TO THE BATPOLES podcast #77: Stanley Ralph Ross: Love 'im, Hate 'im

[Dr. Shimel]

Regarding the Gemini 8 situation, it's apparent that all of us just aren't taking the show as seriously as the people described here. :

[High C]

That's wild.

Ross' first draft for the next Catwoman arc, Hot Off the Griddle, was written a month later. Knowing his fondness for inside jokes, I wonder if he put in CW's dopey 'getaway rocket' as a nod to all of this. It wouldn't surprise me.

[Dr. Shimel]

That's wild.

You mean, "Vild!"

Actually, Batman was the only 7:30 network program that night to have any part of their show aired--undoubtedly financially-strapped ABC was desperate to salvage any commercial time for their then-gold mine. Both NBC and CBS fully preempted their programs after the first bulletin came on at roughly 7:15 ET.

The attachments below are amusing from the standpoint of imagining Ross as a writing instructor and the idiocy of the people choosing to get married in such a fashion:

Ross1974.jpg (60.81 KiB) Viewed 3375 times

[Dan E Kool]

Ross' first draft for the next Catwoman arc, Hot Off the Griddle, was written a month later. Knowing his fondness for inside jokes, I wonder if he put in CW's dopey 'getaway rocket' as a nod to all of this.

I don't care if this is true or not - this is the official explanation now as far as I'm concerned.

[High C]

That's wild.

You mean, "Vild!"

I actually thought of spelling it that way, yes. I then chose the standard non-Otto Preminger spelling.

[bat-rss]

Dr. Shimel: Wow, where'd you find these clips?!

The astronaut-hating Batman viewers are "vild" indeed.

Can't help noticing Ross was teaching for a school with "Experimental" in its name. Who else would have him? I mean, yeah, he'd certainly gotten his stuff filmed and aired repeatedly, he was making a living at this, but.....

Also "Universal Life Church" is a nice nugget. Was wondering what denomination he was. Wikipedia says -- oy -- that ULC will give you legal status as a minister FREE if you just fill out a form! Unsurprisingly, this raised legal questions about the legitimacy of such credentials, but a district court decided it better not to question a religion. Um, OK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Life_Church

[Dr. Shimel]

Dr. Shimel: Wow, where'd you find these clips?!

I have a subscription to Newspapers.com.

FWIW, the attached article below is another example (from November 1966) of Ross' ego getting the best of him:

[robinboyblunderer]

Maybe I'll throw this in there too; has anyone ever seen Ross's proposal (pun intended) for the Catwoman Wedding episode he mentioned? On a steamboat? Sounds similar to Marsha. I wonder if Robin and Batgirl would be held hostage to force Batman to marry her. Or maybe they'd be part of the wedding party, Robin as best man?

[bat-rss]

I haven't heard anything else about it. In the interview, he seems to believe it was filmed and broadcast!