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[Batman] Episode 55 & 56: The Impractical Joker/The Joker's Provokers
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Ubiquitous
May 11, 2020, 6:48:48 AM5/11/20
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:The Joker is working on a device that will allow him to selectively control
:time. The dynamic duo has determined that the key to stopping the Joker is
:figuring out unnatural pursuit of keys in Gotham City.
PE: In one fell swoop, Commissioner Gordon goes from thinking the
perpetrators of all these "key" krimes is a practical joker to being
convinced it's actually the Joker! Huh? He sums it up sorta like so: "When it
comes to books, records, and files, we won't call Batman, but when someone
messes with the Keystone Building sign, we can't hold back! This is a job for
Batman!"
JS: And yet it's Batman and Robin that get called "muttonheads". Of all the
keys in the episode, my favorite is the first one we see—a nice skeleton key.
PE: Early product placement: Bruce ignores the crime in Gotham and turns on
the boob tube to watch The Green Hornet. As we now know, The Green Hornet was
a real person in the Bat-universe. Wasn't Bats jealous that The Hornet had
his own TV show?
JS: He was clearly a big enough fan that The Joker knew that was the right
time to pre-empt the broadcast.
PE: We delve deep into the Bat-Medicine Cabinet to find Counter-Hypnosis Bat
Pellets.
JS: I'm curious if this is the same skintight suit that Linda Scott wore back
in "Ring of Wax"...
PE: It's obvious now that Burt Ward didn't fall for real-life wife Kathy
Kersh for her acting talents. A match made in heaven.
JS: And we're treated to two views of her in almost every scene.
PE: Our celebrity voyeur this episode is Howard Duff, who was starring in the
hit show Felony Squad on ABC at the time. Duff would return in the third
season, with real-life wife Ida Lupino, as a guest villain.
JS: Did I hear this correctly? The Joker was a well known hypnotist when he
was younger? I wish they provided more of these interesting tidbits along the
way...
PE: If you watch closely enough in the Batcave scene, after Batman has thawed
out Robin, Burt Ward puts the wrong glove on his hand, realizes his mistake
and corrects it without missing a beat. And they say the kid couldn't act.
(Just to confirm, the wax Robin was a prop—so Ward doesn't get credit for
that fine performance. -JS)
JS: Question: If The Joker were in town, and someone matching The Joker's
description was seen around the waterworks, don't you think that would be
worth investigating... immediately?
PE: LOL-dialog for the episode:
Batman: What does the word O-Ho mean to you, Robin?
Robin: Well, it's a word composed of two Os and one H. (a thrusting
finger punctuates the H). Holy hydraulics! H2O. The chemical symbol
for water!
Batman: I... am... on... to something.
JS: Appropriate for this episode, when Robin was solving the Joker's riddle,
er, joke, um, riddle... he was all keyed up. When Batman has Alfred give him
the telephone directory, I couldn't tell if he actually fed the whole thing
into the Bat-Computer, or just put it right in the Bat-Trash.
PE: Pretty pathetic when a millionaire playboy won't outfit his butler with
more than a ten-speed for his Alf-cycle.
JS: How about the fact that while he's out moonlighting as an apprentice
crime fighter, Aunt Harriet has to drive herself around. Napier was given
some room to breathe in this episode. I particularly look forward to future
details on Alfred's relationship with 'Tassels.'
PE: So far, the worst of the Joker episodes. Hardly a moment to get excited
about (other than the startling Miss Ward).
JS: The worst Joker episode is still better than several others we've seen
this season, and that's before you account for the contributions of Bat-Babe
of the Week Kersh.
PE Rating: 1.0 batsignals
JS Rating: 2.5 batsignals
--
Every American should want President Trump and his administration to handle
the coronavirus epidemic effectively and successfully. Those who seem eager
to see the president fail and to call every administration misstep a fiasco
risk letting their partisanship blind them to the demands not only of civic
responsibility but of basic decency.
:time. The dynamic duo has determined that the key to stopping the Joker is
:figuring out unnatural pursuit of keys in Gotham City.
PE: In one fell swoop, Commissioner Gordon goes from thinking the
perpetrators of all these "key" krimes is a practical joker to being
convinced it's actually the Joker! Huh? He sums it up sorta like so: "When it
comes to books, records, and files, we won't call Batman, but when someone
messes with the Keystone Building sign, we can't hold back! This is a job for
Batman!"
JS: And yet it's Batman and Robin that get called "muttonheads". Of all the
keys in the episode, my favorite is the first one we see—a nice skeleton key.
PE: Early product placement: Bruce ignores the crime in Gotham and turns on
the boob tube to watch The Green Hornet. As we now know, The Green Hornet was
a real person in the Bat-universe. Wasn't Bats jealous that The Hornet had
his own TV show?
JS: He was clearly a big enough fan that The Joker knew that was the right
time to pre-empt the broadcast.
PE: We delve deep into the Bat-Medicine Cabinet to find Counter-Hypnosis Bat
Pellets.
JS: I'm curious if this is the same skintight suit that Linda Scott wore back
in "Ring of Wax"...
PE: It's obvious now that Burt Ward didn't fall for real-life wife Kathy
Kersh for her acting talents. A match made in heaven.
JS: And we're treated to two views of her in almost every scene.
PE: Our celebrity voyeur this episode is Howard Duff, who was starring in the
hit show Felony Squad on ABC at the time. Duff would return in the third
season, with real-life wife Ida Lupino, as a guest villain.
JS: Did I hear this correctly? The Joker was a well known hypnotist when he
was younger? I wish they provided more of these interesting tidbits along the
way...
PE: If you watch closely enough in the Batcave scene, after Batman has thawed
out Robin, Burt Ward puts the wrong glove on his hand, realizes his mistake
and corrects it without missing a beat. And they say the kid couldn't act.
(Just to confirm, the wax Robin was a prop—so Ward doesn't get credit for
that fine performance. -JS)
JS: Question: If The Joker were in town, and someone matching The Joker's
description was seen around the waterworks, don't you think that would be
worth investigating... immediately?
PE: LOL-dialog for the episode:
Batman: What does the word O-Ho mean to you, Robin?
Robin: Well, it's a word composed of two Os and one H. (a thrusting
finger punctuates the H). Holy hydraulics! H2O. The chemical symbol
for water!
Batman: I... am... on... to something.
JS: Appropriate for this episode, when Robin was solving the Joker's riddle,
er, joke, um, riddle... he was all keyed up. When Batman has Alfred give him
the telephone directory, I couldn't tell if he actually fed the whole thing
into the Bat-Computer, or just put it right in the Bat-Trash.
PE: Pretty pathetic when a millionaire playboy won't outfit his butler with
more than a ten-speed for his Alf-cycle.
JS: How about the fact that while he's out moonlighting as an apprentice
crime fighter, Aunt Harriet has to drive herself around. Napier was given
some room to breathe in this episode. I particularly look forward to future
details on Alfred's relationship with 'Tassels.'
PE: So far, the worst of the Joker episodes. Hardly a moment to get excited
about (other than the startling Miss Ward).
JS: The worst Joker episode is still better than several others we've seen
this season, and that's before you account for the contributions of Bat-Babe
of the Week Kersh.
PE Rating: 1.0 batsignals
JS Rating: 2.5 batsignals
--
Every American should want President Trump and his administration to handle
the coronavirus epidemic effectively and successfully. Those who seem eager
to see the president fail and to call every administration misstep a fiasco
risk letting their partisanship blind them to the demands not only of civic
responsibility but of basic decency.
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