AndyFish wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:44 am
You either fall into the camp that more is better no matter if it's bad-- like that old joke about a restaurant-- "the food is terrible but the portions are huge!" as if that's a good thing!
That "show must go on" kind of fandom is not uncommon, and in every case, there's no TV series that had the creative fire to go on and on producing quality work. I recall some
Get Smart fans wishing the series ran beyond its 5 years, but by the final season, the gimmick had become a stale shell of its early glory--and that's with many of its creative staff still participating. Considering how much
Batman had turned into an embarrassing farce by season 3, there's no situation where future Batman productions (under Dozier) would avoid turning into pure garbage
Speaking of which this brings to mind the bad of Batman '66-- from worst to best here's my ranking, feel free to chime in.
1. Roast of the Superheroes -- The pinnacle of bad. Cringeworthy even when I was a nine year old watching this.
2. Legends of the Superheroes -- Almost as bad, but at least there was Hawkman and Green Lantern in live action form.
Yes--it was terrible. Aside from the idiotic comedy approach, Adam and Burt were trying too hard to play up the increasingly negative, post-first-run misperception of
all of 1966
Batman as some preachy, paternalistic sideshow. While it was interesting to see some DC characters adapted for the 1st time, with the Reeve Superman already in theatres at the time, I could not help think that Green Lantern (for one) appeared as cheap as a Hallowen costume. Captain Marvel was the visual standout, with a costume as adequate as the Filmation versions.
3. Return of the Caped Crusaders -- sacrilege to some of you hearing that I know-- but a missed opportunity for really great jazzy 60s style music and animation and a story that at least respected viewers over the age of 11.
...and dropped that aforementioned misperception that '66 was--from start to finish--Batman preaching like a preschool teacher so stiff that Mr. Rogers would seem like a hell-raising radical by comparison. The TV dinner trap was more of the same--almost trying to shove
viewer memories of TV dinners (as if that was common to everyone) into the series--something that was never attempted (thankfully) in the actual show.
4. Return to the Batcave-- The parts without Adam and Burt were interesting, and I even liked some of the dopiness of the mostly unfunny A & B skits.
Sort of a mixed bag for me; I would have loved a less self-aware "making of" movie than what was produced.
5. Season Three of the Series - Even though some of my favorite episodes are in here, Tut discovering the Batcave, The Surfing Episode, Londinium, Tut Discovering the Batcave again (were there two of them?) it's mostly unwatchable to me.
Agreed. The guest villains phoned In their performances, except for Buono, while some, like Merman, Berle and Gabor were awful as characters & performers.
6. Second Season-- some real gems in here but a step down from the first season.
Such a hit and miss season: some strong early episodes (2nd Catwoman story, Clock King) and a few memorable episodes toward the end (the Green Hornet crossover, of course, Tut and Catwoman/Pussycat), but the push to turn the series from occasional, secondary humor to in-your-face farce set the series end in motion.
7. Batman The Movie - I have a soft spot for the Fearsome Foursome taking on the UN.
Probably the last, slick effort of the Dozier productions. Adam and Burt as performers (and visually) were the best we would ever see.
8. Season One-- the pinnacle of good.
Quoted for truth.
