THE ADVENTURES OF BAMTAN/
BATMAN WITH ROBIN THE BOY WONDER
(CBS, September 14, 1968-January 4, 1969)
Filmation Associates, Ducovny Productions, National
Periodical Publications
MAIN CAST:
Ted Knight – Commissioner James Gordon, Penguin/Oswald Cobblepott, Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries, Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane, Mad Hatter/Jervis Tetch,
Tweedledum/Dumfree Tweed, Tweedledee/Deever Tweed, Simon the Pieman, Dollman/Darrel
Dane, Judge, Narrator
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| Batman, Robin and Batgirl make their animated debut. |
Nearly 30 years after his
debut in the pages of DC Comics, Batman finally made his first appearance in animated form
in 1968’s The Batman/Superman
Hour. However, this wasn’t always the intent.
 |
| The 1966 live-action series saved Batman and made him popular again. |
Beginning as the half-hour The
New Adventures of Superman in
1966, the show’s success sparked Filmation to produce another
show based on a DC character. They chose Aquaman and added his half-hour program alongside Superman’s second season to create The Superman/Aquaman Hour of
Adventure. Filmation began
work on several pilots for the next season, including Metamorpho, Wonder
Woman and Plastic
Man. Those plans were ultimately changed when ABC suddenly
achieved a massive hit with their live-action Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Batman was now not only part of the public consciousness,
but that success saved the character from being killed off in the comics after
experiencing a steady decline in sales.
 |
| The Filmation Batmobile utilized a simplistic design easy to animate. |
Upon learning ABC hadn’t
secured the animation rights to the character along with the live-action, head
of daytime programming Fred
Silverman quickly snatched them up for
CBS and had Filmation get right to work on adapting the character into their next
animated series. As a result, all other new DC Comics shows in the works were
scrapped to put a full focus on developing a Batman animated series. As the
decision came virtually at the last minute, Filmation also pulled additional
animators from other projects in order to make the show ready for the 1968
season. Aquaman was broken off into
his own half-hour and Batman joined Superman for the renamed The Batman/Superman Hour. Independently,
the show was known as The
Adventures of Batman.
 |
| New villain Simon the Pieman. |
The Adventures of Batman debuted on CBS on September 14, 1968. As with their Superman series, Filmation’s Batman
episodes were broken up into three segments each. Each episode contained two
adventures: one told in two parts and one complete one to fill up each segment
of an episode. Olan Soule and Casey Kasem were cast as the dynamic duo, and Ted Knight assumed the
role of the show’s narrator, as well as most of the villain and supporting
roles. While the majority of the villains were from the comics or had appeared
on the live show, the series created two new ones: Simon the Pieman and the
Judge. Although the series had its campy moments, it wasn’t quite as campy as
its live-action counterpart and played as more straightforward Batman
adventures. The series was written by comicbook writer George Kashdan, Dennis Marks, William J. Keenan, Oscar Bensol, Bob Haney (co-creator of
Metamorpho) and Bill Butler,
with music by John Gart.
 |
| The coming of Batgirl! Detective Comics #359. |
Also making her first
appearance in animation was Batgirl (Jane Webb). The live Batman producers had asked then-editor Julius Schwartz for a new female character to include on the show to
attract female viewers. Carmine
Infantino provided the design for what would become the new Batgirl;
usurping the name from an earlier
character Schwartz had removed from the comics. At the suggestion of
the live series’ executive producer William Dozier, she became Barbara Gordon, the daughter of police
commissioner James Gordon (Neil Hamilton on the live show). She appeared in Batman’s third season portrayed
by Yvonne Craig, while she debuted in the comics in Detective Comics #359, 1967, in a story by Gardner Fox. However, unlike the librarian she was usually portrayed
as, in the cartoon she worked for the District Attorney’s office. Chief O’Hara
(Kasem) was also featured, based on his appearance in Batman.
 |
| Joker, Riddler and Penguin. |
The show ran for a single
season as Batman’s popularity began to wane once again, leading to the
cancellation of ABC’s show (although NBC was willing to create a fourth season,
the decision came too late and the sets had already been destroyed). For the
1969 season, the cartoon was repackaged into a 30-minute format without the
Superman segments and called Batman
with Robin the Boy Wonder. In 1970, Filmation produced three shorts that
aired on Sesame Street teaching children to cross
the street safely, special concepts,
and clean and dirty. Gerald S. Lesser,
head of Children’s
Television Workshop, explained that “some celebrities such as Batman
and Robin are enlisted because of their unassailable authority with
four-year-olds.”
 |
| Batman and Robin meet Scooby and the gang. |
By 1972, DC had left Filmation to begin a long
association with rival studio Hanna-Barbera.
That year, Batman and Robin teamed-up with their flagship franchise, Scooby-Doo,
for two episodes of The
New Scooby-Doo Movies before
joining the Justice League as part of the Super
Friends franchise. Soule and Kasem both reprised their roles. Batman
would return home to Filmation in 1977 for The
New Adventures of Batman with
West and Ward reprising their respective roles from the live series. Simon the
Pieman also eventually returned to animation in an appearance on the campy
throwback series, Batman: the Brave and the
Bold.
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| DVD case. |
In 1985 and again in 1996, Warner
Home Video released five episodes to VHS
as part of the “Super
Powers” video collection that was re-released in 1996. In 1993, Warner
released a four-volume VHS collection with four episodes each tape in
Australia. In 2008, episodes were released as digital downloads on iTunes and for streaming on Amazon Video.
In 2014, Warner released the complete
series to DVD.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“My Crime is Your Crime / A Bird Out of Hand” (9/14/68) – Batman and
Robin arrest Joker and Penguin for crimes they didn’t commit. / Penguin
suddenly becomes a crime fighter.
“The Cool, Cruel Mr. Freeze / The Joke’s on Robin” (9/21/68) – Mr.
Freeze ransoms the city for $1 billion. / A rescue leaves Robin without his
acrobatic skills thanks to Joker.
“How Many Herring in a Wheelbarrow? / In Again, Out Again Penguin”
(9/28/68) – Joker uses stolen technology to make a solar mirror he can use as a
laser. / An incarcerated Penguin commits crimes and manages to pin them on
Batman.
“The Nine Lives of Batman / Long John Joker” (10/5/68) – Catwoman uses
a radioactive gas on Batman to discover his secret identity. / Joker makes a
pirate movie to cover his search for lost loot.
“Bubi, Bubi, Who’s Got the Ruby / 1001 Faces of the Riddler”
(10/12/68) – Penguin and Catwoman are after the same ruby, and Bruce Wayne is
taken captive. / Riddler becomes a disguise expert.
“The Big Birthday Caper / Two Penguins Too Many” (10/19/68) – Riddler
and Penguin use a birthday party to try and expose Batman. / Real penguins help
Penguin and Joker.
“Partners in Peril / The Underworld Underground Caper” (10/26/68) –
Joker, Penguin and Riddler stage a deadly contest to one-up each other for
control of Gotham. / Riddler and Catwoman use an underground drill in their
crimes.
“Hizzoner the Joker / Freeze’s Frozen Vikings” (11/2/68) – Joker wins
the race for mayor of Gotham. / Mr. Freeze uses a Viking hoax to commit thefts.
“The Crime Computer / The Great Scarecrow Scare” (11/9/68) – Penguin
uses a computer to outwit Batman. / Scarecrow steals a painting and captures
Batgirl.
“A Game of Cat and Mouse / Beware of Living Dolls” (11/16/68) –
Catwoman steals the Crown Jewels. / Dollman uses dolls to commit crimes.
“Will the Real Robin Please Stand Up? / He Who Swipes the Ice, Goes to
the Cooler” (11/23/68) – Catwoman uses an amnesiac boy who resembles Robin. /
Mr. Freeze’s diamond heist goes wrong.
“Simon the Pieman / A Mad, Mad Tea Party” (11/30/68) – Simon and his
men take out the criminal competition and steal valuables under the guise of a
carnival. / Mad Hatter creates a Wonderland-themed gang to steal an antique
teapot.
“From Catwoman with Love / Perilous Playthings” (12/7/68) – Catwoman
gives Batman a cat for Valentine’s Day that broadcasts traceable radio waves. /
Catwoman crashes a production of Tom
Thumb in Toyland and uses the toys against Batman.
“A Perfidious Pieman is Simon / Cool, Cruel Christmas Caper”
(12/14/68) – Simon steals four million Turkish coins. / Mr. Freeze dresses up
as Santa Claus.
“The Fiendishly Frigid Fraud / Enter the Judge” (12/21/68) – Crashing
ice meteors allow Mr. Freeze to stage a massive hoax. / A criminal escapes
disguised as a judge and begins crashing trials to recruit henchmen.
“The Jigsaw Jeopardy / Wrath of the Riddler” (12/28/68) – Riddler
plans to blow up Gotham’s art gallery. / Riddler hides out in a construction
site.
“It Takes Two to Make a Team / Opera Buffa” (1/4/69) – Joker, Penguin
and Riddler plan to make Robin jealous of Batgirl and break-up the team. /
Joker is haunted by the ghost of Batman.
