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Batman Season 1

Death In Slow Motion

BatmanThe Riddler is at large across Gotham City, but this time he seems intent on a new avocation: causing a stir, waiting for Batman and Robin to arrive, and then filming them from a nearby hiding place. The Dynamic Duo keeps responding to sightings of the Riddler, only to arrive and find no one. When the Riddler grows tired of this game, he’s ready to leave the Dynamic Duo on the cutting room floor.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Dick Carr
directed by Charles R. Rondeau
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Sherry Jackson (Pauline), Francis X. Bushman (Mr. Van Jones), Richard Bakalayan (C.B.), Theo Marcuse (Van Bloheim), Burt Brandon (Wolf), Walter Woolf King (Theater Manager), Judy Pace (Theater Cashier)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

The Riddler’s False Notion

BatmanRobin is missing, kidnapped by the Riddler and his goons. When Batman follows the latest clues left by the Riddler, however, they don’t lead to the Boy Wonder. With his closest ally in the hands of the Riddler, Batman must take bigger risks than usual, such as bringing Commissioner Gordon to the Batcave, to reel the movie-making criminals in.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Dick Carr
directed by Charles R. Rondeau
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Sherry Jackson (Pauline), Francis X. Bushman (Mr. Van Jones), Richard Bakalayan (C.B.), Theo Marcuse (Van Bloheim), Burt Brandon (Wolf)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

Fine Finny Fiends

BatmanAlfred visits a fish market in Gotham City to gather the ingredients for an upcoming award banquet held for the city’s exclusive club of multi-millionaires, including one Bruce Wayne, only to be ensnared by the Penguin. Penguin brainwashes Alfred, forcing him to gather information from inside Wayne Manor, unaware that Alfred also has access to the Batcave. Betman and Robin notice Alfred’s odd behavior immediately, and spot the telltale signs of Alfred’s captor. But when they set out to capture the Penguin, they fall into a breathtaking trap…

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Sheldon Stark
directed by Tom Gries
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), Victor Lundin (Octopus), Bill Williams (Multimillionaire), Dal Jenkins (Shark), Howard Wendell (Millionaire), Julie Gregg (Finella)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

Batman Makes The Scenes

BatmanAlfred is still under the thrall of the Penguin, who is leaving Batman and Robin without much breathing room to air their grievances with the criminal mastermind. Quick thinking – and an emergency oxygen supply – allows Batman to free Robin and escape from the Penguin’s trap, and now he must use Alfred to lay a trap of his own for the Penguin. The bait: every millionaire in Gotham City. Will the Penguin fall for it hook, line, and sinker?

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Sheldon Stark
directed by Tom Gries
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), Victor Lundin (Octopus), Bill Williams (Multimillionaire), Dal Jenkins (Shark), Lisa Mitchell (Miss Natural Resources), Charles la Torre (Manager), Julie Gregg (Finella)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Movies (Adam West)

Batman

BatmanThe disappearance of an eccentric admiral and his light-bending invention is reason enough for Commissioner Gordon to send up the Batsignal. Batman and Robin board the Batcopter to chase the admiral’s missing boat, only to watch it disappear from the water. One exploding shark later, clues begin piling up to an unholy alliance between Batman’s greatest foes: the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, and Catwoman are working together. Barely together, at any rate – their partnership is a fragile and fractious one, each one jockeying for the right to boast that he or she wiped out Batman. Catwoman’s plan is put into action: she will pose as Russian reporter Miss Kitka and catch the eye of millionaire Bruce Wayne, who will then be kidnapped by the villains and held hostage until Batman comes to his rescue. Bruce, of course, is all too aware that Batman won’t be saving him, and has to engineer his own escape. Unaware that Miss Kitka is Catwoman, Batman and Robin return to the scene of the crime to save her, only to find another trap. While the Dynamic Duo is kept busy by this double-cross, the quartet of criminal masterminds hatches a plan to capture the leading diplomats of the world’s most powerful nations, plunging the world into chaos and allowing them to seize control…unless, of course, Batman and Robin throw a dash of cold water on their scheme.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Lorenzo Semple Jr.
directed by Leslie H. Martinson
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman / Bruce Wayne), Burt Ward (Robin / Dick Grayson), Lee Meriwether (Catwoman / Kitka), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Aunt Harriet Cooper), Reginald Denny (Admiral Schmidlapp), Milton Frome (Vice Admiral Fangschliester), Gil Perkins (Bluebeard), Dick Crockett (Morgan), George Sawaya (Quetch)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

Shoot A Crooked Arrow

BatmanA felonious marksman known as the Archer fires an arrow into stately Wayne Manor, releasing a knock-out gas that renders Bruce Wayne and the other occupants of the mansion unconscious. The Archer and his cohorts steal Wayne’s millions from a hidden safe, handing them out to the poor of Gotham City. Now the problem for Batman and Commission Gordon becomes one of image: will the police and the Caped Crusaders find themselves up against public opinion trying to capture a villain who claims to be trying to help the poor?

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Stanley Ralph Ross
directed by Sherman Marks
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Art Carney (The Archer), Barbara Nichols (Maid Marilyn), Robert Cornthwaite (Allan A. Dale), Doodles Weaver (Crier Tuck), Loren Ewing (Big John), Archie Moore (Everett Bannister), Robert Adler (First Poor Person), Heidi Jensen (Second Poor Person), Kitty Kelly (Third Poor Person), Dick Clark (himself)

BatmanNotes: The skyrocketing popularity of Batman (and the success of its brief detour onto the big screen) led to the introduction of celebrity cameos, often in “climbing the Bat-rope” scenes; many of these involved stars of Batman’s stablemates on the ABC network, such as Dick Clark, host of American Bandstand.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

Walk The Straight And Narrow

BatmanNarrowly escaping the Archer’s trap, Batman and Robin set about laying a trap of their own, namely planting information that they’re certain will reach the Archer about a heist target he can’t resist. Even when he seems to be a step ahead of the police and the Dynamic Duo, Batman sets out to make sure the Archer’s plan won’t stay afloat.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Stanley Ralph Ross
directed by Sherman Marks
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Art Carney (The Archer), Barbara Nichols (Maid Marilyn), Robert Cornthwaite (Allan A. Dale), Doodles Weaver (Crier Tuck), Loren Ewing (Big John), Vinton Hayworth (Marshall Roland), Steve Pendleton (1st Armored Car Driver), Lee Delano (2nd Armored Car Driver), James O’Hara (Policeman), Myrna Dell (Pedestrian)

Notes: Scenes of Batman and Robin climbing into the Bat-Boat and heading out to sea were lifted directly from the Batman feature film; this is also the case for all future appearances of the Bat-Boat and the Bat-Copter, as obtaining new footage of either in action was beyond the budget of the television series.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

Hot Off The Griddle

BatmanA string of burglaries leads Commissioner Gordon to summon Batman and Robin to his office: Catwoman has returned to Gotham City, and may be planning to restart her criminal career in grand style. Following the trail of clues – including a curiously cat-like dance that has captured the imagination of the young and young-at-heart across Gotham (including Aunt Harriet) – leads the Dynamic Duo into a trap, where Catwoman intends to turn up the heat on her nemesis.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Stanley Ralph Ross
directed by Don Weis
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Jack Kelly (Jack O’Shea), Buck Kartalian (John), George Barrows (Charles), Charles Horvath (Thomas), Edy Williams (Hostess)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

The Cat And The Fiddle

BatmanWhile Batman and Robin set their sights on escaping the Catwoman’s trap, while Catwoman herself sets her sights on the target of her next heist: the Gotham State Bank. Batman isn’t far behind her, but this time Catwoman has more than one escape plan up her sleeve…but will she put herself in danger mortal just to get away from the Dynamic Duo with the loot?

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Stanley Ralph Ross
directed by Don Weis
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Jack Kelly (Jack O’Shea), George Barrows (Charles), Charles Horvath (Thomas), George N. Neise (Douglas Cramer), James Brolin (Driver), David Fresco (Zubin Zucchini)

BatmanNotes: Yes, it’s that James Brolin, in the first of three guest shots on Batman. He later appeared in Westworld, Capricorn One, Marcus Welby M.D., The Amityville Horror, and Hotel, among many other TV and film appearances.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

The Minstrel’s Shakedown

BatmanAs businessmen and investors across Gotham City reel from live news coverage of a stock market meltdown, the news broadcast is interrupted by the friendly face of a singing minstrel…who, after a song, demands a thousand dollars a week from all of Gotham’s investors to prevent a repeat of the stock market crash. Batman discovers that the computers at the stock exchange have been bugged and decides to wait for the Minstrel’s next move…but the Minstrel is also patiently laying a trap of his own for the Caped Crusaders.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Francis & Marian Cockrell
directed by Murray Golden
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Van Johnson (The Minstrel), Leslie Perkins (Amanda), Remo Pisani (Bass), Norman Grabowski (Treble), Del Moore (TV Newsman), Army Archerd (Putnam), John Gallaudet (Cortland), Eddie Garrett (First Broker), Herbert Maass (Second Broker), Stu Wilson (Third Broker), Phyllis Diller (Cleaning Lady)

BatmanNotes: Phyllis Diller (1917–2012) goes uncredited on screen for the show’s latest celebrity cameo; she had just launched her own series, the short-lived Phyllis Diller Show, on ABC just one night before Batman’s new season premiered. Army Archerd (1922–2009) made numerous acting appearances, but was also a columnist for Daily Variety for over fifty years, and produced the People’s Choice Awards telecasts for many years.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

Barbecued Batman

BatmanTrapped by the Minstrel and his backup band, Batman and Robin have to find a way to get off the menu and get back into the chase. Though the Minstrel is a master of electronic surveillance, he underestiamates Batman’s abilities in the same area. Batman only has a short time left to outmaneuver and unmask the Minstel and restore confidence in the Gotham Stock Exchange…and perhaps then the Minstrel will sing a different tune.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Francis & Marian Cockrell
directed by Murray Golden
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Van Johnson (The Minstrel), Leslie Perkins (Amanda), Remo Pisani (Bass), Norman Grabowski (Treble), Del Moore (TV Newsman), John Gallaudet (Cortland), Eddie Garrett (First Broker), Herbert Maass (Second Broker), Stu Wilson (Third Broker), James O’Hara (Policeman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

The Spell Of Tut

BatmanThe theft of a string of amber beads – leaving behind far more valuable baubles – puzzles Commission Gordon and Chief O’Hara. The clues, however, add up to one thing: King Tut is at large once more, planning a new scheme to take over Gotham City. The amber beads contain ancient Egyptian scarabs whose bodily secretions, combined with other chemicals, can create a formula capable of weakening the will of whoever drinks it…and Tut intends to unleash this potion upon Gotham City as a whole, after testing it on Robin. But the Boy Wonder would rather take his chances against Tut’s hungry pets…

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Robert C. Dennis & Earl Barret
directed by Larry Peerce
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Victor Buono (king Tut), Marianna Hill (Cleo Patrick), Sid Haig (Royal Apothecary), Michael Pataki (Amanophis Tewfik), Boyd Santell (Sethos), Rene Paul (Man of Distinction), Peter Mamakos (Royal Lapidary), Van Williams (Green Hornet), Bruce Lee (Kato)

BatmanNotes: Holy superhero supergroup! Van Williams and Bruce Lee are this week’s “window cameos”, appearing as the Green Hornet and Kato. The Green Hornet series had begun its single-season run on ABC just a few weeks prior to this episode. The two characters would return for a more substantial guest shot the following March.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

Tut’s Case Is Shut

BatmanBatman is able to break Robin out of his predicament, and the Dynamic Duo regroups to the Batcave to plan their next move. King Tut and his cronies, in the meantime, advance their plan to introduce the scarab concoction into Gotham City’s water supply, subjugating the will of the entire population of the city. When Batman and Robin see Commission Gordon become a mindless subject of King Tut before their very eyes, they worry that it’s too late. When Robin sees the same happen to Batman, he knows it’s too late.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Robert C. Dennis & Earl Barret
directed by Larry Peerce
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Victor Buono (king Tut), Marianna Hill (Cleo Patrick), Sid Haig (Royal Apothecary), Michael Pataki (Amanophis Tewfik), Boyd Santell (Sethos), Peter Mamakos (Royal Lapidary)

BatmanNotes: When you want flamboyant, exotic villainy, you want to cast Sid Haig. Perhaps best known for his stint as Dragos, the primary enemy of Jason Of Star Command, Haig has also appeared on Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, The Six Million Dollar Man, Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, Automan, and Sledge Hammer!, among countless others, with big screen roles in THX-1138, Diamonds Are Forever, Kill Bill Vol. 2, and more.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

The Greatest Mother Of Them All

BatmanGotham City’s annual Mother of the Year presentation ceremony descends into chaos as Ma Parker and her crime family rob everyone present at gunpoint, getting away with all of the attendees’ jewelry and purses. Commissioner Gordon is eager to put the Dynamic Duo on the case, but just as they’re being brief on Ma Parker’s lengthy rap sheet, the Gotham City Police corner Ma Parker and her gang in their backwoods hideout. Batman and Robin arrive to help, capturing one of Ma Parker’s sons as the rest of the gang escapes. Using Batman’s crime computer, they deduce where Ma Parker will strike next, again nabbing one of her sons. The pattern repeats until Ma Parker and her daughter, the last remaining members of the gang at large, are arrested, and all are taken to the Gotham City penitentiary. As Batman and Robin drive away in the Batmobile, they wonder…was ending Ma Parker’s criminal reign just a little too easy?

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Henry Slesar
directed by Oscar Rudolph
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Shelley Winters (Ma Parker), Tisha Sterling (Legs), David Lewis (Warden Crichton), Michael Vandever (Mad Dog), Peter Brooks (Machine Gun), Robert Biheller (Pretty Boy), James Griffith (Trusty), James O’Hara (Policeman), Kirby Brumfield (Truck Driver), Lyzanne La Due (Nurse), Fran Ryan (Chairlady)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 2

Ma Parker

BatmanBy allowing her sons and other gang members to be captured one-by-one, Ma Parker has slowly infiltrated and taken over the Gotham City penitentiary: there are more of her men there than there are actual prison wardens. One of them has left a little surprise for the Caped Crusaders under the hood of the Batmobile, set to detonate when the speedometer hits 60 miles per hour, but they haven’t counted on Batman’s conscientious observation of the posted 55mph speed limit. When Batman discovers the dynamite under the hood, he returns to the prison, but still doesn’t discover Ma Parker’s plan. It takes a bomb blast and a bank robbery in downtown Gotham City for Batman to realize that the inmates are now controlling the prison…and when he and Robin arrive at the prison, Ma Parker’s expecting them.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Henry Slesar
directed by Oscar Rudolph
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Shelley Winters (Ma Parker), Tisha Sterling (Legs), David Lewis (Warden Crichton), Michael Vandever (Mad Dog), Peter Brooks (Machine Gun), Robert Biheller (Pretty Boy), James Griffith (Trusty), Lee Meriwether (Catwoman)

BatmanNotes: Though the theatrical movie between seasons can lay claim to being the first all-star villain team-up against Batman and Robin, Catwoman’s (uncredited) appearance here marks the first hint of such a joining of forces in the TV series. The Joker and the Penguin are said to be in solitary, but Ma Parker opts to leave them there so they know she’s running the prison now…which also handily means that the show’s guest star budget isn’t blown wide open in the middle of the tenth episode of the season! The prisoner number on Legs’ uniform looks suspiciously more like her costume measurements than the numbers on any of the other prison uniforms.

LogBook entry by Earl Green