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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
BAT BITS #14 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Bookworm final script: The Bullets Don't Fly
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
While Rik Vollaerts’ early draft of The Bookworm Turns was very different from what was broadcast, surely the final script is exactly what we saw? But no, that’s never true; some changes always occur at the hands of the director, and perhaps the actors. A significant scene (and significant henchman) disappeared from this story as broadcast. Was it simply cut for time, or were there questions of taste? In the latest BAT BITS, Tim and Paul discuss the differences and what may account for them. Listen to Bat Bits and follow along with a PDF of the script by for at least $2 a...
info_outline
BAT BITS #13 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Bookworm script pt 4: Why was fake Gordon fake-shot?
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
A lingering question from the Bookworm arc of Batman, as broadcast, is: Why was a Commissioner Gordon impersonator seemingly shot at the opening of the bridge? As we conclude our look at the draft version of the script, we finally get an answer! 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 our monthly discussion of silver age Batman comics as Paul or another in our stable of co-hosts joins me to examine individual Batman stories from the 1950s and 60s! Come on over to patreon dot com slash decon comics to join the fun!
info_outline
BAT BITS #12 NOW LIVE on PATREON: Bookworm Script pt 3: Bat-Magnetism
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
On the latest episode of Bat Bits, Paul and I move into the second half of the early draft of Rik Vollaerts’ script “The Bookworm Turns”! We can see the vague outlines of this script in the broadcast version, including the use of the Bat Magnet! But does it make sense for Bookworm to steal “industrial diamonds”? And, if an implement is called a Bat Cutting Torch, wouldn’t it be better for us to actually see it cutting? We also notice how this version of the script keeps repeating the same themes! Listen to Bat Bits and follow along with a PDF of the script by subscribing to our...
info_outline
BAT BITS #11 NOW LIVE on Patreon: Bookworm script part 2 - how NOT to write a deathtrap
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
Now live on Patreon - part two of our look at the draft Bookworm script, featuring an overlong, over-complicated deathtrap scene! to hear our discussion and follow along with the script!
info_outline
BAT BITS #10 NOW LIVE on Patreon: The EARLY Bookworm script, part one!
To The Batpoles! Batman 1966
On the latest Bat Bits, we begin a multi-part look at an early draft of The Bookworm Turns! It contains some concepts seen in the broadcast version that may ring a bell, but there’s no Big Benjamin bell in this script! Join us on Patreon to hear about Rik Vollearts’ early shot at Bookworm and follow along with a PDF of the script at patreon dot com slash decon comics. Part one is available now!
info_outline
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