The New Adventures of Batman

Growing up and being born in the late 1970's as a little kid I grew up on Saturday morning cartoons and this one was a gem as I use to watch it on Saturday mornings with my mom on CBS! It was "The New Adventures of Batman" The cartoon was animated just fine with color as when you watched you felt just like you were reading a "Batman" comic book! And the legends Adam West and Burt Ward lent their voices to the characters of "Batman" and "Robin"! Also the fun little sidekicks of "Batgirl" and the far out "Bat-Mite" were good. Still the episodes featured battles with all of the villains of Gotham city like the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze. Even though a cartoon the series showed all of the Bat equipment and weapons with action paced detective type episodes, really it's sad that this series only ran a year or so in the 70's it was a nice fun little gem!

MUCH IN THE same manner as had occurred with the two Columbia Pictures' Serials in the 1940's, the two BATMAN animated series for CBS TV sported complete makeovers in cast, Whereas the New Adventures was done having both Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman & Robin, the older (1968-69) run featured Olin Soule and Casey Kasem in the parts.*

THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY a lot of study done by the production of all of the previous productions; as well as an in depth re-examination of the comics pages, before the NEW ADVENTURES was kicked-off. This was being tailored to the Saturday morning Cartoon crowd and as such, has a decidedly Juvenile bent to it.

THE HANDLING OF the Batman Rogues Gallery was done in such a manner so as to avoid any potential criticism from any crusading parents groups or other arbiters of the public morality and welfare of the children.** So, we saw elements such as: The Joker's having black hair with only a streak of its original green. Joker also was given a pet Laughing Hyena. The Penguin also was affected, as he was not shown with his customary cigarette holder and favourite king-sized brand. (We were wondering, would they be KOOLS? Get it, Schultz? KOOLS had a penguin as their trade mark!)

AS SOMEWHAT OF a concession to the need for comic relief, the production resurrected an impish character from the past. BAT-MITE was an extra-dimensional Batman fan; whose one passion in life was to emulate the works of the Caped Crusader, even to the point of messing up a case. He would magically appear and then just as quickly disappear at story's conclusion..

THE CHARACTER FOUND new life in the cartoon series after having been set aside with many other on-going elements of the BATMAN Comics feature with the coming of the "New Look" in 1964.*** The Batmite character was a sort of carbon-copy knockoff of SUPERMAN'S long standing rivalry with enemy, MR. MXYZPTLK.

AS FOR THE general impression of the series itself, it is favourable. Having recently screened it with Grandsons, Jack and Patrick, we can honestly say that our opinion is one of recent viewing and not only made of bits and pieces of our ever diminishing memory.

WE FOUND THAT the stories presented were fast paced, thoughtful and totally appropriate for the small-fry crowd. The visuals were always bright and interesting. The usually rather brief scenes were linked with a brief snippet of the musical score accompanied with appropriate Bat-visuals.

AT TIME OF the original telecasts, little did we know of the multitude of BATMAN animations that would follow. We're not sure of how many there've been. But we do know that they'd keep a reviewer busy at his keyboard all Winter long!

NOTE: * The two Columbia Serials were quite different. BATMAN (1943) starred Lewis Wilson & Douglas Croft as the Dynamic duo. THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN gave us Robert Lowery & Johnny Duncan I the roles and introduced Commissioner Gordon to the screen in the person of Lyle Talbot.

NOTE: ** As an example, we point to the sudden halting of Hanna-Barbera's highly successful production, THE FANTSASTIC FOUR (1967). This was due to fears that children shouldn't be exposed to the flaming body of Johnny Storm, "The Human Torch." A later FANTASTIC FOUR series replaced The Torch with Herbie, a sort of R2-D2 like robot.

NOTE:*** Slumping sales prompted the change as long time Batman Editor, Jack Schiff, was replaced with Julius Schwartz. We've heard stories around Comics Fandom that Jack had wanted to do more of those great Batman vs the Underworld stories; but the publishers wanted more elements that made up the SUPERMAN Feature. Commonly known as the "Superman Family", it featured the likes of Krypto(Super-dog), Streaky (Supergirl's Super-cat) and all of the Superman supporting cast on the Daily Planet, etc.

With characters such as Batmite, the formula didn't work here. In the end the "New Look" went back to stories where Batman was at war with the criminal element; which was what Editor Schiff argued for in the first place. Go figure!!

This series marked the return of Adam West and Burt Ward to the roles of Batman and Robin. prior to that, the cartoon voices of the Caped Crusdaers were provided by Olan Soule and Casey Kasem. West was a definite improvement, as he had a more subtle delivery and a deeper tone than Soule. Kasem versus Ward is a little closer. Kasem was a better voice actor than Ward, but Ward did well.

The series suffers from the broadcast restriction placed on it. Filmation knew full well they couldn't recreate their old Batman cartoons, as they were responsible for the networks cracking down on cartoon violence. So, they hoped the addition of West and Ward would draw people to the cartoons. For the most part it worked, but the comedy level was ramped up, especially with the addition of Batmite. Quite frankly, this detracted from the shows. The plots were more mundane, as physical confrontation was taboo, so the dramatic tension was weaker. Stock footage was used even more than in the original series and watching more than one episode at a time really drives this home. As such, this series ends up weaker than both the original Batman cartoons and the later BTAS version. Even the Super Friends had more lively action.

With all of the above said, the series is worth watching to catch West and ward. They do a fine job and are a bit better at the comedy than Soule and Kasem. More villains were featured than in the Super Friends and it bore a closer, if watered down, resemblance to the comics. Don't expect quality like the Bruce Timm shows, but it's at least entertaining to those with a forgiving eye and youngsters with an attention span.

Adam West and Burt Ward return in this cartoon version of Batman.

As other reviewers have noted, this short lived series is damaged by a silly creature named "Bat-Mite" and the network demanding that everything be kept very kid-friendly. 1966 live action Batman was made for both for kids and adults. So basically, if you enjoyed 70s cartoon Superfriends you will probably get a blast out of this as well.

In 1977 it would have been out of the question for Filmation to re-start the 60s live action series but when watching "New Adventures" the presence of West and Ward almost feels annoying because it comes over as a wasted opportunity - if the guys are here then give us a live action version!

Filmation was very skilled at making live action super hero shows - see Shazam! (1974) - so we can only wonder what things would have been like if they did a live action take on Batman a few years before 1977.

But again, if you liked Superfriends then you will probably get a blast out of The New Adventures of Batman (1977).

The New Adventures of Batman is a cartoon made by Filmation, who in the past, has made cartoons based on DC Comics. However, this was made in a time when Hanna-Barbera was making its Super Friends cartoon, and also in a time when TV standards had changed.

Here, Batman and Robin (voiced by Adam West and Burt Ward, reprising their roles from the TV show that aired during the 1960's) continue their never-ending battle against criminals who threaten Gotham City. This time around, they are joined by Batgirl (voiced by Melendy Britt), and, possibly as a demand from the networks, they are aided by Bat-Mite (voiced by Lou Schiemer, an imp from another dimension known as Ergo (which is different from the Bat-Mite in the comics) who is Batman's biggest fan and wants to help, only for his tricks to sometimes end up hinder the Dynamic Duo instead.

This cartoon is a product of its time. As Filmation got into hot water with parental groups over the New Adventures of Superman cartoon due to its display of the typical violence and fisticuffs seen in the comics it was based on, which led to its cancellation, New Adventures of Batman would end up doing away with those as the networks were now wanting to do away with such violent content (the same reason why Super Friends, for most of its run, did not have violence of any kind, and was more of a light-hearted show). The New Adventures of Batman would do the same, as the series instead shows the detective side of the Dynamic Duo (and if needed, their wide variety of gadgets). And Bat-Mite I can understand, as he is more of a hinderance than help (making Bat-Mite another Scrappy that was put in because the network thought younger Bat-fans would like him).

When it comes to villains, this is also impacted. As this series aired alongside Challenge of The Super Friends (which also had Batman and Robin), there would be many villains that would be restricted to one cartoon or the other, and with this show, The Riddler is off limits (despite being seen in the intro in a pink outfit, and being mentioned in an episode), as well as The Scarecrow, as both appear in CoTSF as members of the Legion of Doom. However, NAoB would be able to use Batman villains like The Joker, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and even Clayface, the fourth villain making his television debut in this series, as well as original villains like the Sweet Tooth, Professor Bubbles, and Zarbor.

Basically, the episodes are all written to be light-hearted, with some corny jokes and the end of each one having a segment teaching a moral related to the adventure the Dynamic Duo went through. This is more of a show for younger superhero fans due to the more lighthearted nature it takes due to the standards of the era this first aired, as older Batman fans will hate Bat-Mite and the tone.