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Batman Season 1

The Penguin’s A Jinx

BatmanBruce Wayne is able to escape the Penguin’s clutches and return to the Batcave, but little does he know that the Penguin is listening to the Dynamic Duo as they try to figure out what the Penguin’s next target is, and how he intends to pull off the crime. They unwittingly give him the idea of kidnapping a Hollywood starlet visiting Gotham City and holding her for a ransom. But Batman is listening as closely as the Penguin is – perhaps closer.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
directed by Robert Butler
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Leslie Parrish (Dawn Robbins), Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), Dan Tobin (Mr. Jay), David Lewis (Warden Crichton), Walter Burke (Sparrow), Lewis Charles (Hawkeye)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

The Joker Is Wild

BatmanOne of Batman’s deadliest foes, the Joker, literally springs himself out of prison and embarks on a new crime spree in Gotham City, leaving clues to confound the Dynamic Duo. They foil the Joker’s museum heist of precious jewels – just – but when they follow the next clue to unmask the Joker at the Gotham City opera, the master criminal springs his trap: it’s all been to lure Batman and Robin so the Joker can unmask them.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Robert Dozier
directed by Don Weis
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Nancy Kovack (Queenie), Jonathan Hole (Museum Attendant), Merritt Bohn (Assistant Warden), Dick Curtis (The Inebriate)

Notes: BatmanGrappling with Batman himself instead of simply ordering his henchmen to do it, the Joker – in his first TV appearance – is clearly one of Batman’s more dangerous enemies. This marks Cesar Romero’s debut in the role of the Joker, and as is generally well known, he refused to shave his carefully-cultivated moustache for the part, instead opting to have it grease-painted over. (It’s still quite visible in many shots.)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

Batman Is Riled

BatmanA furious fight ensues before the Joker can unmask Batman and Robin on live TV, but during this fight, Batman discovers that the Joker has his own utility belt, modeled after Batman’s own indispensible crime-fighting gear. In their next fight, the Joker swaps Batman’s belt with his own, leaving the Dynamic Duo helpless to catch him. With a well-publicized appearance to attend, and Gotham City’s media questioning their competence, Batman and Robin are certain that they’re walking into another trap set by the Joker.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Robert Dozier
directed by Don Weis
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Nancy Kovack (Queenie), Jerry Dunphy (Newscaster), Al Wyatt (Henchman #1), Angelo de Meo (Henchman #2)

Notes: BatmanThe Joker’s crime wave in this episode and the previous one is described as the worst in Gotham City’s history. (It’s only the sixth episode of the series.) The Joker is sent back to prison, but returns to cause Batman trouble again within 10 episodes.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

Instant Freeze

BatmanA strange crime involving ice stolen from a skating rink signals the return of stone cold criminal Mister Freeze, unleashing a new crime wave on Gotham City. Batman is called into action, but since he remembers that he is responsible for Mister Freeze’s condition – their last fight left Freeze unable to survive in temperatures above 50 below zero – he wonders if his enemy is truly responsible for his insane actions. But when Mister Freeze steps up his crime spree, Batman has to hold his feet to the fire…or be frozen in place.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Max Godge
directed by Robert Butler
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), George Sanders (Mister Freeze), Robert Hogan (Paul Diamante), Shelby Grant (Princess Sandra), John Zaremba (Kolevater), William O’Connell (Mr. Perkins), Don Hannum (Art Rogers), Ken del Conte (Al Scott)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

Rats Like Cheese

BatmanBatman and Robin are rushed to Gotham City Hospital for a risky thawing-out procedure, and then discover that Mister Freeze has kidnapped famous baseball player Paul Diamante – and will accept nothing less than a hostage exchange involving Batman. Batman surrenders himself as demanded, but unknown to him, Robin has planted a homing device and plans to attempt a rescue…a plan that doesn’t quite happen as hoped. Now both of the Dynamic Duo is in the clutches of Mister Freeze, who intends to take his revenge upon Batman.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Max Godge
directed by Robert Butler
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), George Sanders (Mister Freeze), Robert Hogan (Paul Diamante), Shelby Grant (Princess Sandra), Dan Terranova (Doctor Vince), John Willis (Newscaster), Bill Hudson (Photographer)

Notes: The phrase “Curses, foiled again!” – commonly associated with the 1960s Batman TV series – enters the Bat-lexicon here, but it isn’t spoken by either Batman or Robin…instead, the show’s ever-present narrator says it in the opening teaser.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Classic Season 03 Doctor Who

The Massacre

Doctor WhoThe Doctor and Steven arrive in Paris, 1572. The Doctor is eager to visit apothecary and scientist Charles Preslin, whose early research into germs fascinates him, but doesn’t want to bring Steven along. Steven is loathe to stay in the TARDIS, and promises not to mingle with the locals, but is alarmed when he thinks he sees a man following the Doctor. Steven tries to follow, but runs afoul of the tavern keep (whom he has forgotten to pay). A man helps Steven out of his predicament and then brings him up to speed on the events into which the time travelers have emerged: the bloody fighting between Catholics and Protestants. Steven becomes very worried indeed when the Doctor vanishes, and is even more alarmed when a servant girl named Anne Chaplet bursts into the home of Admiral de Coligny, where he is staying. Anne claims to have overheard what could be a large-scale plot to rid Paris of all Protestants by any means necessary. Steven sees a man he believes to be the Doctor, but his new friends suddenly regard him coldly – they know this man as the Abbot of Amboise, one of the most fanatical Catholic crusaders in France. Not only does Steven not know whether the Doctor is safe, but he now has no backup. He’s a foreigner in a decidedly hostile situation, trapped between fanatical elements among both the Catholics and the Hugenots, and if he can’t find the Doctor, he’ll be stuck there.

Order this story on audio CDwritten by John Lucarotti
directed by Paddy Russell
music not credited

Guest Cast: Eric Thompson (Gaston), David Weston (Nicholas), John Tillinger (Simon), Edwin Fenn (Landlord), Christopher Tranchell (Roger), Eric Chitty (Preslin), Annette Robertson (Anne Chaplet), Clive Cazes (Captain), Reginald Jessup (Servant), William Hartnell (Abbot of Amboise), Andre Morell (Tavannes), Leonard Sachs (Admiral de Coligny), Cynthia Etherington (Old Lady), Barry Justice (Charles IX), Joan Young (Catherine de Medici)

Notes: The master tapes of this episode were destroyed by the BBC in the early 1970’s, and no video copies exist.

Broadcast from February 5 through 26, 1966

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

Zelda The Great

BatmanIt’s April 1st in Gotham City, and a bank heist has the Gotham Police perplexed. Batman has a hard time finding clues as well, so he plants a story in the next day’s newspaper, promising the public display of a dazzling emerald that surely his mysterious new nemesis can’t resist. But Zelda the Great, master illusionist, is already watching, and she knows the emerald is a trap. So she decides to make her next illegal windfall happen by other means…such as kidnapping Aunt Harriet and holding her for a ransom.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Lorenzo Semple Jr.
directed by Norman Foster
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Anne Baxter (Zelda), Jack Krushcen (Eivol Ekdal), Barbara Heller (Hilary Stonewin), Frankie Darro (Newsman), Jim Drum (Clancy), Stephen Tompkins (Bank Guard)

Notes: Even for 1960s Batman, this episode breaks the fourth wall an awful lot, with everyone from Zelda to a newspaper vendor taking time out to address the audience.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

A Death Worse Than Fate

BatmanThe unusual duo of Bruce Wayne and the Boy Wonder appeal to Zelda the Great on live TV to release Aunt Harriet. But just as Batman tried to lure Zelda into a trap, she and her cohort plan to return the favor with lethal results – a plan that will spell the end of the Dynamic Duo unless someone has a change of heart.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Lorenzo Semple Jr.
directed by Norman Foster
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Anne Baxter (Zelda), Jack Krushcen (Eivol Ekdal), Douglas Dumbrille (The Doctor), Victor French (Hood No. I), Bill Phipps (Hood No. II), Frankie Darro (Newsman), Jerry Doggett (The Announcer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

A Riddle A Day Keeps The Riddler Away

BatmanA foreign king is visiting Gotham City, but it greeted by a surprise from the Riddler. Batman and Robin are immediately called in to keep the Riddler from disrupting the king’s visit, but are caught flat-footed when the king is abducted before their very eyes. But the king and his riches aren’t the prize; the Riddler will settle for nothing less than ridding the world of Batman.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Fred de Gorter
directed by Tom Gries
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Susan Silo (Mousey), Reginald Denny (King Boris), Marc Cavell (Fangs), Tim Herbert (Whiskers), Roy Jenson (Whitey), Tris Coffin (Ambassador), Johnny Magnus (M.C.)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

When The Rat’s Away The Mice Will Play

BatmanBelieving that Batman and Robin are out of the way, the Riddler refocuses his criminal ambitions on the visiting foreign king, or more precisely, the gold-encrusted treasure the king carries as a gift to Gotham City. The Riddler even sends one of his henchmen to visit Commissioner Gordon…in the guise of Batman. But even more awkwardly, “Batman”‘s visit occurs while Commissioner Gordon is discussing business with Bruce Wayne…

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Fred de Gorter
directed by Tom Gries
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Susan Silo (Mousey), Reginald Denny (King Boris), Marc Cavell (Fangs), Tim Herbert (Whiskers), Roy Jenson (Whitey), Marvin Miller (TV Announcer)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

The Thirteenth Hat

BatmanA sinister man whose top hat conceals a mesmerizing ray is stalking Gotham City, stealing hats from their owners…and then stealing their owners. As the number of kidnap victims grows, Batman and Robin are called in to investigate. The Mad Hatter, a criminal Batman had already brought to justice once before, is at large again, and for some reason is obsessed with obtaining Batman’s cowl.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Charles Hoffman
directed by Norman Foster
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), David Wayne (The Mad Hatter), Diane McBain (Lisa), Roland La Starza (Cappy), Gil Perkins (Dicer), Sandra Wells (Babette), Alberto Morin (Octave Marbot), Monique Le Maire (Magda), Norma Varden (Mrs. Monteagle)

Notes:

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

Batman Stands Pat

BatmanBatman determines that the Mad Hatter is nearly done collection twelve victims – the twelve people who sat on the jury who convicted him. The piece de resistance of the Hatter’s collection will be Batman’s cowl: the captor who brought him before that jury. He intends to remove it from Batman’s head…whether Batman is dead or alive.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Charles Hoffman
directed by Norman Foster
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), David Wayne (The Mad Hatter), Diane McBain (Lisa), Roland La Starza (Cappy), Gil Perkins (Dicer), George Conrad (Turkey Bowinkle), Alberto Morin (Octave Marbot), Monique Le Maire (Magda), Norma Varden (Mrs. Monteagle)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

The Joker Goes To School

BatmanWhen a milk vending machine at Dick Grayson’s high school begins spewing out silver dollars for every dime inserted, it’s very strange, but is it a crime? In fact, it’s the tip of the iceberg of the Joker’s latest scheme: if he can lure the teens of Gotham City into quitting school because money comes easily to them…they’ll make easy recruits to his criminal gang when the money stops coming so easily. Dick is forced to keep a low profile to avoid being recognized as Robin, but when he does become the Boy Wonder again, he finds himself caught in the Joker’s shocking trap along with Batman.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
directed by Murray Golden
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Donna Loren (Susie), Kip King (Nick), Greg Benedict (Two Bits), Bryan O’Byrne (Principal Schoolfield), Tim O’Kelly (Pete), Glenn Allan (Herbie), Sydney Smith (Mr. Vandergilt)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Batman Season 1

He Meets His Match, The Ghostly Ghoul

BatmanRobin is distraught when he discovers that Susie, the head cheerleader at his high school, has become a pawn of the Joker. Batman suggests that the Boy Wonder can help, but not as Robin – he instead goes undercover as Dick Grayson, but his attempt to act like a high school dropout doesn’t fool the Joker…and this places Susie’s life in jeopardy unless the Joker can be stopped.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
directed by Murray Golden
music by Nelson Riddle / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge Blake (Mrs. Cooper), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Donna Loren (Susie), Kip King (Nick), Greg Benedict (Two Bits), Jim Henaghan (Fulton), Dick Bellis (Joe), Cherie Foster (Cheerleader I), Linda Harrison (Cheerleader II), Breeland Rice (Policeman)

BatmanNotes: Just two years before Planet Of The Apes made her a household name, Linda Harrison makes her first on-screen appearance in this episode of Batman. She would go on to play Wonder Woman in an unaired pilot, Who’s Afraid Of Diana Prince?, filmed (and rejected) in 1967; it would be the 1970s (and two actresses later) before Wonder Woman, Batman’s DC Comics stablemate, would become a fixture of prime time.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Classic Season 03 Doctor Who

The Ark

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS arrives in a verdant forest, which the Doctor, Dodo and Steven assume must be on Earth. They are soon proven wrong when alarms sound in the “forest,” which turns out to be part of a vast spaceship carrying the last remnants of the human race away from a doomed Earth, ten million years in the future when the sun is slowly edging toward its nova stage. The Doctor and his friends also meet the one-eyed alien Monoids, peaceful creatures which seem to languish in a benevolent servitude to the ship’s human crew. But the travelers’ arrival becomes a bad omen when Dodo, suffering from the common cold, accidentally transmits it to the commander of the ship – unaware that the human race ten million years hence lacks her immune system. Condemned for what is perceived to be biological warfare, the Doctor races to immunize the future humans against the cold. Having cleared his name, the Doctor and his friends depart in the TARDIS – but accidentally return to the same place seven centuries later, finding the Monoids in control and the last of the human race in the chains of slavery.

written by Paul Erickson & Lesley Scott
directed by Michael Imison
music by Tristram Cary

Guest Cast: Eric Elliott (Commander), Inigo Jackson (Zentos), Roy Spencer (Manyak), Kate Newman (Mellium), Michael Sheard (Rhos), Ian Frost (Baccu), Ralph Carrigan (Monoid Two), Terence Bayler (Yendom), Edmund Coulter (Monoid One), Frank George (Monoid Three), John Caesar (Monoid Four), John Halstead, Roy Skelton (Monoid voices), Stephanie Heesom, Paul Greenhalgh (Guardians), Terence Woodfield (Maharis), Brian Wright (Dassuk), Eileen Helsby (Venussa), Richard Beale (Refusian voice)

Broadcast from March 5 through 25, 1966

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green