I love anything to do with Batman, and I just love this series. It is not the best of anything to do with Batman I've seen, and any fans of the comics will perhaps be disappointed, but Batman(1966) is still a great show. Is it silly? Yes it is, and somewhat camp too, with some of the lines and the delivery of them. But that worked in the show's favour, the campiness actually added to the quality of the show for me, and a vast majority of it was witty and fresh.
So why isn't this show a 10 in my book? For me, the show took a spiral downwards during Season 3, it wasn't unwatchable or anything, there were some high points such as Joan Collins' Siren and King Tut who was surprisingly consistent, but there were some weak episodes, the humour wasn't as sharp, witty or satirical and the change of pace(no more cliffhangers) kind of hurt it as well. The episode with Dr.Cassandra epitomised this in my opinion, I wasn't so taken with Sandman, Minerva or Puzzler either and mostly because the story lines weren't as good or the villains themselves were on the dull side, and while Eartha Kitt was a good Catwoman, Julie Newmar was sexier and handled the comedy better. Also Julie had the better-written story lines and dialogue. Lee Merriweather was great too in the movie, which compliments the series very well, but some of the first episodes I saw of this show were those with Julie in. As for Yvonne Craig's Batgirl, the performance was okay but I got the sense that in relation to some of the stories Batgirl felt shoe horned in.
Season 3 aside, Seasons 1 and 2 have some classics. Season 1 is the best, I loved the sharp and witty humour and it maintained its endearing campy freshness that made the show so appealing to me. Season 2 wasn't as good, with a couple of not-so-good episodes, but I liked how much broader the satire got in this season. What was my favourite episode? Many to choose from, but the one where Penguin stands for Mayor is classic.
The production values are pretty good. I liked the photography and the costumes, while the batmobile is wonderful to watch and Gotham City is well-realised without having the spectacle of the Burton and Nolan movies for instance, not a bad thing by the way. The theme song also gives the show its energy, to me the theme song is one of those things that gives the show its status, very driven with a fun, catchy melody it is just irresistible. And I liked the neat little cartoon sequence that went with it.
The story lines are fun and fresh, the idea of the two parters to create something contrasting and different worked wonders, while the writing does a really good job of cheering me up after a long day and the fight sequences are fun and decently choreographed. The performances are good too. Adam West is a fun Batman, and deserves credit for making the campiest of lines sound credible by his deadpan delivery. Burt Ward is good as Robin, his "Holy..." catchphrases may grate depending on who you are, but he contrasts well with West's Batman. Alfred is charmingly played by Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton is a hoot and the narration is deliciously sardonic. But the villains made the show for me, while I was interested in Vincent Price, George Sanders and David Wayne as Egghead, Mr Freeze and Mad Hatter, and Frank Gorshin nailed Riddler(John Astin not so much), my favourites were Penguin and Joker, wonderfully played by Burgess Meredith and Cesar Romero.
Overall, a fun show and great to watch after a hard day. 9/10 Bethany Cox
