Holy Syndicated Nostalgia Batman, we're coming to DVD!

Those of a certain age will remember watching Batman when it originally aired - or in syndication - as part of their youth. The entire series is coming to DVD later this year.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/01/15/batman-tv-show-complete-series-dvd/4496197/

 

I was in kindergarten when the show started in 1965 and remember it was on at 7 p.m. two days a week, Wednesday and Thursday, I believe.

My bedtime was 7 p.m., but my mom said I could stay up one day a week to watch Batman and I was smart enough to pick the second, because it began with a review of the first episode.

 

I was in 2nd/4th grade while the show was on, and while I watched it religiously, even bulldozing my parents to drive me 70 miles to grandma's house to see it some nights, when it comes on in reruns I have always been underwhelmed.

Not sure I can really picture sitting through more than about 2 episodes at a time.

I am pretty sure legal wrangling between 20th Century Fox, which produced the original series, and Warner Bros., held up release of the series on disc.

 

Just the three networks back then, and we needed cable to get 'em in my little town. All we had was a b/w TV, but we were parked in front of it for every Batman episode that ever aired.

And so was just about every kid in my elementary school. Same Bat channel.

 

Awesome. A senior citizen thread. I was a first grader in 1965.

I never missed Batman but there were tough decisions. CBS put other favorites up against it like Lost in Space and The Munsters.

Overall, Saturday was my favorite night with Flipper, I Dream of Jeannie and Get Smart back-to-back on NBC.

 

I'm old enough to have caught Batman in syndication in the afternoons in the mid-late 1970s, but young enough to have never seen a first-run episode in primetime
I remember making sure I caught every episode I could in the afternoon.

 

Me, too. One of the random channels I have now - MeTV or Antenna TV was showing these from 7-8 on Saturdays the last few months. Not sure if the schedule has changed.

 

OK, so who are everyone's favorite Special Guest Villains?

Lee Meriwether was my favorite Catwoman, even though she was only in the movie. Frank Gorshin's Riddler was much better than John Astin's. I also liked Cliff Robertson as Shame and Milton Berle as Louie the Lilac.

 

Lee Meriwether only did the movie. Julie Newmar was Catwoman the first two seasons and Eartha Kitt in the third.

 

Cesar Romero as the Joker, and it isn't close.

 

I didn't appreciate the assets of Batgirl Yvonne Craig until I got older and saw her in reruns.

 

That's how I watched it, too. I never even realized it was in syndication.

My understanding is part of the issue is that Warner Bros. simply doesn't like that version of the character because the darker version of the Christopher Nolan films has been so successful. Hell, pretty much every version of the character is darker.

If you think about it, the darker version makes sense. This is a vigilante driven to fight crime due to the death of his parents when he was very young. That's a dark premise. Kind of like the two versions of Battlestar Galactica. You've got a race of robots trying to wipe out humanity. Doesn't really seem like a good opportunity for camp.

And yet, in both cases, it is absolutely possible to enjoy both the Christian Bale and Adam West versions. At least West didn't do such a ridiculous Batman voice.