BAT BITS #24 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Advice to Bat-writers in 1965, pt 5
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
This time we wrap up our discussion of Lorenzo Semple Jr’s BATNOTES memo for prospective BATMAN 66 writers. These last few pages of the memo cover the show’s running characters, including a surprising early take on Aunt Harriet, as well as the now-familiar format of the show and the question of showing supered titles on the screen rather than narration! Listen to Bat Bits and see the memo we’re discussing by subscribing to our Patreon for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you ALSO get our monthly discussion of silver age Batman comics as Paul or another in our stable of...
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BAT BITS #23 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Advice to Bat-writers in 1965, pt 3
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
On the latest Bat Bits, we discuss Lorenzo Semple Jr’s guidelines regarding Batman’s arsenel: The Batmobile, the Batcave, and all his various devices. We discuss reasons to label everything in the Batcave and Batman’s general resourcefulness. Whatever he needs is always there when he needs it! Listen to Bat Bits and see the memo we’re discussing by subscribing to our Patreon for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you ALSO get our monthly discussion of silver age Batman comics as Paul or another in our stable of co-hosts joins Tim to examine individual Batman stories from the...
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BAT BITS #22 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Advice to Bat-writers in 1965, pt 3
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
Why Batman doesn’t carry a gun, and focuses on reforming crooks. How to write Bruce Wayne (square, not stupid!) Keeping the camp incidental to the show; he only goes to the disco because that’s where his crime investigation leads him. Our discussion of Lorenzo Semple’s 14-page “Batnotes” memo continues! Listen to Bat Bits and see the memo we’re discussing by subscribing to our Patreon for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you ALSO get our monthly discussion of silver age Batman comics as Paul or another in our stable of co-hosts joins Tim to examine individual Batman stories...
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BAT BITS #21 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Advice to Bat-writers in 1965, pt 2
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
Lorenzo Semple’s 14-page “Batnotes” memo to prospective Bat-writers lays out the basic things he wanted a writer to understand before attempting a Batman script. In our second episode digging into this memo, we discuss how the villian’s real goal often isn’t revealed until the end, some surprising revelations on how Semple imagined the GCPD and possible casualties among the henchmen, how murder isn’t an MO for Bat-Villains (except for their attempts to murder the Dynamic Duo), and more. Plus: how YOU can help Tim and Paul assemble a TO THE BATPOLES! episode on this topic! Listen...
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BAT BITS #20 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Advice to Bat-writers in 1965, pt 1
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
We had heard before that it existed, and we’ve finally found it: Lorenzo Semple’s 14-page “Batnotes” memo to prospective Bat-writers about “a few simple rules and concepts” about what should or should not happen in a Batman script. Tim and Paul want to dig through this carefully, so in this episode they discuss the first few pages, with more to come. In this episode: Qualities of Gotham City, why the show shouldn’t move on to other settings, the mystery of our heroes’ other identities, and qualities of the Bat-foes. Plus: how YOU can help Tim and Paul assemble a TO THE...
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BAT BITS #19 NOW LIVE on Patreon: TV GUIDE's take on Yvonne
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
In 1967, Yvonne Craig was added to the Batman cast as Batgirl, in an effort to boost the ratings. It wouldn’t fly today, but Batman’s producers and the media were pretty up-front, and a bit crude, about the effort to add sex appeal to keep the show afloat. This time on BAT BITS, we discuss a TV GUIDE article on Yvonne that serves as Exhibit A on that front, but also gives us some interesting glimpses of Yvonne’s personality. Listen to BAT BITS and see the article we’re discussing by subscribing to our Patreon for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you ALSO get our monthly...
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BAT BITS #18 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Semple sets the Bat-template
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
Lorenzo Semple, Jr., is the writer entrusted by producer William Dozier with getting the writing side of Batman off the ground. This time, we take a look at a letter from Semple to Dozier, in which he discusses his plans for the script of “Zelda the Great”, a template for Bat-scripts, concerns about Adam West’s acting style, and more. Listen to Bat Bits and see the letter we’re discussing by for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you ALSO get our monthly discussion of silver age Batman comics as Paul or another in our stable of co-hosts joins me to examine individual...
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BAT BITS #17 NOW LIVE on Patreon: "Fine Finny Fiends" final script pt 2: In tune on the Neptune
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
On the latest BAT BITS, we conclude our examination of Sheldon Stark’s final script for Fine Finny Fiends, including a scene setting relocated for lack of the right set, what Finella was supposed to be wearing in the final scene, the shifting explanations of who knows where the banquet will be held, and changes in the script to give the audience just enough information… Listen to BAT BITS and see the script we’re discussing by for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you ALSO get our monthly discussion of silver age Batman comics as Paul or another in our stable of co-hosts joins Tim to...
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BAT BITS #16 NOW LIVE on Patreon: "Fine Finny Fiends" final script pt 1: Something Fishy
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
On the latest Bat Bits, we begin an examination of Sheldon Stark's final script for Fine Finny Fiends. Somewhat inexplicably, this arc’s theme is fish rather than birds. Maybe because penguins eat fish? Tim and Paul find some additional fish references that got cut, and some of them with good reason. Or maybe not? Also we find some gags that were added after this script, some puzzling stage directions, things that were changed to work better on television, and more. Listen to Bat Bits and follow along with a PDF of the script by for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you ALSO get...
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BAT BITS #15 now LIVE on Patreon: Letters from Bruce Lee
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
On the latest Bat Bits, we wander out into the wider Dozierverse to look at the correspondence between William Dozier, producer of Batman and The Green Hornet, and Bruce Lee, whom Dozier tried several times to find a vehicle for before landing on the role of Kato. We get some of Bruce’s feelings about his 1965 screen test, get some of Bruce’s comments about how “Gong Fu” should be portrayed on the show, and more. Listen to Bat Bits and see the Dozier and Lee letters by for at least $2 a month! For $4 a month, you also get our monthly discussion of silver age Batman comics...
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As any Batman ’66 fan knows, three different actors played the villain Mr. Freeze on the show: George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach. Any discussion of Mr. Freeze on the show prompts the question: Which Freeze do you like best? And, which Freeze script do you like best? In this episode, we give our answers to those questions, as well as exploring how the show set the course for the character in the comics (at least until Paul Dini changed it in 1992), potential reasons for the lack of Mr. Freeze in season three, and more.
ALSO: A Bat-research lab looking at the recently-recovered Adam West Nick at Night pilot Cartoon Lost and Found, Jose Fajardo’s Batman Boogaloo, and your response to our Lego Batman episode!
Watch a sample of our TV Trivia videos on the Deconstructing Comics YouTube channel!
'66 message board thread about Episode 162 "Lego Batman is Every Batman"
Adam West in Cartoon Lost and Found