TO THE BATPOLES podcast #82: Buono, How We Love Ya

[bat-rss]

Why on earth does "The Unkindest Tut of All" feature a King Tut claiming to have precognitive abilities? Could it be because Stanley Ralph Ross wanted to use a certain jokey title for the episode? Why is Batgirl such an afterthought here? In this episode, we take a look at this season three episode alongside Ross' ten-page treatment for the story (originally titled "Swami, How I Love Ya"), which gives us some insight into the thought process behind this somewhat puzzling (but also amusing) bat-installment.

http://tothebatpoles.libsyn.com/082-buo ... we-love-ya

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Yet another entertaining episode!

The episode was only worth Tut's accusing Bruce of being Batman, which gives it a comic book feeling (the hero's secret threatened) often absent from the series.

The subplot of Bruce and Barbara flirting and/or dating never felt genuine to me. The characters were from two very different worlds, with no chemistry, so it seemed like another way to force all things Batgirl into every corner of the series.

Much like Alfred in a Batman costume, I was never fond of "Alife" using the Batpole, which exploited Napier's age and physcal condidion for laughs. But hey--its fun to laugh at a frail old man in a baggy costume or gripping a pole for dear life! Real classy, right Greenway?

BTW, Cathleen Cordell worked with Victor Buono post-Batman in "Satisfaction Guaranteed"--a 1972 episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. In the episode, Cordell was the head of a temp agency trying to please the ever-so-pompous and hard to please Buono, only to learn his idea of the right female employee was one large enough....to eat!

[Ben Bentley]

I'm still listening to the episode as I type this, but on the topic of "J'accuse" and Emile Zola - interestingly this isn't the first time we've heard this very specific phrase/reference made on the show. Back in Season Two, Pengy also uses the phrase in his defense at his trial in "The Bird's Last Jest".

[Dan E Kool]

Fantastic episode, gang! Unfortunately my Bi-plane is on the fritz again, so skywriting is out of the question today. I hope this regular old forum post is a suitable substitute.

It's always a good episode when we get to gather our gear and head out for a "C-a-A-a-mping Trip!" The historical context, if you will, of Tut's ability to get away with some risqué language was enlightening. As was the discussion of Émile Zola. I always come out of this podcast having learned something new. Truly, you and Paul have set the bar high for what a podcast about the '66 Batman TV show can be.

I was kinda surprised when you were discussing the "Alfie" reference that you didn't mention the modern Batman connection. The star of Alfie, Michael Caine, would later co-star in a very different take on the Caped Crusader - director Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy. Caine, of course, played the role of Alfred in those movies. In an episode where King Tut is King Swami, it's a little eerie how this episode seems to accurately predict the future of Michael Caine's career!

[High C]

Another terrific podcast, as always.

Some thoughts on the episode:

1. I wouldn't be surprised if Stanley Ralph Ross was bent on building an episode around that title he loved so much. It would not shock me.

2. That's a great point about Batgirl being an afterthought as Ross was planning the script. He had a similar problem in his original treatment for 'Wail of The Siren.' The climactic fight in the original outline didn't have BG in it, and Horwitz (presumably) scribbled 'Where's Batgirl?' in the left margin. To his credit, however, Ross at least had Batgirl using martial arts earlier in his original envisioning of the Siren episode. Of course, that got the kibosh.

3. Good catch on the change in the prospective prisoners escaping Gotham penitentiary. It's clear that Neil Hamilton looped in 'Siren' later.

4. I loved the line about the Green Bay Packers logo on the GCPD cars!

5. Batman taking his time freeing the librarian from her bonds was similar to the dumb scene in the previous Tut arc, where the guy was in the noose at Batman stood there pontificating. I HATED when Ross made Batman look dumb. Square, fine. But dumb, no.

6. You guys made a great point about how the late Patti Gilbert looked different here than in her other 1960s roles. No offense to anyone, but I have to wonder if they applied some 'bronzer' or fake tan to her face to make her seem more Mediterranean. Just a thought.

[Ben Bentley]

Another terrific podcast, as always.

Some thoughts on the episode:

1. I wouldn't be surprised if Stanley Ralph Ross was bent on building an episode around that title he loved so much. It would not shock me.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, especially at this point in the game.