William Dozier is the man responsible for bringing the 1960's Batman television series to life, as well as being the person who narrated the show. Over the past fifty years, several people have made their own versions of Batman. While there have been lots of outstanding things done with the Batman franchise, the 1960's still remains Batman's best decade. There are so many things that make the 1966 television series and movie so great. For this article, I'd like to focus on the main elements that made the 1960's such a special time for Batman.
The show closely resembled Bill Finger's comics, in addition to having it's own distinct vision. Bill Finger, who was the heart and soul of the Batman franchise, had a very colorful, creative and imaginative style of writing. No show reflects his style better than the 1960's television series. The show brought the colorful world of the Batman comics to life. Unlike other versions of Batman, the show wasn't afraid to be silly. They didn't feel the need to make Batman's costume more dour and dark. The classic costume was used throughout the entire show. The villains retained their eccentric gimmicks, the heroes retained their wholesomeness and the humor and heart of the comics were expanded to their highest degree in the TV show and movie. In addition to using storylines from the comics, the TV show came up with some fresh stories that were brilliant and hilarious.
There were so many great stories. Some examples include:
The Joker faking an alien invasion
Batman and Penguin campaigning to become the Mayor of Gotham
Batman and Riddler having a boxing match
Penguin trying to marry Barbara Gordon
Batman and Joker having a surfing contest
Those type of stories remain incredibly memorable. The surfing episode left such a big impression that decades after the episode first aired, merchandise was made for the episode. There were toys and Funko Pops based on it.
Another key element to the show's success were the villains. It's hard to find a single show that has a more entertaining group of baddies. Each of the major villains had their own distinct brand of scene-stealing greatness. Cesar Romero's Joker, Burgess Meredith's Penguin and Frank Gorshin's Riddler were absolutely amazing in their own way. Some people have accused the Joker and the Riddler of being too similar to each other, but I respectfully disagree. Cesar Romero and Frank Gorshin were both hilarious and delightful, but their flavor of humor was very different and unique. Sure, Joker and Riddler both love prancing around and laughing, but they were very different characters. Riddler was a strange, intimidating mastermind with a strong obsession with Batman, while the Joker was a wild card who would commit the silliest of crimes for the fun of it. In addition to having villains from the comics, the television series came up with some new additions to the rogues gallery. Some of the most memorable ones include Victor Buono's King Tut, Roddy McDowall's Bookworm and Vincent Price's Egghead. These new additions to the rogues gallery were so great that it's a real shame that they don't appear very often in modern versions of Batman.
While the villains often stole the show, the heroes were also great. The villains were gleefully sneaky, while the heroes were adorably wholesome. Neil Hamilton's Commissioner Gordon and Stafford Repp's Chief O'Hara provided a lot of the best comedy, while Burt Ward's Robin, Alan Napier's Alfred and Yvonne Craig's Batgirl provided a lot of genuine heart to the show.
Of course, the show's most important element was the title character. William Dozier's creativity, combined with Adam West's performance, led to the best version of Batman there's ever been. Adam West's Batman is both beloved and infamous for being extremely campy, especially in comparison to the modern versions of Batman. Adam West was hilarious, witty and endlessly entertaining. However, what made this version of Batman so wonderful was how kind and wholesome he was. It's become a popular trend to make Batman a darker and morally-questionable anti-hero. This is done to keep Batman from being boring, I guess, but frankly, those versions of Batman can't compare to the 60's Batman. The 60's Batman is the most noble, friendly and admirable version of Batman that there's ever been. In fact, he's one of the most pure-hearted versions of a superhero that there's ever been. The 1960's Batman may seem like a joke, but if you look at his morality, you might see more than just jokes. Underneath all of the goofy dances and gadgets was a ton of heart. Like the Grinch, Batman's heart grew several sizes, and we have William Dozier and Adam West to thank for that. All these years later, this version of Batman remains the best version of the character that there's ever been.
The show closely resembled Bill Finger's comics, in addition to having it's own distinct vision. Bill Finger, who was the heart and soul of the Batman franchise, had a very colorful, creative and imaginative style of writing. No show reflects his style better than the 1960's television series. The show brought the colorful world of the Batman comics to life. Unlike other versions of Batman, the show wasn't afraid to be silly. They didn't feel the need to make Batman's costume more dour and dark. The classic costume was used throughout the entire show. The villains retained their eccentric gimmicks, the heroes retained their wholesomeness and the humor and heart of the comics were expanded to their highest degree in the TV show and movie. In addition to using storylines from the comics, the TV show came up with some fresh stories that were brilliant and hilarious.
There were so many great stories. Some examples include:
The Joker faking an alien invasion
Batman and Penguin campaigning to become the Mayor of Gotham
Batman and Riddler having a boxing match
Penguin trying to marry Barbara Gordon
Batman and Joker having a surfing contest
Those type of stories remain incredibly memorable. The surfing episode left such a big impression that decades after the episode first aired, merchandise was made for the episode. There were toys and Funko Pops based on it.
Another key element to the show's success were the villains. It's hard to find a single show that has a more entertaining group of baddies. Each of the major villains had their own distinct brand of scene-stealing greatness. Cesar Romero's Joker, Burgess Meredith's Penguin and Frank Gorshin's Riddler were absolutely amazing in their own way. Some people have accused the Joker and the Riddler of being too similar to each other, but I respectfully disagree. Cesar Romero and Frank Gorshin were both hilarious and delightful, but their flavor of humor was very different and unique. Sure, Joker and Riddler both love prancing around and laughing, but they were very different characters. Riddler was a strange, intimidating mastermind with a strong obsession with Batman, while the Joker was a wild card who would commit the silliest of crimes for the fun of it. In addition to having villains from the comics, the television series came up with some new additions to the rogues gallery. Some of the most memorable ones include Victor Buono's King Tut, Roddy McDowall's Bookworm and Vincent Price's Egghead. These new additions to the rogues gallery were so great that it's a real shame that they don't appear very often in modern versions of Batman.
While the villains often stole the show, the heroes were also great. The villains were gleefully sneaky, while the heroes were adorably wholesome. Neil Hamilton's Commissioner Gordon and Stafford Repp's Chief O'Hara provided a lot of the best comedy, while Burt Ward's Robin, Alan Napier's Alfred and Yvonne Craig's Batgirl provided a lot of genuine heart to the show.
Of course, the show's most important element was the title character. William Dozier's creativity, combined with Adam West's performance, led to the best version of Batman there's ever been. Adam West's Batman is both beloved and infamous for being extremely campy, especially in comparison to the modern versions of Batman. Adam West was hilarious, witty and endlessly entertaining. However, what made this version of Batman so wonderful was how kind and wholesome he was. It's become a popular trend to make Batman a darker and morally-questionable anti-hero. This is done to keep Batman from being boring, I guess, but frankly, those versions of Batman can't compare to the 60's Batman. The 60's Batman is the most noble, friendly and admirable version of Batman that there's ever been. In fact, he's one of the most pure-hearted versions of a superhero that there's ever been. The 1960's Batman may seem like a joke, but if you look at his morality, you might see more than just jokes. Underneath all of the goofy dances and gadgets was a ton of heart. Like the Grinch, Batman's heart grew several sizes, and we have William Dozier and Adam West to thank for that. All these years later, this version of Batman remains the best version of the character that there's ever been.
