Batman and Robin: Episodes 2 and 3

Episodes are seventeen minutes long from this point, so I’m doing two at a time.

Episode 2: Tunnel of Terror

"Ms Vale evidently walked into your man trap!"

Here we go again into seventeen minutes of non-stop action set pieces, with even the opening music being utterly Perils of Pauline. It’s 1949, movie serials are only barely still a thing, but old tropes die hard.

We begin with Batman and Robin escaping an exploding plane- why on Earth was this not properly used as a proper cliffhanger? I get the impression that, cheap and cheerful though movie serials were, perfunctory entertainment intended strictly for kids, this is not exactly the best of the genre.

The villains get away via a delightful route- behind a bush into a secret cave, then through a trapdoor to an underground stream which contains a submarine which, when we see it in the water, is a hilariously obvious model. This is deliciously over-elaborate. So is the plot, but Batman is a bit thick- he notices the Professor’s home is suspiciously close to the baddies’ getaway but fails to follow this up. And the scene with Vicki Vale falling into one of the Prof’s man traps is just to remind us that the character is there.

We then get a bit of plot- newsreader Barry Brown gets his scoops from a dodgy private eye- but then it’s time for the new set piece, a train robbery for a new type of explosive. We end with another cliffhanger which doesn’t quite work, with Batman on top of a lovely old steam train about to get hit by a tunnel, except he clearly ducks...


Episode 3: Robin's Wild Ride

"Oh, you would think of tea at a time like this."

No, I have no idea what the title has to do with anything. Anyway, the explosives are stolen and there follows an obligatory car chase, except Batman is seemingly surprised (duh) when the Wizard uses the remote control machine he very much knew about. Thicko. Fortunately the baddies are berated by the Wizard for failing to steal a detonator that he’s only now deciding to mention.

Weirdly, Barry Brown’s new scoop is that Morton, inventor of the explosives, is staying in a local hotel- in what way is this news? Regardless, the Wizard has him (and Vicki Vale) kidnapped while Batman is caught, er, napping. I love the Wizard’s weird hypnotising eyes though.

Meanwhile, Robin at least has the presence of mind to give Batman’s car “new wiring” and the Professor lurks around just to remind us to be suspicious of him. And we finish, forconce, with a cliffhanger that actually works; Batman is shocked unconscious, Robin outnumbered...