TJ
01-17-2003, 07:51 PM
Somebody e-mailed me this link:
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/104254050652230.xml
Hollywood- Holy blast from the past, Batman! Adam West and Burt Ward are reuniting for a TV movie they hope will score bop-socko-pow ratings for CBS.
But West and Ward aren't playing Batman and Robin in "Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt." The former co-stars of ABC's "Batman" series play themselves in a comedy-adventure about a plot to steal the original Batmobile from a charity event.
While they try to solve the mystery of the missing mobile, flashback sequences explore some of the batty and bizarre moments that occurred during their show's 1966-68 run, from run-ins with network executives to encounters with overenthusiastic fans.
Along for the wacky ride are three of Gotham City's beloved Bat-villains: Julie Newmar (Catwoman in some episodes of the series), Lee Meriwether (Catwoman in the 1966 "Batman" film starring West and Ward) and Frank Gorshin (the Riddler in the series and the film).
"We decided we should do something that was fresh - a modern-day caper comedy-adventure with Adam and Burt and an occasional allusion or reference to some of the escapades in our past," West said of the TV movie, which has finished production but has not yet been scheduled. "You know, there are things in there that are true, but mostly it's fabrication."
West, looking a few pounds under his Caped Crusader fighting weight, and Ward, considerably beefier than the Boy Wonder of yesteryear, met with about 30 TV critics this Sunday, the 37th anniversary of the program's premiere. Why make this return to the Batcave?
Very good roles
"I've always been opposed to reunion shows," said West, who lives in Sun Valley, Idaho. "I've never wanted to be perceived as a member of the over-the-hill gang. And I've always been very lucky in that I've been able to keep working.
"But we're doing Batman' conventions now, in which Burt and I go out, and it's like Star Trek.' It's amazing. It's been good, so good, to us, really. If you can make an agreement with a signature role and not become embittered or feel that you're painted in a corner, it can be a wonderful thing."
Based on the comic-book crime-fighter character created by Bob Kane in 1939, ABC's "Batman" became an overnight pop-culture sensation when it hit prime time with its giddy combination of high camp and cartoonish characters on Jan. 12, 1966. Kids loved the superhero antics and melodramatic cliffhangers. Parents appreciated such tongue-in-cheek aspects as the cornball dialogue, outrageous puns and over-the-top performances.
The two-part episodes were aired on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and "Batman" roared to the top of the ratings faster than you could say, "To the Bat Poles, old chum!" Third-place ABC was overjoyed to see the series claim two places on Nielsen's list of top-10 shows: fifth (the Thursday conclusion) and 10th (the Wednesday half).
"Well, it never threw me, because I'm Batman," West said in that deadpan, super-serious manner that defined his portrayal of millionaire Bruce Wayne. "But people instantly knew us and would congregate, and we'd get the rock-star treatment. So you'd have to be pretty thick not to realize something was happening in our pop culture."
But "Batman" fell in the ratings almost as fast as it had taken off. It didn't even make the top 30 for the 1966-67 season. And when it sank, it took the acting careers of West and Ward with it.
Joker worthy
West found the role a trap as nefarious as any designed by the Joker or the Penguin. Directors and network executives wouldn't consider him for lead roles after "Batman," yet he kept his career going with guest appearances, cameo roles and voice work for such animated series as "The Simpsons," "Johnny Bravo," "Rugrats" and "Family Guy."
Ward, 20 when the series started, found less acting work than West. He, too, has made the rounds of animated series. And there has been the occasional low-budget film ("Beach Babes from Beyond," "Assault of the Party Nerds 2"). But most of his time goes to a charity that rescues abandoned Great Dane dogs and to Boy Wonder Effects, a company that provides 3-D animation and visual effects for films.
Both West and Ward have written books about their "Batman" days, books that writer Duane Poole used for incidents in "Return to the Batcave." And don't rule out another return.
"I don't know about other actors on other shows," Ward said, "but Adam and I had, and still have, a friendship and a relationship like none other. There's something that happens when you put the two of us together. It's crazy. I don't even know what it is, but there is this electricity."
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/104254050652230.xml
Hollywood- Holy blast from the past, Batman! Adam West and Burt Ward are reuniting for a TV movie they hope will score bop-socko-pow ratings for CBS.
But West and Ward aren't playing Batman and Robin in "Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt." The former co-stars of ABC's "Batman" series play themselves in a comedy-adventure about a plot to steal the original Batmobile from a charity event.
While they try to solve the mystery of the missing mobile, flashback sequences explore some of the batty and bizarre moments that occurred during their show's 1966-68 run, from run-ins with network executives to encounters with overenthusiastic fans.
Along for the wacky ride are three of Gotham City's beloved Bat-villains: Julie Newmar (Catwoman in some episodes of the series), Lee Meriwether (Catwoman in the 1966 "Batman" film starring West and Ward) and Frank Gorshin (the Riddler in the series and the film).
"We decided we should do something that was fresh - a modern-day caper comedy-adventure with Adam and Burt and an occasional allusion or reference to some of the escapades in our past," West said of the TV movie, which has finished production but has not yet been scheduled. "You know, there are things in there that are true, but mostly it's fabrication."
West, looking a few pounds under his Caped Crusader fighting weight, and Ward, considerably beefier than the Boy Wonder of yesteryear, met with about 30 TV critics this Sunday, the 37th anniversary of the program's premiere. Why make this return to the Batcave?
Very good roles
"I've always been opposed to reunion shows," said West, who lives in Sun Valley, Idaho. "I've never wanted to be perceived as a member of the over-the-hill gang. And I've always been very lucky in that I've been able to keep working.
"But we're doing Batman' conventions now, in which Burt and I go out, and it's like Star Trek.' It's amazing. It's been good, so good, to us, really. If you can make an agreement with a signature role and not become embittered or feel that you're painted in a corner, it can be a wonderful thing."
Based on the comic-book crime-fighter character created by Bob Kane in 1939, ABC's "Batman" became an overnight pop-culture sensation when it hit prime time with its giddy combination of high camp and cartoonish characters on Jan. 12, 1966. Kids loved the superhero antics and melodramatic cliffhangers. Parents appreciated such tongue-in-cheek aspects as the cornball dialogue, outrageous puns and over-the-top performances.
The two-part episodes were aired on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and "Batman" roared to the top of the ratings faster than you could say, "To the Bat Poles, old chum!" Third-place ABC was overjoyed to see the series claim two places on Nielsen's list of top-10 shows: fifth (the Thursday conclusion) and 10th (the Wednesday half).
"Well, it never threw me, because I'm Batman," West said in that deadpan, super-serious manner that defined his portrayal of millionaire Bruce Wayne. "But people instantly knew us and would congregate, and we'd get the rock-star treatment. So you'd have to be pretty thick not to realize something was happening in our pop culture."
But "Batman" fell in the ratings almost as fast as it had taken off. It didn't even make the top 30 for the 1966-67 season. And when it sank, it took the acting careers of West and Ward with it.
Joker worthy
West found the role a trap as nefarious as any designed by the Joker or the Penguin. Directors and network executives wouldn't consider him for lead roles after "Batman," yet he kept his career going with guest appearances, cameo roles and voice work for such animated series as "The Simpsons," "Johnny Bravo," "Rugrats" and "Family Guy."
Ward, 20 when the series started, found less acting work than West. He, too, has made the rounds of animated series. And there has been the occasional low-budget film ("Beach Babes from Beyond," "Assault of the Party Nerds 2"). But most of his time goes to a charity that rescues abandoned Great Dane dogs and to Boy Wonder Effects, a company that provides 3-D animation and visual effects for films.
Both West and Ward have written books about their "Batman" days, books that writer Duane Poole used for incidents in "Return to the Batcave." And don't rule out another return.
"I don't know about other actors on other shows," Ward said, "but Adam and I had, and still have, a friendship and a relationship like none other. There's something that happens when you put the two of us together. It's crazy. I don't even know what it is, but there is this electricity."