Tomorrow Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is unleashing the highly anticipated and long awaited home video release of the ’60s Batman television series in a massive Limited Edition Blu-ray box set.
All 120 original episodes, as they were first broadcast on ABC from 1966-1968, have been remastered in stunning HD. Batman: The Complete Series will be available onDVD and well as in a numbered collector’s Blu-ray version, which includes a Hot Wheels replica of the iconic Batmobile, an Adam West Scrapbook, a set of 44 vintage trading cards, a 32-page episode guide and over three hours of extra features on a supplementary disc.
With an unforgettable campy opening theme song and drenched in surreal primary colors, Batman‘s Dynamic duo were Adam West (Bruce Wayne/Batman) and Burt Ward (Dick Grayson/Robin) and an all-star rotating cast of special guest stars as the Caped Crusader’s Rogues Gallery: Cesar Romero (Joker), Frank Gorshin (Riddler), Burgess Merideth (Penguin), Vincent Price (Egghead), Milton Berle (Louie, The Lilac), Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Victor Buono (King Tut), Joan Collins (Siren) and many others.
As a fan who first watched the show as yougin when it was well into reruns in the late ’70s, it’s been a long time coming to finally appreciate the comic book color scheme realized in this way. The Hub has been airing episodes recently off the standard muddy video transfer, which is the greatest gift when appreciating this remaster. Not so much simply for the time capsule look back at the episodes, but for re-enforcing how stunning the show pops in HD. Batman had a look all its own, with its many dutch angles and the Pow! Bam! Zap! sound bubbles that appeared during the signature fight scenes, influenced by the comic pages it was based on and the Lichtenstein art that was popular at the time.
For the those wondering, yes the hi-def detail makes it far easier to notice Cesar Romero had his mustache underneath his Joker make-up! You can also really notice the difference in the dark blue against the purple tones of West’s Batman suit and cowl. Going through the entire series is by no means a simple task, but I’m looking forward to re-visiting a show that was such an important part of my childhood, it made Batman real and introduced me to the world of live action superheroes.
The groundbreaking show introduced aspects to the Batman canon like the fire turbine on the Batmobile, and fun additions like the Batpoles, Bat Shark Repellent, the red Bat Phone and TV catch phrases like “Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel” and “Holy [insert noun here] Batman!” Plus how can we forget the Batusi or scenes of the Dynamic Duo climbing up buildings when a random celebrity opening a window to offer a humorous cameo moment.
The disc of bonus material, boasting over three hours of documentaries and special features, offers lots of fun gems for fans. In Hanging With Batman, which chronicles Adam West’s trip down the Batman road via old and new interviews, we learn while shooting a scene from a spaghetti western in Europe, he approached a cave on horseback which let loose thousands of bats his way. A week later, he was at Fox Studios and asked to play Batman. An omen indeed. The doc offers a snippet from his screen test alongside Burt Ward (slated Burton Gervis) wearing a Batsuit didn’t have the yellow circle around the insignia, making it look far darker and similar to the ’40s serial version than the screen costume that made it to air. West also goes into the tough road with type casting after the cancellation, but to this day tries to maintain the integrity of the character to fans and kids. He explains people have always expected a part of the character from him.
Other documentaries include Holy Memorabilia Batman! (Adam West visits a massive collection and try on his old cowl), Batmania Born!, Bats of the Round Table (a conversation with West and celebrity friends), Inventing Batman in the words of Adam West (West discusses his script notes from the first two episodes), and Na Na Na Batman! (a retrospective of Batman memories from stars and producers). The Batgirl series proposal short starring Yvonne Craig (who joined the cast in Season 3) is included on the bonus disc in addition to the full screen tests from West and Ward plus a “what could have been” version featuring Lyle Waggoner (Batman )and Peter Deyell (Robin).
West reminds us there were three B’s of ’60s pop culture: the Beatles, Bond and Batman. The box set is visually stunning and serves as a great period piece, now more than ever, with Batman being more Dark Knight than Caped Crusader these days. Though it can be debated by fans my age that the show set the public perception of comic books back to frivolous silliness for decades, at this point we can appreciate it (again) for exactly all of the fun it was intended to be. It’s definitely a must have for the collections of Bat Fans of all ages.
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