What would batman been like if 4th Season

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

Moderators: Scott Sebring, Ben Bentley

superman1966
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:08 pm

What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by superman1966 »

I don't know if this was posted,but if NBC have picked up batman for a 4th season,I think it would only got worse.Since the budget was cut on the 3rd season,i'm sure NBC would gave them a revised choped up budget for a 4th season.The format would be single episodes,no 2-parters,stories would be worst. :D
User avatar
High C
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:01 am

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by High C »

superman1966 wrote:I don't know if this was posted,but if NBC have picked up batman for a 4th season,I think it would only got worse.Since the budget was cut on the 3rd season,i'm sure NBC would gave them a revised choped up budget for a 4th season.The format would be single episodes,no 2-parters,stories would be worst. :D
How could you be sure of anything considering we have no idea, 46 years later, what the NBC suits might have been thinking?

I agree I don't think it would have gotten better, but we have no way of knowing for sure what kind of financial resources they would have put into it.
'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
superman1966
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:08 pm

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by superman1966 »

Mostly they would cut the budget for production,being that was on 3rd season,why would you think they would fully boost the budget.
Gleeps, it's Batman
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:18 pm

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by Gleeps, it's Batman »

I remember reading that NBC wanted to restore the show to the original twice-a-week format, IIRC. Not sure if I read that in Adam's book or somewhere else. Adam has some stuff wrong in his book (like saying the theme song was horns and not singers,) so if it was there that I read it, restoring the original format might not be right either. I guess we'll never know for sure.
User avatar
Lord Death Man
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:03 pm

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by Lord Death Man »

High C wrote:I agree I don't think it would have gotten better, but we have no way of knowing for sure what kind of financial resources they would have put into it.
The fact that they passed on the series because they did not want to pay for rebuilding the Batcave set indicates it was not a venture they were prepared to invest heavily into.
He flies and fights-BATMAN!
Purity and virtue-BATMAN!
Cowards run away!
Batman saves the day!
Also, Boy Wonder Robin.
Batman and Robin-caped crusaders at night!
BIFF! POW! BAM! BATMAN!
User avatar
High C
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:01 am

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by High C »

Lord Death Man wrote:
High C wrote:I agree I don't think it would have gotten better, but we have no way of knowing for sure what kind of financial resources they would have put into it.
The fact that they passed on the series because they did not want to pay for rebuilding the Batcave set indicates it was not a venture they were prepared to invest heavily into.
Maybe so, but the OP still is talking in certainties and that's not possible unless we have a time machine and know EXACTLY what the network was thinking.

Plus, rebuilding the set would have been a huge expenditure and would have lessened their ability to spend afterwards.

But again, maybe they wouldn't have increased the budget. I don't know. But my main point was for the OP to say 'I'm sure' when we all are merely speculating is wrong. NOBODY can be 'sure' 48 years later unless we have access to memos from the NBC suits. THAT'S MY POINT.
'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
User avatar
Dr. Shimel
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:14 am

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by Dr. Shimel »

Lord Death Man wrote:
High C wrote:I agree I don't think it would have gotten better, but we have no way of knowing for sure what kind of financial resources they would have put into it.
The fact that they passed on the series because they did not want to pay for rebuilding the Batcave set indicates it was not a venture they were prepared to invest heavily into.
The cost to rebuild was supposedly $800,000 ($5.5 million in 2014 dollars), which was quite a hefty sum for a show that had peaked almost two years earlier.
User avatar
AndyFish
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 6:42 am

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by AndyFish »

NBC gave us LEGENDS OF THE SUPERHEROES and THE ROAST, which I think is as valid an example of what might have been as any. Yes it's only conjecture, but I'm with Lord Death Man, they didn't want to invest in a new Batcave which would seem to fit in with the lousy sets of both their 1979 "specials".
User avatar
High C
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:01 am

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by High C »

AndyFish wrote:NBC gave us LEGENDS OF THE SUPERHEROES and THE ROAST, which I think is as valid an example of what might have been as any. Yes it's only conjecture, but I'm with Lord Death Man, they didn't want to invest in a new Batcave which would seem to fit in with the lousy sets of both their 1979 "specials".
Only problem with your theory is NBC changed presidents twice between 1968 and 1979. Julian Goodman was in charge in 1968 and by 1979, Fred Silverman had taken over. To assume they both would have handled Batman the same way is pure speculation without any basis in fact.
'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
User avatar
Progress Pigment
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:12 pm

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by Progress Pigment »

Since they wanted to use Batman as a lead-in to Tarzan, I'm assuming the tone would've become more serious. In my opinion, if the writing had improved the cheap sets would not have mattered. You'd never get the beautiful textured look of the first season again, but if they'd managed to get some young creative people involved (Spielberg was beginning his career at about this time!) who knows what might've occurred. I'll always be sad it didn't happen. A stronger focus on Batman might've really revitalized Adam's performance. A 'smart' Batman in season four might've stopped the series from being so hated in the late 80's-90's.
Next week, the Dynamic Duo meets the Clock King!
User avatar
Gernot
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2013 5:39 pm

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by Gernot »

I believe a fourth season would have been better than the third. I also read somewhere NBC had wanted to restore the cliffhangers, and not have Batgirl in every storyarc. (Please note in my foist sentence the woids "I believe.)

I don't know if they would've had any solo Batman stories, as the comics rarely had them at that time. I've wondered if Batman would have become THE Batman in 1969 in the comics if the show had continued, or if he would have stayed "Batman" for a longer time. Would Robin have gone off to college when he did? Would they merely have extended his senior year longer?

The TV show would have had more influence on the comics, I think, than the comics would have had on the TV show. Thoughts?
whatever_gong82
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 3:19 pm

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by whatever_gong82 »

I like the show, and all forms of Batman (Joel Schumacher being the one glaring exception) but I think that the first season of the show was the very best.

I still watch that on MeTV or IFC and enjoy the witty banter, the seriousness of it, and yes, even the satire/camp, but it was underplayed a lot more than it was in Seasons 2 and 3, especially compared to Season 3.

I read somewhere years ago, someone will have to Google or wiki it, that the editor of the Batman comics at the time, Julius Schwartz, was told to mimic the TV show when it was on the air, and when the show went off, that's when Robin got sent off to college, Batgirl became a solo backup feature, and Batman became the solitary, grim, obsessive/compulsive, complex character he's been in the Popular media since 1969.

When you think about it, the Batman character is probably the most popular character in comics/media today based on a comic Book character- (Mickey Mouse is probably still Number 1 overall--but Mickey started off in Animated cartoons, not comic books), even more than the Marvel Comics characters-with only Spider-Man on the Marvel side approaching his popularity, even more so than any DC Comics character, or even Superman himself.

The people at DC Comics/Warner Brothers had to redefine Batman for the 1970's and beyond, and sadly, the Adam West iteration, great as it is, was better suited for the 1960s, before we found about stuff like Kent State, Watergate, 9/11 and so on. I hate to say this-- but as our country got jaded and cynical, Batman had to reflect those changes. I think that is one the many reasons characters such as Doc Savage, the Green Hornet, the Shadow, Popeye, etc. have not endured in the popular consciousness like the Batman character has.
elmrgraham
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:25 am

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by elmrgraham »

I think that new Villains/Villainesses would have been added.Maybe from the Batman Topps Cards Series or from the Batman Comics.
User avatar
K.G. Bird
Posts: 0
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:45 am

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by K.G. Bird »

Interesting topic. I guess the variable that makes the difference is the budget. The first two seasons were great but the third season took a dive in quality. The half hour stories was very limiting and the obviously cheesy sets used were sad in some shows. But it wasn't Batman or any other role that changed. If they invested the money it would have remained the same. I guess if the ratings were high they would have continued to support it. I wish the show lasted longer but I am very glad we have 120 episodes.
"Really Dick! I fear some recent romantic interlude has fevered your imagination. Aunt Harriet is..utterly..beyond..reproach".
User avatar
clavierankh
Posts: 0
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:16 pm

Re: What would batman been like if 4th Season

Post by clavierankh »

I wouldn't be to hard on NBC for not spending the money to rebuild the Batcave. Think about what they were considering buying. A series that was up and running with little or no start up costs. The money it would cost to rebuild the set could be used to help finance one or two new cheaper series.

What makes me worry about what a fourth season would be like is the stories I read that they weer going to write out Robin and Chief O'hara. I think Robin leaving would have damaged he series irreparably.
Post Reply