tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post9199843184451353017..comments2024-03-28T09:21:54.116-07:00Comments on To the Batpoles!: 5 & 6: The Joker is Wild/Batman is RiledJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-10819439525771425502012-07-30T10:21:59.735-07:002012-07-30T10:21:59.735-07:00I never knew Nancy Kovack was dubbed in Jason and ...I never knew Nancy Kovack was dubbed in Jason and the Argonauts (it took me forever to learn that about Todd Armstrong). Not to be too touchy about it, but I usually hate to hear that an ENGLISH-SPEAKING actor is dubbed in an ENGLISH-SPEAKING story (regardless of the reasons for it that you sometimes hear), so I can stand to go forever without finding it out.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-36717448490446223412011-09-13T09:28:15.363-07:002011-09-13T09:28:15.363-07:00To add to the above comment about the game show ho...To add to the above comment about the game show hosts. Jack Barry was also the host and producer of The Joker's Wild, Break the Bank and was part of the game show scandals of the 1950s. Other game show host that also appeared on Batman are Allan Ludden of Password and Dennis James from PDQ and the primetime Price is Right. Both appeared in Hizzoner the Penguin. Jerry Dunphy also turned up in the giant rabbit horror film Night of the Lepus. <br />As for Cesar's laugh, unlike Gorshin's which was forced, he created it for the role. That was Cesars natural laugh, he exeagerated it for the part, but that was his laugh.BATSCHOLAR JOEL EISNERnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-40017697019685148042011-09-13T08:50:05.814-07:002011-09-13T08:50:05.814-07:00Since Clifton Black made a passing reference above...Since Clifton Black made a passing reference above to "little Harold", the son of the maudlin newscaster, I thought I'd throw this in:<br /><br />That newscaster was Jerry Dunphy, who at the time was the most popular local newscaster in Los Angeles, a position he held for decades.<br />When he appeared on BATMAN, his hair had not yet turned completely white, which ultimately became his trademark (reportedly, he was at least the physical prototype for Ted Baxter on MARY TYLER MOORE). <br />Before going to LA, Dunphy had been the sports guy at the CBS station here in Chicago, so seeing him turn up on BATMAN raised a few eyebrows here.<br />My major interest in BATMAN these days is seeing who turns up in some of the smaller roles, those whom I can recognize from other things they did over the years.<br />Example: the newscaster from the premiere episode was Jack Barry, best remembered even today as the MC of the rigged quiz show TWENTY-ONE. Stuff like that.<br />I ask your indulgence when I come up with more of these in the coming days.Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-33544241437358841412011-09-12T19:58:56.034-07:002011-09-12T19:58:56.034-07:00More Bat-wisdom: "All music is important, Dic...More Bat-wisdom: "All music is important, Dick. It's the universal language. One of our best hopes for the eventual realization of the brotherhood of man." How can Bruce Wayne be such a square and yet sound like a total hippie? (Incidentally, the popular British group, "The Brotherhood of Man," was realized in 1969. Bruce was right. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB3RBxnn98g&feature=related)<br /><br />Romero is another perfectly cast frenetic villain. You gotta love his derogatory "Fatman" and "Boy Blunder." He was always one of my favorites, and I'm not sure I could give any episode with him less than 4 Bat Signals, though we shall see. I thought this was a fun episode to watch. The operatic clown whose mouth didn't move was pretty creepy. The drunks at the bar may not have noticed, but the rest of us kids are just waiting for the Joker to be unmasked.<br /><br />I wouldn't say his laugh is better than Riddler's, but that each one conveys the kind of villains they are. Riddler's giggle is maniacal, while the Joker's cackle is malevolent. They're both pretty awesome.Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04594017640571724035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-72674019658134147992011-09-12T18:28:29.404-07:002011-09-12T18:28:29.404-07:00Here I am, during a very long day not yet over.
O...Here I am, during a very long day not yet over.<br /><br />Other tidbits to add to Gary's: (1) I don't normally comment on green wig styles, but I think this first was the best of the Joker's coiffures—more like the comic book's image. (2) Desmond Doomsday has now landed on his "Bat-Time" and "Bat-Channel," though not until after the optical titles were overlaid. (3) This is the first Part Two whose catch-up teaser runs the clips before freezing frames. Mr. Riddle (Nelson, that is) hasn't yet applied the aural stingers to the Freezes. Confused? So am I.<br /><br />Though far from the worst that's yet to come, this two-parter's quality seems to me to dip. Dozier's script is not as clever as Semple's first two, in which the villains dupe Our Heroes into carrying out their capers. "This week" there's a lot more yakety-yak; though by nature not a violent person, after his third repetition I was ready to punch out Little Harold's lights. Though it has been decades since I read the comic-book story on which these episodes are based, I do remember that it had a lot more invention. Some, like the last threat against B & R, would have cost too many bucks to film; others—like the specific tools in the Joker's belt—could have been propped quickly and been more entertaining.Clifton Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05235906805725431093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-16907291467903895452011-09-12T15:07:27.607-07:002011-09-12T15:07:27.607-07:00With Gary around it certainly does feel like home....With Gary around it certainly does feel like home. <br /><br />But now where's Clifton, our inaugural poster???John Scolerihttp://tothebatpoles.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-77171764189353007622011-09-12T15:02:00.039-07:002011-09-12T15:02:00.039-07:00>>Man, I'm way too into this stuff!
Th...>>Man, I'm way too into this stuff! <br /><br />That's why we keep begging you to come back, Gary!!Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316366186649546090.post-15238078994784018772011-09-12T12:12:26.507-07:002011-09-12T12:12:26.507-07:00First we should mention that this was NOT the epis...First we should mention that this was NOT the episode TV Guide announced as the third BATMAN to be broadcast. That was "Zelda the Great..." with Anne Baxter, the only performer to play two different Bat-villains (I think!). If memory serves, all of us kids were stunned to see the Joker for the first time that night, since TV Guide never screwed up before with a totally wrong entry. As a matter of fact, for the next couple of weeks, the venerable TV listings mag offered no episode listings for BATMAN, unheard of for a new, super-hot network series. When episode info did finally return about a month later, the word "Scheduled" appeared before the weekly synopsis. Apparently the crushing production schedule caused all kinds of irksome problems and delays, with Dozier and company unsure of what episode might be finished first. I can certainly see why they wanted to air the Joker show ASAP, given the villain's superstar status. They might've also wanted to hold off on Zelda because of Catwoman being around the corner -- shouldn't B's most important female opponent be presented first?<br /><br />As for the episode itself, it's probably the best and most intense Joker adventure, although I have a soft spot for "The Joker Goes to School..." The comedian's hall of fame stuff is interesting. And hey, I'm with Adam West in his admiration/amazement of Romero's fearless, over-the-top performance and freewheeling laugh. Maybe John Carradine would have been more sinister, but Romero summons up a rollicking, unabashed ludicrousness that makes this role uniquely his -- for 1966. Nicholson and Ledger would brings their own, more malevolent pleasures to this juicy part years later.<br /><br />I can remember as a kid HATING the mother-in-law line! I watched this episode with my cousin, Joe, someone I was trying to hook on the series, and I recall sinking in my chair as I endured those guys in the bar with their arch comments. But that was the problem we kids had with this newfangled concept called camp -- it seemed to needlessly skewer what we fans desperately wanted to take seriously.<br /><br />Tidbit, but what the hell: Notice how the positioning of the Bat-emblem changes on the Caped Crusader's costume. It the majority of episodes it's way down in the middle of West's chest; but in this show, for the most part, it's higher up, closer to the positioning in the comics version. When B & R check out the museum, you'll notice the emblem changing positions from shot-to-shot, indicating that certain pick-up images were done on different days, with different costume fittings. I imagine Dozier and his team decided the lower-placed emblem on Batman's chest was preferable because a) it drew less attention to West's healthy but not-exactly-muscular physique, and b) it was funnier, earning Adam the nickname of "human pillow."<br /><br />This week's Bat-babe? Mmm boy, Nancy Kovack -- formerly a dubbed Medea from JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS and a disembodied head covered with Vincent Price's clay in DIARY OF A MADMAN. Unlike Molly, there is no dumb girl sympathy on display here; she's just an amoral, sassy bitch who rolls her nasty eyes at the super-square Caped Crusaders at every turn (Diane McBain would be the best at doing this in an upcoming Mad Hatter episode).<br /><br />Finally: Are you sure Batman didn't call Robin "old chum" in the pilot? If not, why does Riddler mock Batman's use of the "chum" word when he speaks to his adversary on the phone in "Smack in the Middle"?<br /><br />Man, I'm way too into this stuff!Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.com