This Week's Batman TV Milestones

[AaronHandy3]

MARCH 16, 1966

"The Purr-Fect Crime" (prod. #8721-Pt. 1) first aired at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC as the 19th episode of Batman.

These episodes marked the debut of Julie Newmar as The Catwoman. Suzanne Pleshette was considered for the role of The Catwoman. The address used for The Gato And Chat Fur Company was actually the former Brooklyn home address of Batman staff writer Stanley Ralph Ross.

In the comics, The Catwoman's right name was Selina Kyle--which was never used on the TV series. There was actually only one live tiger used on the show; the others in the pit were of stock footage.

This is the only time the famed Atomic Pile was seen in use. This episode was the second one chosen by GAF ViewMaster to make into one of their disk sets.

MARCH 17, 1966

"Better Luck Next Time" (prod. #8721-Pt. 2) first aired at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC as the 20th episode of Batman.

Holy Disservice!! ABC News interrupted the original broadcast of the first episode with Julie Newmar as the sexy Catwoman with coverage of The Gemini 8 spacecraft with astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott aboard having problems with the controls not functioning correctly. Thousands of obviously uninterested Batfans called to complain about the interruption!!!

The 20,000-decibel super-amplified sound effect of Batman's Batcommunicator is reused in Episode #8717-Pt. 1, "The Bookworm Turns". It is also the same sound effect which emits from The Green Hornet's Hornet Sting on The Green Hornet (ABC, 1966-67).

MARCH 15, 1967

"Black Widow Strikes Again" (prod. #9753-Pt. 1) first aired at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC as the 89th episode of Batman.

This marked the swan song performance of Tallulah Bankhead (credited as Miss Talllulah Bankhead in the submain titles); she died of pneumonia in her beloved New York City on December 12, 1968.

MARCH 16, 1967

"Caught In The Spider's Den" (prod. #9753-Pt. 2) first aired at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC as the 90th episode of Batman.

Take note of Batman's singing talent (?) in this segment. In real life, Adam West cut a single, "Miranda," for 20th Century-Fox Records. Additionally, in 1966, The Marketts' version of the series' theme charted at #17 in Billboard's top 60, while an arrangement by Neal Hefti and his Orchestra made it to #35.

MARCH 14, 1968

Here endeth a 2 1/2-year era!

"Minerva, Mayhem And Millionaires" (prod. #1726) first aired at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC as the 120th and final episode of Batman.

The short-lived ABC sitcom Second Hundred Years occupied Batman's former 7:30 Thursday night slot the following week and stayed there for the remainder of the 1967-68 season, so you notice that Batman didn't go into reruns that summer! In other words, The Caped Crusader disappeared from the airwaves just as quickly as he arrived.

After the show was canceled by ABC-TV, NBC showed a great interest in purchasing the show! Tragically, some network exec. at ABC, in a effort to get valuable space on the studio lot had the whole set demolished, forcing NBC, not willing to invest in the great cost to rebuild the set ($800,000!!!), to decline. The role of Minerva was originally intended for Mae West, who at the time was being groomed for the role of Leticia Van Allen in the 1970 20th Century-Fox release Myra Beckinridge.

The Dynamic Duo would later reappear on network TV as animated characters on CBS Saturday Morning in the fall of 1968 (a full half-year after the end of the live-action series' run), as part of Filmation's The Batman-Superman Hour, which stressed action, and left the camp of the live-action TV series behind. (Adam West and Burt Ward later reteamed to voice their animated counterparts in Filmation's The New Adventures Of Batman, which first aired on CBS in February 1977.) Interestingly, The Dynamic Duo's first appearance as animated characters were in the opening titles of the live-action Batman TV series!

Batman TV Milestone Of Last Week:

MARCH 9, 2003

Return To The Batcave: The Misadventures Of Adam And Burt, a television movie that reunited Batman series stars Adam West and Burt Ward, was first broadcast as a "CBS Sunday Movie," @ 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

Other Bat-regulars to be featured were Julie Newmar, Frank Gorshin and Lee Meriwether. It was a comedy adventure where Adam and Burt stumble upon a diabolical plot to steal the original Batmobile from a charity benefit! While trying to unravel the details and find The Batmobile, West and Ward flashback to the tumultuous times of their 1966-68 ABC television series to reveal a bizarre behind-the-scenes story of the creation of a television classic, from their on-the-set explosions to their wild real-life encounters with fans.

Actual footage of Lyle Waggoner's screen test for Batman was featured. It even featured Lyle voicing over the proceedings and a cameo by Lyle himself!