Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Like many who grew up in the '60s and '70s (and perhaps even '80s and later), Tim and Paul had the course of their lives changed by the 1966 Batman TV show, from the types of play they did growing up to their present-day interests.

In this series, they discuss the show's allure and its failures, the arc of the show from satire to sitcom, its influences (the '40s serials and the comic books themselves) and the things it, in turn, influenced.

SUPPORT "To the Batpoles!" and DeconstructingComics.com via Patreon!

Nov 11, 2021

William Dozier and Lorenzo Semple

When producer William Dozier and writer Lorenzo Semple, Jr, met up in Madrid in May 1965, Batman wasn’t all they were cooking up; it wasn’t even the main reason they were meeting. Semple had been developing an idea called Mr. Zero, a possible action/adventure TV show that had nothing to do with the character who would come to be called “Mr. Freeze.”

This time, we take a look at a 40-page presentation document Semple wrote to describe the series. What does it tell us about possible casting, changes in thinking or circumstance (as we note the differences between this description and what we saw in the Mr. Zero test scene script in episode 168), and simply whether this show would have been any good?

PLUS: Holy Deja Vu crosses paths with Get Smart, and we read your reaction to our examination of the early script for “Instant Freeze.”

Dr. Patrick Murphy teaches how to play Hefti's Batman theme on the violin

Rebeat.com mentions Bruce Lee and Number One Son

Bruce Lee's screen test for Number One Son