This episode, we first must tip our hats to our favorite caped crusader, Adam West, who passed away June 9 at 88. What was that magic touch he had as an actor? Would the show even have been the show without him?
Then it’s onward with King Tut’s Coup and Batman’s Waterloo!
I'm not certain, but I believe there was no mention of Grace Lee Whitney guest starring as Neila; the late Ms. Whitney is best remembered as Yeoman Janice Rand (as the potential love interest for Captain Kirk) in 8 early episodes of Star Trek, but was ultimately fired from the series.
Lloyd Hanes was mentioned, and he had his own Star Trek connection: guest starring as Lt. Alden in the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
About Ross "punishing" Ward by giving him little to do--it was immature, and having Robin not on-screen, and/or work on solving the crimes with Batman compromised the natural order of things. The series was called "Batman," but it was all about the adventures of the duo, which was successfully established in season one, where Batman & Robin made up two sides of a complete picture, both top class detectives, not one sitting in the background waiting to react.
We DID mention Grace and her being fired from Star Trek, immediately after we talked about Haynes (and my vaguely mentioning that Haynes was in the Star Trek pilot). Check out 1:21:45!
As for Robin, well, he wasn't so much waiting to react as drugged (in That Darn Catwoman) or captured by Tut in this arc. But I have to agree with you that Ross minimizing Ward's role as punishment was immature!
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
