgeeks.podbean.com/) or wherever you get your podcasts.
We would appreciate feedback!
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Unfortunately it hadn’t dropped by the time I left home, and the phone I use for podcasts has no SIM chip. So it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.
I’m curious to see from what you discuss about the old TV show, how much I’ll recall having seen. I guestimate I was around 10 the last time I saw an ep.
The Batman TV show is one of a kind. Total, complete camp from beginning to end, but camp delivered without a single wink to the audience. Every single actor plays their camp character absolutely straight.
My favorite piece of trivia was that while they landed Ceasar Romero as the Joker, he wouldn’t shave his mustache so they just caked makeup over it. That didn’t matter much with the low quality TV of the era, but it is very obvious in today’s high-def reruns
I caught the first episode (actually designated by the podcasters as “episode 0,’ which immediately created an anomaly between their numeric count and the one provided by my podcast provider) and recommended it to friends. Looking forward to listening to the present episode. But I was a bit distressed to find out I may be older than the two “ancient” geek podcasters, as that begs the semantic question: what is older than “ancient?” 🙂
Even if the 60s Batman TV show never addressed his Batman’s origin and there was no internet, I would always remember this as a child.
@Winecoff46: This episode “0” may seem to indicate a discrepancy in the the universe, but let me offer some advice:
There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter.[3] We can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to… The Outer Limits.
@MarkedMan: I started listening over lunch and see you addressed both points above. In future I’ll listen before commenting!
Here’s an answer for why they repeat the origin story so often. I can’t speak for shows in general, but I can answer about Sony’s Spiderman efforts. They only had rights to a very limited number of characters and storylines. I imagine that if the first few movies made some money they would have gone back and renegotiated for further IP. But the original it was a big smash, as were other Marvel properties and the whole “Marvel Universe” thing was born. Marvel wanted Spiderman, one of their most well know properties, back from Sony. But Sony retained rights as long as they kept releasing movies. I think they had to release movies no more than seven years apart. So they basically made it a generational thing. Get a new Spidey, release 3 movies, wait 5-6 years, lather, rinse, repeat
@MarkedMan:
Regarding landing Ceasar Romero et al., it is kind of remarkable the number of stars they were able to book considering the campiness and the comic book source material. I particularly enjoyed the random celebs who would show up in the window as Batman and Robin climbed a building – Sammy Davis Jr and Edward G. Robinson for example.
@Scott F.: And Otto Preminger, 3 time Oscar nominee as a director, was Mr. Freeze! I suspect that since during that time when doing a television gig could kill a film actor or director’s career, Batman’s campiness allowed it to be an exception. It was a hoot rather than a sellout. As time went on, I understand that more people wanted to be in the show, too many to accommodate, so perhaps the wall climb gag was a way to fit them in and give them bragging rights.
Turns out there were only 14 wall climb gags on the show. I thought it was a once a two part episode thing.
@MarkedMan: “That didn’t matter much with the low quality TV of the era, but it is very obvious in today’s high-def reruns”
It’s really not about hi-def. I watched the show when it was first on — when I could persuade my parents to let me stay up for it — and even on our little black and white TV I could see his mustache…
Better villain links
@MarkedMan: “. I can’t speak for shows in general, but I can answer about Sony’s Spiderman efforts. They only had rights to a very limited number of characters and storylines.”
Actually, Sony’s purchase of Spiderman brought with it something like 900 other characters. Fortunately the 1-2-3 punch of Madame Webb, Morbius and Kraven have led them to abandon their plans for further non-Spiderman Spiderman movies.
Understanding the mid-1960s pop culture scene is not possible without delving into the three “B’s” – Batman, Bond, and the Beatles. Mind you, since the Adam West TV show debuted almost 60 years ago now, the audience for engaging in 1960s nostalgia (or historical inquiry) is much smaller than it used to be, and it is slowly dying away. But from the Geek perspective, we can be thankful that events of interest have not stopped and are continuing, particularly related to Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s creation.
@wr: If they had all those other characters, why did they keep rebooting it back to the origin story? Just because they were changing actors?
Related to origin stories, growing up there were lots of American shows on strip syndication (daily reruns) on local TV (dubbed). We all knew these shows were older and had already ended their run. One thing everyone watched out for was the first show of the series, the origin story.
This was so mostly for shows where the characters are lost or stranded. Like Gilligan’s Island, Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, Space 1999 and so on. Less so for shows like Batman, Baa Baa Black Sheep*, Star Trek, etc.
Lately the fashion seems to be a whole movie or part of a season for superhero origin stories. Think the first Nolan Batman trilogy, Iron Man I, various Spiderman movies, Invincible, My Adventures with Superman, etc. Or at least their origin plus first big outing.
*What I remember most about that show were the F4U Corsair fighters. Not many planes were ever made with an inverse gull wing, and other notable one was nazi.
@MarkedMan: “If they had all those other characters, why did they keep rebooting it back to the origin story? Just because they were changing actors?”
I never worked at Sony, but I did work at New World Pictures when they briefly owned Marvel in the late 80s. And what I saw from the executives there was a reflex belief that every comic book movie needed to be — or at least include — the origin story. And they couldn’t be talked out of that, no matter what. That’s why I found it such a relief when Kevin Feige, asked if Marvel’s first Spiderman movie would feature the origin, said “I think we’ve all seen enough of that.”
And to be slightly fair to the other executives, the origin story really does have a basic movie-story built in, as it’s clearly about a protagonist overcoming obstacles in pursuit of a goal. And to execs who really have little interest in the actual comic books or the kinds of stories that are told there, this feels like the only way to go. How many times have you seen Bruce Wayne’s parents killed on film?
And to be slightly fair to the Sony execs in particular, there are some significant differences between Spiderman’s origins in the Raimi movies and the Garfield ones, which were based on a variant title called Ultimate Spiderman, part of an early 2000s attempt to freshen up the Marvel titles by rebooting and wiping out decades of built-up stories. But why they felt they had to do this instead of just telling more regular Spiderman stories, without another origin, is beyond me…
@Scott F.:
I heard they got all those big stars to work for scale (all they would pay for any guest star) because it’s a rare and precious opportunity for an actor to get to over-act.
@just nutha: Kind of you to say and thanks!
And thanks to everyone who has given the podcast a try–we really appreciate it!
@Assad K: Thanks for letting me know. I will have to look into that.
@wr: Different origin stories can really affect the character going forward. “Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse” is pretty much about that, at least the first 80% of the first movie before I just kind of got bored.
I meant to get back to it, but it didn’t happen.
The Zach Snyder Superman origin story really defines that version of character as something utterly different from what Superman generally is. A new Superman for a new generation of miserable, hateful people who demand everything be cynical and without warmth or earnestness.
All that said, I would have loved a Batman ‘66 version of his origin. “I say, old chum, be careful where you’re pointing that thing when you’re robbing someone!” I expect a ridiculous cliffhanger where we are led to wonder how the Wayne’s will get out of this predicament, and then they don’t.
@Assad K:
Huh! I failed to find it on Podcast Addict last week, and had to download Podbean to be able to hear it. I’ll try that when I can get WiFi at home.
Thanks!
