Originally Posted By jasmine7 <<I far far prefer the Dark Knight approach of Batman.<< I agree! I'm not really a fan of the original TV show (don't shoot me!) because of the wackiness & campiness. I much prefer my Batman to be dark and brooding, walking that fine line between him and the people he brings in. The man's been through hell in his time, and that should show. I remember a painting that Alex Ross did of Batman sitting down, barechested. The shot was from behind, and you could see all the wounds and scars that cover his bodies. Ross even said he researched through the comics to find where Bruce had been injured. That's dedictation, lol. However, I think you can go a little too far with the darkness in Bruce Wayne. While I love the original The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller has kind of become a parody of himself. The sequel, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, just wasn't nearly as good, and All-Star Batman and Robin is just . . . wrong in so many ways to me. I don't like having young Dick Grayson being so violent, I don't like his interpretation of Joker at all, and all the swearing & sex. . . it's just not necessary to tell a good Batman story. I'm not at all a prude, but Miller just takes everything too far these days. He's like Spinal Tap's amplifier, always taking it to 11.
Originally Posted By DAR For those of you that have read the updated version of the Killing Joke. Explain the epilogue by the writer. Is it saying that the writer is the only person who can kill Batman?
Originally Posted By ecdc >>When the special edition DVDs of the four WB Batman movies came out in '05, I was pretty excited about it. I got the boxed set on the release date, and since I was laid up at home after surgery, I was looking forward to watching them while recuperating.<< I almost got this, just because I'd heard Joel Schumacher's audio commentary on Batman and Robin was unbelievable. Apparently it's him apologizing for two straight hours for ruining the series.
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF ^^^ Ya know, Schumacher may be credited with running that series into the ground, I think he's unfairly saddled with the whole blame. Warner Bros. is equally culpable, if not more so (since they signed off on the movies). I've been saying this for years: the reason why Marvel has been able to turn out good movies over the past few years is because they have control of their properties, whereas DC has Time-Warner to answer to. Hopefully that is going to change in the future: <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/film/080611-MvlDCMovies.html" target="_blank">http://www.newsarama.com/film/...ies.html</a> <a href="http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/07/11/warner-dc-meet-to-plan-movie-strategy/" target="_blank">http://blog.newsarama.com/2008...trategy/</a>
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<For those of you that have read the updated version of the Killing Joke. Explain the epilogue by the writer. Is it saying that the writer is the only person who can kill Batman?>>> INteresting, I think I'll go by the local comic shop here and pick that up and read the epilogue, then quietly place it back on the shelf.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Great thread! The Adam West Batman will always be, for me, the REAL Batman. As a youngster, the campy humor went right over my head, and every episode was high adventure. The villains freaked me out week after week, and I remember vividly a cliffhanger that left poor Robin being consumed by a giant clam! Nightmares a-plenty over that. I always looked forward to the inevitable use of the Bathook, and Batman and Robin walking up the side of a Gotham tower (unaware of the celebrity cameo when someone in the building would pop out of a window to chat with the Caped Crusader.) And keep all the high tech, high-powered, CGI enhanced versions of the Batmobile. The 1966 version is the real deal. Until perhaps the age of 7, I was always running around the neighborhood with a bath towel cape safety pinned to my shirt, because I WAS BATMAN, shadow boxing evil villains, sliding down the Batpole to the Batcave (my swingset) and leaping into the Batmobile (a peddle car).
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan And with all the old TV series on DVD now (many long forgotten), what's up with Batman? What's the hold up?
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF If memory serves, there are rights issues with the Batman TV series. I forget the specifics, but it's been in legal limbo for quite some time.
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs Here are all 27 Special Guest Villains from the 1960s Batman series, with their respective Extra-Special Guest Villains listed where necessary. I've also listed their respective season numbers; 1: 1966, 2: 1966-67, 3: 1967-68 The Archer: 2 The Black Widow: 2 The Bookworm: 1 The Catwoman: all Chandell/Harry: 2 Colonel Gumm: 2 Dr. Cassandra: 3 -Cabala: 3 Egghead: 2-3 -Olga, Queen of the Cossacks: 3 False Face: 1 The Joker: all -The Penguin: 2 -The Catwoman: 3 King Tut: all Lord Marmaduke Ffogg: 3 -Lady Penelope Peasoup: 3 Louie the Lilac: 3 Ma Parker: 2 The Mad Hatter: 1-2 Marsha, Queen of Diamonds: 2 Minerva: 3 The Minstrel: 2 Mr. Freeze: 1-2 Nora Clavicle: 3 The Penguin: all -Marsha, Queen of Diamonds: 2 -Lola Lasagne: 3 The Puzzler: 2 The Riddler: all -The Siren: 3 The Sandman: 2 -The Catwoman: 2 Shame: 2-3 -Calamity Jan: 3 The Siren: 3 Zelda the Great: 1
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs << Kar2oonMan: The villains freaked me out week after week, and I remember vividly a cliffhanger that left poor Robin being consumed by a giant clam!>> That was in the season 2 three-parter called "The Zodiac Crimes"/"The Joker's Hard Times"/"The Penguin Declines" in which The Joker and the Penguin team up and commit zodiac-themed crimes, like stealing a Rare Art Map (RAM for Aries) or stealing a diamond from famous opera singer Leo Crustash. There were lots of other ridiculous death attempts, most of them in the 3rd and final season. The reason why the Batman show is not on DVD is because the character is owned by Warner Brothers, whereas the show was released by 20th Century Fox. The movie was released by Fox as well, but that's been released. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_TV_Show#VHS_.26_DVD_.28non-.29_release" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B..._release</a>
Originally Posted By DAR Here's the challenge regarding the Guest Villians can you name the actor/actresses who played them? The Archer: 2-Art Carney? The Black Widow: 2 The Bookworm: 1-Roddy McDowell The Catwoman: all-Julie Newmar, Lee Merriweather and Eartha Kitt Chandell/Harry: 2 Colonel Gumm: 2 Dr. Cassandra: 3 -Cabala: 3 Egghead: 2-3-Vincent Price -Olga, Queen of the Cossacks: 3 False Face: 1 The Joker: all-Cesar Romero -The Penguin: 2-Burgess Meredith -The Catwoman: 3 King Tut: all-Victor Buono Lord Marmaduke Ffogg: 3 -Lady Penelope Peasoup: 3 Louie the Lilac: 3-Milton Berle Ma Parker: 2-Shelly Winters The Mad Hatter: 1-2-David Wayne Marsha, Queen of Diamonds: 2 Minerva: 3 The Minstrel: 2-Van Johnson Mr. Freeze: 1-2-Otto Preminger Nora Clavicle: 3 The Penguin: all-Burgess Meredith -Marsha, Queen of Diamonds: 2 -Lola Lasagne: 3 The Puzzler: 2 The Riddler: all-Frank Gorshin -The Siren: 3-Joan Collins The Sandman: 2-Michael Rennie -The Catwoman: 2 Shame: 2-3-Cliff Robertson -Calamity Jan: 3 The Siren: 3 Zelda the Great: 1
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs Simple. I knew I should have added this in the previous post. Keep in mind that Lee Meriweather played Catwoman in the 1966 movie *only*, not in the TV series (how come they never make a big fuss over 3 actors playing Freeze? lol). Lee did appear in a 2nd season episode where she plays Lisa Carson and gets kidnapped by King Tut. Colonel Gumm wasn't credited as a "Special Guest Villain" in his episode. That honor went to "Visiting Hero" The Green Hornet and "Visiting Sidekick" Kato. The Archer: 2; Art Carney The Black Widow: 2; Tallulah Bankhead The Bookworm: 1; Roddy McDowall The Catwoman: all; Julie Newmar (1-2), Eartha Kitt (3) Chandell/Harry: 2; Liberace Colonel Gumm: 2; Roger C. Carmel Dr. Cassandra: 3; Ida Lupino -Cabala: 3; Howard Duff Egghead: 2-3; Vincent Price -Olga, Queen of the Cossacks: 3; Anne Baxter False Face: 1; Malachi Throne The Joker: all; Cesar Romero -The Penguin: 2 -The Catwoman: 3 King Tut: all; Victor Buono Lord Marmaduke Ffogg: 3; Rudy Vallee -Lady Penelope Peasoup: 3; Glynis Johns Louie the Lilac: 3; Milton Berle Ma Parker: 2; Shelley Winters The Mad Hatter: 1-2; David Wayne Marsha, Queen of Diamonds: 2; Carolyn Jones Minerva: 3; Zsa Zsa Gabor The Minstrel: 2; Van Johnson Mr. Freeze: 1-2; George Sanders (1), Otto Preminger (2), Eli Wallach (2) Nora Clavicle: 3; Barbara Rush The Penguin: all; Burgess Meredith -Marsha, Queen of Diamonds: 2 -Lola Lasagne: 3; Ethel Merman The Puzzler: 2; Maurice Evans The Riddler: all; Frank Gorshin (1,3), John Astin (2) -The Siren: 3 The Sandman: 2; Michael Rennie -The Catwoman: 2 Shame: 2-3; Cliff Robertson -Calamity Jan: 3; Dina Merrill The Siren: 3; Joan Collins Zelda the Great: 1; Anne Baxter
