13 QUICK THOUGHTS: In Defense of the Final Season of BATMAN ’66

[TMC]

https://13thdimension.com/in-defense...-of-batman-66/

The show that began as a pop-culture phenomenon went out with something of a whimper.

In the decades that followed, die-hard fans have called out the overall lower quality of the third and final season of the show, pointing out its shortened episodes (no more standard two-parters); slashed budgets (hello, redecorated black-room sets); and increase in ever-sillier and annoying villains (Nora Clavicle, Dr. Cassandra, Minerva).

But Season 3 had plenty of high points too — and not just within those episodes that ran from Sept. 14, 1967, until the end. No, there were plenty of peaks that stood tall with the best this series had to offer.

So, in honor of the series finale, here are 13 QUICK THOUGHTS: In Defense of the Final Season of BATMAN ’66:

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1. Enter Batgirl. Yvonne Craig not only was the best part of Season 3, she saved the entire thing. Even the weakest episodes were elevated by her never-say-die performances. She also made Batgirl a household name — which has lasted to this very day.

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2. The Wail of the Siren. The season’s overall best episode ranks among the series’ top entries. It features a great Batgirl-Robin team-up that presages their Batman Family comics run (and subsequent romance), as well as a spellbinding performance by Joan Collins as the titular villain. (Click here for more on the episode.)

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3. Surf’s Up! Joker’s Under! The Wail of the Siren may be tighter on the whole, but there’s no Season 3 episode that’s more outright entertaining than Surf’s Up! Joker’s Under! Haters may roll their eyes — but they hate fun. The epic Gotham Point surf-off episode — featuring Skip, Buzzy, Duke, Undine, Johnny Green and the Greenmen and Barbara Gordon’s magical one-piece swimsuit — is pure satirical majesty. Batman was never campier — and I mean that in the best way possible. (Which is why it actually ranked higher in our Top 13 Episode Countdown. Click here.)

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4. Eartha Kitt Rocked.

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5. King Tut Invades the Batcave. Victor Buono was never better than when his delusional ruler of the Nile burst into the Batcave and (briefly) discovered Batman’s secret identity in I’ll Be a Mummy’s Uncle. Nobody could chew the scenery like Buono and he was never chewier than here — especially when he beats the tar out of a Batman dummy.

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6. Billy May’s Score. Nelson Riddle’s classic incidental music was largely dispensed with for the third season, replaced by Billy May’s up-tempo compositions. Riddle’s Batmusic was the stuff of magic (click here) but May’s sexier style fit the fight scenes that now had Batgirl in the mix.

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7. Anne Baxter Returns. Zelda the Great was great, sure. But Anne Baxter was really able to cut loose as the Queen of the Cossacks, frequently upstaging her sniveling paramour, Egghead.

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8. The Siamese Human Knot. The Nora Clavicle episode may well be the series’ lowest point. But it did give us this:



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9. Batman and Robin Quick Change Tablets. Louie the Lilac thinks he’s got Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson right where he wants them in Louie’s Lethal Lilac Time. But ever-crafty Bruce has two tablets hidden in his ascot. He puts them in two glasses of warm water — and presto! — their Batman and Robin costumes unfold so they can suit up. Barry Allen would be jealous.

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10. Batgirl’s Revolving Wall and Secret HQ.



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11. A Trip to Londinium. Not the three best episodes — but there’re a lot of great period gags and references to London, the Official Capital of the Swingin’ Sixties. Hindsight being 20/20, Batman would not have been complete without this trip.

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12. Riddler vs. Batman: The Fight of the Century. The episode doesn’t really stand up for 15 rounds but it’s still a silly kick to see Batman and the Riddler go toe to toe in the ring, boxing trunks and all. And at least we got one last look at Frank Gorshin in the Riddler’s bright green jumpsuit.

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13. All Those Villains. The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra actually has two great bits: One is when Batman, Robin and Batgirl are flattened into two-dimensional images. The other is when Batman’s villains are busted out of jail. Now, none of the actors who played Joker, Penguin, etc., are there — it’s all stunt doubles. And the big Batfight takes place in the dark. But the mere idea of our three heroes taking on all those bad guys is, well, entrancing.

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Really, I could go on. There’s Batman as a dinosaur. There’s the Batgirl vs. Dick Grayson vs. Penguin horse race. There’s Joker and Catwoman teaming up. Hell, there’s even Catwoman’s Kitty Car. But 13 QUICK THOUGHTS it is, so I’ll turn it back over to Minerva, who brings us to …

[king of comedy]

I loved the Bat fight in the dark.

[TMC]

I didn't like how the Season 3 episodes had to end with a preview of sorts of the villain for the following week's episode. I have no idea why they opted for a semi-serialized route other than to compensate for the show removing the two-parter format from the first two seasons.

Somebody else pointed it out by saying that if you're going to do that, you might as well have death traps to end an episode and have two parters. Either way, stories never felt finished the way they had in the past and was it really effective?