45th Anniversary of a Baturday Morning Debut!

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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AHTrois
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45th Anniversary of a Baturday Morning Debut!

Post by AHTrois »

Dateline: Saturday, September 14, 1968.

A full year after the start of Batseason 3 of Batman on ABC, and a full 6 months after its demise, The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder (and, yes, The Dominoed Daredoll!) experienced a whole new run on television...in ink-and-paint form on Saturday Morning!

Filmation Associates' The Batman/Superman Hour went on the air for the first time on CBS, in a series of exploits which stressed action, and left the camp of the live-action TV series behind. After one more season as The Adventures Of Batman And Robin, the rights to DC Comics characters transferred to rival Hanna-Barbera, which oversaw several incarnations of The Dynamic Duo for 14 years: 2 guest shots on The New Scooby-Doo Movies on CBS in 1972 ("The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair" and "The Caped Crusader Caper") and the 7 editions of the long-running Superfriends on ABC, starting in 1973.

In 1977, Filmation would return briefly to DC Comics with The New Adventures of Batman, also on CBS, with our own Adam and Burt returning to the roles which put them on the map. Then, in the wake of the popular big-screen Warner Bros. box-office blockbuster Batman in 1989 and its 1992 sequel, Batman Returns (both starring Michael Keaton), the then-newly-formed Warner Bros. Animation intervened to produce a long run of series featuring its own incarntion of The Dark Knight on FOX, The WB and (later) CW: Batman - The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, and Batman Beyond. Many more have spawned in the wake of the 2005-12 trilogy of The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale, starting with Kids' WB's The Batman!


HAPPY 45th ANIMATED BATIVERSARY, DYNAMIC DUO!
Original 1968 intertitle for The Batman-Superman Hour on CBS.
Original 1968 intertitle for The Batman-Superman Hour on CBS.
Batman-Superman Hour 1968.JPG (78.81 KiB) Viewed 2982 times
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60s TV Fan
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Re: 45th Anniversary of a Baturday Morning Debut!

Post by 60s TV Fan »

Growing up in the 70's and early 80's, I enjoyed the Batman cartoons and the Superfriends. I also remember on WGN in Chicago, the Ray Raynor Show, and later, Bozo would play Superman and Superboy cartoons; usually ending with Clark Kent giving the "camera" a knowing wink.

On a side note, welcome back, AHTrois! Haven't seen you post here in a while, and I've missed your posts of trivia and anniversaries.
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That_weirdo_Cage
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Re: 45th Anniversary of a Baturday Morning Debut!

Post by That_weirdo_Cage »

I think I caught some of those original Filmation Bat-cartoons in 1977. IIRC, they were being aired alongside or in alternation with the newer (Arrgh! Bat-Mite! :lol: ) cartoons. While the 1966 show kicked off my comic book, superhero, and Bat-fandom, those cartoons may have done more to shape my perception of the characters.

I was seven in 1977, and had to go to school on Saturdays, toward the end of the school year. The school system had run out of money in December, all the students had been given a full month off for Christmas break. But then we had to make up those two weeks on Saturdays in late spring. Oh, man.

I had to miss the Batman cartoons for school! I was rather upset about that. All I could think about, sitting in class that first morning, was Batman. What was I missing? The teacher told us at the start that we would get a surprise at the end of the half-schoolday. She was going to let us watch Batman! I was sure of it. I sat in excited anticipation of the Bat-surprise. I may have vibrated in my seat or something, being rather worked up.

Anyway, the end of class arrived and we got our surprise. What a letdown! No Batman, no cartoons. She handed out a crossword puzzle. It had nothing to do with Batman. Sad child-Cage was sad. Then came many weekends more of missed Bat-toons, and I sadly lost hope of seeing them again.

See, that's the only story I have on the topic. True story, though. :? It may also be the story of why Cage hates crossword puzzles. He hates them more than the CB Bears hate coleslaw!
elmrgraham
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Re: 45th Anniversary of a Baturday Morning Debut!

Post by elmrgraham »

They were,and still are,classics.
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Jim Akin
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Re: 45th Anniversary of a Baturday Morning Debut!

Post by Jim Akin »

I loved those Filmation Batman cartoons-- starring Ted Knight, Ted Knight, Olan Seule, Kasey Kasem and Ted Knight! :) One cool offshoot was their incorporation into Sesame Street segments about safely crossing the street: I recall the Joker ignoring a "Don't Walk" signal and winding up in a bad way.

I loved the the Justice League cartoons (from Filmation's earlier Superman/Aquaman Adventure Hour) too. Pat Harrington -- who later played "Schneider" on the One Day at a Time sitcom -- was the voice of the Atom. I watched a couple of the toons on YouTube, but they honestly didn't live up to my childhood memories, so I stopped seeking them out. Some things are better left alone.

Cheers,

QQ
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