Batman: Batman’s Anniversary & A Riddling Controversy

Batman’s Anniversary 

“That enigmatic egotist, back to plague our fair city?"

So, very late in the second season, with an ongoing impasse concerning the availability of Frank Gorshin, the Riddler- unquestionably the premier villain of the first season but not seen since the movie, and the Puzzler was rubbish- is back. But Gorshin, alas, is not- instead, as a substitute, we have the portly and moustachioed figure of John Astin, well known at the time as Gomez Addams. He does his best, and you can't fault the man. He actually is quite good. But you simply can't replace Frank Gorshin. It's a poisoned chalice, and he falls inevitable short.

Which is a pity. The Riddler is written absolutely no differently, and you can imagine Gorshin saying every line- with his signature hint of menace behind the playful wit. And, moreover, the script is magnificent, perhaps the finest to feature the character. There's something very Alanis Morissette ironic about that.

The anniversary stuff gives us a fun and silly beginning, the puzzles are solidly thought out, and the Riddler has a clear aim throughout- to steal $3 million so he can buy a MacGuffin with which he can ransom the entire city. The obligatory fight takes place, superbly, in a flooded bank vault with the Caped Crusaders wearing ventilators, and the slow-motion scrap gets suitably aquatic onomatopoeic words. And the trap at the end comes as a genuinely surprising twist.


A Riddling Controversy

"Let go of me, you blue footed baboon!"

Quicksand won't make you drown, whatever TV and cinema may say. You won't sink further than your waist, and it's possible to escape by slowly moving to a lying down position, although if you can't do that you're trapped and will eventually die of dehydration without help. But you're not really in much danger if your predicament occurs in the streets of a busy street and not, say, a deserted swamp.

Still, those bat rockets are cool. And so is this episode, complete with its Che Guevara lookalike in a puzzle cage and MacGuffin that can theoretically be defeated by, er, switching off the plug. The conclusion is epic and dramatic, so much so that the stock footage of the Bat-copter is wheeled out yet again.

I enjoyed this superbly crafted two parter, a lot. And John Astin is good, and unfortunate in following someone who couldn't possibly have been topped. Give it a chance, and you'll find it's something really rather special.

Freaky Friday (1976)

"Male chauvinist pig!"

This is one of two back-to-back old Disney films I will be blogging, mainly because we wanted them off our Sky Plus. They're both fascinating artefacts from another era, though, especially this one.

Obviously this is notable for featuring a very young Jodie Foster, but it also displays an instinctive slant towards gender roles that would never be seen again; phrases like the above quote are bandied about as a joke, but this is a world in which women stay at home to cook and clean, unless they are forced to work as secretaries because their husbands are out of work. It's a fascinating artefact of the social mores in 1970s America, perhaps all the more revealing in that this is a Disney film.

It works quite well as a comedy in spite of it's leisurely pace: the central conceit-another and a daughter switching bodies fortresses best left unexplained- is full of potential, and gives us a fascinating peek into what 1970s American high schools were like, with their marching bands and electric typewriters.

Everyone smokes. Annabel's dad reminds me of an American version of Reginald Perrin. This is the most 1970s film I have ever seen.