Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
[Batman] Episode 1 & 2: Hi Diddle Riddle/Smack in the Middle
3 views
Skip to first unread message
Ubiquitous
Mar 9, 2020, 7:42:10 AM3/9/20
to
: The Riddler (Gorshin) tricks Batman and Robin into wrongfully assaulting
: him so he can file a million dollar lawsuit against him, and reveal his
: secret identity in court. A series of riddles lead the dynamic duo to a
: Go-Go bar, where Batman's orange juice is drugged and Robin, too young to
: get into the club, is kidnapped by the Riddler. The cliff-hanger has
: Robin trapped on the Riddler's operating table. In part 2, the Riddler's
: moll (St.John) disguises herself as Robin, and you pretty much know her
: fate is sealed when she's able to stay conscious on the trip to the
: secret location of the Batcave. Batman saves the boy wonder from the
: Riddler's clutches, and they break up his plot. The Riddler explodes
: before they are able to take him into custody. Or does he?
JS: I think what I love most about this premiere episode is that you're
launched right into an established continuity. They don't waste time
building things up with a grandiose origin story. The Riddler is an
arch-nemesis the dynamic duo has clearly encountered before; this is not
the first time the Commissioner has called on Batman & Robin; and Dick
Grayson clearly did not just arrive at stately Wayne Manor. In fact, the
only nod to the origin comes by way of a few side remarks about the
murder of Bruce's parents.
PE: I remember seeing these episodes when they were first broadcast and
being blown away by them. The danger to Robin seemed very real to this
five year-old and even at that young age I had a bit of a crush on Jill
St. John (which would grow deeper after seeing her in Diamonds are
Forever!). This two-parter has a multitude of iconic moments: the Batusi
scene, the first glimpse of the Batmobile, the Dynamic Duo's eruption
from the elephant, and let's not forget, a legitimate death on what was
thought to be a kids' show. Though there would be high points in the
future, it never got better than this.
JS: And right off the bat we get to see the first instance of the
horizontal wall-climb! What I want to know is will they ever go to the
Batcave in their street clothes? There are a lot of great bits throughout
these first two episodes: the cloud of dust that appears when Bruce
closes his father's law book; the line about the Go-Go bar being a
favorite haunt of high society in Gotham; and the comment about the
Mammoth being safe after they had just burst out of it!
PE: But you gotta ask: how is it that when Molly disguises herself as
Robin, Batman doesn't notice her rack? I'll suspend my disbelief for the
Robin mask and chalk up the lack of a "package" to disinterest on The
Caped Crusader's part, but there's no way to hide that trademarked St.
John chest.
JS: Kudos to Burt Ward, who did a great job selling that he was actually
a woman disguised as Robin in those scenes, despite the lack of padding
you mention. And Adam West sets the perfect tone for the Caped Crusader.
While I think he goes a little overboard when playing the drugged Batman,
he otherwise provides a consistent straight-man in the zaniest of
situations.
PE: That final sequence with the Trojan elephant still blows me away.
It's the perfect action scene. It must have taken weeks to balance the
colors (or did they throw it all together quickly and it just seems
organized?). There's just as much glee and wonder, watching that scene,
in these 50 year-old eyes as there was in 1966.
JS: Granted, the show's first big fight scene was more convincing than
the low budget car crash where the car passes off-screen, only to have
the camera stay stationary and shake to the sound of an explosion.
PE: Extra points to those in charge for having the balls to let Molly
die. In a kid's show.
JS: Quite the Bat-Babe, that Jill St. John. Her demise seemed a bit
forced (let me climb up and stand over the radioactive pit!), but clearly
her fate was sealed the minute she was allowed to stay conscious on the
ride to the Batcave's top secret location (that's Bronson Canyon to you
and me).
PE: Save Heath Ledger, no one has given a better performance as a Batman
villain than Frank Gorshin. Though Ledger's Joker is amped up to eleven,
the two performances do have similarities. Gorshin makes you believe that
The Riddler may just be insane. What a concept for a General Audience.
Sure, he's out for a good time but he may actually be out to harm the Duo
unlike his partners in crime who seem to exist only to pester Batman and
Robin every couple months with outlandish bank robbery schemes. Gorshin's
laugh is a thing of beauty. His agility and nimbleness perfectly embody
the highly caffeinated villain, never standing still. Amazingly, Gorshin
was nominated for an Emmy for his role as The Riddler in 1966 (as was the
show--it was up for Best Comedy (!) and lost to The Dick Van Dyke Show),
a well-deserved accolade and a rare one for an actor involved in a show
like this. He lost out to Don Knotts in The Andy Griffith Show in 1966.
He was later nominated again for his role as Bele, the half-black, half-
white alien in the classic Star Trek episode, "Let That Be Your Last
Battlefield." Jim Carrey would do a creditable job of aping Gorshin for
his turn as The Riddler in Batman Forever.
JS: I think I'll hold off on crowning the king of the super-villains so
soon, but I do agree that Gorshin was an amazing talent. I like how when
in his costume (and you know it's his costume because only then does he
wear his pink mask!), his stance is always incredibly dynamic. I don't
know that he held the same pose twice! I also want to mention some of the
fine supporting performances that provided the cornerstone to the series:
veteran actors Alan Napier (Alfred) and Neil Hamilton (Police
Commissioner Gordon), executive producer William Dozier's pitch-perfect
narration, and the musical stylings of Nelson Riddle and theme song
composer Neal Hefti!
PE: Aside from the (unjustly) much-maligned 1976 remake of King Kong,
this was Lorenzo Semple, Jr.'s finest genre hour. You may consider that
veiled sarcasm but it's not. Semple worked on some fine TV shows (R.A.T.
Patrol and Burke's Law) and wrote some genuine classic films (Papillon,
Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, The Drowning Pool) and cult
favorites (Flash Gordon, Pretty Poison, Fathom). Guy's paid his dues.
JS: Wow. I would have assumed that you hated the '76 Kong. I loved it at
6, and still enjoy it today.
--
Watching Democrats come up with schemes to "catch Trump" is like
watching Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Road Runner.
: him so he can file a million dollar lawsuit against him, and reveal his
: secret identity in court. A series of riddles lead the dynamic duo to a
: Go-Go bar, where Batman's orange juice is drugged and Robin, too young to
: get into the club, is kidnapped by the Riddler. The cliff-hanger has
: Robin trapped on the Riddler's operating table. In part 2, the Riddler's
: moll (St.John) disguises herself as Robin, and you pretty much know her
: fate is sealed when she's able to stay conscious on the trip to the
: secret location of the Batcave. Batman saves the boy wonder from the
: Riddler's clutches, and they break up his plot. The Riddler explodes
: before they are able to take him into custody. Or does he?
JS: I think what I love most about this premiere episode is that you're
launched right into an established continuity. They don't waste time
building things up with a grandiose origin story. The Riddler is an
arch-nemesis the dynamic duo has clearly encountered before; this is not
the first time the Commissioner has called on Batman & Robin; and Dick
Grayson clearly did not just arrive at stately Wayne Manor. In fact, the
only nod to the origin comes by way of a few side remarks about the
murder of Bruce's parents.
PE: I remember seeing these episodes when they were first broadcast and
being blown away by them. The danger to Robin seemed very real to this
five year-old and even at that young age I had a bit of a crush on Jill
St. John (which would grow deeper after seeing her in Diamonds are
Forever!). This two-parter has a multitude of iconic moments: the Batusi
scene, the first glimpse of the Batmobile, the Dynamic Duo's eruption
from the elephant, and let's not forget, a legitimate death on what was
thought to be a kids' show. Though there would be high points in the
future, it never got better than this.
JS: And right off the bat we get to see the first instance of the
horizontal wall-climb! What I want to know is will they ever go to the
Batcave in their street clothes? There are a lot of great bits throughout
these first two episodes: the cloud of dust that appears when Bruce
closes his father's law book; the line about the Go-Go bar being a
favorite haunt of high society in Gotham; and the comment about the
Mammoth being safe after they had just burst out of it!
PE: But you gotta ask: how is it that when Molly disguises herself as
Robin, Batman doesn't notice her rack? I'll suspend my disbelief for the
Robin mask and chalk up the lack of a "package" to disinterest on The
Caped Crusader's part, but there's no way to hide that trademarked St.
John chest.
JS: Kudos to Burt Ward, who did a great job selling that he was actually
a woman disguised as Robin in those scenes, despite the lack of padding
you mention. And Adam West sets the perfect tone for the Caped Crusader.
While I think he goes a little overboard when playing the drugged Batman,
he otherwise provides a consistent straight-man in the zaniest of
situations.
PE: That final sequence with the Trojan elephant still blows me away.
It's the perfect action scene. It must have taken weeks to balance the
colors (or did they throw it all together quickly and it just seems
organized?). There's just as much glee and wonder, watching that scene,
in these 50 year-old eyes as there was in 1966.
JS: Granted, the show's first big fight scene was more convincing than
the low budget car crash where the car passes off-screen, only to have
the camera stay stationary and shake to the sound of an explosion.
PE: Extra points to those in charge for having the balls to let Molly
die. In a kid's show.
JS: Quite the Bat-Babe, that Jill St. John. Her demise seemed a bit
forced (let me climb up and stand over the radioactive pit!), but clearly
her fate was sealed the minute she was allowed to stay conscious on the
ride to the Batcave's top secret location (that's Bronson Canyon to you
and me).
PE: Save Heath Ledger, no one has given a better performance as a Batman
villain than Frank Gorshin. Though Ledger's Joker is amped up to eleven,
the two performances do have similarities. Gorshin makes you believe that
The Riddler may just be insane. What a concept for a General Audience.
Sure, he's out for a good time but he may actually be out to harm the Duo
unlike his partners in crime who seem to exist only to pester Batman and
Robin every couple months with outlandish bank robbery schemes. Gorshin's
laugh is a thing of beauty. His agility and nimbleness perfectly embody
the highly caffeinated villain, never standing still. Amazingly, Gorshin
was nominated for an Emmy for his role as The Riddler in 1966 (as was the
show--it was up for Best Comedy (!) and lost to The Dick Van Dyke Show),
a well-deserved accolade and a rare one for an actor involved in a show
like this. He lost out to Don Knotts in The Andy Griffith Show in 1966.
He was later nominated again for his role as Bele, the half-black, half-
white alien in the classic Star Trek episode, "Let That Be Your Last
Battlefield." Jim Carrey would do a creditable job of aping Gorshin for
his turn as The Riddler in Batman Forever.
JS: I think I'll hold off on crowning the king of the super-villains so
soon, but I do agree that Gorshin was an amazing talent. I like how when
in his costume (and you know it's his costume because only then does he
wear his pink mask!), his stance is always incredibly dynamic. I don't
know that he held the same pose twice! I also want to mention some of the
fine supporting performances that provided the cornerstone to the series:
veteran actors Alan Napier (Alfred) and Neil Hamilton (Police
Commissioner Gordon), executive producer William Dozier's pitch-perfect
narration, and the musical stylings of Nelson Riddle and theme song
composer Neal Hefti!
PE: Aside from the (unjustly) much-maligned 1976 remake of King Kong,
this was Lorenzo Semple, Jr.'s finest genre hour. You may consider that
veiled sarcasm but it's not. Semple worked on some fine TV shows (R.A.T.
Patrol and Burke's Law) and wrote some genuine classic films (Papillon,
Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, The Drowning Pool) and cult
favorites (Flash Gordon, Pretty Poison, Fathom). Guy's paid his dues.
JS: Wow. I would have assumed that you hated the '76 Kong. I loved it at
6, and still enjoy it today.
--
Watching Democrats come up with schemes to "catch Trump" is like
watching Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Road Runner.
Ubiquitous
Mar 28, 2022, 12:00:00 PM3/28/22
to
anim8rfsk
Mar 28, 2022, 5:03:48 PM3/28/22
to
Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>> The Riddler (Gorshin) tricks Batman and Robin into wrongfully assaulting
>> him so he can file a million dollar lawsuit against him, and reveal his
>> secret identity in court. A series of riddles lead the dynamic duo to a
>> Go-Go bar, where Batman's orange juice is drugged and Robin, too young to
>> get into the club, is kidnapped by the Riddler. The cliff-hanger has
>> Robin trapped on the Riddler's operating table. In part 2, the Riddler's
>> moll (St.John) disguises herself as Robin, and you pretty much know her
>> fate is sealed when she's able to stay conscious on the trip to the
>> secret location of the Batcave. Batman saves the boy wonder from the
>> Riddler's clutches, and they break up his plot. The Riddler explodes
>> before they are able to take him into custody. Or does he?
>
> JS: I think what I love most about this premiere episode is that you're
> launched right into an established continuity. They don't waste time
> building things up with a grandiose origin story. The
Except for the very dark origin story that Bruce Wayne recounts right there
>> The Riddler (Gorshin) tricks Batman and Robin into wrongfully assaulting
>> him so he can file a million dollar lawsuit against him, and reveal his
>> secret identity in court. A series of riddles lead the dynamic duo to a
>> Go-Go bar, where Batman's orange juice is drugged and Robin, too young to
>> get into the club, is kidnapped by the Riddler. The cliff-hanger has
>> Robin trapped on the Riddler's operating table. In part 2, the Riddler's
>> moll (St.John) disguises herself as Robin, and you pretty much know her
>> fate is sealed when she's able to stay conscious on the trip to the
>> secret location of the Batcave. Batman saves the boy wonder from the
>> Riddler's clutches, and they break up his plot. The Riddler explodes
>> before they are able to take him into custody. Or does he?
>
> JS: I think what I love most about this premiere episode is that you're
> launched right into an established continuity. They don't waste time
> building things up with a grandiose origin story. The
in stately Wayne manor. The only time why or how he became Batman is
addressed in the series.
Riddler is an
> arch-nemesis the dynamic duo has clearly encountered before; this is not
> the first time the Commissioner has called on Batman & Robin; and Dick
> Grayson clearly did not just arrive at stately Wayne Manor. In fact, the
> only nod to the origin comes by way of a few side remarks about the
> murder of Bruce's parents.
>
> PE: I remember seeing these episodes when they were first broadcast and
> being blown away by them. The danger to Robin seemed very real to this
> five year-old and even at that young age I had a bit of a crush on Jill
> St. John (which would grow deeper after seeing her in Diamonds are
> Forever!). This two-parter has a multitude of iconic moments: the Batusi
> scene, the first glimpse of the Batmobile, the Dynamic Duo's eruption
> from the elephant, and let's not forget, a legitimate death on what was
> thought to be a kids' show.
asked. Not even by the Riddler. She just vanished on the face of the earth
and no one knew what happened to her but Batman.
Though there would be high points in the
> future, it never got better than this.
>
> JS: And right off the bat we get to see the first instance of the
> horizontal wall-climb! What I want to know is will they ever go to the
> Batcave in their street clothes? There are a lot of great bits throughout
> these first two episodes: the cloud of dust that appears when Bruce
> closes his father's law book; the line about the Go-Go bar being a
> favorite haunt of high society in Gotham; and the comment about the
> Mammoth being safe after they had just burst out of it!
>
> PE: But you gotta ask: how is it that when Molly disguises herself as
> Robin, Batman doesn't notice her rack? I'll suspend my disbelief for the
> Robin mask and chalk up the lack of a "package" to disinterest on The
> Caped Crusader's part, but there's no way to hide that trademarked St.
> John chest.
>
> JS: Kudos to Burt Ward, who did a great job selling that he was actually
> a woman disguised as Robin in those scenes, despite the lack of padding
> you mention. And Adam West sets the perfect tone for the Caped Crusader.
> While I think he goes a little overboard when playing the drugged Batman,
> he otherwise provides a consistent straight-man in the zaniest of
> situations.
>
> PE: That final sequence with the Trojan elephant still blows me away.
> It's the perfect action scene. It must have taken weeks to balance the
> colors
(or did they throw it all together quickly and it just seems
> organized?). There's just as much glee and wonder, watching that scene,
> in these 50 year-old eyes as there was in 1966.
>
> JS: Granted, the show's first big fight scene was more convincing than
> the low budget car crash where the car passes off-screen, only to have
> the camera stay stationary and shake to the sound of an explosion.
>
> PE: Extra points to those in charge for having the balls to let Molly
> die. In a kid's show.
>
> JS: Quite the Bat-Babe, that Jill St. John. Her demise seemed a bit
> forced (let me climb up and stand over the radioactive pit!), but clearly
> her fate was sealed the minute she was allowed to stay conscious on the
> ride to the Batcave's top secret location (that's Bronson Canyon to you
> and me).
>
> PE: Save Heath Ledger, no one has given a better
performance as a Batman
> villain than Frank Gorshin. Though Ledger's Joker is amped up to eleven,
> the two performances do have similarities. Gorshin makes you believe that
> The Riddler may just be insane. What a concept for a General Audience.
> Sure, he's out for a good time but he may actually be out to harm the Duo
> unlike his partners in crime who seem to exist only to pester Batman and
robin in death traps!
> Robin every couple months with outlandish bank robbery schemes. Gorshin's
> laugh is a thing of beauty. His agility and nimbleness perfectly embody
> the highly caffeinated villain, never standing still. Amazingly, Gorshin
> was nominated for an Emmy for his role as The Riddler in 1966 (as was the
> show--it was up for Best Comedy (!) and lost to The Dick Van Dyke Show),
> a well-deserved accolade and a rare one for an actor involved in a show
> like this. He lost out to Don Knotts in The Andy Griffith Show in 1966.
> He was later nominated again for his role as Bele, the half-black, half-
> white alien in the classic Star Trek episode, "Let That Be Your Last
> Battlefield." Jim Carrey would do a creditable job of aping Gorshin for
> his turn as The Riddler in Batman Forever.
>
> JS: I think I'll hold off on crowning the king of the super-villains so
> soon, but I do agree that Gorshin was an amazing talent. I like how when
> in his costume (and you know it's his costume because only then does he
> wear his pink mask!), his stance is always incredibly dynamic. I don't
> know that he held the same pose twice! I also want to mention some of the
> fine supporting performances that provided the cornerstone to the series:
> veteran actors Alan Napier (Alfred) and Neil Hamilton (Police
> Commissioner Gordon),
executive producer William Dozier's pitch-perfect
> narration, and the musical stylings of Nelson Riddle and theme song
> composer Neal Hefti!
>
> PE: Aside from the (unjustly) much-maligned 1976 remake of King Kong,
> this was Lorenzo Semple, Jr.'s finest genre hour. You may consider that
> veiled sarcasm but it's not. Semple worked on some fine TV shows (R.A.T.
> Patrol and Burke's Law) and wrote some genuine classic films (Papillon,
> Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, The Drowning Pool) and cult
> favorites (Flash Gordon, Pretty Poison, Fathom). Guy's paid his dues.
>
> JS: Wow. I would have assumed that you hated the '76 Kong. I loved it at
> 6, and still enjoy it today.
>
> --
> Let's go Brandon!
>
>
“The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it’s still on my list.”
A Friend
Mar 28, 2022, 5:49:34 PM3/28/22
to
In article
<1962280172.670193580.7...@news.easynews.com>,
thought it would be another superhero series in the mold of George
Reeves's Superman. Of course I was terribly disappointed and never
really grew to like it. In all the years since then I haven't changed
my mind.
<1962280172.670193580.7...@news.easynews.com>,
anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:
> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> >> The Riddler (Gorshin) tricks Batman and Robin into wrongfully assaulting
> >> him so he can file a million dollar lawsuit against him, and reveal his
> >> secret identity in court. A series of riddles lead the dynamic duo to a
> >> Go-Go bar, where Batman's orange juice is drugged and Robin, too young to
> >> get into the club, is kidnapped by the Riddler. The cliff-hanger has
> >> Robin trapped on the Riddler's operating table. In part 2, the Riddler's
> >> moll (St.John) disguises herself as Robin, and you pretty much know her
> >> fate is sealed when she's able to stay conscious on the trip to the
> >> secret location of the Batcave. Batman saves the boy wonder from the
> >> Riddler's clutches, and they break up his plot. The Riddler explodes
> >> before they are able to take him into custody. Or does he?
> >
> > JS: I think what I love most about this premiere episode is that you're
> > launched right into an established continuity. They don't waste time
> > building things up with a grandiose origin story. The
>
> Except for the very dark origin story that Bruce Wayne recounts right there
> in stately Wayne manor. The only time why or how he became Batman is
> addressed in the series.
I was 13 and very much looking forward to the premiere because I
> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> >> The Riddler (Gorshin) tricks Batman and Robin into wrongfully assaulting
> >> him so he can file a million dollar lawsuit against him, and reveal his
> >> secret identity in court. A series of riddles lead the dynamic duo to a
> >> Go-Go bar, where Batman's orange juice is drugged and Robin, too young to
> >> get into the club, is kidnapped by the Riddler. The cliff-hanger has
> >> Robin trapped on the Riddler's operating table. In part 2, the Riddler's
> >> moll (St.John) disguises herself as Robin, and you pretty much know her
> >> fate is sealed when she's able to stay conscious on the trip to the
> >> secret location of the Batcave. Batman saves the boy wonder from the
> >> Riddler's clutches, and they break up his plot. The Riddler explodes
> >> before they are able to take him into custody. Or does he?
> >
> > JS: I think what I love most about this premiere episode is that you're
> > launched right into an established continuity. They don't waste time
> > building things up with a grandiose origin story. The
>
> Except for the very dark origin story that Bruce Wayne recounts right there
> in stately Wayne manor. The only time why or how he became Batman is
> addressed in the series.
thought it would be another superhero series in the mold of George
Reeves's Superman. Of course I was terribly disappointed and never
really grew to like it. In all the years since then I haven't changed
my mind.
anim8rfsk
Mar 28, 2022, 8:15:20 PM3/28/22
to
little black-and-white set. I had much the same reaction you did except
I’ve come to like a lot of it over the years.
0 new messages