Batman, TV Batman

[ready182]

I was around 6 yo when the TV series hit the airwaves. I especially remember being scared by the Joker -- the laugh and condesending tone was appropriate for the "evil clown" villian. Julie Newmar's catwoman, Frank Gorshin's riddler, and Burgess Merideth's Penguin also made an impression on this 6 yo. I also recall being genuininely concerned about the cliff-hanger endings, although my elder siblings explained that it was just TV and that the caped cruisaders would always be OK. At the time, I was oblivious to the shows sexual inuendo and campy humor, which I have later learned to appreciate.

 

Recently, I caught a documentary on one of the cable channels about the show. I found out both Adam W. and Burt W. wrote books -- the latter being a tell-all book with lots of sex. I could not resist buying the boy wonders book. My 2 cent review: It is clear that the book was written with the intent to be sensationalistic. There are many antedotes about straight encounters with fans - lots of sex. In the book, Burt creates graphic images which we all can appreciate, like <paraphrising> "we injected them with bat-sperm, and they loved it". The homoerotism of Batman and Robin is clearly ackowledged in the book. To address the question of whether or not Adam & Burt ever "crossed the line", the book states "you know the answer". Obvious intentional ambiguity, without denial. Should you read Burt's book, you will likely be amused about the andedotes about the controversy surrounding the Bow Wonder's trouser snake.

 

Anyone else like the show???

[+ deej]

>Anyone else like the show???

 

Are you kidding? As a budding homo, I used to LOVE those scenes where Burt Ward was tied up with his hands behind his back and his full package shoved forward.

 

That show, and Flipper, got me into puberty well-prepared to be the slut I was destined to be! :9

[eastbayguy]

>Anyone else like the show???

 

Well of course! What PLU wouldn't like that show? Don't we all have yearnings to run around in capes and masks all the time?

 

The evil yet campy behaviour of the villans always caught my attention. I seem to recall having done the Batusi a few times too. Having grown up in Kansas, we were still getting Superman (George Reeves era) reruns about that same time as well. While tights along with the bodies of those wearing them have grown tighter over the years, we all definitely caught the drift from those early shows. My favorite was always the Boy Wonder though. Burt Ward's dialog was probably my earliest source of campy combacks. Holy bad grammar, Batman!! Did anyone else ever notice how the Boy Wonder was supposed to be macho, but really wasn't? Used to watch those shows with a sort of vague yearning for a similar relationship with someone older and wiser. Somehow, the shows with Julie Newmar as Catwoman were especially worrisome. You just knew Catwoman was of questionable character. Holy heartbreak!

 

Either at recess at school or at play later, us kids always re-enacted the previous night's episode. My favorite role was "villan" mostly so I could tie up Batman and Robin. One day, Batman and Robin were late coming back from recess because I left them tied up. Patterns emerge at early ages...

 

Speaking of Superman, anyone else notice that Lois Lane's parents in the 1978 movie were played by Noel Neill and Kirk Alyn? (Lois Lane and a former Man of Steel for you trivia impaired folk.)

 

--EBG

[ready182]

Did you just call me a homo? If you knew my secret identity, you wouldn't have done that