PeterDavid.net

Personally, I liked it. Don't know how factually accurate it was, but it definitely was done within the spirit of the original series.

If I were to make any complaint at all, I would have liked to have seen more of Yvonne Craig, both real and fictionally portrayed.

Have to admit seeing Fred, well, Amy Acker, as Mrs. Burt Jervis Jr. threw me for a moment.

Also, had to think of Casa David when it turned out that Stately West Manor had a hidden Bat-Pole.

Someone pointed out elsewhere that they only used footage from the movie, none from the actual tv show. Wonder what was up with that?

And, just because it fits the topic, I'll relate a joke I've been using the past few years. Scary thing is that I'm not making up the first part.

OK, so I'm in Silicon Valley during the dot.com boom. The traditional thing to do when cashing out options was to buy a new, fancy, car. Parking lots were full of Jags, Porches, etc.

But I've always been of the "a car is transportation" school of thought, so such didn't appeal to me. Probably fortunately, I didn't learn until after my options became valueless that there is a place where you give them your car and $50K, and when you get back your car, it looks like the Adam West Batmobile (ObjDaveBarry "I'm not making this up").

Had I known about when the options were worth serious money, I would've been very tempted, for two reasons. First, it'd just be cool to drive the Batmobile up 101 to work. Second, I figure it'd be a surefire compatability test.

I pull up to a woman's house for a first date. In the Batmobile. If her reaction is "Um, I need to wash the cat. For the next year or two.", the relationship's not going to work anyway.

But if her reaction is "Wow! Cool!", I figure it's even money by the second date I can get her into the Catwoman costume...

I made it through the first 45 minutes or so and had to quit. I could see what they were attempting, the history of the Batman show in the style of the Batman show, but it was just far too poorly done. "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" did a great job with the concept, telling Bruce Lee's life story in the style of one of his movies.

I think I would have just preferred a straight TV bio-pic, without West and Ward themselves, watching them was kind of sad.

Personally I was laughing my arse off the entire time. Hysterically funny. "An elephant always NEVER FORGETS!" "Has anybody seen my batsuit?" "Too retro." "Three blocks away, and it only took us FOURTEEN HOURS TO GET HERE!" "This is a job for actors." Hysterical. Utterly hysterical.

I loved it.

Now, if one is looking for a straight documentary of the original Batman TV show, this was sadly disappointing. Not enough facts, not enough details, too much shilly-shallying around.

However, as a spirited and in-character look back at the show, it was stunning. I laughed my butt off. I rather liked the henchmen with the completely inadequate sobriquets.

I LOVED the "three blocks, fourteen hours" line. I liked the original Lyle Waggoner audition tape. (And both my wife and I thought the villain WAS Waggoner - huh, goes to show how wrong WE were.)

It was a great laugh, and I assume that the historical pieces were accurate - a FOOD FIGHT with VINCENT PRICE? Lord in heaven, don't I wish they'd left the cameras rolling for THAT!

Very enjoyable. Not deep, but who expected deep from a movie with "misadventures" in the title?

How about the scene with Adam West and Frank Gorshin talking about the homosexual subtext of Batman and Robin, with Frank bringing up Dr. Wertham's congressional testimony that made the papers, over 10 years after the fact?

I aggee that this was a funny trip down memory lane for those of us who are old enough to have seen Batman when it first came on. I remember watching it as a kid and enjoying the action. I also remember watching the reruns as a teenager and enjoying the inuendo. I also liked seeing the Lyle Waggoner screen test. He looked the part. But nobody had Adam's delivery for campy dialogue (Except maybe Shatner).

In response to PAD's comments about the costumes I respectfully disagree. The Robin costume seemed too much like a costume I could purchase at the local Halloween store. Although I don't think it was intentional Batman's cowl reminded me of the early Bob Kane art where the top gave the appearance of an oversized cranium.

(There is NO way Adam West was ever as muscular as the actor who protrayed him is. He reminded me of John Wesley Shipp when he was wearing the Flash costume.)

I thought Adam West was having a great time spoofing himself (although he typically does that on every show he appears in). Burt Ward was never a good actor, but they had fun with that, too. I can think of worse ways to spend 2 hours.

I've got a feeling that the telefilm that was broadcast recently got a bad reception if it did is because of how many Bat-purists feel that it ruined the public's perception on what the Dark Knight was meant to be like, even during the Silver Age, I'm sure, when it wasn't as gritty as it is today. (Bless you, Denny O'Neil, for helping make it more serious again when 1969 came around.)

Apparently, the reuinion movie must've been a turnoff in part for anyone who feels that the 1966-68 TV show made the comics themselves look ridiculous. I can't blame anyone who felt that way.

Loved the flashback scenes, but the framing sequence was too awful - even by campy Batman standards. I just wish they had done more stories from the set and the whole Batmania craze. Like how Romero signed on to play the Joker, but at the last minute refused to shave his moustache. Or show how hard it was for the actors to get work after the show wrapped. CBS's previous nostalgia attempt, 'Return to Gilligan's Island', hit the right balance of flashback and original cast - and thankfully didn't have them playing out a cheesy story.

I'm totally aghast!! I didn't even know it was on!!

As a fan of the original show (and wondering when that one is going to be released on tape or, preferably, disc), I would have given anything to be able to tape this one, if only to watch it and remember.

Granted, I'm not a tube freak, but CBS could have at least tried to publicize it a little better.

Say what you will, but the "Batman" TV show is far more watchable than any of the modern movies (and the 1966 "Batman" film is a classic in its own right). I always liked the costumes (what are the chances of our ever seeing such a realistic depiction of the costumes in a primetime series) and the stories were fun, with a clever, wry sensibility. I adore watching it and can't wait until *someone* releases them on DVD (especially the Julie Newmar episodes!).

Adam West *is* Batman. Only Kevin Conroy rivals him (and in a different way).

I loved it. I've always been a big Batman fan. I love the way Burt Ward got stuck with the bill.

I really enjoyed the "flashback" sequences. Jack Brewer and Jason Marsden did a great job as young Adam and Burt.

I personally thought it was entertaining overall and hilarious in spots. The actors representing the male villains were well-cast; the one playing Julie Newmar was all right but had a much higher standard to live up to. (KC, how did you miss the bit about Cesar's moustache? It was the centerpiece of the scene about him.)

I doubt very much that any TV critics cared one whit about the effect the show had on the public perception of comics; I suspect they were looking for Quality, and a series based on camp is by definition resistant to Quality. (And trying to treat the subject seriously would have been absurd, and not in a good way.)

And it was Julius Schwartz who spearheaded the transition to Batman being a serious detective book again; O'Neil couldn't have done what he did if Schwartz hadn't taken that step first.

Damn, I missed it...

Wife would not let me turn HBO off, she loved Six Feet Under. (And yes, I like it, too...)

Hopfully, it will rerun soon. Anyone know?

I enjoyed it, though I agree with Peter that it was terribly paced. Watching it made me long for a DVD release of the series, with extras like Lyle Waggoner's test.

Then I started wishing that Warner would do a Batman movie like this -- and realized that they tried with Batman and Robin and I hated it.

I felt like it dragged a bit, but overall, I enjoyed it.

Of course, I'd pegged the Riddler as the villain from the outset. It's that characteristic Frank Gorshin giggle...

The 60s Batman TV show is an embarrasment to the medium of comics. Any reminder of Adam West's "Nerdish Al Gore-esque Batman with a beer belly" and Burt Ward's "Loudmouthed 'holy' mantra" makes me cringe.

And yet the stories are still better than the Batman comics of the 50s and early 60s...

(Besides, what does a TV show have to do with the *medium* of comics? The sub-genre of superheroes, yes, but the two aren't synonymous.)

*Sigh* Another mention of the old TV show, another nerd whining that people misperceive the awesome quality of the serious sequential art he reads...

I got a big kick out of it. I watched the show when it was first on the air in '66 - when I was but a wee laddy of three!!

I've been hooked ever since. This show was true in spirit to the series it looked back on. True, I suspect that some of the facts have been spun to make an interesting story, but I forgive the show any inaccuracies. It was just great to see the actors who played my childhood heroes having another cheesy adventure, taking me for a peak behind the scenes of a wonderful series.

And critics? What the hell do THEY know?!

"Critics? What the hell do THEY know?!"

I second, third and fourth that. To hell with critics!

(Forgive me, the play I'm in presently received a bad review in today's paper. Grrrrr...)

Again, I don't get the complaints about the TV series. As I said before, you'll never find a more faithful translation -- it's truly a living comic book (the costumes, the sets, the stories).

The first Joker story was even a *direct* adaptation of a '50s comic later reprinted in the Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told.

People complain about the campiness, but I think the plots followed the basic logic of the comics of the time (especially the '50s). The jokes and clever allusions were also in those comics. It was only when the comics tried to "ape" the series, that the comics themselves got silly.

Great fun.

Actually, the problem with the Batman comics of the 50s and early 60s (and I shouldn't have implied earlier that they were *all* bad) was when they tried to copy the Weisinger formula for Superman. Which worked okay for Superman, but not for Batman; so the stories where he acted like a detective were drowned out by the ones where he met aliens or dressed up in a zebra-striped costume. The stories with the giant prop typewriters and whatnot were absurd but within the parameters of the character, and that's what the TV show borrowed; the worst stories of the period had nothing to do with the core concept that made Batman a strong character in the first place.

I had the movie on while I was doing other stuff and enjoyed it well enough. The funny thing, though, was I found myself like the actors playing Adam West and Burt Ward better than Adam West and Burt Ward. I also thought it would've been funnier had there not been an actual plot but just two actors past their prime going...well...kooky.

Bill

I enjoyed it, too. Recognized some of the stories from Adam's book, "Back to the Batcave" (highly reccomended - good read). Haven't read Burt's so no opinion there. I hear there's legal problems with getting the series relased on DVD/video, hence the use of clips solely from the movie. Wish they'd gotten to do the confrontation between Burt Ward and Bruce Lee. Overall, a fun effort. Glad I taped it. Will get it if they put it out on DVD.

Chris

Like many others, I really enjoyed the movie. It accomplished its goal: diversion and entertainment. That's all I ever want when I watch TV, and that movie delivered.

I wish they'd gotten to the Bruce Lee stuff as well; the thought of Robin running from the scene is hilarious. I had no idea Burt Ward had a black belt in TKD; I'm wondering if that was made up for the movie.

>>I wish they'd gotten to the Bruce Lee stuff as well; the thought of Robin running from the scene is hilarious. I had no idea Burt Ward had a black belt in TKD; I'm wondering if that was made up for the movie.<<

No, that was true. Pretty much all of the bits of business they had were things I'd heard about or read about before--except for the Egghead egg fight. That I didn't know about.

And yes, they should definitely have had the thing about how Bruce Lee was going around saying he was going to kick the crap out of Burt Ward, totally terrorizing him. I mean, yeah, Ward had a black belt, but this was Bruce Frickin' Lee.

PAD

I loved it!

Caught it on Cable TV while on vacation in Puerto Rico.

On the Silver Age/Golden Age list, folks are wondering why CBS doesn't have a new retro-Batman TV series with the actors who played Young Adam and Burt.

I'd certainly watch it!

Loved watching Marsden re-enacting Ward's difficulties with the stuntwork, especially.

Alas, only a tantalizing reference to Batgirl, and yup, I'd definitely watch this if it were a series.

Grew up watching Batman in syndication in the '70s, and loved every episode.

I think "The Joker's Utility Belt" from Batman #176 (80 Page Giant) was the first Joker two-parter, and Mr. Zero became Mr. Freeze on the show.

Stephen Robinson, are you the same Stephen Robinson from Comic Shop News Red K Awards? If so, looking forward to reading your entries...

Steve Chung

The historical stuff was great, the current stuff was trash, and I wouldn't change a thing. I can't remember the last show everyone in my family WANTED to watch.

Listening to a CRITIC about a Batman TV reunion show is like asking a Vegan what they think of chili cheese dogs.

Nikki Ziering (who played the blonde at the left of the screen during the Adam West babes-in-a-bed scene) would have been the ideal person to portray Julie Newmar. Never realized it before, but their facial similarities are striking! Wonder if Nikki had originally tried out for that role? And anybody know why the real Yvonne Craig wasn't in this?

Haven't [yet] finished seeing it [taped] but what I did see was amusing indeed. We know West wasn't happy about his career being all but non-existant after BATMAN (there WAS 'The Last Precinct' about which the least said the better), but he carries on like a trooper here and so does Ward. They don't take themselves too seriously. Can anyone imagine some of today's 'stars' agreeing to something such as this?

All in all I'm [so far] enjoying it more than DAREDEVIL. The latter wasn't 'bad', but, lord, a few minutes' thought could have made it so much better. Not to mention competent casting for the two leads. Ben 'no one ever accused him of being an actor' Affleck was so wooden he should have taken out termite insurance, and ... whoever was Elektra may have had a great, ah, 'superstructure', but she was simply not at all believable as a kick-butt martial artist. Not to mention being written very poorly. At least Kingpin was great, as was Bullseye. And the priest, though he wasn't on long enough to make a difference.

I like the retro bio pic parts. But I agree with a couple earlier posters Burt and Adam should have stayed behind the scenes on this one. Their chase the batmobile schtick was awful.

I felt like they held a gun to producers heads and said you can't make the story unless we can act in it. And producers caved in.

However it was amazing to see Julie Newmar still looking sexy at the age of ?

go check out Gorshin in "Say Goodnight Gracie" on Broadway right now. He's great! I've seen it twice. The Back to the Batcave movie was dumb and poorly done. Gorshin deserves better than that junky representation.