If Julie had been in season3

[clavierankh]

I wonder if Catwoman would have seen Batgirl as a rival for Batman.

[elmrgraham]

Possibly.

[dell]

Hopefully they wouldn't have gone down that rabbit hole. As bad as some of season 3 episodes were, this idea would have probably been the worst. I don't see any way that they could have made the story believable; especially given the quality of season 3 efforts.

[Mancat]

Despite all the cost shortcuts and reformatting of shorter episodes, I still think Julie Newmar would've made the 3 Catwoman episodes of Season 3 more interesting -- and definitely funnier and more clever (if only by her great line deliveries). I do love Eartha Kitt -- who doesn't? -- but her Catwoman was really just an attitude with a fantastic, guttural growl. Even given the script and time constraints, I think Newmar would've elevated the material as only she can. I also feel she could've made the 1966 film SO much better. Can you imagine her Catwoman as Miss Kitka? She would've been brilliant!

[elmrgraham]

Lee Meriweather was excellent in the movie.

[Bat-Tiger]

Lee Meriweather was excellent in the movie.

And she looked enough like Julie to make the switch easier. As a kid I didn't notice. But Julie Newmar is and always has been my favorite Catwoman.

I would have liked to see Batgirl and Catwoman square off. Even if they had a scuffle, then backed off like in the Green Hornet episode.

[elmrgraham]

I agree on all that you said Bat-Tiger.

[cammy85]

Catwoman Goes To College/Batman Displays His Knowledge destroyed the love interest situation so there was no way Batman was falling for that again. So maybe had Julie portrayed Catwoman in Season 3 it would've been more along the lines of her Season 1 episodes that were among, if not the best.

[Pengy]

It's a shame she only appeared once in season 1. That was the best portrayal of Julie's Catwoman. None of the silly schoolgirl crush stuff on Batman. Just a no nonsense villainess. A far cry from the Catwoman who let Pussy Cat sing to music records while her henchmen acted as a test audience *cringe*.

[AndyFish]

I'm with Pengy-- Catwoman was on the decline after the movie-- and while I loved Lee in the movie, and she's nearly as good-- Julie made Catwoman her role in that first season.
I don't think it would have worked in the third season, and even a good actress can't make a bad script better. Interesting when they had the 3rd season episodes where a Catwoman stunt person was used for the prison episode, it was Julie's double that was used.

[Quarhog]

Lee Meriweather was excellent in the movie.

Because all the love-dovey stuff was confined to her boring 'Madame Kitka' masquerade, during her all-too-brief scenes in costume Meriwether's was the most black-hearted of all the Catwomen; just a vicious criminal with zero romantic interest in the Caped Crusader... Purrrrfect!!

[Pengy]

I'm with Pengy-- Catwoman was on the decline after the movie-- and while I loved Lee in the movie, and she's nearly as good-- Julie made Catwoman her role in that first season.
I don't think it would have worked in the third season, and even a good actress can't make a bad script better. Interesting when they had the 3rd season episodes where a Catwoman stunt person was used for the prison episode, it was Julie's double that was used.

Yeah that was strange given how that season they had a black actress as Catwoman, and then go with Julie's stunt double for the Dr Cassandra episode. It really stood out IMO.

Because all the love-dovey stuff was confined to her boring 'Madame Kitka' masquerade, during her all-too-brief scenes in costume Meriwether's was the most black-hearted of all the Catwomen; just a vicious criminal with zero romantic interest in the Caped Crusader... Purrrrfect!!

Aw I quite liked her Miss Kitka persona. She sounded great doing the Russian accent, and knowing Catwoman was totally putting on an act to sucker Bruce Wayne by playing on his feelings just made her more deliciously evil to me.

[Quarhog]

...just as long as people remember that Bruce Wayne - not Batman - was the subject of the ruse; and that a ruse was all it ever was. Because they got all kissy, far too many people to this day confuse it with a Batman/Catwoman romance; such as those who claim that it was because she was black that Eartha Kitt was the only Catwoman who never got to kiss Batman.

[Quarhog]

As Bat-Tiger observed above, not having seen the movie on its original release (I didn't even know there was one), it wasn't until years later that I discovered that the chewing-gum trading cards popular at the time were based on a movie version, not the TV series, and that the woman in the pictures was not Julie Newmar but someone called Lee Meriwether... and, Yes, it's a terrible shame we never saw her square off properly with Batgirl in any of her incarnations.

[robinboyblunderer]

On the one hand, it's more Julie Newmar as Catwoman! On the other hand, it's the 3rd season...

Still, even if she had only been in for Kitt (who did a good job, not easy following up Newmar!) it would've been good.

As others mentioned, a return to the more evil, teasing and sinister Catwoman of Season One would've been good. If she ever rehabilitated it could've been in the last episode (had they done one). I would've liked to have seen more Robin interacting with Julie Newmar's Catwoman, too. It's a different energy as she both easily intimidates Robin and towers over him.

But I don't think much, not even Julie as Catwoman could've saved the 3rd season, largely as written.

cheers