Batman is an American television series, children’s comedy adventure and fantasy, broadcast on the ABC television network between 1966 and 1968, in three seasons with a total of 120 episodes.
The series revolves around the adventures that Batman (played by Adam West) and his assistant Robin (played by Burt Ward) have in Gotham City. Batman’s secret identity is that of the elegant «millionaire philanthropist» Bruce Wayne, who lived in Wayne Manor on the outskirts of the city, with his young trained Dick Grayson, who was secretly Robin, his faithful butler Alfred (Alan Napier ), and Aunt Harriet Cooper (Madge Blake). They helped Batman, Batwoman (Yvonne Craig), Police Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton) and Police Chief O’Hara (Stafford Repp).
The phenomenal success of the series unleashed what became known as Batmania, creating an impact on pop culture never seen before and even musically influencing many rock groups such as The Ventures, The Markets, among others.
The adventures of the super-hero were usually in each episode, a confrontation against super-villains like the Joker (played by César Romero); The Riddler (played by Frank Gorshin and John Astin); The Penguin (played by Burgess Meredith); King Tut (played by Victor Buono); the Shell (played by Vincent Price), Mermaid (played by Joan Collins) and Catwoman (role played by Julie Newmar in Season 1 and Season 2, by Eartha Kitt in Season 3, and by Lee Meriwether in the 1966 film) .
Other artists invited to perform as «guest villains» were, among others, the great pianist Liberace and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Eartha Kitt was the protagonist in the episodes of the third season, but the public of the time did not see a black Catwoman favorably. [Citation needed]
During the second season, the famous «bat-climbs» were made, that is, cameos by famous people, like themselves or playing a character that identified them. It highlights the appearance of Bruce Lee as Kato and the appearance of Ted Cassidy as Lurch (Largo) in the series The Addams Family.
The format of almost all the episodes was based on the use of the same formula. A phone call from the police asks for Batman’s help, there is a race to the «Batcave» (Batcave) to catch the Batmobile and go to the police headquarters.
After investigating the crime scene and examining the clues in the batcave laboratory, the heroes go to the villain’s secret hideout, where they usually end up falling into a trap, leaving the end of the story to be solved until the next chapter to raise. the public interest
Aimed at a primarily teenage audience, the series was known in the 1960s for its upbeat style, music, and intentionally humorous and simplistic morals. This included, for example, advocating the importance of wearing seat belts, doing homework, or eating vegetables and drinking milk.
In any case, the Batman series became a true icon of popular culture, thanks especially to some curious elements and peculiarities that were included during its production.
For each chapter the figure of a narrator was used, who parodied the breathless narrative style of the series of the 1940s. In most of the episodes that ended with the open ending leaving the suspense for the next chapter, it was intoned the phrase «Tune in tomorrow, at the same Bat-hour, on the same Bat-channel!» (Tune in tomorrow – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!).
During fights, punches, punches and other impacts were highlighted with sound effects, including brightly colored comic book-style messages about the action on screen, with expressions such as «POW!», «BAP!», » ZONK !, KAPOW! ».
In many episodes Batman and Robin must reach a high point on a building or other structure. They do it through the Batrope, which is launched and anchored above the highest point, for Batman and Robin to walk up that side of the building. These climbing sequences were shot in the simplest way possible, rotating the camera 90 degrees and building the structure on the ground to create the optical effect that the heroes were climbing the building.
The scenes of Batman and Robin climbing the buildings quickly became popular with the public, because in many episodes, celebrities and famous people made curious cameos by sticking their heads out of the building’s windows to speak with the heroes.
Batman used to reveal a lot of crime fighting gadgets in the episodes, which were usually given a rather ridiculous name that simply added the word «bat», such as Shark Repellant Bat-Spray. , Bat-Computer, or Extra-Strong Bat-Knockout Gas.
Much of the futuristic accessories that decorate the Batcave were borrowed from a 20th Century Fox television series that was filmed in the adjacent studios, titled «Lost In Space.»
The Batman series was remarkably successful throughout the three seasons it originally aired, however, near the end of season three, the ratings dropped significantly and ABC ended up canceling the show.
NBC agreed to take over the series, but before they could, they discovered that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Batman film sets had been destroyed, so instead of rebuilding them, they decided not to go ahead with the project. .
Its success, in any case, lasted well beyond the 1960s, being replayed on numerous occasions on television networks around the world, and leading to several «Spin-offs» and sequels, in addition to the movie «Batman : The Movie »(1966), based on the adaptation that the series makes of the comics.
As a final curiosity, the original Batmobile used during production, a modified Lincoln Futura concept car for the series, was sold in January 2013 at auction for $ 4.2 million.
