The Thirteenth Hat
“There’s been a kidnapping. And a hatnapping...”
Another episode and another new villain in Jervis Tetch, aka the Mad Hatter, played with splendidly camp aplomb by David Wayne. It’s instructive how all the villains so far, including Zelda (albeit with a gender swap) have been taken from the comics and this story is straight from an issue a few years previous. It may be 1966, and John F Kennedy may have supposedly caused the rapid fall of headgear from men’s fashion, but that needn’t get in the way of a good story- so Tetch can steal all the hats of the jurors who last convicted him. And their owners. And I love how everyone always refers to the hats being stolen before adding the owners as an afterthought.
Everything about this is awesome, up to and including David Wayne’s mannered pronunciation of “hat factory”. And even the rubbishness of this supposed death trap for Batman, in reality rather flimsy, just adds to the considerable fun. How can an episode consisting mainly of people being zapped by a Super Instant Mesmeriser pipping our of a top hat be anything but awesome? Even the extras are funny little characters, from the bimbo to the snobbish old lady insisting that “the communists” have something to do with this.
I suppose the cliffhanger could be better- quick drying plaster of Paris? But this is a splendid way to spend twenty-five minutes.
Batman Stands Pat
“I simply held my breath!”
Gaze upon the five words immediately above. Because they comprise Batman’s only explanation for how he survived being stuck in plaster of Paris for minutes on end. This made me laugh out loud, and from now on this episode can do no wrong.
The Caped Crusadets have had a bit of a rubbish detective week but finally work out what going on, coming up with a plan which even gives Alfred a bit of a fun comedy scene with another funny little character destined to be Tetch’s last victim. Batman seems almost manic in his determination to have the Mad Hatter “hoist on to his own petard”.
The concluding fight is one of the most well-choreographed we’ve seen, and more than usually entertaining. This has been one of the best two parters so far, and I’m hugely looking forward to seeing the Mad Hatter again- so far, only Zelda and the Riddler have been better.
Showing posts with label Norman Foster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norman Foster. Show all posts
Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Monday, 27 January 2020
Batman: Zelda the Great & A Death Worse Than Fate
Zelda the Great
"A loyal taxpayer stooping to such criminal methods...?"
You can tell Lorenzo Semple Jr is back: this two parter is the finest since the opening brace of episodes with the Riddler. It doesn't seem to be quite as popular because it features a one-off villain, but I don't care. Anne Baxter is the best guest baddie since Frank Gorshin, and this two-parter actually has a solid plot with a character arc for Zelda- there's nothing wrong with the usual formula f set piece after set piece, but it's nice to see a diversion from the usual formula so early on. We even have the Dynamic Duo initially summoned by the Bat-Signal for the first time.
It's an intriguing premise- $100,000 being robbed from a bank once a year by an escape artist in order to pay back the dastardly Albanian genius Eivol Ekdal- who is certainly a portrayal of a native of said Balkan nation from another era. Then again, the character of Zelda is certainly strong, clever and somewhat kickass, but also definitely a model of femininity from an era before the second wave of feminism. It's interesting, too, that our first female villain is our first one-off- and that, despite the namecheck, it isn't the more predictable Catwoman.
This is a fascinating episode as, although it also has the usual high camp fun pretty much constantly, it's the first time we see Batman being portrayed as a proper detective, and rather a good one. It's a fun little cliffhanger, too, with a ransomed and straitjacketed Aunt Harriet suspended over boiling oil...
A Death Worse Than Fate
"How could a woman stoop to such a trick?"
An interesting cliffhanger resolution via television here by the Commissioner ("Hello, criminals, wherever you are out there, do you hear me, criminals?"), as we are treated for quite a while to the sight of Bruce Wayne and Robin together in early scenes that make it deliberately silly that no one has guessed the Batman's secret identity.
It's also fun to see Alfred blaming himself for Aunt Harriet's kidnapping because of his addiction to "a certain television programme". But the fun soon turns to peril as Eivol Ekdal has devised an impossible trap for Zelda- with the way to escape to be provided by Batman and Robin. But all is well in the end, and without a fight, as Ekdal is downed by a Batarang and a tearful and slihtly lovestruck Zelda submits to the, er, "Bat-cuffs".
There's even a heart-warming little coda for Zelda. It's a shame Anne Baxter won't be returning to the role. This two-parter is an unappreciated classic.
What's this, though? The Joker? I though next week was going to be the Riddler?
"A loyal taxpayer stooping to such criminal methods...?"
You can tell Lorenzo Semple Jr is back: this two parter is the finest since the opening brace of episodes with the Riddler. It doesn't seem to be quite as popular because it features a one-off villain, but I don't care. Anne Baxter is the best guest baddie since Frank Gorshin, and this two-parter actually has a solid plot with a character arc for Zelda- there's nothing wrong with the usual formula f set piece after set piece, but it's nice to see a diversion from the usual formula so early on. We even have the Dynamic Duo initially summoned by the Bat-Signal for the first time.
It's an intriguing premise- $100,000 being robbed from a bank once a year by an escape artist in order to pay back the dastardly Albanian genius Eivol Ekdal- who is certainly a portrayal of a native of said Balkan nation from another era. Then again, the character of Zelda is certainly strong, clever and somewhat kickass, but also definitely a model of femininity from an era before the second wave of feminism. It's interesting, too, that our first female villain is our first one-off- and that, despite the namecheck, it isn't the more predictable Catwoman.
This is a fascinating episode as, although it also has the usual high camp fun pretty much constantly, it's the first time we see Batman being portrayed as a proper detective, and rather a good one. It's a fun little cliffhanger, too, with a ransomed and straitjacketed Aunt Harriet suspended over boiling oil...
A Death Worse Than Fate
"How could a woman stoop to such a trick?"
An interesting cliffhanger resolution via television here by the Commissioner ("Hello, criminals, wherever you are out there, do you hear me, criminals?"), as we are treated for quite a while to the sight of Bruce Wayne and Robin together in early scenes that make it deliberately silly that no one has guessed the Batman's secret identity.
It's also fun to see Alfred blaming himself for Aunt Harriet's kidnapping because of his addiction to "a certain television programme". But the fun soon turns to peril as Eivol Ekdal has devised an impossible trap for Zelda- with the way to escape to be provided by Batman and Robin. But all is well in the end, and without a fight, as Ekdal is downed by a Batarang and a tearful and slihtly lovestruck Zelda submits to the, er, "Bat-cuffs".
There's even a heart-warming little coda for Zelda. It's a shame Anne Baxter won't be returning to the role. This two-parter is an unappreciated classic.
What's this, though? The Joker? I though next week was going to be the Riddler?
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