King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

Moderators: Scott Sebring, Ben Bentley

User avatar
bat-rss
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:27 am

King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by bat-rss »

In the latest "To the Batpoles" podcast, we discuss King Tut's debut ("The Curse of Tut" and "The Pharaoh's in a Rut") and the fact that some Bat-fans are crazy about him, while he rubs others the wrong way. What's your feeling? Was Buono a genius? Is King Tut a great villain, or annoying?

http://tothebatpoles.libsyn.com/020-kin ... wo-dummies

Image
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
User avatar
TBolt
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2014 3:04 pm

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by TBolt »

excellent villain and perfectly cast, the best created for the tv show. Buono brings a lot to the role and he looks like he had fun doing it.
To the Bat-Elephant!!
chetchumley
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:43 pm

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by chetchumley »

I thought he was hilarious as KING TUT !!! :D he had some great lines,,,such as,to BATMAN,,,,"MAY YOU FALL DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS AND BREAK EVERY TOOTH IN YOUR HEAD,,BUT 1 AND MAY YOU HAVE A TOOTACHE IN IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE" :lol: ....I WONDER if he also ad libed ?? as BURGESS said he had ???....but I do favor his 3rd season appearances over his earlier ones....
User avatar
dell
Posts: 0
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:12 am

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by dell »

I disliked him as a kid, but LOVE his episodes now. He took overacting to the extreme and it worked out great.
dell
User avatar
Yellow Oval
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:57 am

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by Yellow Oval »

As a kid I was so-so on him simply because he wasn't one of the pantheon of villains in the comic books. As I got older I started to respect him and the character more and more until now I think he's awesome as a villain. I love King Tut episodes! Victor was also incredible in other appearances in shows such as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Wild Wild West. It was neat to see him as one of the mutant council in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, albeit he didn't have much to do.

On a side note, I think it was really spineless and cowardly of DC Comics to incorporate him into the comic world as the redone 'Maxie Zeus' villain - a very weak ripoff of their own King Tut creation. They did this because they wanted to keep the essence of the character, but didn't want a clear link to the TV series which they were trying to distance themselves from. I have to say that I do find Maxie Zeus incredibly annoying and irritating as a villain. DC should have just kept him as King Tut! :roll:
"Hmmm... I don't like the twist this joke is taking. Let us away! Let us away!"
elmrgraham
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:25 am

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by elmrgraham »

He was excellent as King Tut.
User avatar
bat-rss
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:27 am

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by bat-rss »

Interesting. As I say in the podcast, as a kid I felt like every King Tut episode was the same -- like watching a succession of Pepe le Pew cartoons. This first one strikes me as OK but I'll see how I feel watching the season two appearances.
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
User avatar
AndyFish
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 6:42 am

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by AndyFish »

I love Tut-- the best villain made for the show hands down.
As a kid, like Dell, I would watch his episodes when they were on but disliked that he wasn't from the comics.

But I have to disagree with Yellow Oval, DC Comics has never ever had the policy of distancing itself from the show. The Camp maybe, but not the show. They tried to use Tut several times after the series ended but the lawyers would nay nay it, despite the fact that King Tut is an actual historical figure. When the Dozier rights were settled they were quick to add the character to the canon.

There are some big name comic writers on this board who can back me up here, but the concept that there was a period where Batman '66 was shamed by DC is a falsehood generated by fans trying to explain why the show was tied up for years. That's not to say there weren't creators who didn't like the show, thats personal taste. But officially and in reality It was always simply an issue of legal ownership.
User avatar
Progress Pigment
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:12 pm

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by Progress Pigment »

I'm conflicted. Did Tut start the overly- comical downfall of the series? I tend to feel the movie started the decline, but Tut was the silliest villain up to that point. His second season episodes were not exactly good, but had good things in them and were not the detriment of say The Puzzler and The Pengy/Marsha 3 parter. His 3rd season episodes were quite good. Good comparatively, as the show had slipped so badly that a blank screen would have been superior to most of what the "creative" team was putting out. Seriously. The Louie The Lilac episodes came off better than most of those of the established villains. But yeah, with reservations, I love Tut.
Next week, the Dynamic Duo meets the Clock King!
greatlakes6
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:29 pm

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by greatlakes6 »

dell wrote:I disliked him as a kid, but LOVE his episodes now. He took overacting to the extreme and it worked out great.
I agree. Didn't get the sarcasm as a kid, but love it now!
User avatar
Mr. Deathtrap
Posts: 0
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2012 5:32 pm

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by Mr. Deathtrap »

Citizens,

More than one of you shares my Batfan experience with King Tut, growing to appreciate and love him more as I grow older. I believe this character and Victor Buono (sp?) demonstrate how the show was written at many levels and for different audiences simultaneously. (Or, perhaps at the same time, whichever comes first. LOL! ) Much of the humour that appeals to adults goes harmlessly over children's heads.

This approach makes King Tut work better than many villains who appear in the show's final season with its abbreviated format. After all, how many Egyptian ways can one super villain come up with to knock off heroes?

While emphasizing humour, I don't think the character began the series' downfall. Shame was an offbeat villain who led the show into a lighthearted examination of the western genre and might, because he did not appear until season 2, be accused of beginning the decline. I don't believe either character is responsible. The reasons are numerous and the topic is complex.

I'm unsure of the idea that King Tut was overused. The Egyptian theme could, unless you research it and risk spending a lot of story time on exposition, quickly become a thin gimmick. Yet, as long as your story has a reasonable premise, there is no reason not to explore making the show.

That's all for now, crime fans. Surf in for more commentary anon!

Mr. Deathtrap
Tune in for their exciting conclusion. Same Bat-Time! Same Bat - Channel!
User avatar
Progress Pigment
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:12 pm

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by Progress Pigment »

Mr. Deathtrap wrote: While emphasizing humour, I don't think the character began the series' downfall. Shame was an offbeat villain who led the show into a lighthearted examination of the western genre and might, because he did not appear until season 2, be accused of beginning the decline. I don't believe either character is responsible. The reasons are numerous and the topic is complex.
It seemed by "Shoot a Crooked Arrow" the die was cast. Starting off the 2nd season with the worst episode up to that point, Art Carney badly miscast, and the script bulging with some of Stanley Ralph Ross' worst writing -- and that's really saying something! Basically it was Bill Dozier & team saying, "We've established a 'Batman' format and not it's all about amping up the camp and cutting costs. You people will watch anyway." And people didn't. "Cat & The Fiddle" was nearly as bad. Neither show had any excitement whatsoever. Nothing, to me was even close to as good as the final episode of the first season (starring Pengy), except for The Clock King, The Minstrel, The 2nd season Mad Hatter, Otto Preminger's Mr. Freeze, The Sandman, and to some extent The Siren. Really, in the end nothing really killed Batman but Dozier. In later interviews he made excuses. That Batman wasn't a show expected to last long. But really he had lightning in a bottle and never really understood how he'd done it.
Next week, the Dynamic Duo meets the Clock King!
User avatar
Larry A.
Posts: 0
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 12:08 pm

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by Larry A. »

It's obvious that Dozier was no Gene Roddenberry, and I think that Progress makes a number of good points as do You all. Me, all I can say is that Tut started me looking up things about Egypt and Egyptology that still continues to this day as yet another hobby/interest if mine. I'm also glad to see the real story as to why things ended up the way they were. The Archer could have been a great character, but, for some reason, didn't. Okay, One doesn't score a bullseye every time. NBD! Given the history of the big villains, there was absolutely NO reason that the writers should have fouled them up.
IMHO, I would have rather seen the Joker as a bit more "Dark" per the comics as He would have set the other villains up as a bit more "light" in outlook.
We can sit back 50+ years later and "Armchair quarterback" all we want, but the truth is WE WEREN'T THERE in the offices of the show. We can't know what went through their minds, though I wish We could.
Having been involved, albeit in a limited capacity, in the making of a local T.V. S/F show, I can say from experience that no one has the ability to look far down the road to see what the ramifications will be. The one thing I took away from that positive ( + fun) experience is: Make it quick, make it look good at the time and make it cheap. I'm proud to say we ( and obviously Dozier) did. that's what it comes down to at the end of ones day ( or life, for that matter). And as always........,
Cheers
Larry
User avatar
K.G. Bird
Posts: 0
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:45 am

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by K.G. Bird »

"I'll be the son of a Byzantine king!". I agree that as a child I did not appreciate the genius of Buono. As an adult he is hilarious. He was incredible and his episodes are among my favorites. "Dance slaves...music....Bat music.
"Really Dick! I fear some recent romantic interlude has fevered your imagination. Aunt Harriet is..utterly..beyond..reproach".
User avatar
Yellow Oval
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:57 am

Re: King Tut/Victor Buono: What's your opinion?

Post by Yellow Oval »

AndyFish wrote:They tried to use Tut several times after the series ended but the lawyers would nay nay it, despite the fact that King Tut is an actual historical figure. When the Dozier rights were settled they were quick to add the character to the canon.

There are some big name comic writers on this board who can back me up here, but the concept that there was a period where Batman '66 was shamed by DC is a falsehood generated by fans trying to explain why the show was tied up for years. That's not to say there weren't creators who didn't like the show, thats personal taste. But officially and in reality It was always simply an issue of legal ownership.
Thanks, Andy. I hadn't been aware of the legal wranglings. Makes perfect sense the way you explain it, though I still don't like the Maxie Zeus ripoff. He's lame compared to King Tut! ;)
"Hmmm... I don't like the twist this joke is taking. Let us away! Let us away!"
Post Reply