TO THE BATPOLES #156: Adam and Burt "Return to the Batcave"

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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bat-rss
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TO THE BATPOLES #156: Adam and Burt "Return to the Batcave"

Post by bat-rss »

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In 2003, CBS broadcast the special Return to the Batcave, featuring Adam West and Burt Ward walking through a search for the stolen Batmobile as they reminisced about their time making Batman. The reminiscence was hampered a bit by the show still being tied up in rights issues; only clips from Batman: The Movie were included, not from the TV series itself. This time, we delve into the good and the bat-awful of this special.

Also: your response to our interview with Greg Patterson in Episode 153, and the announcement of our listener survey and of the next scripts we’re going to discuss!

Listen here

***Admin edit: Link to survey added from show notes. BB.***
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Jim Akin
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #156: Adam and Burt "Return to the Batcave"

Post by Jim Akin »

I'll comment at greater length later, but for the first time ever reading one of these scripts, I just gasped out loud over a line in Semple's "The Joker's Last Laugh" draft. The script deviates from the episode-as-shot in several remarkable ways, but the final scene blew my mind. :)
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High C
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #156: Adam and Burt "Return to the Batcave"

Post by High C »

Terrific show, guys. As you noted, this TV movie suffers from a lot of myths. As for the season 4 myth, what I'll say is this--remember, much of the Batcave had been 'destroyed' in a previous episode. Plus, you can't really 'bulldoze' an indoor set, to the best of my knowledge. But as you say, it's a good excuse for Dozier to 'sell' to the actors.

As for the Egghead arc scene, I will agree that I don't buy Dozier joining in, but Joel Eisner wrote in his book and on the To The Batpoles site (that is, of course, not affiliated with your podcast) that both Vincent Price and director of photography Howard Schwartz said they DID throw extra eggs at Burt to get even with him for past transgressions.

http://tothebatpoles.blogspot.com/2011/ ... 47-48.html

EDIT: However, now that I look at the actual scene in the TV movie, you guys are SPOT-ON. They would NOT waste all those eggs off-camera while the cameras were not rolling. Dough-zier would never allow it, nor as you say, would any producer. This plays like literary license. Again, to rephrase what you indicated, steam would've been coming out Dozier's ears like a real-life Mr. Slate if this had happened in real life.

I do agree with Paul's tune about Quinn Redeker's portrayal of Vincent Price: Jingle bells, Redeker smells, Robin laid an egg...

I can't say for sure, but I believe Adam wrote in his book that Julie told the producers early on she believed Catwoman should play hard to get. I do not have a copy of it at the present time.

Did you notice Wertham was misspelled 'Whertham' in that headline?

Tim, good catch. I also noticed the similarity in costume between the character played by Adam's daughter and Cornelia, played by Kathy Kersh. Dunno if that was an in-joke or what.

And finally, great observation about how, even after all those years, Adam and Burt still had great chemistry. It just proved, as if we needed more evidence, that Dozier made the right choice. Speaking of Dough-zier, I'll bet that somewhere he was smiling about all the composite characters: himself and Horwitz, Robert Butler for all the directors. Budget savers!
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #156: Adam and Burt "Return to the Batcave"

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Fun show, guys.

I watched this when it originally aired, and I have to admit, the commercials were a bit exciting because it was part of a time when production companies were mining an interest in TV series of the 60's and 70s:

1997: Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees, which was a sequel of sorts to the TV series (ABC).
1999: Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story (ABC).
2000: Growing Up Brady, the biographical film co-produced by Barry "Greg Brady" Williams (NBC).
2001: CBS aired Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three-Hour Tour in History, (which--like Return to the Batcave was also co-produced by Dawn Wells and Larry Germain).

Like everyone else, Return to the Batcave's disappointments stemmed from the TV special only being able to use the '66 movie for clips, and the casting. Poor Jason Marsden--he was not built like Burt at all, but more like the Mego Bend-n-Flex figure...

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Burt started off thin, but over the 1st seas and into the movie, he gained weight and had been working out, and really looked the part. Mardsen would work if he was on the same peg as that bendie.

No TV movie is going to be a comprehensive look at a TV series, but I recall thinking most TV biographical entries took liberties with known history, merged experiences or re-packaged debunked myths, but the fact the shows were getting this kind of attention at all was fun. That said, I was disappointed that there was no mention of the Green Hornet (as a production) at all; referring to it--as part of Dozier's brief "universe" should have been a no-brainer, and they did not need clips from the series for that. Part of Batman[/i['s legacy was its connection to The Green Horne, but its absence from the TV movie made its world seem...smaller.
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Dan E Kool
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #156: Adam and Burt "Return to the Batcave"

Post by Dan E Kool »

I can understand your critiques about this TV Special. "Return" definitely takes some creative license with reality.

But I still love it.

It's not a documentary by any means. It feels more like a chat with your grandparent as they reminisce over their wartime achievements. It's best just to nod and accept the obvious exaggerations. Of course gramps took on an entire platoon single-handed with nothing but his Buck knife and a shoestring. Interrupting with factual corrections is rude and unseemly.

Seeing Adam and Burt back together is worth the price of admission. And maybe I'm in the minority here, but I find the reenactments enjoyable, too.

It's just a shame they hadn't made it a decade earlier so some of the other stars could've played a part, too.
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