29 & 30: The Bookworm Turns/While Gotham City Burns

Season 1 Episodes 29 & 30
Original Air Dates: 4/20/66 & 4/21/66
Special Guest Villain: Roddy McDowall as The Bookworm

Guest stars: Francine York, John Crawford

Written by: Rik Vollaerts

Directed by: Larry Peerce

Commissioner Gordon is assassinated while at a public celebration. Or is he? Turns out the cop killing was a ruse perpetrated by the fiendish Bookworm, whose every crime is influenced by a literary event.

JS: Things start off with a bang, although I suspected something strange was afoot when Gordon was fraternizing with a swimsuit clad model at the bridge grand opening.


PE: Once again we're back into the arc that has no traceable storyline. Commissioner Gordon is shot and falls from a bridge, very dead. We then find out that it was actually a stuntman hired by Bookworm who takes the dive. Why? Well, you won't find out in this episode because it has no bearing on the rest of the story. And explain to me how Gordon walks in off the street into Police Headquarters without having heard of his own death.


JS: I was hoping we might get a glimpse of his daughter Barbara in the Commissioner's office, mourning the death of her father. Gotta give the old boy credit—Hamilton really tries to sell his death. What surprised me is they have a shot of, in a kids show, fer chrissakes, a body falling from the bridge into the water! 

PE: It's mentioned that Bookworm's costume is made of old book bindings. That looks nothing like book binding to me. Speaking of costumes, that's quite a pair of funnels Ms. York is wearing beneath her sweater and I give the ensemble a big... thumb up.


JS: The bombshell plants a bomb. Francine York is certainly a sight to see. Unfortunately, as molls go, she's got a relatively restrained role. Batman doesn't even elicit an eye roll in the course of their encounter.

PE: Robin is tied to the bell of a giant clock (Big Ben) in a memorable scene. Batman is given just a couple minutes to rescue Robin but he seems to stop and ponder the situation several times, wasting valuable time. And I'd say it's a bit of a stretch Batman adding 2 + 2 + 3 + 6 and dividing 3 to find out where Robin was being held.


JS: He might have been thinking with Robin out of the picture, he could pair up with Alfred.

PE: We learn this episode that Batman has a truck on call to pick up his used parachutes. It even reads "Batmobile Parachute Pickup Service" on the side of the van!


JS: Clearly in response to public outrage over the blatant parachute littering we've seen in other episodes (if you've forgotten, just imagine the shots in this episode without the blue tint to make them look like night).

PE: We get our first "window celebrity" and it's none other than Jerry Lewis, who was still a big thing at the time. He's in full "wacky Jerry" mode. During that climb, it appears that Batman may be playing quarterback to Robin's center.


JS: One of the hallmarks of Batman that I recall from growing up. I was actually surprised it took us 30 episodes to get our first window celeb. 


PE: Wouldn't Alfred know all of Batman's foes on sight? Yet he invites Bookworm right into Wayne Manor where the devilish bibliophile makes quick work of both Alfred and Aunt Harriet.  LOL-moment: Batman and Robin. downstairs in the Batcave while the action rolls on above them, find out from the Commissioner that bad deeds have been done in Wayne Manor. Did Alfred call the police rather than bother Master Bruce?


JS: After the last episode, I think Batman realized he needed to get a little distance between Bruce Wayne and his butler Alfred and Batman and his red-phone answering service. 


PE: How did Bookworm get that massive cookbook out into the middle of the street? I'm glad he did because it's a great gag.


JS: Acme delivers.

PE: Alfred comes off a bit more than athletic when he vaults over the rail in the Batcave. Put a Batsuit on him (I think pretty soon they will!).


JS: That was an awesome scene, and a great reminder what a firecracker Alan Napier was.


PE: Bookworm steals the Batmobile (a novel idea) and heads to the Gotham library where he uses the Bat-ray to blow up the back entrance. Through the hole in the wall come the Dynamic Duo to save the day. Well, yeah, they saved the day but they could have saved the library thousands of dollars if they'd simply waited outside in the alley for the villain. I'm sure Bruce Wayne will donate the dough for fix-up.


JS:I think someone needs to explain to Batman that walking right into the villains trap is NOT the only way...

PE: While the story teeters and falls into the abyss, I'll still be giving it three bat-signals and you know why. It's all Roddy. Sadly underused (this would be his only appearance) and not given much to work with, the genre fave steals every scene he's in. He's creepy, oily, kooky, eccentric, and cowardly. Aside from Frank Gorshin, my favorite performance so far in the series. As for why Bookworm never had a return appearance, in Joel Eisner's Offical Batman Batbook, McDowell is quoted as saying "I think there was talk about doing three episodes, but I don't know what happened, because there was only one segment. I don't know whether they changed their minds about the Bookworm or whether I was doing other things." I'd assume the latter. Roddy would, years later, voice The Mad Hatter character on The New Batman Adventures  and Superman TV cartoons.

JS: When McDowell goes full Bat-crazy, I realized we were dealing with another villain on par with the top tier rogue's gallery. 

PE Rating: 

JS Rating: 

Next up... The Riddler! Same Bat Time, Same Bat URL!