TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

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bat-rss
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TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by bat-rss »

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On the latest TO THE BATPOLES podcast, we discuss THAT DARN CATWOMAN!

We talk about how Julie Newmar's portrayal (and Stanley Ralph Ross's writing) of Catwoman has changed since her season one appearance, Burt Ward’s punishment for complaining about his workload, more Gotham City Police incompetence, the show’s mucking with the formula (this podcast’s name is never spoken in this arc!) and more.

http://tothebatpoles.libsyn.com/054-tha ... esley-gore
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Progress Pigment
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by Progress Pigment »

The 'Purrfect Crime' was co-written by Lee Orgel. Judging by the quality of Stanley Ralph Ross's episodes after 'Purrfect Crime', every episode he did should have been co-written by Lee Orgel! He worked on Mr. Macgoo, among other things.

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Next week, the Dynamic Duo meets the Clock King!
Jthree
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by Jthree »

Listened to "That Darn Lesley Gore" podcast last night. If the commenters are still listening, there was an episode of Stargate Atlantis that had Rodney's character mentioning this episode "where Catwoman used a hypnotic drug on Batman." Rodney's response was classic, but I won't repeat it.

In the big out of print issue of Cinefantisque that came out twenty years ago. That Darn Catwoman got the highest (five stars) rating for an episode. But it never mentioned why. Hmm.

I didn't care for Lesley Gore's performance either. I wish they would have been able to go Judy Stranges for the role. She was a better actress, and I think she could have brought something more to the role than Gore did.
Besides' Ms Gore's outfit was pure ugly.

--jthree
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by robinboyblunderer »

bat-rss wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2017 5:19 am Burt Ward’s punishment for complaining about his workload, more Gotham City Police incompetence, the show’s mucking with the formula (this podcast’s name is never spoken in this arc!) and more.
I liked Pussycat's outfit. Judy Strangis is a good suggestion for an alternate Pussycat, Jthree.

Thanks for another entertaining podcast and script pdf!

Nice observation on the camera angle in Gordon's office. Something about that scene always felt different, I thought because the audience knows Robin's been drugged by Catwoman and Pussycat and Batman doesn't yet but I think the unique camera angle is the main reason. An interesting break from the formula.

Good point about plot holes; I've seen the show so many times I just accept things like Robin knowing how to act like his true self even though he has no memory. I suppose if it really bothers anyone they can just assume Catwoman coached him.

I guess much of these episodes make little sense when scrutinized. Why doesn't Gordon remember Batman warning him? That would've been a good opportunity to show his trust in the Caped Crusader.

I'm not a big fan of the antidote pill; I prefer when Batman's willpower overrides a villain's drug but It's nice to see Catwoman being foolishly outwitted considering how often she'd trick them by "crying" or pretending to powder her nose. She fell for the old coming down with a headache trick. I suppose it could also be a role reversal of the stereotype when a woman has a headache. That could be a stretch but Ross liked innuendo...

Even though Robin disappears for much of these episodes are you sure they were Burt's "punishment"?

Perhaps Ross wanted to focus on Batman/Catwoman and given time restrictions Robin was relegated to being cured by Alfred off screen.

I always thought Darn/Scat were the ones Burt complained about and was therefore given little to do in Batman's Waterloo. I don't think he has a line of dialogue after being placed at Neila's feet on the floor of Tut's Royal Bark until Neila frees him and Lisa. That's a long stretch!

Not one of my favorite Catwoman episodes but Adam does some of his funniest acting, especially right after he takes the drug. Bad Batman was definitely a missed opportunity in the series.
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by robinboyblunderer »

bat-rss wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2017 5:19 am On the latest TO THE BATPOLES podcast, we discuss THAT DARN CATWOMAN!
We talk about how Julie Newmar's portrayal (and Stanley Ralph Ross's writing) of Catwomanand more.
http://tothebatpoles.libsyn.com/054-tha ... esley-gore
It's interesting to read the corrections made to the Purrfect Crime script, like how Batman never calls Robin "boy wonder", the elimination of unnecessary dialogue, the matador/cat scene etc. Robin not boy wonder stood out the most to me, a level of attention and interest that surprises only because of how the show deteriorated as it went on.

With this script as something to go by, It seems there were certain standards maintained in the first season that were slowly lost as the show went on.

This calls attention to the biggest single missing element of the show's history aside from blooper reels.. access to the scripts and treatments and so on. More and more pdfs have trickled out online over the years and your guys' efforts at sharing these is much appreciated.

By the third season it seems unlikely anyone cared enough to correct how Batman refers to Robin, let alone fixing awful characters like Lola, Olga, Cabala etc.

cheers
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by chrisbcritter »

Here's a neat bit of trivia: It looks like this early draft, or the next one, was referenced for the View-Master booklet - at least for the fate of Leo.

Script page 60-61:
LEO: Boy, I wonder what my end will be.

Catwoman takes her heavy flashlight and raises it over Leo's head.

CATWOMAN: This!

And with that, she raps the giant over his cranium. He is felled like a giant redwood attacked by Paul Bunyan. But just before he goes down...

LEO: Why'd you do that?

Leo's eyes cross and he falls...
View-Master booklet:
Leo finished stuffing the bag with loot. "What will my share be, Catwoman?"

"This!" She took her heavy flashlight and rapped it over his cranium. He toppled like a giant redwood.

"Why'd you do that?" mumbled Leo, as his eyes crossed and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

"There's never enough for two," said Catwoman.
The sleeping-dust-loaded cat-o'-nine-tails isn't in either this script or the booklet (maybe that came from the suggestion to work in "cat-nap"?). The "never enough" line isn't in this script, but it was in the show and on the booklet, so maybe View-Master got an intermediate draft.
"To the medical eye, such childish claptrap means only one thing, young man: You need some sleep."
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bat-rss
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

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robinboyblunderer wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2017 1:15 pm Even though Robin disappears for much of these episodes are you sure they were Burt's "punishment"?

Perhaps Ross wanted to focus on Batman/Catwoman and given time restrictions Robin was relegated to being cured by Alfred off screen.

I always thought Darn/Scat were the ones Burt complained about and was therefore given little to do in Batman's Waterloo. I don't think he has a line of dialogue after being placed at Neila's feet on the floor of Tut's Royal Bark until Neila frees him and Lisa. That's a long stretch!
Not absolutely sure, but given how scarce he is in that arc, it seemed likely to me. But then, we're not to King Tut's Coup/Batman's Waterloo yet! I should point out, though, that (as I quoted in the podcast) Joel Eisner writes that this IS the "punishment" arc:

"Ross also told me that Burt Ward was complaining about all the dialogue he was putting in the script. So Ross, had Robin drugged throughout most of the episode, which kept him sleeping most of the time, giving him less screen time. He never complained again."

http://tothebatpoles.blogspot.jp/2011/1 ... nd-75.html
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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bat-rss
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by bat-rss »

And thanks for the "Purrfect" script comments, robinboyblunderer and chrisbcritter! Will likely be quoting from them in the upcoming episode where we discuss the script.
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by robinboyblunderer »

bat-rss wrote: Thu Mar 02, 2017 5:26 am And thanks for the "Purrfect" script comments, robinboyblunderer and chrisbcritter! Will likely be quoting from them in the upcoming episode where we discuss the script.
Nice!

cheers
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by robinboyblunderer »

bat-rss wrote: Thu Mar 02, 2017 5:25 am
robinboyblunderer wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2017 1:15 pm Even though Robin disappears for much of these episodes are you sure they were Burt's "punishment"?

Perhaps Ross wanted to focus on Batman/Catwoman and given time restrictions Robin was relegated to being cured by Alfred off screen.

I always thought Darn/Scat were the ones Burt complained about and was therefore given little to do in Batman's Waterloo. I don't think he has a line of dialogue after being placed at Neila's feet on the floor of Tut's Royal Bark until Neila frees him and Lisa. That's a long stretch!
Not absolutely sure, but given how scarce he is in that arc, it seemed likely to me. But then, we're not to King Tut's Coup/Batman's Waterloo yet! I should point out, though, that (as I quoted in the podcast) Joel Eisner writes that this IS the "punishment" arc:

"Ross also told me that Burt Ward was complaining about all the dialogue he was putting in the script. So Ross, had Robin drugged throughout most of the episode, which kept him sleeping most of the time, giving him less screen time. He never complained again."

http://tothebatpoles.blogspot.jp/2011/1 ... nd-75.html
I think people on here have pointed out how the Eisner book has been wrong (regarding Liberace's ratings) or at least offered up an alternate perspective, so it's not without precedent that something was misconstrued on this one.

I'm not saying I disagree with you (or Eisner and his book is still a pretty good resource and a fun read) just if that's the case, I wonder why Robin has so little dialogue in Batman's Waterloo?

Just because he was a captive doesn't mean he couldn't have spoken up...! Usually the writers had him quite vocal. I think he gets dialogue at the beginning of Waterloo and then waaaay later just before the final bat-fight. It'll be interesting to hear what you think when you get there.

cheers
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Hey, bat-rss,

I caught the podcast on the Catwoman/Gore two-parter and had a few thoughts about the analysis:

I've never considered Newmar's 2nd season lines "jokey" at all. She was usually sarcastic with a running edge of disrespect for nearly everyone around her.

Regarding Robin's address to the high school students--yeah, he's a superhero who regularly fights adults with superweapons, death traps--saves the city (if not the world), etc., so he's the best guest any high school could ask for. Back in 1967, I would take Robin over Sam Yorty or Ronald Reagan any day!

About the age of civil unrest--remember, bloody, and in many cases, deadly conflicts had already gripped America during the early years of the Civil Rights movement. Anti-war protests and other forms of unrest were late (I think one of you mentioned 1967) to that effect on the U.S. social/political landscape.

Lesley Gore: aside from her family connection to Batman, I don't see her musical moments as being too out of place for TV. Honestly, whether you cite episodes of The Donna Reed Show, Happy Days, Saved by the Bell, and just about any other show with musical guest stars (or the cringeworthy practice of series stars suddenly becoming singers) was common and not a distraction. The difference here, is that Gore made a good sidekick with an interesting dynamic with Newmar's Catwoman, sort of the slightly disobedient junior member.

Rudy (AKA Steve Franken) was not in "The Joker Goes to School." At the time, he was most famous for his role on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (as the rich, stuck-up nemesis of Gillis and Bob Denver's Maynard G. Krebs).

Keep up the interesting work...at least until season three, where daily, elective root canal procedures might be more pleasurable than THAT final season!

BWH
Beneath Wayne Manor
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by bat-rss »

BATWINGED HORNET wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:56 pm
Keep up the interesting work...at least until season three, where daily, elective root canal procedures might be more pleasurable than THAT final season!
Thanks for your comments - I'm sure we'll discuss on a future episode. And we'll make sure our dental insurance is paid up for season three!
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES podcast #54: That Darn Lesley Gore

Post by chrisbcritter »

Also notice the scene in this draft with the mirror-in-the-road trick; it was deleted but the same gimmick shows up as a plot device in the movie Fireball 500, which was released on June 7, 1966 (and again in 1973 in the Mannix episode "The Deadly Madonna"). I'm thinking this was an old idea, but I'm not sure how far back it goes.
"To the medical eye, such childish claptrap means only one thing, young man: You need some sleep."
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