Shane wrote:ONeillSG1 wrote:Is that an official release or a bootleg?
yes
zombieslayer wrote:DirtyRatBastard wrote:I smell shenanigans
Everyone get your brooms!
well, it took forever and a day for me to recieve Rockford on DVD, but I kept the faith, as should you.
The easier answer though is that the Batman series is contractually tied up. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that it aired on ABC, which technically makes it a Disney property now, however, since the intellectual property of Batman is a Warner Bros. possession, you won't see Batman on DVD until rights and royalty issues are hashed out...which sucks, I know.
Retardo_Montalban wrote:http://www.deluxed.de/sb/files/batmanurdurdur.swf
I thought this was funny. It's an actual song and it never ends. Ever. I've had it on for 10 minutes now.
HollywoodBabylon wrote:The TV series of 'Batman was as camp as a row of tents. Trash-TV at is best.
Maybe John Waters should direct any proposed new series.
Shane wrote:HollywoodBabylon wrote:The TV series of 'Batman was as camp as a row of tents. Trash-TV at is best.
Maybe John Waters should direct any proposed new series.
What?
you know it would be just like the 60's series but with batman and robin doing it.
Bad idea.
HollywoodBabylon wrote:Shane wrote:[quot e="HollywoodBabylon"]The TV series of 'Batman was as camp as a row of tents. Trash-TV at is best.
Maybe John Waters should direct any proposed new series.
What?
you know it would be just like the 60's series but with batman and robin doing it.
Bad idea.
Shane wrote:in a tone a bit more down to earth and serious than the Flash was.
Could a new deal between Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and the cast of the 1960s Batman series potentially open the door to DVDs finally being made?
Marc Graser wrote:As a blitz of merchandise hits store shelves for "The Dark Knight Rises," Warner Bros. is turning to a campier source for a new Caped Crusader product: the 1960s "Batman" TV series.
For the first time in 40 years, Warner Bros. Consumer Products will be able to use the likeness of the show's stars, including Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Alan Napier, Cesar Romero and Burgess Meredith, on everything from apparel to toys, home goods, publishing and promotions.
WBCP will introduce the new "Batman" product opportunities to potential partners and retailers at next week's Licensing Expo, running June 12-14 in Las Vegas. First products will launch in the spring.
Retailers had requested a larger merchandise line tied to the show over the years, but studio arm had previously been able to use only the series' logo, POW!-packed animated opening sequence and the Batmobile for product, not the actors, due to rights issues as the series was produced by 20th Century Fox. As a result, studio was limited to a small line of T-shirts and a die-cast Batmobile made by Mattel.
Studio began negotiating with Fox, West and the estates of the show's other thesps for the rights to their likenesses in August 2009. Batman is a DC Comics character.
Division is eager to exploit the "Batman" series, which aired on ABC from 1966-68, especially its colorful characters, gadgets like the Bat phone and Bat boat, and kitschy humor, an easier sell for retailers than the darker, more serious and gritty tone of Christopher Nolan's film trilogy.
Company is talking to department stores about carrying exclusive lines of "Batman" show merchandise, the way Bloomingdale's turned to its household brands like Marc Jacobs and Psycho Bunny to tap into the 75th anniversary of DC Comics.
"For the first time in over 40 years we will be able to offer fans a full merchandise program that captures the classic, kitschy look and feel of the original 'Batman' TV show," said Brad Globe, president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "This new licensing program allows our partners to take advantage of the characters, gadgets and humor that made the show a smash hit in its day and a perennial favorite decades later."
Warner Bros. also will promote "Man of Steel," the next two "Hobbit" films, "The Looney Tunes Show," "The Wizard of Oz," "Scooby-Doo" and "ThunderCats" TV shows at the Licensing Expo.
Tyrone_Shoelaces wrote:TheButcher wrote:What Secret Plans Are There For The ’66 Batman TV Show At Comic-Con?
Fixed.
Rich Johnston wrote:At San Diego Comic Con I heard rumours, but only when back in London, do they seem to have coalesced. They do, however, seem to be incorrect.
It seems sure now that we’re getting the Batman 1966 DVD finally released after Fox and Warners did some kind of intra-company deal.
But at San Diego I was also hearing that, with the success of Arrow recently, the end of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, and the predicted success of the Agents Of SHIELD TV show that it is time for a new Batman show, living in the continuity of those Batman movies.
That the show would be a side story to the main Batman event however, focused on the Five Families of Gotham, the mafia that run the city, and how their criminal and corrupt political power base is impacted by the emerging of Batman in the scene, though he would rarely be seen in the show And considerable influence from the classic DC series Gotham Central.
However, while many people want such a show to exist, informed Bleeding Cool sources at Warners insist that no such show is on the cards. Now, as we know from the Doctor Who Missing Episodes rumours, fan blinkers can exist at all levels of an industry. But there’s no reason why such a show couldn’r exist. Something like it must have been discussed at Warners at some point. And if a few people are rather more excited about what ifs and possibles than reality would justify – well, ideas have to come from somewhere don’t they?
Corey Bond wrote:As a child of the seventies, I grew up watching Batman reruns and Godzilla Saturday matinees on television, but even with my fervent imagination I never dreamed of a crossover between the two. The studios that held the rights to the characters, on the other hand, considered that very thing back before I was even born, each of them envisioning the combo as a sequel to their own successful sixties-era movies.
Toho Studios, following the financial success of 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla, was eager to pit their giant radioactive dinosaur against another American icon, and set their sights on the Caped Crusader. So in 1965, Godzilla series screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa wrote a proposal for Batman vs. Godzilla.
Hannah Means Shannon wrote:Denver Comic Con is going full steam ahead on June 13th through 15th after doubling its number of attendees last year and epic growth since its opening in 2012. This time they are definitely playing to the huge interest in iconic TV properties (Star Trek was the big theme last year) by bringing in Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar and Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman in Batman: the Animated Series).
The appearances will connect with panel sessions, including a “reunion” panel for the ’66 cast. Conroy will also be participating in voice actors panels, spreading the Batman celebration throughout the con. These guests join previously announced Batman comic book creators Neal Adams, Christopher Jones, Yanick Paquette and Peter Tomasi. From TV to comics, this is going to be a very Bat-con, with DCC teasing more Batman-related announcements and guests still to come.
Howell J. Malham Jr. wrote:Despite the surfeit of available character actors roaming Hollywood's studio lots in the mid-1960s, there were precious few who could have convincingly portrayed an insidious madman who terrorizes Gotham City while sporting a pair of skin-tight lime leotards bespangled with black question marks.
With the infallible luxury of hindsight, Frank Gorshin seems to be the only performer who could have pulled off such a brilliant and complicated stunt, as he did on the "Batman" TV show. It's hard to believe that anyone, regardless of his star power, could break Gorshin's link to the role of the Riddler--Batman's wackiest and deadliest arch-enemy.
John Astin tried, when Gorshin was unable to fulfill his riddling obligations on one particular "Batman" episode, because of another performing commitment. But Astin never really fit the suit, and his waxed mustache made him look more like a wimpy organ grinder than a ruthless criminal. What's more, he lacked that confident air and daredevil insanity that Gorshin conveyed so effortlessly on screen. He also couldn't giggle as incessantly or maniacally as his predecessor.
This summer, of course, Jim Carrey takes a whack at the role in "Batman Forever." Early returns suggest that he may be the one talent with enough reckless abandon to redefine the character's psychosis and create a whole new image of the Riddler in the minds of "Batman" aficionados. Gorshin hasn't seen the movie yet but even he agrees, saying, "Jim Carrey will be fantastic; he's a talented gentleman."
But there's an amazingly loyal fan base that holds the original TV show as gospel; those loyal fans, though presumably tolerant of Carrey's portrayal, will forever see only one man as the Riddler: Frank Gorshin.
After catching Gorshin's comedy act in Las Vegas in the mid-'60s, William Dozier, executive producer of the TV "Batman," knew the young performer had everything required to play the coveted part of the Prince of Puzzlers: an explosive, manic energy and live-wire daftness that would offset the deadpan campiness and highbrow corn of the television show. So believable were these qualities that viewers, though amused and enthralled by Gorshin's performance of the vivacious villain, would always wonder at the end of a Riddler episode if he was, in fact, really acting.
"I was acting all right," says Gorshin, who was interviewed in May when he was in Las Vegas starring as Nathan Detroit in "Guys and Dolls." His voice, though noticeably attenuated from his nightly performances, still retains the famed elasticity that helped earn him his propers as an impressionist.
"More importantly, I enjoyed playing the Riddler, mostly because it did so much for me and my career."
Good `bad guy' roles
Before his stint as Batman's most fiendish foe, Gorshin was the ranking opening act in Las Vegas, playing big-name clubs and casinos during the early '60s, while occasionally nabbing a TV role or two. Impressions and standup were primarily his bag, though he earned kudos as a dramatic performer on television with his work on "Naked City."
He was landing more and more character roles on the sitcom circuit but, much to Gorshin's chagrin, he was rarely considered for "good guy" parts; in fact, when an actor was needed to play a shady, unsavory part, Gorshin's phone would inevitably ring before anyone else's in Hollywood.
Take his bit on "The Munsters," where he guest starred as the unctuous Dirty Deal Dan, a fast-talking, sharp-shooting used car salesman who pawned off a lemon on Marilyn Munster. Or as the racist alien with a split personality on "Star Trek," wreaking havoc down the halls of the Starship Enterprise.
"Hey, I didn't try to do bad-guy parts," he says emphatically, like a guy who has spent a career dispelling a common misconception about his typecasting. "But that's how everybody saw me. It's this strange dichotomy: People that know me can't imagine me being a bad guy. But people, when they meet me, see me as nothing but the bad guys.
"Believe me, I never wanted to be a bad guy; I wanted to play the hero too."
The casting of the ever-limber Gorshin as the Riddler catapulted the actor into a newfound stratosphere of popularity; it may also have been the key ingredient in the show's quick success. According to executive producer Dozier in Joel Eisner's "The Official Batman Batbook," early test marketing of a pilot show was greeted with tepid response. Audiences, it seemed, were either too jaded to appreciate yet another cartoon hero coming to life on television or too unsophisticated to catch the spirit of the show's broad, albeit deadpan, comedic stylings.
It was a tall order
However, according to Dozier (whose stentorian voice reminded viewers of the "Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel" at the close of every episode), ABC was desperately searching for a program to fill the choice 7:30 p.m. Wednesday slot. Ignoring the foreboding test market results, the network purchased 13 episodes of "Batman" as almost a last-ditch attempt to fill a gap in its spotty midweek lineup.
After the deal was closed, network executives did everything in their power to stave off the nagging pangs of buyer's remorse, and with good reason: If the test marketing was any indication, the young network could have easily purchased the biggest bomb in television's short history.
Still, there was hope. With solid writing, intelligent casting and a strong debut, the show had a shot. This rather tall order had to be filled in the first episode. Knowing they had to put their best foot forward, the producers decided to turn Gorshin's Riddler loose as the first villain to match wits with the solemn, wooden-faced West as the Caped Crusader.
That premiere, two-part episode, "Hi Diddle Riddle--Smack in the Middle," aired on Jan. 12, 1966, marking the beginning of a quirky television phenomenon that was unlike anything seen before, or after, the show's magical three-season run.
Gorshin, though playing down his contributions on the premiere, remains grateful to the producers for giving him the nod on the first episode, and also for giving him carte blanche to play the character as he saw fit.
"They really let me do what I wanted," he says. "And all I kept thinking was, when I was a kid, I remember reading the Riddler . He was a fun guy, even though his fun was derived from evil doings. But he had a great zest for life, and so much so that he constantly giggled, and laughed and loved the whole game, and fancied himself as being able to do everything and anything.
"With this, I thought, `Gee, that'd be fun to play.' And it was," he says.
Gorshin says he was in no way surprised by the series' instant success:
"I knew this was a hot show, though it only lasted three seasons. I knew because it was different, it was a pioneer in a lot of ways. It got a lot of publicity and acquired a strong following, and in the reruns it took on a whole new life and became even more successful," he says.
Impressions of youth
Gorshin says that until "Batman" gave him his big break, his star had been rising steadily, if slowly. For a while, he thought he was destined to become the world's most famous warm-up act and nothing more.
He was born in Pittsburgh 62 years ago and remained there through his college years at Carnegie Tech, where he studied drama. When he was in high school, he started to do impressions, first of friends and family, then celebrities.
"I don't know why I started doing impressions," he says, "I just knew I could do them. I would enter talent contests and win and so I figured when I graduate, I'd study drama. It seemed like the natural thing to do."
He found himself in the U.S. Army's Special Services after college, performing for troops stationed in Germany and England during the 1950s. A series of events and auditions finally led the young Gorshin to Las Vegas, where he quickly earned a reputation as an irrepressibly energetic comic with one of the most life-like voice characterizations of Kirk Douglas on tap.
When asked if he still does a mean Kirk, Gorshin wastes no time slipping into character and peeling off his trademark Douglas line, "I ain't gonna eat this slop." Rest assured it's a bit that has aged well.
The only jump his career ever took, he says, is when he landed the part of the Riddler.
"Once that `Batman' episode aired," he says, "I was elevated to headliner and I was on my way."
Gorshin would go on to enjoy a flourishing career, both on stage and television. In fact, he recently took time off from "Guys and Dolls" to make a few cameo appearances on "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," and is about to open in "Breaking Legs" in Jacksonville, Fla. Gorshin's the first to admit, though, that nothing he has tackled has been so indelible as his portrayal of the Riddler.
Asked to summon a favorite memory from his days on the "Batman" series, Gorshin gives a few moments to a very silent reverie. Finally, he submits this account:
"I remember one day, I had my green Riddler underwear on, and the purple belt and mask. I ran into a friend of mine on the lot who I hadn't seen in a while. He turns to me, seeing me in this get-up, and says straight-faced, `Hi-ya, Frank . . .. you workin'?'
"I couldn't say anything. I just laughed."
TheButcher wrote:io9:
This is how much better Batman '66 looks on Blu-Ray
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