The 1966-68 Batman TV series has a love it or hate it response from a lot of people. For many years, it has understandably been mocked and reviled by comics fans as it portrayed Batman as something he wasn’t – lighthearted and family friendly. It took years for the mainstream press to take comics seriously, without putting eye-rolling exclamations such as “Bam!” or “Pow!” in the headlines. That was mainly due to the Batman TV show starring Adam West (yes, the mayor on Family Guy) and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin respectively.
However, as we look back on it now, it has to be said that it did at least accomplish two things for the comics medium; 1. it brought the Dynamic Duo in to the public consciousness (the show was insanely popular at the time), and also allowed colourful villains such as The Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, and Riddler to become household names, and 2. it brought awareness to comics, with its animated intro sequence and speech balloons during its fight scenes.
Also, as much as jaded comics fans may hate to admit it, the comics of the Silver Age where as whacky as the TV show. Actually much more so, really. The ’50s and ’60s Batman comics were the only time in which The Dark Knight wasn’t the brooding, serious character we all know and love.
TV show host Conan O’Brien broke the news, which seems like an odd approach, but I guess Warner Bros. just couldn’t wait to get the news out. Many people have been waiting a long time to hear this news, but it’s been held up for years due to complicated rights issues. It’s not a total surprise though, as late last year the first wave of licensed goodies tied to the show such as action figures were made, and so was a new comic from DC set in the fun filled continuity of the TV show.
All the details we know for now is that the show in its entirety (all 120 episodes) will be released on presumably Blu-ray and DVD this year. We can expect official further details from Warner Bros. soon.
Photo by Will Becton.
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