TO THE BATPOLES #185: Zelda without Shame

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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bat-rss
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TO THE BATPOLES #185: Zelda without Shame

Post by bat-rss »

Image

The cover of Batman '66 #9 includes Zelda the Great hanging above the Duo, and Shame's boots in the foreground. Zelda's in the issue, but where's Shame? Um... in issue #8?! (We discussed that story in episode 182!) Jeff Parker's Zelda story has its moments, but in other ways it's just weird. Meanwhile, Tom Peyer's backup story brings back Alfred's cousin Egbert from The Joker's Provokers, but brings to mind what a version of Alfred in Peyer's The Wrong Earth might have been like! This time, we discuss issue 9.

Also, we give our own answers to some previously posted bat-questions, hear more of Adam on The Merv Griffin Show, read a bit of mail, and listen to Pylon's version of Hefti's Bat-theme.

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"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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artemisknab
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #185: Zelda without Shame

Post by artemisknab »

Just wanted to say I really enjoy the episodes where you cover the Batman 66 comic, I hope it will be a semi-regular feature!

It seems like Egbert has escalated from accepting petty bribes to assault, identity theft, and burglary after his stint in the Wayne Foundation Halfway House. Just another example of how Batman creates his own villains, I suppose.
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #185: Zelda without Shame

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

This was yet another '66 comic that seemed to miss the mark of how the TV series' characters should act; Zelda returns to crime? Why? Her TV arc as a schemer-turned-reluctant villain-turned-repentant character made sense, all perfectly capped off with the final (prison) act of the episode (with one of Riddle's GREATEST cues for the series).

While recidivism should be a reality in fictional Gotham as it is in real life, Zelda was one of the few '66 villains who seemed to be truly sorry for her crimes and accepted her punishment (behavior usually reserved for molls). This comic flushes all of that away--seemingly just have someone guest-star that was not among the Big Four, or best-known made-for-TV-villains.

Regarding Egbert...well...he was in the comic. *shrugs*
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High C
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #185: Zelda without Shame

Post by High C »

I think Peyer's story, as you described it, seems clever. And he came off terrific when you interviewed him. But I'd say this--were fans really clamoring for an Egbert story?? This is almost like season 2 when Dozier decided to make everyone in his Rolodex a guest villain.

Just because you can graduate a minor character to villainy doesn't mean you should. Again, this may be a reason why the '66 comic didn't have a shelf life. It sometimes read more like Batman '68 than Batman '66 if you get my drift.

I know it's way after the fact, but I am trying to come up with a better part 2 for the Catwoman College/Knowledge arc that Tim spoke about several shows ago. As you guys have noted, a big problem in season 2 was that part 2 of an arc often completely drops the gimmick of part 1 and goes in a totally different direction, leaving the viewer with whiplash.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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High C
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #185: Zelda without Shame

Post by High C »

Sirs, at long last I'll do something I should have done before. I'll take a shot at that final Julie Newmar Catwoman arc you tried to 'fix,' as it were, although it may require 'rewriting the fool thing.' To be fair, the CSI: Batman bit with the strand of hair isn't bad, and of course, Julie's iconic seduction scene at Britt Reid's place is amazing.

Your Bat-questions are good. I, for one, should be more pro-active in answering.

As you indicated, Tim, the basic premise is good. The biggest problem, as often happened in season 2, is part 2 completely drops the college trappings of part 1.

It seems to me the college setting exists mainly for Ross' Theta Beta Latke (ugh) throwaway gag. It's a sorority house with--wait for it--no sorority sisters. Sooooo dumb. This is what I would have done. As you guys said, French Freddy, gone. Also, Captain Courageous (double ugh) gone. This enables us to cast a couple of then-young actresses as, y'know, SORORITY GIRLS. Thinking perhaps Pamela Austin and Heather Menzies. Julie was SO good delivering those 'mentor' lines to aspiring henchwomen such as Pussycat and Eenie. As much as I'm on record as not liking the 'jocular' CW of S2, I cannot help but laugh when she dismisses Robin by saying, 'At that age, all they're interested in is baseball.'

I think part 2 could have been interesting if, instead of the dumb French Freddy stuff and Catwoman stealing with a gun*, they kept the college motif. How about if Batman, again being soft toward Catwoman, asks rather than she being arrested for attempted murder--amazing how that is NEVER an option in part 2s, now that I think of it--obviously there would be no show if it worked that way, but still--asks for her to be reprimanded by Gotham University.

Instead, she sweettalks and uses her er, feminine wiles to convince the Board of Trustees by a vote of 7-1 (the lone female is the dissenter, natch) to not only exonerate her, but make her a Professor of Criminology. The board could be mostly extras but the chairman could have been somebody who played oily and slimy types such as Edward Andrews and one of the trustees could have been a nerdy type easily wowed by Julie (think a Don Knotts tyoe but not Don Knotts, maybe Wally Cox or more likely, Woody Parfrey). I hate to be stereotypical, but the dissenting woman could be the typical 'well, I never' type.

So the deal now is she is going to use the college as the base of operations for her criminal endeavors with the FULL cooperation of the school hierarchy. A little more cerebral, maybe, but it would have given Newmar a chance to shine and stretch. And no pasta strained through a fencing mask.

*-I realize the Catgun prop looks great, but 'Catwoman' isn't supposed to just mean Catsuit. It is supposed to mean Cat burglar, but that was forgotten somewhere along the way.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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