TMC
12-30-2012, 06:46 AM
http://shazamaholic.blogspot.com/2011/02/batman-on-tv-what-might-have-been.html
Now this is where things get messed up from the comic book fan's point of view. ABC farmed the rights out to 20th Century Fox to produce the show. Fox, in turn, assigned the show to William Dozier and his Greenway Productions. Dozier had little to no respect for comic books (although he did think highly of newspaper comic strips and radio adventure heroes), and decided the only way the show would work is to camp it up. Dozier may have adopted the idea from Andy Warhol, who made the first deliberately campy version in a 1964 film Batman Dracula, made without DC's approval and screened only at Warhol's art exhibits.
But suppose Fox didn't assign Dozier for the job. What if Fox got someone in line with ABC's original vision? How different would the show have been? It was still the 1960s, so it would be pop art and fun, but it wouldn't have been so demeaningly campy. The screen test costumes Adam West and Burt Ward wore were better than the actual costumes for the series. Batman's ears on the cowl were longer, as was his cape, and his boots were larger. As for his chest emblem, gone was the pathetic little bat in the yellow circle resting on his gut. Instead, there was a black bat spread across his shirt. In this early screen test, West looked more like David Mazzuchelli's Batman Year One artwork come to life. The screen tests were also done in a more serious tone, proving both West and Ward were perfectly cast as Batman and Robin. It was the way the show was produced, dictated by Dozier to be a comedy, that ruined it. Likewise Frank Gorshin and Burgess Meredith were perfect in their respective roles of the Riddler and the Penguin. But suppose Cesar Romero, who played the Joker a little too childish, upon refusing to shave his mustache, was replaced with a young and deadly Jack Palance as the Joker? Or Frank Sinatra, who reportedly wanted the role? Suppose Julie Newmar was able to play Catwoman for the entire run, making the character more consistent, and lame villains like Archer, Minstrel, and Marsha Queen of Diamonds were non-existent, while comic book villains like Two-Face, the Scarecrow, and Hugo Strange were utilized.
Sure, the show would still be as colorful, with pop art gimmicks like tilted camera angles, the twice a week cliffhanger format, and even the animated sound effects in the fight scenes (but perhaps more subtly done, like in the movie), but gone would be the bat-poles, the ridiculous bat-gadgets, and Batgirl. Instead of Batman and Robin constantly depending on the all knowing Bat-Computer and the miraculous "Universal Drug Antidote" to get them out of trouble, suppose they used more detective work and had to be more clever. Instead of Robin's predictable and repetitive "holy" exclamations, suppose he quipped puns more in line with the character of the comic books, and suppose the show dealt with his circus history? Imagine the deaths of Bruce and Dick's parents being part of the series and their characterizations, making the show sombre at times. Or the character of Aunt Harriet played for reality with her being concerned and suspicious of her nephew showing up with bruises and cuts day after day, perhaps even leading to believe Bruce, their benefactor, is a child abuser. Instead of the theme song used with a vocal of "Batman" sung repeatedly to campy effect, what if the much cooler instrumental version by Al Hirt was used?
One of the show's biggest handicaps was that most episodes followed the same formula. Imagine if the producers took some chances with the story telling, did episodes from different points of view. What if writer-directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Webb, and Rod Serling were invited to contribute episodes? Suppose Jack Webb did an episode focusing on Gordon and the GCPD where a pair of detectives or squad officers were on a case where Batman ended up saving the night, causing bitterness or jealousy, while a pair of self-righteous night shift paramedics spend their shift cleaning up the bruised and battered criminals Batman leaves in his wake, feeling Batman has no respect for the criminal's civil rights. Or Hitchcock's episode, a suspenseful view of the Riddler. Or Rod Serling, looking into the twisted mind of The Joker. Mystery novelist Eric Ambler was originally linked to the project briefly before backing out upon learning of Dozier's camp-comedy premise. Imagine if he and other mystery writers worked on scripts.
I feel the show could have been similar to Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers' celebrated run on Detective Comics in the late 1970s. As it was, Englehart took the grim, serious, yet somewhat pedestrian Batman Denny O'Neil developed a few years earlier, and gave the comic a distinctive pop art flavor that spiced up the series without sacrificing any of the darkness or melodrama. Englehart found the perfect balance. With a better production team, the TV series could have found the same balance. Had all this come to pass, I think the series could have lasted five or six seasons, instead of the two and a half it did.
Now this is where things get messed up from the comic book fan's point of view. ABC farmed the rights out to 20th Century Fox to produce the show. Fox, in turn, assigned the show to William Dozier and his Greenway Productions. Dozier had little to no respect for comic books (although he did think highly of newspaper comic strips and radio adventure heroes), and decided the only way the show would work is to camp it up. Dozier may have adopted the idea from Andy Warhol, who made the first deliberately campy version in a 1964 film Batman Dracula, made without DC's approval and screened only at Warhol's art exhibits.
But suppose Fox didn't assign Dozier for the job. What if Fox got someone in line with ABC's original vision? How different would the show have been? It was still the 1960s, so it would be pop art and fun, but it wouldn't have been so demeaningly campy. The screen test costumes Adam West and Burt Ward wore were better than the actual costumes for the series. Batman's ears on the cowl were longer, as was his cape, and his boots were larger. As for his chest emblem, gone was the pathetic little bat in the yellow circle resting on his gut. Instead, there was a black bat spread across his shirt. In this early screen test, West looked more like David Mazzuchelli's Batman Year One artwork come to life. The screen tests were also done in a more serious tone, proving both West and Ward were perfectly cast as Batman and Robin. It was the way the show was produced, dictated by Dozier to be a comedy, that ruined it. Likewise Frank Gorshin and Burgess Meredith were perfect in their respective roles of the Riddler and the Penguin. But suppose Cesar Romero, who played the Joker a little too childish, upon refusing to shave his mustache, was replaced with a young and deadly Jack Palance as the Joker? Or Frank Sinatra, who reportedly wanted the role? Suppose Julie Newmar was able to play Catwoman for the entire run, making the character more consistent, and lame villains like Archer, Minstrel, and Marsha Queen of Diamonds were non-existent, while comic book villains like Two-Face, the Scarecrow, and Hugo Strange were utilized.
Sure, the show would still be as colorful, with pop art gimmicks like tilted camera angles, the twice a week cliffhanger format, and even the animated sound effects in the fight scenes (but perhaps more subtly done, like in the movie), but gone would be the bat-poles, the ridiculous bat-gadgets, and Batgirl. Instead of Batman and Robin constantly depending on the all knowing Bat-Computer and the miraculous "Universal Drug Antidote" to get them out of trouble, suppose they used more detective work and had to be more clever. Instead of Robin's predictable and repetitive "holy" exclamations, suppose he quipped puns more in line with the character of the comic books, and suppose the show dealt with his circus history? Imagine the deaths of Bruce and Dick's parents being part of the series and their characterizations, making the show sombre at times. Or the character of Aunt Harriet played for reality with her being concerned and suspicious of her nephew showing up with bruises and cuts day after day, perhaps even leading to believe Bruce, their benefactor, is a child abuser. Instead of the theme song used with a vocal of "Batman" sung repeatedly to campy effect, what if the much cooler instrumental version by Al Hirt was used?
One of the show's biggest handicaps was that most episodes followed the same formula. Imagine if the producers took some chances with the story telling, did episodes from different points of view. What if writer-directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Webb, and Rod Serling were invited to contribute episodes? Suppose Jack Webb did an episode focusing on Gordon and the GCPD where a pair of detectives or squad officers were on a case where Batman ended up saving the night, causing bitterness or jealousy, while a pair of self-righteous night shift paramedics spend their shift cleaning up the bruised and battered criminals Batman leaves in his wake, feeling Batman has no respect for the criminal's civil rights. Or Hitchcock's episode, a suspenseful view of the Riddler. Or Rod Serling, looking into the twisted mind of The Joker. Mystery novelist Eric Ambler was originally linked to the project briefly before backing out upon learning of Dozier's camp-comedy premise. Imagine if he and other mystery writers worked on scripts.
I feel the show could have been similar to Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers' celebrated run on Detective Comics in the late 1970s. As it was, Englehart took the grim, serious, yet somewhat pedestrian Batman Denny O'Neil developed a few years earlier, and gave the comic a distinctive pop art flavor that spiced up the series without sacrificing any of the darkness or melodrama. Englehart found the perfect balance. With a better production team, the TV series could have found the same balance. Had all this come to pass, I think the series could have lasted five or six seasons, instead of the two and a half it did.