Batman - Episode Guide

The Episode Guide is Split Between Three Parts, to see the other seasons click below

Batman Episode Guide - First Season Batman Episode Guide Second Season

Batman Show Credits - Thanks to Aaron Handy ! 

THIRD SEASON

95 - ENTER BATGIRL, EXIT PENGUIN 9/14/67.

  Starring Burgess Meredith as The Penguin

 "It's Alfred's emergency belt buckle Batcall signal. He's in trouble." -Batman

 Written by Stanford Sherman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Commissioner Gordon discovers that his daughter, Barbara, has been kidnapped by that well-known entrepreneur, Penguin. The cagey bird shows Barbara a wedding dress he selected and describes his plans to marry her. As the Commissioner's son-in-law, Penguin would become immune from prosecution. Barbara consents to marriage only after Penguin threatens to kill her father. Barbara secretly changes to Batgirl and is joined by the Dynamic Duo. With only half of the previous timeslot available, editing is crisper on most one episode third season shows, including this one. Noted Yvonne Craig, who played Batgirl, about modifications to her costumes, "They cut the eyeholes bigger in all the masks, because any time Adam took a step forward, it was an act of faith, you know; he absolutely couldn't see in his cowl." BatBits: In this episode, Barbara Gordon has recently returned from four years of college and Dick Grayson has just passed his driver's licence exam, allowing him to drive the Batmobile at last.

96 - RING AROUND THE RIDDLER 9/21/67

  Starring Frank Gorshin as The Riddler

Written by Charles Hoffman. Directed by Sam Strangis. Riddler attempts to take control of prize fighting in Gotham, posing as boxing champion Mushy Nebuchadnezzer, calling on Siren (Joan Collins) for assistance. Batgirl comes to the rescue but is tossed in a steam room. Gorshin's enjoyably goofball Riddler returns after John Astin's low-key portrayal (#79/80), but too much stuff is jammed into a tiny timeslot. "[Boxer] Jerry Quarry was in his bathrobe," recalled Yvonne Craig, of an event between takes. "I asked him if he was a heavyweight, because I hadn't seen him box. He said, 'Yes,' and I said 'You don't look big enough.' I walked away and decided not to pursue it." BatBits: The Riddler's real name, Edward Nigma, was never used in the TV series.

 97 - THE WAIL OF THE SIREN 9/28/67

  Starring Joan Collins as The Siren

 Written by Stanley Ralph Ross. Directed by George Waggner. With Commissioner Gordon under her spell, Siren initiates a plan to discover Batman's secret identity. Siren hypnotizes Bruce Wayne to turn over all the Wayne family jewels and cash and orders him to jump off the top of a tall building. Siren seemingly gets a promotion form supporting villainy (#96), though this episode was actually written and filmed first. The solo stint offers Joan Collins a bit more opportunity for character development. Siren/Circe/Lorelei is powerful but only modestly ambitious in her villainy. "When they told me they had Joan Collins," noted scripter Stanley Ralph Ross, "they said create a character for her. I thought Siren was perfect for Joan. She was married to a guy that I later went into partnership with, Anthony Newley. I wrote a musical with him." BatBits: "It's was Adam's birthday [9/19]." recalled Bruce Hutchinson. ""I went into his dressing room to make him up and he handed me a beautifully wrapped present. He said, 'It's my birthday and I want to give you a present It was a beautiful bathrobe from I Magnin that he had purchased himself. It was the nicest thing an actor has ever done for me. That's the kind of man he was. I was always very fond of him for those kinds of reason. He did a lot of things for a lot of people."

98 - THE SPORT OF PENGUINS 10/05/67

99 - A HORSE OF ANOTHER COLOR 10/12/67

  Starring Burgess Meredith as The Penguin

Written by Charles Hoffman. Directed by Sam Strangis. Lola Lasagne (Ethel Merman) links up with Penguin in hopes of fixing a horse race. Batman, Robin and Batgirl try to break up the potential horse- nappers, but Penguin diverts the Gotham Guardians by gluing the Batmobile in place and our heroes to their seats. The Penguin's linkup with Lola Lasagne seems beneath his more typical dramatic shenanigans, an example of a scriptwriter's poor understanding of the villain, as well as the third season's budgetary constraints. Less money meant simpler sets and special effects and resulted in simpler plotting. BatBits: Although not used in the TV series, Penguin's real name was Oswarld Chesterfield Cobblepot, first revealed in the Sunday, February 17, 1946 Batman and Robin newspaper strip, written by Alvin Schwartz.

100 - THE UNKINDEST TUT OF ALL 10/19/67

  Starring Victor Buono as King Tut

Written by Stanley Ralph Ross. Directed by Sam Strangis. The Nabob of the Nile returns to Tut-nes after being hit on the head with a brick during a love-in. Tut phones Bruce Wayne and accuses him of being Batman, leading Wayne to appear in public with the Caped Crusader. Batgirl and Batman foil Tut's plot to pilfer a priceless collection of ancient Egyptian scrolls. The third season's smaller budgets are obvious here, as Tut is reduced to working out of a tent that is bigger on the inside than the outside. BatBits: According to publicity, comedienne Patti Gilbert as Tut's moll ended up konking Yvonne Craig on the head three times in order to get a good take for the bit with the break-away vase.

101 - LOUIE THE LILAC 10/26/67

  Starring Milton Berle as Louie The Lilac

 Written by Dwight Taylor. Directed by George Waggner. Louie plots to control the minds of Gotham's flower children. Robin is subdued after sniffing Louie's alba vulgaria-poison lilac and Batman is put away by a vase to the face. The Caped Crimefighters are then left in Louie's Hot House to be devoured by a giant Brazilian man-eating lilac. A showcase for the series fantastic use of color. With hippies, flower children and pop music, this is a time capsule of the period. Milton Berle plays Louie, a perfect touch. BatBits: At the end of this episode, lyrics accompany Batgirl's typically instrumental theme.

102 - THE OGG AND I 11/02/67

103 - HOW TO HATCH A DINOSAUR 11/09/67

Starring Vincent Price as Egghead

Starring Anne Baxter as Olga

Written by Stanford Sherman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Egghead joins with Olga ,Queen of the Bessarovian Cossaks to kidnap Commissioner Gordon. The ransom: a 10 cent tax on every egg consumed in Gotham, Olga plans to marry Batman. Batgirl arrives to save the day, but the crimefighters are blinded with tear gas. Egghead seems to work better on his own rather than as Olga's second banana and does not seem as dangerous as before. Anne Baxter as Olga is not of supervillain status and their plans are more silly than outrageous, reaching too far for camp. Vincent Price was Yvonne Craig's favorite series guest. "Any day that I worked with Vincent Price was especially wonderful," she recalled. "He was bright and witty and erudite. I always looked forward to the day he was to be in." BatBits: The Neosaurus creature in #103 was also used in an episode of LOST IN SPACE. Since Twentieth Century Fox was involved with both productions, many of the sound effects heard on Batman are the same as Irwin Allen's science fiction adventure.

104 - SURF'S UP! JOKER'S UNDER! 11/16/67.

  Starring Cesar Romero as The Joker

Written by Charles Hoffman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Joker and his men shanghai surf champ Skip Parker from the Hang Five, a surfers' hangout. His beach bunny, Barbara Gordon, sees the Jokermobile driving away and phones the Commissioner. Chief O'Hara and Commissioner Gordon, disguised as surfin' dudes Buzzy and Duke, visit the Hang Five, joined by Batman and Robin. Joker uses his Surfing Experience and Ability Transferometer and Vigor Reverser, to acquire Skip's surfing abilities. Batman and Robin are poisoned and turned into human surfboards. The series' gradual trend away from camp to self-parody erupts into an out-and-out parody of the show itself, which heretofore had been forbidden. The sets appear inexpensively designed with cheap props due to tighter budgets, actually working to this episode's benefit. BatBits: Rumor: Frank Sinatra was upset because Cesar Romero beat him out for the role of the Joker.

105 - THE LONDINIUM LARCENIES 11/23/67

106 - THE FOGGIEST NOTION 11/30/67

107 - THE BLOODY TOWER 12/7/67

  Starring Rudy Vallee as Lord Fogg

  Starring Glynnis Johns as Lady Penelope Peasoup

 Story by Elkan Allan. Teleplay by Elkan Allen Charles Hoffman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Lord Marmaduke Fogg (Rudy Vallee) and Lady Penelope Peasoup (Glynnis Johns) steal a collection of snuffboxes from a Londinium museum. Batman, Robin and Barbara Gordon travel by ship to Londinium, the Batmobile and Batcomputer secretly stowed away. The Gotham Guardians meet with Ireland Yard Superintendent Watson to discuss the man-made fogs masking the thieves' escapes. Robin is taken on a tour of Fogg's estate, supposedly a post girl's finishing school, and learns the students receive shoplifting lessons. As Batman and Robin return to a country manor house dungeon-turned-Batcave, a deathly fog bomb attached to the Batmobile explodes. Fogg is equipped with a memory erasing device, but a ridiculously convenient Recollection- Cycle Batrestorer quickly solves the problem, an example of the series' overabundant Batgizmos. Budgetary problems adversely affected this trio of episodes, the overall mood suffering from too obvious sets. Recalled Yvonne Craig, who played Batgirl, "Rudy Vallee was without a doubt one of the worst people I've ever worked with. I had so looked forward to working with him. He'd been in the business for two hundred years. And he came on the set and he was an absolute churl. He was the meanest man, just awful. It was a three-parter, we thought we'd never get rid of him. His cohort, Glynnis Johns, was just a dream." BatBits: In total, 32 writers received screen credits for working on the series.

108 - CATWOMAN'S DRESSED TO KILL 12/14/67.

  Starring Eartha Kitt as Catwoman

"You better leave the crime fighting to men." -Batman to Barbara Gordon regarding Batgirl.

 Written by Stanley Ralph Ross. Directed by Sam Strangis. Catwoman bursts into a luncheon honoring Gotham's ten best-dressed women, setting off a Hair-Raising Bomb which destroys the others' hair-dos. The Feline Fury ties Batgirl to a pattern cutting machine to keep Batman busy while she steals the Golden Fleece, $1 million in woven gold. "We felt it was a very provocative idea," recalled producer Charles FitzSimons about executive producer Bill Dozier's selection of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. "She was a cat woman before we ever cast her as Catwoman. She had a cat-like style. Her eyes were cat-like and her singing was like a meow. This came as a wonderful off-beat idea to do it with a black woman." Noted Yvonne Craig, "I thought Eartha was perfect because she was very catlike anyway. And I liked that she was my size. I could beat her up. I come up to Julie [Newmar]'s bellybutton. Not good in a fight." But Kitt lacked Julie Newmar's statuesque sexiness. The usual romance between Catwoman and Batman was missing in Kitt's episodes, in part, probably due to Kitt's race. Director Sam Strangis goes for a number of his longer takes, including one in Catwoman's lair that lasts a full minute. And not to be missed: Alfred's bit as the oldest living hippie. BatBits: Envisioning Catwoman as black was unique to the television series, an experiment that hasn't been repeated.

109 - THE OGG COUPLE 12/21/67.

  Starring Vincent Price as Egghead

  Starring Anne Baxter as Olga

 "You are a heartless, hairless man. I am liking you more an more." -Olga to Egghead

Written by Stanford Sherman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Olga, Queen of the Bessarovian Cossacks (Anne Baxter) again teams with Egghead to steal the Sword of Bulbul and the Egg of Ogg. Egghead plans to steal 500 pounds of condensed caviar (at $200 per ounce), stored at the Gotham City Bank. Batgirl gets Egghead to turn stool pigeon and lead her to Olga. Egghead declines from a strong second season villain to a whiney brat. Typical of third season: not serious enough for camp, not outlandish enough for satire. "I knew Anne for a long time," recalled Vincent Price. "I had done a couple of movies with her [THE EVE OF ST. MARK (1944), A ROYAL SCANDAL (1945).] I knew her very well, but she had retired from the movies and gone to live in Australia. She had a couple of babies when she lived in the Outback and had a terrible time." BatBits: Originally planned as a third installment for episodes #102/#103, all were shot together over nine days.

110 - THE FUNNY FELINE FELONIES 12/28/67

111 - THE JOKE'S ON CATWOMAN 1/04/68

  Starring Cesar Romero as The Joker

  Starring Eartha Kitt as Catwoman

 "No thank you. I never use tobacco in any form." -Bruce Wayne refuses Joker's cigar

Written by Stanley Ralph Ross. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Joker is paroled and immediately links up with Catwoman (Eartha Kitt), plotting to break into the Federal Depository. With help from Batgirl, the Dynamic Duo locate and subdue the villains. While querying Joker regarding his return to crime, they shake hands with the Grim Jester and are zapped by Joker's buzzer which slowly numbs their senses. Goofy courtroom scenes in #111 and Catwoman's KittyCar is a bizarre, fun vehicle. Pierre Salinger, formerly JFK's press secretary and a senator from California played underworld lawyer Lucky Pierre, the result of meeting Bill Dozier at a cocktail party. BatBits: Catwoman and Joker are among Batman's earliest comic book adversaries, initially appearing in Batman #1 (Spring 1940), and became the best-known and most frequently seen Batman antagonists.

112 - LOUIE'S LETHAL LILAC TIME 1/11/68

 Starring Milton Berle as Louie The Lilac

Written by Charles Hoffman. Directed by Sam Strangis. Two of Louie's gang members kidnap Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson for a million-dollar ransom. Batgirl is dumped into a vat which Louie orders filled with hot oil. Milton Berle reprises his stern interpretation of Louie in another Batman parody. "That was a difficult shoot," observed director Strangis. "We were out in Fox's Rancho Park and almost a thousand kids and adults came crowding around to see Batman and Uncle Miltie. Miltie is quite a ham. He went out and told jokes and signed autographs. We lost a day of shooting." BatBits: The Instant Unfolding Batcostumes With Utility Belts (just add warm water) are unveiled, another in a dippy line of astonishingly convenient Batjunk developed by authors who write themselves into a hole. What was camp quickly became cliche because no matter how bad the situation, the Caped Crimefighter never had to think too hard (just like the writer) since some lifesaving Batgizmo would be handy.

113 - NORA CLAVICLE AND THE LADIES' CRIME CLUB 1/18/68.

 Starring Barbara Rush as Nora Clavicle

 Written by Stanford Sherman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Mayor Linseed arrives at a testimonial banquet for Commissioner Gordon and, under pressure from his wife, promptly replaces Gordon with Nora Clavicle (Barbara Rush), a women's rights advocate. Clavicle dumps chief O'Hara, as well as Batman and turns the department into a women-only force. But Nora is up to no good as her girls later heist the Gotham City National Bank. Batman, Robin and Batgirl are tied into a Siamese human knot; the slightest move and they crush each other. Nora and her henchwomen unleash crates of explosive mechanical mice on Gotham. The lack of major villains (against whom Batman is at his best) make this episode close to unbearable. "We had a horrible time getting into it," said Yvonne Craig about the Siamese human knot, "because Burt is inflexible. They would say, get closer, get closer guys. We had to stay that way for rather a long time and he was complaining that it hurt. I said, 'It's supposed to hurt.'" BatBits: The Ideal toy company released a Batgirl doll in 1967.

114 - PENGUIN'S CLEAN SWEEP 1/25/68

Starring Burgess Meredith as The Penguin

 Written by Stanford Sherman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. The Penguin infects a bin of bucks at the U.S. Mint with Lygerian Sleeping Sickness germs and destroys the only available vaccine (after inoculating himself and his gang.) Citizens begin tossing their currency into the street and Penguin promptly vacuums up the cash-laden boulevards. Penguin is rich, but cannot do anything with his ill-gotten gains. Penguin helps a modest story in material reminiscent of the first or second season, a change of pace (back to camp) during a season of parody. "I became extremely frustrated and unhappy, and wanted out," said Adam West in a 1987 "Starlog" interview. "There was nothing I could do to convince the producers or the studio to make improvements. I was just a hired hand. Eventually I lost all interest because I felt the series was being neglected. They weren't spending the money they should have and we weren't getting the scripts we deserved. I didn't wand any part of that kind of situation. But I still hated to leave the character because Batman had been good to me." BatBits: This episode's in-joke was to cast John Beradino as a doctor. At the time, Beradino had portrayed Dr. Steve Hardy on General Hospital for five years.

115 - THE GREAT ESCAPE 02/01/68

116 - THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY 02/08/68

Starring Cliff Robertson as Shame

 Written by Stanley Ralph Ross. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Shame escapes from jail with the help of his girl friend Calamity Jan, her mother, Frontier Fanny and a Sherman tank, planning to steal a diamond and some cash from the Gotham City Opera House. Batman, Robin and Batgirl are sprayed with fear gas, Shame taking a fraidy-Batgirl with him to his stable. Cliff Robertson reprised his role as Shame, one of Batman's weaker villains, but an improvement over #59/60. Barry Dennen as Fernando Ricardo Enrique Dominquez, or Fred, a Mexican character with a British accent, is hilarious. Scripter Stanley Ralph Ross, who also developed Egghead, Siren, Archer and King Tut, created Shame. "They said we have other guys who can do the comic characters," Ross recalled. "We need you for originals. So that's why I kept coming up with originals. My favorite original after the Archer, was Shame." BatBits: Shame's moll, Calamity Jan, was played by Dina Merrill, Robertson's wife. Watch for Jerry "The Beaver" Mathers in #115 as Pup, the doorman.

117 - I'LL BE A MUMMY'S UNCLE 2/22/68

 Starring Victor Buono as King Tut

"Turkey legs! My favorite fruit." -King Tut

 Written by Stanley Ralph Ross. Directed by Sam Strangis. Tut escapes from Mount Ararat Hospital and purchases a piece of land adjacent to Wayne Manor to mine a vein of the world's hardest metal, Nilanium. After checking with the Batcomputer, Batman learns that Tut's slanting mine shaft is aimed at the Batcave. Batman and Robin give chase in a mine car, but arrive too late; the pharaoh's crew is already in the Batcave. Next to #41/42, one of the best Tut adventures. "I worked on HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE [19650 and WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? [1962]," recalled director Sam Strangis, "and I knew Victor from way back then. He was always terrific. Victor was family. He would always come on the show and have a great time." BatBits: Watch for comedian Henny Yongman as Manny the Mesopotamian.

118 - THE JOKER'S FLYING SAUCER 2/29/68

Starring Cesar Romero as The Joker

 Written by Charles Hoffman. Directed by Sam Strangis. Abetted by a mad scientist cellmate, Joker's plans for a flying saucer (to help take control of the world) are underway. The Dynamic Duo are trapped in the Batcave from an explosion by a time bomb placed in the Batmobile by one of Joker's henchmen. Another episode so crazy it must be considered satire- a parody of the show itself. Alfred the butler is forced to build a flying saucer so Joker and his gang can take off for outer space. BatBits: The comic book version of Bat-Girl was teen-ager Betty Kane, niece of heiress Kathy Kane (secretly Batwoman). This hyphenated Bat-Girl first appeared in Batman #139 (April 1961) and lasted just under three years.

 119 - THE ENTRANCING DR. CASSANDRA 03/07/68

Starring Ida Lupino as Dr Cassandra Spellcraft

Starring Howard Duff as Cabala

 Written by Stanley Ralph Ross. Directed by Sam Strangis. Criminal Dr. Cassandra (Ida Lupino) and her accomplice, Cabala (Howard Duff), are capable of camouflaging themselves so they appear invisible. Batman, Robin and Batgirl attempt to stop them from stealing the Mope Diamond at Spiffany's Jewelry Salon, but the doctor's Alvino-ray gun flattens the heroes paper-thin. The evil duo slips the flat trio under Commissioner Gordon's office door. At Gotham State Prison, Dr. Cassandra announces she is releasing Catwoman, Egghead, Penguin, Riddler, Joker, and King Tut. Scripter Stanley Ralph Ross wanted to call Cassandra's weapon a Ronald ray-gun. "This was the only time they really censored me," recalled Ross. "The weapon took the third dimension out of them and made them into cardboard cutouts. At the time Reagan was our governor. Alvino Rey was an old-time band leader from the '40s." BatBits: Lupino and Duff both appeared in a situation comedy, MR. ADAMS AND EVE, from 1957-1958. Not only did they portray married movie stars, but they actually were married. At this time, Duff was starring as Det. Sgt. Sam Stone on FELONY SQUAD, also for ABC. Although she does not recall him being filmed, Yvonne Craig usually brought her dog, Sebastian, to work, just as Alan Napier brought his dog, Tippy. "Sebastian was a Yorkshire terrier," she recalled, "and he and Tippy used to play. They were set-trained dogs. they would run around and chase one another and never made any noise."

120 - MINERVA, MAYHEM AND MILLIONAIRES 03/14/68

Starring Zsa Zsa Gabor as Minerva

"Persimmon pressurizer? Holy astringent plum-like fruit!" -Robin

Written by Charles Hoffman. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Minerva's Mineral Spa caters to millionaires, Bruce Wayne among them. Minerva's Deepest Secret Extractor obtains the combination to the Wayne Foundation vault. Minerva (Zsa Zsa Gabor) pops the Dynamic Duo into a giant pressure cooker. This final parody includes one-liners (Minerva: "I feel like a new man."), too-bad-to-be-true-props, inside jokes (appearances by producers William Dozier and Howie Horwitz) and dumb humor (Batman and Robin getting a massage while in costume?). Not great material, but still a fun show. When the series was cancelled in January 1968, executive producer William Dozier remarked, "Well, we had a good three-year run. That's not bad for what was essentially a novelty show. You've got to be realistic about such series. They can't last too long. In fact, I was surprised that it went a third season." Although the show still led its time slot in the ratings, Dozier noted, adults had wearied of it, and the audience had become kids who were just as happy watching the old shows; they don't care if it's a repeat. So why go on spending $487,000 for new ones? Dozier and producer Howie Horzitz appear as themselves at the beginning of this episode. We learn that Dozier keeps his securities in a grandfather clock while "millionaire producer" Horwitz keeps his cash in a TV set. BatBits: "You have to take it seriously," said Adam West in 1966 about his work on the series. "I want to do it well enough that Batman buffs will watch reruns in a few years and way, 'Watch the bit he does here; isn't that great?'" West's speculations about the future came true since the show has aired almost continuously since entering syndication. "I've never had more fun doing any role than Batman," West said later, "It was a fortuitous, lucky marriage of a lot of talents, and, as a result, it became a classic. It's going to be playing forever."

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