The Penguin’s Nest
“Citizen, you may return to your harpsichord.”
With Frank Gorshin's Riddler suspiciously absent since the movie (a dispute over money?) it's clear by now, I think, that Burgess Meredith's Penguin is the cream of the remaining criminal crop. Catwoman has equal promise, but has only actully appeared twice in the TV series thus far and not really built up a head of steam, and Cesar Romero's Joker is not really in the same class. A script like this, penned by the splendid Lorenzo Semple Jr, only reinforces the Penguin's primacy.
The conceit is fun: the recently released Penguin is running a restaurant for the rich, but suddenly seems suspiciously keen to get arrested and sent to prison- a concept successfully mined for comic potential as a custard pie is thrown at the Commissioner- Neil Hamilton really is a superb comic actor, as I've been extremely remiss in saying. The scene with the Commissioner phoning "Batman" with Bruce in the next cubicle is equally hilarious.
Batman's eventual solution is funny, too- to arrest him on a petty offence and send him only to the police cells, an insult. But soon his plot becomes clear- a complicated forgery scheme with the forger neighbour to his permanent(!) cell. But the most priceless moment is where Warden Crichton tells Batman that inmates can easily access blank cheques to increase their financial skills- "Another first. Another one of your advanced penological techniques".
The cliffhanger is a little vague and overcomplicated. But still a superb episode.
The Bird’s Last Jest
“What about the underprivileged criminals..?”
So the cliffhanger resolution is... the Batshield and reversing the polarity of the cables. Hmm. Never mind, soo the Penguin's gang are all arrested and we have a very silly courtroom scene where Penguin quotes Emile Zola (I'm constantly impressed with the cultural references- you wouldn't get that on a similar show today) and gets himself released through verbal cleverness... but not to prison, as he so desperately wants.
So Alfred gets another secret mission with a forger's fingerprints hand painted by Batman. Apparently fingerprints can be forged this was but criminals never have a sufficiently steady hand as they are all "addicted to tobacco and alcohol". I love that.
The ending, with Alfred in a pie, is delightfully barmy with some typically absurd switching between the Caped Crusaders and their secret identities... and the conclusion is hilrious, with Penguin's forger friend being paroled as he heads to prion. A splendid pair of episodes.
Showing posts with label Murray Golden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Murray Golden. Show all posts
Sunday, 29 March 2020
Thursday, 5 March 2020
Batman: The Minstrel's Shakedown & Barbecued Batman?
The Minstrel's Shakedown
"When it's still hotter, then you will melt/
Nothing left but your utility belt..."
A rather odd two parter, this- and perhaps a fairly unremarkable one which is neither one of the best nor one of the worst. Van Johnson has a superficial charm as the Minstrel- a villain, unusually, being encountered by Batman for the first time- but the villain isn't particularly charismatic or memorable, and his shtick of music and electronics is a little odd.
Still, his televised blackmailing of the stock exchange is fun, as is the reaction of the Dynamic Duo to a new villain interestingly heir summary of baddies they've beaten features the Clock King, who is yet to appear- had those episodes perhaps already been filmed, or is this a premonition? It's curious, too, that Batman is addressing Robin as "old chap"- did some Americans used to use this phrase? One rarely hears it from that side of the pond.
The episode rattls along well enough, despite an odd focus on electronics, but there's no spark here.
Barbecued Batman?
"Two voices on the telephone... whence did they come? Whither do they go?"
What, no rhyming episode titles? Tut, standards are slipping. So are cliffhanger resolutions, as a bomb Batman prepared earlier is a bit of a cheat. Also, Batman's flirting with this two-parter's moll, Olivia, in order to plant a bug on her is rather underhanded for the character.
Also odd is O'Hara's brief and expression of suspicion for Batman, although the Commissioner's staunch support is amusing as ever. But this episode is rather slight and, while not exactly bad, never quite catches fire. Despite his parting song before being dragged of to prison, I hope we won't see the Minstrel again.
"When it's still hotter, then you will melt/
Nothing left but your utility belt..."
A rather odd two parter, this- and perhaps a fairly unremarkable one which is neither one of the best nor one of the worst. Van Johnson has a superficial charm as the Minstrel- a villain, unusually, being encountered by Batman for the first time- but the villain isn't particularly charismatic or memorable, and his shtick of music and electronics is a little odd.
Still, his televised blackmailing of the stock exchange is fun, as is the reaction of the Dynamic Duo to a new villain interestingly heir summary of baddies they've beaten features the Clock King, who is yet to appear- had those episodes perhaps already been filmed, or is this a premonition? It's curious, too, that Batman is addressing Robin as "old chap"- did some Americans used to use this phrase? One rarely hears it from that side of the pond.
The episode rattls along well enough, despite an odd focus on electronics, but there's no spark here.
Barbecued Batman?
"Two voices on the telephone... whence did they come? Whither do they go?"
What, no rhyming episode titles? Tut, standards are slipping. So are cliffhanger resolutions, as a bomb Batman prepared earlier is a bit of a cheat. Also, Batman's flirting with this two-parter's moll, Olivia, in order to plant a bug on her is rather underhanded for the character.
Also odd is O'Hara's brief and expression of suspicion for Batman, although the Commissioner's staunch support is amusing as ever. But this episode is rather slight and, while not exactly bad, never quite catches fire. Despite his parting song before being dragged of to prison, I hope we won't see the Minstrel again.
Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Batman: The Joker Goes to School & He Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul
The Joker Goes to School
“You... jailhouse lawyer!"
It's an unusual beginning this week, with Lorenzo Semple back on writing duties (yay!) as Batman takes an amusing look at the tropes of the American High School. The school, of which Dick Grayson is of course class president, is called "Woodrow Roosevelt". No doubt Theodore Wilson has a school named after him in Metropolis. Then we have Principal Schoolfield.
The Commissioner at first seems to be oddly jumping to conclusions that the Joker would necessarily be behind school vending machines to dispense money, but that progressive paragon Warden Crichton has just released him from prison. This is, naturally, a plan to introduce the young to the concept of easy money so they'll drop out and join crime gangs. Er, quite. I'm amused to see that, when Dick suggests this, he's reminded that he's the ward of a millionaire.
It's a fun episode featuring, among other things, a jukebox robbing a bar and a silly showoff stunt by the Joker to provide an alibi. And things get very interesting when Dick's fellow school council member Susie is revealed to be in league with the Joker's gang.
We have amusing scenes with Dick being at school- Batman first visits the Commissioner alone, so they can't quite begin the episode with the usual stock footage. And it's fun seeing Batman and Dick pretending, not very well, that they don't know each other.
What's this, though? Notorious do-gooder Batman telling Dick to fake a headache and skive off school? Tut tut. I for one am appalled.
He Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul
“This life at best is one long, impractical joke..."
It may seem a cheat to resolve the electrocution fruit machine cliffhanger with a power cut. But, to be fair, it was foreshadowed in dialogue in last episode. It's also a certain topical reference to the contemporary power outages in New York. So fair play.
Batman is less than entirely feminist when he discovers Susie's connection to the Joker, suggesting to a shocked Robin that "It's an old story, I'm afraid. As old as Eve and the apple". Yes, Susie is a woman, and therefore biddable with trinkets. Well then. Very slight feminism fail there, but even in 1966 I suspect a raised eyebrow would be prudent here.
There's more fun as Dick tries to come across as a ne'er-do-well by putting on a leather jacket- after all, only delinquents and ruffians ever wear those. And it's also highly amusing when his story is spoiled by his being an obvious non-smoker. Almost as amusing as the revelation that Woodrow Roosevelt's basket ball are to pay "Disco Tech".
Less amusing is the suggestion that the Joker may have callously poisoned poor Susie dead with fake perfume when it became clear she'd been rumbled. This is where we see beyond the chuckling but essentially harmless thief to a potential nihilistic killer behind the facade- the Joker's indifferent reaction to her "death" is positively chilling. This has elevated the Joker for me, in his second appearance. Cesar Romero (and his moustache) has never failed to impress, but here we begin to see dark depths.
A splendid two parter, then, a cut above the Joker's debut. So, next week, False Face...
“You... jailhouse lawyer!"
It's an unusual beginning this week, with Lorenzo Semple back on writing duties (yay!) as Batman takes an amusing look at the tropes of the American High School. The school, of which Dick Grayson is of course class president, is called "Woodrow Roosevelt". No doubt Theodore Wilson has a school named after him in Metropolis. Then we have Principal Schoolfield.
The Commissioner at first seems to be oddly jumping to conclusions that the Joker would necessarily be behind school vending machines to dispense money, but that progressive paragon Warden Crichton has just released him from prison. This is, naturally, a plan to introduce the young to the concept of easy money so they'll drop out and join crime gangs. Er, quite. I'm amused to see that, when Dick suggests this, he's reminded that he's the ward of a millionaire.
It's a fun episode featuring, among other things, a jukebox robbing a bar and a silly showoff stunt by the Joker to provide an alibi. And things get very interesting when Dick's fellow school council member Susie is revealed to be in league with the Joker's gang.
We have amusing scenes with Dick being at school- Batman first visits the Commissioner alone, so they can't quite begin the episode with the usual stock footage. And it's fun seeing Batman and Dick pretending, not very well, that they don't know each other.
What's this, though? Notorious do-gooder Batman telling Dick to fake a headache and skive off school? Tut tut. I for one am appalled.
He Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul
“This life at best is one long, impractical joke..."
It may seem a cheat to resolve the electrocution fruit machine cliffhanger with a power cut. But, to be fair, it was foreshadowed in dialogue in last episode. It's also a certain topical reference to the contemporary power outages in New York. So fair play.
Batman is less than entirely feminist when he discovers Susie's connection to the Joker, suggesting to a shocked Robin that "It's an old story, I'm afraid. As old as Eve and the apple". Yes, Susie is a woman, and therefore biddable with trinkets. Well then. Very slight feminism fail there, but even in 1966 I suspect a raised eyebrow would be prudent here.
There's more fun as Dick tries to come across as a ne'er-do-well by putting on a leather jacket- after all, only delinquents and ruffians ever wear those. And it's also highly amusing when his story is spoiled by his being an obvious non-smoker. Almost as amusing as the revelation that Woodrow Roosevelt's basket ball are to pay "Disco Tech".
Less amusing is the suggestion that the Joker may have callously poisoned poor Susie dead with fake perfume when it became clear she'd been rumbled. This is where we see beyond the chuckling but essentially harmless thief to a potential nihilistic killer behind the facade- the Joker's indifferent reaction to her "death" is positively chilling. This has elevated the Joker for me, in his second appearance. Cesar Romero (and his moustache) has never failed to impress, but here we begin to see dark depths.
A splendid two parter, then, a cut above the Joker's debut. So, next week, False Face...
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