As a youngster, I was a BIG fan of Batman, the thirty-minute prime time, live action television series broadcast by the ABC Network between 1966 and 1968. The series featured actor Adam West as the perennial character of Batman, while Burt Ward donned nylon stockings and fairy boots for his portrayal of the erstwhile sidekick, Robin. The show received the worst audience test scores in the history of ABC and only went on the air because so much money had already been invested in it. The show proved popular to many fans, and transformed Adam and Burt into modern pop culture icons.
One of the show's most noteworthy features was its memorable use of onomatopoeia during climactic fight scenes. And it is that element, along with the idea-inspiring containers, that led us to creating these caches.
Aired from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968 on ABC for 120 episodes, it was one of few TV series to be seen on 2 different nights a week: 7:30 Wednesdays AND Thursdays. It remained there for a season and a half (Jan. 1966-Aug. 1967) until it was moved back once a week (Thursdays 7:30) for its final season. The episodes were generally two-parters: Wednesday's episode was a cliffhanger, resolved in Thursday's episode. The 1966-1967 season had 2 3-parter episodes which left cliffhangers that would be solved the following week. When the series was reduced to (mostly) one part episodes during season three, the cliffhanger death traps and threats were still used, but greatly scaled back and occurring at the middle commercial break.
When not fighting crime as Batman and Robin, the Dynamic Duo were often found at Wayne manor in their respective identities as Bruce Wayne and his "youthful ward", Dick Grayson. Living alongside them in the vast mansion, was doddering old Aunt Harriet (a character exclusive to the television series), and their mild-mannered butler, Alfred. Alfred possessed the good fortune of being the only other person to know Batman and Robin's secret identities.
Unlike the earlier movie serials of the 1940s, this was the first Batman project to feature Batman's rogues gallery of villains. Cesar Romero made numerous appearances as the Joker, while Burgess Meredith reinvented the image of the Penguin, with his crooked smile and trademark "Squawk". Julie Newmar provided Catwoman's rolling "R"s, only to be replaced later by Lee Meriwether for the 1966 movie, and by Eartha Kitt in the series. Two men provided their talents to the role of the Riddler - Frank Gorshin and John Astin.
In addition to the fantastic sets and costumes was the first introduction of the Batmobile, Batcycle, Batboat, and the Batcopter. The Batmobile was a 1955 Lincoln Futura that George Barris customized in only three weeks. Two Batcycles appeared on the show; the first was a barely modified Harley Davidson, and the second was a highly modified Yamaha. The Batboat was built by Glastron.
By season three, declining ratings prompted the introduction of a third partner to the Bat Family, Barbara Gordon – aka Batgirl (played by Yvonne Craig). Although Batgirl was a popular character, her presence could not save the series, and it was canceled in 1968.
After the show was canceled by ABC, the producers thought they could bring it to another network. When it looked like they couldn't, all of the sets were bulldozed. Then, two weeks later, NBC offered to air the series but only if the sets were still intact. But they didn't want to start from scratch and build new sets because the set for the Batcave alone would cost $800,000. So it was too late and nothing came of it.
Enjoy and happy hunting!
Ol'Fogie
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