Batman 1960's TV show: Why campy?

[Eve]

@Frylock

More from wikipedia:

“The lyrics to the theme consist of ten cries of ‘Batman!’, which were originally thought to be sung by a female chorus; however, Adam West’s book ‘Back to the Batcave’ reveals the ‘voices’ to actually be instrumental, rather than vocal.”

Waaaa?!

. . .Aaaaand, that’s what you get for quoting Wikipedia . . . .

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@RealityChuck

They were played completely straight. Batman may have found himself facing Martians, but they were treated like real menaces and they gave him real problems. It may look jokey today, but – other than Robin’s wisecracks – they were played straight.

The “New Look” Batman came out at about the same time as the TV show and, as Exapno points out, created conflicts. Alfred had died (and I don’t think they originally intended to bring him back, though his death turned into one of the first actual story arcs), but they had added Aunt Harriet (I think the idea was to have someone in Wayne Manor who wasn’t privy to Bruce Wayne’s secrets) and had changed his uniform, removing the yellow oval surrounding the bat on his chest.

You’ve got your sequence reversed with that last observation; it was about this time that they ADDED the yellow oval around the bat-emblem.

[ralph124c]

How about Robin (played by Burt Ward)-he was the ultimate camp character. “Holy ####, Batman, the Joker is loose!”
Funny how Adam West still makes money on appearence gigs-wonder what Burd Ward does these days?

[DSeid]

Burt Ward information - http://www.robintheboywonder.com/biography.html

Sadly, in 1968 Batman was cancelled. Acting jobs were hard to find so Burt continued doing personal appearances as Robin. Along with the appearances and many other acting jobs came different business ventures. Some of these included merchandising of different celebrities, Henry Winkler of Happy Days fame being one celebrity. Burt organized fan clubs overseeing that all fan mail was answered. He also launched a fundraising business to help schools and hospitals raise money.

During the late 1980’s, Burt created an early education program for children aged 3-8 that taught social values, good health and safety rules, and critical thinking skills. It was called the Early Bird Learning Program. A panel of top pediatricians were assembled to give advice and assistance.

It was through this program that Burt met his wife. Tracy Posner. They married on July 15, 1990. A year after they met, Melody Lane Ward was born on February 6, 1991. Six months later Burt’s oldest daughter Lisa made him a grandfather.Our Robin a Grandfather , who would have thought?

In 1994, Tracy adopted a Great Dane from their local animal shelter. From this she learned that some 35 other Great Danes also needed homes. When she called two weeks later to see what had happened to the others, she was horrified to hear that they had all been destroyed. Both Burt and Tracy have a huge love for animals. A decision was made and the Great Dane Rescue was created.

Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions rescues primarily “Gentle Giant” dogs. They also have a few “Little Giants” available. Finding safe, loving homes is the top priority. Each dog is fully trained before being put up for adoption. The Ward family together house, feed, and train these Gentle Giants. The Ward’s annual vet bills can top over $100,000 a year not to mention $200,000 a year spent on dog food.
To find out more about the Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoption visit, www.gentlegiantsrescue.com.

[RealityChuck]

@Voyager

Did Aunt Harret show up first in the comics or in the show? I had always heard she was in the show to refute the gay lovenest aspects of the Bat Cave.

Aunt Harriet showed up in the comics in the last panels of the issue where Alfred died, coming over on her own to take care of Bruce and Dick. That looks like it occurred in 1964. The TV show began in January of 1966, with both Alfred and Aunt Harriet, so the comic had to bring Alfred back – first as a recurring villain, the Outsider.

There are some reports that indicate Julie Schwartz wanted to refute the gay rumors, but I really can’t see how Aunt Harriet would have done that – Bruce and Dick dating would have been a much better choice.

[Sir_Rhosis]

^^^Ward owns a special effects company in addition to running a haven for dogs (I forget which breed) with his current wife. He also talks a great deal about his… er… holy oversized endowments. His autobio should have been entitled My Penis In Tights.

Sir Rhosis

[Sir_Rhosis]

Of course I was pointing to the post above Chuck’s.

Sir Rhosis

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

What happened to Aunt Harriet in the comics?

[BrainGlutton]

From The Simpsons:

DIRECTOR: It’s just that I’m trying to get as far as possible from that campy Radioactive Man TV series from the '60s!

[segues to clip]

THE SCOUTMASTER: Don’t be afraid to uthe your nailth, boyth!

[Lumpy]

@RealityChuck

There are some reports that indicate Julie Schwartz wanted to refute the gay rumors, but I really can’t see how Aunt Harriet would have done that – Bruce and Dick dating would have been a much better choice.

Others. Bruce and Dick dating others would have been a much better choice.

[RealityChuck]

@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

What happened to Aunt Harriet in the comics?

I think she was just quietly phased out in the mid-70s.

[Kamino_Neko]

@Lumpy

Others. Bruce and Dick dating others would have been a much better choice.

Bruce and Dick dating WOMEN would be the best choice.

[BrainGlutton]

@Tengu

Bruce and Dick dating WOMEN would be the best choice.

If plausible . . .

[astorian]

If William Dozier and Lorenzo Semple thought the concept of Batman was too silly to be played straight, they were correct. Comedy was the only way to go.

Look, if guys like Frank Miller want to portray Batman as a latter day Charles Bronson, fine. In a comic book world, people can overlook a lot of implausibilities.

But when flesh and blood actors play comic book characters, the silliness of the whole concept becomes obvious. I mean, if Donald Trump spent a few months at ninja camp, then put on tights and a cape and went to fight crime in the ghetto, do you think the Crips and Blooods would be terrified of him? No! First, they’d laugh their asses off, and then they’d gun him down with Uzis.

Dozier and Semple saw instantly what too many fanboys still can’t see: costumed superheros can be a lot of fun, but they can’t be taken seriously.

[Laughing_Lagomorph]

@astorian

If William Dozier and Lorenzo Semple thought the concept of Batman was too silly to be played straight, they were correct. Comedy was the only way to go.

Look, if guys like Frank Miller want to portray Batman as a latter day Charles Bronson, fine. In a comic book world, people can overlook a lot of implausibilities.

But when flesh and blood actors play comic book characters, the silliness of the whole concept becomes obvious. I mean, if Donald Trump spent a few months at ninja camp, then put on tights and a cape and went to fight crime in the ghetto, do you think the Crips and Blooods would be terrified of him? No! First, they’d laugh their asses off, and then they’d gun him down with Uzis.

Dozier and Semple saw instantly what too many fanboys still can’t see: costumed superheros can be a lot of fun, but they can’t be taken seriously.

But how come it seems to work in movies? Millions of people in recent years have obviously had no trouble swallowing flesh and blood people playing superheros in silly costumes on the big screen. Spiderman, X-Men, Batman and now Superman (again).

You’re saying movies like this work but a TV series somehow wouldn’t?

[Menocchio]

@Laughing Lagomorph

But how come it seems to work in movies? Millions of people in recent years have obviously had no trouble swallowing flesh and blood people playing superheros in silly costumes on the big screen. Spiderman, X-Men, Batman and now Superman (again).

You’re saying movies like this work but a TV series somehow wouldn’t?

You don’t have to look to the modern era, either. The George Reeves Superman show, earlier movie serials (including Batman’s), and radio shows all played the characters straight. They weren’t great drama, and often tested the bounds of credibility, but what television drama didn’t?

I mean, give me a recent issue of Batman, and an episode of 24, and I can’t really tell the difference between Bruce Wayne and Jack Bauer.

[RealityChuck]

@Laughing Lagomorph

But how come it seems to work in movies? Millions of people in recent years have obviously had no trouble swallowing flesh and blood people playing superheros in silly costumes on the big screen. Spiderman, X-Men, Batman and now Superman (again).

You’re saying movies like this work but a TV series somehow wouldn’t?

Not to mention “Smallville” or “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (who was pretty much a comic book superheroine). “The Flash” was also well done, if not a ratings winner.

[kingpengvin]

Let’s not forget, around teh same time the Batman Serials were being played for the college crowds under the name “A night with Batman and Robin”. The cheap serials got huge laughs and that also had an effect.

I liked the Campy series. There are some clever bits of humour in the first season and in parts of the second.

How could you not like it I mean who can think about West’s line “There are soem days you can’t get rid of a bomb” and not get a little smile.

The 1950s and early 60s Batman may have been played seriously but they read silly (Bat Woman hitting on Batman with his goofy gulps, and Ace the Bat hound anyone?) especially to non comic book fans. The creators of the series had to sell to the largest audience they could so they created a series Kids (the primary comic book fans) would like uncritically and Adults could get a chuckle out of.

It worked they had great ratings in that opening season and kicked off teh Bat fad which despite the mocking nature probably saved the Hero by gaining new interest in him and teh dusted off villians of the show

[Winston_Bongo]

I don’t have a cite for this, but I read somewhere a looooong time ago that Hugh Hefner, of all people, inspired the '60s Batman series. Apparently Hefner liked to show the old '40s Batman serials at parties, where he (and presumably dozens of scantily-clad Bunnies) would cheer and boo and make fun of the silliness on screen (if you’ve seen the serials, you know how incredibly dumb they were). Somehow this resulted in a TV producer (William Dozier?) getting the idea for a Batman series that would both retain the silly, kid-oriented fun of the serials and also have a self-aware, mocking quality that adults could appreciate.

Anybody else familiar with that story? I could swear it was from an interview with Bob Kane, perhaps in an issue of *Comic’s Journal * or CBG.

[Lumpy]

But on the other hand one costumed-heroine TV show, Black Scorpion, that deliberately imitated the unreal conventions of classic 50s & 60s comics, sank like a stone.