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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.

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  2. #187 "Superman" musical: It's not a bird, but is it camp?

#187 "Superman" musical: It's not a bird, but is it camp?

Jun 23, 2022

Just a couple of months after Batman hit the airwaves in 1966, another superhero emerged from the comics, as Superman arrived at the Alvin Theater on Broadway in It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. How did the musical's creators approach the same question William Dozier and Lorenzo Semple, Jr., dealt with in 1965: how to make a "children's character" appealing to adults? We compare and contrast the two shows' approaches. After a good start, the musical closed in less than four months; was Batman to blame? And, what's the deal with that late-night 1975 TV version? All this, plus Adam's story of meeting the pope, and your response to our Hizzoner the Penguin script episode!

Concord Theatricals offers two weeks with the musical's libretto at no charge

Broadway cast album on Amazon

"It's a Bird" 1975 TV version

1975 newspaper column confirms date of broadcast

Abraham Riesman's Vulture.com article

Keith DeCandido's Tor.com article

Bob Holiday as Superman in Aqua Velva ad

New York Times on 2013 production

Drew Friedman on the musical (Lots of cool photos)