BATMAN: Season 3 - which was best?

[clavierankh]

I see the Lord Ffogg story as a missed opportunity. I enjoyed it, but it could have been much better.

On the plus side three parts meant three times the budget to spend on sets like the Londinium Batcave and Ffogg Place, The three bells pub, the dungeon etc. Also extra cast members.

Had the series done more 3 and even 4 parters it could have looked so much better.

The story didn't live up to being a three parter. I imagine the producers asked the writers to stretch the story because they needed a larger budget to create Londinum.

What we could have seen is more of Lady Prudence's machinations and explanation of her apparent animosity towards her Aunt. We could have found why Marmaduke and Penelope took up crime. Give them a more coherant overall plan instead of just a series of incidents.

As I say , a missed opportunity.

[JWLJN]

Honestly, I love all of Season 3. Since I first saw the show in the '80s, I've been in it for the comedy. It's my favorite season of the show, and I can only imagine how much I'd have loved the NBC fourth season.

-J\/\/

[Progress Pigment]

As I ay , a missed opportunity.

I wholeheartedly agree ankh. If given a little more loving care, and decent writing, it might've been the film length string of episodes that the 2nd season 3-parters (especially the Joker/Penguin team up) hoped to be, that would have released in Europe as a feature film. I've read that's what Dozier had in mind for the 3-parters. And I disagree with those who say the American Rudy Vallee was miscast. He was actually quite good! And his way of speaking, like say Cary Grant, was neither American or British, but all his own. Unless they somehow got Boris Karloff, I'd stick with Rudy Vallee! And the fight in the Three Bells Pub, to me, harkened to Batman entering the disco-tech alone in the first episode. Pretty nifty.

[High C]

I, of course, vote for Wail of The Siren as the best episode of season 3. I'll first let epaddon explain one major reason why.

#1-Joan Collins' Siren is the only villain, male or female in the entire series who has a genuine *superpower* ability of some kind. This is a trait we take for granted so much in the concept of the superhero and super villain but basically all of the classic villains are just costumed criminal geniuses who use their expertise to give them their distinctiveness. Now someone could argue that Siren's ability to sing an extraordinary high note is no more a superpower than Bookworm's ability to read so exceptionally fast, but the difference is that Siren doesn't simply have the ability to sing so high, she has the ability to use it to exude an actual power. On this level, she isn't just an eccentric criminal genius who likes to dress like a Greco goddess, she can claim on some part in her mind that she has the power of one. That ultimately makes for a more fascinating and daring concept for a Batman character.

I can't say it any better than that. I can add the fact I think mixing in a super-powered baddie or two would have been a good direction for the show to go in, just to shake things up.

And as epaddon also said, this ep is much closer in tone to S1 than most of the later Batman episodes. I would add that it has very few punchlines and a serious villainess who is very evil, and nowhere near as silly as many of the other made-for-TV baddies. I also like the fact that part of her plan is to basically unmask the Dynamic Duo via Gordon finding out their identities, which harks back to the first Joker episode.

IMO, Joan Collins' performance is excellent and quite believable, which isn't easy given the nature of the character. Although it has been well-documented in Adam West's book that director George WaGGner berated Joan on set, it's still a good thing he was the director, as opposed to Oscar Rudolph. He likely would have wanted Joan to play the character much more broadly and comedically.

[cammy85]

In Season order

1. Batgirl's intro was excellent. though it started a trend of Batman and Robin being in peril and rescued by her (or in this case Alfred). Good trap though, since Batman couldn't easily free his hand and save the day.
2. Siren's wasn't bad. While it was great to see Frank as the Riddler again it wasn't as good. But note, that was the only time he was in a Batfight where the Pows etc. filled the whole screen. Since when could he appear then disappear?
3. Tut's appearances were great. He found the Batcave twice and deduced Batman's identity but was foiled every time.
4. Egghead and Olga's two parter was great. Had they kept it as three, it would've been brutal, since Egghead degenerated to a wimp in The Ogg Couple". No, he wasn't as dangerous as before but still evil. The Saber Dance was neat though.
5. The Joker's surfing episode was clearly a parody and you really can't control Gotham City being a surfing champion. But after Louie the Lilac just tried the same angle with the Flower children, why not? I'll get to Louie later.
6. Ahh, Londinium. Batman and Robin in foreign territry. Yes, the sets were obvious but it was neat to see them after crooks of non super villain status and facing trouble since they were passed off as aristocrats and with gout.
7. Catwoman the third's first foray was meat, if only for the scenes with Alfred posing as a hippy (which wasn't all that necessary but made sense since her and Alfred didn't have communicators.
8. Back so soon, Catwoman?? Her pairing was Joker wasn't so bad though he seemed off in these two. Egghead syndrome?
9. Louie's episode was different, with Bruce and Dick out of commission for most of the episode and Batman and Robin only appearing for a few minutes total. Perhaps this was another attempt to spin off Batgirl so the series could continue past three seasons? Mind you, they probably knew by this time the series was canceled.
10. Nora Clavicle, the worst of the bunch, especially with the backdrops as they headed towards the docks. But it did poke fun at women's lib and how their roles WERE changing in the 60's. Even if they overdid it by advertising sales and just glossing over a bank robbery. No need to mention being afraid of mice, mechanical or not. The best part was the Siamese human knot.
11. Penguin's clean sweep was just OK, but 20 years of sleeping sickness turned into a few episodes.
12. Shame's two parter was easily better than Season 2, though he seemed like he'd been knocked in the head too many times in some of the scenes. Fred was awesome.
13. The fight in the Batcave and the first of two episodes where the set was "destroyed". I didn't care for the flying saucer ep, and since when did Joker employ time bombs and why was Batman familiar with them?
14. Dr. Cassandra had a neat trap and breaking ut the supervillains was cool, tough Catwoman was back to her original color and Egghead wasn't afraid to fight, Penguin was supposed to be asleep. Gah!!
15. Batman vs a crooked spa owner. OK?? The cameos and trap made up for it. But not much.

[Pengy]

^ You missed the Penguin/Lola two parter.

[cammy85]

Well, I wouldn't say I actually missed it. But yeah. I first saw those on Space when it aired once a day Monday to Friday. "The Sport of Penguins" aired Friday and i had to wait until Monday for the conclusion. It couldn't be over fast enough. Not even his revenge against Barbara could save it. Penguin fixing a horse race? Come on!! I hold those in the same regard as Puzzler.

[Dr. Shimel]

Having just watched the Minerva episode, I would say the only saving grace is that there's the historical nature of the episode, being the final one, with the producers doing cameos. A far cry from just two years earlier, when stars were begging to get on the show in some way.

[noman]

The Court scene of Batman; Robin and Batgirl vs Joker..the part where the Clown Prince of Crime gets crowned by the Judge's mallet...HA HA Couldn't resist that pun!
Or where Joker tries to find the Batcave...and ends up finding the Batcave model....

By the way in the episode where Joker sings the Sad Clown..is he really singing or Lip sinc

[WayneGrayson]

Anyone who thinks there is no such thing as bad pizza has never eaten at Dominos.

Yeah? Did you have any 7-Eleven pizza yet?

[WayneGrayson]

Having just watched the Minerva episode, I would say the only saving grace is that there's the historical nature of the episode, being the final one, with the producers doing cameos. A far cry from just two years earlier, when stars were begging to get on the show in some way.

I watched it recently (still on a Bat-Leg, I'll be going legit after my car is fixed) - and I noticed the same melancholy romantic background music (from SEASON ONE) being played when Commissioner Gordon escorts Minerva to the paddy wagon. I thought that was a nice reference to (sigh) happier days in Bat-World. I also loved Batgirl imitating Minerva in front of Alfred, then giggling - she was really cute, THEN Robin shrugging in exasperation when Batgirl disappears again (who EVER knows?).

Yep - Minerva's KINDA okay.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

I watched it recently (still on a Bat-Leg, I'll be going legit after my car is fixed) - and I noticed the same melancholy romantic background music (from SEASON ONE) being played when Commissioner Gordon escorts Minerva to the paddy wagon. I thought that was a nice reference to (sigh) happier days in Bat-World.

That's interesting, as I thought the same many years ago when the series was syndicated in order; in the very last scene of the series, you are reminded of the beginning--the raw, energetic start of it all. Then again, when a series cannot 9or producers will not) pay for new music, after a time, long running shows use early, 1st season cues again, as seen in the final seasons of Star Trek & The Brady Bunch.

[Dr. Shimel]

I watched it recently (still on a Bat-Leg, I'll be going legit after my car is fixed) - and I noticed the same melancholy romantic background music (from SEASON ONE) being played when Commissioner Gordon escorts Minerva to the paddy wagon. I thought that was a nice reference to (sigh) happier days in Bat-World.

That's interesting, as I thought the same many years ago when the series was syndicated in order; in the very last scene of the series, you are reminded of the beginning--the raw, energetic start of it all. Then again, when a series cannot 9or producers will not) pay for new music, after a time, long running shows use early, 1st season cues again, as seen in the final seasons of Star Trek & The Brady Bunch.

I mentioned before that the music that ends the series is the same that ends Season One.

[epaddon]

Yes, that was the cue that would often end with the "poor deluded woman" being given her message of hope (with Blaze and Finella) and I think the first time it was used was for the first Penguin episode and Dawn Robins longing for Batman in the Manor scene.

[Bat Username]

I tend to think of "Surf's Up! Joker's Under!" as being the best example of season three. The plot is nonsensical, Yvonne looks great, and it's a fun, breezy 24 minutes. All of those qualities encapsulate the season for me. Ditto for the "love it or hate it" reaction the episode appears to generate among fans.