Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so camp

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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Bob
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Bob »

I loved season 1, liked season 2, and season 3 was a total loss
Batmanknight1106
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Batmanknight1106 »

Interesting Points everyone :D I found alot of Season One pulled stories,from the early comics!
I guess they run out of money by the time,season 3 kicked in.Someone told me Season 4 would have focused on Bat-girl and Batman.I am so gutted that did not happen.I mean Bat-girl in the 60s show in my eyes,is the best adaption of Barbs :D
False Face gives me the creeps! He reminds me of a very old store dummy! Some say the Cesar Romero Joker is scarier than the current version,he is damn right creepy!
WayneGrayson
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by WayneGrayson »

Season One seemed more realistic - there were moments of pathos with Bruce mourning the death of Molly and Dick feeling anguish over Susie being the Joker's moll. The Joker's Pagliacci episode was actually scary, as were moments in the Riddler's episodes. There were also some nice moments with Zelda the Great and Blaze expressing remorse over their actions and pledging to turn over a new leaf. Catwoman's fall with the bag of jewels was very dramatic, and Batman had a really nice line about Catwoman laughing at the good guys wherever she is.

The second season was a bit uneven right from the start. Art Carney was a great character actor - I dare anyone to say they didn't like Norton from the Honeymooners, but why in the name of Holy Blackbeard was the Archer episode even considered? It wasn't even good enough to be filmed in season 3. Catwoman helped the show bounce back in the following episode and it pretty much followed the formula of each episode, but being shot with darts and then being tossed out of a 12th story window was pretty intense for an initial confrontation. I always felt that to be more of a cliffhanger - a chapter in the 1949 serial showed Batman being pushed out of a window and about to plunge to his death, but I think a truck broke his fall (or something). After Hot of the Griddle, it became hit or miss - Ma Parker, Puzzler, Shame and the Minstrel were misses, but Clock King and Egghead were huge hits (at least to me). I get very hero-worshippy when it comes to Egghead - it was a freaky idea but carried out tremendously by Vincent Price. He was amazing - it was nice that the cliffhanger didn't follow the formula as Bruce and Dick were captured and it involved two civilians. The two Mr Freezes - all due respect to Eii Wallach and Otto Preminger, they couldn't even shine the bat-boots of George Sanders. HIs Mr Freeze was the most menacing of the three.

I'll stop typing now, I've got blisters on my fingers!
Edward Nigma
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Edward Nigma »

Mr. Deathtrap wrote: Hoffman let the show become formulaic, which may have been inevitable. He also seemed to rely on a smaller pool of writers, which is unfortunate but perhaps understandable because of the pace at which the show was made.
I think the pace was a big reason for the intriguing brew from Season 1 becoming weaker tea in Season 2. At the breakneck pace they were working at, it became harder and harder to write/execute offbeat Season 1 episodes like the 2nd pair of Riddler episodes (the look of which was very atypical), the False-Face episodes, and the Bookworm episodes.
Joel Eisner's book describes how Hoffman selected an innovative script with the Sandman and insisted on inserting Catwoman while rewriting the script so that the lead actor declined to play Sandman and the writer did not recognize his story, if I'm recalling the story correctly. The team-up had some excellent elements, but overall ended up being pretty weak and exemplifies what had happened to the show by then.
Strangely enough, these episodes are intriguing to me, mostly because they harken back to Season 1 in certain respects (the night as a contributing element, Catwoman's underground lair w/ deadly maze, Batman having to think his way out of the death trap rather than relying on some device from his utility belt). But then there are cringe-inducing moments like the Bat Computer spitting out spaghetti!
elmrgraham
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by elmrgraham »

I agree with Bob.Season 3 was a total loss.
Mr.Freeze
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Mr.Freeze »

Egghead was good but his egg puns became a bit tedious at times imo.

Mionstrel is underrated , I def found his music/sound wave m.o intriguing......there were potential to flesh out his character imo.
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Mr. Deathtrap
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Mr. Deathtrap »

Hey Wayne Grayson,

I think one reason the Archer was used in the series was to build international appeal for the show. The Robin Hood story is entrenched in English lore and I think tapping those roots was an attempt to broaden the show's appeal.

The Minstrel character was used for similar reasons and the Joker 3 parter was originally envisioned as a movie, which would have been awesome.

Also, Edward Nygma cited some of the elements I really like about Catwoman in her Sandman appearance. Her lair and maze are fantastic, as is the idea of her all girl gang. Batman thinking has way out of Sandman's trap is also good.

I feel it's worthwhile to speak up for the Shame story, which is an offbeat delve into the western genre and, I think, works as such. The Ma Parker story does the same thing with gangsters, but doesn't work as well. I like the idea of running a crime wave from prison though.

Season 3 has a few moments like the Siren story, using Shame again, and the fantastic self parody of the Joker surfing episode, which works if you understand what it is.

Mr. Deathtrap
Tune in for their exciting conclusion. Same Bat-Time! Same Bat - Channel!
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High C
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by High C »

Mr. Deathtrap wrote: I think Kamdan's point about the movie shifting the series heavily into camp makes a lot of sense.

Some of the early season 2 stories are as suspenseful, action-oriented, and plot-driven as the first season stories. The Clock King appearance is very good as an example. Some of these scripts were left over from consideration from season 1.
Excellent points by Kamdan and 'Mr. D.'

The movie definitely was like the show 'on steroids,' with all the villains teaming up and the even more outrageous situations. And leftover S1 scripts shot for S2 certainly would have a different tone than the ones clearly earmarked for the second season.
Edward Nigma wrote: even Lorenzo Semple Jr. would have had a hard time once William Dozier decided to have writers write for his social circle rather than having writers write interesting villains and then find talented character actors to play them.
The comment about 'social circle' is a fair one. Dozier invited Bankhead over to his house after filming the Black Widow storyline, even though he barely had been on set during the shoot, which was a difficult one because she was in bad shape healthwise. Maybe if he had actually watched the show being filmed he would understand its shortcomings, but by all accounts, he kind of became an absentee landlord after season 1.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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Riddler Fan
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Riddler Fan »

I think the series got off to a much bigger than expected start in S1 and the writers thought they could do no wrong and began taking chances with newly created villains for S2 which for the most part fell short by comparison. Keep in mind that by the time the show aired, all of S1 had been already been filmed, so there was no audience reaction to use as a gage. By S3 it was clear the series was loosing popularity and I think the writers became a bit desperate and thought that by taking the show in a more campier direction that they could save the series.
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High C
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by High C »

Riddler Fan wrote:I think the series got off to a much bigger than expected start in S1 and the writers thought they could do no wrong and began taking chances with newly created villains for S2 which for the most part fell short by comparison. Keep in mind that by the time the show aired, all of S1 had been already been filmed, so there was no audience reaction to use as a gauge.
Well, that last statement isn't true, but there is some validity to the point being made.

According to production records, the False Face storyline began shooting on Jan. 10, 1966, the same week the show debuted. If we count each two-parter as one episode, False Face was the seventh of 17 episodes to be filmed. Filming went on for awhile while the season was in progress.

However, it is safe to say most of the casting decisions had been made and most of the scripts had been submitted by then, so the tone of the show wasn't going to change dramatically during season 1.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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Yellow Oval
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Yellow Oval »

I gotta say the 1st season for me was tops precisely because it had a more dramatic/action-oriented tone than what was to follow. If they would have followed that strategy they probably could have gotten 5 full seasons or so. Instead, the 2nd season was 'so-so' probably being more on the 'oh-no' than 'so-so'. The third, for me, is a complete write-off which I watch only when I'm in a really goofy, non-caring "What? Me worry?" mood like this guy :x .
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redbird
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by redbird »

Regarding all input and comparisions of the 3 seasons of the show...if and when the DVD's are released?
Would you consider only purchasing the first season, or first and second, or all 3 seasons if the price tag was say about $43.00 a season to start... What would you do?
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clavierankh
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by clavierankh »

I'm really hoping they will come out with a full series box set right away. If they come out with single-season boxed sets I suspect there will be four. They will probably split season two into two sets.

The reason I want the full series right away is simple. I hate when they come out with individualseasons, and then come out with the full series with additional extras. If people don't buy the individual seasons then they will stop making them and the whole series will not come out. But once you buy the individual sets who wants to pay a large price for just a few more extras.
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Scott Sebring
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by Scott Sebring »

redbird wrote:Regarding all input and comparisions of the 3 seasons of the show...if and when the DVD's are released?
Would you consider only purchasing the first season, or first and second, or all 3 seasons if the price tag was say about $43.00 a season to start... What would you do?
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This has already been discussed in previous threads. Please check before starting another one.
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batman1984
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Re: Did anyone find The First Season of Batman to be not so

Post by batman1984 »

i liked all three seasons, i thought they awesome.
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